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Pak jets pound militant camps, 40 killed
UN revokes invitation to Iran for Syria talks
Thai govt declares emergency
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Sri Lankan navy arrests 25 Indian fishermen
special to the tribune
Swiss banks devise new ‘cash’
strategies for Indian clients
UK bar worker makes bid to arrest ex-PM Tony Blair
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Pak jets pound militant camps, 40 killed
Islamabad, January 21 Military sources today said 40 terrorists were killed overnight in the air strikes in North Waziristan, a key haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda elements. The house of Rashid, a former air force technician sentenced to death for a 2003 attempt on the life of former dictator Pervez Musharraf, was targeted in the attacks. Though some news channels reported Rashid was killed with some members of his family, military sources said this could not be confirmed. Rashid escaped with scores of hardened militants during a daring jailbreak engineered by the Pakistani Taliban in the northwestern city of Bannu in April 2012. "On the basis of confirmed intelligence reports about the presence of militants, their hideouts were targeted by air strikes last night in North Waziristan Agency," a military source said. The source claimed those killed included terrorists linked to attacks on a church and Qissa Khwani Bazar in Peshawar as well as a bombing within Bannu cantonment on Sunday that killed 26 troops. "Scores of militants were injured in these strikes," the source said. Unconfirmed reports said civilians too were killed in the air strikes. The casualties could not be independently verified as journalists are barred from the tribal belt. Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif today visited Bannu and met victims of the bomb attack at a military hospital. The operation by air force jets took many by surprise. This was the first time the air force resorted to air strikes in North Waziristan since a ceasefire was finalised with local Taliban chiefs in 2007.
— PTI US drones ‘killed less than 4 civilians’ in Pak in ’13
ISLAMABAD: US CIA drone strikes against militants in Pakistan killed no more than four civilians last year, according to a study by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a UK-based organization. It is the lowest number of reported civilian deaths since the drone programme began in 2004. 4 polio workers shot dead in Karachi
Karachi: Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday shot down four persons, including two women, carrying out vaccination programme in the Qayyumabad area, a day after Sindh health authorities began polio vaccination of 7.6 million children of the province as part of a nationwide drive. 23 killed as bus carrying pilgrims bombed karachi: Twenty-three Shia pilgrims, including women, returning from Iran were killed on Tuesday when a powerful bomb blast hit a bus in the restive Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan. Another 32 people were injured in the blast that occurred on the Pakistan-Iran highway in Mastung.
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UN revokes invitation to Iran for Syria talks
United Nations, January 21 Following the withdrawal of the invitation to Iran, the Syrian Opposition Coalition, confirmed that it would take part in the Geneva II peace talks. The Syrian Oppositionm which voted only the previous day to attend the talks after eight months of bitter debate, had issued a Monday evening deadline for the United Nations to rescind the invitation to Iran. Otherwise, the opposition group said, it would not attend the event. The UN Chief said the talks will proceed without Iran's participation as Tehran was not ready to commit to the goals and basis of the conference. A statement issued by Ban's spokesperson here said that in a series of meetings and telephone conversations, senior Iranian officials had assured the Secretary-General that Iran understood and supported the basis and goal of the conference, including the Geneva
Communique. — PTI Tehran’s exclusion a mistake: Russia
Moscow: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday it was a mistake for UN chief Ban Ki-moon to withdraw an invitation to Iran to attend peace talks on Syria,
but did not see it as a catastrophe. US dismisses Assad’s idea to run in polls
Washington: US officials have scoffed at the notion that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could organize free and fair elections in which he could run next year. In an exclusive interview with AFP on Sunday, Assad said there was a "significant chance" he will seek a new seven-year term.
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Thai govt declares emergency
Bangkok, January 21 The decree, which applies to Bangkok and surrounding provinces, gives security agencies the power to impose curfews, detain suspects without charge, censor media, ban political gatherings of more than five people and declare parts of the capital off-limits. "We need it because the protesters have closed government buildings, banks and escalated the situation, which has caused injuries and deaths. The government sees the need to announce the emergency decree to keep the situation under control," Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung told a nationally televised news conference. The government had no plans to try to disperse protesters during the night, he added, without elaborating.
