W O R L D

B’desh tense as non-stop stir continues
Dhaka, January 2
At least 12 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes and a passenger bus was torched as the opposition-sponsored nonstop blockade in Bangladesh to derail the January 5 polls entered its second day today.

Oz gang ‘targeted’ people of Indian appearance
Melbourne, January 2
An Australian teenager, charged with brutally attacking and robbing a 20-year-old Indian student here, was part of a gang that targeted people of Indian appearance, a court heard today.

Icebound Antarctic ship’s all 52 passengers rescued
Sydney, January 2
All 52 passengers were airlifted today from a Russian research vessel icebound in Antarctica and are safe on board an Australian supply ship, rescuers said.

Passengers of the stranded Russian ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, arrive at a safe place in Antarctica on Thursday. AP/PTI

Communal clashes: Houses set on fire during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, on Thursday. At least three persons were killed during clashes on Wednesday as angry mob threw grenades and torched homes. Reuters

Iran N-deal to come into force on Jan 20
Tehran, January 2
Experts from Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers have chosen January 20 to begin implementing the Geneva deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, IRNA news agency said.

Myanmar Prez backs changes in Junta-era constitution
Yangon, January 2
Myanmar's leader today lent his support to reform of the country's junta-era constitution, indicating he would back changes to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become president.

Arson attack on Chinese consulate in US
Beijing, January 2
The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco said today that its compound was damaged in an arson attack and urged American authorities to protect the safety of its diplomats and its premises.

Prayers for speedy recovery: Supporters of Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf outside the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi on Thursday. Musharraf was rushed to hospital after suffering a "heart problem" on his way to a court hearing. AFP

Submerged: A man looks at the flooded Quimperle city of France. A flood warning has been issued in the Britanny region of the state due to heavy rains and high tides. AFP

B’desh tense as non-stop stir continues
Opposition party workers clash with cops; bus torched; bomb hurled at police van

Dhaka, January 2
At least 12 people, including two policemen, were injured in clashes and a passenger bus was torched as the opposition-sponsored nonstop blockade in Bangladesh to derail the January 5 polls entered its second day today.

At least 10 people were injured in a triangular clash among workers of ruling Awami League and main opposition BNP and police in northern Bogra district.

The clash erupted between Awami League and BNP workers when the latter vandalised an office of the ruling party in Baluarhat Bazar area in the district, police said.

The clashing activists locked into a fight with police when they rushed to the spot and tried to disperse them, local media reported. Two policemen were injured during the clashes.

Meanwhile, two persons were injuries when unidentified persons set fire to a bus in the capital's Mirpur area. Blockade supporters exploded three handmade bombs on the Topkhana road in Dhaka. However, none was injured. They also targeted a pick-up van carrying police with a crude bomb in western Rajshahi city.

Yesterday, an activist of Jubo Dal — a front organisation of BNP — was killed in clashes on the first day the nationwide blockade.

The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance is boycotting the polls and political violence during nationwide strikes and blockades enforced by the opposition since November have left over 120 people dead and crippled the economy.

Opposition parties were demanding election under non-party caretaker government to oversee the polls. Besides the opposition, a key ally of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party has also boycotted the polls.

Hasina, however, insists that the vote will go ahead as planned. — PTI

Political crisis

• The BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance is boycotting the January 5 polls and political violence during nationwide strikes and blockades enforced by the opposition since November have left over 120 people dead
• Opposition parties are demanding the elections under non-party caretaker government. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, however, insists that the vote will go ahead as planned.

Oz gang ‘targeted’ people of Indian appearance

Melbourne, January 2
An Australian teenager, charged with brutally attacking and robbing a 20-year-old Indian student here, was part of a gang that targeted people of Indian appearance, a court heard today.

A 17-year-old Sydenham boy was denied bail by a children’s court after being arrested for the Sunday attack on Manrajwinder Singh following which he remains in an induced coma in a hospital here.

Singh, in Australia to study accounts, was bashed up by thugs in Birrarung Marr, near Princes Bridge, as he and two other friends waited for a train. He suffered serious head injuries in the incident.

The offenders, perceived to be of African appearance, assaulted Singh by kicking him on the head and hitting him with a stick. They also punched his friend on the face.

The teenager, charged with intentionally causing serious injury, robbery and theft, was refused bail when it emerged he was on bail at the time following an alleged assault and robbery on another Indian victim in November. He was remanded to return to court later this month.

