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Assad sets Feb 26 date to hold referendum on new constitution
Honduras prison fire kills 357
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Nasheed rejects police summons
Prosecutors seek 5-yr term for Berlusconi
18 lakh dead people ‘listed’ as active voters in US
Sticky bomb common to Delhi, Bangkok blasts
Committed to operationalise MFN status, says Pakistan
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Assad sets Feb 26 date to hold referendum on new constitution
Beirut, February 15 It was unclear whether President Bashar al-Assad, who has ruled since his father’s death in 2000 and is serving his second term, would be able to run for another two terms or whether he would have to stand down when his current one ends in 2014. Assad, 46, facing protests and an armed insurgency against four decades of Assad family rule, promised reforms last year but has also sent troops and tanks to bombard areas in revolt. He lifted a state of emergency in April and promised multi-party parliamentary elections for February, as well as a new constitution that would be put to a vote. That timetable has slipped but state television said a parliamentary election would be held within 90 days of the constitution being approved. Holding a credible referendum would be tricky in a country where some rebellious towns and cities are under military siege. Troops have shelled opposition districts in Homs, a battered city at the heart of the uprising, for the past 13 days. A member of the opposition Syrian National Council in exile said political reform had come too late to slow what began as a mostly peaceful protest movement but which has turned violent. The government says it is fighting foreign-backed terrorists. Melhem al-Droubi, an SNC member and senior Muslim Botherhood figure, said Assad must simply leave power. “This constitutional draft came 11 months late. The truth is Bashar al-Assad has increased the killing and slaughter in Syria. He has lost his legitimacy and we aren’t interested in his rotten constitutions, old or new,” he said. Syria’s current constitution does not limit the number of terms a president serve. Assad’s late father Hafez al-Assad seized power in 1970 and stayed in office until he died in 2000. The new draft also establishes a multiple-party system, revoking a clause put in place by Hafez al-Assad which said that his ruling Baath Party was “leader of state and society”. “The political system of the state will be based on a principle of political plurality and democracy will be practiced through the ballot box,” the draft says, according to Syria TV. It also says parties cannot be based on religion, profession or regional interests. This would exclude the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and autonomy-seeking Kurdish parties.
— Reuters
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Honduras prison fire kills 357 Tegucigalpa, February 15 Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, according to the United Nations, and there are frequent riots and clashes between members of rival street gangs in its overcrowded prisons. The attorney general’s office said at least 357 persons died in the blaze that began late on Tuesday night at the prison in Comayagua, about 75 km north of the capital Tegucigalpa. It was one of the worst prison fires ever in Latin America, and local radio reports said many of the inmates were burned to death inside their cells. Honduras is plagued by violent gangs known as ‘maras’, which started in the United States and then spread down into Central America, with members covered in distinctive tattoos. Soldiers, police and anxious relatives surrounded the Comayagua prison, which housed more than 800 inmates, well above its capacity. “I am looking for my brother, we don’t know what’s happened to him and they won’t let us in,” Arlen Gomez told local radio. Local firemen said they were prevented from entering the prison due to gunshots. But Daniel Orellana, head of the prison system, said there was no riot. “We have two hypotheses, one is that a prisoner set fire to a mattress and the other one is that there was a short circuit in the electrical system,” he said. Across the country the jails are filled double to their capacity. More than 100 prisoners were killed in a fire in the textile manufacturing town of San Pedro Sula several years ago.
— Reuters
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Nasheed rejects police summons
Male, February 15 Maldives new President Mohammed Waheed Hassan named Mohammed Waheed Deen, a minister in the government of former autocratic leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, as his deputy. Deen’s appointment followed Hassan’s assertion that he would appoint a Vice-President with no political affiliations. Hassan also denied allegations of a coup and said Nasheed had resigned after realising that he had lost the confidence of the people as well as that of his own administration, in particular the law and order enforcement arms. “On his own accord, he (Nasheed) resigned, although he later claimed he had been ousted in a violent ‘coup’,” Hassan was quoted by his office as telling BBC Radio 4. Amidst stepped up efforts by India and other key members of the international community to help ease the crisis here, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai arrived here this evening for talks with the Maldivian leaders. Mathai, who is accompanied by Harsvardhan Shringla, Joint Secretary (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives) in the External Affairs Ministry, is scheduled to hold talks with Hassan and then Nasheed, who has expressed his disappointment with India’s stand on the turn of events here. Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent here his special envoy M Ganapathi, who held talks with both Hassan and Nasheed and sought a peaceful solution to the complex situation. Since Nasheed’s resignation, there have been a slew of diplomatic visits here from various countries, including US. Currently, an EU team is in Male. — PTI
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Prosecutors seek 5-yr term for Berlusconi
Milan, February 15 Mills, husband of former British cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, has had a 4-1/2-year jail sentence for taking the bribe dropped as a statute of limitations took effect. Should Berlusconi be found guilty, the verdict would be little more than symbolic as his lawyers would appeal and the case would have to be dropped because the alleged crime dates back to 1997 - and would also fall under a statute of limitations. Berlusconi, 75, is also trial on charges of tax fraud and of paying for sex with an underage prostitute, and is due to go on trial on March 15 on charges of revealing confidential information in a case related to a 2005 banking scandal.
