The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EU lifts arms embargo on Syrian rebels

Brussels, May 28
The European Union (EU) decided to lift arms embargo on Syria to support the opposition forces in the country, said an EU statement following its Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

At the beginning of August, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will adopt restrictive measures for a period of 12 months. These will include "export and import restrictions with the exception of arms and related material and equipment which might be used for internal repression".

To avoid the arms or equipment that might be used for internal repression flowing to the Bashar al-Asad regime, the EU insisted that the sale, supply, transfer or export of military equipment "will be for the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces and intended for the protection of civilians", reported Xinhua.

"Member states shall require adequate safeguards against misuse of authorisations granted, in particular relevant information concerning the end-user and final destination of the delivery," said the statement.

The EU member states were also requested to assess the export licence applications on a case-by-case basis, taking full account of the EU common criteria in governing control of exports of military technology and equipment.

Following the violent repression of anti-government protests in Syria from mid-March 2011, the EU took a number of measures including arms embargo, financial sanctions and restrictive measures on oil trade which was lifted last month. — IANS

Indian-origin doc dies
LONDON: A 26-year-old Indian-origin doctor has been killed in Syria as he treated wounded civilians at a makeshift hospital, the British media reported on Tuesday. Dr Isa Abdur Rahman, a graduate from Imperial College London, died shortly after the attack on May 23 in the city of Idlib. Rahman went to Syria almost a year ago, so that he could help civilians caught up in fighting between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to oust his regime. — PTI

Russia Says missile systems will deter intervention
Moscow: Russia will not scrap plans to deliver an air defence system to Syria despite Western opposition because it would help deter "hotheads" intent on intervention in the two-year-old conflict, the deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday. It also accused the European Union of "throwing fuel on the fire" by letting its own arms embargo on Syria expire. Israel and France had urged Moscow to refrain from sending high-precision S-300 missile systems to President Bashar al-Assad's government. — Reuters

SC annuls Pakistan’s anti-graft agency head’s appointment

Afzal Khan in Islamabad
The Pakistan apex court on Tuesday annulled the appointment of Admiral Fasih Bukhari (retd) as the chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), country's dreaded anti-corruption outfit. A bench of the court headed by Justice Tassaddaq Hussain ruled that Bukhari's appointment was made on October 16, 2011, in violation of constitutional provisions.

Former leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar had petitioned the court on October 22, 2011, seeking a declaration against the appointment as void ab initio (illegal from the beginning), saying it was made by President Asif Ali Zardari without legal authority. Under the constitution, the PM is required to initiate the proposal after due consultation with the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.

UK to probe how MI5 failed to stop soldier’s killing in Woolwich

London, May 28
A British parliamentary committee will examine whether the country's intelligence service failed in assessing the threat posed by two apparent Islamists who butchered a soldier on a London street last week.

The parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will examine whether more could have been done to prevent the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby, as the two suspects, Michael Olumide Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, were reportedly on the domestic intelligence service MI5's monitoring radar.

However, the committee's chairman has stressed that the move to examine the service's operation prior to the attack in Woolwich, a neighbourhood in south-east London, does not imply that MI5 is 'in the dock".

"I think that would be very unfair," Sir Malcolm Rifkind told BBC Radio 4 when asked if the probe is just.

"Do remember one fundamental point: The fact we have not had anyone killed until these tragic events in Woolwich since the 7/7 bombings (in London) in 2005 is not because there hasn't been terrorist plots. Every year since 2005 there has been at least one, sometimes two or even more, terrorist plots which were disrupted and prevented from killing British citizens, partly because of the work of MI5-in some cases very largely because of the work of MI5-and other intelligence agencies," he added.

Sir Malcolm said after the ISC deliberations, Prime Minister David Cameron and Parliament would receive a report.

