W O R L D

Syria’s ‘friends’ up pressure on Assad
Istanbul, April 1
The Western and Arab nations stepped up verbal pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, mistrusting his acceptance of a plan to end a year of bloodshed, but stopped short of arming rebels or fully recognising an opposition council.

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Istanbul on Sunday. — AFP

‘Stop killing or face serious consequences’
ISTANBUL : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to halt operations targeting civilians, or face "serious consequences".

Syrian regime will not fall: Iraq PM
Baghdad : Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will not fall and attempts to overthrow it by force will aggravate the crisis in the region, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday.

Mali rebels seize Timbuktu town
Bamako, April 1
The Tuareg rebel movement today said it had wrested control of the legendary desert town of Timbuktu, the last remaining government bastion in the north of coup-ridden Mali.





Malian junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo (L) and Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Djibrill Bassole on Sunday. — AFP

Luxury liner with Indian crew repaired, heads to Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, April 1
A crippled luxury cruise ship with nearly 1,000 persons, including 58 Indians, is expected to reach Malaysia after drifting for 24 hours following a fire in its engine rooms.

Floods ravage Fiji, emergency declared
Natadola (Fiji), April 1
Flood-ravaged Fiji declared a state of emergency today and warned tourists to stay away for the time being, as heavy rain and high winds continued to pound the South Pacific nation.

Qaida suspects kill 7 policemen in Yemen
Aden, April 1
Al-Qaida suspects today killed seven policemen in an attack on a checkpoint in southeast Yemen, a security official said, a day after clashes between the army and militants left 40 dead.

Abbottabad wasn’t Osama’s only safe haven in Pak
A two-storey house in the frontier town of Haripur was one of the five safe houses used by the Qaida chief 
Haripur, April 1
It's an ornate but not lavish two-storey house tucked away at the end of a mud-clogged street. This is where Pakistan's intelligence agency believes Osama bin Laden lived for nearly a year until he moved into the villa in which he was eventually killed.

Thailand blasts toll reaches 14
Bangkok, April 1
At least 14 persons were killed and nearly 500 others wounded in a series of blasts in Thailand's insurgency-hit southern city of Yala yesterday, in the most deadly co-ordinated attacks in years in the country.

Syria’s ‘friends’ up pressure on Assad

Istanbul, April 1
The Western and Arab nations stepped up verbal pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, mistrusting his acceptance of a plan to end a year of bloodshed, but stopped short of arming rebels or fully recognising an opposition council.

In a sign of impatience with what they see as stalling by Assad, the "Friends of Syria" urged peace envoy Kofi Annan to set a timeline for next steps, including a return to the UN Security Council, if the Syrian leader fails to halt bloodshed.

Violence has raged on unabated despite Annan's mediation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 41 persons killed across Syria on Sunday, including five in bombardment of pro-opposition districts in Homs.

In a final communique, the 83-nation group said Assad did not have an open-ended opportunity to meet his commitments to Annan, who is acting for the United Nations and Arab League.

"The regime will be judged by its deeds rather than its promises," the communique said. Security Council members China and Russia and Syria's ally Iran were among countries that stayed away from the conference in Istanbul.

Assad has accepted, but not yet implemented, Annan's six-point peace plan, which calls for the military to cease fire, withdraw from towns and cities, and allow humanitarian access.

"We will not let the Syrian regime misuse another opportunity, which is the last chance for the situation in Syria," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference after the meeting he hosted.

The "Friends of Syria" recognised the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) as a legitimate representative of all Syrians, and "noted" it as the main opposition interlocutor with the international community - wording that fell short of full recognition of a group hampered by chronic disunity.

The group made no mention of supporting or arming the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), as advocated by some Gulf Arab states, but said it would "continue to work on additional appropriate measures with a view to the protection of the Syrian people".

