The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Lankan maid beheaded in Saudi Arabia Was charged with killing infant Riyadh rejected Colombo's appeal Jeddah, January 10 Saudi Arabia beheaded a young Sri Lankan housemaid on Wednesday after rejecting appeals by her home country against her death sentence for the killing of an infant left in her care in 2005, Saudi and Sri Lankan authorities said. The Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement run by the official SPA news agency that Rizana Nafeek was executed in the town of Dawadmy, near the capital Riyadh, on Wednesday morning. Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said Nafeek was sentenced to death in 2007 after her Saudi employer accused her of killing his infant daughter while she was bottle-feeding. The Saudi Interior Ministry statement said the infant was strangled after a dispute between the maid and the baby's mother. The Lankan government appealed against the death penalty but the Saudi Supreme Court upheld it in 2010. "President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a personal appeal on two occasions immediately after the confirmation of the death sentence, and a few days ago to stop the execution and grant a pardon to Miss Rizana Nafeek," the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement sent by email. "President Rajapaksa and the government of Sri Lanka deplore the execution of Miss Rizana Nafeek despite all efforts at the highest level of the government and the outcry of the people locally and internationally over the death sentence of a juvenile housemaid," it said. Amnesty International said the passport Nafeek used to enter Saudi Arabia in May 2005 stated she was born in February 1982, but her birth certificate states she was born six year later, which would have made her 17 at the time of the infant's death. Saudi households are highly dependent on housemaids from African and South Asian countries. There have been reported cases of domestic abuse in which families mistreat their maids, who have then attacked the children of their employers. Human Rights Watch condemned the execution. "Saudi Arabia is one of just three countries that executes people for crimes they committed as children," said Nisha Varia, senior women's rights researcher for Human Rights Watch. "In executing Rizana Nafeek, Saudi authorities demonstrated callous disregard for basic humanity as well as Saudi Arabia's international legal obligations." — Reuters Sri Lanka recalls ambassador Colombo: Sri Lanka recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed A Jawad on Thursday to protest the beheading of Rizana Nafeek in the kingdom as her family pressed for her remains to be flown home. — AFP
	Karzai accorded rare full military honours in US Washington, January 10 Reflecting the importance the US attaches to Hamid Karzai, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta today accorded full military honours to the visiting Afghan President at the Pentagon. Marked with traditional pomp and show, the full military honours accorded to Karzai included a 21-gun salute, which is rarely given to a foreign dignitary. Following the event, Karzai and Panetta led their respective delegations for intensive consultations on a range of issues, which among other things included the bilateral security agreement and number of troop presence in the country after the security transition is completed in 2014. Panetta among others was joined by Gen Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff, in the meeting. Karzai is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Department of State today. Hillary, who has already hosted a working lunch for Karzai at the State Department, is looking forward to her meeting with him this evening, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said. Tomorrow, Karzai would meet US President Barack Obama at the White House, after which both the leaders are scheduled to issue a joint statement. Karzai yesterday drove to the Capitol Hill for a meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators, including Mitch McConnell, Bob Casey, Deb Fischer and Tim Kaine. The meeting lasted for half-an-hour. — PTI
	‘Lincoln’, ‘Life of Pi’ lead Oscar race Beverly Hills, January 10 US presidential drama ‘Lincoln’ led the pack of Oscar nominees today with 12 nominations, including a nod for best picture, in the race for the world's top film honours. Joining ‘Lincoln’ in the competition for the best movie Oscar were eight films - shipwreck tale ‘Life of Pi’ with 11 nods, musical ‘Les Miserables’, Iran hostage drama ‘Argo’, French language drama ‘Amour’, Osama bin Laden thriller ‘Zero Dark Thirty’, comedy ‘Silver Linings Playbook’, Quentin Tarantino's ‘Django Unchained’, and mythological film ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’. The Oscars are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and this year's winners will be named at a ceremony in Hollywood on February 26. Best acting nominations went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance as US President Abraham Lincoln, Hugh Jackman for ‘Les Miserables’, Jessica Chastain for her role as a CIA agent in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ and Jennifer Lawrence for playing a young widow in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. In a list with few major surprises, ‘Lincoln’ also picked up nods for director Steven Spielberg, and supporting actors Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as best adapted screenplay and costumes. James Bond film ‘Skyfall’ won five nominations, including best original song and cinematography, but the British secret agent movie missed out on a coveted best picture mention. The screen adaption of musical ‘Les Mis’ got eight nominations, including best supporting actress for Anne Hathaway. But director Tom Hooper was left off the directing nominees, along with Ben Affleck for ‘Argo’ and Tarantino for his violent slavery era Western ‘Django Unchained’. ‘Amour’, a moving love story about an elderly couple, fared well with the Academy, winning best picture and best director nods for Michael Haneke, and a best lead actress mention for 85 year-old Emmanuelle Riva, who became the oldest best actress nominee in the Academy's 85-year history. — Reuters
	Khar hopes India-Pak talks won't be affected Afzal Khan in Islamabad Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday said she hoped that the recent incidents on the Line of Control (LoC) would not affect the dialogue that has been underway between India and Pakistan. Khar claimed there were contradictions in statements of Indian officials with regard to these incidents. She said the Pakistani media had played a positive role in the matter and showed restraint. Earlier on Wednesday, Khar had appeared on an Indian TV channel and had issued a firm denial and criticised the statements by authorities in New Delhi about the alleged killing of two Indian soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. While India claims that Pakistan had send its troops across the heavily militarised LoC on Tuesday and killed its two jawans, the Pakistani Army has denied it. Khar said Pakistan had contacted the UN military observer group for India and Pakistan to conduct an inquiry into the LoC ceasefire violations. Replying to a question about the Most Favoured Nation status for India, Khar said this is not an exceptional case and its status would be the same as that of 180 other countries.
	43 killed in 4 bomb attacks in Pak Islamabad, January 10 As many as 43 persons were killed and over 120 others injured in four bomb attacks in the restive Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa today, with terrorists targeting a security forces vehicle and a religious gathering. A powerful bomb went off under a security forces vehicle at the busy Bacha Khan Chowk in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, killing 12 persons and injuring about 40 others. The blast was heard from several kilometres away. The roundabout, located near several markets, was crowded when the explosion occurred. In the second incident, 22 persons were killed and nearly 70 injured in an explosion at a preaching centre near Mingora, the main town in Swat Valley of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, this evening. — PTI
	6 blasts leave 90 dead in Pak Islamabad, January 10 Ninety persons were killed and over 270 injured in six bomb blasts in the restive Pakistan provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa today. Terrorists targeted a security force vehicle and a Shia-majority neighbourhood in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, and a religious congregation in the Swat Valley of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, an erstwhile stronghold of the Taliban. Fifty-six persons were killed and over 160 injured in the worst attacks that occurred late in the evening at Alamdar Road and Airport Road in Quetta. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a snooker club on Alamdar Road, which has a sizeable population of Shia Hazaras. As media teams and security forces gathered in the area, three more bombs went off within minutes of each other, media reports said. Imran Sheikh, a cameraman for a TV channel, and a Deputy Superintendent of Police were among the dead. Several reporters, cameramen and technicians of news channels were injured. The first attack of the day also occurred in Quetta, where a powerful bomb went off under a security forces vehicle at the busy Bacha Khan Chowk this afternoon. Twelve persons were killed and over 40 injured. The blast was heard several kilometres away. The roundabout, located near several markets, was crowded at the time of the explosion. Officials at a nearby hospital said two children and a Frontier Corps guard were among the dead.