Actress Is In Sham Marriage Because She Wanted A Baby

[Media Take Out] So we were just given a Blind Item from an MTOer in the know:

[Popular black celeb] got married to her [sort of popular black celeb husband] for the child, according to what he's hearing from colleagues. The rumors are true that she's a lesbian, and [husband] found out he was her beard, so now he's trying to get out of the marriage.

He doesn't want to continue with [popular actress] because he doesn't agree with who she really is, views homosexuality as a sin, blah blah Christianity. He threatened to out her to the public.

Thats some real SCANDALOUS ish!!!

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Guess He Didn't Read Her Book

[Downfront 2] This lady wrote a nice book for women and their committed relationships with men. One problem: somebody forgot to tell her man! The camera never lies, and it caught him not following the advice in the book.

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A Slippery Slope Fake Vacation

[Blind Gossip] Just a few years ago, this multi-hyphenate actor was one of the hottest stars in the world.

He worked a lot through 2012, but very little in 2013. Why the slow down? Because drugs kept tripping him up last year! He's a mild-mannered guy in real life, but he absolutely rages on coke and gets out of control and destructive (and self-destructive) very quickly. And he does a lot of coke. He has been to rehab before to take care of the problem.

In fact, want to know where he is now?

In rehab.

Yes, again.

In an ironic twist, he recently talked about his sobriety in a rather awkward interview (during a promotional tour for his latest film). You would have gotten the impression from that interview that he is sober right now. He's definitely not. Same issue. Coke, coke, coke. Add * ction is a slippery slope, my friends, and he slipped and fell hard enough to break his sobriety.

However, his team does not want you to know this! So they kept him on his promotional tour and then shipped him off to rehab when he was done. They are pretending that he is on a slippery slope vacation in a place near the rehab facility (just in case they need an occasional photo op to keep the ruse going). Why won't they admit to rehab? One word: insurance! His repeated relapses in such a short time frame make him practically uninsurable at this point.

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He Ran Like Usain Bolt To Avoid A Beat Down

[Hollywood Street King] This west coast rapper is known to boss up and roll with G'd up goons. But, back in the day, he once took off like track star Usain Bolt and "flew over a six-foot fence" to dodge a beat-down.

Don't believe me... Ask Suge Knight. Know why? Our blind item subject had a beef with the Death Row Records founder, and took it to wax. Thats before the day sources tell us "he was chilling in the backyard at Jamie Foxx's house" when Suge showed up at the front door.

He has some shows lined up in England, but the U.K. government has yet to clear his passport, and he's said to need that game. Don't believe me... Ask Tami Roman.

He would make more money if he went the independent route. The problem is he's choosing to wait for "Baby" to sign him. He's a regular paid-to-appear Hollywood club-hopper, used by venues to attract other celebs and media reports. Ask Chloe Kardashian.

BG Notes: Boss up = step up your game. G'd up = gangstered up. Took it to wax = recorded a song. Game = money.

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BG12345: Monday

Good Morning, Blinders!

It's Monday morning, and we invite you to start your week with a hot cup of coffee with a hot guy (actor Alexander Skarsgard).

This thread is open to discuss any of the following: Hello, Ellen Page. Goodbye, Sochi. Hello, Jason Collins. Good bye, Piers Morgan.

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Newly Single Actor Is Wild About Molly

[New York Post] Which newly single actor has been celebrating his freedom with wild nights out on Ecstasy?

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He Is Cheap And Hateful

[Hollywood Street King] He may be a millionaire, but what many people may not know is his infamous Hollywood reputation for being a cheapskate. According to our tipster, he treats his black employees "like garbage," leaving them to "beg and chase him for their paychecks."

Insiders reveal he's got a hidden "hatred for women." Don't believe me... just ask his baby momma Norma, who this dude wants locked up over his issues with his visitations with his daughter. We are told thats why Will Smith is constantly over at Baby Boys house to console him.

This after he recently put his daughter on the back burner so he could visit his half Arab, half Black deported heiress ex-girlfriend/beard Maya in Dubai.

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A Skyscraper In His Pants

[Pop Bitch] Which property-p * rn TV presenter has been giving his production crew the giggles because of his habit of always wearing too-tight trousers? He appears blissfully unaware that, under the bright TV lights, everyone can see the outline of his c * ck.

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The Pearl Reject

[New York Post] Which top model had her boobs fixed by a plastic surgeon after she was overlooked for a modeling job for high-end lingerie firm La Perla?

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Female Pop Star Shunned

[Daily Mirror] Which one-time A-list British pop star was shunned by the organisers (of the BRIT Awards)? She had her poor beleaguered PR ring every journalist in the country, begging for any spare press tickets.

BG Note: The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry annual pop music awards, and the British equivalent of the American Grammy Awards. Yes, One Direction won at The Brits this year.

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Thai riot police, protesters, face each other at government HQ

Bangkok: Lines of Thai riot police confronted anti-government protesters blocking the government's headquarters in Bangkok on Tuesday after authorities said they would renew an operation to retake several sites occupied by demonstrators for weeks.

The protesters have been rallying since November in a bid to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whom they view as a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former premier toppled in a military coup in 2006.

Bluesky TV, the protest movement's own television channel that broadcasts the fiery speeches of its leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, showed live pictures of ranks of police with shields near Government House in central Bangkok.

Demonstrators were massed a few hundred metres away, the two sides separated by sandbag barriers constructed by the protesters. There were no clashes.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who is in charge of the security operation, has said police would reclaim protest sites near Government House, the Interior Ministry, the Energy Ministry and a government administration complex in north Bangkok.

The protests are the latest instalment of an eight-year political battle broadly pitting the Bangkok middle class and royalist establishment against the poorer, mostly rural supporters of Yingluck and her billionaire brother Thaksin.

Demonstrators accuse Thaksin of nepotism and corruption and say he used taxpayers' money for populist subsidies and easy loans that have bought him the loyalty of millions in the populous north and northeast.

Yingluck has been forced to abandon her office in Government House by the protesters, who have also blocked major intersections in Bangkok's shopping and business districts since mid-January.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 10:37

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Hundreds protest in Tunisia against `terrorism`

Jendouba: More than a thousand protesters gathered on Monday in the Tunisian town of Jendouba to condemn the weekend killings of four people by suspected Islamist militants.

As the four victims were buried, new Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa said the state would not be undermined by "terrorism."

"Tunisia is free, terrorism out," and "Faithful to our martyrs" were among slogans chanted by the protesters outside the governor's office in the town in northwestern Tunisia.

The country has been rocked by sporadic attacks blamed on jihadists since the 2011 revolution that toppled a decades-old dictatorship and touched off Arab Spring uprisings across the region.

Protesters expressed their support for the security forces, stopping outside two police posts, chanting the national anthem and shouting: "We are with you!"

Many later joined the separate funerals of the four victims of Saturday's attack.

On that day, a group of armed men who had set up a roadblock in the Jendouba area, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the Algerian border, shot dead a civilian and a prison warden as their car approached, the interior ministry said.

When a National Guard patrol was sent to investigate, the militants again opened fire, killing two policemen and wounding another two.

The armed group consisted of three Tunisians and two Algerians, according to police.

Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou attended Monday's funeral of one of the officers.

In Tunis later, Jomaa attended a meeting of the national security council alongside President Moncef Marzouki and Ben Jeddou.

