Austrian gunman shoots four dead
Vienna, September 17
A suspected poacher shot dead three policemen and a paramedic in Austria, then barricaded himself in his farmhouse and opened fire on special forces outside, police and media said.

Russia, France disagree on Syria sarin attack
Moscow, September 17
Russia today said it still suspected the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria was carried out by rebel forces, despite a report by UN investigators which France said showed the government was behind the attack.

Dhaka, September 17
Fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, infamous as the “butcher of Mirpur”, was today sentenced to death for the 1971 war crimes by the Bangladesh Supreme Court, eight months after a special tribunal awarded him life imprisonment, sparking protests by Islamists.

“He is being handed down the capital punishment,” ruled Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain, as the five member-Bench headed by him reviewed the first case of the “crimes against humanity” during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Mollah, 65, the fourth-highest Jamaat leader, is the first politician to be found guilty by the Supreme Court after it rejected an appeal to acquit him of all charges.

Reviewing two appeals of the verdict handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal, the top appeals court sentenced the Jamaat leader to death with a 4-1 majority.

Amid tight security, the Bench delivered the judgment on appeals against the tribunal verdict which in February this year handed down life sentence to Mollah, the assistant secretary general of Jamaat.

Mollah was arrested on July 13, 2010, while the tribunal indicted him on May 28, 2012, on six specific charges for actively participating, facilitating, aiding and substantially contributing to the attacks on unarmed civilians, "causing commission of the horrific genocides, murders and rapes".

The Jamaat-e-Islami has called a 48-hour countrywide hartal following the verdict. In a statement, it termed the verdict a "wrong judgment" and a "state-sponsored plot to kill its leaders".

At least 30 persons, including four policemen, were injured as activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, burst into protests across the country, including the capital.

The witnesses earlier testified that Mollah led the literal slaughtering of several families entirely and in one such incidents his assassin group preferred to thump to death a two-year child while shooting dead the other inmates of the house at Mirpur area of Dhaka while the atrocities earned him the repute of being the "butcher of Mirpur" in Bangladesh.

Mollah’s lawyers said they would seek to the judgment reviewed again by the apex court itself as it appeared "unacceptable and surprising" as "there is no instance in the country’s judicial history when the apex court enhanced the trial court sentence".

The prosecution said under the law the defence might file a review petition within next one month but the apex court might dispose it within a day if it found no merit in it. — PTI

The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government to consult the federal government before it proceeds with its decision to withdraw troops from the Malakand /Swat division where the army had launched operation against Taliban after they virtually overran most of the area in 2009.

On September 14, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak approved the withdrawal of troops in a phased manner from the Malakand division in a move that many believe was aimed at appeasing the homegrown Taliban before the start of formal peace negotiations.

While hearing the missing persons case on Tuesday, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan said the provincial government should not take any decision in haste as it can create legal complications. The army had been deployed to maintain peace and there was no harm if it stayed longer for the same purpose.

He said the detention centres — where most of the missing persons were kept — were managed by the army and a pullout without proper transfer of authority to another entity would jeopardise the situation.

The PHC chief justice told advocate general that the pullout should take place once all legal requirements were fulfilled.

Chief Justice Khan asked the authorities concerned to set up an inquiry board for this matter and ensure that the entire record of those held in the detention centres were provided to the court before the troops’ withdrawal.

The court said the report by the inquiry board should be submitted on October 24.

The provincial government had announced that it will withdraw the army in a phased manner staring mid next month citing improved security scenario.

However, a day after the announcement, Maj Gen Sanaullaha along with a Lt Col and a soldier were killed in a Taliban attack in the same area where withdrawal was being proposed.

The province is ruled by Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. Imran is a strong supporter of talks and has called for a ceasefire.

The government's plan to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups has been criticised by many security analysts here and by large sections of the media.

It is estimated that about 40,000 persons have lost their lives in the cycle of violence in the last seven years.

Besides the brazen attack, the Taliban had demanded the release of over 4,000 prisoners and withdrawal of army from tribal areas. Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that terrorists will not be allowed to take advantage of the peace process through political initiative.

