W O R L D

UK Defence Secy quits over ‘adviser’ scandal
London, October 14
British Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigned today amid a furore over his friendship with a businessman with defence interests, dealing a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron's government and casting doubts on efforts to reform the military.

British Defence Secretary Liam Fox’s former flatmate and best man at his wedding, Adam Werritty (inset), had no security clearance nor government role, but met Fox at least 40 times in the last 18 months at the defence ministry and abroad

Major terror strike ‘foiled’ in Pak
Islamabad, October 14
Pakistan has uncovered a major terror plot aimed at targeting key buildings in the heart of Islamabad with rockets and missiles and storming Parliament and taking MPs hostage in a commando-style attack involving suicide bombers and snipers, a media report claimed today.

28 feared dead in air crash 
Port Moresby, October 14
Twenty-eight persons are feared dead after a passenger aircraft crashed in the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea yesterday, with only four survivors reportedly pulled from the wreckage, local aviation and embassy officials said.

FLIER GROUNDED: Locals gather at the crash site of an Airlines PNG Dash 8 plane near Madang in Papua New Guinea on Friday. — AFP

Big quake strikes Papua New Guinea
Sydney, October 14
The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea was jolted by a 6.7-magnitude earthquake today, but no tsunami warning was issued. Geoscience Australia, which measured the quake at 6.5 magnitude, said it was so close to the coast it was unable to say whether the epicentre was under sea or land.

UK Defence Secy quits over ‘adviser’ scandal

London, October 14
British Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigned today amid a furore over his friendship with a businessman with defence interests, dealing a blow to Prime Minister David Cameron's government and casting doubts on efforts to reform the military.

The British media have in the last week been awash with stories about the nature of the relationship between Fox and his former flatmate and best man at his wedding, Adam Werritty, who met frequently with Fox and falsely claimed to be his adviser.

Cameron had given Fox, 50, his support pending the findings of an inquiry, due within days, into whether he had broken ministerial rules by allowing Werritty to benefit from their friendship or have access to classified information. "I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred," Fox said in a resignation letter to Cameron. "The consequences of this have become clearer in recent days. I am very sorry for this."

Cameron said he was "very sorry" to see Fox go, and praised the "superb job" he had done. "You have overseen fundamental changes in the Ministry of Defence and in our Armed Forces, which will ensure that they are fully equipped to meet the challenges of the modern era," Cameron said in a letter to Fox.

"On Libya, you played a key role in the campaign to stop people being massacred by the Gaddafi regime and instead win their freedom."

Werritty had no security clearance nor government role, but met Fox at least 40 times in the last 18 months at the defence ministry and abroad, where Werritty joined Fox's meetings with officials, dignitaries and at least one businessman.

Fox's role is particularly sensitive given Britain's role in Afghanistan, where there are some 10,000 British troops, and in Libya, where British fighter jets have been key in a NATO campaign to protect civilians.

Fox was also in charge of billions of pounds of military spending, and last year launched an ambitious and controversial plan to overhaul the military to fix a 38 billion pound ($60 billion) "black hole" of unfunded defence spending.

Fox had initially dismissed claims of impropriety regarding his relationship with Werritty as "utterly baseless" and "wild allegations", but later went on to apologise for allowing "distinctions to be blurred". — Reuters

Major terror strike ‘foiled’ in Pak

Islamabad, October 14
Pakistan has uncovered a major terror plot aimed at targeting key buildings in the heart of Islamabad with rockets and missiles and storming Parliament and taking MPs hostage in a commando-style attack involving suicide bombers and snipers, a media report claimed today.

A group of terrorists planned to target several buildings in Islamabad’s heavily guarded Red Zone, including Parliament, Presidency, Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the diplomatic enclave, as well as the ISI’s headquarters.

Following simultaneous missile and rocket attacks on these buildings, the terrorists planned to use suicide bombers and snipers for a commando-style attack to storm Parliament and take lawmakers hostage, ‘The News’ daily quoted an investigation report as saying.

