Iranian Nuclear Scientist Executed For Spying For US: Judiciary

 Iran executed Shahram Amiri convicted of handing over “top secret” information to the US. (File Photo)

TEHRAN: 

Iran has executed a nuclear scientist convicted of handing over “confidential and vital” information to the United States, a judicial spokesman said today.

“Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing the country’s top secrets to the enemy,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejeie was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online news site.

Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced a year later in the United States. Iranian officials welcomed him back to Iran but there has been little information released since.

Amiri said after returning to the Islamic republic that he had been held in the US for more than a year after being “kidnapped” at gunpoint by two Farsi-speaking CIA agents in the Saudi city of Medina.

Ejeie said the US had been “outsmarted” by Iran’s intelligence services.

“American intelligence services thought Iran has no knowledge of his transfer to Saudi Arabia and what he was doing but we knew all of it and were monitoring,” he was quoted by state television as saying.

Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties since 1980, when students stormed the American embassy following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“This person, having access to confidential and highly confidential information of the regime, had established a connection to our number one enemy, America, and had provided the enemy with Iran’s confidential and vital information,” Ejeie said

“Shram Amiri was tried in accordance with law and in the presence of his lawyer. He appealed his death sentence based on judicial process. The Supreme Court… confirmed it after meticulous reviews,” he added.

The spokesman dispelled a “rumour” by Amiri’s family that he had received a 10-year prison term.

Iran last year signed a landmark deal with world powers, including the US, to place curbs on its controversial nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Shahram Amiri was hanged for revealing Irans top secrets to the US
2. Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009 and resurfaced in the US
3. Iranian officials claim they welcomed him back but knew of his activities

China’s air force flies combat patrol over disputed South China Sea

 

BEIJING: China’s air force sent bombers and fighter jets on “combat patrols” near contested islands in the South China Sea+ , in a move a senior colonel said was part of an effort to normalize such drills and respond to security threats.

The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the disputed waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.

The air force sent several H-6 bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to inspect the airspace around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, Senior Colonel Shen Jinke of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The patrols included surveillance and refuelling aircraft, Xinhua said, although it did not say when they occurred.

“The Air Force is organizing normalized South China Sea combat patrols, practising tactics … increasing response capabilities to all kinds of security threats and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and maritime interests,” Shen said.

China has refused to recognize the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague thatinvalidated its vast territorial claims+ in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines+ .

A dispute over the shoal, 124 nautical miles northwest of the Philippines mainland, was one of Manila’s main reasons for bringing international legal action against China in 2013.

Beijing has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to and has released pictures of aircraft flying over the shoal since the ruling.

China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tension through its military patrols in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims in the South China Sea.

The United States has conducted freedom of navigation patrols close to Chinese-held islands, to Beijing’s anger, while China has been bolstering its military presence there.

Pakistani Helicopter Crashes In Afghanistan, Occupants Feared Held By Taliban

 

 A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan. (Represenatational Image)

ISLAMABAD:  A Pakistani government helicopter crash-landed in Taliban-held territory in neighbouring Afghanistan on Thursday and all passengers and crew are feared captured by the insurgents, officials said.

The helicopter went down in Logar province, close to the Afghan-Pakistan border – an increasingly lawless area since a two-year Pakistani military operation pushed many Taliban and allied fighters further into Afghanistan.

“Those detained by the Taliban are Pakistanis,” Sameem Saleh, spokesman for Logar’s governor, said. “The chopper was not shot but made the landing because of technical failure.”

A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that a helicopter belong to the Punjab provincial government had gone down, saying the fate of the crew was not yet clear.

“The Afghan authorities have assured they will investigate and learn about the whereabouts of the helicopter and the passengers,” spokesman Nafees Zakaria said.

He said seven passengers were on board, six of them Pakistanis and one a Russian technician. The pilot was Pakistani.

The aircraft had permission to fly over Afghan air space on its way to Uzbekistan further north, he said.

Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif spoke with top US commander General John Nicholson on Thursday asking for the international military coalition’s help in recovering the Pakistani personnel, military spokesman Lt General Asim Bajwa, said in a tweet.

Hameed Khan, district governor of Azra district of Logar, said the helicopter landed in his border district, which lies across from Pakistan’s Kurram agency.

