The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Veiled bomber kills 4 French soldiers in Afghanistan Kabul, June 9 A suspected Taliban suicide bomber wearing a burqa killed four French soldiers and wounded five others today in an attack on a convoy of NATO-led troops in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. Three of the injured were in a critical condition after the attack in Kapisa province, where most of France's 3,500 soldiers in the country are stationed, French President Francois Hollande's office said in a statement. "It is with the greatest emotion that I share the grief of the families," Hollande said. "Today all of France is affected." The presidential palace said Hollande would make a "solemn statement" on the attack, the first fatal incident since he took over as head of state last month, at 1830 IST. He had also asked Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to head to Afghanistan tomorrow. The President plans to recall French combat troops by the end of 2012, a year earlier than Paris initially planned, and two years before NATO allies, raising fears over security. On a visit to Kabul last month, Hollande said 2,000 combat troops would leave in a coordinated withdrawal this year but vowed not to abandon Afghanistan. NATO allies have downplayed the effect of their early departure, saying Afghan troops are ready to take over. And US General John Allen, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, has said there will be no drop in safety in Kapisa. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for today's suicide attack in a text message sent to reporters. Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told AFP the attacker was on foot and wearing a burqa. "This morning a suicide bomber on foot disguised as a woman with a burqa on approached the French troops who were on patrol in Nijrab. He detonated his explosives that caused some fatalities," he said. Three civilians were wounded in the attack, he added. But these are the first French deaths since January 20, when an Afghan soldier fired on unarmed French trainers, killing five and wounding 15. With the latest deaths, France has now lost 87 troops in Afghanistan. Kapisa has been included in the third of a five-phase transfer, which Afghan officials say could take as little as six months, but which ISAF has timetabled at 12-18 months. On his visit to Afghanistan last month, Hollande explained his decision to recall French combat troops by the end of 2012. — AFP
	Shelling kills 17 in cradle of Syrian uprising Beirut, June 9 Seventeen persons, including 10 women, were killed overnight by shelling in the Syrian town of Deraa, where the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted 15 months ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday. Fighting was also reported in Homs and Damascus, killing a total of 44 civilians and 25 on Friday, the group said, showing neither side was respecting a U.N.-backed ceasefire, the failure of which has left outside powers divided on what to do next. "We didn't sleep all night, the situation is a mess, all kinds of explosions and heavy weapons," a Deraa resident who called himself Adnan, said via Skype. "We could hear the blast from the rockets hitting in the neighbourhood nearby. If we were afraid, you can imagine how afraid our children are." Two massacres of civilians in the last two weeks have added urgency to talks between foreign powers on what to do since the ceasefire, supposed to take effect on April 12, has failed to stop the violence. — Reuters
	Russia won’t approve use of force Moscow, June 9 Russia will not approve the use of force against the Syrian regime at the United Nations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today at a briefing in Moscow. "We will not sanction the use of force at the United Nations Security Council," Lavrov said in televised remarks as he gave a briefing on Russia's proposal for an international conference on Syria. Russia, along with China, has vetoed two Security Council resolutions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and have vowed to oppose any military intervention. Former UN chief Kofi Annan, the author of a fledgling peace plan on Syria, called yesterday for "additional pressure" in the wake of a new massacre as he held talks in the United States. Britain, France and the United States will quickly draw up a Security Council resolution proposing sanctions against Syria over the worsening conflict, diplomats said yesterday. — AFP
	Militants kill 4 cops in Quetta Afzal Khan in Islamabad Four policemen were gunned down on Saturday by unknown assailants in Quetta, capital of the troubled Balochistan province. The four constables, who were on motorcycles, had been deployed near Badini Road in Quetta to patrol railway tracks. The attackers fired indiscriminately on a police van which was conducting a routine patrol. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Balochistan is believed to be a refuge for Taliban, banned sectarian outfits and Baloch nationalist militants engaged in low insurgency. A bomb planted outside a seminary in Quetta killed 14 persons on Thursday.
	Woman in ‘napalm pic’ honours her saviours Washington, June 9 The chilling photograph that came to symbolise the horrors of Vietnam War and, ultimately, helped end it, also helped save the life of a woman. Kim Phuc, who was just nine-year-old when the image was taken, was wailing in pain as her naked skin blistered from a fiery napalm attack on her village on June 8, 1972, her arms were outstretched. Phuc, who now lives near Toronto with her family, honoured the journalists, the nurse, the immigration officer and others who helped her survive the attack, by hosting a dinner on Friday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic photograph. The photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut, who was 21 at the time, heard Phuc's screams as she ran down the road to escape her burning village, and snapped the photo that became famous around the world, and earned him a Pulitzer Prize. The 21-year-old Vietnamese photographer then drove the badly burned child to a small hospital, where he was told she was too far-gone to help. He flashed his American press badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten. "I'm so grateful he was there," Fox News quoted Phuc as saying. — ANI
	Calls for revival of monarchy in Nepal Rastriya Prajatantra Party wants to go back to Hindu state Kathmandu, June 9 Nepal's pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party today held its biggest ever public meeting here demanding reinstatement of monarchy and revival of Hindu state from the current secular one. As the political parties have failed to institutionalise federal republic through promulgating the new constitution, the monarchy should be revived, party president Kamal Thapa said addressing a gathering of around 5,000 people in the capital. Calls for Nepal to be made a Hindu state was also made during the public meeting. This was the fast time such a grand public meeting was organised by pro-King organisation at a time when the government led by the Maoist party, who fought decade long war to abolish monarchy, is in power. Thapa, who was the Home Minister in the erstwhile royal government, came down heavily against Maoist chief Prachanda, for allowing a foreign diplomat in an all party meeting at his residence while making important decision. "How, the Maoists, who raised high sounding anti-India slogans while launching decade long war, could bow down to the foreign master," he said in a sarcastic remarks. Expressing concern over the "growing foreign influence" in the country, Thapa underlined the need to preserve national integrity. He also ruled out the possibility of reinstatement of the "dead" Constituent Assembly as proposed by some political leaders saying that fresh election should be held instead of reviving the Constituent Assembly. He also held big parties including UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML for the current political stalemate in the country. Former Parliament member and leader of the party Devendra Nepali proposed to revive the 1990 Constitution which has the provision of constitutional monarchy. The pro-monarchist group are looking at fishing in troubled waters amidst polarisation of Nepal's political parties with Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai announcing fresh election of the Constituent Assembly by dissolving the CA and other major parties announcing to boycott the same under the present circumstances. — PTI
	Prince Philip leaves hospital before b’day London, June 9 Prince Philip, the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, left hospital on the eve of his 91st birthday on Saturday, five days after he was taken ill during celebrations to mark the monarch's 60 years on the throne. Looking relaxed and in good spirits, the Duke of Edinburgh smiled and shook hands with staff outside the central London hospital where he has been treated for a bladder infection since Monday. His illness overshadowed the later stages of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and meant the queen had to attend several events on her own, including a concert outside Buckingham Palace on Monday evening. — Reuters