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India trying to fulfill political agenda against Pak through Mumbai attacks: Zardari

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:49:00 -0500

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that India is using the Mumbai terrorist attacks for fulfilling its political agenda against Pakistan.

In a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher, Zardari stated that New Delhi is trying to gain international support and sympathy in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks, the Nation reported.

He reiterated that Pakistan had offered every possible co-operation to India for investigating the Mumbai incident.

He stressed on the need of regional unity in the region to fight terrorism and dismantle its root.

“For eradicating the menace of terrorism Pakistan is pursuing co-operative partnership with regional countries,” Zardari said.

Islamabad also underlined the role played by the United State in advising restraint and de-escalation of tension between India and Pakistan. (ANI)

Jihad’ mandatory for every Pakistani if India attacks, says Fatwa

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:49:00 -0500

Amidst international efforts to tone down the rising tension between India and Pakistan, religious groups in Pakistan have decreed that ‘Jihad’ or the ‘holy war’ would become mandatory for every citizen of Pakistan if India wages a war.

According to a ‘fatwa’ issued by an all parties’ conference, “Jihad will be mandatory for the Pakistani nation in case India attacks the country,” the Daily Times reported.

The participants in the all party meeting also demanded the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to issue a declaration condemning India.

Expressing concern over the current political scenario, the joint communiqué opined that the two major political parties of the country should not create difficulties for each other, as it would worsen Pakistan’s current crises.

The meet was attended by a number of noted religious scholars and heads of various religious and political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Tehreek-e-Insaaf, the Sunni Tehrik, the Mustafai Tehrik, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, the Minhajul Quran, the Nizam-e-Mustafa Party and the Jamaat Ahle Sunnat. (ANI)

Shiekh Hasina to be sworn-in as Bangladesh PM

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:49:00 -0500

Shiekh Hasina, the President of the Awami League Party (AL), will be sworn-in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh here today.

President Iajuddin Ahmed will appoint and administer oath of office to Hasina and her colleagues in the new council of ministers. He will also appoint and administer oath of office to the other ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers.

Hasina returns to power after spending a few months in custody on charge of murder, extortion and corruption. She has since been acquitted.

In the December 29 polls, the Awami League -led alliance got 262 seats with the AL securing 230 seats alone. The number of AL lawmakers will exceed 265 when another 36 lawmakers to be elected to the seats reserved for women will join parliament.

Bangladesh has been ruled by a military-backed government since January last year when months of political turmoil prompted the army to cancel polls and impose a state of emergency.

Bangladesh attempted to hold elections twice in 2006, but months of strikes and street violence forced the caretaker government to step in.

Hasina, who is close to New Delhi, was in power from 1996-2001. During that period Bangladesh''s bilateral ties with India were said to be at its best, The Daily Star reports. (ANI)

Pak refuses to change its tune, says ‘dossier’ provided by India “insufficient proof ”

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:48:00 -0500

Pakistan has been beating the drum about insufficient evidence regarding its complexity in the Mumbai attacks, and has once again rejected the proof provided by India terming it as ‘insufficient’.

Pakistan has reportedly told the US that the evidence provided by India is insufficient and no action can be based upon it.

“India’s dossier contained nothing new and it was compilation of allegations against Pakistan that had already appeared in Indian media,” the Nation quoted a Pakistan official, as saying.

Questioning the authenticity of Kasab’s confession, Pakistan said: “The proof given by India are too insufficient to be made a ground for any action and that the statement evoked from Kasab under torture and violence of investigation agencies has no legal status,” the Pak official said.

Pak Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir met Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Satya Pal and told him about Pakistan’s stand on the issue.

The evidence provided to Pakistan by India consisted of the statement of confession by Ajmal Kasab who is under police custody, and a cellphone conversation. It has also alleged that the arms and other articles recovered from Ajmal Kasab and other people bear the inscription “Made in Pakistan”.

The Indian ‘dossier’ provided to Pakistan contains the confession of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist held during Mumbai terror attacks, records of GPS and satellite phones used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their alleged handlers in Pakistan.

The dossier also contains the Indian demand for the handing over of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, who are blamed by New Delhi for masterminding and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.

Instead of acting on the evidence provided Pakistan is now trying to divert the international attention from the issue, by claiming that it too has prepared a dossier that contains evidence on Indian involvement in acts of terror in tribal areas and Balochistan, with a focus on the role of Indian consulates in Afghanistan in this regard.

“Pakistan will soon send its dossier to Washington and other world capitals to let them know which state in South Asia has been supporting the menace of terror on the soil of neighbouring states,” the news paper quoted a senior Pak official, as saying.

Meanwhile, India has increased efforts to garner international support over the issue.

External Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he had written to his counterparts around the globe, giving details of the Mumbai attacks, and hoped that the “world will unite” in ensuring an end to cross-border terrorism faced by India.

Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon held a special briefing for the Ambassadors and High Commissioners of over a dozen countries, including the US, UK, Israel, France, Japan, Germany, Turkey and Canada in New Delhi to apprise them of the details of investigation into the Mumbai attacks. (ANI)

Mumbai attackers linked to Pakistan soil: US

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:48:00 -0500

The probe of the November, 2008 Mumbai attacks has given clear indications that the perpetrators of the attack had links with Pakistan. Reaffirming the Indian stand, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher said that : “It is clear the “attacks have links to Pakistan or lead to Pakistani soil

As India handed over the details of the probe to Pakistan, Washington urged Islamabad to act on the proof provided.

“Let us find from the evidence who was involved in these attacks,” the Daily Times quoted Boucher as saying.

