The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	1971 war crimes Top B’desh Oppn leader sentenced to death Dhaka, October 1 A prominent lawmaker of the Opposition BNP was today sentenced to death by a special Bangladeshi tribunal for genocide during the country's 1971 liberation war against Pakistan, becoming the first MP and seventh person to be convicted of crimes against humanity. "He (Salauddin Quader Chowdhury) will be hanged by neck till he is dead," Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, chairman of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, announced in a packed courtroom here. Chowdhury, 65, the first member of the main Opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to be tried by the court, was found guilty of rape, torture, murder and genocide during the war of independence. Despite tight security across the country, the verdict sparked violence in Chowdhury's home city of Chittagong and in the capital Dhaka, with protesters torching vehicles. A driver of a van that was set afire sustained burn injuries. The government had yesterday boosted security in anticipation of violent protests by Opposition parties. Paramilitary Border Guards were deployed in Chittagong, while police in riot gear patrolled the streets in the capital and other cities. BNP called for a dawn-to-dusk strike in the port city of Chittagong tomorrow to protest the verdict. Earlier, the tribunal said nine of 23 charges against Chowdhury, who was present in the courtroom with family members, were "proved beyond reasonable doubt" and he was awarded capital punishment for four of the charges. The judges took more than two-and-half hours to deliver the 172-page verdict along with observations. "The verdict is justified...he was given death penalty on four charges which were heinous genocides," Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said, emerging from the courtroom. Witnesses said Chowdhury called the verdict "a pre-determined judgment" and his relatives joined him in making ridiculing comments against the judges. Chowdhury is one of two BNP leaders to be tried for 1971 war crimes, but the top leadership of the main Opposition party was yet to comment on the verdict, which came 17 months after the high-powered tribunal indicted him on 23 charges of crimes against humanity committed along with Pakistani troops. The charges included killing directly around 200 persons, collaborating with the Pakistan army to kill and torture unarmed people. — PTI
	23 killed in Thailand’s floods as more storms loom Bangkok, October 1 Thai authorities said today that floods have killed more than 20 persons and affected areas across the country over the past two weeks, though experts say there doesn't appear to be the risk of devastation seen in record floods two years ago. Thirty-two out of 77 provinces have seen flooding since mid-September and 23 persons have been killed, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said in its report, adding that 25 provinces still have flooding. The report said more than 2.8 million persons were affected by the floodwater and 15,254 had been evacuated from their homes. Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said Thailand was not at risk from the remnants of Typhoon Wutip, which reached the northeast today. However, he said the country should be ready for other storms. — AP
	Syria disarmament team launches mission Damascus, October 1 A chemical disarmament team crossed into Syria today to begin the daunting task of inventorying the country's arsenal of the banned weapons in readiness for its destruction. The team from the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) arrived in Syria a day after the departure of a team of UN inspectors, who had been investigating a series of alleged chemical attacks. Syria's Information Minister, meanwhile, insisted that President Bashar al-Assad would stay in office and that he had the option to run for another term in elections next year. Assad's departure is a key demand of the Opposition, who insist it must be a pillar of a mooted peace conference in Geneva. The team of 20 inspectors from The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is implementing a UN resolution ordering the elimination of Syria's arsenal. The operation to rid Syria of chemical weapons by a target date of mid-2014 will be one of the largest and most dangerous of its kind. The arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and other banned chemicals stored at an estimated 45 sites across the war-torn country. The outgoing UN team of chemical weapons experts is probing seven alleged gas attacks and hopes to present a final report by late October. Earlier this month, it submitted an interim report that confirmed the use of the nerve agent sarin in the August 21 attacks on the outskirts of Damascus. The United States threatened military action in response, accusing forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of deliberately killing hundreds of civilians with rocket-delivered nerve agents. Syria denied the allegations but agreed to relinquish its chemical arsenal, effectively heading off a strike, under a US-Russian deal which was enshrined in the landmark UN resolution. — AFP
	Changes at top of Pak military in the offing Islamabad, October 1 In a precursor to the appointment of the next Pakistan army chief, a proposal for appointing a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee has been sent to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, media reports said today. The formal proposal included the names of Pakistan navy chief Admiral Asif Sandila, Lt Gen Haroon Aslam and Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt as potential candidates to head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, reports said. According to rumours doing the rounds in Islamabad, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani could be appointed the new head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, a largely ceremonial post. The current chairman, Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, is scheduled to retire on October 6 while Kayani will step down on November 28. Sharif will decide on the appointment of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee on October 6, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. — PTI the shuffle * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne will retire on October 6 * Army chief Kayani will step down on November 28 * It is rumoured that Kayani could be appointed the new head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