“They were detained by the Taliban,” Khan said.

A senior Pakistani military official said the Russian-made MI-17 transport helicopter was en route from Peshawar in northwest Pakistan to Uzbekistan for maintenance when it experienced technical failure and made an emergency landing.

He said there was no information about the occupants.

Other military officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said three of those aboard the helicopter were retired security officials.

Chinese Company Tests Giant Bus That Drives Over Cars

TEB-1 has a spacious passenger compartment measuring 72 feet long by 26 feet wide.

Every urban commuter laments the twice-a-day headache of traffic congestion and the often disappointing alternatives that mass transit offers.

A Chinese company has officially rolled out one potential solution: the TEB-1, or Transit Elevated Bus. The giant “flying” bus, as some have called it, straddles two lanes of traffic and stands nearly 16 feet tall so that it can pass over cars on the roadway below. While still a long way from mass production, the TEB-1 could one day alleviate major traffic woes in China and other countries with crowded metropolitan areas.

The concept of an elevated bus was first floated in 2010, and a model was debuted in May of this year, the New York Times reported. The company behind the project, TEB Technology, conducted a road test and opened its doors to prospective passengers in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao on Tuesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The giant “flying” bus, as some have called the Transit Elevated Bus or TEB-1, straddles two lanes of traffic.

The Transit Elevated Bus piloted in China’s Hebei province rolls along a designated track, making it similar in some ways to a commuter train or tram — the key difference, of course, being that it runs on top of the existing roadway without the need to construct a separate overpass.

Images distributed by Chinese media show a spacious passenger compartment measuring 72 feet long by 26 feet wide, capable of holding up to 300 riders. Surprisingly, there are not very many seats. That would probably have to change should an American model ever come to fruition.

Indeed, it’s unclear whether the idea of an elevated bus could gain traction in the United States. The model piloted by TEB Technologies appears to clear midsize sedans with ease, but the large SUVs and trucks that clog U.S. roads may present a greater challenge.

What’s more, laying a track for the elevated bus on highways with few twists and turns is perhaps practical, but the crisscross pattern and narrow streets common in most cities may be more difficult.

The hulking bus maneuvering its way around Washington’s infamous traffic circles, for example, seems problematic.

Adie Tomer, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, also sees roadblocks to bringing elevated buses to the United States. For one, they’re not particularly appealing visually, and Americans often aren’t keen on aesthetic changes. Also, laying miles of track and purchasing new buses means greater demand for infrastructure dollars that could be invested elsewhere.

“It’s a lot easier for [China] to strong-arm those kind of innovations through,” Tomer said. “We have a much more democratic process when it comes to infrastructure investment, and that will slow down how long it would take for this to take effect in the U.S.”

But don’t count the TEB-1 out just yet.

“The innovation itself certainly has potential,” Tomer added. “It’s naturally hard to get around the simple fact that it’s a physical piece of equipment that none of us have seen before, and I think that creates a natural reluctance to assume it can be viable.”

‘Pak Model Of Democracy’: Delhi’s Jibe As Rajnath Singh Returns

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has returned from his Islamabad visit (PTI)

NEW DELHI: 

Home Minister Rajnath singh’s speech in IsIamabad which delivered forceful messages on terrorism, was not broadcast by local media and Indian crews were not permitted to film it.

“This is the Pakistan model of demoracy,” retorted union minister Venkaiah Naidu in Delhi, where the Home Minister returned this evening from a tense two-day visit next door replete with rebuffs from Pakistan.

The Home Minister was attending a session of SAARC, which brings together eight South Asian countries, and he used his address to further India’s complaint of Pakistan inciting the recent unrest in Kashmir which has left at least 50 people dead in clashes that began with last month’s shooting of 22-year-old terrorist Burhan Wani by security forces.

“In no circumstances should terrorists be eulogised as martyrs” the Home Minister said, challenging Pakistan for lionizing Wani and calling protest marches against his killing. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly expressed his regret about Wani’s death.

Later, his Pakistani counterpart Nisar Ali Khan said: “We have seen brute force against unarmed civilians. Shouldn’t suppress freedom struggle in the name of fight against terror.”

