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British spies helped capture Gaddafi’s son
Saif: Report
World powers urge for Saif’s fair trial |
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Gaddafi’s son to be tried at home
Day after capture, Saif held in militia stronghold of Zintan
Arab League rebuffs Syrian bid to amend monitor plan
Syrian women join a rally to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. — AFP
Afghans protest long-term pact with America
Lankan panel submits report on LTTE war
Now, $1 shoe to hit Indian markets THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF MUMBAI ATTACKS Singapore describes Nehru as friend, visionary
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British spies helped capture Gaddafi’s son Saif: Report London, November 20 Saif had been hiding out in the Libyan desert for a month but the breakthrough came when he made two calls, one after the other, to say he was safe. It allowed the joint British and French bugging operation to pinpoint where he was, the newspaper said. MI6 agents using the bugging equipment closed in on him before calling in the Libyan snatch squad, it claimed. A British security source said: “He made a mistake and we were waiting for him. When someone drops out of sight they cannot resist the urge to ring someone and say they are OK. We knew what kit he had and all the phones he had. “Saif was targeted by us but it was vital the Libyans were the ones to capture him. He was the right-hand man, a key member of his father’s murderous regime.” The London-educated playboy and his two aides were arrested by National Transitional Council fighters in Libyan desert while they were trying to flee to neighbouring Niger where one of his brothers has been granted asylum. Saif is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity but the Libyans want to try him in their country for alleged crimes. — PTI
World powers urge for Saif’s fair trial Tripoli, November 20 Russia’s special representative for Africa, Mikhail Margelov, clearly articulated the concerns of the international community. “We are happy that this time the new authorities in Libya did not resort to summary justice for Saif al-Islam,” he said after Saif was shown alive following his capture. Britain, France and the United States all called on Libya’s new rulers to cooperate fully with the ICC. The ICC issued warrants on June 27 against Saif as well as his father and Abdullah al-Senussi, the late dictator’s intelligence chief, on charges of crimes against humanity in crushing anti-regime protests. — AFP |
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Day after capture, Saif held in militia stronghold of Zintan
Zintan/Tripoli, November 20 With rival local militia commanders from across the country trying to parlay their guns into cabinet seats, officials in the capital gave mixed signals on how long the prime minister-designate, Abdurrahim El-Keib, may need to form his full team. And though the Zintan mountain fighters who intercepted the 39-year-old heir to the four-decade Gaddafi dynasty deep in the Sahara said they would hand him over once some central authority was clear, few expect Saif al-Islam in Tripoli soon. One senior member of the outgoing interim executive told Reuters he expected Keib to announce his line-up by Monday, ahead of a Tuesday deadline determined by a timetable that started with the killing of Muammar Gaddafi a month ago. Members of the National Transitional Council (NTC), the self-appointed legislative panel of notables formed after February's uprising began, expect to vote on Keib's nominees, with keenest attention among the men who control the array of militias on the streets focused on the defence ministry. One official working for the NTC said that the group from Zintan, a town of just 50,000 in the Western Mountains outside Tripoli that was a stronghold of resistance to Gaddafi, might even secure that ministry thanks to holding Saif al-Islam. Other groups include rival Islamist and secularist militias in the capital, those from Benghazi, Libya's second city and the original seat of revolt, and the fighters from the third city of Misrata, who took credit for capturing and killing the elder Gaddafi and haggled with the NTC over the fate of his rotting corpse for several days in October. Western leaders, who backed February's uprising against Gaddafi but looked on squeamishly as rebel fighters filmed themselves taking vengeance on the fallen strongman a month ago, urged Keib to seek foreign help to ensure a fair trial. Keib, who taught engineering at U.S. universities before returning to Libya to join the rebellion, drove on Saturday the two hours from Tripoli to Zintan to pay homage to its fighters. He promised justice would be done but Saif al-Islam would not be handed over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which had indicted him for crimes against humanity. The justice minister from the outgoing executive said the younger Gaddafi was likely to face the death penalty, though the chargesheet, expected to include ordering killings as well as looting the public purse, would be drawn up by the state prosecutor after due investigation. — Reuters
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Gaddafi’s son to be tried at home
Zintan: The Libyan information minister says Muammar Gaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent will be tried at home and will not be handed over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Mahmoud Shammam says Libya’s National Transitional Council will discuss its decision with the ICC’s chief prosecutor when he visits Libya on Monday. But Shammam told The Associated Press on Sunday that it would only be fair for Libyans to try Saif at home where he “committed crimes against the Libyan people.” — AP
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Arab League rebuffs Syrian bid to amend monitor plan