	Defence ties with US not at Russia’s expense: India New York, October 1 Days after agreeing on joint development and production in the field of defence with the US, India has said the first-of-its-kind of initiative with America will add “more muscle” to the bilateral strategic partnership but it is not at the expense of traditional friend Russia. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the defence cooperation between India and the US has been at a lower level despite the two countries having engagement in a wide range of areas and it will be upgraded by the Defence Declaration issued after meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama last week. “I think, it gives major substance to our strategic partnership,” he said in an interview here about the decision under which the two countries will undertake joint development and production of defence equipment with transfer of technology from the US. “It (joint defence declaration) gives more muscle (to India-US relationship), gives it more content, more strength and I think it gives it more traction,” said Khurshid, who was part of the Indian delegation at the summit. The decision came against the backdrop of America’s wish to “replicate” Russia in joint development of defence equipment with India like Brahmos missiles. Asked whether this could create apprehensions among India’s old defence partners like Russia, Khurshid asserted that this initiative with the US is not at the expense of those already having ties in this area. — PTI
	Singh-Sharif dialogue a step forward: US Washington, October 1 The meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York is a step forward and would improve their bilateral ties, the US said today. However, the Obama Administration, which has been encouraging the two countries to resume their peace process, refrained from making any public evaluation of the results of the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. “We welcome any and all high-level discussions between Pakistan and India. That would improve their bilateral relationship,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference. “As President (Barack) Obama said last week, we share an interest with both countries in seeing a peaceful reduction of tensions on the subcontinent, and we continue to support, strongly, efforts by India and Pakistan to improve all aspects of their bilateral relations, and we encourage further dialogue,” Psaki said. Singh had met his Pakistani counterpart Sharif over the weekend in a closely-watched hour-long meeting during which he raised the issue of terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil and asked Islamabad to do more to curb cross-border terrorism. When asked to comment on the outcome of the Singh-Sharif meeting, she said: “Well, it’s not for us to evaluate, but dialogue is a positive step forward and we’ll continue to encourage that.” Responding to a question on Kashmir, in particular the UN Security Council resolution in this regard, which is being still being insisted upon by Pakistan despite that the Shimla Agreement calls for bilateral resolution of the dispute, the State Department official said there has been no change in its position on this issue. “Our position on Kashmir has not changed. We still believe the pace, scope, and character of India and Pakistan’s dialogue on Kashmir is for those two countries to determine, and we continue to encourage dialogue,” Psaki said. — PTI
	UK Sikh sues bank over insult to turban London, October 1 A British Sikh is suing a bank where he worked for race and religious discrimination after colleagues allegedly interfered with his turban and asked whether it “flashed red in an emergency”. Harminder Dhanota, an information technology manager, is claiming over £50,000 in damages from the London-based bank. He told an employment tribunal here this week how his workmates would dislodge his turban or put a sticky note saying “Sign here” on the back without his knowledge. “I have always taken pride in my religion and culture and find it upsetting and distressing when people mock, ridicule or disrespect my personal beliefs,” the 42-year-old and father of three told the Central London Employment Tribunal. “At times, the physical assaults would be so aggressive as to cause my turban to loosen, which was the cause of significant distress to me,” he said. Dhanota, who worked in the IT department at the Mayfair office of Saudi bank Samba Financial Group in central London, claimed his boss Jack Tanna insulted his religion by showing him porn on a mobile phone, and asking him whether he was having sex with female colleagues. Samba Financial Group strongly denied all the allegations and is contesting Dhanota’s claim as the case continues. Dhanota further said that Tanna allegedly boasted about organising prostitutes for “dirty Arab” business associates and would allegedly punch his arm, twist his fingers and hit him on the hand with a ruler. “It is both shocking and ironic that such an ethnically diverse bank appears to condone such outrageous acts of bullying, harassment and discrimination,” Jay Joshi, Dhanota’s solicitor, told the Daily Telegraph. Dhanota said after he began to complain vociferously about his mistreatment, he was sacked from his 37,500 pound-a-year job on claims of poor performance. — PTI
	NASA finds plastic ingredient on Saturn’s moon Washington, October 1 In a first, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected propylene, a chemical essential for creation of plastic, on Saturn’s moon Titan. This is the first definitive detection of the chemical — used to make food-storage containers, car bumpers and other consumer products — on any moon or planet, other than Earth. A small amount of propylene was identified in Titan’s lower atmosphere by Cassini’s Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), which measures infrared light emitted from Saturn and its moons. Propylene is the first molecule to be discovered on Titan using CIRS. By isolating the same signal at various altitudes within the lower atmosphere, researchers identified the chemical with confidence. The detection of the chemical fills in a mysterious gap in Titan observations that dates back to NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft and the first-ever close flyby of this moon in 1980. — PTI