The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Fighting on in Syria despite talk of pullback Norwegian UN peacekeeper to test truce prospects Beirut, April 5 Syria told UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan it had begun pulling troops out of several cities today in line with a peace plan accepted by President Bashar al-Assad, but his foes said the army was still firing in those towns and elsewhere. Annan’s spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said Syrian authorities “told us that they have begun withdrawing troops from certain areas”, namely the cities of Deraa, Idlib and Zabadani. Speaking in Geneva, he said this was being verified, but did not say how. “They are complete liars, there is no army withdrawal, they are still in the middle of the city. They fired on the city this morning, like they do every day,” a man calling himself Abu Mustafa said by telephone from Zabadani near the Lebanon border. However, he did acknowledge a modest pullback. “The army withdrew 15 tanks yesterday, but the rest are all around the checkpoints as usual,” Abu Mustafa said. Video filmed by activists in the Hraytan district just outside the city of Aleppo showed a column of five tanks and armoured personnel carriers firing heavy machineguns as they advanced through a village. A diplomatic face-off intensified between Syria’s ally Russia and Western powers who want Assad to go, with France accusing the 46-year-old Syrian leader of cheating on his promises, while Moscow told opposition supporters abroad not to set ultimatums. But at the UN Security Council, both sides agreed to a statement calling upon Syria to comply with Annan’s April 10 deadline to halt fighting and withdraw. There has been no let-up in the violence since Assad accepted Annan’s six-point peace plan more than a week ago. In the flashpoint city of Homs, activists filmed explosions in a street littered with debris. Blasts and gunfire rocked Douma, a town near Damascus, shortly before a senior U.N. peacekeeping official arrived in the Syrian capital. Norwegian Army former Chief of Staff Major-General Robert Mood, 54, brought an advance planning team of 10 to decide how around 250 UN monitors might oversee the truce between army and insurgents due to take effect by next Thursday. In Damascus, thousands of mourners turned out in the Kafr Souseh district for the funeral of two activists shot dead in their car overnight. “We are not afraid. God is with us,” they chanted. There was no sign of troops in the streets. Some analysts say any arrival of men in UN blue helmets will embolden a return to mass protests, as happened when an Arab League monitoring mission began operating in Syria in December. It was later withdrawn as violence increased. — Reuters
	Russia warns West against ultimatums on Damascus Bishkek, April 5 Russia today warned the West against using threats and ultimatums in its approach to Syria’s regime as the United Nations prepared a statement on the protracted conflict. “Russia proceeds from a deep conviction that any steps around Syria should be aimed at facilitating the success of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s mission,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “The Syrian government has accepted his proposals, has begun implementing them, and it is very important right now not to undermine this process through ultimatums and threats and unfortunately there are those who’d like to do that,” he said. “Russia can back the UN Security Council document on Syria if it facilitates the implementation of Kofi Annan’s plan,” Lavrov told reporters during a visit to the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. “When we debate the document at the Security Council we will proceed from the principle ‘do no harm’,” he said in the capital Bishkek. “If we manage to work out a consensus which would be aimed at facilitating Kofi Annan’s efforts and not using the Security Council for threats and ultimatums that could provoke tensions... if this happens when we vote then it would not be bad.” “But we will see, this does not depend only on us,” Lavrov added. The year-long conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebels shows no signs of abating, and the United Nations has said it was rushing a team to Damascus to pave the way for peace monitors. A draft UN Security Council statement has been drawn up asking Syria to respect an April 10 deadline to halt its military operations in protest cities. — AFP
	Come April 14, Titanic wreck to fall under UNESCO protection Paris, April 5 The wreck of the Atlantic liner Titanic will this month come under UNESCO protection, as it has now lain at the bottom of the Atlantic for 100 years, the United Nations cultural body said today. The British liner sank in international waters and so comes under no state’s protection but, after a century, wrecks fall under the jurisdiction of a 2009 UN Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. “From now on, state parties to the convention can outlaw the destruction, pillage, sale and dispersal of objects found at the site,” UNESCO said, in a statement from Paris . “They can take all possible measures within their power to protect the wreck and ensure that the human remains there are treated with dignity,” it said. The passenger liner Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, sinking to almost 4,000 metres in waters off Newfoundland on the night of April 14, 1912, with the loss of 1,514 people on board. It was and remains one of the worst peacetime shipping disasters in history, and this year’s anniversary is being marked by several cultural and historical events in Britain and the US, its intended destination. The wreck was rediscovered in 1985 thanks to advances in submarine technology, and historic artefacts have since been recovered. “The sinking of the Titanic is anchored in the memory of humanity and I am pleased that this site can now be protected by the UNESCO Convention,” said UNESCO director general Irina Bokova. “But there are thousands of other shipwrecks that need safeguarding as well. All of them are archaeological sites of scientific and historical value. They are also the memory of human tragedy that should be treated with respect. — AFP
	FB snubs hurt as much as real-life rejections: Study London, April 5 If you have ever felt bad over your Facebook "friend" request being turned down, you are not alone, for a new study has found that online snubs hurt people just as much as real-life rejections. Researchers at Penn State University in the US found that people feel "withdrawn" and "numb" when their "friend" request on social networking sites like Facebook are rejected or just ignored. The findings, published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, suggest that for many of us, Internet is as "real" a place as the real world, the researchers said. "Facebook serves as a place to forge social connections; however, it is often a way to exclude others without the awkwardness of a face-to-face interaction," said study author Joshua Smyth, a professor of biobehavioral health. "Most people would probably expect that being ignored or rejected via a remote source like the Internet would not hurt as much as being rejected in person. Yet, our studies show that people may experience similar psychological reactions to online exclusion as they do with face-to-face exclusion," Prof Smyth said. — AFP Online pain Researchers at Penn State University found that people feel "withdrawn" and "numb" when their "friend" request on social networking sites like Facebook are rejected or just ignored The findings, published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour, suggest that for many of us, Internet is as "real" a place as the real world
	Bomber strikes in Karachi, 4 killed Karachi, April 5 A suicide bomber today targeted the motorcade of a senior police officer in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, killing four persons and injuring 14 others, officials said. Witnesses said the attacker, who was riding a motorcycle, first opened fire and then blew himself up near an armoured vehicle in which Special Superintendent of Police Rao Anwar was travelling. The attack occurred at a busy traffic roundabout in Malir area of Karachi. Four persons were killed instantly, witnesses and police officials said. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals and officials said three of them were in a serious condition. SSP Rao Anwar said the attacker had hit the armoured vehicle with his motorcycle. “People ran in panic after the blast. One of the policemen in my team was injured,” he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Anwar said he and some other officers had received threats from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. — PTI
	Acid attack accused girl gets 34-yr jail Afzal Khan in Islamabad An anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on Thursday handed down 34-year jail term to Farkhanda Rukshana, a girl who flung acid on her ex-fiancé’s father, after her engagement was called off by her in-laws. This is the first case of conviction of a woman for an offence which is widely committed against women. Rukhshana, who had been arrested on November 10, 2010, was engaged to Shehzad and due to some unknown reasons, their engagement was broken by Shehzad’s family. After some time, on the evening of Shehzad’s mehndi, Farkhanda reached his house in order to ‘take revenge’ and had a scuffle with his family. Shehzad’s father Akhtar Razzaq tried to kick Farkhanda out of the house at which she threw acid on Razzaq’s face, leaving him blind in one eye.