The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Damascus, most rebel chiefs agree to truce: Peace envoy Damascus, October 24 Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said today that Syria and "most" rebel chiefs have agreed to a truce during this week's Muslim holiday, boosting hopes of a significant breakthrough in the 19-month conflict. Syria itself said its army leadership was studying the proposal for a truce in a conflict that is claiming more than 100 lives a day and that a final decision would be announced tomorrow. The Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main rebel group seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad's regime, for its part said it would ceasefire during the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday starting on Friday provided government forces stop shooting first. "The Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire" during Eid al-Adha, Brahimi told reporters in Cairo, adding that "most" rebel leaders contacted said they also would observe the truce. "If we succeed with this modest initiative, a longer ceasefire can be built" that would allow the launch of a political process, Brahimi said after talks with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi. The UN-Arab League peace envoy said the Syrian government would officially announce its acceptance by tomorrow. The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement, "The army command is studying the cessation of military operations during the Eid holiday, and the final decision will be taken tomorrow (Thursday)." The rebels, however, remained sceptical that regime troops would indeed observe a truce. "The FSA will stop firing if the regime stops," said FSA military council chief General Mustafa al-Sheikh, speaking to AFP by telephone from Turkey. But, he said, the "regime has lied many times before. It is impossible that the regime will implement the truce, even if it says it will. — AFP
	Watchdog: over 35,000 killed in Syria conflict Beirut, October 24 More than 35,000 persons, mostly civilians, have been killed since the outbreak of Syria's anti-regime revolt in March 2011, a watchdog group said today. Civilians, at 24,964, represented the vast majority of those killed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP, which counts as civilians non-military fighters who have taken up arms against President Bashar al-Assad. It said the balance consisted of 8,767 soldiers and 1,276 military defectors. "In addition, we have documented the deaths of 422 other people whose identities we were unable to verify," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. In addition to excluding unidentified victims, the Observatory does not include thousands of people who are missing. — AFP
	As US poll nears, efforts intensify to misinform voters Calls wrongly tell some they can vote over the phone Menacing billboards loom over poor, minority neighbourhoods Washington, October 24 In Florida, Virginia and Indiana, voters have received phone calls that wrongly told them there was no need to cast a ballot in person on election day because they could vote by phone. In Ohio and Wisconsin, billboards in mostly low-income and minority neighborhoods showed prisoners behind bars and warned of criminal penalties for voter fraud, an effort that voting rights groups say was designed to intimidate minority voters. And across the nation, some employers - notably David and Charles Koch, the billionaire brothers who help fund the conservative group Americans for Prosperity - are pushing their workers to vote for Republican Mitt Romney for President. Two weeks before what could be one of the closest presidential elections in US history, efforts to mislead, intimidate or pressure voters are an increasingly prominent part of the political landscape. Analysts say tactics typically seen in the last few days before an election are already in play. "We've seen an uptick in deceptive and intimidating tactics designed to prevent eligible Americans from voting," said Eric Marshall of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who manages a coalition that has a telephone hot line (1-866-OUR-VOTE) that collects tips on alleged voter intimidation. Democrats have been more vocal in complaining about such antics. They also cite groups linked to the conservative Tea Party movement that are training tens of thousands of people to monitor polling places on Nov. 6 for voter fraud. The controversial plan has been criticised as an attempt to delay or discourage voting. But Republicans also have been behind some of the complaints, which have been focused largely on the eight or so politically divided swing states that are likely to decide the race between Romney and Democratic President Barack Obama. Kurtis Killian, a Republican from St. Augustine, Florida, was among those in three states who have reported receiving calls that encouraged them to vote by phone so they would not have to go to the polls. Killian said he received a call from a man who identified himself as an employee of the Florida Division of Elections. Killian said he refused the caller's offer to cast his vote by phone then reported the call to local elections officials. "I know there is no such thing as phone voting," Killian said. But "for someone who can't get out easily," such as elderly or disabled voters, "they might go for that - it would be convenient for them. Once you think you voted ... you won't go to the polls. My vote would be canceled out." Virginia's State Board of Elections received similar complaints from at least 10 people - most of them elderly - who said they had been urged to vote by phone. Voters in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, reported similar phone calls