No CBI inquiry into train attack, says Bengal govt

It's a move that could become the latest stress test of the tense relationship between the Congress and key ally, Mamata Banerjee. At a press conference in Delhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram said that early leads suggest the Maoists were behind Friday's train tragedy in which more than 140 people were killed after a train derailed in the Midnapore district of West Bengal. A section of the track was found missing.

"The needle of suspicion points to Maoists or frontal organisations of CPI Maoists," Chidambaram said during his monthly media briefing.

"However, the identity of the culprit can be established only in the investigations," he added.

Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have repeatedly said that there's no evidence so far to suggest that the Maoists caused the gigantic accident. Instead, Banerjee has blamed a political conspiracy for the tragedy, suggesting that the Left government in the state tried to embarrass her by manufacturing the accident on the eve of West Bengal's municipal polls.

Banerjee had demanded a CBI inquiry into the accident. And minutes after Chidambaram said in Delhi that he was waiting for the state government's response, he got his answer.

"There is no need for a CBI probe, that's what the state government thinks," said West Bengal Home Secretary Samar Ghosh, adding that the government's own inquiry was making smooth progress.

Banerjee's party said the refusal proves what it's been alleging all along. "This is exactly the stand we had taken...it is vindicated. Why is the CPM-led state government afraid of the truth? Now the needle of suspicion is definitely at the doorstep of the CPM," charged Dinesh Trivedi, a Trinamool leader and MP.

According to the law, the Centre cannot order a CBI inquiry without the state government's request, or without a court order.

Source http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/no-cbi-inquiry-into-train-attack-says-bengal-govt-28991.php?u=1951

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/no-cbi-inquiry-into-train-attack-says-bengal-govt-28991.php?u=1951&cp

Up to 16 killed as Israeli forces storm aid convoy

Up to 16 people have been killed when Israeli naval commandos boarded aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip, meeting resistance from pro-Palestinian activists, Israel's Channel 10 television said.

The six-ship convoy carrying aid for Palestinians and led by a Turkish vessel with 600 people on board set sail for Gaza from international waters off Cyprus on Sunday in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of the territory.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, where public radio quoted an unnamed Arab journalist aboard a ship as saying the navy intercepted the activists and that shooting was heard.

Vice premier Silvan Shalom told Israel Radio that Israeli forces would issue a report soon.

"As far as we know IDF (Israeli military) commandos descended on the boat from helicopters and took it over," said Mary Hughes Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Free Gaza Movement, which was behind the convoy.

An Israeli religious medical service, ZAKA, said seven people had been admitted to hospital in Haifa, Israel's main naval base, one of them in a serious condition.

Turkey says it has "strongly protested" against Israel's military action.

"[The interception on the convoy] is unacceptable ... Israel will have to endure the consequences of this behaviour," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said Ankara had called Israel's ambassador to the ministry.

Israeli officials said overnight the navy told the activists by radio to turn back toward Cyprus or head for the Israeli port of Ashdod to unload the 10,000 tonnes of aid, which Israel would then transfer to the Palestinians in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

The convoy set off in international waters off Cyprus on Sunday in defiance of an Israeli-led blockade of Gaza.

The flotilla was organised by pro-Palestinian groups and a Turkish human rights organisation.

Turkey had urged Israel to allow it safe passage and said the 10,000 tonnes of aid was humanitarian.

Israel had said it would prevent the convoy from reaching Gaza.

Egypt and Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took over the territory in 2007.

Israel launched a devastating military offensive in Gaza in December 2008 with the aim of halting daily rocket fire towards its cities.

Most of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza rely on aid, blaming Israel for imposing restrictions on the amount and type of goods it allows into the territory.

The United Nations and Western powers have urged Israel to ease its restrictions to prevent a humanitarian crisis. They have been urging Israel to let in concrete and steel to allow for post-war reconstruction.

Israel denies there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying food, medicine and medical equipment are allowed in regularly.

It says the restrictions are necessary to prevent weapons and materials that could be used to make them from reaching Hamas.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/05/31/2914131.htm?section=world

Obama to visit Gulf, defends oil spill response

President Obama is expected to visit Louisiana on Friday to observe cleanup efforts and speak to local officials about capping the undersea oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.

His visit will be the second to the region since the spill occurred on April 20. His visit also comes amid criticism that his administration has been slow in its response to the environmental disaster.

"I take responsibility. It is my job to make sure that everything is done to shut this down," Obama said Thursday at a White House news conference. "That doesn't mean it's going to be easy. That doesn't' mean it's going to happen right away or the way I'd like it to happen. That doesn't mean we aren't going to make mistakes."

