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Palestinian envoy killed in blast at Prague home B’desh Opposition begins non-stop stir against polls |
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Singapore riot inexcusable: PM Six Indian tourists die in Nepal mishap
Peace process may begin before polls in India: Pak
Russian Prez Putin meets Volgograd blast victims
Musharraf skips court hearing
Kim says purge was a cleansing of ‘filth’
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Palestinian envoy killed in blast at Prague home Prague, January 1 “There is nothing suggesting that a terrorist act was committed,” spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova told reporters after ambassador Jamal al-Jamal died in hospital following the incident at his home on the morning of New Year's Day. An explosive device - which may have been part of a security mechanism - went off after the safe was opened, she said. Jamal, 56, had taken up his post only in October. The Palestinian foreign ministry, in a statement reported by the official WAFA news agency, said the blast happened minutesv after Jamal opened a safe that had come from the embassy's old offices. The mission is in the course of moving in to new premises next to the residence in a suburb of the capital. Czech police spokeswoman Zoulova said: "The possibilities include inexpert handling of an explosive device or its spontaneous detonation... The device was in a safe and was triggered after the door of the safe was opened. The police are not ruling out that the device was a part of the safe." Some safes can be fitted with small charges to destroy secret documents in the event of the lock being tampered with. However, the Czech police left open the possibility that another kind of explosive device was involved. A spokesman for the embassy, Nabil el-Fahel, said he had no details on what it was that blew up. "We need to wait for the results of the police investigation," he said. Jamal suffered lethal injuries to his head, chest and abdomen, surgeon Daniel Langer told Czech television. No one else was injured in the explosion, police said, although a spokeswoman for Prague's emergency medical services said a woman was treated for smoke inhalation and shock. Jamal's family was at home at the time of the blast. No signs of damage to the two-storey house was visible outside but police cordoned off part of the street. The Palestinian foreign ministry said it would send a team to Prague to help with the investigation. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, quoted by WAFA, said Jamal was "martyred in the line of duty". Born in Beirut to a refugee family, Jamal joined Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Movement in 1975 and served in PLO missions to Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia in the 1980s. Part of the diplomatic corps of the Palestinian Authority that governs the West Bank under interim peace accords with Israel, he had been its consul in Alexandria since 2005.— Reuters No evidence of attack, say Czech police
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B’desh Opposition begins non-stop stir against polls Dhaka, Janaury 1 An activist of Jubo Dal - a front organisation of main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) - was killed when security personnel opened fire on protesters in retaliation for their attack in east-central Chandpur district, police said. Blockade campaigners attacked a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) vehicle on its way to Hajiganj area in the district, they said. The opposition members started pelting stones at the BGB vehicle. The troopers tried to chase them away leading to the clash. Besides this incident, no other major untoward incident was reported from any corner of the country. Security personnel are maintaining a tight vigil across the country. The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance is boycotting the polls and political violence during nationwide strikes and blockades enforced by the opposition have left over 120 people dead and crippled the economy since November. It was demanding election under non-party caretaker government to oversee the polls. Besides the opposition, a key ally of Hasina's Awami League party has also boycotted the polls. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, insists the vote will go ahead as planned. Since declaration of the election schedule in November, the opposition had observed nationwide blockade for 22 days in five phases. — PTI PM asks people to remain alert Dhaka: Asking people to remain alert, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said a group of civil society members, who according to her were responsible for the political changeover in 2007, were active again to bring about the same situation. Hasina urged people to cast their votes in the January 5 general elections. Defamation cases against Zia dismissed Dhaka: Two defamation cases against opposition leader Khaleda Zia filed by Bangladesh's ruling Awami League supporters over her "hateful" remarks about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's home district have been dismissed. A Dhaka court on Wednesday refused to admit a complaint lodged against Zia, accusing her of issuing threats during her altercation with police on Sunday.
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Singapore riot inexcusable: PM
Singapore, January 1 “The riot in Little India was inexcusable. We have taken firm action against the culprits. Several have been charged, others warned and repatriated, and still others advised to abide strictly by our laws," he said last night. "The Committee of Inquiry will establish how the riot happened, and how we can prevent such incidents. The riot reminds us that we can never take peace for
granted," Lee said. — PTI
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Six Indian tourists die in Nepal mishap Kathmandu, January 1 The vehicle fell into the Marsyangdi River near Chunpahara area in Bandipur village, 152 km from Kathmandu, at 11 pm (local time), police said. The dead have been identified as Binay Kumar Tiwari (58), Hemanta Tripathi (13), Kalawati Tiwari (56), Poonam Tripathi (33), Neha Tripathi (20), and Milan Tripathi (36).