"I assure you that the morale of the security forces is strong. There is a determination" on their part, he told journalists in remarks broadcast on state television after the meeting.

"These terrorists had a plan to undermine the state. Because they could not do so, now they want to undermine the confidence that has returned in the citizens," he added.

A government of independents led by Jomaa and tasked with steering Tunisia to fresh elections took the oath on January 30, replacing an Islamist-led administration under a hard-won deal to end months of political turmoil.

Much of the deadly violence witnessed in Tunisia since the January 2011 uprising has been blamed on Ansar al-Sharia, a hardline Salafist movement accused of having links to al Qaeda.

The government has said Ansar al-Sharia was behind the separate assassinations last year of two secular politicians, killings that plunged Tunisia into political turmoil, but the group never claimed responsibility for those or any other attacks.

For more than a year, the security forces have been battling Islamist militants hiding out in the remote border regions of western Tunisia, notably in the Chaambi mountains.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 04:03

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Turkey PM urges students not to become `Internet slaves`

Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday urged youngsters not to become "slaves to the Internet" as he handed out free tablet computers to students.

The premier also used the occasion to again defend his government's controversial push to tighten control of the Internet, a move that has drawn widespread criticism.

"The Internet is a very important tool but it can become the biggest threat of our time at the hands of evil-minded people," Erdogan told a group of primary and secondary school pupils and teachers in Ankara.

"Don't become slaves to the Internet, don't become the slaves of computers," he said at a ceremony marking a government initiative to hand out 100,000 tablets to students across the country.

Turkey's parliament triggered a storm of protest at home and abroad earlier this month after it approved restrictions to the Internet which include giving authorities the power to block webpages deemed insulting or as invading privacy.

Critics of Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) say the legislation is an attempt to stifle dissent.

The timing of the law has also raised eyebrows as it comes as Erdogan is grappling with a high-level corruption investigation that has implicated key allies, and some of the details of the probe have been leaked online.

But Erdogan has vehemently denied accusations of online censorship, and today said the proposed Internet curbs were vital to protect the privacy of young people.

"We do not aim to limit the freedom of anyone. On the contrary, we want to protect our youth from blackmailers, usurpers and crooks," he said.

Rights groups have urged President Abdullah Gul not to sign the Internet bill into law.

Erdogan has long been suspicious of the Internet, branding Twitter a "menace" last year for helping organise mass anti-government protests in which six people died and thousands were injured.

His tough stance on the Internet as well as his crackdown on police and prosecutors in response to the corruption probe has raised questions internationally about the state of democracy in Turkey.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 21:18

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One dead, 77 hurt in riot at PNG immigration centre

Sydney: One person was killed and 77 injured during a second night of rioting at an Australian immigration detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, officials said on Monday.

Thirty-five asylum-seekers broke out of the same facility on Sunday evening, with several injured, as tensions mount about their fate under the Australian government's hardline policies.

"The news of a death is a great tragedy," Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said.

"This is a tragedy but this was a very dangerous situation where people decided to protest in a very violent way and to take themselves outside the centre and place themselves at great risk."

Of the 77 injured, one is critical with a skull fracture, while another was shot in the buttock.

Morrison said that despite the unrest, the immigration centre had not been destroyed.

In an earlier statement today before he led a press conference, Morrison said some of those in the camp "breached internal and external perimeter fences".

"I am advised that all staff have been accounted for, our service providers are in control of the centre and there has been no damage to critical infrastructure or accommodation at the centre, which will enable the centre to resume normal operations."

Manus Island is one of two remote Pacific camps being used in Canberra's punitive off-shore detention policy.

Under the scheme, aimed at deterring people-smugglers, any asylum-seeker arriving by boat or intercepted at sea is transferred to Manus or Nauru for processing and permanent resettlement outside Australia.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 06:43

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Former French president Chirac in hospital with suspected gout

Paris: Jacques Chirac, who has been in poor health for several years, was hospitalised on Monday near Paris for a suspected flare of gout, sources close to the former French president said.

An AFP reporter saw an ambulance and police motorbikes in front of the 81-year-old former president's home at 8:00 pm (1900 GMT).

He was later checked into the American Hospital of Paris in the plush suburb of Neuilly, a government source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A member of Chirac's inner circle said there was no cause for alarm. "There is absolutely no vital emergency. We suspect an acute episode of gout."

Chirac, who suffered a stroke in 2005, underwent successful kidney surgery in December.

He was France's president from 1995 to 2007 and twice previously served as prime minister. He is considered one of the most popular politicians in recent French history.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 02:00

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France condemns attack on tourists in Egypt

Paris: France Monday condemned the terrorist attack on a tourist bus in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, which killed four people, including three South Korean tourists Sunday.

"We send our condolences to the victims' families and assure the Korean and Egyptian authorities of our solidarity," Xinhua quoted French foreign ministry's spokesperson Romain Nadal in a press briefing.

"France stands at the side of Egyptian people in the face of the scourge of terrorism and supports the transition to democratic institutions open to all political forces who reject violence," the official said.

A bus carrying mostly South Korean tourists exploded in the Sinai peninsula Sunday, killing three tourists from the Republic of Korea as well as the Egyptian driver.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based al Qaeda-inspired group, claimed responsibility for the explosion.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 07:17

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Riot at Australia`s PNG immigration centre after being denied asylum; one killed

Zee Media Bureau

Sydney: One person was killed and over 70 others injured in the riots that continued for the second day on Tuesday at Australian immigration detention centre in Papua New Guinea for the second day.

The riots broke out after the asylum seekers were reportedly told that they will be sent back to Papua New Guinea.

The attempted breakout took place after some detainees escaped the detention centre at Manus Island briefly on Sunday but were brought back shortly after by the island police.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison expressed his regret over the incident and termed the death as 'a tragedy', as per a BBC report.

While one of the asylum seeker suffered skull injuries, at least 22 others were being treated at the hospital for injuries, the report said.

An investigation into the shooting is now being undertaken by the Papua New Guinean authorities.

Australia has stringent policies for granting asylum. Any asylum seeker arriving in Australia is first transferred to Manus Island and Nauru centre before any next step on their permanent settlement is taken.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 09:02

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Chinese Army to revamp evaluation system

Beijing: People's Liberation Army (PLA) is mulling to revamp its official evaluation system amid a widening anti-corruption campaign in the country.

Evaluations of army officials should focus on their political reliability, competence, clean conduct and trustworthiness, Xinhua quoted a document issued by the PLA General Political Department with the authorisation of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Central Military Commission (CMC).

It said that those in charge of official evaluations should first seek advice from the Communist Party of China (CPC) committees at all levels.

They must also consult disciplinary organs to check whether the officials are honest and self-disciplined, the document said, adding that results of the evaluations would serve as an important reference for official selections and appointments.

The Chinese president is also chairman of the CMC.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 01:27

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British Deputy PM warms to opposition

London: Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg seemed to be warming to the Labour opposition in an interview out on Monday, raising the prospect of his Liberal Democrats joining them in government next year.

The centrist Lib Dems are the junior partner in Britain's governing coalition, formed with Prime Minister David Cameron's much larger centre-right Conservatives.

But with a general election coming in May 2015, Clegg aired the idea of sharing power with the centre-left Labour Party.

He also accused the Conservatives of becoming "much more ideological" since striking the coalition deal after the 2010 election.

The Times newspaper called Clegg's comments a concerted attempt to regain "equidistance" between the two parties while remaining in government with one of them.

