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No end in sight to US shutdown
Khamenei flays ‘aspects’
of Rouhani’s UN trip
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Norway may help destroy Syrian chemical weapons
Taliban plotted to capture Prince Harry
Prince Harry with Australia’s Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley in Sydney on Saturday. AFP
Gunmen kill 15 Libyan soldiers
4-6 men carried out Nairobi mall attack, says police
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No end in sight to US shutdown
Washington, October 5 Warning that an economic shutdown with debt default would be "dramatically worse", Obama said in his weekly address, "There's only one way out of this reckless and damaging shutdown: Pass a budget that funds our government, with no partisan strings attached." Making it clear that he would not back down, Obama warned, "For as reckless as a government shutdown is, an economic shutdown that comes with default would be dramatically worse." Appealing to the Opposition to end the deadlock, Obama said, "Take that vote. Stop this farce. End this shutdown now." The House of Representatives prepared for today's session but with no expectations of progress on either the shutdown which began on Tuesday or a measure to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling. Congress must act by October 17 in order to avoid a government debt default. Obama said the Americans "don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their job. Neither does Congress. They don't get to hold our democracy or our economy hostage over a settled law. They don't get to kick a child out of Head Start if I don't agree to take her parents' health insurance away. “That's not how our democracy is supposed to work. "That's why I won't pay a ransom in exchange for reopening the government. And I certainly won't pay a ransom in exchange for raising the debt ceiling," Obama said. The US Government closed non-essential operations after Congress failed to strike a deal on spending and budget due to differences over 'Obamacare', the signature healthcare programme of President Obama. Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the impasse. The shutdown has left nearly 8,00,000 employees on unpaid leave and closed national parks, tourist sites, official websites, office buildings, and more establishments. Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, following the meeting with his party colleagues, offered no clue as to how he intends to resolve the problem. "We are locked in an epic battle," Boehner told his Congressional colleagues urging them to act tough. "This isn’t some damn game," John Boehner told mediapersons. — PTI House votes to pay idled workers
Washington: Democrats and Republicans in the US House of Representatives agreed on Saturday to retroactively pay 8,00,000 furloughed federal employees once the government reopens. The House of Representatives passed the Bill unanimously and it is expected to clear the Senate and be signed by the President It was a rare moment of cooperation in the House. — Reuters I won’t pay a ransom in exchange for reopening the government. And I certainly won’t pay a ransom in exchange for raising the debt
ceiling. Do not mistake this momentary episode in American politics as anything more than a moment of politics. This is an example
of the robustness of our democracy. |
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Khamenei flays ‘aspects’
of Rouhani’s UN trip
Tehran, October 5 The comments were the first public response by Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in Iran, to Rouhani's overtures to the West in New York last week, which were capped by a historic 15-minute telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama. "We support the diplomatic initiative of the government and attach importance to its activities in this trip," Khamenei told military commanders and graduating cadets. However he added — without elaborating — that “some of what happened in the New York trip was not appropriate.” The telephone conversation on September 27 — the first diplomatic contact between Iranian and US Presidents — broke 34 years of icy relations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic revolution. For Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state including foreign policy, the suspicion runs deep. “We are pessimistic towards the Americans and do not put any trust in them. The American Government is untrustworthy, supercilious and unreasonable, and breaks its promises," he said. Khamenei also lambasted Washington for its alliance with Iran's number one regional foe, Israel. — AFP |
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Norway may help destroy Syrian chemical weapons
Oslo, October 5 Both US and Russian officials have approached Norway with oral requests for help in dismantling the weapons, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said. Both countries consider Norway a suitable location for the dangerous work, as it is politically stable and has large amounts of water, which is needed for the task, according to NRK. According to UN Security Council Resolution 2118, Syria has until the end of June 2014 to destroy its chemical weapons. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry could not immediately confirm the details of the report, but said the Scandinavian nation stood ready to assist. —AFP Suitable location
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Taliban plotted to capture Prince Harry
London, October 5 The rebels were determined to capture Britain’s fourth-in-line to the throne during his tour of duty in Afghanistan, commander Qari Nasrullah said in an interview with the Daily Mirror at a heavily guarded compound near Peshawar. "There were many plans to capture him but, maybe, it was his good luck, he managed to escape,” Nasrullah, a Taliban commander from the Afghan province of Kunnar, said. — PTI
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Gunmen kill 15 Libyan soldiers
Tripoli, October 5 The attackers rode vehicles topped with machine guns, the military official said. The highway between the towns of Tarhuna and Bani Walid, on which the post was located, was closed immediately after the attack in an attempt to track down the attackers. The official said the attack took place at Wishtata area, some 60 km from the entrance to Bani Walid. The town was one of the last strongholds for supporters of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in the country's 2011 civil war, and was besieged again by pro-government militias last year. More recently, Libya has been hit by a months-long wave of attacks targeting military officers, activists, judges and security agents. Much of the violence is blamed on armed groups with their origins in the anti-Gaddafi rebel movement. The Libyan News Agency said another five soldiers were wounded. — AP
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4-6 men carried out Nairobi mall attack, says police
Nairobi, October 5 "From what we have now that is coming out of the investigation, the number of attackers was between four and six," police chief David Kimaiyo told Kenyan television station KTN. A military spokesman today confirmed the names of the four fighters implicated in the attack that turned into a four-day-long siege, killing at least 67 persons. Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the attackers were Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr — names that were first broadcast by a local Kenyan television station. "I confirm those are the names of the terrorists," he said, in an email message. The identities of the men comes as a private television station in Nairobi obtained and broadcast the CCTV footage from the Nairobi mall. The footage shows no more than four attackers. They are seen calmly walking through a storeroom inside the complex, holding machine guns. One of the men's pant legs appears to be stained with blood, though he is not limping, and it is unclear if the blood is his, or that of his victims'. The footage contradicts earlier government statements which indicated that between 10 to 15 attackers were involved in the September 21 attack. Al-Shabab, Al-Qaida's affiliate in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was revenge for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia in 2011 that was aimed at flushing out the extremists. — Agencies
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London, October 5
