Monday, January 7, 2008

Ajay Devgan requests molested girls to speak up

Dear citizens of India,

I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the happenings on January 1 when hooligans in Juhu traumatised two US-based couples. I read about the incident in the papers. Though I know it’s disturbing for them to relive the incident, I would like to request the ladies to file a police complaint because that is the only way we can bring the perpetrators to justice.

It’s a shame that such people exist within the fabric of our society. If we as people don’t take a stand, then what will stop these offenders from repeating such acts? Tomorrow, this ugly episode can also happen to your sister, wife or daughter. Why wait till that happens? If not for anyone else, raise your voice and protest for the coming generation. Because if you don’t, things will get worse. I urge please not to keep silent till justice is done!

I have always taken a stand for what I believe in. I will continue to fight against whatever I feel is wrong. It was while working on my film Halla Bol that I realised how much keeping silent has seeped into our characters. We are constantly stifling our voices and conscience. People ask me what Halla Bol means — it means to raise your voices, not physically but against something the ills in society. It was also a war cry in the olden days.

The incident that happened in Juhu is somewhat similar to a scene in Halla Bol, where I witnessed a similar molestation on two women —of course, reel life is more dramatic — and the women in Hala Bol are murdered. Why do we stand for such things happenings in our society? I am sure there were many people in the mob attack who simply stood and watched. Why didn’t they step forward to help these women? If we don’t help, hooliganism will keep increasing.

It’s unfair to blame the police for everything — they are doing their job to the best of their ability. We need to act too. People have to understand the collective might of the public and media. If we raise our voices together, we can change anything — including the system. We have to raise our voice and say Halla Bol against anything what is wrong. It’s pointless to complain against the government when we don’t want to do anything to change the system and remain mute spectators to every violent or wrong incident that happens.

If we as a nation decide to keep quiet and stifle our conscience, eventually we will all suffer. Within the law, I would like the offenders to be dealt with as harshly as possible and made such an example of, so that they never repeat such an act again. We have to make an example of them so that it sends out a message to anyone who thinks he can commit a crime and get away with it.

— Ajay Devgan

(As told to Upala KBR - Midday)

Two militants apprehended in Manipur

Imphal, Jan 6: The Manipur police arrested two militants from different locations in Imphal yesterday, Official sources said today. The Imphal East police commandos nabbed a United National Liberation Front (UNLF) cadre near here.

In a seperate operation, the security personnel apprehended a People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) ultra from the Sagolband area.
Meanwhile, Thoubal Superintendent of Police (SP) Th Radheshyam said police nabbed two miscreants who had committed robberies on the National Highway 39 (Imphal-Moreh Road).

UNI

Manipur Press Club observes foundation day

Imphal, Jan 6: The Manipur Press Club today observed its 33rd foundation day at the Manipur press Club premises here.

Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi singh honoured senior journalists by presenting them with gifts and mementoes.

The Chief Minister said the media should play a constructive role in the development of the society.

State Information Minister T N Haokip, state Sports Minister N Biren and All Manipur Working Journalists union (AMWJU) president S Hemant were also present at the function.

UNI

12-hour National Highways bandh in Nagaland

Kohima, Jan 06: The youth wings of three non-Congress parties in Nagaland have called for a 12-hour bandh on National Highway 39 and 61, passing through the state, on January eight to protest the imposition of President's Rule.

Nagaland Peoples' Front (NPF) Youth Wing president Kakuto Shohe said here today that the bandh was jointly called by the youth wings of the NPF, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), from 0600 hours to 1800 hours on January eight, to protest the imposition of President's Rule in Nagaland by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
The NPF's Youth Wing organised a poster campaign in Kohima as well as other parts of the state to register their protest against the President's Rule.

NPF president Shurhozelie, in a statement, admitted that the NPF Youth Wing had taken up the poster campaign and bandh to voice the protests of the common people against the President's Rule.

UNI

President's Rule is not Army Rule: Nagaland Governor

Kohima, Jan 6: Nagaland Governor K Sankaranarayanan has pointed out that the current President's Rule in Nagaland was not ''Army Rule'' as the responsibility of running the administration, law and order was being shared between the Civil administration, police and the Governor.

Addressing a high level security meeting with the senior police and Para-military officers at the Police Headquarters here yesterday, the Governor reminded them that the state government should accord priority to the maintenance of law and order, official sources said here today.
Mr Sankaranarayanan asserted that the state police was well prepared to face the challenges and hoped that it would live up to the expectations of the people.

He said with the announcement for the Assembly elections to be expected soon, the state government would gear up the intelligence machinery so as to ensure maintenance of law and order.

He also spoke on the need for better coordination between the police, CRPF and Assam Rifles in the run up to the Assembly polls scheduled in February.

The Governor also asked the Director General of Police to issue orders to all senior police officers to be at their places of posting as well as personally supervise the investigations and take necessary action.