Asked about Labour -- hitherto in power from 1997 under prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown -- Clegg told BBC radio: "I think they've changed.

"There's nothing like the prospect of reality in an election to get politicians to think again and the Labour Party, which is a party unused to sharing power with others is realising that it might have to."

He said that if such a pact was formed, the Lib Dems would set out to restrain Labour from spending too much. The current coalition is working to reduce the budget deficit it inherited from Labour.

"If there were a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition, we the Liberal Democrats would absolutely insist that government would not break the bank," said Clegg.

He suggested the Conservatives had "changed quite dramatically" since 2010, returning to "familiar theme tunes", and losing the ability to talk to "mainstream voters about mainstream concerns".

Asked Monday whether he would consider a coalition with the Lib Dems, Labour leader Ed Miliband said "let's not get into that".

"I don't think the parties, in advance of elections, should be engaging in this," he told ITV television.

"I'm not interested in backroom deals.

"What I'm looking for is a majority Labour government."

Polls over the last 18 months consistently suggest Labour is heading for a comfortable majority at the next election.

Jeremy Browne, a former Lib Dem minister, voiced "unease" at pitching the party as one that merely splits the difference between Labour and the Conservatives.

He told BBC radio: "There's a sense of insipid centrism that is reassuringly unthreatening to people. That's not the same as liberalism."

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:25

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Prince William wants ivory held by royal family destroyed

London: Prince William wants all the ivory held by Britain's royal family, including a 19th century ivory throne from India, to be destroyed as part of his campaign against rampant elephant poaching.

The second in line to the throne and one of the country's most high-profile wildlife campaigners told a leading primatologist that he would like to get rid of the ivory held as part of the royal collection of Buckingham Palace as a symbolic gesture.

Jane Goodall was quoted by 'The Independent' as saying she had spoken to Prince William and he had told her he would "like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed".

Goodall is famous for her 45-year study of the social interactions of wild chimpanzees.

The royal family's extensive collection includes fans, miniatures and furniture such as the ivory throne from India dating back to 1851 which belonged to Queen Victoria. The throne has Indian elephant ivory plaques.

A palace spokesperson said they had received a small number of items since 1947 but said they were "primarily official gifts, which would have been agreed in full knowledge of relevant legislation".

While Kensington Palace said it did not comment on private conversations, the news comes days after a report had said William's father Prince Charles had asked for ivory items on display at his homes to be removed from view.

The father-son duo had kicked off a high-profile campaign against the illegal trade in animal parts last week.

The 31-year-old Duke of Cambridge has launched a new coalition, United for Wildlife, made up of seven organisations determined to end the illegal wildlife trade.

"The forces that are currently destroying some of the world's most endangered species are sophisticated and powerful, but this week we are seeing the creation of an equally powerful alliance, coming together to help fight them," William had said.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:06

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Poland arrests suspected paedophile priest

Warsaw: Polish police on Monday arrested a Roman Catholic priest suspected of sex offences against children in the Dominican Republic, state prosecutors said.

The 36-year-old priest, who served in the central city of Santiago on the Caribbean island and is identified only as Wojciech G for legal reasons, will be formally questioned and charged tomorrow, said Dariusz Nowak, a spokesman for prosecutors in Warsaw.

"We received documents from the Dominican Republic that, among other things, will allow us to press charges," Nowak told reporters.

Wojciech G flatly denied any wrongdoing in an October 2013 interview with Polish media, suggesting he was set up by local drug gangs.

Polish prosecutors began independent investigations in September into both him and 65-year-old Polish archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, who served as a papal envoy in the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo.

Authorities there also suspect Wesolowski of having sex with boys. Pope Francis suspended him from his duties as papal nuncio and summoned him to the Vatican in August of last year.

Nowak said today that "all documents from the Dominican Republic were transferred to the Vatican", though Polish prosecutors continue to investigate the case.

Unlike in the United States or Ireland, child sex abuse by priests in Poland remained a largely taboo subject until its influential Catholic Church was hit with a string of child sex allegations in 2013.

In an unprecedented move, Polish church leaders apologised late last year over alleged paedophile priests but also stirred controversy by saying parents shared the blame for the abuse.

After public outcry, the country's top Catholic cleric Archbishop Jozef Michalik apologised in October for his remarks.

The church in Poland faced its first civil lawsuit for damages this month.

The demand for 47,500 euros ($63,500) was made by a 25-year-old male -- identified only as Marcin K -- who was molested as a child.

A Catholic priest was sentenced in 2012 to two years behind bars in the case, but his diocese refused to be held financially liable.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:12

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Scottish independence leader hits back at UK govt

London: A Scottish independence leader has warned that businesses across Britain will pay if Scotland is shut out of a currency union in the event it votes to declare independence.

Scottish first minister Alex Salmond shot back on Monday after UK Treasury chief George Osborne last week ruled out a currency deal.

Osborne said Scotland would walk away from the pound should it vote for independence on September 18.

But Salmond says businesses in the rest of the UK will potentially pay "many hundreds of millions" in transaction costs.

Salmond dubbed these charges a "George Tax" and predicted it would be impossible "to sell to English business," that they might be charged "for the privilege of exporting goods to Scotland."

The Scottish National Party leader rejected Osborne's remarks as a campaign tactic.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:05

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13 bodies in Central African Republic mass grave

Bangui: Red Cross officials in Central African Republic say they've retrieved 13 bodies from a mass grave found in the capital last week.

Antoine Mbao-Bogo, president of the local Red Cross, confirmed on Monday that the bodies had been removed from a military base that was used by Muslim rebels during their 10-month rule.

Prosecutor Ghislain Gresenguet said an investigation was underway after African peacekeepers found the grave last Wednesday.

The Muslim rebels, known as Seleka, were blamed for scores of human rights abuses during their time in power. A Christian militia that arose in opposition to the Seleka fighters also has been blamed for atrocities.

The death toll from Central African Republic's crisis is unknown though more than 1,000 died in several days in December alone.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 21:36

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Chinese man pleads guilty to killing seven of family

Beijing: A man in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region pleaded guilty to killing his wife and six of her family members last October, a local court said Monday.

Prosecutors said Ma Yongdong killed his wife, his parents in-law, grandparents-in-law and two nieces in their home in Pengyang Oct 14 night last year, motivated by a grudge against his father-in-law over marriage and family issues.

Ma pleaded guilty to the seven murders and said he regretted the crime he committed.

More than 100 people attended Monday's hearing, including relatives of the suspect and the victims. The court has not announced a verdict.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 16:03

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From troops to troupe for war- wounded Australian soldiers

Sydney: As Australia's decade-long mission in Afghanistan draws to a close and war-weary troops return home, one courageous group are reliving their experiences in a different kind of theatre.

Lance Corporal Craig Hancock served three tours of Afghanistan -- two of them carrying the silent psychological wounds of a roadside bomb attack that left him self-medicating and unable to ask for help for fear of letting down his friends.

But that's nothing compared to stepping out on stage in front of a full house at the Sydney Theatre Company. 

"Put me over in Afghanistan, no dramas. (But) Sitting in there with 1,000 people looking at me..." he said laughing.

Hancock is one of 12 soldiers appearing in "The Long Way Home", a production devised by and starring Australian troops who have served abroad in the past decade in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Pacific.

