W O R L D

Bangladesh war crimes: Death penalty for Islamic leader triggers clashes; 32 dead
Dhaka, February 28
A top leader of Bangladesh's fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami was today sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity" during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, triggering widespread clashes across the country that left at least 32 persons dead.

Jamaat-e-Islami activists march with sticks during a clash with the police in Thakurgaon, near Dhaka, on Thursday; (inset) Delwar Hossain Sayedee. — AFP

Pope bids adieu, vows obedience to successor
Vatican City, February 28
Pope Benedict XVI today vowed "unconditional obedience" to his successor on his historic final day as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, when he will become the first pontiff to resign since the Middle Ages.

Bangladesh war crimes: Death penalty for Islamic leader triggers clashes; 32 dead

Dhaka, February 28
A top leader of Bangladesh's fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami was today sentenced to death for "crimes against humanity" during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, triggering widespread clashes across the country that left at least 32 persons dead.

Delwar Hossain Sayedee (73), vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was handed down death penalty by a special war crimes tribunal after he was found guilty of eight counts out of 20 involving mass killing, rape and atrocities during the nine-month war against Pakistan.

"He (Delwar Hossain Sayedee) will be hanged by neck till he is dead," pronounced chairman of the three-judge International Crimes Tribunal Justice ATM Fazle Kabir.

Soon after the verdict, the JI members went on rampage, sparking violence across the country that left at least 32 persons dead, the authorities said.

Earlier, the party, Muslim-majority Bangladesh's largest Islamic bloc, enforced a nationwide general strike to denounce the trial and to demand Sayedee's acquittal.

Of the deceased, six persons, including three policemen, were killed in Gaibandha, four in Thakurgaon, three in Satkhira, two each in Rangpur, Noakhali, Chittagong, Moulvibazar and Sirajganj while one each in Dinajpur, Natore, Cox's Bazar and Chapainawabganj. Five deaths were also reported from other parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the JI has called a 48-hour nationwide strike from Sunday protesting death penalty for Sayedee.

Amiruzzaman, Jamaat chief of Chittagong (North), said the party would organise special prayers tomorrow and stage protest rallies on Saturday across the country. Sayedee is the third JI politician to be convicted by the Tribunal since the trial of war crimes suspects, mostly belonging to the Islamist group, began three years ago. — PTI 

capital punishment

• Delwar Hossain Sayedee is the third JI politician to be convicted by the tribunal in three years
• The tribunal found valid eight charges against Sayedee, including mass killing, arson, lootings and forcefully converting non-Muslims to Islam
• After the verdict, the JI members went on rampage, sparking violence across the country that left at least 32 persons dead

Pope bids adieu, vows obedience to successor

Vatican City, February 28
Pope Benedict XVI today vowed "unconditional obedience" to his successor on his historic final day as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, when he will become the first pontiff to resign since the Middle Ages.

"Among you, there is also the future pope to whom I promise my unconditional obedience and reverence," the pope said as he bade farewell to cardinals in the Vatican's ornate Clementine Hall.

"Let the Lord reveal the one he has chosen," said the 85-year-old pope, wearing an ermine-lined red stole over his white cassock.

"We have experienced, with faith, beautiful moments of radiant light together, as well as times with a few clouds in the sky," Benedict said, reprising a theme from his adieu to over 1.5 lakh pilgrims in St Peter's Square yesterday.

The cardinals with their black cassocks and red sashes then took turns bidding farewell to the pontiff, kissing his gold papal signet ring according to time-honoured tradition. Many doffed their birettas in a sign of deference.

Just hours remained before Benedict will make history as only the second pope to resign of his own free will in the Church's 2,000-year history.

The German pope stunned the globe when he announced on February 11 his surprise decision to step down, saying he no longer had the "strength of mind and body" to carry on in a fast-changing world.

"I took this step in full awareness of its gravity and novelty but with profound serenity," the pope said yesterday.

The theologian pope -- a shy academic who struggled with Vatican infighting and a raft of toxic sex abuse scandals -- said his eight-year pontificate had seen "sunny days" and "stormy waters", but he added: "I never felt alone". — AFP 

Thailand agrees to hold parleys with Muslim rebels 

Kuala Lumpur, February 28
Thailand today signed a historic deal with Muslim rebels active in the country's restive south, agreeing to hold talks in a bid to end the nine-year insurgency that has claimed over 5,000 lives.

The deal, brokered by Malaysia, was signed here between the Thai authorities and the militant Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), one of several groups operating in Thailand. Malaysia has been acting as a facilitator for the negotiations between the Thai government and the Muslim rebels.

It is the first formal engagement between the government and insurgents. The deal came ahead of a meeting in Kuala Lumpur between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.— PTI 

India, China likely to face US visa delays 

Washington, February 28
Automatic spending cuts in the US from March 1 could impact the visa processing time by the American missions in countries like India and China, the State Department has said.

"We are concerned that if sequestration happens, we could have major setbacks in the herculean effort we've made to reduce processing time," the State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell, told reporters yesterday.

In recent years, the State Department has had a huge influx of hiring of new consulate officers in countries like India, China and Brazil, where lots of middle class folks who are trying to come to the US for the first time and visit and spend their money.

"It's good for the American economy," Ventrell said, adding that sequestration would have an impact on these consular services. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Move to recognise doctor who helped CIA trace Osama
Washington: US lawmakers have introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to recognise a Pakistani doctor, who helped the CIA trace Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, as an American hero and seek his release from jail. Dr Shakil Afridi was arrested by the Pakistan government three weeks after Osama was killed in the US raid for helping to access the Al-Qaida leader's compound in the Pakistani garrison city. — PTI

A woman wearing a plastic bag over her head rides along a road in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on a hazy Thursday noon. Beijing's environmental authorities said air quality in Beijing and nearby regions has hit dangerous levels. ——Reuters

China to launch manned space mission
Beijing: China will send its second manned mission this year to dock with a space module currently orbiting the Earth, as the country continues experiments to set up a Spacelab to rival Russia's Mir station. China's new manned spacecraft will be launched some time between June and August, a spokesperson for the office of the country's space manned programme said in a statement on Thursday. — PTI

Pak to hand over 11 Indian prisoners
Islamabad: The Pakistani authorities will hand over 11 Indian prisoners, including seven fishermen, to the Indian authorities at the Wagah land border crossing tomorrow, officials said on Thursday. The seven fishermen were released on Thursday morning from a jail in the southern port city of Karachi and sent by bus to Lahore. — PTI

Award for S African-Gujarati educationist
Johannesburg: Recognising his lifetime contribution to the cause of Gujarati education in South Africa, India-born Khusal Daya has been honoured by the Transvaal United Patidar Society here. Daya and his wife Kusumbhen received a gold coin and a special framed picture from officials of the society, which hands out the award on an annual basis.— PTI

Series of bomb blasts in Iraq kills 19 
Baghdad: A series of bombings struck Baghdad and a livestock market south of the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 19 and wounding many in areas that are home to mostly Muslim Shiites, the latest evidence of rising sectarian discord in Iraq. The deadliest attack occurred around sunset when a pair of bombs exploded nearly simultaneously in Shula in north-western Baghdad. The double-bombing killed 15 persons and left at least 40 others wounded, officials said. — AP