He said elements of the Parliament report may be redacted for public viewing on the grounds of national security. — PTI

War memorials vandalised

London: Two war memorials in the heart of London have been daubed with the word "Islam" in red paint by vandals. The police was called to the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command War Memorial in Green Park on Monday and it found engravings on the monument covered with paint. Similar graffiti was found at the Animals in War Memorial in Hyde Park. — PTI

Polio worker killed in Pak; WHO suspends campaign

Islamabad, May 28
Suspected militants shot and killed a woman polio vaccinator and injured another in an attack in Peshawar city of northwest Pakistan today, prompting the World Health Organisation (WHO) to suspend its vaccination campaign.

Two gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at the vaccinators in the Badabher area on the outskirts of Peshawar while they were administering polio drops to children.

One female vaccinator was killed instantly, the police and witnesses said.

The injured vaccinator was taken to Lady Reading Hospital, where doctors described her condition as critical. Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation for the gunmen.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack though the Pakistani Taliban banned polio vaccinations in parts of the tribal belt last year, claiming the drive was a cover for espionage.

Following the attack, WHO announced it was temporarily suspending its vaccination campaign in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

A fresh three-day anti-polio campaign had been launched in parts of Peshawar now.

President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack on the female vaccinators, saying "such cowardly acts of the militants and extremists cannot deter the strong resolve of the government to eradicate polio".

The government will not permit militants to deprive children of basic healthcare, he said. — PTI

BRIEFLY

World's oldest person is also last living man born in 19th century
MELBOURNE: The world's oldest person, a 116-year-old Japanese man, has now also become the last male alive to have been born in the 19th century. Jiroemon Kimura won the title with the death in Barbados last week of James Emmanuel 'Doc' Sisnett, at the age of 113 years and 90 days. According to the Gerontolgy Research Group at University of California, Los Angeles, 21 women born before New Year's Day in 1901 are still living. — PTI

Damaged Royal Caribbean ship Grandeur of the Seas is docked in Freeport after a fire broke out on the ship’s aft mooring deck on Monday morning. All 2,224 passengers and 796 crew members are safe. — Reuters

Lankan MeT sorry for cyclone naming
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's MeT Department on Tuesday apologised to the Buddhist community for naming a deadly tropical cyclone "Mahasen" after a revered king. The cyclone which affected parts of Bangladesh a fortnight ago was named "Mahasen" after a Sri Lankan monarch whose rule has been remembered for much prosperity in ancient Sri Lanka, inviting criticism from Buddhist nationalist groups. "The department wishes to apologise for giving the Mahasen name to the cyclone. It was not a deliberate attempt to discredit the King Mahasen", Meteorological Department Director SH Kariyawasam told reporters. — PTI

Afghan lawmaker's convoy hit; 5 dead
Kabul: An Afghan lawmaker says a roadside bomb under a bridge has hit his convoy on a major highway north of Kabul, killing five people. Obaidullah Ramin, a lawmaker from northern Baghlan province, says he does not believe he was intentionally targeted by the explosion early today. Police confirmed his account. He said the main highway leading north out of Kabul is often mined by Taliban insurgents to target official-looking convoys. Three of Ramin's relatives were among the dead. — AP

Iraq death toll crosses 500-mark in May
BAGHDAD: Violence in Iraq has killed more than 500 persons in May, figures showed on Tuesday, as authorities struggled to contain a wave of unrest that has raised fears of all-out sectarian conflict. As of Tuesday, 507 persons were killed and 1,287 wounded, making May the deadliest month in at least a year, according to the data, based on reports from security and medical sources. — AFP

French victim of SARS-like virus dies
PARIS: France's first victim of a SARS-like virus, which the 65-year-old man is thought to have contracted in Dubai, has died, health officials said on Tuesday. He was hospitalised on April 23. Another man, who shared a hospital room with him for three days, was later found to have the nCoV-EMC virus, a cousin of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that sparked a health scare around the world in 2003. — AFP

Death sentence for Indian in UAE
DUBAI: A 28-year-old Indian man has been sentenced to death by a UAE court for murdering an Indian woman by slitting her throat and then fleeing with her jewellery. The Court of First Instance gave the man, an accountant by profession, capital punishment for the premeditated murder that took place in the Burj Dubai home of the deceased last September. — PTI