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| 3 hostages in hospital after commando rescue DHAKA, Mar 18: Three Europeans held hostage for a month by tribal kidnappers in the hills of southeastern Bangladesh were going through intensive ...more Controlled
explosion LONDON, Mar 18: Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on a vehicle outside offices belonging to the British Broadcasting Corporation in ....more 5th international defence ABU DHABI, Mar 18: A major defence exhibition opened here today with Pakistan participating in it in a big way with its latest weaponry but India choosing to go unrepresented at this biggest....more Tigers shift out of COLOMBO, Mar 18: The LTTE has shifted its "international secretariat" in London to a secret......more |
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Norwegian Envoy to meet Prabhakaran again COLOMBO, Mar 18: Norway’s peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, will meet LTTE supremo .....more Sri Lanka bids to rebuild Bamiyan Buddha statues from rubble COLOMBO, Mar 18: Sri Lanka is seeking to buy the rubble and any remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues destroyed by Afghanistan’s Taliban ......more Filkin may reopen inquiry into allegations against Vaz LONDON, Mar 18: Keith Vaz, the sole Asian in the British Cabinet today came under renewed pressure from media and opposition MPs following .......more China,
Russia, Israel in GENEVA, Mar 18: Israel’s use of force against Palestinians in the occupied territories and continuing Russian abuses in Chechnya will be under the......more |
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3 hostages in hospital after commando rescue DHAKA, Mar 18: Three Europeans held hostage for a month by tribal kidnappers in the hills of southeastern Bangladesh were going through intensive medical checkups today after Army commandos stormed a jungle hideout and freed them. Danish Road Engineers Torben Mikkelsen, 48, and Nils Hulgaard, 64, and their British colleague Tim Selbi, 28, appeared unshaven in front of press photographers for a fleeting moment at an Army Airport in Dhaka yesterday before they were whisked away to a military hospital in the capital city. "We are very happy but extremely tired," said Mikkelsen, whose wife Davina and son Paul were waiting in Dhaka for him. Earlier Saturday the three men were taken to an Army field hospital in the hills before being flown to Dhaka on a helicopter. Interior Ministry sources said the kidnappers fled after a brief gunbattle with Army Commandos, abandoning their captives in a straw hut in the lush Kalapahar forest in the Chittagong hill tracts. The sources said yesterday’s commando action was ordered as the abductors were planning to move to a new hideout to delay the release of the hostages. "It is a matter of great satisfaction that the foreign hostages could be rescued unharmed," said Dipankar Talukdar, a Parliament Deputy and main Government negotiator with the abductors. Talukdar said the safety of the hostages was given the highest priority during negotiations but no ransom money was paid to the kidnappers. Both the Bangladeshi Government and the British and Danish embassies in Dhaka maintained a tough stance on not paying any money to the abductors for the release of the hostages kidnapped from a highway 25 kilometres from the hill resort of Rangamati on February 16. The abductors had demanded ransom money equivalent of 1.8 million dollars in local currency. (DPA) |
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Controlled explosion outside BBC office LONDON, Mar 18: Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion on a vehicle outside offices belonging to the British Broadcasting Corporation in Central London, the BBC said today. A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said that the vehicle was later given the all-clear when it was found it did not contain any explosives. "Police performed a controlled explosion on a vehicle outside Bush House at 1:20 am but it was given the all-clear," said the spokeswoman. "It was a false alarm." The latest incident comes two weeks after a taxi cab packed with explosives blew up outside BBC television centre in West London, causing substantial damages but no injuries. Police said after that incident that they believed dissident republican paramilitaries from northern Ireland were responsible. Scotland Yard said at the time it expected further attacks and warned people to be vigilant. The Irish Republican Army, the main paramilitary group has been observing a ceasefire since the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement was signed. But splinter group the Real Ira has continued its campaign of violence. (AFP) |