(with PTI inputs)

Vienna, September 17
A suspected poacher shot dead three policemen and a paramedic in Austria, then barricaded himself in his farmhouse and opened fire on special forces outside, police and media said.

The man first shot two policemen as they tried to arrest him in woodland in the province of Lower Austria near Vienna late on Monday. He also killed a paramedic who was treating a wounded officer at the scene,a police spokesman said.

The force said the man then fled in a stolen police car to his home near the city of Melk, taking a third policeman with him as a hostage. That officer was later found dead in the car, the agency reported, though the force was not immediately available to confirm the report.

Cobra special forces were surrounding the building where the man had opened fire, the police spokesman said. "The gunman keeps shooting at the Cobra forces ... The Cobra forces are working slowly and carefully," he said. — Reuters

Moscow, September 17
Russia today said it still suspected the August 21 chemical weapons attack in Syria was carried out by rebel forces, despite a report by UN investigators which France said showed the government was behind the attack.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius set out their countries’ opposing views following talks in Moscow, one day after the investigators confirmed the deadly nerve agent sarin was used in the attack.

“We have serious grounds to believe that this was a provocation,” Lavrov said of the attack, which the US has said killed more than 1,400 persons in rebel-held areas.

Lavrov, whose country has been the Syrian government’s most important ally in the civil war, said there had been "many provocations" by the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s government. He said the UN investigators’ report proved that chemical weapons had been used, but that "there is no answer to a number of questions we have asked".

Fabius said the report was convincing. "When you look at the amount of sarin gas used, the vectors, the techniques behind such an attack, it seems to leave no doubt that the (Assad) regime is behind it," Fabius said. — Reuters

Male, September 17
Former President Mohammed Nasheed-led Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) today sought the reconvening of Parliament, fearing annulment by the Supreme Court of the first round of presidential elections in which he emerged as the front-runner for the top job.

The controversy erupted after the Supreme Court admitted a plea filed by the Jumhooree Party (JP) to annul presidential polls held on September 7 alleging irregularities.

Nasheed, 46, won the elections with over 45 per cent of votes, but missed crucial half-way mark resulting in a second round of contest, scheduled on September 28, with runner-up Abdullah Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives.

Jumhooree Party’s (JP) candidate business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim missed the second round by a whisker with 24.07 per cent votes as compared to 25.35 per cent votes of runner-up Yameen.

At a meeting held today, MDP’s national executive committee asked the parliamentary group to call for parliament sittings to stop “undue influence of political parties in the judiciary,” Minivan News reported.

“We will not allow a courthouse that consists of some disgraced judges who face allegations of lewd conduct to abrogate the will of the people and disrupt the constitution,” the MDP’s statement was quoted as saying.

The Supreme Court had yesterday admitted plea of the Jumhooree Party to annul the elections. This appeal has been supported by the PPM citing concerns about the election results.

JP’s candidate Ibrahim had been a member of the Judicial Services Commission, a judicial oversight panel.

Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives, Tony Lisle, issued a statement today asking all the candidates “to respect the results” of the first round. — PTI

Washington, September 17
The world’s smallest car — just 25 inches high and 4 feet long — which can be safely driven on the road has entered the Guinness World Records. Custom car maker Austin Coulson in the United States set the record as the owner of the smallest roadworthy car, which he can legally drive on the road.

“I've always wanted to have a Guinness World Records (title) for something and automotive was always my favourite,” said Coulson.

Coulson’s car measures 25 inches high; 2 feet, 1.75 inches wide; and 4 feet, 1.75 inches long, and can be spotted by its Texas vanity license plates reading “IM BIG.”

To qualify as a roadworthy vehicle, Coulson needed to get the car registered and inspected and had to install a number of required safety features, according to Guinness website.

These included federally approved safety glass for the windshield, functioning windshield wipers and department of transportation-approved signal lights, a seat belt, and working horn.

“When I told my family I was going to try and get the world record for the smallest roadworthy car, they were a little sceptical at first,” Coulson said.

“All along, the whole process, they kept questioning it. They knew I could build the car, they just didn’t think I could get it legal,” said Coulson. — PTI