in September, sparking an investigation by the Secretary of State's office, which oversees Indiana elections. The probe has focused on a firm called Vote USA. It is unclear who was behind the group; its phone number is no longer active. The Secretary of State urged voters who receive a call from Vote USA to ignore it. Billboards come up in Ohio, Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers and activists in Wisconsin and Ohio, the most coveted of all the swing states in the presidential race because the winner there is likely to win the White House, are angry about several dozen billboard signs that have popped up in recent weeks, warning of stiff penalties for voter fraud. The billboards were put up in mostly black and low-income communities. Most had a large picture of a judge's gavel and said "Voter Fraud is a Felony!" punishable by up to 3-1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. They were paid for by an anonymous group described only as "private family foundation." Other billboards showed prisoners in jumpsuits peering through prison bars. Community leaders said the signs were aimed at blacks and Hispanics and the poor as well as ex-convicts, all groups that tend to vote Democratic. City Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland, whose district in Cleveland includes several of the billboards, said the billboards were designed to intimidate. "I'm worried they will actually scare some of the ex-offenders, people with felony records who can vote," said Cleveland, who added that there is confusion about felons voting because it is illegal in some states. In Ohio, 12 other states and Washington, DC, felons who are not behind bars may vote. In response to the complaints, the billboard company, Clear Channel Outdoor, said last weekend that it would take down about 140 billboards in Ohio and Wisconsin that had been scheduled to stay up until November 6. The company said it has a policy against putting anonymous political messages on billboards and that it erred in agreeing to the contract. Some Ohio residents who decided to vote early to avoid long lines on Election Day said they were angry about the billboards. Pressure by employers Meanwhile, some employers have pressured workers to support certain candidates in the presidential race and other elections. Such employers seem to be taking advantage of a 2010 Supreme Court ruling that overturned laws that banned employers from directly expressing their political opinions to their employees. Critics of the so-called Citizens United ruling - which also led to the creation of big-money "Super PACs," or political action committees that can raise and spend unlimited amounts and have been a force in this presidential campaign - say it could make workers feel coerced into voting for certain candidates. Several companies have sent out letters urging their employees to vote for Romney. The Koch brothers, who have given millions of dollars to back Romney and other Republicans, have come under fire for sending a "voter information packet" to 45,000 employees of Koch Industries' Georgia Pacific. The packet, obtained by the political magazine In These Times, includes a list of candidates the company supports, with Romney at the top of the list. It also includes a letter from Koch Industries President David Robertson saying that "many of our more than 50,000 US employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" if voters elect candidates who increase regulations and hinder free trade - a presumed jab at Obama. Some Democrats accused Georgia Pacific of trying to force workers into voting for Romney. Lynn Rhinehart, general counsel for the AFL-CIO, the largest group of labor unions in the United States, said that employers may communicate with their workers about candidate choices, but should not link a vote with keeping their jobs. — Reuters Romney’s son apologises to Obama over ‘swing’ remark Tagg Romney, eldest son of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has apologised to Barack Obama for saying last week that he wanted to "take a swing" at incumbent president for aggressively challenging his father in their second debate. Tagg apologised to Obama on the stage after the third and final debate in Florida for saying that he wanted to punch the US President for challenging his father, the ABC news reported yesterday. Obama quickly accepted the apology, the news report said. "The campaign official said that Tagg Romney told the President he was 'just joking' and that Obama accepted the apology," The Washington Post said. — PTI
	Ban dances ‘Gangnam Style’ with Korean pop sensation Psy United Nations, October 24 Showing a side of his personality rarely seen in public, UN chief Ban Ki-moon tried 'Gangnam Style' moves and said he was "jealous" of Korean pop sensation Psy. Psy's song 'Gangnam Style', which mocks the consumerism of a rich Seoul suburb, and hit horse-riding-style dance went viral on video-sharing website YouTube. It has been viewed more than 560 million times on YouTube since it was released in mid-July. Admitting at first that he was "nervous", the UN Secretary-General relented and copied Psy's horse-riding style dance moves. Psy was at the UN to discuss with Ban how they could work together to help global issues. "I'm a bit jealous," Ban told reporters. "Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world. Now I have to relinquish." Earlier, Ban Ki-moon had joked: "I was thinking about you when you were coming - you know we have tough negotiations in the United Nations. In such a case I was also thinking of playing the Gangnam Style dance so that everybody would stop and dance, maybe you can bring UN style." — PTI
