The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Syrian warring sides sit to discuss peace
Focus on ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to enter besieged rebel-held areas

Geneva, January 25
Syria's civil war foes held their first face-to-face meeting on Saturday at the start of talks to end nearly three years of conflict which has killed 130,000 people and destabilised the wider Middle East.

After a day of delay and fierce recrimination, government and opposition delegates faced each other across a negotiating table at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva in the presence of international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi. The two delegations sat in silence for half an hour while Brahimi set out his plans — an immediate focus on humanitarian aid which diplomats have described as a confidence-building measure, followed by political talks to resolve the conflict. Opposition delegate Anas al-Abdah said the two sides — who entered and left the room through separate doors —would meet again later. The first item for discussion would be a deal for a short ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into rebel-held areas in Homs.

But Abdah said Brahimi told them that broader negotiations would focus on a political resolution to the conflict, built around a June 2012 Geneva declaration calling for the establishment of a transitional governing body.

“He (Brahimi) told us this is a political conference... based on Geneva 1," Abdah said. President Bashar al-Assad's government delegation said it broadly accepted Geneva 1, but reiterated its longstanding opposition to the establishment of the transitional body, saying it was inappropriate and unnecessary.

“We have complete reservations regarding it," Information Minister Omran Zoabi said, comparing the proposal to the transitional government set up in Iraq by US occupation forces after they toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. "Syria is a state with institutions," he added. — Reuters

UN documents killings

GENEVA: UN war crime experts have documented more torture and killings by both sides in Syria and are confident they can build a case that could be taken up by the International Criminal Court, a leading member of the team said. They are drawing up a fourth confidential list of suspects, either individuals or units linked to crimes committed since July.

Ukraine crisis: Protesters try to lay siege to govt buildings

Anti-government protesters block the door inside the regional administration headquarters as they attempt to take it over in Vinnytsia town, some 200 km from Kiev, on Saturday. AFP

KIEV, January 25
Anti-government protests in Ukraine today spread to the north and east of the country as demonstrators sought to seize regional administration offices that have been occupied in over half a dozen regions in the west.

Demonstrators were still occupying regional administration buildings in Lviv and other regions across the pro-EU west of Ukraine that they have seized in a major blow for President Viktor Yanukovych.

But in a new development, protesters were seeking to seize buildings in regions north and east of the capital Kiev, in a sign the protest mood was spreading across the country. Protesters were storming the regional administration in the region of Poltava east of Kiev, Ukrainian media reports said.

A similar attempt to seize control of the main local administration building was also underway in Chernigiv region north of Kiev on the border with Belarus, the reports added.

Demonstrators had earlier seized control of the regional administration building in the region of Vinnytsia just to the west of Kiev, undeterred by stun grenades used by riot police.

Governors of Ukrainian regions are appointed by Yanukovych and have now become targets of protesters seeking to bring about change not just in Kiev but across the country. As well as Lviv, protesters are already controlling administration buildings in the western regions of Ternopil, Rivne, Khmelnitsky, Lutsk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi.

No such actions have been reported in the Donbass region of the east of Ukraine, the home region of Yanukovych which has largely remained loyal to the president throughout the crisis.

Yanukovych has always been hugely unpopular in western Ukraine, which overwhelmingly favours integration with the European Union and a slackening of ties with Russia.

Ukraine has long been split between the nationalist and Ukrainian-speaking west and far more Russophile east. — AFP

US should start talks with Taliban or leave, says Karzai

KABUL, January 25
President Hamid Karzai appeared to stiffen his resolve on Saturday not to sign a security pact with Washington, saying the United States should leave Afghanistan unless it could restart peace talks with the Taliban.

"In exchange for this agreement, we want peace for the people of Afghanistan. Otherwise, it's better for them to leave and our country will find its own way," Karzai told a news conference.

The president said pressing ahead with talks with the Taliban, in power from 1996-2001, was critical to ensure that Afghanistan was not left with a weak central government.

“Starting peace talks is a condition because we want to be confident that after the signing of the security agreement, Afghanistan will not be divided into fiefdoms," he said. Most diplomats now agree that Karzai is unlikely to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that would allow for some form of US military presence in Afghanistan after the end of 2014, when most troops are due to leave.

Along with reviving peace talks with the Taliban, Karzai is also demanding an end to all U.S. military operations on Afghan homes and villages, including strikes by pilotless trones. The United States has threatened to pull all of its troops out unless a deal is signed in good time, but embassies are examining alternative solutions behind the scenes that would enable the NATO-led mission to remain.

Karzai's defiant tone struck a chord with those in the West who have already decided that further discussion with the Afghan president may be pointless and waiting for his successor to be elected is the best option. "The more people speak about it being signed after the election, the more irrelevant he becomes," said one diplomat.