Obama insisted that the federal government was fully engaged, adding "and I'm fully engaged."

The president even said his 11-year-old daughter, Malia, weighed in on Thursday.

"You know, when I woke up this morning and I'm shaving, and Malia knocks on my bathroom door and she peeks in her head and she says, 'Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?'" he said.

New federal estimates Thursday determined the spill is likely the largest in U.S. history, with oil already coating parts of the Louisiana coast and the eventual impacts still unclear.

BP announced Thursday that it had suspended its "top-kill" procedure for more than 16 hours before it was restarted later that afternoon.

Source http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/05/28/gulf.oil.spill/

BP begins top-kill operation to curb oil leak

BP on Wednesday began a long-awaited operation intended to seal off its ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico, raising hope after five weeks of massive crude oil seepage into the sea.

The operation, called top-kill, involves pumping heavy mud down into the damaged well head in the hopes of counteracting the pressure of the crude oil pouring into the Gulf since April 20.

It marks the first time that BP has tried to seal off the well, a precarious operation that, as BP chief Tony Hayward pointed out, could make the leak even worse. Earlier attempts to contain the situation focussed on siphoning off the oil.

It could be anywhere from half a day to several days before engineers know if the procedure is effective, BP vice president Kent Wells has noted. The operation began at 1800 GMT, about an hour and a half after the US Coast Guard gave the go-ahead.

Up until the last minute, BP engineers studied whether they should even begin the procedure, said Hayward, who was up through the night evaluating the situation as underwater robots took pressure readings in the valves.

Weeks of talk about top-kill have built up expectations. BP officials warned against hopes of a quick fix, but gave themselves an up-to 70-percent chance of success. Engineers planned to carefully ramp up the forced mud pressure to make sure it does not burst through possible weak points further down the well casing, a federal mining official said.

All previous efforts to reduce the flow have fallen short as thick heavy oil washes onto 110 kilometres of Gulf marshes and beaches.

There is only one permanent solution to the oil disaster now arriving on shore, where fish suffocate, oiled birds die slow deaths and soupy crude oil swamps fragile marsh grasses: that's the tedious drilling of two parallel relief wells, not expected to be finished until August.

The top-kill method has a successful past, but has never been tried at this depth, 1.6 kilometres beneath the surface. The well burrows another 6 kilometres below the sea floor, explaining the strong pressure forcing oil and gas out of two leaks.

Engineers are to force up to 50 barrels of heavy mud a minute into valve openings on the five-storey damaged blowout preventer - the very one that failed to shut down when a sudden rush of gas ignited and blew up the drill rig, killing 11 workers, April 20.

If the specially produced kill mud succeeds and "outruns" the pressure of the well, engineers will then pump cement into the well casing.

To prepare for top-kill, BP deployed multiple underwater robots that could withstand human-crushing pressure, fiddle with the stuck valves and take pressure measurements.

Hayward admitted Wednesday that one of the "big lessons from the incident" was that BP was woefully unprepared for the disaster. It took weeks to assemble a fleet of sub-sea intervention equipment.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it would clearly have been good to have that ready to go from day one," Hayward told CNN. He said this was something that industry "will undoubtedly need to, should do and will probably be required to have in the future."

US President Barack Obama, who noted a wide "sense of despair" about the unfolding environmental disaster, was to head to the oil-slicked coast for a second time Friday to assess efforts.

"We're going to bring every resource necessary to stop this thing," Obama vowed at a solar panel manufacturer in California. "We will not rest until this well is shut, the environment is repaired and the clean-up is complete."

The words were little balm to angry Gulf residents and elected officials whose fishing and tour boating livelihoods are at stake.

They have the equipment to start a sand-dredging plan and build barrier islands to catch the oil. But federal officials want weeks of study before they grant permission.

Source - http://www.hindustantimes.com/Top-kill-operation-to-curb-oil-leak/H1-Article1-549108.aspx

Air India strike: 76 flights cancelled, management threatens stern action

Bad news for passengers who were to travel today by Air India, as the strike by the national carrier's ground staff enters the second day.

As many as 76 flights in both the domestic and international sectors have been cancelled. These include 24 flights from Delhi, 37 from Mumbai, six from Kolkata, seven from Chennai and two from Bangalore. (Read: Air India cancels 76 flights)

The Air India management has taken a tough stand against the strike, saying it could sack the employees if they don't return to work today.

Air India chief Arvind Jadhav threatened to take stern action against the striking employees on Tuesday evening. "We may terminate staff who started the strike," he told NDTV.