Commissioned by chief of the defence force General David Hurley and based on a similar show in Britain in 2012, the play is a public awareness initiative for the Australian military. 

But there is also a therapeutic goal, with the scriptwriting workshops and performance itself intended to help the soldiers process their pain -- both physical and psychological.

"A number of them were involved in incidents where people lost their lives, so for them this is a very personal experience," said Brigadier Alison Creagh, head of the Australian Defence Force theatre project.

"They were (initially) very cynical, some of them get ribbed by their mates, but they are all struggling in some shape or form, either physical or psychological injuries, and they all wanted to do something that would help them in their recovery."

Hancock, a tank crewman who enlisted at the age of 18 almost a decade ago, is attached to the Soldier Recovery Centre in Darwin -- one of several such specialist facilities across Australia to treat those carrying the scars of war.

When initially approached by military brass to share his story with the Long Way Home project, Hancock -- in the process of being medically discharged with spinal injuries from an IED strike -- said his response was "no way".

"There's a stigma attached. (The Australian Defence Force) is making all the efforts to try and break down that stigma and make it more accessible for guys to step forward and ask for help, but there's a long history of that alpha male mentality," he said. 

"So it's not going to just happen in a short period of time."

What ultimately convinced him to get on board with the theatre project was the chance it offered to inspire others to reach out.

"Definitely a lot of guys carry injuries because they don't want to let down their mates," he said.

"It's extremely important... to get it out there and to demonstrate to them that 'we're getting help and getting the right medical treatment that we require' and it will probably give them the ability to make that step themselves."

Writing the script was a collaborative effort for playwright Daniel Keene, who spent six weeks with the soldiers absorbing and recording their experiences. The emotions were so raw it could take five, six or seven times before they could narrate a story through.

"Everything you hear on stage is something that I've learned," said Keene. "How do you know you need help and when do you have the courage to ask for it" was a major question for returned servicemen and women, he added.

Though fictionalised, and with the soldiers playing characters, the play is a collection of their personal stories about the toll of conflict once the guns fall silent.

The last of Australia's combat troops withdrew from Afghanistan in December, marking the end of the nation's longest war which claimed 40 of its soldiers.

"Because Australia's war in Afghanistan was very long and is winding down now I think the Australian public have a right to know what happened to these people," said Keene.

"There are headlines in the newspapers, official stories, but this is a chance to hear from the people themselves who went and have been through that experience," he added.

"These people are coming back into our society so I think they need to be listened to and embraced."

Hancock's character, Nick, struggles to return to pre-Afghanistan life, telling his wife fighting is "all I can do, I'm good for nothing else, I'm useless".

"When I look in the mirror do you know what I see? Nothing...because that's all I'm good for now". 

Nick strikes up an unlikely friendship with Tom, played by Corporal Tim Loch, who he meets at the military psychiatrist's office.

Like Nick, Tom battles his phantoms -- shadowy, uniformed manifestations which stalk him across the stage and are invisible to those around him.

"I leave the light on at night, I'm afraid of going to sleep. I wake up soaking wet," he tells the audience.

"I don't hear the explosion, I don't hear anything -- my eardrums have burst. I'm screaming but I can't hear myself. 

"There isn't any pain, there isn't anything. Just my mouth wide open, screaming. I fall into my own mouth, into total darkness."

"The Long Way Home" tours Australia, taking in major troop base towns, when it completes its Sydney run.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 10:41

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China asks Japan to return 300 kg of plutonium to suppliers

Beijing: A "deeply concerned" China on Monday asked Japan to return to the US over 300 kg of weapons-grade plutonium, which could arm upto 50 nuclear bombs, the latest in a series of disputes between the two distrustful neighbours.

"Japan's large stock of nuclear material, including weapons grade nuclear substances, involves nuclear security and non-proliferation risks," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing here.

"Japan has avoided returning the material which caused international concern. China is deeply concerned and is expecting an explanation," Hua said.

Her comments weeks after America demanded return of the atomic material it gave to Japan during the Cold War.

It is against the regulations of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which require countries to keep a balance between the demand and supply of nuclear materials, Hua said.

The US offered 331 kg of weapons grade plutonium, partly produced by Britain, to Japan during the Cold War, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

The highly concentrated plutonium, which is kept by Japan's atomic energy agency could be used to produce 40 to 50 nuclear weapons. Japan holds another 44 tonnes of plutonium which could be used for nuclear reactors, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Hua urged Japan, a member of the Treaty on the Non- proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to honour its obligations and return the material at an early date.

"We also urge Japan to settle the imbalance between its need for and supply of nuclear materials in accordance with IAEA requirements," Hua said.

China is locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea and expressed concern that Tokyo is trying to strengthen its arsenal.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:10

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UN chief condemns terrorist attack in Egypt

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the terrorist attack Sunday on a tour bus in the southern Sinai town of Taba in Egypt. Four people, including three South Korean nationals, were killed in the attack.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Ban condemned the deadly attack which reportedly killed four people Sunday including three tourists from South Korea, and wounded dozens of other people.

He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims and to the governments of Egypt and South Korea and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 16:14

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Xinjiang`s Islamic militants posed realistic threat: China

Beijing: China on Monday said Islamic militants active in its restive Xinjiang province posed "realistic threat" and vowed to step up anti-terror cooperation with "relevant" countries.

The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), an al Qaeda-backed group, is fighting for the separation of Muslim majority Uygur Xinjiang from China.

"ETIM posed realistic threat to some regions in China including Xinjiang. They have caused great casualties and property losses of civilians by committing terrorist activities inside China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told media briefing.

She was responding to questions on latest assault in Xinjiang two days ago in which militants armed with gas cylinders and machetes attacked a police convoy, killing 15 people, including three suicide bombers.

Hua said ETIM was ganging up with "international terrorist forces" using internet. "The threat posed by them on the international security is on the rise. China's is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism. We believe that to crackdown on the terrorist forces of ETIM is also important part of international campaign against terrorism.

"We would like to enhance cooperation with relevant countries to crackdown terrorist forces including ETIM to jointly maintain international and regional stability," she said.

Media reports have said that ETIM cadres are being trained in camps in Pakistan's tribal Waziristan region along with Taliban and al Qaeda groups.

Some 190 terrorist attacks were recorded in Xinjiang in 2012, increasing by a significant margin from 2011, according to the regional public security department.

Xinjiang has for years witnessed tensions between the ethnic Muslim Uygurs and Han Chinese over alleged repression and increasing Han settlement in the province.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 17:40

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John Kerry seeks political solution in Syria

Jakarta: US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday appealed to international parties to work towards a political solution to the Syria conflict after the peace talks ended last weekend with no concrete progress.

Kerry made these remarks at a press conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa in Jakarta, the third stop of his regional trip, Xinhua reported.

"The international community needs to use this recess in the Geneva talks to determine how to use this time most effectively in order to bring about a political solution," Kerry said, accusing Syria's Bashar al-Assad government of not engaging in the discussions along the promised and required standard.

UN-Arab League joint mediator Lakhdar Brahimi apologized Saturday to the Syrian people after peace talks in Geneva to stop the three-year Syria civil conflict ended with little progress.

Kerry said Syria was the tragedy of the world, saying that "the number of refugees within Syria has gone up about 50 percent and the number of refugees out of Syria has gone up about 33 percent since October".

According to UN figures, more than 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011. About eight million have been driven from their homes in the war-torn country, with two million of them seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.