"Sad as it is, we might have to bank on the next guy." But representatives from some countries say this would not leave enough time for them to prepare for a post-2014 mission. Afghans are due to vote in a presidential election on April 5, but it could take weeks for Karzai's successor to assume power if a run-off round is required. — Reuters

French president splits with partner after affair

Paris, January 25
French President Francois Hollande is expected to announce his separation from partner Valerie Trierweiler on Saturday following a media storm over allegations he is having an affair with an actress, according to the Journal du Dimanche.

First lady Trierweiler, 48, Hollande's partner since 2006, plans to travel to India on Sunday for a charity trip and the president wants to settle the issue of their future before her departure, the newspaper said.

"The press release from the Elysee Palace should be released sometime today," the respected national weekly said on its website, without citing its sources.

A spokesman for the president declined to comment on the report, and Trierweiler's spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment. — Reuters

Thai govt offers to put off polls, protesters rebuff proposal

Bangkok, January 25
Thailand's embattled government today said it would put off the February 2 snap polls if political rivals end their protests, but a top opposition leader rebuffed the proposal and said demonstrations will continue to press for reforms.

"The election should be postponed on condition that the protesters cease their rallies and there is no blockade or boycott of the election," said Varathep Rattanakorn, an official from caretaker premier Yingluck Shinawatra's office.

"If there are still attempts to interrupt the election, there is no use in postponing it." Shinawatra had been informed of a decision by the Constitutional Court yesterday, which unanimously ruled that the snap polls can be postponed, Varathep said.

Yingluck, who is to meet the Election Commissioner on Tuesday, said the ruling seemed to have no solid legal basis. But the protesters rejected the terms set by the government for postponing the polls.

"This isn't about compromise," protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said. “The people will never go home because what the people want is national reform.” — PTI

Three killed in shooting outside Washington mall

Columbia (US), January 25
Three persons were killed in a shooting at a popular shopping mall in a suburb of the US capital, authorities said today.

Howard County Police, which announced the fatalities via Twitter, said the suspected shooter at the Columbia Mall was among the dead. “Police are in mall to clear people out safely,” it tweeted. “Mall is believed to be secure, but people inside should wait for police.”

Authorities were alerted by an emergency call to police at 1615 GMT that indicated shots were fired, it said. “Police entered the mall and found three dead, one found near a gun and ammunition,” it tweeted.

It did not immediately provide more details on the other victims or on the motive of the shooting.

Earlier, news reports had said that the mall, located in Columbia, Maryland, about 45 minutes outside Washington, was on “lockdown” because of an “active shooter situation”. The mall of about 200 stores is a popular weekend destination for families and young children for its indoor carousel and play area.

A newspaper said shoppers reported hearing gunfire before fleeing the mall.

A TV channel spoke to a man who said he was in contact with his daughter, who was taking shelter in a bank inside the shopping centre. The woman described a chaotic scene as shoppers were told to evacuate. - AFP

800 detained in China for snooping

Beijing, January 25
Chinese police have arrested over 800 people suspected of producing, selling and using illegal wiretapping and photography equipment to conduct surveillance. Through joint efforts by police from 14 provincial regions, 13 production facilities have been destroyed and 67 groups associated with illegal wiretapping equipment have been uncovered in the action, the Ministry of Public Security said.

The police have uncovered over 1,550 criminal cases involving the use of wiretapping equipment in blackmail, kidnapping, illegal detention and other crimes. Over 15,000 sets of equipment for covert tracking, positioning, photographing and recording have been confiscated, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

A security official said this equipment seriously undermined social stability and the people's legitimate rights. In the meantime, police will coordinate with other departments to strengthen supervision and promote legislation in a bid to eliminate these crimes. — PTI

1,550 cases uncovered

The police have uncovered over 1,550 criminal cases involving the use of wiretapping equipment in blackmail, kidnapping, illegal detention and other crimes.

Over 15,000 sets of equipment for covert tracking, positioning, photographing and recording confiscated

Pak military offensive: Thousands flee tribal belt

Peshawar, January 25
Amidst fears of a military offensive against militants, thousands of people have fled Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, which has witnessed heavy bombing by the air force in retaliation for a string of terror attacks targeting security personnel.

Most of the people have headed to the adjacent district of Bannu in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, said local residents and officials of North Waziristan's political administration. The exodus was triggered in part by panic among residents following a series of targeted operations by the army against militant hideouts in Mir Ali.

Officials of the Disaster Management Authority for the tribal areas said they had not been directed to deal with the internally displaced people but a special team was sent to Bannu to assess the number of people arriving from North Waziristan Agency. — PTI