The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Political crisis deepens in Thailand Govt, Opposition harden stance as Suthep says no to talks with Yingluck Shinawatra Bangkok, February 16 Thailand's political crisis deepened today after the main protest leader said the door for talks had "shut" even as the government threatened to use force to reclaim key state buildings besieged for months by Opposition activists bent on toppling premier Yingluck Shinawatra. Suthep Thaugsuban, who heads the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), set an impossible condition for dialogue by saying he would only talk with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in self-exile. "So the door for talks should be considered shut. I won't have talks with Yingluck, either in secret or in public. Also, I won't negotiate with any representative from the government because they have no real power," said Suthep, a former deputy premier and Opposition Democrat Party leader. He was of the view that Thaksin, the brother of Yingluck who is in self-exile to avoid a jail term, would not return to Thailand and risk being arrested as he had been convicted for abuse of power. He claimed Thaksin was the de-facto leader of the current caretaker government. Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006 and lives in Dubai. Chalerm Yubamrung, director of the Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) that is overseeing the response to the protests, said rally sites in the vicinity of the premier's office, known as Government House, will be seized back from protesters and there will be no more talks since previous attempts had failed. Police forces would be used to retake these sites. If met with resistance by protesters, who are said to be armed, police might have to use guns to protect themselves, Chalerm, also the caretaker Labour Minister, was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post. Yesterday, he directed authorities to ensure that the premier's office compound is reopened by Wednesday as Yingluck intends to return to the building. The premier and her cabinet have been working from an undisclosed location after protesters occupied key buildings as part of their three-month-old campaign to oust Yingluck and install an unelected "People's Council" to carry out reforms. — PTI
	12 die, flights grounded as snowstorm strikes Japan Tokyo, February 16 A severe snowstorm sweeping across Japan has killed 12 persons and left more than 1,650 injured, Japanese media reported today, as the extreme weather sparked widespread transport chaos. At least 12 persons have died in snow-related incidents in seven prefectures after the storm broke records, with Tokyo blanketed in 27 cm of snow, according to Kyodo news agency. A further 2,150 persons have been evacuated from their homes over fears the weight of the snow would cause their houses to collapse, public broadcaster NHK said. At least 800 cars are stuck on a hillside trunk road in Japan and other roads nearby after they were hit by the snowstorm, officials said on Sunday. More than 100 flights were grounded on Friday and yesterday and several major rail services were disrupted. The storm is now moving northward and is expected to strengthen by tomorrow, Japan's meteorological agency said, warning of heavy snow, blizzards and avalanches as well as high waves in eastern and northern Japan. National Route 18 that runs through Gunma and Nagano prefectures north of Tokyo is partly closed as hundreds of cars are stuck due to heavy snow, a local official told AFP. The congestion extends for several kilometres, said the official in the ski resort of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture. "We have opened up three community halls nearby for people who were inside the stuck cars, and are now preparing to offer hot meals," he said. — AFP
	Egypt adjourns Morsi espionage trial Cairo, February 16 Egypt's deposed President Mohamed Morsi charged he was being muzzled in a soundproof dock at the start of his trial on espionage charges today, as his defence lawyers staged a protest walk-out. The court adjourned the trial, the third for the Islamist since his July 3 ouster, to February 23 to allow the lawyers' syndicate to appoint new lawyers. Morsi, who has shouted that he was Egypt's legitimate and elected president in hearings of other trials against him, said the court was trying to silence him. "We are in a farce, all this because you are afraid of me. You are afraid that the president speaks," Morsi cried out. "If this farce continues, don't come to the court," Morsi told his defence. Mohamed Selim al-Awa, a member of the defence team, told AFP: "We have withdrawn until the court removes the glass cage, we will not get in the room today." The soundproof dock is designed to stop Morsi and the other defendants from interrupting the proceedings with outbursts. On Sunday, 20 defendants were brought to court, including Morsi, who was placed in a separate dock with a former aide, and the Brotherhood's supreme guide Mohamed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater. The accused include former presidential aides and renowned political scientist Emad Shahin, who is being tried in absentia. The latest court case is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting Morsi and his Islamist supporters since he was ousted by the military after a single year in power. Morsi and 35 others, including leaders of his Muslim Brotherhood, are accused of espionage "for the international organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood, its military wing and (Palestinian) Hamas movement." If found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty. Morsi, who was Egypt's first democratically elected and civilian president, is already on trial for alleged involvement in the killing of opposition protesters in December 2012. — AFP
