W O R L D

Nasheed: India must ensure early elections in Maldives
Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, in Colombo on his first overseas visit after being ousted from office in February this year, said India must play an active role to ensure early elections in the island nation.

Shabana honoured in US for her contribution to cinema
New York, March 24
Bollywood star Shabana Azmi has been honoured by the City of New York for her contribution to cinema and her involvement with the movie industry here, becoming the first Indian actor to receive the honour from the city.

13-yr-old dies in renewed soccer violence in Egypt
Cairo, March 24
Soccer violence re-erupted in Egypt today again leaving a 13-year-old boy dead and scores injured as security forces clashed with fans of nation’s top football club al-Masry, who were protesting against the ban on the team over last month’s deadly stadium riots.

Visa delays: Indian, US firms seek Obama’s intervention
Washington, March 24
Top Indian and American IT companies has sought the intervention of US President Barack Obama on "unprecedented delays and uncertainty" around L1 work visas, which they argued is badly effecting their business and work, a media report said.

Gauck invokes Gandhi in maiden address
Berlin, March 24
New German President Joachim Gauck invoked Mahatma Gandhi in his maiden address as he sought to motivate his people to overcome their “fear” and to strengthen their faith in the country’s democratic system and its leadership.

Syrian army pounds Homs
Damascus, March 24
The army resumed shelling the central Syrian protest cities of Homs and Hama today, monitors reported, as international envoy Kofi Annan headed to Russia in the latest push for peace.

Nasheed: India must ensure early elections in Maldives
Seeks referendum to establish new regime’s legitimacy
Chandani Kirinde in Colombo

Ousted Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed (L) in Colombo on Saturday. Photo by writer

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, in Colombo on his first overseas visit after being ousted from office in February this year, said India must play an active role to ensure early elections in the island nation.

“We always respect Indian leadership among Indian Ocean nations, but security in the region cannot be ensured without stability in the Maldives and, hence, the need for India to play an active role to ensure that early elections are held in the Maldives,” he told reporters at a press briefing in Colombo on Saturday.

He also warned that an early election was a must to stop an emerging dictatorship in that country from consolidating itself in power. “The longer those who ousted the legitimately elected government of the Maldives are in power, the more difficult it will be to remove them,” Nasheed said.

The former President said he did not disagree with the idea of holding of a referendum to decide on the legitimacy of the new government, if it was the way to break the stalemate in which the two sides have been locked in since the change in leadership in the country. “The MDP commands the support of the people in the Maldives and I am definite that we will win in the next election,” Nasheed said.

He also said that he would seek the ticket from his party, The Maldivian Democratic Party, to be the party candidate at the next elections and was ready to face anyone who contests opposite him, be it former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom or anyone else. “One reason they might be hesitant to announce a date for the election is because they can’t decide who their candidate will be. There is already infighting between them,” he said.

Nasheed, who resigned from his post of President on February 8, later said he had been forced to do so at the behest of rouge elements in the police and the military who are now backing the government of President Waheed. “There will be pin drop silence on the streets of Male the day a date for the elections are announced,” Nasheed said adding that his party does not condone violence in any manner.

Supporters of Nasheed have been staging daily protests in the streets of Male calling for an early elections. The government has accused them to resorting to violence.

Shabana honoured in US for her contribution to cinema

Shabana Azmi being presented with the ‘Proclamation by the City of New York’ in New York on Friday. — PTI

New York, March 24
Bollywood star Shabana Azmi has been honoured by the City of New York for her contribution to cinema and her involvement with the movie industry here, becoming the first Indian actor to receive the honour from the city.

Shabana was presented with a ‘Proclamation by the City of New York’ yesterday honouring her “in recognition of her great contribution to the art of cinema and for her participation with the movie industry in New York City.”

Shabana, 61, was presented with the proclamation by Patricia Kaufman, Executive Director of Motion Picture and Television Development from the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as well as with a ‘Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition’ by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

The proclamation also applauded her work as a social activist, noting that apart from being a “highly respected” advocate for social justice, she has worked tirelessly for other causes, including funding for displaced Kashmiri migrants and relief for victims of the Latur earthquake.

