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UN monitors enter alleged massacre site in Syria A Syrian man carries a wounded girl following an explosion that targeted a military bus near Qudssaya on Friday. — AFP Syrian troops bomb rebel-held areas in Homs |
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No free pass to celebrities, VIPs at US airports Shah Rukh Khan’s detention at a New York airport had recently triggered a furore in India. Charles bans NRI sex convict from royal invites
19 killed, 40 hurt in Pak blast
Security officials examine the wreckage of a destroyed bus after a blast on the outskirts of Peshawar. — AFP Anti-govt rally demands Nepal PM’s resignation
NATO apologises for deaths in Afghan airstrike
Navy’s Russian-built aircraft carrier starts sea trials
2 Indian-Americans held for ‘defrauding’ hundreds in US
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UN monitors enter alleged massacre site in Syria Beirut, June 8 The UN observers had been trying to reach the tiny farming village of about 150 people since Thursday but had been shot at and turned back by both security forces and residents. Some 300 UN observers are in Syria to monitor a ceasefire between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels that was declared by envoy Kofi Annan on April 12 but never implemented. A correspondent for the BBC, Paul Danahar, said he was with the UN team and described the first traces of a violent scene in the village using his Twitter account. "In front of me there is a piece of brain, in the corner there is a mass of congealed blood ... The largest of the two houses on the hilltop in Qubeir has been gutted by fire. The stench of flesh is still strong," he wrote. "Inside the buildings are gutted. The UN have not found any people yet." Syria's 15-month-old revolt has grown increasingly bloody. If confirmed, the killings in Mazraat al-Qubeir would be the second massacre of civilians within two weeks. The Syrian government condemned the May 25 killings in Houla and the Wednesday attack on Mazraat al-Qubeir but blamed both on "terrorists," who Assad has said were being steered from abroad to stir unrest in the country. UN monitors previously visited the town of Houla where security forces and pro-Assad militia men killed 108 people, nearly half of them children, according to anti-Assad activists. UN monitors tried to enter Mazraat al-Qubeir, 20 northwest of the city of Hama, on Thursday but were stopped at army checkpoints and by civilians in the area. One UN observer told Reuters by telephone that villagers had surrounded the team's cars to block their passage, but said their motives were not clear. Activists say army tanks shelled Mazraat al-Qubeir and then stormed in with plainclothes gunmen, killing more than half of the village's 150 residents and burning many of their bodies. Syrian state television, apparently reporting from Mazraat al-Qubeir on Thursday before the monitors' arrival, interviewed several people who covered their faces and said 500 rebels had attacked the hamlet. Syria TV showed footage of a concrete building gashed with bullet holes and what appeared to be mortar or shell fire. "They slaughtered men, women and children," a woman swathed in black shouted. "This is horrible." — Reuters
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Syrian troops bomb rebel-held areas in Homs Beirut, June 8 The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees had no immediate word on casualties from the shelling of Hom's Khaldiyeh neighbourhood. Amateur videos posted online showed a small white plane, apparently a drone, flying over Homs. Homs has been one of the hardest hit regions in Syria since the uprising against Assad's regime began in March last year. The UN said several weeks ago that more than 9,000 people have been killed since the crisis began while activists put the number of dead at about 13,000. Today's violence came two days after reports of mass killing in the nearby province of Hama where about 80 people, including women and children, were shot or stabbed. UN observers came under fire yesterday as they tried to reach the site in Mazraat al-Qubair, a small farming community of 160 people, mostly Bedouins. In Geneva, International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Hicham Hassan told reporters today that the humanitarian situation in Syria was worsening. "Currently the situation is extremely tense, not only in Houla, not only in Hama, but in many, many places around the country," he said. — AP
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No free pass to celebrities, VIPs at US airports Washington, June 8 The US, however, said it was in talks with several countries to facilitate hassle-free immigration procedures but India is not among those. “I’m not aware of anything right now,” John Wagner, Executive Director of Admissibility and Passenger Programmes with the US Customs and Border Protection, told foreign journalists when asked if the US was holding any talks with India to facilitate quick and hassle-free immigration procedures for people coming from India. However, US citizens and those holding permanent residency can apply under the “Global Entry” programme, under which once cleared by the federal authorities, an individual would not have to go through the immigration officer, but would have to use the services of a touch-screen kiosk to enter the country. “As far as any other, say, process for VIP arrivals, unless they have some type of, say, diplomatic visa or exemption, everyone would go through the same type of process. We don’t want it to be seen as a hassle,” Wagner said in response to a question. “We want people to understand the importance of it, and we are keeping people safe,” he said. — PTI
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Charles bans NRI sex convict from royal invites London, June 8 Harbinder Singh Rana, who was a guest on the Royal Barge for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration apparently at the invitation extended by Prince Charles, would not be receiving any further invites, the Daily Mirror reported today quoting Palace sources. Prince Charles also wanted to know how Rana was able to get so close to him, said the sources. Rana was jailed in the 1980s for posing as a doctor before women and performing internal examinations and administering injections. Rana is the 'Honorary Director' of Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail, a charity organisation whose aim is to promote "a greater awareness of the shared heritage between Sikhs & Britain". One insider said: "Understandably, Charles is extremely angry that he has been put in a position where he has had close contact with a convicted sex offender on more than a few occasions. "He is determined to know how such a situation could have arisen. There is no question that had he known about Rana's criminal record, he would never have been invited on the Royal Barge. "But he also wants to know why this information has not been made available to him in the past as he has met Rana at least five times since 1999. One thing is certain — this man will not be on Charles's guest lists from now on." Palace sources also confirmed that the pervert - who was a guest on the Royal Barge for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee river pageant on Sunday - would not be receiving any further invites. The ban came as a row broke out over who was to blame for the astonishing security blunder. — PTI