The terrorists had planned to fire a barrage of missiles, rockets and mortars from Bani Gala, a forested area located a few kilometres from the Red Zone. The plot was uncovered after police raided a house in Chatta Bakhtawar on the outskirts of Islamabad last Saturday and seized a cache of rockets, artillery shells, grenades, assault rifles and ammunition. Five of the 14 terrorists involved in the plot have been arrested, the report said.

The investigation report prepared by Islamabad Police has been submitted to the President, Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

The newspaper report came a day after Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed authorities had foiled a major terrorist plot to target a high-security zone here, as police seized two vehicles carrying caches of arms and explosives. Malik said the plot was uncovered after police seized a large quantity of weapons during a raid on a home in Chatta Bakhtawar suburb of Islamabad over the weekend. — PTI

Bhutan’s Royal Couple ‘walks’ to the capital

Bhutanese students cheer as they wait to welcome King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Queen Jetsun Pema in Thimphu on Friday. — AFP

Thimphu, October 14
Bhutan's newly married Royal Couple waded through a sea of people during their 13-hour journey today from the ancient city of Punakha to capital Thimphu, covering most of the 71 km distance by foot, as thousands lined up along the road to give them a rousing reception.

The 31-year-old Oxford-educated Wangchuck and his Queen Pema, who did her higher secondary schooling in Himachal Pradesh's Sanawar, skipped their lunch as they accepted greetings, congratulatory messages and simple gifts from people all along their journey that began as early as 7.30 am.

The Royal Couple got down from their car almost every five minutes, walked along with commoners, patiently signed autographs and even let them plant a kiss on their cheeks as people waited for hours together braving cold conditions to get a glimpse of the newly-wed couple.

The 71-km distance, which usually takes three hours by car, took 13 hours for the Royal Convoy to reach the capital as over 25,000 people queued across this picturesque city alone to welcome the Royal Couple to the capital.

The couple was scheduled to arrive here by 2 pm, but it was 8 pm when they reached the Druk Shopping Complex in the centre of the city. — PTI

Berlusconi wins confidence vote

Rome, October 14
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a crucial confidence vote in Parliament today with a comfortable majority that is, however, unlikely to reassure markets or end growing calls for him to resign.

The ruling Centre-Right coalition won with 316 votes in favour and 301 against, following a series of rows within the government as well as growing criticism over Berlusconi’s handling of the economy at a volatile time on financial markets.

The Centre-Left “has behaved ignominiously in front of Italians and I hope Italians take this absolutely negative behaviour into account,” Berlusconi said. He stressed that the coalition needed a simple majority and not an absolute majority in order to win the confidence of Parliament. — AFP 

28 feared dead in air crash 

Port Moresby, October 14
Twenty-eight persons are feared dead after a passenger aircraft crashed in the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea yesterday, with only four survivors reportedly pulled from the wreckage, local aviation and embassy officials said.

The Airlines PNG Dash 8 with 32 passengers and crew on board was en route from Lae to the resort town of Madang in PNG's north when it crashed in bad weather around 20 km southeast of its destination, Sid O'Toole, from the PNG Accident Investigation Commission, told Australian radio.

The survivors include an Australian pilot and a New Zealand pilot, according to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Australian officials are planning to travel to Madang. Australian Broadcasting Corp television cited Madang residents as saying there was a violent storm in the area at the time of the crash. — Agencies 

Big quake strikes Papua New Guinea

Sydney, October 14
The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea was jolted by a 6.7-magnitude earthquake today, but no tsunami warning was issued. Geoscience Australia, which measured the quake at 6.5 magnitude, said it was so close to the coast it was unable to say whether the epicentre was under sea or land.

“People very close to it would have got a very, very strong shake, and there’s a possibility of damage there right in that vicinity,” a seismologist said. Papua New Guinea, mired in poverty despite rich mineral deposits, sits on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates. — AFP