"The talks are taking a recess at the moment,” Kerry said, adding that “all of us need to remember there is no recess to the people of Syria who are suffering".

During the visit to Indonesia starting Saturday, Kerry co-chaired the Joint Commission Meeting under the US-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership to strengthen bilateral ties and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on South-South and a triangular cooperation and MoU on combating wildlife trafficking and promotion of wildlife conservation.

In Jakarta, Kerry also discussed climate change with Indonesian authorities and pushed southeast Asia's largest economy to set up combating efforts.

On Sunday afternoon, Kerry paid a courtesy call on the Secretary-General of the ASEAN, Le Luong Minh, to underline the importance of US engagement with ASEAN in the bloc's headquarters.

Kerry arrived in Indonesia after visiting South Korea and China and is scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi Monday afternoon.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 15:57

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Israel`s Netanyahu calls boycotters `anti-Semites`

Jerusalem: It is time Israel fought back against those who boycott the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, dubbing them "anti-Semites."

The comments come as concerns grow in Israel over a Palestinian-led movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions, knows by its acronym, BDS. The boycott has been growing recently, mainly in Europe, where some businesses and pension funds have cut investments or trade with Israeli firms they say are connected to West Bank settlements.

Speaking to a group of visiting Jewish-American leaders, Netanyahu yesterday said it is time for Israel to "delegitimise the delegitimisers."

"In the past anti-Semites boycotted Jewish businesses and today they call for the boycott of the Jewish state, and by the way, only the Jewish state," Netanyahu said.

"I think that it is important that the boycotters be exposed for what they are, they are classical anti-Semites in modern garb," Netanyahu said.

Many Israelis say the boycott has strong anti-Semitic connotations and is meant to delegitimise the Jewish state as a whole and not merely a pressure tactic against its policies toward the Palestinians.

For many Israelis, the boycott conjures up dark images of the Nazi boycott prior and during WWII when Jewish academics were kicked out of universities and Jewish businesses were vandalised and boycotted.

BDS activists say they promote different objectives, with some focusing on a boycott of the settlements and others saying everything Israeli must be shunned until there is a peace deal. BDS supporters argue that Israel will withdraw from war-won lands only if it has a price to pay. Israeli leaders dismiss such claims, pointing to their willingness to negotiate a land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu said Israeli is fighting BDS by exposing the boycotters and with its booming high-tech sector which is a big attraction for leaders and investors worldwide.

After years of brushing off boycott threats as a tool of fringe extremists, Israel seems to have become genuinely worried in recent months.

Israel's finance minister Yair Lapid has said that the country could suffer economically from a costly boycott if peace talks with the Palestinians fail.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is brokering negotiations with the Palestinians, has warned that Israel could find itself increasingly targeted by a boycott if it fails to reach a peace deal.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 04:06

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British Islamist in Kenya `possessed bomb-making instructions`

Mombasa: A British detective gave evidence on Monday in Kenya at the trial of suspected British militant Jermaine Grant, accused of ties to Somalia's al Qaeda-linked Shebab and plotting attacks.

Grant was arrested in December 2011 in Mombasa with various chemicals, batteries and switches, which prosecutors say he planned to use to make explosives. He denies the charges.

Today's hearing, the counter-terrorism officer, Detective Inspector Stephen Ball, told the court that Jihadist documents and other materials "clearly dedicated to the making of explosives and weaponry" were found on a flash storage drive allegedly in Grant's possession.

The detective said other document detailed chemicals that could be used to make explosives, and various ways of making booby-traps to target government officials, police or bomb disposal teams.

"These files speak for themselves and show the person's interest in the construction of an improvised explosive device, and with the chemicals files show intent to obtain the materials to make such a device," the court was told.

Prosecutors have accused Grant, a 30-year-old Muslim convert, of working with fellow Briton Samantha Lewthwaite -- the fugitive widow of British suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, who blew himself up on a London Underground train on July 7, 2005, killing 26 people.

Lewthwaite, a mother-of-three and daughter of a British soldier, is wanted by Kenyan police and there was some speculation that she was involved in last year's Westgate mall siege in Nairobi.

Grant is believed to have become radicalised as a teenager in the same British prison where "shoe bomber" Richard Reid first turned to Islam.

Reid, who claimed he was an al Qaeda recruit, is serving a life sentence in the United States for trying to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.

In December 2011 Grant pleaded guilty to charges of being in the country illegally and lying about his nationality, for which he was sentenced to two jail terms of two years, to run concurrently.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 00:11

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Syria Army seizes Alawite `massacre` village: Report

Damascus: The Syrian Army recaptured on Monday an Alawite village in central Hama province where rebels "massacred" civilians earlier this month, state news agency SANA said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that at least 25 members of President Bashar Al-Assad's Alawite sect were killed by Islamist fighters in the village of Maan on February 9.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon later expressed "great shock" at the killings and demanded that "perpetrators of this massacre" be brought to justice.

SANA, quoting a military source, said "army units have established total control over Maan, after crushing the terrorists who had infiltrated (the village) and committed a massacre against its civilian residents, killing dozens of them, including women."

State television also reported the army's recapture of Maan, saying 42 civilians had been killed by "terrorists," the regime's term for rebels.

The Observatory -- which had reported 14 women among the dead -- said Maan was retaken "after shelling and fighting."

The Britain-based monitoring group, which relies on a network of activists and medics inside Syria, meanwhile reported renewed regime air strikes on the central city of Homs for the second day running.

Last week the United Nations and Syria's Red Crescent evacuated some 1,400 people who had been trapped inside rebel-held areas of Homs besieged by the army for more than 18 months.

The operation was made possible by a deal that included a ceasefire.

But it was suspended after clashes and shelling erupted on Sunday, with the rebels and the regime accusing each other of undermining the humanitarian operation.

In the Qalamun mountains near Damascus, shelling resumed on key rebel bastion Yabrud, which has been under fire since Friday from government troops backed by Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah.

In the northern Aleppo province, Alaa Jabbu, head of the rebel Kurdish Front, which has long battled the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, was killed in army shelling.

The Observatory also reported that a jihadist of German origins was killed alongside other fighters in a bomb blast in the rebel-held town of Minjeb in the northern Aleppo province.

Syria's revolt began as a peaceful Arab Spring uprising in March 2011, but escalated into a bloody insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent.

More than 140,000 people have been killed in the conflict and millions have fled their homes.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 00:58

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Israel PM says Iran only winner from nuclear talks

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran is the only beneficiary of nuclear talks with world powers and accused Tehran of "continuing its aggressive behaviour."

His remarks came on the eve of fresh talks between Iran and the P5+1 group -- Britain, France, the United States, China and Russia plus Germany -- aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord on Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.

Israel was highly critical of an interim deal reached in November under which Iran agreed to freeze or scale back its nuclear activities for a six-month period in exchange for limited sanctions relief.

"So far the only one who benefited from these talks is Iran. In fact they didn't give anything but they got a lot," Netanyahu said during a meeting with visiting Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, according to a joint statement.

"Iran is continuing its aggressive behaviour: arming terrorist groups, supporting the massacre of his own people by the Assad regime (in Syria), calling for the destruction of Israel and subversive activities all over the world, including Latin America."

Israel and the West have long suspected Iran of covertly pursuing a nuclear weapons capability alongside its civilian programme -- charges denied by Tehran.