	Violence surges on Israel-Gaza frontier Prime Minister Netanyahu threatens stronger Israeli military action Jerusalem, October 24 Palestinians fired dozens of rockets into Israel from Gaza on Wednesday and an Israeli air strike killed a militant in a surge of violence after the Emir of Qatar embraced the enclave's Hamas leadership with a visit. Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the rocket and mortar bomb attacks, raising questions among Israelis over whether it had been emboldened by the Qatari visit on Tuesday that challenged the Islamist group's diplomatic isolation. Hamas had largely held its fire when other militant factions, including jihadi groups, launched cross-border rocket attacks in recent months. For its part, Hamas accused Israel of stepping up its air strikes in the Gaza Strip to vent its anger over Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani's visit and pledged to "continue to hold a gun ... until Palestine is liberated". Israel said it was "astounding" that Qatar, a US-allied Gulf state, would take sides in the Palestinian dispute and endorse Hamas, branded by the West as a terrorist group. Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 from fighters loyal to the Fatah faction of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Some analysts saw the Qatari ruler's trip, the first by any national leader to Gaza since Hamas took over, as an attempt to build bridges between the group and the West and coax it into the peace camp amid Arab turmoil across the Middle East. Previous rounds of cross-border attacks have usually run their course in days, with both Israel and Hamas seemingly aware of the risks of ramping up the low-intensity conflict to full-scale warfare. Israel's three-week-long invasion of the Gaza Strip, launched in 2008 with the declared aim of curbing rocket launchings, drew international criticism over a heavy Palestinian casualty toll in the territory of 1.7 million. Though hostile to Israel, Hamas has mostly sought to avoid direct clashes as it shores up its rule in the face of more radical challengers and reaches out to potential allies abroad. In a second day of violence, a Hamas militant was killed on Wednesday in an air strike Israel said was intended to stop rocket firings. On Tuesday, Israel killed three Hamas men, saying they had either launched attacks or were about to do so. In southern Israel, three agricultural workers were wounded when a Palestinian rocket exploded near them. Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman, said 72 projectiles were fired at Israel and that the Iron Dome system intercepted seven of them. She said several homes were damaged by Palestinian fire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking a renewed mandate in Israel's Jan. 22 election, visited an Iron Dome anti-missile battery near the southern city of Ashkelon on Wednesday and threatened stronger Israeli military action in Gaza. "We did not choose this escalation, nor did we initiate it, but if it continues, we are prepared for a much wider and deeper operation," he said, pledging to press on with "targeted attacks" against militants preparing to fire rockets. Israel kept schools shut in communities near the fenced Gaza boundary and residents were urged to remain indoors. Hamas has refused to renounce violence or recognise Israel's right to exist, and is ostracised by the Quartet of Middle East mediators comprising the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia. However, Hamas has said it would accept a truce with Israel in return for a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. — Reuters
	Peshawar High Court notice to Musharraf for allowing drone attacks Islamabad, October 24 A Pakistani court today issued a notice to former President Pervez Musharraf for allowing US drone attacks in country even as a fresh strike by the CIA-operated spy plane killed at least five in the restive North Waziristan. A two-member bench comprising Peshawar High Court's acting Chief Justice Maftahuddin Khan and Justice Seth Waqar hearing a petition by advocate F M Sabir served notice on Musharraf to appear before the court on next hearing to explain his position. Advocate Sabir of Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC), whose key leader include LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, and Foundation for Fundamental Rights (FFR) had filed a writ petition against the drone attacks in FATA and the killing of "innocent" people including women and children in these attacks, the Dawn News reported. Meanwhile, at least five people were killed today when a US drone targeted a suspected militant compound about 10 kilometres from the main town in volatile North Waziristan region. The US drone fired three missiles in Tappi village, about 10 kilometres southeast of Miramshah, on a compound which officials said was a militant facility. Two missiles hit the house and one struck a vehicle resulting in the death of four suspected militants. A woman was also killed in the strike, the officials added. The identity of those killed in this strike could not be ascertained from independent sources, however media reports said the targeted compound was a suspected militant hideout. The Al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network in North Waziristan, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, is one of the thorniest issues between Islamabad and Washington. The attacks by unmanned US aircraft remain contentious with Pakistan saying it violates its sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, and American officials believing the strikes to be too important to be given up. During the US Presidential debate yesterday, President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney supported the drone strikes to kill terrorists. — PTI