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Peace process may begin before polls in India: Pak
Islamabad, January 1 Advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz said initiative has been taken to improve relations with India. Tensions prevailed due to some incidents on the LOC but now situation has stabilised. The DGMOs of the two countries have met and peace is restored, he said. In an interview to state-run Radio Pakistan, Aziz said full composite dialogue may not be started before elections in India but hoped that some groups will meet and peace process will make headway to some extent. He said peaceful neighbourhood is the first priority of the country’s foreign policy and sufficient progress has been made in this direction. Aziz said without peaceful neighbourhood, Pakistan cannot achieve agenda of economic development. He said to achieve these objectives “some basic changes has been made in the foreign policy during the past six months”. He said tension in the past two years with Afghanistan has ended and bilateral relations including economic and trade have improved. Referring to process of Afghan reconciliation, he said Pakistan was extending its help in this regard. However, Pakistan is pursuing a policy of non-interference and no favourite. Pakistan wants Afghanistan to resolve its problems itself, he said. Referring to relations with the US, Aziz said some misunderstandings were created during the last two years. He said relations between the two countries were being taken in the context of Afghanistan. But now we are establishing independent relations with US and trade and economic relations are the most important, Aziz stressed. — PTI
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Russian Prez Putin meets Volgograd blast victims Volgograd, January 1 Putin flew in before dawn, after vowing in a New Year address to “annihilate” terrorists in uncompromising remarks aimed at Islamist insurgents based in the North Caucasus who have plagued his 14-year rule. “No matter what motivated the criminals, there can be no justification for crimes against civilians, particularly against women and children,” Putin said in televised comments at the started of a meeting with senior security officials. “The vileness of the crime - or crimes - that were committed here, in Volgograd, needs no additional commentary,” Putin said during the tightly-controlled visit. A suicide bomb blast in Volgograd’s main railway station on Sunday afternoon killed at least 18 persons, and a second attacker blew up a trolley bus during rush hour on Monday morning, killing 16 and leaving bodies strewn on the street. Putin donned a white hospital coat for bedside visits to wounded victims and placed red roses at the site of the trolley bus bombing. The bombings raised fears of more attacks before Russia holds the Winter Olympics in Sochi a Black Sea resort on the edge of the Caucasus Mountain range 690 km southwest of Volgograd. While nobody has claimed responsibility, the attacks underscored Russia’s vulnerability to insurgents more than a decade after it drove separatists from power in the North Caucasus province of Chechnya during Putin’s first term. “We will confidently, fiercely and consistently continue the fight against terrorists until their complete annihilation,” Putin told the nation in a New Year address televised from the far eastern city of Khabarovsk. The insurgents say they are fighting to carve an Islamic state out of a swath of southern Russia that includes Sochi. In a video posted online in July, their Chechen-born leader called for “maximum force” to prevent Russia staging the Sochi Games. Putin, 61, has staked his reputation on the success of the Olympics. He secured the Games for Sochi in 2007, during his first stint as the President, and has not ruled out seeking a new six-year term in 2018. — Reuters
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Musharraf skips court hearing
The special court trying former Pakistani dictator General Pervez Musharraf for high treason ordered authorities to produce him before it on Thursday after he failed to turn up for a hearing on Wednesday after a bomb was found near his house. The court warned that he could be arrested without a warrant. “He must know that he is facing a non-bailable charge, " Justice Faisal Arab observed during the hearing. Musharraf, 70, was supposed to appear before the court to face trial in a high treason case that could put to test the relationship between an assertive civilian government and the powerful army. The former military ruler is accused of suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of the superior courts. If convicted, Musharraf could face life imprisonment or the death penalty. Musharraf could not come to the court on Wednesday as a 1 kg bomb was recovered near his house from the route he was scheduled to take. This is the second time when a bomb was found on his route to the court. (With PTI inputs)
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Kim says purge was a cleansing of ‘filth’
Seoul, January 1 Kim, the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, did not refer by name to his uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was executed last month in a rare public purge for crimes against the ruling Workers’ Party and harming national interest. “Our party took a firm measure to get rid of factional filth that permeated the party,” Kim said in a broadcast on state television that appeared to be pre-recorded, without showing if he was speaking to an audience. Kim’s call for improved ties with the South followed a threat from Pyongyang last month that it could strike Seoul without notice. “It is time to end abuse and slander that is only good for doing harm ... We will try hard to improve North-South ties,” Kim said, — Reuters
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Indian expatriate’s body awaits repatriation from Oman Eight Indians injured in Thailand escalator mishap Oppn enforces nonstop blockade in Bangladesh S Sudan govt, rebels set for ceasefire talks Lebanon arrests head of group linked to Al-Qaida De Blasio sworn in as New York mayor |
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first reference to the execution of his powerful uncle in a New Year’s address, saying the reclusive state’s ruling party had become stronger after it was purged of “factional filth.” And he called for better relations with South Korea, warning that another war on the Korean peninsula would cause a massive nuclear disaster that would hit the US.
The Czech police said on Wednesday that there was no evidence an explosion that killed the Palestinian ambassador (pic) to the Czech Republic was an attack. The Palestinian foreign ministry said it would “send a high-level delegation to Prague to speak with Czech officials and cooperate in the investigation into the cause of the explosion.” 