The United States and Israel -- which is the sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state in the region and views Iran as its greatest strategic threat -- have not ruled out military action to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb.

Iran's top decision-maker Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also expressed scepticism about the talks, and today said they would "lead nowhere."

"I repeat it again that I am not optimistic about the negotiations and they will lead nowhere, but I am not against them," Khamenei said in remarks published on his website Khamenei.Ir.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 01:08

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Trapped South African miners rescued, to be presented in court today

Zee Media Bureau

Johannesburg: A day after trapped miners were rescued from an illegal mine in South Africa, they will be presented before court on Tuesday.

The miners were trapped in the illegal gold mine after a boulder blocked their exit trapping them on Saturday.

While most of them were rescued, the remaining workers refused to come out of the mine fearing prosecution. Even as they refused to come out of the mine, they were persuaded by the rescued miners to step out.

The miners later agreed to come out of the mine after they were told that police was not present outside, as per a BBC report.

However, they were arrested soon after coming out by the police which was hiding.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 10:05

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UK jury fails to give verdict on Namdhari leader attack case

London: The jury in the trial of a British Sikh call-centre worker for an attack on Namdhari sect leader Satguru Uday Singh in the UK failed to reach a verdict on Monday.

Harjit Singh Toor will know in the next two weeks if he would have to face a re-trial over the axe attack at a Gurdwara in Leicester last August.

Justice Carr at Birmingham Crown Court was forced to discharge the 12 men and women on the jury after they were unable to reach a majority verdict following five hours of deliberation on Friday.

The 27-year-old accused concealed a three-foot axe beneath a shawl and entered a packed Gurdwara in Leicester during morning prayers on August 11 last year.

Toor denied attempted murder but admitted grievous bodily harm with intent as payback for being sexually abused by the guru in an Indian village in the mid-1990s when he was about eight years old.

Singh has denied the allegations as "totally absurd" in his evidence via video link from the headquarters of the Namdhari branch of Sikhism in Bhaini Sahib near Ludhiana.

"I was toying back and forth. I wanted to hurt Uday, I wanted to cause him harm. I remember thinking, as I was walking up to him, that I just wanted to scare him...And make him realise that I hadn't forgot," Toor had told court during his week-long trial last week.

"My emotions just erupted and I just remember wanting to hurt his hands. That's when I charged up on to the stage and swung the axe. It's probably the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. I accept what I have done was wrong," he said.

The prosecution alleges last August's attack at the Gurdwara Namdhari Temple?on Linden Street, Leicester, was motivated by religious hatred.

The court was shown footage of the moment Toor pulled out an axe and hacked at the guru as he sat cross-legged.

The jury had retired on Thursday evening but even after being told the court would accept a majority verdict rather than a unanimous one, it failed to reach a decision.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 00:17

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Pope opens critical week for reform, family issues

Vatican City: Pope Francis is opening the most critical week of his year-old papacy: Two commissions of inquiry on Vatican finance will report their recommendations for reform and preparations get underway for a summit on family issues that will deal with the widespread rejection by Catholics of church teaching on contraception, divorce and gay unions.

In between, Francis will preside over his first ceremony to formally welcome 19 new cardinals into the elite club of churchmen who will eventually elect his successor.

In typical Francis style, the new cardinals hail from some of the poorest places on earth, including Haiti, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

The first half of Francis' busy week will be devoted to the third meeting of his "Group of Eight" advisers, the senior cardinals representing every continent who Francis appointed to help him govern the church and overhaul the antiquated and inefficient Vatican bureaucracy.

They are due to hear recommendations from two panels of experts on reforming the troubled Vatican bank and rationalising the Holy See's overall financial and administrative structures.

Francis was elected with a mandate to reform the Roman Curia, as the Holy See administration is known, to make it more responsive to the needs of the 21st-century Catholic Church.

He wants to make the curia more of a support to bishops trying to spread the faith rather than an obstacle. He has made bureaucratic reform his first-year priority, paying special attention to the scandal-marred Vatican bank, long accused by Italian authorities as being an off-shore tax haven for well-connected Italians and, more recently, a place where money could be laundered.

On the eve of the G8 meeting, the head of the Vatican bank pleaded his case to Francis' hometown newspaper, telling Argentina's La Nacion daily that his process of reform hadn't yielded any "systematic violations" of the Vatican's anti-money laundering laws but just some "black sheep."

One of those black sheep is Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, an accountant in the Vatican's finance ministry who is currently on trial for allegedly trying to smuggle 20,000 euro (USD 26,000) from Switzerland to Italy, and is also accused in another case of using his Vatican bank accounts to launder money.

The bank's top two managers resigned in July after Scarano was arrested.

"We're in a crucial moment," the bank president, Ernst Von Freyberg, told La Nacion. "The (bank) commission will hand in its report in the coming days, as will the commission on the economic affairs, and then the Holy Father will decide what to do."

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:15

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Snowstorm leaves 19 dead, causes transport chaos in Japan

Tokyo: A severe snowstorm sweeping across Japan has killed 19 people and left more than 1,600 injured, media and officials said on Monday, as the extreme weather sparked widespread transport chaos.

At least 19 people have died in snow-related incidents after the record-breaking storm, the top-selling Yomiuri Shimbun reported, with the blast now battering the northern island of Hokkaido.

More than 6,900 people were trapped in small communities cut off by snow-blocked roads and railway lines, the Yomiuri said, while gasoline deliveries to some petrol stations were delayed due to impassible roads.

In Yamanashi prefecture west of Tokyo, stores were facing a serious fresh food shortage, the Yomiuri and public broadcaster NHK reported, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promising to send a government team to help the struggling area.

"We will do everything we can to protect the lives and possessions of people in cooperation with local governments and relevant ministries," he told parliament today.

The storm is now moving toward northernmost Hokkaido, Japan's meteorological agency said, warning of heavy snow, blizzards and avalanches as well as high waves along the northeastern coast, which was battered by a quake-sparked tsunami almost three years ago.

Despite around-the-clock clearing efforts, hundreds of cars today remained stuck on some mountain roads, leaving drivers stranded, local officials told.

National Route 18 that runs through Gunma and Nagano prefectures north of Tokyo is still partly closed, with cars stuck along several kilometres due to the heavy snow.

Members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces have also stepped in to help.

"Efforts to remove snow from the roads are continuing with Self-Defense Forces servicemen working from 7:00 am (local time) this morning," said an official at the Karuizawa ski resort in Nagano prefecture.

The transportation ministry and municipal governments are delivering emergency aid to drivers of stuck cars, officials said.

Snow began falling Friday morning in the capital Tokyo and had piled up to 26 centimetres by early Saturday, a week after the heaviest snowfall in decades left 11 people dead and more than 1,200 injured across the nation.

Most snow in the capital had melted, but forecasters predict more snow again in the region around Tokyo later this week.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 16:58

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N Korea should face ICC over crimes against humanity: UN probe

Geneva: North Korea's leaders should be brought before an international court for a litany of crimes against humanity that include exterminating, starving and enslaving its population, a UN team said on Monday.

A hard-hitting report on the nuclear-armed totalitarian state also strongly criticised its denial of basic freedoms of thought, expression and religion, and its abduction of citizens of neighbouring South Korea and Japan.

"Systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, its institutions and officials," said the report by the Commission of Inquiry on North Korea set up in March 2013 by the UN Human Rights Council.