Sources in Delhi said “a blackout” of the speech is a misleading description and that conventionally, speeches at SAARC summits are not filmed, except for the opening remarks. But tension was a consistent theme.Mr singh and Mr khan did not shake hands,and neither of them attended a lunch for the SAARC visitors.Meanwhile, the home minister also briefed PM Narendra Modi on his Pakistan visit.

Mr Singh’s visit – the first by an Indian leader after Pakistani terrorists attacked the air force base in Pathankot, killing seven military personnel  – was important, Delhi had said, because it was for a regional multi-lateral summit and not bilateral talks with Pakistan at a time of highly strained relations. As Mr Singh landed in Islamabad, the Pakistani Prime Minister baited India with new provocative statements about “a freedom movement in Kashmir.”

Then, anti-India protests were allowed in Islamabad and other cities, featuring terrorists like Hizbul Mujahideen’s Syed Salahuddin and Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who masterminded the deadly 26/11 attack on Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Rajnath Singh’s speech on terrorism was not broadcast by Pak media
2. Home Minister was attending a session of SAARC in Islamabad
3. His visit to Pak is the first by an Indian leader after Pathankot attack

Indian American’s start-up ‘Moon Express’ to launch first private mission to moon

WASHINGTON: In a first, the Federal Aviation Administration has given license to a private US company, co-founded by an Indian American, to launch a spacecraft and land on moon in 2017.
This breakthrough US policy decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface, the company said in a media release.

There have been no private space missions so far beyond Earth’s orbit and only state agencies have performed outer space missions.

“The sky is not the limit for Moon Express, it is the launchpad. Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children,” Naveen Jain, co-founder and chairman of Moon Express said.

“In the immediate future, we envision bringing precious resources, metals, and moon rocks back to earth,” he said.

The company was co-founded in 2010 by space visionary, Dr Bob Richards, Naveen Jain and serial entrepreneur and artificial intelligence and space technology guru, Dr Barney Pell, with the common vision to be at the forefront of commercial space exploration and innovation.

“The Moon Express 2017 mission approval is a landmark decision by the US government and a pathfinder for private sector commercial missions beyond the Earth’s orbit,” said Richards.

“We are now free to set sail as explorers to Earth’s eighth continent, the Moon, seeking new knowledge and resources to expand Earth’s economic sphere for the benefit of all humanity,” he added.

The federal interagency’s approval of the Moon Express 2017 lunar mission establishes an important precedent for the private sector to engage in peaceful space exploration, bringing with it monumental implications for the advancement of technology, science, research, and development, as well as commercial ventures that expand Earth’s economic sphere, the company said.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface in 2017
• “Space travel is our only path forward to ensure our survival and create a limitless future for our children,” said Naveen Jain, the co-founder

 

Maoist chief Prachanda elected as Nepal prime minister

 

Nepal’s parliament elected former Maoist rebel chief Prachanda+ , who led a decade-long insurgency that toppled a Hindu monarchy, as prime minister on Wednesday after predecessor K.P. Oli+ resigned rather than face defeat in a vote of no confidence.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, 61, who still uses a nom de guerre that means “Fierce”, won 363 votes out of the 573 cast in the 595-member parliament, Speaker Onsari Gharti said.

He becomes the 24th prime minister in 26 years since the Himalayan nation adopted multi-party democracy in 1990 and the eighth since the 239-year-old monarchy was abolished eight years ago.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Nepal’s parliament elected former Maoist rebel chief Prachanda as the PM
2. He won 363 votes out of the 573 cast in the 595-member parliament
3. He became the 24th prime minister of Nepal

 

PM Modi Is Correct To Have Sent Home Minister To Pakistan

Should Home Minister Rajnath Singh have gone to Lahore to attend the SAARC meeting of Home Ministers? Opinion in India appears sharply divided. Some argue that there is nothing wrong in attending a multilateral forum meeting, irrespective of the venue. Others say that given the current state of India-Pakistan relations, particularly in the backdrop of Islamabad’s incitement to militants in Jammu and Kashmir, the senior Indian dignitary should have skipped the meeting and deputed a relatively junior official to represent the country.