— Reuters Taking control
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Sri Lankan navy arrests 25 Indian fishermen
Colombo, January 21 The fishermen are to be handed over to the police at Kankesanturai harbour. The arrests followed talks between Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Rajitha Senaratne in New Delhi last week on the thorny issue of fishermen. Both countries decided free all fishermen in their custody and release their vessels after the talks. The arrests come ahead of a meeting scheduled for January 27 between a
committee appointed to work out a joint mechanism. — PTI
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Lanka employed UK-trained SAS commandos against LTTE
Shyam Bhatia in London India was not the only country in 1984 where advice from British-trained SAS commandos was offered in counter-insurgency operations. Recently released documents from the British government archives show how former SAS operatives working for two private companies were employed by the Sri Lankan government to try and defeat the Tamil Tigers. The British government documents had revealed that an SAS officer was delegated to advise New Delhi on how to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar, now it turns out that SAS expertise was also used in Sri Lanka. In September 1984, British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe's aide, one Peter Ricketts, wrote to the British Prime Minister's office explaining how a company made up of SAS veterans was providing counter-terrorism training to Sri Lanka. "The Sri Lankan government have engaged another British company, KMS Ltd, to provide training in counter-terrorist techniques…", Ricketts wrote. “The Indian government has expressed concern to us about the firm's involvement. We have made it clear that this is a purely commercial matter and that HMG (Her Majesty's Government) are not involved.” Commenting on the activities of other firm, Falconstar, Rickett's Foreign Office memo noted, "Although we have little knowledge of Falconstar Ltd’s capabilities in counter-insurgency, we would have no objection to their seeking to obtain business in Sri Lanka. But that is a matter for them to pursue. If the firm succeed in their bid to secure a consultancy, it is important for us to be able to maintain that any contract between Falconstar Ltd and the Sri Lankan government is a purely commercial arrangement with which HMG has no connection." Both firms played key roles in training Sri Lankan police commando units that later became notorious for their brutality against Tamil civilians. Since the release of confidential documents, it has become clear that the SAS, a controversial regiment of the British army, holds the key to specialist military assistance offered to both India and Sri Lanka in 1984. India raised concern, UK remained unmoved
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Swiss banks devise new ‘cash’ strategies for Indian clients
Davos/Zurich, January 21 Also on the platter is advice to put money in virtual currencies, especially in the wake of Bitcoin ATMs becoming operational in Zurich. As hundreds of world's rich congregate for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in the Swiss Alpine resort town of Davos, many of them have also scheduled meetings with Swiss bankers to devise new strategy for their hidden wealth. Many bankers admitted, on condition of anonymity, that such meetings are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of WEF summit in Davos, as also in Zurich over this week. The meetings include those with representatives of their Indian clients as well. While representatives from the large banks said they are advising their clients about potential risks associated with keeping their hidden wealth here, those associated with many smaller banks claimed risks are relatively lesser when using the services of cash vaults, which however come with a higher price tag in terms of service fees, maintenance charges and rentals. None of the bankers are willing to talk on record with regard to their dealings with rich clients from abroad, which also includes a significant number of Indians. Bankers are also offering to show their prospective clients a visit to the banks' cash vault sections, where large metal boxes are placed within the bank premises and at third- party designated places to safely store wades of currency notes as also other valuables. In the meantime, a new trend seem to be catching up where human couriers are being used to carry large amount of cash, although it is a riskier venture. — PTI Fresh ideas
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UK bar worker makes bid to arrest ex-PM Tony Blair London, January 21 “I went over to him, put my hand on his shoulder and said: 'Mr Blair, this is a citizen's arrest for a crime against peace, namely your decision to launch an unprovoked war against Iraq. I am inviting you to accompany me to a police station to answer the charge'," Garcia told 'Vice' magazine. Blair, who was dining at Tramshed in Shoreditch last Friday, refused the request and tried to placate him by engaging him on a debate on Syria. “I think you should be more concerned about Syria," Blair said. One of Blair's sons then got up and went to get the family's security team from downstairs, prompting Garcia to make an exit. — PTI
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UAE convicts 30 men for Muslim Brotherhood ties
Briton held for overseas 'terrorism' at London airport UK politician suspended for refusing to apologise Iran sends warships to Atlantic Ocean Pak police lodge FIR against toddler Chilean teen arrested for selling baby on Facebook French advertisers have a laugh over President's affair Taiwan to slash armed forces by up to 20% Iraq hangs 26 convicted of terror charges Stop meddling in Ukraine crisis, Russia tells EU Man planning Mumbai-style London attack to walk free 19 held in raids targeting Indian immigration scam in UK 
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