Bangkok, June 14
The British Government has warned airlines around the world not to allow Edward Snowden, who leaked information on top-secret US government surveillance programmes, to fly to the UK.

A travel alert, dated Monday on a Home Office letterhead, said carriers should deny Snowden boarding because "the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the UK."

The Associated Press saw a photograph of the document taken today at a Thai airport. A British diplomat confirmed that the document was genuine and was sent out to airlines around the world. Airlines in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore also confirmed the alert had been issued.

The diplomat said such alerts are issued to carriers that fly into the UK and any carrier that brings Snowden will be liable to be fined £2,000. He said Snowden would likely have been deemed by the Home Office to be detrimental to the "public good." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

Snowden, 29, revealed himself on Sunday as the source of top-secret documents about US National Security Agency surveillance programmes that were reported earlier by the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers. He is believed to be in Hong Kong.

Snowden, an American citizen, has yet to be charged with any crime and no warrants have been issued for his arrest. Even without charges, Snowden's world is now shrinking. If other countries follow Britain's example and bar his entry, Snowden would have few options for seeking refuge if he were not allowed to stay in his preferred sanctuary of Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese territory.

China has not made any public comment on what it plans to do with Snowden or how long he would be welcome to stay in Hong Kong.

A popular Communist Party-backed newspaper, however, has urged China's leadership to milk Snowden for information rather than expel him, saying his revelations concern China's national interest.

If the US eventually calls for his return, Snowden does have the option of applying for asylum or refugee status in Hong Kong, which maintains a Western-style legal system.

If Snowden chose to fight it, his extradition to the US could take years to make its way through Hong Kong's courts.

The alert was issued on Monday by the Risk and Liaison Overseas Network, part of the UK Border Agency that has staff in several countries identified as major transit points for inadequately documented passengers. — AP

Tehran, June 14
Millions of Iranians cast their votes in the presidential election today at over 60,000 polling stations to choose two-term President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s successor.

In the morning, the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave a call for a high turnout. As Khamenei cast his vote, he urged the Iranians to actively participate in the election, saying that their participation would “determine the fate of the country”, Xinhua reported.

The enemies intended to “discourage the Iranian people” so that “they would not attend the polling stations”, said the leader, emphasising that “the Iranians disregard of the enemies’ attempts follow their own expedience”.

Although all six candidates of the 11th presidential election are seen as conservatives, one of them, cleric Hassan Rouhani, has been reaching out to the reformists in recent days, BBC reported.

The Iranian President is elected for a four-year term in a national election. — IANS

Istanbul, June 14
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today agreed to halt plans to redevelop an Istanbul park at the centre of two weeks of mass anti-government unrest, in a move protesters welcomed as “positive”.

It marked the first easing of tensions in the standoff, which has presented the Islamist-rooted government with the biggest challenge of its decade-long rule and earned it criticism from the West.

Hours after giving a “last warning” to defiant demonstrators camping out in Gezi Park, Erdogan made the concession in his first talks with a key group of protesters to defuse tensions in the crisis.

“The positive outcome from tonight is the prime minister’s explanation that the project will not continue before the final court decision,” Tayfun Kahraman, a spokesman for the Taksim Solidary group, seen as the most representative of the protest movement, said in televised remarks.

A peaceful sit-in to save Gezi Park’s 600 trees from being razed prompted a brutal police response on May 31, spiralling into nationwide outpourings of anger against Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), seen as increasingly authoritarian.

The promise to abide by a court decision suspending the redevelopment of Gezi Park was hailed as a win by the protesters. — AFP

Lahore, June 14
For the first time in 16 years, a Hindu has entered Pakistan’s Punjab Assembly as a lawmaker, less than a fortnight after the first ever Sikh became a member of the House since the country’s creation in 1947.

Kanji Ram is only the second Hindu to be part of the provincial assembly after Seth Bharta Ram, who was elected a lawmaker in 1997.

Ram and Sikh representative Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora were both nominated by the PML-N to seats in the Punjab Assembly reserved for non-Muslims.

Ram hails from Sadiqabad in Rahim Yar Khan district, located 450 km from Lahore, while Arora belongs to Narowal, a border district located 80 km from here.

Arora took oath during the first session of the assembly on June 1 while Ram will take oath on June 17 when the House meets for the second time for the budget session.

A sizeable number of Hindus live in Rahim Yar Khan and Ram believes his elevation as a legislator will help in addressing the problems faced by his community.

He called for easing the visa regime with neighbouring India. Pakistan’s Hindus favour good relations with all neighbouring countries, especially India as it is an important country in the region, he said.

Ram said he was also in favour of easy travel between the two countries, especially for trade and religious rituals. — PTI

rare feat

* Kanji Ram is only the second Hindu to be part of the provincial assembly after Seth Bharta Ram, who was elected a lawmaker in 1997

* Ram and Sikh representative Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora were both nominated by the PML-N to seats in the Punjab Assembly reserved for non-Muslims

* The Punjab Assembly has eight reserved seats for non-Muslims that are distributed among political parties according to their performance in elections.

London, June 14
Indian-origin sculptor Anish Kapoor has been honoured with knighthood, one of the highest honours in Britain, by Queen Elizabeth II in her birthday honours list 2013 for services to Visual Arts.

Regarded as one of the most influential and pioneering sculptors of his generation, 59-year-old Kapoor is famous for his monumental public sculptures and for his enigmatic sculptural forms which have been exhibited all over the world. He became the first living British artist of Indian origin to take over the Royal Academy in 2009.

A Turner Prize winner, Kapoor has twice won the Premio Duemilia at the Venice Biennale and has since received many other international honours.

Twenty-four other persons of Indian-origin have also been chosen for honours, including Jasvinder Sanghera, founder, Karma Nirvana, for services to victims of forced marriage and honour-based violence. — PTI

Washington, June 14
The issue of denial of visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was fiercely debated by a key Congressional committee, with an influential Republican party lawmaker questioning the decision of the US government.

Rights activists spoke in favour of continuing with the visa ban on Modi arguing that even though he had not been convicted so far, it was a fact that more than 2,500 persons died “under his watch” and as such the US was right in having a high moral ground on this issue.

They also noted that the situation would change if Modi were to be elected as the Prime Minister of India.

The issue was raised by Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, who in March travelled to Gujarat and met Modi as part of a three- member Congressional delegation during a hearing on religious freedom convened by the National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“I have some concerns about the application of a continuing denial to him (Modi) of a visa to the US.” — PTI