— Reuters
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18 lakh dead people ‘listed’ as active voters in US
Washington, February 15 Not only one of every eight active voter registrations in the US are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate, and more than 27.5 lakh people have names appearing in more than two state, but also at least 18 lakh dead people are still figure in the electoral list, said the study conducted by the non-partisan Pew Centre. “Voter registration in the US largely reflects its 19th-century origins and has not kept pace with advancing technology and a mobile society. States’ systems must be brought into the 21st century to be more accurate, cost-effective, and efficient,” the Washington-based think-tank said in the report entitled ‘Inaccurate, Costly and Inefficient’. Pew Center said its research estimate that at least 51 million eligible US citizens are unregistered, or more than 24 per cent of the eligible population. “Approximately 24 million - one of every eight - active voter registrations in the United States are no longer valid or are significantly inaccurate. More than 1.8 million deceased individuals are listed as active voters. Approximately 2.75 million people have active registrations in more than one state,” it said. Further, about 12 million records have incorrect addresses, meaning either the voters moved, or errors in the information make it unlikely any mailings can reach them.
— PTI
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Sticky bomb common to Delhi, Bangkok blasts
Bangkok, February 15 Thailand's National Security Council chief Wichean Potephosree was cautious when he said the government has not yet determined if there were any links between the events in Bangkok and the
Monday incidents in New Delhi and the Georgian capital Tbilisi. "We haven't found any links but we are still investigating. We admit there was magnetic component aiming at individuals but the origin of the magnet still has to be investigated," he said However, Israel's Ambassador to Thailand Itzhak Shoham was emphatic when he claimed that the three Iranian suspects involved in yesterday's blasts here were part of the same network of assailants who targeted the Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia.— PTI
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Committed to operationalise MFN status, says Pakistan Despite vehement opposition from certain sections, including the ‘jehadi’ groups, Pakistan today conveyed to New Delhi its firm commitment to operationalise the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India by taking the most significant step of putting in place a small ‘negative list’ by February-end. The two countries also signed signed three key accords that would substantially reduce barriers to bilateral trade. The three documents are: a customs cooperation agreement to avoid arbitrary stoppage of goods at each other’s ports; an accord regarding acceptance of certificates of internationally accredited laboratories and the third aimed at redressing the grievances in case of any disagreement. A joint statement issued after trade talks between Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim said “the ministers firmly reiterated that both sides would scrupulously adhere to the roadmap drawn up by the Commerce Secretaries for full normalisation of trade relations.’’ It was agreed that Pakistan would move from a positive list to a small negative list by the end of the month. The negative list would be phased out and the timing for this would be announced when the list is notified. “The understanding is that when the transition to MFN is effected, all items other than those in the SAFTA sensitive list would get preferential access at peak tariff levels of five per cent by the end of 2012,’’ the statement added. Addressing a press conference here at the conclusion of his bilateral meetings with Pakistani leaders and representatives of the business community, Sharma described his four-day visit to Pakistan as “very good and very productive”. He said he had conveyed to his Pakistani counterpart India’s abiding commitment to engage, deepen and diversify the economic relationship between the two countries. Asked what he would consider as the singular achievement of his visit to Pakistan, he shot back “I did not come here with a shopping list or a laundry list…we have given our firm commitment to Pakistan to deepen and diversify economic relations.’’ Asked if the two sides had also discussed the issue of opening branches of each other’s banks, the minister said the Reserve bank of India (RBI) and the State Bank of Pakistan were giving final touches to an agreement on it. A delegation from the Pakistani bank would visit India in the first half of March in this regard. Replying to another question, Sharma indicated that the two countries have also held preliminary discussions on a bilateral investment protection treaty. “We will take a view on it very soon,’’ he added, emphasising that so far the two sides have not allowed FDI in each other’s nation. On a new bilateral visa regime, he said the two countries have finalised an agreement on multiple entry visa, particularly for the business community, to strengthen economic ties. It is understood that the new visa agreement that would replace a 1974 accord, would be signed at the level of Home Secretaries or Home Ministers soon. The two sides also discussed trade in petroleum products and electricity. In recent months, Pakistan has expressed its desire to import petroleum products from India. Officials from the two countries would meet shortly to discuss the issue further.
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Syrian President, fighting an 11-month-old uprising against his rule, has ordered a referendum on a draft constitution on February 26 that limits the presidency to two seven-year terms.
A massive fire swept through a prison in Honduras and killed at least 357 persons, including many inmates trapped inside their cells, officials said on Wednesday.