He warned that any laxity on the part of the administration would not be tolerated. He also stressed on the need for the police to maintain discipline at various check gates.

The Governor lauded the efforts of the civil societies, NGOs and the Gaon Burahs (GBs) and Dobhashis (DBs) Forum in calling for a stop to factional clashes. He said the process should be strengthened to prevent bloodshed.

Mr Sankaranarayanan also assured the people that during the President's Rule, his government would ensure that the citizens felt safe and secure and no act of violence occurred and called upon the security officials to be on high alert for prompt action.

al-Qaida's American Seeks Bush Attacks

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Al-Qaida's American spokesman urged fighters to meet President Bush with bombs when he visits the Middle East, according to a new video posted on the Internet Sunday.

U.S.-born Adam Gadahn also tore up his American passport as part of a symbolic protest in the nearly hour-long rhetoric-dominated tape - al-Qaida's first message of the new year.

The release comes just three days before Bush is scheduled to arrive in Israel for a weeklong trip that will also bring him to the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of his push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

"Now we direct an urgent call to our militant brothers in Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula ... to be ready to receive the Crusader slayer Bush in his visit to Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula in the beginning of January and to receive him not with flowers or clapping but with bombs and booby-trapped vehicles," Gadahn, 29, said in Arabic.

"This just shows once again, al-Qaida offers nothing but violence and death," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "The purpose of President Bush's trip is to meet with mainstream Arab leaders and people to talk about a positive future for the region, based on hope and opportunity."

As for Gadahn's tearing up his U.S. passport, Johndroe said: "He is wanted for treason against the United States. His passport was already void."

During the rest of the 50-minute video, titled "An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance," Gadahn, who was raised in California, spoke mostly in English, appearing to specifically address the American people. He said al-Qaida felt the need to release the statement after Washington's "defeat" in Iraq and Afghanistan and failed attempts by the Bush administration to bring peace to the Middle East.

"We felt it necessary to address the American people and explain to them some of the facts about these critical and fast-moving events," said Gadahn, who wore a white-and-red headscarf and sat behind a desk with a laptop computer and coffee mug nearby.

"The first questions Americans might ask is has America really been defeated? The answer is yes and on all fronts," he added.

The video could not immediately be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing, al-Sahab. At the beginning of the video, the date December 2007 was displayed. Gadahn also mentioned Robert Hawkins, who killed eight people at a mall in Omaha, Neb. on Dec. 5, suggesting the tape was made sometime after then.

Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was charged with treason in the U.S. in 2006 and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He has appeared in several al-Qaida videos including one in August when he threatened new attacks on foreign embassies. In May, al-Qaida released another video featuring Gadahn, who warned Bush to end U.S. involvement in Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes.

Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, said much of Gadahn's new video shares a similar tone as his previous messages.

"It fits into al-Qaida's notion of providing warning and opportunity for people to correct their ways to avoid an attack," he said.

In the video, Gadahn lashed out repeatedly at the United States for its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and its close ties to Israel and the leaders of some Muslim countries, including Egypt and Pakistan, which he described as some of the "worst dictators and tyrants."

Gadahn also criticized Christianity, which he called "baseless and doubt-filled," and urged Americans - including soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan - to convert to Islam.

"Listen to me, and listen to me carefully, before you lose your mind to flashbacks, and drugs and drink-induced dementia and before your demons drive you to self-destruction and suicide, in these verses (in the Quran), God calls out to each and every one of you saying God forgives all sins ... if you simply stop and repent," he said.

At one point in the video, Gadahn took out his U.S. passport, showed it to the camera and tore it into several pieces.

"In symbolic rejection of the American citizenship that honorable and decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry, I will now proceed to destroy my American passport," he said.

"But don't get too excited, I don't need it to travel anyway," he added with a smile after tearing it apart.

Despite Gadahn's passport destruction, Venzke cautioned against dismissing him as a crazy kid and said his warnings should be taken seriously.

"The reality is al-Qaida and al-Sahab do not put anything out without a lot of planning ... They are very deliberate," he said.

Gadahn is the first American to be charged with treason in more than 50 years and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also was indicted on a charge of providing material support to terrorists.

Earlier this month, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the agency would review the latest tape for intelligence value and vowed never to give up the hunt for Gadahn.

_____

Associated Press writer Paul Schemm contributed to this report.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
01/06/2008 15:35 ET

Musharraf queries how Bhutto died


Pakistan's President Musharraf has said for the first time that murdered opposition leader Benazir Bhutto may have been shot.
Until now Pakistani officials have maintained that Ms Bhutto had banged her head on part of her car's sunroof.

But asked in a US television interview if a gunshot could have caused her head injury he replied: "Yes, absolutely, yes. Possibility."

She died on 27 December in a gun and suicide bomb attack while campaigning.

