W O R L D

Blast kills 25 in Syrian capital
Beirut, January 6 
A suicide bomber killed about 25 persons and wounded 46 in Damascus today, Syria's state news agency SANA said, in the third such attack in the Syrian capital in a month.

Syrian security officials inspect the site of a powerful explosion in the Midan neighbourhood in the heart of Damascus on Friday. — AFP

Eight NATO troops killed in Afghan blasts
Kabul, January 6
Eight NATO soldiers have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said today. Three died yesterday, another lost his life in a blast today and four more were killed in second attack later in the day.

PPP hints at early polls
The beleaguered PPP government facing surfeit of daunting political, economic and judicial challenges has hinted at early elections - for Senate in February and General Election by June.

Anuj Bidve’s parents visit spot of killing 
London, January 6 
The grief-stricken parents of Anuj Bidve today made a tearful visit to the spot where the Indian student was shot dead in an apparent hate crime, as Prime Minister David Cameron gave a personal reassurance that those behind the “horrific” crime would be brought to justice.

IRREPARABLE LOSS: Anuj’s mother Yogini Bidve at the spot where he was killed in Salford, on Friday. — Reuters

Iran to hold another naval drill near Strait of Hormuz 
Tehran, January 6 
Iran is planning new military exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to a naval commander, after threatening to close the strait and completing another set of manoeuvres.

 

 

Blast kills 25 in Syrian capital
Attack comes before Arab League meeting on monitor mission

Beirut, January 6
A suicide bomber killed about 25 persons and wounded 46 in Damascus today, Syria's state news agency SANA said, in the third such attack in the Syrian capital in a month.

The blast occurred two days before an Arab League committee was due to discuss an initial report of Arab observers who are checking Syria's compliance with an Arab plan to halt President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on unrest.

The meeting may decide whether to continue the mission or to refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council, perhaps paving the way for some form of international action, a scenario that many Arab countries are keen to avoid.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said he was sending a message with Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal asking the Syrian government to work to halt the violence.

Syrian state television earlier showed body parts, bloodstains and broken glass from the blast in the central Maidan district, along with people shouting that this was the work of "terrorists". Several riot police shields could be seen in a wrecked bus, which was among several damaged vehicles.

"Immediate information indicates that a suicide terrorist blew himself up at a traffic light in the Maidan neighbourhood," state television said. "There are dozens of dead and wounded, mostly civilians."

State television did not immediately confirm the death toll given by SANA and the semi-official Addounia television. Syria bars most independent journalists from the country, making first-hand reporting impossible.

On December 23, at least 44 persons were killed by what Syrian authorities said were two suicide bombings that targeted security buildings in the Syrian capital.

Those attacks occurred the day before the arrival in Damascus of the head of the Arab League observer mission. The League's special committee on Syria is due to meet in Cairo on Sunday to debate the initial findings of the mission, which has been criticised by Syrian activists who question its ability to assess the violence on the ground.

Elaraby, the League's secretary-general, said after meeting Meshaal in Cairo that he had given the leader of the militant Palestinian Islamist group a message for the Syrian authorities "that it is necessary to work with integrity, transparency and credibility to halt the violence that is happening in Syria".

Syria has been racked by a popular uprising against Assad in which the United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed. The government says armed "terrorists" have killed 2,000 members of the security forces during the revolt.

Arab government sources said on Thursday the League monitors would pursue their mission in Syria, despite criticism from Qatar's prime minister that they had made "mistakes".

Syria, keen to show it is respecting the Arab peace plan, said it had released another 552 people detained during the anti-Assad revolt "whose hands were not stained with blood". — Reuters

Eight NATO troops killed in Afghan blasts

Kabul, January 6
Eight NATO soldiers have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said today. Three died yesterday, another lost his life in a blast today and four more were killed in second attack later in the day.

NATO’s US-led International Security Assistance Force did not release the nationalities of the soldiers, in keeping with the policy.

Details would be released by the soldiers’ home countries, a spokesman said.