Victoria Police opposed the gang member's bail application on the grounds he allegedly committed the offence while on bail and would be a danger to the public if released, the Herald Sun reported.

The court heard the boy, his twin brother and their younger brother were named by another of those arrested as being responsible for attacking the two men, The Age reported.

The boy’s brothers were still at large and their father had little control over his sons despite trying to help investigators.

The court was told the 17-year-old was a member of a gang of youths known as “KYR” - an acronym for “Kill Your Rivals” - who terrorise vulnerable people and Indians. CCTV footage has captured eight youths approaching the men.

“Intelligence suggests that he and other associates are in a gang called KYR. They target vulnerable groups and they target Indians,” a Victoria Police officer told the court.

Two other teens were arrested in connection with the attack while a search is on for five others.

The victim's brother Yadwinder Singh today said his sibling was still in induced coma but was responding well to medicines.

“He is not out of danger but he is responding well to the medicines. However, right now our main concern is the recovery of our brother,” Singh said.

Officials at the Indian consulate in Melbourne are also in regular touch with Singh's family and helping them to speed up the visa process of his parents who are currently in India. — PTI

Victim remains critical

Manrajwinder Singh remains critical but was responding to medicine well, his brother has said. Yadwinder Singh said his brother was still in induced coma but was responding well to medicines

Attacker was out on bail

• A 17-year-old alleged attacker was denied bail by a children’s court after being arrested for assault on Indian student Manrajwinder Singh
• The accused was out on bail in a case of assault and robbery on another Indian victim in November
• He was a member of a gang of youths known as ‘KYR’ (‘Kill Your Rivals’) who terrorised vulnerable people and Indians, sources said.

Icebound Antarctic ship’s all 52 passengers rescued

A helicopter air-lifting the passengers from the stranded Russian ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, off Antarctica on Thursday. AFP

Sydney, January 2
All 52 passengers were airlifted today from a Russian research vessel icebound in Antarctica and are safe on board an Australian supply ship, rescuers said. Passengers were flown to the Australian ship in groups of 12 by a helicopter from a Chinese icebreaker.

The Akademik Shokalsky has been stuck in ice since December 24 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d'Urville, with several icebreaking attempts failing to reach it.

After a number of false starts a helicopter evacuation of the research vessel's passengers began on Thursday evening, with official confirmation that it was underway reaching the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) at 6.15pm Australian time.

The Australian agency, which is coordinating the rescue mission, reported all passengers were safely on board the Aurora Australis -— an Australian government supply ship — at 10.15pm, some four hours later.

Passengers were airlifted from a makeshift landing pad on the ice beside the Russian ship to an ice floe near the Australis. Expedition leader Chris Turney expressed relief that the wait was finally over. — AFP

Iran N-deal to come into force on Jan 20

Tehran, January 2
Experts from Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers have chosen January 20 to begin implementing the Geneva deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, IRNA news agency said.

"One of the main proposals is to begin applying the agreement from January 20," the agency cited Hamid Baeedinejad as saying yesterday. "There is agreement in principle on this date, which has yet to be approved by the politicians," he said.

Baeedinejad, who heads the Iranian delegation of experts, had already been reported on Tuesday by the ISNA news agency as saying the deal should be implemented in late January. Experts from Iran and the so-called P5+1 — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany — have been holding technical talks on implementing an agreement reached November 24 on Iran's controversial nuclear ambitions.

The interim deal requires that Iran freeze or curb its nuclear activities for six months in exchange for some sanctions relief while the two sides try to reach a comprehensive agreement.

On Tuesday, Tehran's lead negotiator Abbas Araqchi reported "good progress" in the technical talks. — AFP

Myanmar Prez backs changes in Junta-era constitution

Yangon, January 2
Myanmar's leader today lent his support to reform of the country's junta-era constitution, indicating he would back changes to allow opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to become president.

Thein Sein, a former general who has won international praise for dramatic reforms since he became president in 2011, said lively debate about revising the charter showed increasing "political maturity".

"I believe that a healthy constitution must be amended from time to time to address the national, economic, and social needs of our society," he said in a speech published in the English-language New Light of Myanmar newspaper. — AFP

Arson attack on Chinese consulate in US

Beijing, January 2
The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco said today that its compound was damaged in an arson attack and urged American authorities to protect the safety of its diplomats and its premises.

The consulate said in a notice on its website that a person came out of a van parked outside the compound yesterday with two buckets of gasoline, poured the fuel on the front of the consulate building and set it on fire. China has urged the US to launch an immediate probe. — AP