Hardline Gulf states are likely to interpret the phrase as a licence to fund, if not arm, the FSA, while the United States and others will see it as allowing supplies of non-lethal equipment to the loosely organised armed opposition to Assad. — Agencies 

‘Stop killing or face serious consequences’

ISTANBUL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday urged members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to halt operations targeting civilians, or face "serious consequences". "Our message must be clear to those who give the orders and those who carry them out: Stop killing your fellow citizens or you will face serious consequences," Clinton said in prepared remarks at a conference on the Syrian conflict in Istanbul. "Your countrymen will not forget, and neither will the international community," she added. Clinton also said the United States was providing communications equipment to Syria's civilian opposition. — Reuters 

Syrian regime will not fall: Iraq PM

Baghdad: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will not fall and attempts to overthrow it by force will aggravate the crisis in the region, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday. "It has been one year and the regime did not fall. It will not fall." Maliki said in Baghdad. — AFP 

Mali rebels seize Timbuktu town

Bamako, April 1
The Tuareg rebel movement today said it had wrested control of the legendary desert town of Timbuktu, the last remaining government bastion in the north of coup-ridden Mali.

Announcing the "end of Malian occupation", the MNLA (Azawad National Liberation Movement) said in a statement it would ensure "order and administration." The group is fighting for an independent Tuareg homeland in the region.

Timbuktu — a fabled trading hub synonymous with exotic isolation — was the last major town in Mali's north not to have fallen into the hands of Tuareg rebels and Islamist fighters.

Announcing the "end of Malian occupation", the MNLA (Azawad National Liberation Movement) said in a statement it would ensure "order and administration."

On Sunday, witnesses told AFP they heard heavy weaponry blasting Timbuktu's military base, some 200 miles from Gao, but said the Malian army appeared to have deserted. The apparent move follows army orders for soldiers in Gao to no longer resist rebels.

"Mali forces have decided not to prolong the fighting" around Gao because of the civilian population, coup leader Amadou Sanogo said.

"Yes, the rebels have arrived in Timbuktu", a resident told AFP by telephone. "As we speak, I see them going towards a bank in the city."

The town of about 50,000 residents is a United Nations world heritage site, nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the Desert’. Mali's political situation is growing increasingly chaotic after the internationally condemned coup which led President Amadou Toumani Toure to flee. He is in hiding in the capital Bamako but has said he is safe.

On Sunday, coup leader Sanogo declared Mali's constitution "restored" and announced the reinstatement of state institutions, promising elections in which the junta would not take part. — AFP

Luxury liner with Indian crew repaired, heads to Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, April 1
A crippled luxury cruise ship with nearly 1,000 persons, including 58 Indians, is expected to reach Malaysia after drifting for 24 hours following a fire in its engine rooms.

The Azamara Quest, which had left on a 17-day Southeast Asian cruise, drifted in southern Philippine waters after a fire broke out on Friday night. The fire knocked out its engines and injured about five crew members.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has dispatched a patrol boat to sea borders of Philippines and northern Sabah to help escort the stricken ship into Sandakan port. The ship resumed its journey after power and propulsion had been restored.

The 11-deck cruise ship had yet to enter Malaysian waters off Kudat, said MMEA Regional Enforcement chief for Sabah and Labuan First Admiral M Karunanithi when confirming the vessel was heading to Sandakan. — PTI 

Floods ravage Fiji, emergency declared

Natadola (Fiji), April 1
Flood-ravaged Fiji declared a state of emergency today and warned tourists to stay away for the time being, as heavy rain and high winds continued to pound the South Pacific nation.

Officials said they could not guarantee visitors' safety in the wake of flash floods that have killed at least two persons and forced more than 5,000 others to take shelter in evacuation centres.

With roads to the international airport in Nadi cut off and extreme weather expected to continue until Tuesday, officials asked airlines not to bring in any more tourists until Monday at the earliest.

"This action is being reluctantly taken by the Fijian government to ensure the safety and convenience of international visitors and Fijian citizens seeking to return to Fiji," Tourism Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said.

The request is believed to be unprecedented for tourist-dependent Fiji.