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19 killed, 40 hurt in Pak blast Islamabad, June 8 The bomb was triggered by remote control when the bus carrying Civil Secretariat employees was passing through Charsadda Road in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the police said. Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said 19 bodies had been received at Lady Reading Hospital and Charsadda Hospital following the blast. Six women and a young girl were among the dead, he said. At least five injured persons were in a critical condition, officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the blast though such attacks are usually blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. Security forces cordoned off the site after the blast while members of the local bomb disposal squad collected evidence. Information Minister Hussain said the rear of the bus was affected the most by the explosion, and it was possible that the bomb might have been planted in the vehicle. He condemned the attack, saying: "Spreading fear and indulging in terrorism is the only reason for such an act. We are in favour of talks but if they (militants) refuse, we will be forced to take action against them." Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack. "Such cowardly terrorist acts cannot weaken the resolve of the government to fight against extremism and terrorism," he said. — PTI
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Anti-govt rally demands Nepal PM’s resignation Kathmandu, June 8 Leaders of National Democratic Campaign, an alliance of 22 political parties including Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, while addressing the rally held the Maoist leaders responsible for dissolving the Constituent Assembly (CA), which they said, was the result of six-decade-long struggle of the Nepalese people to write their constitution. They accused Bhattarai's Maoist-led government of declaring election for another CA on November 22 in an unconstitutional manner, with the intention to capture power. — PTI
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NATO apologises for deaths in Afghan airstrike
Pul-I-Alam (Afghanistan), June 8 Marine Gen John Allen flew to Logar province to personally deliver his regrets to villagers and provincial officials for the deaths of women, children and village elders in Wednesday's pre-dawn raid to capture a Taliban operative. Afghan officials have said the airstrike called in by NATO troops killed 18 civilians. "I know that no apology can bring back the lives of the children or the people who perished in this tragedy and this accident, but I want you to know that you have my apology and we will do the right thing by the families," Allen told the group of about two dozen Afghans gathered at a base at the provincial capital of Pul-i-Alam. NATO and Afghan officials have said the troops were on an operation to capture a Taliban leader who had holed up in the house in Baraki Barak district's Sajawand village. As they tried to breach the compound, they came under fire and fought back, eventually calling in an airstrike. Allen said that the troops did not know that there were civilians inside the house when they called in the airstrike. "Our weapons killed these people," Allen said. — AP
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Navy’s Russian-built aircraft carrier starts sea trials Moscow, June 8 Officials said Indian naval personnel were on board to familiarise themselves to the system of the carrier. "After initial trials in the White Sea, the carrier would move into the nearby Barents Sea for trials with naval fighters," officials said. The sea-trials of the warship are four years behind the schedule. India and Russia had inked a $947 million deal in 2005 for the purchase of the carrier, but delivery has already been delayed twice, pushing up the cost of refurbishing the carrier to $2.3 billion. Sevmash shipyard director Vladimir Pastukhov, was fired in 2007 over his poor management of the project. The Vikramaditya was originally built as the Soviet Project 1143.4 class aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. The ship was laid down in 1978 at the Nikolayev South shipyard in Ukraine, launched in 1982, and commissioned with the Soviet Navy in 1987. It was renamed after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1994, the Admiral Gorshkov sat in dock for a year for repairs after a boiler room explosion. — PTI
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2 Indian-Americans held for ‘defrauding’ hundreds in US Washington, June 8 Sharanjit Kaur (36) and Baljit Singh (47), both from Fresno in California, now face imprisonment up to 20 years in a federal jail and a $500,000 fine each. The 46-count indictment alleged that between July 2010 and June 2011, Sharanjit and Baljit owned and operated several companies based in Fresno for the sole purpose of defrauding hundreds of customers throughout the US. The customers sent over $400,000 in payments to the defendants, it claimed. Sharanjit and Baljit touted to potential customers that their businesses, Consumer Financial Services, Consumer Credit Repair and Client Financial Services, could provide debt consolidation services, the indictment claimed. They also falsely promised that they could renegotiate debts with creditors and mortgage lenders, obtain low-interest loans for customers, assist in avoiding lawsuits, lower car payments, replace high-interest credit cards with low-interest ones, and correct errors in credit reports. The duo used a call centre in India whose employees would call customers using aliases such as 'Neil McKenzie' or 'Anthony Jones', the Justice Department said. The indictment alleged that after luring customers into using these purported services, Sharanjit, Baljit and their agents instructed customers to send in monthly payments of $500 or more. Even though they collected regular payments from customers, the defendants did not contact creditors on behalf of customers, it claimed. — PTI
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United Nations monitors entered the Syrian hamlet of Mazraat
al-Qubeir today, where opposition activists say at least 78 persons were massacred, a UN source said.
Washington, June 8
London, June 8
At least 19 persons, including women, were killed and over 40 others injured today when a bus packed with government employees was targeted with a powerful bomb in northwest Pakistan.
The bomb was triggered by remote control when the bus carrying Civil Secretariat employees was passing through Charsadda Road in Peshawar, the capital of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, the police said.
A massive anti-government rally organised by Nepal's 22 opposition parties today demanded Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's resignation, while accusing him of opposing inclusive democracy and trying to establish "totalitarian rule" in the country.