Amman, November 20 Confronted since March by street demonstrations against 41 years of rule by his family, Assad said he had no choice but to pursue his crackdown on unrest because his foes were armed. “The conflict will continue and the pressure to subjugate Syria will continue. Syria will not bow down,” he told Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper. Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby rejected Syria’s approach about altering a plan for the fact-finding mission, which would include military personnel and human rights experts, in a letter to Syria’s foreign minister. “The additions requested by the Syrian counterpart affect the heart of the protocol and fundamentally change the nature of the mission,” said the letter, released by the Arab League. The Cairo-based League had given Damascus three days from a meeting on November 16 to abide by a deal to withdraw military forces from restive cities, start talks between the government and opposition and pave the way for an observer team. It was not immediately clear what action the Arab League would take after the deadline passed unheeded by Damascus. The pan-Arab body had threatened sanctions for non-compliance, and it suspended Syria’s membership in a surprise move last week. “Although the time frame has ended, there have been no meetings or calls for meetings except at the level of delegations (to the League),” a representative of one Arab state at the League told Reuters. In a statement, the League said it remained committed to a peaceful, Arab-engineered solution to the Syrian upheaval, touched off by other Arab popular revolts that have overthrown the autocratic leaders of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya this year. Syrian authorities blame the violence on foreign-backed armed groups which they say have killed some 1,100 soldiers and the police. By a United Nations account, some 3,500 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the unrest. Assad, speaking after his forces killed 17 more protesters on Saturday, signalled no retreat from his iron fist policy. “The only way is to search for the armed people, chase the armed gangs, prevent the entry of arms and weapons from neighbouring countries, prevent sabotage and enforce law and order,” he said in video footage on the Sunday Times website. Assad said there would be elections in February or March when Syrians would vote for a parliament to create a new constitution and that would include provision for a presidential ballot. The Syrian Free Army, comprising army defectors and based in neighbouring Turkey, claimed responsibility for the attack on the Baath Party building in Damascus. — Reuters
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Afghans protest long-term pact with America
Kabul, November 20 An assembly of more than 2,000 tribal elders and dignitaries known as a loya jirga over the weekend endorsed negotiating a security pact with Washington, though they also backed a series of conditions proposed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai including the end of night raids by international troops and complete Afghan control over detainees. Today, the protesters in Jalalabad city denounced any agreement that would keep US troops in the country, blocking the road to Kabul. Both the resolution and the protests reflect the tension in Afghanistan between a desire for real sovereignty and the need to bolster the relatively weak government against a still-strong Taliban insurgency. The idea of the proposed security agreement is to keep a US military presence in Afghanistan past 2014, when most international forces are to have left. Afghan and US officials envision a force of several thousand US troops, who would train Afghan forces and help with counter terrorism operations. — AP
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2 killed in Egypt street clashes
Cairo, November 20 In scenes reminiscent of the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak from three decades of power in February, hundreds of youths chanted “The people want to topple the regime” in central Cairo on Saturday as they rushed towards the riot police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Witnesses said the clashes appeared to have subsided early on Sunday. During Saturday’s clashes, protesters broke chunks of cement from pavements and hurled them at police, who lost control of Cairo’s landmark Tahrir Square twice in the day. A blaze broke out around midnight at the huge Mogamma state administration building overlooking Tahrir. As the police fired round after round of tear gas at protesters near the interior ministry, closer to Tahrir demonstrators laid sheets of metal to block roads into the square. “I tell you do not leave the square. This square will lead the way from now on,” presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a hardline Islamist, told a group of protesters early on Sunday. “Tomorrow the whole of Egypt will follow your lead.” State news agency MENA quoted the health ministry’s spokesman as saying 676 people had been hurt in Cairo and that Ahmed Mahmoud, a 23-year-old demonstrator, died in hospital. MENA reported another death in Egypt’s second city Alexandria. Staggered voting is due to begin on November 28 but could be disrupted if violence spreads. The vote is being overshadowed by a row between political parties and the government over ground rules for a draft constitution that could leave the army free of civilian control. The army won popular backing during Mubarak’s overthrow for maintaining order and pledging to hand power to an elected government, but support has ebbed over its use of military trials for civilians and suspicion that it wants to continue to wield the levers of power after a new government is sworn in. About 5,000 protesters had converged on Tahrir on Saturday afternoon when police tried to evict the remnants of a 50,000-strong demonstration a day earlier, mostly by Islamists demanding the departure of the military. Buildings and two cars in the square were set on fire, witnesses said. A third vehicle close to the Arab League’s headquarters was also burned. The police beat the protesters, most of whom were not Islamists, with batons and fired tear gas to regain control of Tahrir, only to retreat after night fell. — Reuters
