British Sikh girl’s organs traced in Punjab
London, June 24
Parents of a British Sikh girl who died suddenly while on holiday in India have moved a step closer to getting answers about her mysterious death.

Moscow, June 24
A plane took off from Moscow today headed for Cuba, but the seat booked by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was empty, and there was no sign of him elsewhere on board.

An Aeroflot representative told The Associated Press that Snowden wasn't on flight SU150 to Havana. Reporters on the flight couldn't find him. The Interfax news 
agency also quoted an unidentified Russian security source in Moscow as saying that Snowden wasn't on the plane.

The airline said earlier that Snowden registered for the flight using his US passport, which American officials say has been annulled.

Meanwhile, expressing "frustration and disappointment" over the decision of the Hong Kong authorities to allow Snowden to fly out of the Chinese territory, the White House today said the move will have an impact on US-China relationship.

"We see this as a setback, in terms of their effort to build relationship, in terms of their effort to build trust," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters, noting that the US does not buy the Chinese argument or that of the Hong Kong authorities that they could not fulfil the American requests in this matter legally.

"With regards to your question about the Chinese government, we are just not buying that this was a technical decision by a Hong Kong immigration official. This was a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship," Carney said in response to a question. — Agencies

Hanoi, June 24
Ecuador's foreign minister said protection for fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was an issue of "freedom of expression" as his government analyses a request for asylum by the whistleblower.

"We will make a decision. We are analysing it," Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told reporters through a translator in Hanoi of the asylum request by Snowden.

"It (the request) has to do with freedom of expression and the security of citizens around the world," he added.

"We always act by principle not in our own interest. There are some governments who act more on their own interests, we do not."

The 30-year-old IT contractor was expected to head to Ecuador via Cuba and AFP correspondents at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport saw an Ecuadoran-flagged diplomatic car at VIP arrivals.

"We know he is in Moscow, we're in talks with higher authorities," Patino, who is on an official visit to communist Vietnam, said.

The South American country, led by outspoken leftist President Rafael Correa, has been sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted by Sweden, at its London embassy for the past year. — AFP 

London, June 24
Parents of a British Sikh girl who died suddenly while on holiday in India have moved a step closer to getting answers about her mysterious death.

Birmingham-born Gurkiren Kaur Loyal fell ill on a family holiday in Punjab in April and was being treated for dehydration at a clinic in Khanna when staff reportedly gave her a mystery injection.

The eight-year-old's parents claim her organs were then removed during a post-mortem to cover up the cause of death.

Their local councillor, Narinder Kaur Kooner, who has been spearheading a campaign for the return of these organs for a post-mortem in the UK, has now received an email confirming that the organs are at the Department of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.

"Now we need to make an approach to them to try and get the organs released and repatriated. We've also managed to make contact with Parkash Singh Badal, chief minister of Punjab, who has apparently said ‘Why did they remove the organs? They shouldn't have," she said, following a candlelight vigil in memory of Gurkiren held in Birmingham on Saturday.

"We don't know what the timescale is for this. But the fact they've confirmed the organs are at the facility is a real breakthrough – we want to pursue that as quickly as possible," she added.

Hundreds of candles spelt out the word "justice" at Centenary Square in the heart of the city as family members and well-wishers gathered in memory of the local schoolgirl. — PTI

Milan, June 24
A Milan court has convicted former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute during infamous 'bunga bunga' parties at his villa and then using his influence to try to cover it up.

Berlusconi (76) was sentenced to seven years in prison and barred from public office for life. The ban on holding office could mean the end of Berlusconi's two-decade political career. However, there are two more levels of appeal before the sentence would become final.

Berlusconi holds no official post in the current Italian government, but remains influential in the uneasy cross-party coalition that emerged after inconclusive February elections. Both he and the Moroccan woman at the centre of the scandal have denied ever having sex.

Neither Berlusconi nor the woman at the centre of the case, Karima el-Mahroug, better known by her nickname Ruby, have testified in this trial. El-Mahroug was called by the defence but failed to show on a couple of occasions, delaying the trial. Berlusconi's team eventually dropped her from the witness list.