“Coming from the city’s council in recognition of my work in cinema is obviously something that makes me very happy,” Azmi told PTI after receiving the honour.

The proclamation added that her presence on the board of the arts organisation Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) has inspired hundreds of Indian film makers in the New York area for over a decade.

“Shabana Azmi’s talent has garnered international acclaim, helping to shape the Indian film industry and build awareness of Indian cinema in North America,” Kaufman said at the ceremony here. — PTI

13-yr-old dies in renewed soccer violence in Egypt

Cairo, March 24
Soccer violence re-erupted in Egypt today again leaving a 13-year-old boy dead and scores injured as security forces clashed with fans of nation’s top football club al-Masry, who were protesting against the ban on the team over last month’s deadly stadium riots.

The 13-year-old boy was shot in the back and 18 others fans injured as security forces burst tear gas shells to disperse club fans in violence overnight in Port Said, state TV reported.

The violence erupted last night and continued for the whole day today as protesters set fire to tyres, blocked major roads and then attempted to storm the main administrative building of the Suez Canal.

The protest was held after the Egyptian Football Association decided to ban Al-Masry from playing for two years and cancel matches at Port Said stadium for three years.

“One was shot in the back and died, and 18 were injured in the clashes, two of them are suffering gunshot wounds,” a medical source said.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said the club was banned for two seasons following the pitch invasion that killed 74 fans on February 1 when Port Said-based Masry beat Cairo’s Ahly team, the most successful club in Africa.

Port Said Stadium, where the violence took place, will be closed for three years, the EFA said, and Masry will be reinstated to the premier league for the 2013/14 season. Hundreds of football fans took to the streets of Port Said, infuriated by the decision. — PTI

Visa delays: Indian, US firms seek Obama’s intervention

Gauck invokes Gandhi in maiden address

Berlin, March 24
New German President Joachim Gauck invoked Mahatma Gandhi in his maiden address as he sought to motivate his people to overcome their “fear” and to strengthen their faith in the country’s democratic system and its leadership.

“In (Mahatma) Gandhi’s words, a person can make progress and achieve success only with self-confidence. This applies to a person as well as for a nation, according to Gandhi.

Therefore, I appeal to you all to begin building confidence in yourselves,” said 72-year-old Gauck, a former east German civil rights activist and protestant pastor.

Gauck was speaking after his swearing-in yesterday as the 11th President at a special ceremony in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

Gauck, who has no party affiliations, was overwhelmingly elected by a special parliamentary assembly last Sunday after being nominated as a joint candidate of five out of six parties represented in the house. Only the Left party fielded its own candidate.

Born in the north German port city of Rostock, Gauck served as a pastor after studying theology and in 1989 he was elected as a representative of ‘New Forum’ to the former East German parliament in the first and only free election. — PTI

Syrian army pounds Homs

Damascus, March 24
The army resumed shelling the central Syrian protest cities of Homs and Hama today, monitors reported, as international envoy Kofi Annan headed to Russia in the latest push for peace.

Mortar shells rained down on the flashpoint Khaldiyeh district of Homs continuously for two hours in the morning, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that it had no information about casualties.

Security forces also pressed ahead with a siege of Hama which they began two weeks ago, the Britain-based Observatory said.

At least 33 persons were killed in violence nationwide yesterday, including nine civilians who died in parts of Homs hit by gunfire and rockets, it said. The bloodshed came as thousands of people staged anti-regime protests in hot spots across Syria and the European Union slapped sanctions on the wife of embattled President.

As they staged rallies under the slogan of “Damascus, here we come,” eight people were wounded in the capital’s Kfar Sousa district when security forces opened fire to disperse protesters, the monitoring group said.

Adding to the pressure on Assad, at least four brigadier generals defected in recent weeks, experts told a UN panel, saying this showed a growing number of ranking officials are abandoning his regime. — AFP