W O R L D

Wall Street protesters ousted from NY park
New York, November 15
The police wearing helmets and carrying shields evicted protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement early today from the park in New York City's financial district where they have camped since September, dismantling their tent city and arresting about 70 people.

Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement clash with the police after being removed from Zuccotti Park in New York on Tuesday. — Reuters

Swiss police evicts anti-bank protesters
Zurich, November 15
The Swiss police today evicted anti-banker protesters from the Lindenhof, an ancient square in one of the oldest parts of Zurich, just hours after a similar move by police in New York against an anti-Wall Street demonstration.

Big catch

An official shows smuggled rhino horns in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The Customs Department seized 33 unmanifested rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets, worth about $2.23 million, inside a container shipped to Hong Kong from Cape Town. — AP/PTI

Assad loyalists tear down Jordan embassy flag
Amman, November 15
More than 100 demonstrators stormed the Jordanian embassy in Damascus and tore down the flag in protest at King Abdullah II’s call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go, Jordanian newspapers said today.

Pak lawmakers condemn killing of Hindu doctors
Islamabad, November 15
Pakistani parliamentarians from the opposition and treasury benches today condemned the recent murder of three Hindu doctors in Sindh and demanded that the incident should be probed by a parliamentary or judicial commission.

Four Pak-trained terror suspects held in UK
London, November 15
In a major counter-terrorism swoop, the British police today arrested four young men, suspected of fund-raising and travelling to Pakistan to undergo terrorist training for conducting a suicide bombing campaign in the UK.

ULFA boss Barua indicted in B’desh arms haul case
Dhaka, November 15
A Bangladeshi court today indicted ULFA chief Paresh Barua and 10 others, including two former ministers in the country's biggest ever weapons smuggling case when 10-truck loads of arms for the banned Indian separatist group were seized.

Wall Street protesters ousted from NY park
Protest encampment deemed a ‘health and safety hazard’

New York, November 15
The police wearing helmets and carrying shields evicted protesters with the Occupy Wall Street movement early today from the park in New York City's financial district where they have camped since September, dismantling their tent city and arresting about 70 people.

Authorities declared that the continued occupation of Zuccotti Park, which had become a sea of tents, tarps and protest signs with hundreds of demonstrators sleeping there, posed a health and safety threat.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said that about 70 protesters were arrested in the park during the operation for defying orders to leave and several more were arrested nearby, although most left voluntarily.

About a dozen protesters had chained themselves together and another two had chained themselves to trees before being cut loose and removed, Browne added.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the move to evict the protesters and tear down their tent city. "Unfortunately, the park was becoming a place where people came not to protest, but rather to break laws, and in some cases, to harm others. There have been reports of businesses being threatened and complaints about noise and unsanitary conditions that have seriously impacted the quality of life for residents and businesses in this now-thriving neighborhood," Bloomberg said in a statement.

The protesters had set up camp in Zuccotti Park on September 17 to protest a financial system they say mostly benefits corporations and the wealthy. Their movement has inspired similar protests against economic inequality in other cities, and in some cases has led to violent clashes with the police. — Reuters

The Movement

• The protesters had set up camp in Zuccotti Park, the epicentre of the Occupy Wall Street movement, to protest a financial system they say mostly benefits corporations and the wealthy.
• Their movement has inspired similar protests against economic inequality in other cities, and in some cases has led to violent clashes with the police.
• As the clampdown started, protesters were giving minute by minute update on the Occupy Wall Street website
• Protesters vow that the eviction from the park will not deter them and several hundred congregated at another lower Manhattan square.

Swiss police evicts anti-bank protesters

A riot police officer walks amongst tents as they remove members of the Occupy Paradeplatz movement in Zurich on Monday. — Reuters

Zurich, November 15
The Swiss police today evicted anti-banker protesters from the Lindenhof, an ancient square in one of the oldest parts of Zurich, just hours after a similar move by police in New York against an anti-Wall Street demonstration.

The 50 or so protesters were given 20 minutes to leave the area where they first pitched tents a month ago, the Zurich police said in a statement, adding 31 demonstrators were detained after peacefully resisting the order to move on.

Demonstrators had initially gathered in Zurich’s Paradeplatz, the main square in Switzerland’s financial center before moving to the Lindenhof. “The town council already cleared Paradeplatz on October 17 so the bankers didn’t have to engage in dialogue but were freed to pursue their exploitative schemes. Now the protest is being completely suffocated,” Juso, the youth faction of the Socialist Party, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The police in New York early on Tuesday started to move protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement out of the Zuccotti Park, a park in New York City’s financial district where they have camped since September. — Reuters

Assad loyalists tear down Jordan embassy flag

Amman, November 15
More than 100 demonstrators stormed the Jordanian embassy in Damascus and tore down the flag in protest at King Abdullah II’s call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go, Jordanian newspapers said today.

It was the fourth such protest against embassies of regional powers by angry Assad loyalists since the Arab League voted on Saturday to suspend Syria and impose sanctions against the regime over its bloody eight-month crackdown on peaceful protesters.

“Nearly 120 people protested in front of the Jordanian embassy in Damascus on Monday evening and two of them managed to break into the outside courtyard of the embassy and tear down the Jordanian flag,” Ambassador Omar al-Amad said.

“Syrian security forces did not intervene to prevent the incursion into the embassy compound by these two individuals,” the ambassador added.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II yesterday became the first Arab leader to openly call for Assad to step down, two days after the Arab League took the rare move of suspending Syrian membership. — AFP

Gulf council rejects Arab summit on Syria

DUBAI: The Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday rejected Syria’s call to hold an emergency Arab summit, making it very unlikely the Arab League would agree to hold the meeting.

Pak lawmakers condemn killing of Hindu doctors

Islamabad, November 15
Pakistani parliamentarians from the opposition and treasury benches today condemned the recent murder of three Hindu doctors in Sindh and demanded that the incident should be probed by a parliamentary or judicial commission.

The National Assembly or lower house of parliament observed a minute’s silence to express solidarity with families of the victims.

Reacting to the demands of the lawmakers, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said all those involved in the killings would be arrested soon.

Eleven persons accused of involvement in the murder of the three brothers in Shikarpur district of Sindh had already been apprehended while other suspects named by relatives of the victims would be arrested soon, Malik said.

Speaking on a point of order, PML-Q lawmaker Kishan Chand Parvani demanded the setting up of a parliamentary committee to probe the reasons behind the murders. — PTI

Four Pak-trained terror suspects held in UK

London, November 15
In a major counter-terrorism swoop, the British police today arrested four young men, suspected of fund-raising and travelling to Pakistan to undergo terrorist training for conducting a suicide bombing campaign in the UK.

The arrests followed pre-planned raids on their addresses early today in the Sparkhill area of central English city of Birmingham. The suspects — three aged 19 and one aged 24 — are suspected of fund-raising in the UK and travelling to train for terrorist purposes in Pakistan.

"Today's arrests were pre-planned and not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety. Officers were unarmed," said a statement from West Midlands Police. The nationalities of the arrested persons were not divulged.

Eight others have already been charged in connection with the investigation, known as Operation Pitsford, the BBC reported. Seven of those are currently on remand after appearing in court. Three men were charged with "planning a bombing campaign" and "stating an intention to be a suicide bomber".

Other charges the suspects faced included collecting money for terrorism, travelling to Pakistan for training in bomb making and making a "martyrdom" film.

Detectives have an initial 48 hours to question the four men arrested. Officers must then either charge them, release them, or apply for a warrant to question them further. — PTI

ULFA boss Barua indicted in B’desh arms haul case