W O R L D

Iranian actress faces 90 lashes, prison
Melbourne, October 11
Actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes by an Iranian court for her role in an Australian film on the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic.

Marzieh Vafamehr, who played the lead in ‘My Tehran for Sale’ (inset), was first arrested in Tehran in July after the film was heavily criticised by Iran’s conservative commentators.

NTC fighters seize Sirte police HQ
Sirte, October 11
Fighters from Libya’s new regime seized the police headquarters in the centre of Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown Sirte today as they moved in for the kill against the strongman’s remaining diehards.

Qadri’s death sentence stayed
Islamabad, October 11
A Pakistani court today stayed the implementation of death sentence given to the self- confessed assassin of Governor Salmaan Taseer till it decided his appeal against the verdict.



Supporters of Mumtaz Qadri rally outside the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday. — AP/PTI

EU launches new visa system for Indians
London, October 11 
The European Union today launched a Visa Information System (VIS) for Indians and other non-EU citizens applying for a Schengen visa that will help prevent fraud, official sources said.

First Sikh judge of UK HC sworn in
London: Rabinder Singh, a leading lawyer who successfully appeared on behalf of Indian doctors in an immigration case in 2007, has been sworn in as the first Sikh judge of the High Court at the Royal Courts of Justice. Singh, 47, is the son of Indian immigrants, and studied at the Bristol Grammar School and the University of Cambridge. Singh is the first Sikh judge of the High Court, but not the first Sikh to be appointed to a senior level in Britain's judiciary. The first Sikh and Asian to be appointed a judge was Mota Singh, who was knighted in 2010. — PTI

Iranian actress faces 90 lashes, prison
Her crime: Acting in an Australian film on the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic

Melbourne, October 11
Actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to a year in jail and 90 lashes by an Iranian court for her role in an Australian film on the limits imposed on artists in the Islamic republic.

The film ‘My Tehran for Sale’ which won the 2009 Independent Spirit Inside Film award and the jury award for best feature film at the Trimedia Film Festival last year, has been directed by Iranian-Australian Granaz Moussavi.

It was production of Adelaide-based Cyan Films and the movie tells the story of a young actress in Tehran whose theatre work is banned by the authorities.

The film has been shot entirely on location in Tehran and was premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2009, included rarely seen images of modern urban Iran and revealed how young Iranian people live behind closed doors.

Cyan Films’ producers, Kate Crosser and Julie Ryan, were not available for comment about Vafamehr’s sentence.

The Iranian-origin actress, who appears in the movie without a ‘hijab’ and with a shaved head, was first arrested in Tehran in July after the film was heavily criticised by Iran’s conservative commentators.

Iranian authorities have not released details of the charges against her. According to ‘The Age’, Iran’s Fars news agency was quoted as saying that the film had not been approved for screening in Iran and was being distributed illegally.

It is believed Vafamehr’s family will appeal against the decision to punish her.

The Australian government has urged Iran to protect the rights of all people after reports emerged that an actress was sentenced to 90 lashes and a year jail for her role in a Adelaide based production film.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd’s office said the Australian government condemned the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and was “deeply concerned” by the reports.

“The Australian government urged Iran to protect the rights of all Iranians and foreign citizens,” Rudd’s office was quoted by media reports here.

The filmmakers and investors behind the film, which was produced in South Australia, say they are “deeply shocked and appalled” by her sentence.

Cyan Films producers Julie Ryan and Kate Croser said in a statement they were not aware of the specifics of the charges but believed they related to scenes in which Vafamehr appears without wearing a hijab.

“The producers would like to emphasise that Marzieh’s involvement in the film was limited to her role as an actress and she was not in any other way involved in the behind-the-scenes film-making,” they said. — PTI

NTC fighters seize Sirte police HQ

Sirte, October 11
Fighters from Libya’s new regime seized the police headquarters in the centre of Muammar Gaddafi’s hometown Sirte today as they moved in for the kill against the strongman’s remaining diehards.

Meanwhile, National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters were gearing for a fresh onslaught on the desert town of Bani Walid, another remaining bastion of forces loyal to the ousted dictator, prompting civilians to flee.

In Sirte, jubilant NTC combatants celebrated the takeover of the strategic police building, which they found to be deserted, by honking the horns of their vehicles and firing into the air. They then proceeded to ransack the centre and destroy posters of the fugitive Gaddafi that they found inside.

The celebrations came to an abrupt end when one of the fighters was accidentally shot in the head, an AFP reporter said.