Meanwhile, sources have told NDTV that the Civil Aviation Ministry will fully back the Air India management on tough action against striking employees.

Government may dismiss leaders who called for the strike, sources tell NDTV. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will brief Cabinet today on the situation.

Sources also told NDTV that government is set to withdraw order on senior bureaucrats to use only Air India.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded as a result of the flight cancellations yesterday and today, as this is the peak summer travel season and there are some destinations to which only Air India flies.

The strike will also cause losses to the carrier, as they will have to refund or rebook passengers of its cancelled flights. Many were not aware of the strike and flight cancellations and landed up at the airport in the morning, only to get a rude shock.

The Air India management has threatened stern action including termination of service and, as NDTV reported earlier, it apparently has the backing of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Twenty thousand employees of Air India including engineers and ground staff are on a flash strike since yesterday protesting against the management's gag order. One round of talks with the management failed yesterday another one is scheduled today.

Air India has made arrangements with Jet Airways and Kingfisher to carry passengers while the strike continues but if it continues for too long over 100 flights could be affected out of 250 flights. (Read: 76 Flights cancelled on Wednesday | List of Air India flights cancelled on Tuesday)

Days after the Mangalore tragedy in which 158 people died in an Air India plane crash, the airline is in trouble again. Thousands of Air India employees went on a flash strike on Tuesday - all because of a gag order from the management. (Read: Air India employees on strike, flights hit)

The striking employees claim the problem began after the Mangalore crash when the Air India management issued a notice to its engineers for speaking to the media. (Read: Story behind Air India's strike, as told by engineers)

Air India's alleged failure is that it didn't use its engineers to certify a flight while ferrying passengers to Mangalore after the tragedy.

"We didn't want to go on a strike but we have all the right to strike. We won't go back till they don't withdraw the show cause notice given to us," said Dinkar Shetty, President Air Corporation Employees Union.

"What about passengers? I have got an urgent appointment in Kolkata. I have urgent legal material to take there. Now that will not happen and I'll lose huge business," said Mr Rai, a stranded passenger.

"I am here for my wedding. But now I expect it to be delayed, just because of this," said Shikha Patel, a stranded and dejected bride.

The Air India management is apologetic, but the talks with the unions have been unsuccessful so far. The airline insists they won't cave in to blackmail saying that the show-cause notice was issued because the employees violated internal policy. (Read: Air India statement)

Little Progress on Korea Dispute as China Talks End

China and the United States wrapped up two days of high-level meetings here on Tuesday with some modest trade and energy agreements but little progress on winning China’s backing for international measures against North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said China would take “a period of careful consideration in order to determine the best way forward in dealing with North Korea as a result of this incident,” suggesting there was no immediate prospect of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the attack.

Mrs. Clinton tried to put the best face on China’s response, saying President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao had conveyed their sorrow at the loss of the 46 sailors on the Cheonan, which sank after being torpedoed by what South Korea says was a North Korean submarine.

“We expect to be working together with China in responding to North Korea’s provocative action and promoting stability in the region,” Mrs. Clinton said at a news conference after the meetings ended. “It is absolutely clear that China not only values but is very committed to regional stability.”

But Chinese officials did not mention North Korea by name during the entire meeting, and Dai Bingguo, a state councilor who oversees foreign affairs, called for the international community to “calmly and appropriately handle the issue, and avoid escalation of the situation.”

For his part, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said that Mr. Hu recognized that moving China’s currency closer to a market rate “is an important part of their broader reform agenda.” But he noted, “This is, of course, China’s choice,” reflecting the fact that China is not likely to loosen the dollar peg on its currency in response to outside prodding.

The United States did get concessions on two issues of importance to American investors in China: a change in rules governing innovation that now disadvantage foreign companies, and a pledge to submit a revised offer to join the World Trade Organization’s agreement on government procurement by 2010.

The two countries also signed a raft of modest agreements on issues ranging from clean energy and shale gas exploration to trade finance between the export-import banks of the United States and China. They also agreed to cooperate on nuclear safety and on preventing infectious diseases.

With few major policy agreements, the United States and China played up the less tangible, personal sides of the relationship. Mrs. Clinton took part Tuesday morning in a ceremony to promote people-to-people exchanges. The Chinese government has agreed to help pay for 10,000 students to study for doctorate degrees in the United States, while President Obama has set a goal of sending 100,000 American students to China over the next four years.

The focus was even lighter in the two encounters Mrs. Clinton had with the Chinese news media. In the first, where she appeared jointly with Mr. Geithner on Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, the two were quizzed about child-rearing styles and movie-going habits.