Apart from the theoretical aspect, there is a very practical dimension too. In the last week, various masterminds of terrorism sheltered in Pakistan have been fulminating against Rajnath Singh setting foot on that country’s soil. In fact, the man who planned and executed the ghastly outrage of 26/11 and has been declared a dangerous terrorist by world bodies has called for a “nationwide agitation” to protest the Indian Home Minister’s visit. Addressing a rally close to the Wagah border last week, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Syed Salahuddin told his hysterical audience that “killers of Kashmiris and Pakistanis” were not welcome in that country. The underlying message was that the Indian Home Minister would come to Pakistan at his own risk. They even demanded that Pakistan recall its envoy from India and break off diplomatic and trade ties to protest Indian “atrocities” in the Kashmir Valley.

Although we need not take the bluster of such loathsome fire-breathing ogres seriously, for there is no doubt that the government of Pakistan will ensure the safety of its Indian guest, the atmosphere has been seriously vitiated by such verbal vitriol. Matters are made worse by the fact that these mass killers and their masterminds enjoy the protection of the Pakistan government. It is very apparent that the rulers in Islamabad allow these criminals to prosper and plot despite the not-so-veiled contempt in which they hold the Pakistan government’s leaders. For example, a recent statement by the terrorists ranting against Rajnath Singh’s visit began with a jibe describing the Pakistan Prime Minister as the “ailing Nawaz Sharif”. In other words, despite the moral and material support extended to the terrorists, they have little regard for the country’s elected government or its democratic process.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh with PM Modi during a BJP parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday

But then, had the Indian Home Minister backed out of his Lahore visit in view of these factors, it would have meant succumbing to the terrorists’ blackmail. Unfortunately though, it is not the terrorists alone who are a matter of concern for us. The Pakistan government’s decision to observe a “Black Day” to protest the “killing” of Kashmiri militant icon Burhan Wani also amounted to serious provocation. Day in and day out, Pakistani leaders rail against India and its Kashmir policy. Even Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently talked about the day when it would annex the whole of Jammu and Kashmir. This was no different from Hafiz Sayeed’s wistful assertion that very soon the Pakistani flag would fly in Srinagar. So much for the India-based separatists fond desire of gaining “azadi” for Kashmir!

Ironically, the SAARC Home Ministers’ Conclave is slated to discuss counter-terrorism and measures for its effective combat. On the face of it, this sounds surreal. But experience tells us that breaking off the dialogue – whether bilateral or multilateral – serves no long-term purpose. So at the risk of India’s complaints falling on deaf ears, our position has to be reiterated again and again because the alternative to dialogue is actually quite frightening, since war is not an option between two nuclear powers.

Rajnath Singh is expected to table India’s case and seek the support of all SAARC nations in jointly combating terrorism in all its manifestations, especially its jehadi variant. In light of the recent terrorist attack on a Dhaka café and targeted killing of secular writers and even traditional folk singers in that country, the situation in Bangladesh is also likely to come up at the meeting. Pakistan’s ISI is alleged to have sponsored certain home-grown jehadi outfits in Bangladesh, with the aim of destabilising the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The island nation of Maldives too is facing increasing threats from jehadi elements. At this juncture, India’s leadership of forces ranged against terror acquires considerable importance.

In December, PM Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on his way home from Afghanistan

It is not yet clear if Rajnath Singh will meet his Pakistani counterparts for a bilateral dialogue. Actually, there is no need for him to meet Pakistani officials bilaterally since India’s position will be made very clear to them in the multilateral conference. Keeping in mind the surcharged atmosphere in the Kashmir Valley and Islamabad’s open incitement to militants there, no meaningful dialogue seems possible. But heavens won’t fall if India’s Home Minister meets senior Pakistani officials as a matter of courtesy by a visitor. Anyway India’s strident anti-terror position will resound at the SAARC meeting, which is why it was important that Rajnath Singh attended it, keeping aside many reservations.