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Lankan panel submits report on LTTE war Colombo, November 20 President Mahinda Rajapaksa was presented with the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), here this evening, said the President’s office. The report was handed over by panel chairman, CR de Silva in the presence of the other members. There was no immediate word about the contents of the much awaited report and the decision to make it public rests with the President, but media reports ahead of its release suggested that the panel might have listed evidence against some. The Sunday Times said the LLRC had noted evidence that warrants a new probe. “Information points to prima facie evidence but no names named,” the paper said. Ceylon Today, the Sunday paper in its inaugural edition, said that several soldiers and a few senior military officers are likely to be taken to task by the report. “(The report) is likely to come up with a recommendation to prosecute a number of soldiers for exceeding the right of defence,” Ceylon Today said. The Sunday Times also said the LLRC had rubbished the British TV channel 4 documentaries showing war crimes by military as a “total fabrication”. The Sri Lankan government has often come under attack from Western nations and rights groups that have demanded an independent international probe into the war crimes committed during the last phase of the war against the LTTE. The government had set up the reconciliation commission to counter such attacks. —
PTI
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Now, $1 shoe to hit Indian markets
Berlin, November 19 He told the Sunday newspaper Die Welt am Sonntag that unlike in Bangladesh mass production would be possible to supply the growing Indian market. “The shoe will be sold in villages through a distribution network,” Hainer said, adding that “We want the product to be self-funding." He gave no indication of when or where it would be launched. Adidas had announced plans to sell a one-dollar shoe in Bangladesh last year, but Hainer said it had not worked as expected. "We sold 5,000 pairs during a test phase but we made only losses," he said. "The shoes cost us three dollars to make and we had to pay $ 3.50 in import duty." Earlier this month, Adidas said it was raising its full-year earnings targets after a stronger-than-expected third quarter and first nine months. It was now pencilling in sales growth of close to 12 per cent instead of 10 per cent previously, while earnings per share were projected to rise by nearly 16 per cent. — AFP
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THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF MUMBAI ATTACKS Islamabad, November 20 Malik said almost all legal formalities had been completed for sending a judicial commission to India but Pakistan was waiting for India's reply to a query about the venue for holding proceedings of the judicial commission. "The commission will be sent to India within a week of receiving the awaited letter (from India)," he said yesterday. Malik had earlier said it was necessary for the commission to visit India and interview a magistrate and police officers involved in the investigation of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by Pakistan-based LeT terror outfit. He said the testimony of the Indian officials is needed to proceed with the prosecution of seven Pakistani suspects charged with involvement in the 26/11 attacks that claimed 166 lives. The commission is expected to record the statements of Mumbai Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate RV Sawant Waghule and investigating officer Ramesh Mahale, who had recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, convicted of the terror attack. Islamabad has contended that the charges against seven LeT militants, including its 'operation commander' Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who are currently lodged in a Pakistani jail, were based on Kasab's statement and hence the magistrate and the investigating officer's statements were necessary to furnish before the anti-terror court. —
Agencies
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Singapore describes Nehru as friend, visionary Singapore, Novembers 20 With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiling a bronze bust of Nehru at the Asian Civilization Museum green on the picturesque banks of the Singapore River Sunday along with Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, it was further affirmation of a historic connect that also includes Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who spent some years here. The bust has a marker with a flower and Nehru’s signature. The event was to take place in the open but was moved inside following sudden rains. Singapore’s National Heritage Board has also marked the site of the INA Memorial, the foundation stone of which was laid by Bose in July 1945 and subsequently destroyed by Lord Louis Mountbatten who was then the head of the Southeast Asia Command. In 1995, that spot at what is now the Esplanade Park was restored by the Heritage Board. Not too far away from that is where Nehru’s bust, sculpted by India’s Biman Bihari Das, and marker, now stands. “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a visionary leader in Asia and the world,” Goh said, recalling that New Delhi had honoured him with the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding seven years ago. “In my acceptance speech, I paid tribute to Panditji’s contribution to the birth of an independent and modern Asia. The unveiling of Nehru’s bust today is an extension of that tribute.” “It also underscores the close relations between India and Singapore, a relationship that Nehru had put in place,” he added. Manmohan Singh at the unveiling of the bust said, “Jawaharlal Nehru was prescient when he said in 1946 that Singapore will become the city where Asian unity would be forged. We are witnessing such unity being forged.” “In honouring Pandit Nehru today, you honoured India and all the values that India stands for-secularism, democracy, freedom and the rule of law. These are the values that would continue to unite our two nations today,” he said. — IANS
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Amman, November 20
Singapore, Novembers 20