Among other topics covered: the T-shirts Mr. Geithner wore when he was a student in Beijing in 1981, the Sunday volleyball games played by Mrs. Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton when they were newlyweds in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Mrs. Clinton’s admiration for the treasury secretary’s hair: “He always looks so good, you know. It’s maddening.”

On the CCTV talk-show program Dialogue, Mrs. Clinton was asked about how she balanced the demands of work and family and about the preparations for the wedding of her daughter, Chelsea.

There were some tougher questions, including how the United States feels about being the world’s No. 1 debtor nation, whether it was veering into economic protectionism, and whether the Obama administration allowed domestic politics to influence foreign policy.

Mrs. Clinton managed to get in a few points, including the American complaint that new Chinese government procurement laws put foreign technology companies at a disadvantage. She also voiced outrage over North Korea’s sinking of the South Korean warship, something the Chinese government has not done, having expressed skepticism about Pyongyang’s role.

“We are very concerned about the sinking of the North Korean vessel,” Mrs. Clinton said. “The 400-page independent report determined that North Korea did it. Don’t ask me why. I don’t understand why they would do that, but that is the conclusion of the independent investigation.”

American Center attack: Supreme Court stays Ansari’s death sentence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the death sentence of Aftab Ahmed Ansari for his role in the 2002 American Centre attack in Kolkata.

A vacation bench of the apex court, comprising Justices G S Singhvi and C K Prasad asked the West Bengal Government to respond within four months to a petition filed by Ansari.

Ansari has challenged his conviction and death sentence.

On May 10, the Supreme Court had stayed the death sentence of Jamiluddin Nasir, who was also convicted in the same case.

Nasir and Ansari were sentenced to death for the attack by a Kolkata Court.

The attack by a group of terrorists on January 22,2002 left six policemen dead.

The shooting incident in the city raised many questions, especially the risk of Bangladesh being used for cross-border terrorism.

Ansari is suspected to be connected with the militant Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami outfit, which is active in Bangladesh. (ANI)

Mangalore crash: Search continues for plane's digital flight data recorder

Teams of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and police on Monday resumed their search for the digital flight data recorder, a part of the black box, of the Air India Express plane that crashed Saturday, killing 158 people.

The teams had recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a part of the black box containing the digital flight data acquisition unit (DFDAU) on late Sunday.

In aviation parlance, black box is a loose term used for two pieces of equipment, the digital cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, that give crucial inputs to investigators on causes of air accidents.

One device digitally records all conversations inside the cockpit and those with the air traffic controllers. The other has the history of the aircraft's flight details, such as acceleration, engine thrust, airspeed, altitude, rudder position, which are also vital for crash probes.

The cockpit voice recorder of the crashed plane has been affected by fire but it is expected to yield the desired information, according to a DGCA statement.

Though the DFDAU, a parallel unit of the digital flight data recorder, which records flight parameter for shorter duration has also been recovered, search for the latter is continuing, the statement said.

"Analysis of CVR and flight data will be conducted in the next fortnight. Similarly, analysis of records pertaining to the crash will take a couple of weeks," said a probe official.

AI Express flight IX 812 burst into flames after falling over a cliff early Saturday and most of the 158 victims, including 19 children and four infants, were charred to death. The Boeing overshot the runway on landing at Bajpe airport, about 20 km from here.

All six crew members of the flight also perished in the disaster. The eight survivors are being treated in various hospitals in the city.

Court rejects Madhuri Gupta's bail plea

A Delhi court on Friday rejected the bail plea of Madhuri Gupta, a junior Indian diplomat arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Gupta, who is in judicial custody, pleaded for bail on grounds that she is not required by the police for any investigation.

"She is in judicial custody even when the police does not require her for further investigation," said Joginder Dahiya, Gupta's counsel.

Her bail plea also stated that she is suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes and there is nobody from her family to pursue the case. "Her parents are no more and her brother is in the US and she is unable to defend herself properly," added Dahiya.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja rejected the bail plea on the grounds that the matter is still under investigation.

According to a Delhi Police official, they are awaiting the forensic report of Gupta's laptop and bail given to her at his stage may hinder the investigation.

Gupta, 53, a second secretary at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, is in judicial custody till May 29. She was arrested here April 27 on charges of passing on information to the Pakistani intelligence agency.

Navy war-room leak kingpin held in London

Naval war room leak case accused held in London

The alleged kingpin in the infamous Navy war-room leak case, former naval officer Ravi Shankaran, has finally been found in London after a hunt half-way across the globe since 2005.