More than 560 foreign troops were killed last year in Afghanistan, where some 130,000 US-led troops are fighting an insurgency by hardline Taliban Islamists against the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.

Meanwhile, at least six children and one man were killed when a bomb planted in a garbage bin exploded today in Tirin Kot, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Uruzgan, police said. — Agencies

PPP hints at early polls
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

The beleaguered PPP government facing surfeit of daunting political, economic and judicial challenges has hinted at early elections - for Senate in February and General Election by June.

Amid looming confrontation with the Supreme Court, the ‘core committee’ of the party held two crisis meetings at the Presidency on Thursday chaired by President Asif Zardari that deliberated on response to court notices to the President on the memo scam and another warning to the Prime Minister to write letter to Swiss authorities by January 10 for reopening of money laundering cases against Zardari. The mood at the meeting was defiant with determination to protect the President from judicial assault.

It was decided that no letter would be sent to Swiss authorities because on plea that the President enjoys immunity from any court proceedings. The committee further resolved that the President does not have to directly respond to notice on memo scam. The affidavit filed on behalf of the federation was sufficient to answer court’s queries.

PPP vice-president Babar Awan later told newsmen that ruling party would stick to its previous stance that no case can be tried against the sitting President.”

And amid speculations that the coalition government may be wrapped up or face a ‘big blow’ from the court or the military before Senate elections scheduled for March 11, the PPP leadership decided to diffuse the situation by undertaking some political initiatives. Senior minister Khurshid Shah later told the media that Senate elections might be held next month instead of the scheduled date of March 11 while General Election could be held by June.

Both moves would benefit the party. It apprehends some kind of intervention by the establishment prior to the Senate polls in which the PPP expects to come close to simple majority in the Upper House. 

Anuj Bidve’s parents visit spot of killing 

London, January 6
The grief-stricken parents of Anuj Bidve today made a tearful visit to the spot where the Indian student was shot dead in an apparent hate crime, as Prime Minister David Cameron gave a personal reassurance that those behind the “horrific” crime would be brought to justice.

Shattered by what they called was an incomprehensible loss, the parents said the visit was an “exceedingly difficult” one to make, but they had chosen to come to Salford to witness first hand the place where their son breathed his last so as to keep his memories alive all their life.

The distraught parents are set to return with Anuj’s body to their home town Pune where a funeral will be held, possibly tomorrow evening.

“There are no words, the world is finished for us, this is what I can say,” a sorrowful Subhash Bidve, the father of the 23-year-old, told reporters in Salford, as his wife Yogini stood with him, silently wiping off her tears.

Commenting for the first time on the incident that has grabbed media headlines here as well as in India, Cameron rued that Bidve’s life had been “cruelly and brutally ended” and offered “huge sympathy” to the visiting parents on behalf of his country.

“An absolutely horrific act has taken their son away from them, and it is absolutely essential the Greater Manchester Police do everything they can to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure the person is rightly brought to justice and there is a very tough punishment.It’s unacceptable to have this sort of crime going on in our country,” he said. — PTI

Iran to hold another naval drill near Strait of Hormuz 

Tehran, January 6
Iran is planning new military exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to a naval commander, after threatening to close the strait and completing another set of manoeuvres.

One sixth of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's threat to close the passage if the West imposes sanctions on its own oil exports unsettled an already nervous world oil market.

The semiofficial Fars news agency late Thursday quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's naval commander, Adm. Ali Fadavi, as saying that the upcoming exercise would be the seventh staging of an annual drill called "The Great Prophet." Fadavi said the next round of war games would be "different" from previous ones.

The admiral said the drill would take place in the Iranian month of Bahman, which roughly corresponds to February. The Guards, Iran's most powerful military force, have the same air, naval and ground branches as the regular military. They are also in charge of Iran's missile programme. Iran's navy ended a 10-day drill Tuesday in the waters off the strait.

Military officers said the purpose was to show off Iran's prowess and defence capabilities. The drill, including widely publicised missile tests, was carried out as international criticism mounts over Tehran's nuclear program. — AP