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UK anti-capitalist camp cleared from St Paul’s
Occupy protesters clash with police in California
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ISI, Pak army knew of Osama hideout: Stratfor
Gunmen kill 18 Shias in Pak
13 die in China factory blast
Proxy baptism of Mahatma by American church
SC adjourns case against Gilani
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UK anti-capitalist camp cleared from St Paul’s
London, February 28 There was no violent resistance from the Occupy London activists as bailiffs employed by the City of London Corporation, which owns the land on which they were camped, removed around 50 tents within an hour shortly after midnight. The urban camp was set up as part of an international movement inspired by the US Occupy Wall Street against what the activists say is corporate greed and economic inequality. It was one of many protests across Europe in recent months as the continent struggles with a debt crisis. Authorities in some North American cities have used violence to forcibly remove similar camps but in London the action was largely peaceful. “It is a sad evening, but it has been coming,” Dan Ashman, 27, said. “The saddest day was when the courts didn’t recognize reality, but the reality that the authorities put before them.” The protesters themselves had removed around 100 tents after they lost their legal battle to stay last week. After dismantling the remaining tents, bailiffs took down a barricade of wooden crates where about a dozen activists had stood, chanting “Occupy Everywhere”. Police shunted others across the cathedral steps. The protesters chose to pitch their tents outside St Paul’s in October after they were blocked from their intended target, the nearby square at the London Stock Exchange. The 300-year-old baroque cathedral is one of central London’s most recognisable landmarks, a favourite with tourists and likely to be thronged by Olympic visitors this summer. It was also where Prince Charles married Princess Diana in 1981. The arrival of the camp prompted a debate about the role of ethics in finance in Britain, where many people are angry that banks, some of which took billions of pounds of taxpayers' money in a government bailout, continue to pay out big bonuses despite being largely blamed for the 2008 financial crisis.
— Reuters
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Occupy protesters clash with police in California
Sacramento, February 28 The clash erupted as California Highway Patrol and police officers were escorting about 35 members of the South Africa Project to a parking garage following their protest. About 50 members of Occupy Oakland began throwing cans and bottles, then rushed the officers. Two officers suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital. CHP Capt. Andy Menard said one officer who was struck in the face by an object was released from the hospital. The second officer was getting X-rays after apprehending a person suspected of throwing objects, Capt. Menard said. Three Occupy members were arrested on suspicion of disobeying an officer. Members of the South Africa Project were trying to draw attention to what they said is black-on-white violence in that country. Organisers said similar demonstrations were planned in other states and elsewhere in California.
— AP
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ISI, Pak army knew of Osama hideout: Stratfor
“Mid to senior-level ISI and Pak military with one retired Pak Military General that had knowledge of the OBL (Osama bin laden) arrangements and safe house,” wrote Fred Burton, Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence in an email, leaked by WikiLeaks, to one of his company’s regional director for South Asia soon after the killing of the Al-Qaida chief by the US commandos in a daring operation on May 2 last year in Abbottabad. Burton, who is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists and terrorist organisations, however, did not reveal his source of such an information, but did say that it was coming from his source in Pakistan. Less than a dozen people within ISI and Pakistan military had information on bin Laden, he writes in the leaked email. In the leaked email, Burton informs Kamran Bokhari, Stratfor’s regional director for the Middle East and South Asia that the source, however, did not provide him with the names of ISI and Pakistan military officials who had knowledge of this arrangement for Osama bin Laden. At the same time, he asserted that the American intelligence knew about it. “Names unk (unknown) to me and not provided. Specific ranks unk to me and not provided. But, I get a very clear sense we (US intel) know names and ranks,” Burton wrote in his email dated May 13 using his Blackberry. However, the Pakistan government has said that the Pakistani establishment had no knowledge of the whereabouts of bin Laden or his stay in Abbottabad. PTI has not been independently able to verify the authenticity of this leaked email. The Startfor website does confirm that its system has been compromised and an investigation is on in this regard, for which it has sought the help of the FBI.
— PTI
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Gunmen kill 18 Shias in Pak
Islamabad, February 28 Eight others were injured in the attack, for which the banned Jundullah group has claimed responsibility. Two women and three children were among the injured, officials said. About 10 to 15 gunmen stopped three buses near Harban village in Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, about 200 km from Islamabad, and shot the Shias after ascertaining their identity. The buses were going from the garrison city of Rawalpindi to Gilgit, which has a sizeable Shia population. The buses stopped near Harban as the road was blocked with large stones.
— PTI
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13 die in China factory blast
Beijing, February 28
The impact of the blast were felt in at least three villages near the plant, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. The plant manufactures pesticide products such as guanidine nitrate, a local official said.
— PTI
6 killed in gas explosion in Russia Moscow: Officials say at least six persons have been killed and 12 were injured after a section of a nine-story apartment building in southern Russia collapsed following a natural gas explosion. Anzhelika Barinova of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry says another five people are missing after Monday’s explosion in Astrakhan, 1,300 km southeast of Moscow. Explosions caused by leaky gas pipes and canisters in Russian apartment buildings are common. — AP
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Proxy baptism of Mahatma by American church
Washington, February 28 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) is more popularly known as Mormon Church, one of the fastest growing churches in the US. Radkey, who has now been excommunicated by the Mormons, made the revelation in an e-mail to Nevada-based Hindu activist, Rajan Zed. "I have not come across other Indian leaders baptised by Mormons. My copies of the Gandhi record are dated February 16, 2012. The record disappeared shortly after that date,” she said. — PTI
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SC adjourns case against Gilani
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi as a witness in contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and adjourned the high-profile case till March 7. A seven-judge SC bench, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, was hearing the case.
Gilani’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan briefly referred to the various arguments he has listed in the appeal and said he wanted to present evidence and produce witnesses. He requested the court to allow him adequate opportunity to further examine the case.
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Washington, February 28