W O R L D

BBC news executives asked to ‘step aside’
London, November 12
BBC plunged into deeper crisis as it announced that two of its top news executives had been told to 'step aside' pending the outcome of an internal review into the handling of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

US lawmakers demand inquiry into David Petraeus affair
Washington, November 12
Senior US lawmakers have demanded an inquiry into the FBI investigations that brought to light the extramarital affair of former CIA Director David Petraeus, wanting to know when the top general's name popped up on FBI radar and whether national security was compromised.

quake fury: The under-construction Yadanatheinga bridge over Irrawaddy river that collapsed after a quake in Kyaukmyaung township in Shwebo, Myanmar. — AP/PTI

BBC news executives asked to ‘step aside’
SEX ABUSE CLAIMS Pressure ‘mounts’ on broadcaster’s chairman Patten to quit

London, November 12
BBC plunged into deeper crisis as it announced that two of its top news executives had been told to 'step aside' pending the outcome of an internal review into the handling of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse claims.

The famed broadcaster also faced fresh pressure after reports that its chief executive George Entwistle, who quit dramatically would receive a staggering payoff of £450,000, which Prime Minister David Cameron said was "hard to justify".

BBC's director of news Helen Boaden and her deputy Steve Mitchell were asked to stand aside till an inquiry committee into Savile affair was completed, the broadcaster said.

The suspension of two executives follows resignation of the company's director-general, leaving the broadcaster in chaos as it fights the fallout from allegations that its late star Savile was a serial sex offender and from a television report that wrongly implicated a Tory politician in child abuse.

Reports said pressure was also mounting on BBC's chairman Chris Patten to quit as well as speculation that a number of senior figures at the BBC were set lose their jobs.

The chain of resignations follows a report into a Newsnight broadcast on abuse claims, which said the BBC must resolve a "lack of clarity" in the chain of command.

The quitting of the director-general with a fancy pay-off triggered off widespread protests, with the Prime Minister saying it was a matter for George Entwistle's conscience as to whether he expected the full payoff - a year's salary after just two months in the job.

Culture secretary Maria Miller said: "The [BBC] Trust will need to justify this - it is accountable to licence fee payers in ensuring value for money, and we expect it to have considered that carefully." The opposition Labour Party asked for an urgent question in the House of Commons on the pay-out.

Reports said the two executives had removed themselves from making decisions on some areas of BBC News output while a separate inquiry, by former head of Sky News Nick Pollard, was held into that decision.

Ken MacQuarrie, director of BBC Scotland, in his report on the north Wales broadcast, said: "To address the lack of clarity around the editorial chain of command, a decision has been taken to re-establish a single management to deal with all output, Savile-related or otherwise.

"Helen Boaden has decided that she is not in a position to undertake this responsibility until the Pollard review has concluded." He added: "Consideration is now being given to the extent to which individuals should be asked to account further for their actions and if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken." The BBC said once the Pollard Review reports, Ms Boaden and Mr Mitchell "expect to then return to their positions". — PTI 

US lawmakers demand inquiry into David Petraeus affair

Washington, November 12
Senior US lawmakers have demanded an inquiry into the FBI investigations that brought to light the extramarital affair of former CIA Director David Petraeus, wanting to know when the top general's name popped up on FBI radar and whether national security was compromised.

"It came like a lightning bolt," Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein said yesterday during Congressional hearings on the possible intelligence and security lapses surrounding the terror attack on US mission in Benghazi.

"This is something that could have had an effect on national security," Feinstein said. "I think we should have been told." She said the committee would "absolutely" investigate why the FBI did not notify relevant officials sooner.

The demand of an inquiry into the Petraeus episode came as law enforcement agencies identified Jill Kelley, 37, of Tampa, as the woman whose report of harassing e-mails eventually exposed an extramarital affair between Petraeus and Paula Broadwell, a former Army officer who wrote a biography of the retired four-star general, the Washington Post reported.

The departure in disgrace of one of the administration's most respected and prominent figures comes as President Barack Obama is reorgansing his national-security team for a second term. Petraeus was to have been a primary candidate for a berth.

The Petraeus affair overshelved the Congressional hearing with Representative Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, saying, "It just doesn't add up that you have this type of investigation. The FBI is investigating e-mails, the e-mails leading to the CIA director, taking four months to find out that the CIA director was involved."

"I have real questions about this. I think a timeline has to be looked at and analysed to see what happened," King said on CNN's "State of the Union."

The FBI investigation began after Kelley visited the bureau's Tampa office in early summer and provided investigators with harshly worded e-mails accusing her of seeking an intimate relationship with Petraeus.

After Kelley turned over the e-mails, FBI investigators determined that they had come from Broadwell. An examination of Broadwell's accounts led to the discovery of exchanges between her and Petraeus - who used an address with a fictitious name, not his CIA or military account. — PTI

Bus carrying Indian fishermen meets with accident in Pakistan

Lahore, November 12
A bus transporting 15 Indian fishermen released from a Pakistani jail met with an accident in Punjab province today, causing minor injuries to four of them, officials said.

The Lahore-bound bus collided with a speeding truck at Jehanian, located 330 km from the capital of Punjab province, an official of the Highway Police Patrol said.

Four of the fishermen sustained minor injuries and police took them to a nearby hospital where they were provided first aid, he said.

The fishermen had boarded the bus in Karachi yesterday after being freed from a jail in the southern port city.

They were to be handed over to Indian authorities at the Wagah land border crossing today.

Following the accident, their repatriation was put off till tomorrow, officials said.

Leading rights activist Ansar Burney, whose trust provided the bus that was transporting the fishermen, said arrangements were made to send them to Lahore in another vehicle.

"We will try to organise their repatriation to India as soon as possible so that the fishermen can celebrate Diwali with their families," Burney told PTI.

Pakistan and India arrest dozens of fishermen every year for violating their maritime boundaries.

The fishermen sometimes languish in jail for months even after completing their prison terms. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Greenpeace warns of ‘overfishing crisis’ in Indian Ocean
Colombo: The environmental group Greenpeace on Monday said there was an "overfishing crisis" in the Indian Ocean and urged better monitoring of trawlers. Greenpeace raised the alarm as its flagship Rainbow Warrior arrived in Sri Lanka at the end of a two-month expedition in the Indian Ocean to monitor tuna fishing and poaching in the region. "The monitoring of tuna fisheries must be strengthened," Greenpeace said in a statement, adding there was an "overfishing crisis in the Indian Ocean". The Rainbow Warrior had set sail from Durban, South Africa, in early September and travelled to Mozambique, Mauritius, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. — PTI

Iran to test new air defence system
Tehran: Iran's military is to test a new air defence system modelled after the US Hawk system as tensions with the West escalate over the country's suspect nuclear programme, the Iranian state TV reported. The report quoted Gen. Farad Emili, chief of Iran's air defence headquarters, as saying the surface-to-air system has been named "Mer sad," or Ambush. The system is capable of locking a flying object at a distance of 80 km and can hit from 45 km away, using an Iranian-made missile dubbed Shah in, or Hawk, according to the report. — PTI

Taiwan tests new anti-ship missile
Taipei: Taiwan tested its longest range ship-to-ship missile within a month of China putting its first aircraft carrier into service, a report said on Monday. Dubbed an "aircraft carrier killer", the missile has a range of 400 km and is capable of achieving Mach 3.0, or triple the speed of sound, the Taipei-based United Daily News said. "The Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology finished a series of tests off Taiwan last month," it said, in reference to Taiwan's arms development unit. — PTI