National carrier Air Pacific said it had cancelled all inbound flights scheduled for today and was operating only limited outbound flights for passengers who had already checked in at Nadi airport.

Airports Fiji Limited chief executive Tony Gollin said hundreds of international passengers were at the airport awaiting departure.

Many more have been unable to reach the airport, in the west of the main island Vita Levu, after fallen trees, landslides and swollen rivers cut road access.

The government declared a state of emergency in flood-affected areas, saying the move would make coordinating flood relief more effective.

"It's all about efficiency, allowing all parties to just go in there and get going," a government spokeswoman said. — AFP 

Qaida suspects kill 7 policemen in Yemen

Aden, April 1
Al-Qaida suspects today killed seven policemen in an attack on a checkpoint in southeast Yemen, a security official said, a day after clashes between the army and militants left 40 dead.

"A group of the Al-Qaida terrorists in two vehicles opened machine gun fire on a checkpoint killing seven policemen" in Shibam, a town in the southeastern province of Hadramawt, said the official.

The Al-Qaida-linked militants from the group Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) have launched a wave of attacks in the region since former President Ali Abdullah Saleh handed power to his deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, in February. Yesterday, officials said heavy fighting between the army and Islamist fighters left 40 persons, 28 soldiers and 12 militants, dead. — AFP

Abbottabad wasn’t Osama’s only safe haven in Pak
A two-storey house in the frontier town of Haripur was one of the five safe houses used by the Qaida chief 

Haripur, April 1
It's an ornate but not lavish two-storey house tucked away at the end of a mud-clogged street. This is where Pakistan's intelligence agency believes Osama bin Laden lived for nearly a year until he moved into the villa in which he was eventually killed.

The residence in the frontier town of Haripur was one of the five safe houses used by the slain Al-Qaida leader while on the run in Pakistan, according to information revealed by his youngest wife, who has been detained.

Retired Pakistani Brig Shaukat Qadir, who has spent the last eight months tracking Osama's movements, said he was taken to the Haripur house last November by intelligence agents, who located it from a description they got from Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada.

Al-Sada, a 30-year-old Yemeni, has been in Pakistani custody since May 2 when the US Navy SEALs overran the Abbottabad compound, killing Osama and four other persons inside.

Since then, Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has been trying to uncover the trail that brought him to Abbottabad villa in the summer of 2005.

The best information appears to have come from Al-Sada, who was believed to be his favourite and who travelled with Osama since his escape from Afghanistan's eastern Tora Bora mountain range in 2001.

Qadir, a 35-year army veteran who is now a security consultant, was given rare access to transcripts of Pakistani intelligence's interrogation of Al-Sada and other documents on Osama's movements.

The details of Osama's life as a fugitive — which were first published by the Pakistani newspaper Dawn —raise fresh questions over how he was able to remain undetected for so long in Pakistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks, despite being the subject of a massive international manhunt.

Yet a senior US official, who is familiar with the contents recovered in Osama's Abbottabad house, said there was no evidence that Pakistani officials were aware of Osama's presence.

"There was no smoking gun. We didn't find anything," he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about the contents of the Abbottabad house. — AP

Thailand blasts toll reaches 14

Bangkok, April 1
At least 14 persons were killed and nearly 500 others wounded in a series of blasts in Thailand's insurgency-hit southern city of Yala yesterday, in the most deadly co-ordinated attacks in years in the country.

Nine persons were killed and 100 others wounded in triple blasts in southern city of Yala yesterday, the Bangkok Post reported today.

In another explosion that caused a fire at Lee Gardens Plaza Hotel and shopping mall in Songkhla's Hat Yai district, five persons were killed and more than 350 injured yesterday.

The authorities confirmed that the bombs were made by insurgents but could not confirm if the incident in Hat Yai was linked to terrorism, the paper said.

But Hat Yai mayor Prai Pattano, who had earlier ruled out a terror attack, changed his mind after inspecting the scene, saying he believed it was terrorism, it said.

The business area of Yala's Muang district was rocked by two bombs just before noon yesterday. — PTI