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Syrian rebels free 48 Iranians in prisoner swap
Shiite clerics and other officials greet men freed by Syrian rebels in Damascus on Wednesday. — AFP
Kidnapped Sikh beheaded in Pak
Nepal cold wave kills 8, toll mounts to 49
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Benghazi Consulate attack: Hillary Clinton to testify on Jan 22
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Syrian rebels free 48 Iranians in prisoner swap
Istanbul, January 9 The Syrian rebel al-Baraa brigade seized the Iranians in early August and initially threatened to kill them, saying they were members of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to fight for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Islamic Republic, one of Assad's closest allies, denied this, saying they were Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims visiting shrines, and it asked Turkey and Qatar to use their connections with Syrian insurgents to help secure their release. "The 48 Iranians have been released and are being taken to Damascus, accompanied by Iranian and Syrian officials," Bulent Yildirim, head of humanitarian aid agency IHH, told over telephone from Damascus. He said the release of 2,130 civilian prisoners, most of them Syrian but also including Turks and other foreign citizens, had begun in return. Two state-run Iranian television channels also reported that 48 Iranians had been freed in a swap. There was no confirmation from the Syrian government, which has periodically freed hundreds of prisoners over the 21-month-old conflict in apparent concessions. But Damascus has always stressed such prisoners "do not have blood on their hands". Syrian government forces have struck local deals with rebel groups to trade prisoners but the release announced today would be the first time non-Syrians were freed in a swap. Opposition groups accuse Assad of detaining tens of thousands of political prisoners during his 12 years in office and say those numbers have spiked sharply during the civil
war. — Reuters
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Kidnapped Sikh beheaded in Pak Islamabad, January 9 Mohinder Singh (40) was kidnapped from his shop in Tabbai village of Khyber Agency by unidentified armed men on November 20. Singh was a seller of herbal medicines, a trade that is common among Sikhs in northwest Pakistan. Singh was beheaded yesterday and his body was mutilated before it was packed in a sack and dumped at Zakhakhel Bazaar in Khyber Agency, unnamed officials were quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. The officials said Tawheedul Islam, a militant group, had claimed responsibility for killing Singh. A note left with the body said Singh had been killed for spying for a rival militant group, the Lashkar-e-Islam. The body was identified by the slain man's brother Daswant Singh. He said his brother's killing was a "cruel act" against members of the minority Sikh community. "We have no enmity with anyone and have lived peacefully in Khyber Agency for more than six decades," he said. Daswant told The News daily that his family had earlier approached the Tauheedul Islam, a pro-government militia of Zakhakhel tribesmen, but it had claimed it did not know the whereabouts of Singh.
— PTI Group rivalry
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Nepal cold wave kills 8, toll mounts to 49
Kathmandu, January 9 The sharp drop in temperatures over the week has taken a heavy toll, especially in the Terai and other southern Nepal regions. The downward drop in mercury levels continued with the temperature plunging close to minus one in the capital today. Kathmandu witnessed the coldest day of the year yesterday with the mercury dropping to minus 1.1 degree Celsius. As many as eight persons were reported dead today in Jhapa and Sunsari districts of eastern Nepal, taking the total number of dead in this year's cold wave spell to 49. Over the last two days, 19 persons had died in Saptari and Sunsari districts, including nine who died in Saptari on Monday, a report in the state-run 'The Rising Nepal' said.
— PTI
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Benghazi Consulate attack: Hillary Clinton to testify on Jan 22 Hillary's testimony before the House and Senate foreign relations committees had to be postponed due to her illness. Hillary fell ill owing to a severe stomach infection early December. She was even admitted to a hospital last month and treated for blood clot in her head. She has now fully recovered and resumed her full schedule at the State Department on Monday. While there has been no official word on her Benghazi testimony, Senator Bob Croker, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a news channel that this could be on January 22. "I had some very good conversations with her chief of staff and, certainly, it is up to Senator (Robert) Menendez, the (new) chairman of the (Senate Foreign Relations) committee, to set these. But my sense is, that her hearing probably will take place the morning of the 22nd. I think they feel she's going to be healthy enough to come in that day," Croker told the MSNBC news channel in an interview.
— PTI
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Einstein’s ‘E=mc2’ to be tested in space PPP leader shot dead in Pak Indian-American hid millions in account
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Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranian hostages today in exchange for the release of over 2,000 civilian prisoners held by the Syrian government, said the head of a Turkish aid agency which helped broker the deal.
Washington, January 9