"He has been arrested by the police in London and is at present out on bail. We have moved papers for his extradition,'' said CBI director Ashwani Kumar on Thursday.

Shankaran, 46, who exploited the fact that he was related to then Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash's wife to gain access to the corridors of power, was arrested in London last month after a tip-off from Interpol, which had issued a Red Corner Notice against him in 2006.

The case had created waves after it was discovered that classified data stored in computers in the war-room in South Block had been stolen to help certain arms dealers. It had eventually led to the sacking of three naval officers and an IAF officer.

Shankaran was declared a proclaimed offender in 2006, with the government revoking his passport and approaching a UK court for his arrest. However, he had managed to give a slip to London Police and was believed to have been roaming in France, Italy and Denmark since then.

Apart from Shankaran, the 250-page CBI chargesheet in the case names Lt Commander Kulbhushan Parashar, Commander Vijender Rana, Commander Vinod Kumar Jha and Wing Commander S L Surve, among others.

CBI later also arrested controversial businessman Abhishek Verma, son of a former Congress MP, as one of the main accused in the case for allegedly using defence personnel to procure sensitive information to further his commercial interests.

The CBI said as many as 7,000 pages of classified information from the Navy war-room and the IAF HQ air defence directorate were "compromised'' in the episode.

The persons named in the chargesheet, filed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Indian Penal Code's criminal conspiracy section, allegedly entered into the conspiracy to collect classified information, which "was calculated to be or might be or was intended to be useful to the enemy''.

It was "related to a matter, the disclosure of which, to an unauthorised person, is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of the state'', said CBI.

There were even reports that the case was linked to the alleged kickbacks paid in the Rs 18,798-crore French Scorpene submarine construction project currently underway in Mazagon Docks. But nothing much came out of it.

Defence Minister Antony wants high priority for coastal security

Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday asked the top brass of Navy and the Ministry to take immediate steps to ensure that proposals and assets approved by the government for Coastal Security are put in place at the earliest.

Addressing the Naval Commanders' Conference here today, Antony disclosed that the Government was equipping both Navy and Coast Guard for coastal surveillance and patrol both in terms of assets and manpower," said Antony addressing the Naval Commanders' Conference here today.

"Proposals towards this end have been approved. It is now the responsibility of all of you to ensure that these are put in place at the earliest and used effectively and efficiently for coastal security," he added.

The Defence Minister said the government was fully committed to the modernisation of the Navy and funds will not be allowed to become a constraint in this direction, adding that the onus of utilising allocated funds, optimally and judiciously, lies collectively on both the Navy and Defence Finance together.

"The Ministry is trying its best to suitably fine tune the procurement process from time to time to bring in more transparency, efficiency and accountability. Annual review of the Defence Procurement Procedure is one such step in the direction," said Antony.

Antony further said the maritime frontiers, waterways and offshore resources need to be firmly secure on a permanent basis, asserting that there is a need to create necessary infrastructure for the security of Andaman and Nicobar Islands as also Lakshadweep.

"Our island territories form natural bulwarks that extend our strategic arms to our East and West and also function as the last outposts for the defence of our mainland," said Antony.

"We need to create the necessary infrastructure in Andaman and Nicobar islands. Similarly, Lakshadweep islands, which straddle the oil artery of the world, require our undivided attention," he added.

Referring to the threat posed by piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia, the Defence Minister said it continued to be a major concern as piracy affected the security and economy of the entire region.

He said his discussion with the Sultan and other top functionaries of Oman during the just concluded two-day visit had given us 'new hints' which India must pursue, seriously. Turning to shipbuilding activities, Antony said the recent commissioning of the first indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik was a welcome development.

"There are 33 ships and submarines in various stages of construction at our shipyards," claimed Antony, thereby calling for adherence to timelines and quality standards to meet indigenisation requirements.

"Our efforts to modernise the Navy through indigenisation will proceed at the desired pace, only if the shipyards embrace modern ideas and technology. This will enable the shipyards to produce the best quality ships in a shorter time-frame and at competitive costs," said Antony.

"The Navy and the shipyards must interact closely with the other agencies to meet contractual timelines and adhere to the best quality standards," he added. (ANI)

Thailand: Red Shirts enjoying the fight

The difference between Bangkok's Red Shirt arsonists and army troops in fatigues was that the militants were enjoying the fight.

Acrid black smoke from burning tires masked a high velocity round as a Commander Toei decided to widen the field of battle.

A pick-up truck was loaded with tires and plastic bottles containing an orange mixture of oil and petrol.