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5th international defence exhibition inaugurated ABU DHABI, Mar 18: A major defence exhibition opened here today with Pakistan participating in it in a big way with its latest weaponry but India choosing to go unrepresented at this biggest arms show in the Middle East. The fifth International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) was inaugurated here this morning by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyna, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces. Defence Ministers, Chiefs of Staff and armaments experts from 65 countries, including the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Brazil and Kazakhstan, were also present on the occasion. The five-day exhibition, which is a biennial feature, will see more than 850 companies from 42 countries displaying their latest military and defence technology and products. The Abu Dhabi defence exhibition is considered to be one of the world’s most important events in the calendar of defence experts. According to Sultan O B Al Suwaidi, Director General of the General Exhibitions Corporation, which organises the event, India was invited for participation but it chose not to take part in the exhibition this time. However, this did not mean India, which has actively participated in the previous editions of the exhibition, would not be invited for future shows. Sultan Suwaidi said some Israeli companies had also shown interest in participating in the exhibition but their applications were not entertained as the UAE had no relations with that country. Meanwhile, Pakistani defence officials described idex as one of the biggest arms shows in the world and said their latest arms and weapons would be on display at the exhibition. Lt Gen Abdul Qayoum, Chairman of the Pakistani Arms Complex, said the exhibition provided a real opportunity to his country to get acquainted with the latest inventions in the Defence Mndustry and to exchange views with other arms producing countries. Noting that his country had come a long way in the field of manufacturing armaments, Lt Gen Qayoum said conventional weapons produced in Pakistan had found markets in 30 asian and western countries. The total volume of Pakistani exports of weapons had reached 30 million US dollars, he added. With 13 ships from seven countries participating, the exhibition will witness a parade demonstration by different types of vessels, including frigates, mini-warfare ships, mine hunters, supply ships, submarines, guided missile cruisers and destroyers. France will make its presence felt with its frigate and mine warfare ship while Germany has brought its minesweeper, mine hunter and supply ship. The Netherlands has the mine countermeasure vessel to show while Pakistan has opted to send the type 21 ship and agosta 90B submarine, the organisers said. Britain has the largest presence in terms of participating countries. The United States has sent its guided missile cruiser, guided missile destroyer and mine hunter. Mobility demonstrations at the exhibition site and marine demonstrations close to it will be among other attractions of the event. "This show is the only of its kind anywhere in the world offering live demonstrations at the request of a willing audience," Sultan Suwaidi said. He said a two-day "Gulf Defence Conference" would be another important event to be held alongside the exhibition. To be held under the theme "countering threats - AGCC countries and their defence policies", the conference will aim to highlight the defence strategies that countries in the middle east will need to set in place, Sultan Suwaidi said. The conference would focus on subjects as potential threats to GCC countries, weapons of mass destruction, military capabilities of Iran and Iraq and their impact on Gulf security and the role of western forces in the region. (UNI) |
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Tigers shift out of London after British ban COLOMBO, Mar 18: The LTTE has shifted its "international secretariat" in London to a secret location in Sri Lanka’s Northern Vanni region after being banned under new laws in Britian, an independent newspaper reported today. The shifting out of London came in the wake of Britain designating the LTTE a foreign terrorist organisation last month, ‘The Sunday Leader’ said. "Realising that a clampdown on the international headquarters is inevitable after the proscription came into force, the tigers have pre-empted unnecessary friction with the British authorities by shifting the Secretariat to Vanni," the leader said quoting informed sources. The House of Commons approved a few days ago the proscription of 21 organisations named by British Home Secretary Jack Straw under Britain’s new anti-terrorism law. The ban would come into effect as soon as the House of Lords approves it. The law provides for a de-proscription hearing before the Home Secretary and an appeal before a judicial tribunal. The LTTE’s International Secretariat was mainly handling propaganda and coordinating the organisation’s activities in 55 countries. As sophisticated communication technology was now available with it, tigers felt their global activities could be coordinated from Vanni itself, the paper said. It claimed the relocation of the headquarters would not affect its overseas functions but would only result in greater efficiency due to direct contact with the higher echelons of the LTTE hierarchy. (PTI) |