He added that the United States wanted the investigation to progress on the basis of information shared by the two countries.

The Indian ‘dossier’ provided to Pakistan on January ,5 contains the confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist held during Mumbai terror attacks, records of GPS and satellite phones used by the attackers and transcript of conversations between the attackers and their alleged handlers in Pakistan.

The dossier also contains the Indian demand for the handing over of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, who are blamed by New Delhi for masterminding and facilitating the Mumbai attacks.

Boucher however, rejected that India and Pakistan were preparing for war.

“The situation at the Indo-Pak borders is ‘calm’, he added.

Boucher urged both the countries to restrain from taking such steps which can aggravate the issue. (ANI)

Lanka troops claim capture of part of strategic Elephant Pass

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:47:00 -0500

Sri Lankan troops on Monday claimed that they had captured a part of the highly strategic Elephant Pass, a causeway that links northern Jaffna to the mainland.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara was quoted as saying that the southern part of the causeway fell to government troops advancing northwards from Kilinochchi, the political headquarters of the Tamil Tigers, which was captured by the army on Friday.

Meanwhile, the LTTE said they have killed 53 soldiers in the north of the island where the army is trying to capture rebel strongholds.

"At least 53 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed, more than 80 sustained injuries and the Tamil Tigers recovered two bodies of the soldiers in heavy fighting," the pro-Tamil website TamilNet reported.

Sri Lankan military officials denied the rebel casualty claims and said troops had recovered the bodies of 12 Tamil Tigers.

They also confirmed the capture of the strategic town of Oddusuddan at the weekend, which sits at an important crossroads to Mullaitivu. (ANI)

Laura Bush’s memoirs to hit shelves in 2010

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:46:00 -0500

US First Lady Laura Bush has inked a deal with Scribner to write her memoirs for publication in the spring of 2010.

The memoir will include her experiences in White House and Texas governor’s mansion along with some ‘very personal’ details like having a strong-willed mother-in-law, dealing with loss and raising children.

“I am very pleased to be associated with Scribner, the distinguished publishing house of many of my favorite books,” Politico.com quoted Bush as saying.

“I look forward to working with Scribner and the Simon & Schuster team as I tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I''''ve met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House,” she added.

Susan Moldow, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Scribner, said in that they are thrilled to have the opportunity to publish the first lady’s memoir.

”As a rare witness to the private moments of one of our country’s most consequential presidencies, and as a First Lady who has maintained a notable level of discretion, her memoir will provide a candid and personal perspective, and an enduring record, of the years that have already determined the course of the 21st century,” she added. (ANI)

Meet the octogenarian lovebirds who have said “I do” 60 times!

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:46:00 -0500

Margaret and John Beauvoisin of Waterlooville, Hants, have renewed their wedding vows sixty times.

The couple met at a dance hall in Southsea and tied the knot in 1948.

Since 1950, the pair has renewed their vows annually but missed out 1949 because John was stationed in Bermuda with the Royal Navy.

There was still magic in the air as Margaret and John, now both in their 80s, tied the knot for the 60th time.

Ten of their 11 kids and most of the 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandkids were the guests.

“It reinforces our promise to love and care for one another. We are still very much in love. I’m a terrible housewife but John puts up with that and keeps on loving me,” the Sun quoted Margaret, as saying.

John, 84, joked: “I still love her . . . somehow.” (ANI)

Prosecutors want Madoff jailed for ''mailing $1m worth jewellery to family'' from house arrest

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:46:00 -0500

Bernard Madoff, the prime accused of a 50 billion dollar investment fraud, should be sent behind bars immediately for mailing jewellery, estimated at 1 million dollars, to his family while under house arrest, US prosecutors have debated.

The Wall Street fund manager, the perpetrator of the biggest financial fraud in history, had been arrested and charged with securities fraud on December 11.

Madoff’s swindle was alleged to involve up to 50 billion dollars in cash and securities through Ponzi schemes, which involves paying abnormally high returns to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from the profit from any real business, reports the Telegraph.

The 70-year-old was to remain on bail while the court examined if he had breached the terms of an asset-freeze order by sending away "very valuable" jewellery to his relatives.

The Wall Street Journal had reported that many wealthy investors from all over the world had fallen victim to the fraud including wealthiest woman in the world and heiress to the L’Oreal empire Liliane Bettencourt, Alicia Koplowitz, the Spanish billionaire and director Steven Spielberg. (ANI)

Is Sarkozy’s brother French minister’s baby’s mystery father?

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:46:00 -0500

Francois Sarkozy, the younger brother of French President, has become the latest figure to be named as a possible father of justice minister Rachida Dati''s new baby.

Francois, 47, visited the mother and child at a Paris clinic on Sunday night, fuelling persistent although unconfirmed claims that he was le pere.

The pharmaceutical industrialist is reported to have spent Christmas with Dati at his mother''s home, reports News.com.au.

Their liaison, if confirmed, may explain why the President appears reluctant to sack his controversial 43-year-old minister, despite criticism of her performance at the Justice Ministry.

Francois is the latest in a string of top names circulating in France being mooted as 42-year-old Dati''s mystery lover.

Others on the paternity hit list include President Sarkozy himself, with whom the politician was romantically linked before he met his wife Carla Bruni.

Former Spanish Prime Minister Maria Aznar, ex-boyfriend and businessman Henri Proglio, Barrière hotel and casino chief Dominique Desseigne and a French television host have also been named as potential suspects.

Dati gave birth by caesarean section to Zohra on Friday. (ANI)