Minutes later a part of Bangkok hitherto safe was enveloped in the same black smoke. Events moved quickly as two buses were hijacked and burned at the corners of the intersection.

A gathering crowd roared its approval as fighters threw more oil on the flames.

Cdr Toei's lieutenants considered the potency of their position. "We rule here now. The army is nowhere," said one of his men. "We cannot be denied democracy."

Even as Thailand's army concentrated its firepower on the centre of the capital on Wednesday, a grassroots insurgency had proliferated.

Cdr Toei used a pseudonym based on the Klong Toei slum, just south of central Bangkok, where the opposition Red Shirts had staged mass anti-government rallies in since March. The slum dwellers view battle as enlivening but the conscripts of the Thai army dread the confrontation with fellow Thai.

Army platoons walked in orderly file into the rubbish strewn rally site but not a shot was fired.

Only Kuesadee Narukan, an elderly nurse, stood holding a red flag in a deserted landscape.

Monks living on the railway line overhead were dragged away.

"Too late," a soldier had barked at a British man who remonstrated with the soldiers over the rough handling of one monk.

Colour matters in Thailand's political convulsions. Two years a prime minister was brought down by yellow shirted protestors occupying Bangkok's airport. This year the man installed by that outburst, Old Etonian Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been pushed to the brink by Red Shirts.

The soldiers tied lime green scarves over the Khaki combat uniform. In this kaleidoscope of colour it was anyone's guess where the allegiance of the people now rests.

Cpl Suthichai Wuthaisaeng, a footsoldier who had been pulled from a tour on the Malaysia border fighting Muslim separatists, was filled with trepidation.

The slightest movement on the sidelines prompted him to finger the trigger of his Austrian Steyr assault rifle. He froze completely when a soldier at the front poked at an abandoned bag.

"The Red Shirts will not give up easily. I know there are dangers even if our commanders say the camp has been abandoned," he said. "It is not easy to fight fellow Thais."

The words were prophetic. The vast Central World shopping centre that ran alongside the protest site was set on fire.

Thailand's symbolic commercial heart fell into ruins, like its politics.

Taliban attack key US base in Afghanistan

Insurgents launched a brazen pre-dawn assault Wednesday against the giant U.S.-run Bagram Air Field, killing an American contractor and wounding nine troops in the second Taliban strike at NATO forces in and around the capital in as many days.

Small groups of suicide bombers — some wearing uniforms that appeared to match those of U.S. or NATO forces — tried to storm the base's defenses, while others fired rockets, grenades and guns over the walls into the base, said Maj. Virginia McCabe, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces at Bagram.

No insurgents made it inside the base, but blasts and gunbattles raged for eight hours as U.S. soldiers hunted the attackers down in the surrounding fields north of Kabul, she said.

At least 10 of the insurgents died, according to McCabe. Five of them were killed by air strikes, said Lutf Rahman Reshad, an Afghan police official in Bagram district.

McCabe said that helicopters were out in a supporting role but she could not confirm if air strikes killed any of the insurgents or even if any of them fired.

U.S. forces said the base was undamaged except for "minor" damage to one building not considered strategically important. There were no details about the dead contractor.

The Bagram attack came a day after a suicide bomber struck a U.S. convoy in Kabul, killing 18 people. The dead included five American troops and a Canadian, making it the most lethal attack on NATO in the Afghan capital in eight months.

The back-to-back assaults underscore the militants' intent to strike at the heart of the U.S.-led mission. The attacks appear to be part of an offensive announced by the Taliban this month to target NATO forces, foreign diplomats, contractors and Afghan government officials.

For its part, NATO is currently preparing for a major operation to restore order in the turbulent south.

In the latest violence in the south, a NATO service member died in a bomb attack Wednesday, the military alliance said in a statement. It did not provide further details.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both the Kabul bombing and the attack at Bagram, 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kabul. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said 20 suicide attackers were involved in the Bagram attack.

McCabe said the number of attackers was unclear but that it was somewhere around 20 or 30.

An Afghan provincial police commander, Gen. Abdul Rahman Sayedkhail, said the attack began when U.S. guards spotted would-be attackers in a car just outside the base. The Americans opened fire, triggering a gunbattle in which at least one militant triggered his suicide vest. Running gunbattles broke out as U.S. troops hunted down the other attackers.

Four of the slain insurgents had intended to be suicide bombers, U.S. forces said in a statement.

Residents of the area discovered one of the would-be suicide bombers hiding in a garden, said Reshad, the Afghan police official. They called police, but the attacker lobbed grenades at the officers when they arrived. The police fired at the man, who then detonated his explosives vest. The insurgent was wearing what appeared to be an American military uniform, Reshad said.