"In many instances, the violations of human rights found by the commission constitute crimes against humanity. These are not mere excesses of the State; they are essential components of a political system that has moved far from the ideals on which it claims to be founded," the report said.

"The gravity, scale and nature of these violations revealed a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world."

North Korea refused to cooperate with the probe, which has claimed the evidence it has used is "fabricated" by "forces hostile" to the country.

Commission chair Michael Kirby wrote to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un -- the third ruler of the communist dynasty founded by his grandfather in 1948 -- to give him a last chance to put his country's side.

In a January 20 letter, reproduced in the report, Kirby told Kim he could face justice personally for the crimes committed by the system he runs.

"Any official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea who commits, orders, solicits or aids and abets crimes against humanity incurs criminal responsibility by international law and must be held accountable under that law," Kirby wrote.

The report said options included the UN Security Council referring the country to the International Criminal Court or setting up an ad hoc tribunal.

The United States welcomed the report, saying it "clearly and unequivocally documents the brutal reality" of North Korea's abuses.

But Pyongyang's key ally China strongly opposed such a move, saying it would "not help resolve the human rights situation" and that "constructive dialogue" was the answer.

North Korea has long faced international sanctions over its atomic weapons programme, but activists said that justice for its rights record was long overdue.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 21:19

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Anti-government Thai demonstrators besiege premier`s office

Bangkok: Anti-government protesters on Monday besieged the Government House in the Thai capital to prevent caretaker Premier Yingluck Shinawatra from working there, even as the Election Commission and ministers failed to strike a deal on holding elections to 28 seats in parliament.

People's Democratic Reform Committee (PRDC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban led a march of thousands of demonstrators, who set up the stage from where their leaders will take turns to speak out against the government.

Suthep and other core leaders then helped block the Government House by pouring cement into the moulds of the barriers.

"I fear, I may offend the military by laying siege to the Government House, but if I don't, I will seize it. We are sure that our protest will bring down Thaksin Regime," Suthep told a cheering crowd.

"If we don't, then Thaksin's son, Panthongtae or Oak will surely become the new prime minister. I pledge to all my brothers and sisters that I have the spirit to fight until the bitter end."

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Somchai Srisuthiyakorn met with some senior ministers and legal advisers from Yingluck's ruling Pheu Thai party to discuss the holding of in 28 seats where there was no balloting during the February 2 election boycotted by the opposition Democrat Party.

After the meeting, caretaker Deputy Premier Pongthep Thepkanchana said the government had suggested that the poll panel should hold fresh elections where voting was canceled within 30 days or by March 30, when Senate elections will be held.

Voting should not be delayed until April as the panel had earlier proposed, Pongthep said.

A total of 28 constituencies in southern Thailand, a stronghold of the opposition, did not vote in the February 2 polls.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 23:57

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C Africa president asks France to stay till polls

Bangui: The leader of the strife-torn Central Africa Republic asked French troops Monday to stay until polls due in early 2015, as unabated sectarian violence wrecked Paris' hope of a quick exit.

Catherine Samba Panza's appeal to the former colonial power came three days after France's decision to boost its contingent to 2,000 and on the eve of a review of the deadly sectarian conflict by the UN Security Council.

"The interim president told us that they should stay until the elections, that is to stay until early 2015," French MP Elizabeth Guigou said in Bangui.

When France launched operation Sangaris in December to prevent mass sectarian killing, President Francois Hollande envisioned a short deployment.

On Saturday however, with a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Muslims in full swing, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian admitted that the French operation could last "longer than planned".

The French parliament is due to vote on February 25 on whether the 2,000 troops deployed in Central Africa can stay longer than their initial mandate, which expires in April.

The right-wing opposition has asked for clarity on the operation's goals but stopped short of calling for an early withdrawal.

"France cannot handle everything on its own," Guigou, a Hollande ally who chairs the parliament's foreign affairs committee, said after her meeting with Samba Panza.The European Union has pledged around 900 troops and the African Union has close to 6,000 already on the ground but the continent's mediator in the crisis said more were needed.

"To achieve a nationwide footprint we need an international contingent of at least 10,000," Denis Sassou Nguesso, the president of the Republic of Congo, told French newspaper Le Figaro in an interview.

Amnesty International said last week that the mostly Christian anti-balaka vigilantes were attempting to exterminate the country's Muslim minority.

"'Ethnic cleansing' of Muslims has been carried out in the western part of the Central African Republic, the most populous part of the country, since early January 2014," Amnesty International said in a report.

The anti-balaka ("anti-machete" in the local Sango language) militias were initially self-defence groups formed in response to abuses committed by rogue ex-rebels from the mainly Muslim Seleka coalition that seized power in March 2013.

With the remnants of Seleka on the back foot since France deployed its forces two months ago, most of the ongoing violence is now blamed on the anti-balaka's attacks.

Samba Panza, a Christian who took over as interim president last month from ex-Seleka boss Michel Djotodia, has said she was "going to go to war against the anti-balaka."

French and African troops have been unable to prevent mass looting and stem the cycle of revenge attacks.

The International Federation for Human Rights said Monday that several attacks by suspected Seleka gunmen had killed at least 22 people in the western town of Bang since February 13.

Atrocities, the fear of attacks and a lack of food have displaced a quarter of the country's population, while the United Nations and relief agencies estimate that at least two million people need humanitarian assistance.

First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 04:39

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Moqtada al-Sadr`s political exit may be `gift` to Iraqi rivals

Baghdad: Powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's announced exit from politics two months before elections may be a "gift" to rivals but could also be another temporary withdrawal, experts say.

Sadr's political career began with his fierce opposition to the presence of foreign troops in Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion, and has spanned more than a decade.

His rise, aided by the reputations of two famed relatives -- including his father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr -- who were killed during Saddam Hussein's rule, eventually translated into political clout.

At the time of his weekend announcement, Sadr's movement held six cabinet posts, the Deputy Speakership of Parliament and 40 seats in the legislature.

"I announce my non-intervention in all political affairs and that there is no bloc that represents us from now on, nor any position inside or outside the government nor Parliament," Sadr said in a statement.

His exit so close to parliamentary elections in April may "benefit other (Shiite) parties," said Aziz Jabr, a political science professor at Baghdad's Mustansiriyah University.

One of the main beneficiaries could be Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite whom Sadr has criticised as a "dictator," he said.

Maliki "got rid of him without making a major effort, and it is like a gift," said Jabr.

Kirk Sowell an Amman-based political risk analyst and the publisher of Inside Iraqi Politics, said that if Sadr's bloc loses votes in April, they may go to the Shiite Fadhila party and Maliki.

"Almost all of Sadr's gain in 2010 came at Fadhila's expense. Maliki could also benefit since their bases overlap quite a bit," Sowell said.

Sadr was the commander of the Mahdi Army, a widely-feared militia that battled US forces and played a key role in the brutal Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict in which thousands of people were killed.

He later suspended the militia's activities.

In recent years, his focus has increasingly shifted to religious studies in both Iran and Iraq that have taken him out of the country for extended periods of time.

Some commentators said there were potential downsides to his exit for Iraq, including political writer Sarmad al-Taie, who said the cleric has become a "supporter of the path of political reform, and worked to reduce sectarian tensions."

It was not immediately clear whether Sadr's withdrawal was temporary or permanent, and he has left politics previously only to resurface later on.