More than 50 people were killed in violence following her death.

The elections she was campaigning for were subsequently postponed from 8 January to 18 February.

The government said the attack had been ordered by a tribal leader in the lawless South Waziristan area on the border with Afghanistan, Baitullah Mehsud. It described him as an al-Qaeda leader.

He has denied any involvement.

'Victim to blame'

In the interview, to be aired on Sunday in the CBS show 60 Minutes, Mr Musharraf repeated his government's line that Ms Bhutto was to blame for her own death.

For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. Nobody else," he said.

According to eye-witnesses, a gunman fired at Ms Bhutto as she stood up through the car's sunroof to greet supporters after a rally in Rawalpindi. Moments later, a bomb exploded.

Ms Bhutto was taken to hospital, but doctors could not save her.

She was buried the next day, as Muslim custom demands, and no post-mortem was carried out.

Her family and supporters insist she died of gunshot wounds, rejecting the official line that she was fatally wounded when her head smashed onto part of her car's sunroof.

Mr Musharraf first signalled that the government could be distancing itself from that position last week, when he said he was not fully satisfied with the investigation.

British detectives have flown to Pakistan to help with the investigation.

Security

Supporters of Ms Bhutto's party, the PPP, have blamed the government for her death, either because some officials wanted her dead or not enough security was provided.

But Mr Musharraf repeated that his government had given her adequate protection.

"She was given more security than any other person," he said.

A senior PPP official, Farhatullah Babar, reacted to the interview by saying the government's position on the killing had been shifting from day to day.

He said this underlined the need for a UN inquiry.

Meanwhile, Pakistan reacted angrily to reports that the US administration was considering covert operations in the country's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

The Pakistani foreign office said it would not let US forces hunt militants on its soil.

The statement came after the New York Times published a report saying Washington was seeking to expand military and intelligence operations in Pakistan following Ms Bhutto's death.

Tamil intelligence chief killed


The intelligence chief of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels has been killed, officials and pro-rebel sources say.
The man, known as Colonel Charles, died when his car hit a landmine planted by government troops in rebel territory, according to a pro-Tiger website.

The government says he was one of at least 34 rebels killed in clashes in the northern Mannar district.

On Wednesday, the government withdrew from a peace deal, saying violence by the rebels had made it pointless.

The accord was signed in 2002, but more than 5,000 people are thought to have been killed since 2006, when fresh violence erupted.

The government says about 50 rebels have been killed since the start of the year, against three of its own soldiers.

The two sides rarely agree on casualty figures, and journalists are usually barred from conflict zones in Sri Lanka so cannot verify them independently.

The Tigers themselves have said nothing about the death of Col Charles - whose real name was Shanmuganathan Ravishankar.

The government denied the claim by Tamilnet.com that he had been killed by a deep penetration unit. It said he must have been caught up in fighting and exchanges of artillery fire.

Either way, his death is the latest in a series of reverses for the rebels.


The government said it injured Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran in an air strike in November
Head of political wing SP Thamilselvan was killed in an air raid earlier in the month
Top Tiger Karunakaran Kandasamy was arrested in the US on terror charges in April
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) demand their own state in north and east Sri Lanka for the Tamil minority.

Since President Mahinda Rajapakse was elected in 2005 the government has driven the Tigers out of the east.

Correspondents say it now wishes to defeat them in the north too.

Pakistanis flee into Afghanistan


Thousands of Pakistanis have fled into Afghanistan with the security situation deteriorating in Pakistan's tribal regions over the past week.

Hundreds of families, comprising some 6,000 mainly women and children, have been crossing the border.

The UN refugee agency says clashes between Pakistan's Shia and Sunni groups have forced people to flee.

It is the first time so many people have crossed this way as for years it was Afghans fleeing fighting.

The refugees have been crossing the border between Pakistan's tribal areas and south-eastern Afghan provinces.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says historic clashes between Shias and Sunnis in the villages in Kurram, North West Frontier Province, have escalated in the past couple of weeks.

This and the unstable situation in that part of Pakistan have led to the movement of so many people, the UNHCR says.

"It's the first time that we see this in very large numbers which shows that security in those areas has seriously deteriorated and it's probably become out of control," said Salvatore Lombardo, a UNHCR representative in Kabul.

He said many of the people had been given shelter in Afghanistan by villagers who live by the Pashtun Valley tribal code of hospitality, and tents were being handed out to help provide shelter as winter was intensifying along the border.

Discussions

Over the past three decades millions of Afghans fled the violence in their country during the Soviet occupation, the civil war and then in the fighting that saw the Taleban take control of Afghanistan.

With the rise of the Pakistani Taleban and militant Islamic groups along the Pakistan side of the border, the UN says it now appears that parts of Afghanistan are safer for families.

It is hoped discussions within the tribal groups can resolve the situation and allow the people to return home.