The militants' use of uniforms recall an attack in Iraq three years ago. On Jan. 20, 2007 a group of Shiite insurgents wearing American uniforms and carrying American weapons slipped into an Iraqi police compound in Karbala, kidnapped four U.S. soldiers and then killed them about 25 miles away. A fifth American soldier was killed in a firefight at the compound.

Wednesday was not the first time militants have attacked Bagram. In February 2007, a suicide bombing killed more than 20 people at a Bagram security gate while then-Vice President Dick Cheney was inside the base. Cheney was unhurt but the Taliban said he was the target.

Bagram Air Field — the control hub for U.S. forces in Afghanistan — is a sprawling complex of more than 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) filled with offices, barracks, runways and weaponry in the shadow of the Hindu Kush mountains. The base operates almost like a small town, with paved roads, bus service and hospital facilities.

The U.S. established Bagram Air Field on the site of a former Soviet base, though it has greatly expanded from that installation. The hulls of old Soviet tanks can be seen in the fields surrounding the base, and much of that area is still mined from that era.

The base has exterior and interior security perimeters. McCabe said the insurgents did not penetrate the exterior perimeter.

Tuesday was the deadliest day of the year for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Seven Americans were killed, including the five in the Kabul bombing and two others who died in separate attacks in the south.

U.S., NATO and Afghan forces are gearing up for a major operation to secure Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and the former Taliban headquarters before they were ousted from power in 2001. American officials believe control of Kandahar is the key to stabilizing the Taliban' southern heartland.

NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan said recent Taliban attacks have not delayed the Kandahar operation or any of NATO's key goals over the next few months.

"The overall campaign is on track" Mark Sedwill told reporters. He stressed that the Kandahar operation will not be a quick-strike offensive like this past winter's push into the town of Marjah in neighboring Helmand province.

Since the Taliban is not in complete control of Kandahar city and its surrounding villages, the first stage of the mission is meetings with local leaders, he said. Then NATO forces expect to launch a series of operations over weeks or months to establish security.

"I believe that by the end of this year we will be able to demonstrate that we have the initiative and the momentum is with us," Sedwill said.

Fighting continues in Afghanistan

AP Smoke billows up from the site soon after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday May 18, 2010.

Twenty Taliban suicide bombers Wednesday launched an attack on the main military base of Bagram, 50 km north of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, a Taliban spokesman said. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the Taliban insurgent group, told Xinhua through telephone from an unidentified location that four of the attackers have exploded themselves close to the military base.

Local media reported that the clash between the militants and the NATO—led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) started at around 05:00 p.m. local time and was going on at the moment, leaving seven militants killed.

Bagram military base was operated by a United States Army combat group under the framework of the ISAF.

The detention centre inside the military base holds some 800 Taliban and al-Qaida terror suspects.

2010 Miss USA Beauty Pageant

MISS USA
Miss Michigan Rima Fakih reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The World's Top Earning Models

ADRIANA LIMA: EARNED $ 7.5 million

Adriana Lima, Brazilian model, 28, came in fourth with a $ 7.5 million salary. The list represents earnings made from June 2009 to July 2010.

Suicide Bomber Attacks U.S. Convoy in Kabul

A man driving a Toyota minivan laden with explosives steered into an American convoy on Tuesday morning and set off his payload, killing at least 10 people, including five Americans, and wounding 47 more, nearly all of them civilians caught in rush-hour traffic in the Afghan capital.

U.S. soldiers carried a body at the site of a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul on Tuesday.

The blast scattered body parts for 200 feet, as the injured, many of them women and children, some without limbs, lay in the road moaning for help.

In a passenger bus, an Afghan woman lay dead in her seat, cut in half, with her squirming baby still in her arms. Fifty yards away, a man’s head lay on the hood of a truck.

“I just dove on the ground to try to save myself,” said Mafouz Mahmoodi, an Afghan police officer. “And then I got up, and I saw the terrible scene.”

The Taliban took responsibility for the attack in a posting on its Web site, saying the group had dispatched a young man named Nizamuddin, a resident of Kabul. The Taliban said that Nizamuddin carried 1,500 pounds of explosives in his van.

It seemed likely that the bomber had cruised the city for some time looking for a target.

It was the worst such attack in Kabul in many weeks. The insurgency is a largely rural phenomenon in a largely rural country, and on most days the capital is quiet. Tuesday morning, it was not.

