W O R L D

Egypt’s Tahrir Square on the boil again
Cairo, November 21
At least 35 persons have been killed in a fresh wave of clashes in Egypt's iconic Tahrir Square that has cast a shadow on the November 28 elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's downfall.

Protesters brave tear gas fired by riot police at Cairo’s Tahrir Square. — Reuters

US ex-NSA says he gave Zardari memo to Mullen 
Islamabad, November 21
Former US National Security Adviser (NSA) James Jones has said that he was the intermediary who delivered to former military chief Admiral Mike Mullen a secret memorandum that businessman Mansoor Ijaz purportedly drafted on behalf of the Pakistan government.

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Khmer Rouge leaders go on trial in Cambodia 
Phnom Penh, November 21
Three top Khmer Rouge leaders, who are accused of “brutality that defies belief” during a reign of terror that left up to two million dead, went on trial for genocide at a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia today.

(From left): Former Khmer Rouge second-in-command Nuon Chea, former President Khieu Samphan and former foreign minister Ieng Sary attend their trial. — Reuters

Egypt’s Tahrir Square on the boil again
35 killed in 3 days; protesters demand end of military rule

Cairo, November 21
At least 35 persons have been killed in a fresh wave of clashes in Egypt's iconic Tahrir Square that has cast a shadow on the November 28 elections, the first since Hosni Mubarak's downfall.

Police and military forces today used batons, tear gas and birdshot to clear the central square of thousands of protesters demanding that the ruling military cede power to a civilian authority.

The state TV showed images of the square, the symbolic heart of protests that toppled Mubarak in February, with tear gas canisters smoking.

However, earlier in the day, a state TV station had reported a truce between the security forces and the protesters on Tahrir, mediated by Shaykh Mazhar Shahin, the Imam of Umar Makram mosque situated in the square.

The agreement stipulated the protesters to remain in the square and the security personnel around the ministry of interior with the army in a neutral zone.

The morning truce was announced after several people were killed yesterday, kicking off a violent countdown to the country's first elections since the end of Mubarak's 30-year-rule. Overnight clashes left several dead and 1,700 injured in Tahrir square.

It was the second day of violence in the Egyptian capital, following a peaceful anti-military mass rally on Friday. Egypt's cabinet said in a statement that parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28 would go ahead. — PTI 

US ex-NSA says he gave Zardari memo to Mullen 

Islamabad, November 21
Former US National Security Adviser (NSA) James Jones has said that he was the intermediary who delivered to former military chief Admiral Mike Mullen a secret memorandum that businessman Mansoor Ijaz purportedly drafted on behalf of the Pakistan government.

Jones confirmed to the Pakistani media that he received the memo from the Pakistani-American businessman and delivered it to Mullen in May.

Ijaz has claimed that he drafted the memo on the instructions of Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani, a charge denied by the envoy.

However, Jones said he was neither a serving US government official or associated with the Obama administration in any way when he delivered the memo to Mullen.

“I was not in government when I forwarded the message to Admiral Mullen on May 10,” Jones, who was the NSA of President Barack Obama from January 2009 to October 2010, said in an email sent to some Pakistani journalists.

Jones further said he had confirmed his role as the intermediary to The Financial Times four days ago. — PTI

Haqqani denies links to memo

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani has stuck to his stance that he had nothing to do with the controversial secret memorandum sent to former US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen to prevent a possible military coup, according to a media report on Monday. Haqqani conveyed his position to President Asif Ali Zardari during two informal meetings held at the presidency on Monday. 

14 Pak securitymen killed in clash

Islamabad, November 21
At least 14 Pakistani security personnel, including an army major, were killed and 16 more injured in a clash with separatist rebels of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in the restive southwestern Balochistan province, officials said today.

The clash occurred in the mountainous Chamalang area, 400 km from provincial capital Quetta, where security personnel are frequently attacked by armed groups. — PTI 

Khmer Rouge leaders go on trial in Cambodia 

Phnom Penh, November 21
Three top Khmer Rouge leaders, who are accused of “brutality that defies belief” during a reign of terror that left up to two million dead, went on trial for genocide at a UN-backed tribunal in Cambodia today.

More than three decades after the “Killing Fields” era, hundreds of Cambodians packed into a Phnom Penh courtroom to hear the opening statements, seen as a key moment in the still-traumatised nation’s quest for justice.

Defendants “Brother Number Two” Nuon Chea, ex-head of state Khieu Samphan and former foreign minister Ieng Sary have denied charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The regime’s most senior surviving members appeared to listen intently to the accusations made against them relating to the communist movement’s 1975-1979 rule.

“The Communist Party of Kampuchea turned Cambodia into a massive slave camp, reducing an entire nation into prisoners living under a system of brutality that defies belief to the present day,” said Cambodian co-prosecutor Chea Leang in her opening address.

Regime survivors, monks, students and former cadres were among those who filled the public gallery, while parts of the long-awaited proceedings were broadcast live on TV.

Missing from the session was the fourth accused Ieng Thirith, the regime’s “First Lady” and the only female leader to be charged by the court, after she was ruled unfit for trial last week because she has dementia.

Judges have ordered her release, but she remains locked up while an appeal by the prosecution is considered, which is expected to take two weeks. — AFP

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Islamabad
Determined to return to Pak on March 23, says Musharraf: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said he is determined to return to Pakistan on March 23 next year, ending a self-imposed exile that began over two years ago. Addressing a gathering of thousands of supporters at Hyderabad in Sindh province on phone, Musharraf reiterated his plan to return to the country by March 23. The former military ruler left Pakistan in April 2009 after a number of civil and criminal cases were filed against him. — PTI

New York
Al-Qaida sympathiser held in US: A 27-year-old Al-Qaida sympathiser described as a “lone wolf” was arrested here on charges of plotting to attack police and soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with pipe bombs, US officials said today. The suspect, identified as Jose Pimentel, was charged with three terrorism-related counts and two other counts, according to court documents. Beyond soldiers, his intended targets were allegedly police officers and post offices. — PTI

YANGON
Suu Kyi to run for parliamentary seat: Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will run in a parliamentary byelection expected by the end of the year, a top party official said on Monday, giving legitimacy to moves towards democracy after decades of military rule. It will be the first time the Nobel Peace Prize laureate contests a seat herself, having not stood as a candidate in her National League for Democracy's 1990 election landslide, which was ignored by the then military regime and led to her lengthy incarceration. — Reuters

Dera Ismail Khan
Pak Taliban, govt hold initial talks: Government intermediaries have held talks with the Pakistani Taliban in recent months exploring ways to jump-start peace negotiations, intelligence officials and a senior militant commander said. A peace deal between the authorities and the Pakistani Taliban could represent the best hope of ending years of fighting. But it is unclear whether the preliminary talks will gain traction or if the Pakistani Taliban are unified enough to actually strike a deal. It is also uncertain whether a deal could last. — PTI

MADRID
Centre-right roars to victory in Spain: Spain's centre-right opposition stormed to a crushing election victory on Sunday as voters punished the outgoing Socialist government for the worst economic crisis in generations. The People's Party, led by former Interior Minister Mariano Rajoy, won an absolute majority in parliament and is expected to push through drastic measures to try to prevent Spain being sucked deeper into a debt storm threatening the whole euro zone. — Reuters