	18 feared dead in Nepal plane crash Kathmandu, February 16 All 18 persons, including a foreigner and an infant, on board a small plane were feared killed today when it crashed in bad weather while on its way from a popular tourist resort to a town in western Nepal. The 19-seater Twin Otter of Nepal Airlines took off from Pokhara airport at 12.40 pm and disappeared 15 minutes later. “The aircraft with 15 passengers and three crew members, which flew from 12.40 pm from Pokhara airport lost contact with the airport tower minutes after take off,” according to officials. It later found crashed in a jungle at Khidim of Arghakhanchi district. Though, the condition of the passengers is not yet known, all 18 people on board, are feared dead. The aircraft was carrying 14 Nepalese passengers, including an infant and a Danish citizen. As per the preliminary reports bad weather was the cause behind the accident. The accident site was spotted, where fire flames were seen and army and civilian helicopters have been mobilised to carry out rescue operations. In December, the EU put all of Nepal’s airlines on a blacklist, citing safety fears. In September 2012, a plane operated by Nepal’s Sita Air crashed near Kathmandu airport, killing 19 people. In May 2012, 15 persons died when an Agni Air plane carrying Indian pilgrims to a Hindu religious site in northern Nepal crashed at a high-altitude airport. — PTI
	Pak Taliban ‘decide’ on ceasefire Islamabad, February 16 The Taliban have decided in principle on a ceasefire that is likely to be announced in the next 24 hours but have demanded the release of detained non-combatants and withdrawal of the army from North Waziristan region, media reports said today. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)'s political 'shura' or council met in the tribal belt to deliberate on the government's demand for a truce to take forward a controversial and fragile peace process. The shura decided to announce a ceasefire in the next 24 hours, TV news channels said. — PTI
	8 killed as blast on railway track derails train in Pak Karachi, February 16 A bomb blast on a railway track derailed a passenger train and killed eight persons, including four children from the same family, in Pakistan's southern Sindh province today, officials said. More than 30 persons were injured in the attack near Thal in Jacobabad. The explosion occurred as the Khushal Khan Express, travelling from Karachi to Peshawar in the northwest, approached Unnar Wah railway station, officials said. Three coaches were derailed and damaged by the powerful blast, which was triggered by remote control. Rescue service and railway officials said eight bodies, including those of four children, were pulled out of the derailed coaches. "Four children aged between eight and 12 years belonging to the same family lost their lives," said an official of Edhi Trust, one of Pakistan's leading rescue services. A police official said dozens of injured were taken to a hospital in Rahimyar Khan. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique ordered an investigation into the incident. He asked Railways General Manager Anjum Pervez to speed up the recovery work. — PTI
	Sinai blast kills 3 South Korean tourists Cairo/Jerusalem, February 16 At least three tourists, including two foreigners, were today killed and 27 wounded in an explosion on a tourist bus in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, near the Israeli border. The Israeli police confirmed that two South Korean tourists were among those killed in the blast. The identity of the remaining casualties remained unknown, although Israeli authorities said that no Israelis were wounded in the blast. Across the border, security sources in South Sinai said all three fatalities were South Koreans, while 27 were injured in the blast, Al-Ahram reported. — PTI
	Karzai hopes Pak will give transit route to India Kandahar, February 16 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed hope that Pakistan will provide access for a key transit route for trade between his land-locked country and India, underlining that commerce between the three nations is an essential element for progress and stability of the three countries. “The trade has to happen if they want to establish the region with prosperity and free of conflict. I hope Pakistan will soon give transit route to India," he said. "Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan, India and Pakistan, and among the three countries is an essential element for progress and stability," Karzai said here yesterday in the Afghanistan's second largest city after the inauguration of the Afghan National Agricultural Sciences and Technology University (ANASTU), built with India's help. Commenting on the issue of a transit route with Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said, "Pakistan has to open for the sake of Afghanistan. By this, Afghanistan gets direct access to India via Pakistan. It will be of enormous help to Afghanistan." "It is important that Afghanistan success would be guaranteed, if it has connectivity from all sides of border. We would want to see all countries, including Pakistan, step in," he added. Khurshid said India would continue to push for Chabahar Port in Iran as an alternative route to mineral-rich Afghanistan. India's interest in the Iranian port is not only to get a direct access to Central Asia but also to facilitate import of minerals from Afghanistan. Khurshid also said India had to resolve issues with Pakistan like granting of the Most Favoured Nation status. "They have promised MFN status to India, which has not been given to us yet," he said. Pakistan has delayed the grant of MNF status to India along with abolition of a negative trade list regime "for a short time" because of reservations expressed by several industries, Pakistani officials have said. — PTI