The attack came shortly before President Hamid Karzai prepared to speak to the press. Mr. Karzai had just returned from meeting with President Obama in Washington. The Karzai government is preparing, with the Americans and their NATO allies, to launch a major offensive around the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban’s spiritual home.

A fireball went up after the attack as cars and trucks burned. Body parts and pieces of metal were scattered along the road, and the driver of a minibus was seen slumped dead at the wheel of his vehicle.

Two United States military helicopters arrived quickly at the scene and took away the American casualties. A large unit of American troops also arrived and sealed off the site.

“I got to the scene right afterward, and people were calling, ‘Help me, help me,’” said an ambulance driver, Yusef Tahiri, who evacuated six dead and two wounded. “There were body parts everywhere.”‘

He said an Afghan soldier approached him with a large red trash bag and said, “This is a bag of brains. What do you want me to do with this? Do you want me to bury it or do you want to take it?”

Abdul Hafiz, a guard at a nearby veterinary hospital, saw the explosion and ran into the street. “It was very dangerous,” he said. “It was very horrible.”

HC asks CBI to probe Rizwanur's death again

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a fresh probe into the death of Muslim youth Rizwanur Rahman, whose mysterious death after his marriage with the daughter of a rich Hindu businessman in 2007 had sparked widespread outrage.

The court, acting on a complaint filed by Rizwanur's brother Rukbanur Rahman, asked the CBI to conduct a fresh probe by starting a murder case.

A division bench of judges Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Prosensjit Mondal in their judgment directed the CBI to give a report to the court within four months.

The division bench directed the CBI to take the complaint filed by Rukbanur Rahman as an FIR and start a case under section 302 (murder).

Rizwanur, a computer graphics teacher, had married Priyanka - the daughter of businessmen Ashok Todi. He was found dead September 21, 2007, along the railway tracks at Patipukur near the city's northern suburb of Dum Dum.

The death sparked outrage following allegations that Ashok Todi had influenced several police officers to bring pressure on Rizwanur, 20, to opt out of the marriage.

Several police officers, including the then city police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee, were later removed from their posts for their alleged role in Rizwanur's death.

Todi, two of his relatives and four senior city police officers were among those later charge-sheeted for allegedly abetting Rizwanur's suicide.

Dantewada bus blast toll 31, PM to review Naxal strategy

A day after Naxals blew up a bus with security personnel and civilians on board near Dantewada in Chhattisgarh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called a top-level meeting to review the government's Naxal strategy.

The bodies of 31 people have been received in Sukma near Dantewada. The Maoists did not discriminate between the security forces and children. Sixteen special police officers (SPOs) and 15 civilians, including women and children were killed in the attack. Reports say 15 people have been rescued and rescue operations are on. Reports on the toll in the bus blast have been fluctuating since the incident last evening, as information is difficult to come by and ascertain in the dense forests of the Naxal-infested area where the bus was blown up.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh will leave for Delhi soon to meet the Prime Minister, who called the review meeting a day after Home Minister P Chidambaram told NDTV that the government would have to revisit tactical operations against the Maoists in view of their changing tactics. (Watch: Security will be strengthened: Raman Singh) | (Watch: Exclusive interview with P Chidambaram)

As the debate on how to tackle the growing Naxal menace continues, the Army is expected to suggest at an ongoing conference that Naxal-affected states have a Brigadier as advisor. (Read: Army to discuss growing Maoist threat)

In Chhattisgarh, last rites for those killed in the bus blast will be performed at Sukma. The Chief Minister and state home minister Nankiram Kawar are expected to attend. (Watch: Civilian buses not meant for cops, says Kawar)

On Monday evening, the civilian bus carrying passengers from Sukma to Dantewada was blown up by the Naxals, who used a powerful improvised explosive device (IED). There were 50 people, including SPOs, on the bus, reports said. (Read: War zone Dantewada)

The massive explosion left a 10-feet deep crater.

Sources said the SPOs on the bus were part of an operation launched three days ago. Two Maoists had been killed in the operation, but the local commander, Ganesh, had escaped.

After finishing the operation, most of those involved were walking back, but 15 of them boarded the bus near Gadiras. Maoists reportedly observed them at the bus stand and passed on the information. Sources said this pointed to the swift and effective intelligence and communication network of the Naxals. (Read: Multi pronged approach needed against Naxals, says Digvijay)

SPOs are mostly local people recruited to fight the Maoists and have emerged as the biggest threat to them.

This is the first such attack on a civilian passenger bus. But only six weeks ago, Dantewada had witnessed the worst-ever massacre of 75 CRPF jawans and one policeman in a Naxal ambush. (Read: 76 jawans killed in Naxal attack)