Sadrist officials were unable to offer explanations for what they said was a surprise announcement, that has left some wondering if Sadr will still make a political comeback.

Sadr "usually backs out of the political limelight when he is physically threatened" or "when the Sadrist movement has to do something politically expedient that Sadr wants to disassociate from," said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Of Sadr's possible return, Knights said: "Nothing is permanent in Iraq except death."

But Sadr's decision to quit politics this time has a more final air than past announcements.

"He had a period when he was in Iran unofficially out of politics a few years ago, then last fall he had his 'self-isolation' from politics that lasted just a few weeks," Sowell said.

"All these actions have been aimed at trying to give himself a greater degree of religious authority," he said.

But Sadrist MPs announcing their resignations "makes this appear more serious" than past departures, said Sowell.

Sadr has also ordered the closure of his movement's political offices but said that others related to social welfare, media and education will remain open.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 16:08

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China dismisses Kerry`s criticism of internet freedom

Beijing: Days after US Secretary of State John Kerry asked Chinese leaders to support Internet freedom, Beijing Monday retorted by asking why he did not mention whistleblower Edward Snowden in a meeting with its bloggers.

Dismissing Kerry's call to support internet freedom as "naive", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: "How can there be so-called bloggers in China without the leap forward development of China's internet?"

She was answering a question at a media briefing on Kerry's comments at a meeting with Chinese bloggers here on February 15.

"Obviously, we think that the Chinese economy will be stronger with greater freedom of the Internet," Kerry had said.

China is estimated to have about 300 million bloggers who communicate through Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter that is emerging as an alternate media.

But Hua said if some persons hoped to "make China develop in a way according to their expectations, then it is little bit too naive".

She said, "China is a country under the rule of law and we administer the internet in accordance with law. I also want to stress that the Chinese people run their own affairs in accordance with domestic conditions."

Hua said Kerry should have also mentioned the Snowden episode, which resonated across the world after the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor disclosed scores of files pointing to espionage by the US in many countries.

"I think topics of this meeting could have been diversified and they could have talked about Snowden's case," she said. Hua accused the media of carrying false reports about bloggers' protests against internet controls in China.

She claimed the misinterpretation and "out of context" reporting showed the quality of foreign media.

First Published: Monday, February 17, 2014, 20:07

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Iran nuclear talks: Crucial meet between Tehran, world powers in Vienna today

.h1title {background: none repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;font-size: 35px;line-height: 40px;padding: 0;color: #174f82;}.content{font-size:14px;}.styler1{background: #f1f1f1 !important;color: #000 !important;cursor:pointer;}.styler2{background: #a60000 !important;color: #fff !important;cursor:pointer;}.scrolled-top .headersection {width:1024px;}.scrolled-top .navigation-bar {width:1024px;}.page-bold-ra{font-weight:bold;}.txtunderline{text-decoration:underline;}h4 {margin: 0px 0px 10px 5px !important;font-size:15px !important;}h4 a{font-size:15px !important;}h5 a{font-size:15px !important;} var _comscore = _comscore || []; _comscore.push({ c1: "2", c2: "9254297" }); (function () { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); })(); math{display:none;}.headersection .ads {text-align: right;clear: both;top: 95px;margin-bottom: 5px;position: relative;top: 0px;float:left;}.headersection .adss {text-align: right;clear: both;z-index: 199999;top: 92px;margin-bottom:5px;position:absolute;}.social-links{height:auto !important;}.hiddenTag { display: none; height:0px !important;}.scrolled-top .headersection {width:1024px;}.scrolled-top .navigation-bar {width:1024px;}@media (min-width: 1360px) {.expndbane-nwab{width:75%; border:0px solid green; float:left;}.expndbane-nwab-lft{width:165px; border:0px solid red; float:left;margin:1px;position:relative;overflow:hidden;}}@media (max-width: 1359px) {.expndbane-nwab{width:100%}.expndbane-nwab-lft{display:none;}}Iran nuclear talks: Crucial meet between Tehran, world powers in Vienna today .scrolled-top .headersection {height:60px;overflow:hidden;}.scrolled-top #site-logo img {width: 55px;}.scrolled-top .navigation-bar{top: 60px;}.headersection .logo{margin-top:5px;}.scrolled-top .social-links {margin-top:0px;height:50px;}.ads img {width:auto;} Tuesday, February 18, 2014 Tuesday, February 18, 2014 Home Nation States World S Asia Business Sports Cricket Sci-Tech Showbiz Blogs Health Exclusive Travel Pics Videos more Sci-Tech Showbiz Blogs Health Exclusive Travel Pics Videos HOME Nation States World S Asia Business Sports Cricket Sci-Tech Showbiz Blogs Health Exclusive Travel Pics Videos This Section Latest Animals can live and grow even with very limited oxygen supplies Florida village becomes refuge for sex offenders From troops to troupe for war- wounded Australian soldiers Thai riot police, protesters, face each other at government HQ Special status for Bihar: JD-U plans Parliament stir today Australian police raid media firms over Corby deal Israelis tried to sell arms to Iran: Report Akhilesh Yadav visits Nepal US Sikh group challenges Congress party plea Seven Naxals killed in police encounter in Maharashtra AAP likely to challenge Centre in court for not dissolving Delhi Assembly Trapped South African miners rescued, to be presented in court today Earth marks close encounter with enormous asteroid Iran nuclear talks: Crucial meet between Tehran, world powers in Vienna today Transparency International rebuffs AAP on `corruption down in Delhi` Narendra Modi to kick-start BJP`s campaign in Karnataka today Riot at Australia`s PNG immigration centre after being denied asylum; one killed Anna Hazare to meet Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee in Delhi today LIVE: Telangana debate in Lok Sabha today; Reddy may quit Florida village becomes refuge for sex offenders From troops to troupe for war- wounded Australian soldiers Thai riot police, protesters, face each other at government HQ Australian police raid media firms over Corby deal Israelis tried to sell arms to Iran: Report Trapped South African miners rescued, to be presented in court today Iran nuclear talks: Crucial meet between Tehran, world powers in Vienna today Riot at Australia`s PNG immigration centre after being denied asylum; one killed Iran may send forces to Pakistan for captive guards France condemns attack on tourists in Egypt One dead, 77 hurt in riot at PNG immigration centre Three Afghan soldiers killed in bomb attacks C Africa president asks France to stay till polls Israel`s Netanyahu calls boycotters `anti-Semites` Hundreds protest in Tunisia against `terrorism` Web Wrap News from e-generator.com Home >> World Iran nuclear talks: Crucial meet between Tehran, world powers in Vienna today Last Updated: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 10:20    Zee Media Bureau

Vienna: The crucial talks between Tehran and the six world powers on Iran's controversial nuclear programme are due to take place in Vienna on Tuesday.

The meeting is taking place after the historic deal between Iran and Western powers – United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany - took place in Geneva in November last year.

Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear enrichment programme for six months in exchange for economic sanction relief and with no new sanction being imposed on the country.

Tehran's uranium enrichment programme stirred controversy with the world powers claiming that it could be used to develop nuclear weapons. However, Tehran has always maintained that the uranium-enrichment programme is for peaceful purpose.

Ahead of the talks, Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the talks will “lead nowhere.”

He said that despite insistence by the officials of different countries, he is not hopeful that the talks will succeed.


First Published: Tuesday, February 18, 2014, 09:44

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