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Maoists bomb Indian joint venture firm 5 killed in US air strike on Fallujah
Did Israel influence US policy on Iran, Iraq ?
Aziz wins House confidence
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Maoists bomb Indian joint venture firm
Kathmandu, August 28 A group of 15 rebels exploded three bombs at the factory of Nepal Lever, a joint venture company of the Hindustan Lever, situated at Hetauda in Makawanpur district. No one was injured in the blast which caused heavy damage to the company, according to sources at the Indian Embassy here. Nepal Lever officials were not available for comments on account of a weekly holiday. The attack came a day after the Maoists affiliated trade union issued a statement saying they would not attack any multinational companies except the US joint ventures. The Maoists have said they would not allow any American investments to operate in Nepal as the US Government was actively supporting the Nepal Government in “suppressin”g their movement. However, the Maoists have not yet lifted a ban on 12 multinational companies, including the Indian joint venture Surya Nepal, and Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza to operate for the past 12 days. — PTI
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5 killed in US air strike on Fallujah Fallujah (Iraq), August 28 "A vehicle-mounted weapon system opened fire on one of our air assets and that system was taken out with a missile. It was then that we started the air strike," Lieut-Col T.V. Johnson said yesterday. BAGHDAD: Guerrillas fired a barrage of mortar rounds in eastern Baghdad today killing two Iraqi teenagers and wounding six other civilians, officials said. An initial volley of mortar rounds killed two boys washing cars in a street near the former Iraqi National Olympic Committee building, said Interior Ministry spokesman Col Adnan Abdul-Rahman. About two hours later, a massive plume of thick black smoke could be seen rising in the area from what appeared to be a separate blast.
— AFP, AP
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Academic shot
Mosul, August 28
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Aziz wins House confidence
Islamabad, August 28 Aziz was administered oath of office by Musharraf at the Presidential Palace here at a simple ceremony attended by top army officials, diplomats and the ruling alliance politicians. Shortly after taking over as Prime Minister, Aziz secured the vote of confidence in the 342-member National Assembly, which yesterday elected him as its leader. He obtained 191 votes in a one-sided show. His cabinet will be sworn-in on September 1. The vote of confidence turned out to be yet another cakewalk for Aziz, as like yesterday, the combined Opposition lawmakers numbering about 149 boycotted the proceedings questioning the credibility of his election. The enraged Opposition boycotted the proceedings yesterday also alleging that it was “sham” democracy. After Aziz’s swearing-in, Musharraf told mediapersons that the election of Aziz spoke of excellent governance in Pakistan. ARD Chairman Amin Fahim charged that civil and military bureaucracy in the country had been working in collusion to sabotage democracy and history was being repeated with frequent changes of Prime Ministers. Leader of the Opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman of MMA, said Aziz was the third Prime Minister in three months after Jamali was “forced to resign by army.” Alleging that army was attempting to conquer its own civilians, he criticised the military operations in south west Baluchistan where local nationalists opposed building of army cantonments.— PTI |
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Did Israel influence US policy on Iran, Iraq ?
The FBI is investigating a Pentagon analyst believed to have passed on classified documents to Israel, according to news reports.
The suspect reportedly provided classified documents to Israel through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) an influential Washington-based pro-Israel lobbying group. These documents include secret White House deliberations on Iran policy.
While not named, the suspect was described as a desk officer on the Pentagon’s Near East and South Asia Bureau. Senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said late on Friday that the suspect could have been in a position to influence the Bush administration’s policy toward Iran and Iraq. However, those claims were refuted by the Department of Defence. CBS News, which first reported the story, said the suspect had ties to two senior Pentagon officials - Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith. Mr Feith, a key aide to Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, works on sensitive issues including Washington’s policy toward Iraq and Iran. CBS said that last year the suspected spy turned over a presidential directive on US policy toward Iran while it was, “in the draft phase when US policy-makers were still debating the policy.” This put the Israelis, according to one CBS source, “inside the decision-making loop” so they could “try to influence the outcome.” Iran, along with Iraq and North Korea, were named part of an “axis of evil” by President George W. Bush. Reports of an Israeli spy meddling with US policy on Iran are likely to raise questions about the Israeli influence on the US policy on the war in Iraq. The Pentagon downplayed the seriousness of the reports. In a statement, it said: “The investigation involves a single individual at DoD at the desk officer level, who was not in a position to have significant influence over the US policy. Nor could a foreign power be in a position to influence th US policy through this individual. To the best of the DoD’s knowledge, the investigation does not target any other DoD individuals.” AIPAC also refuted reports that two of its staff members may have helped pass on the documents. In a statement released late on Friday night, AIPAC said the reports were “false and baseless.” On Friday night, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington said of the latest reports: “We categorically deny these allegations. They are completely false and outrageous.” |
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NAOMI Campbell has launched a new PR offensive, in an effort to convince us that she doesn’t deserve her tricky public image. First up will be an appearance on Parkinson, to be broadcast on September 11, but recorded a week in advance. “Naomi has decided that print journalists always distort what she says, and give her a bad write-up,” says one close to her.
“She’s going to do a series of TV interviews, so people can see what she’s really like.” Campbell will share the stage with Denzel Washington and Simon Cowell, giving ITV the unenviable task of deciding who’ll be the headline act. If they put Campbell on first, it could be seen as a snub. As to the supermodel’s iffy timekeeping, ITV will say only: “She’s assured us she’ll be there on time; she wants to do the show and we expect she’ll be punctual.” — By arrangement with The Independent., London. |
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