El-Mahroug did testify in the separate trial of three Berlusconi aides charged with procuring prostitutes for the sex-fuelled parties. She told the court that Berlusconi's disco featured aspiring showgirls dressed as sexy nuns and nurses performing striptease acts, and that one woman even dressed up as President Barack Obama and the prosecutor in the sex-for-hire case, Ilda Boccassini.

El-Mahroug, now 20, said she attended about six parties at Berlusconi's villa, and that after each, Berlusconi handed her an envelope with up to $3,900 in denominations of 500.

She said she later received 30,000 euros cash from the then-premier. She was 17 at the time of the alleged encounters. She said she had claimed to be 24. — AP

Sidon (Lebanon), June 24
At least 12 Lebanese soldiers have been killed in less than 24 hours of clashes with supporters of a radical Sunni cleric in the southern city of Sidon, a military spokesman said.

The fighting intensified today, witnesses and the Lebanese National News Agency reported, a day after the violence began, when supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir opened fire on an army checkpoint.

The clashes are linked to the ongoing violence in Syria, which has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon and led to sporadic outbreaks of fighting throughout the country.

Witnesses said gunfire and the sound of shelling had increased in the early hours of Monday morning in the Abra neighbourhood on the eastern outskirts of Sidon, where the fighting is now concentrated.

"The clashes are very violent, we can hear intense rocket fire and gunfire every few minutes," an Abra resident said.

Lebanon's National News Agency also reported "fierce clashes between the Lebanese army and supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir". An army spokesman said 12 soldiers had been killed since the fighting began on Sunday, and medical sources reported at least 35 wounded, mostly civilians.

A Salafist cleric said his bodyguard had been killed on Sunday as they attempted to reach the fighting to negotiate a ceasefire.

Assir's brother said the cleric and his supporters were inside Abra's Bilal Bin Rabah mosque, where Assir preaches. "There has been a decision taken to finish us off, but we're resisting up until now," Amjad al-Assir told AFP by phone. "Sheikh Assir will stay in the mosque until the last drop of blood."

"The army is fighting at the moment a few metres" from the mosque, the National News Agency said.

The clashes began on Sunday afternoon, when supporters of Assir, a Salafist cleric known for his opposition to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, opened fire on an army post in Abra. — AFP

The Pakistan Government has decided to initiate a high-treason case against former military dictator Pervez Musharraf for subverting the country’s constitution twice. The trial would be held under article 6 of the Pakistan constitution. This was stated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the National Assembly 
on Monday.

If convicted, Musharraf could face death penalty or life imprisonment. The announcement was widely acclaimed by opposition members in the House.

Attorney General Munir A Malik, meanwhile, submitted his stance on the issue before the Supreme Court. The AG wanted 30 more days to file a comprehensive statement on the issue, but the court ordered him to do so within three days.

Musharraf faces the charges of subverting the constitution twice in 1999 when he toppled the Nawaz Sharif’s democratically elected government and put him and his entire family in the jail on the charge of hijacking his plane. Sharifs were later exiled to Saudi Arabia for 10 years. He is also accused of imposing illegal emergency in the country on November 3, 2007, sacking Chief Justice Iftikar Mohammd Chaudry and nearly 60 top judges of the country and putting them under detention, often along with their families, for around five months.

Leaders from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other groups have extended support to the government decision.

Leader of Opposition Khurshid Shah welcomed the prime minister’s speech and said the pictures of all past dictators should be removed from parliament. Shah Mahmood Qureshi of the PTI said his party would support every move that the government made within the ambit of constitution.

Musharraf is currently under house arrest in his own farmhouse. Military observers say the army has no objection to his trial because he is an ordinary citizen now. However, there is some unease among the rank and file about the humiliation that a former army chief was being subjected to.

Sharif said he had forgiven Musharraf for what he did to him, but he must be held responsible for national crimes he committed.