Rajnath Singh handles India’s most complex internal problem, namely the law and order situation in Jammu and Kashmir, caused largely by Pakistani instigation. Therefore to stand on Pakistani soil and call a spade a spade requires great diplomatic finesse. But it is to the Modi government’s credit that it has discarded an inflexible policy towards Pakistan. We all know that Pakistan will not let go any opportunity to bleed India within and embarrass it without. But we need to demonstrate to the world that despite continuous provocation, India will work towards broad-basing the regional and global anti-terror coalition. To that end, it is important to keep a window, if not a door, open for dialogue with Pakistan. The entire sub-continent will suffer terribly if jehadis gain an even greater control over the levers of government in Pakistan than they already have. It is also essential that other SAARC countries fight jehadi terrorism within their borders and cooperate mutually to progressively de-fang terror groups across the entire SAARC region. Pakistan’s duplicitous policy towards terrorist organizations also needs to be exposed before countries such as Afghanistan that are suffering as a result of Islamabad’s tactic of running with the hare and hunting with the hound.

We cannot expect that Rajnath Singh’s visit alone will have the effect of shaming Pakistan into good behavior. But by exposing its nefarious activities at a multilateral regional forum, the Indian Home Minister will achieve his immediate objective. From all accounts then, Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh took the right decision to participate in the SAARC meeting on Pakistani soil. Now it is to be seen if the lion can be bearded in its own den.

(Dr. Chandan Mitra is a journalist, currently Editor of The Pioneer Group of Publications. He is also BJP MP of the Rajya Sabha.)

Emirates Plane From Thiruvananthapuram Crash Lands In Dubai, Passengers Safe

 

An Emirates plane which took off from Thiruvananthapuram crash-landed in Dubai; all passengers safe

DUBAI:  An Emirates airline flight from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala crash-landed in Dubaiand caught fire on Wednesday.

Flight EK 521 had 295 on board, including 226 Indians. All were evacuated safely through emergency exits of the plane before the fire spread.

The plane, a Boeing 777, landed on its tail at the Dubai International Airport around 12.45 pm. Its right wing caught fire and a part of the engine appeared to have fallen off.

“There was a loud bang. There was smoke in the cabin. The evacuation began soon and everyone was out in a minute,” a passenger told NDTV.

Images on TV and social media showed flames bursting from the front of the plane and thick, black smoke rising from the fuselage. Ambulance sirens were heard in the backdrop.

A pilot who witnessed the incident told NDTV that he saw the plane coming in fast and hit the runway tail first.

“We saw big flames, then the body hit the runway and the right landing gear collapsed, followed by the right engine coming off. Then it skidded for a while until it stopped,” the pilot said.

According to air traffic control recordings cited by Aviation Herald, an independent website specialising in information on air accidents, controllers at Dubai had reminded the crew to lower the landing gear as it approached the runway but the crew announced they were aborting the landing to “go around”.

Emirates officials said the accident resulted in a four-hour network-wide delay for the airline’s operations.

Flights from Dubai were delayed and others were diverted to Sharjah.

“Thankfully there was no fatality among our passengers and our crew … Our first priority is the well-being of our passengers and our crew,” Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Makhtoum said in a statement.

The aircraft involved in the accident was delivered in March 2003.

Emergency help line number of Emirates at Trivandrum Airport: 0471-3377337

Other helpline numbers: UAE – 8002111, UK – 00442034508853, US – 0018113502081

Donald Trump Unfit To Serve As US President, Says Barack Obama

 Barack Obama has rebuked Donald Trump in some of his strongest comments yet.

WASHINGTON: 

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Republicans to reject Donald Trump in some of his strongest comments yet about the party’s White House nominee, saying he is “woefully unprepared” and “unfit” to be president.

“This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he’s making,” Obama said of the party’s top brass including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senator John McCain.

“There has to be a point in which you say: ‘This is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party.'”

Obama’s comments at a White House press conference came amid a roiling war of words between Trump and the father of a US soldier who rebuked him as having “sacrificed nothing.”

Trump also has come under fire for remarks in a television interview in which he appeared not to be aware of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea after its takeover from Ukraine.

“I think the Republican nominee is unfit to serve as president,” Obama said. “I said so last week. He keeps proving it.”

“The notion that he would attack a Gold Star family that made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he’s woefully unprepared to do this job.”

“There has to come a point in which you say ‘enough’,” he said, in a comment directed at Republicans.

“The alternative is the entire party and the Republican party effectively endorses and validates the positions being articulated by Mr Trump. As I said in my speech last week, I don’t think that represents the views of a whole lot of Republicans out there.”