In contrast to Monday, when NTC forces were pounded with rockets and gunfire as they battled Gaddafi loyalists street by street, they met no resistance at all on Tuesday as they edged into the centre of the Mediterranean city.

An advance force of about 30 fighters checked each house as they moved forward from the city’s east early morning, kicking in doors and covering each other from possible snipers hidden on rooftops.

Clothing abandoned by soldiers and remains of meals were found in some of the buildings. — AFP 

British forces storm hijacked ship; 6 Indians among crew freed

London, October 11
In a dramatic raid, British special forces today stormed an Italian cargo ship and freed 23 crew members including six Indians that was hijacked by Somali pirates yesterday.

Italy's Foreign Ministry expressed "great satisfaction" in the operation to save the D'Alessio Group-owned cargo ship. The 11 pirates  who hijacked the Montecristo have all been arrested, Italian news agency ANSA said quoting sources. The ship had a 23-member crew, including six Indians besides those from Italy and Ukraine.

The 56,000-tonne bulk carrier 'Montecristo' was hijacked 620 miles off Somalia yesterday by five pirates in a small boat. According to the Italian-based firm 'Dalmare Spa' which manages the ship, the vessel was carrying a consignment of iron materials. The Italian defence minister said the crew aboard ship were doing well.

The ship had set off from the port of Liverpool and was understood to be en route to Vietnam. Media reports said that as soon as the Italian ship left the escort of a Japanese naval vessel and entered the Indian Ocean it came under attack from the pirates. — PTI

The Yeti ‘exists’ in Siberia

London, October 11
Yeti, an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, India and Tibet, has long been regarded as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence of its existence.

But, Russian officials at the Kemerovo region have now claimed that they have found “indisputable evidence” that yetis exist, and are even living in Siberia.

They say that an expedition to track down the Abominable Snowman in the Mount Shoria area came closer to catching one the creatures, and also found coarse hair of Yetis in a remote cave, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

During the expedition to the Azasskaya cave, indisputable proof was gathered by the expedition members that the Shoria mountains are inhabited by the Snow Man, the Kemerovo region administration has claimed.

“They (researchers) found his footprints, his supposed bed, and various markers with which the Yeti uses to denote his territory,” the administration said.

However, doubt has already been cast on the “find”-as the team has no convincing photographic or DNA evidence. Their claim appears to be based on bent branches, a single unclear footprint and a small sample of grey “hair”, found in a cave. Despite this, the local government officials professed themselves either certain or 95 per cent certain of the existence of Yeti in Mount Shoria. They stressed that the hair sample should be analysed for DNA-a process now underway, before any claims were made.

Dr Igor Burtsev, leader of an international conference on Yeti, claimed it would not be long before people everywhere would appreciate the Abominable Snowman’s existence. He claims around 30 Yetis live in the Kemerovo region, adding they are Neanderthal men who have survived.— PTI

Qadri’s death sentence stayed

Islamabad, October 11
A Pakistani court today stayed the implementation of death sentence given to the self- confessed assassin of Governor Salmaan Taseer till it decided his appeal against the verdict.

A bench of the Islamabad High Court headed by Chief Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman issued the order after it began hearing the appeal filed by Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, the police guard who gunned down Taseer outside a restaurant in Islamabad on January 4.

Qadri, who publicly confessed to killing Taseer for criticising the country’s controversial blasphemy law, was represented in the High Court by Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, a retired Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court.

Sharif contended that the anti-terrorism court which conducted Qadri’s trial did not have the power to give him the death sentence.

The HC also sought a response from the federal government to Qadri’s appeal. Several senior retired judges and dozens of members of bar associations of various cities were present in the court during today’s hearing. — PTI

Pak Governor survives bid on life

Islamabad: Pakistan’s restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province’s Governor Masood Kausar on Tuesday survived an assassination attempt as militants fired rockets at the venue of a rally to be addressed by him in a tribal area leaving at least one person dead and seven injured. Kausar had not reached the venue of the rally when the rockets were fired.

EU launches new visa system for Indians

London, October 11 
The European Union today launched a Visa Information System (VIS) for Indians and other non-EU citizens applying for a Schengen visa that will help prevent fraud, official sources said.

In a statement, the EU said that the new system will help process visa applications faster due to the use of biometrics (fingerprints and a digital facial image).It will allow for a quick and effective exchange of data on short-stay visas among Schengen countries.

Indian citizens seeking to visit the 25 countries in the Schengen area in European Union need the 'Schengen visa'. — PTI