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Norwegian Envoy to meet Prabhakaran again COLOMBO, Mar 18: Norway’s peace envoy to Sri Lanka, Erik Solheim, will meet LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran in next few days to clear the way for possible talks to end ethnic conflict in the island, a state-owned newspaper said today. Solheim would return to Colombo in the next few days and proceed to the Vanni to hold talks with Prabhakaran, the ‘Sunday Observer’ said, quoting diplomatic sources. However, a Norwegian Embassy spokesman said Solheim did not have any plans at present to come to Sri Lanka. The Norwegian Special Envoy was in India last Thursday to brief External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh on the progress made in Sri Lanka’s tenuous peace process. If the meeting materialises, it would be Solheim’s second personal meeting with Prabhakaran after his path-breaking interaction on November 1, 2000. The talks gave a fillip to peace process and has now resulted in a prolonged interlocution involving Colombo, London, Oslo and New Delhi. During his visit, Solheim is expected to convey to the Sri Lankan Government the understanding, if any, reached with the LTTE on how to carry forward the peace process. The newspaper, quoting political sources, claimed that the Government was keen that Prabhakaran should personally participate in at least one round of negotiations, if direct talks began at some stage. This crucial round of talks could be held at the Madhu Church in Mannar district in northern Sri Lanka, it said. The state-owned daily also mentioned a draft ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ prepared by Norway containing a preliminary agreement prior to direct talks. Sri Lanka officially denies the existence of any draft MoU. Under this preliminary pact, the Government should agree to lift its ‘economic embargo’ on the north in exchange for a promise by the rebels to refrain from all attacks on military, economic and civilian targets in the south. The Government denies the existence of any economic embargo on the north, but only acknowledges restrictions on the quantity and nature of the commodities it would allow to be transported. Meanwhile, Government agents (heads of district administration) in five districts of the north have said that there was an enormous shortage of food and essential drugs in the region, considerably affecting standard of living and health services. (PTI) |
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Sri Lanka bids to rebuild
Bamiyan Buddha COLOMBO, Mar 18: Sri Lanka is seeking to buy the rubble and any remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues destroyed by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers in a bid to rebuild them, an official here said today. Sri Lanka, the seat of Theravada Buddhism, had earlier offered to finance an international operation to save the two statues which date back more than 1,500 years. Presidential aide, Lakshman Jayakody, said that he believed Sri Lanka had the expertise to reconstruct the statues. "We have the expertise and experience in erecting such statues," Jayakody said. "We want to make a formal request to get what is remaining of the Bamiyan Buddha statues." Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar made separate visits to Pakistan in a bid to pressure the taliban to spare the priceless statues. On Friday, the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar ordered 100 cows to be sacrificed on Monday to atone for delays in the destruction of the ancient statues in the central Bamiyan province. Kabul’s official media, however, did not make it clear if omar meant the delay since Islam came to Afghanistan around 14 centuries ago or since the Taliban took Kabul in 1996. "These cows are to be slaughtered...For the further glory of god, the almighty’s name and as an offering for the error and the delay in the destruction of the statues," Radio Shariat reported in Kabul. (AFP) |
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Filkin may reopen inquiry into allegations against Vaz LONDON, Mar 18: Keith Vaz, the sole Asian in the British Cabinet today came under renewed pressure from media and opposition MPs following reports that Elizabeth Filkin, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, may reactivate the inquiry against him if she receives an MP’s complaint over the new charge of cash-for-favours. According to a report in the Sunday Times, in July 1995 the Hinduja Foundation, a charity run by the NRI businessmen Hinduja brothers, paid nearly 1,200 pounds to Mapesbury Communications, a company set up by Vaz a year earlier. Mapesbury allegedly received the money in return for helping to organise a Hinduja-sponsored reception at the House of Commons. When Filkin asked Vaz last year if he had ever received money from the Hindujas, he wrote back: "No donation has ever been made by the Hinduja brothers," the report said. While Andrew Lansley, shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, said after considering the evidence he would be writing to Filkin asking her to reopen the case, a spokesman for Vaz said that the Hindujas were not the Hinduja Foundation; Mapesbury was not Vaz or his office; and that Vaz derived no income from the Mapesbury. The Tories have called for Vaz’s resignation saying that the evidence amounted to a "catalogue of evasion, of intimidation and of wilful obstruction of the parliamentary process." Meanwhile, the report quoting the Prime Minister’s Office said that Vaz retains the backing of Prime Minister Tony Blair and will continue to do so unless something is proven against him. Home Secretary Jack Straw yesterday defended Vaz saying that many Asians in Britain believed that Vaz had become the victim of a press "witch-hunt" because of his race. Meanwhile, the Sunday Observer sought a new investigation into Vaz, saying he had personally "overturned decisions by Immigration officers an unprecedented 50 times since he took charge of overseeing visa applications to Britain in October 1999." A spokesman for the Foreign Office denied there was anything improper about Vaz’s overrulings. "Almost two million visas are applied for a year and fewer than 150,000 are rejected. The fact the Minister has overturned 50 decisions means we are talking about a minute percentage," the Observer quoted the spokesman as saying. (PTI) |
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China, Russia, Israel in UN dock for rights record GENEVA, Mar 18: Israel’s use of force against Palestinians in the occupied territories and continuing Russian abuses in Chechnya will be under the spotlight at the UN Human Rights Forum opening tomorrow, diplomats and UN sources said. The United States has also pledged to put China in the dock for alleged repression of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group and serious violations in tibet. But Beijing is likely to escape formal censure as it has for the last decade, they added. Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq and Sudan will also have their records scrutinised at the annual six-week session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. This year, activists including human rights watch have also expressed alarm about the credentials of some members of the 53-state body, whose job is to examine violations worldwide. "The UN Commission on Human Rights is the world’s most important body dealing exclusively with human rights, yet the Commission is being increasingly contaminated by the presence of Governments which systematically abuse human rights," Reed Brody, Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch, told a briefing. Its 14 new members include a host of countries widely criticised for serious abuses: Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. "Having Governments like these on the commission ... Is like having the foxes guarding the chicken coop," Mr Brody said. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson — who has made trips in the past year to hot spots including China, Russia’s North Caucasus region, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip — will address the opening session. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, French President Jacques Chirac and Congolese President Joseph Kabila are due to speak on March 30. Israel unlikely to cooperate The continuing bloodshed in the Middle East is the greatest continuing crisis to be debated this year, but Israel is unlikely to cooperate with any UN initiatives, diplomats say. At least 425 people — 347 Palestinians, 65 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs — have been killed since the Palestinian uprising began in late September after peace talks became deadlocked. "The question of how the Palestinian question is handled will have a profound effect on the whole commission on human rights," an EU diplomat in Geneva told Reuters. "But we have no illusions about the position of the Israelis and Americans." In October, at a special session, the Commission adopted a resolution presented by Arab and Islamic countries condemning Israel for "war crimes and crimes against humanity". It also set up a UN Commission of Inquiry, whose three independent experts went to the territories last month, and is due to report back to the Geneva Forum around March 27. But Israel has not cooperated with the probe, which is expected to denounce its clampdown and excessive use of force, diplomats say. The United States, the Jewish state’s main ally, accuses the commission of a long-held bias against Israel. The EU is taking the lead in negotiations with Russia to persuade it to address allegations of serious abuses against rebels and civilians in separatist Chechnya, diplomats say. Human rights watch and the London-based group Amnesty International have demanded that the Commission launch an international probe into killings and torture in Chechnya. The Bush administration has announced it will put forward a resolution criticising China for serious violations including alleged repression of freedom of religion and expression. But China, which has wide support among developing countries at the Forum, has used procedural manoeuvres to avoid any examination of its record every year since the June 1989 killing of student protesters in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. "We would like a real debate on China. But we don’t have much hope of defeating China’s traditional ‘no action motion’," the EU diplomat said. (REUTERS) |
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