Kabul fighting ends, 36 militants killed, Haqqani network behind attack: Afghanistan govt official

                                                                
KABUL: A militant arrested in the attacks on the Afghan capital and three other cities has confessed that the 18-hour assault was carried out by the Haqqani network, a lethal group of fighters with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida, a top Afghan security official said on Monday.

Thirty-six insurgents were killed during the brazen, 18-hour attacks that also claimed the lives of eight policemen and three civilians and proved that militants can still penetrate Afghan security after 10 years of war, said interior minister Besmillah Mohammadi.

It was the most widespread attack in the Afghan capital since an assault on the US Embassy and NATO headquarters last September - an assault also blamed on the Haqqani network, which is based in Pakistan and commands the loyalties of an estimated 10,000 fighters.

The violence showed the Taliban and their allies are far from beaten and underscored the security challenge facing government forces as US and NATO forces draw down. The majority of international combat troops are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014.

On Monday, Kabul residents awoke to a second day of loud explosions and the crackle of gunfire but the attacks on the Afghan capital ended when insurgents who had holed up overnight in two buildings were overcome by heavy gunfire from Afghan-led forces and pre-dawn air assaults from US-led coalition helicopters.

As darkness turned to dawn, rocket-propelled grenades were fired one after another into a building in the center of the city where insurgents began their attack Sunday. The building, which is under construction, overlooks the presidential palace, western embassies and government ministries. The US, German and British embassies and some coalition and Afghan government buildings took direct and indirect fire, according to Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the US-led coalition.

Shortly before 3am, coalition helicopters began flying over the structure. At 4:23am, a religious cleric began calling Muslim worshippers to prayer over a loudspeaker in the area. During the next 15 minutes, troops launched five rocket-propelled grenades into the building. More followed.

The loud booms from the blasts momentarily silenced chirping birds. Red and white flashes could be seen inside the various floors of the multistory building. By about 6:30am, the blasts and shooting had stopped.

Fighting there and at another building under construction near the Afghan parliament building on the southwest side of the city ended just before 8am.

"The terrorists tried to harm the process of transferring security to the Afghan forces, but they are not able to do it," Mohammadi told reporters in Kabul. "They want to create fear among the people."

Apart from Kabul, the eastern capitals of Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces also came under attack Sunday as suicide bombers tried to storm a NATO base, an airport and police installations there.

"One terrorist who was arrested in Nangarhar province confessed, saying `It was the Haqqani network that launched these attacks,"' Mohammadi said.

CMs meet: Terror groups more lethal than ever, says PM

                                                                     
Reaching out to states complaining over NCTC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today favoured joint and coordinated efforts to deal with challenges of terrorism whatever its origin, whether internal or external.
"There is no question that the burden of the fight against terrorism falls largely on the states' machinery. The Centre is ready to work with the states to put in place strong and effective institutional mechanisms to tackle this problem," he said.
The Prime Minister, who inaugurated the annual conference of chief ministers on internal security, did not dwell on the proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre, saying it will be discussed on May 5 in a separate meeting as suggested by some chief ministers.
Non-Congress Chief Ministers as also UPA ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee have raised objections to the provisions in the NCTC, contending that it will upset the federal structure and encroach on the powers of the states.
The Prime Minister warned that threats from terrorism, left wing extremism, religious fundamentalism and ethnic violence persist in the country.
"These challenges demand constant vigilance on our part. They need to be tackled firmly but with sensitivity. The forces behind them must not only be contained but should also be effectively rolled back," he said.
"Like other internal security matters, we need joint and coordinated efforts to deal with the challenge of terrorism, whatever be its origin, whether internal or external, and whatever its motivation," Singh said.
Seeking a "holistic" approach in tackling the problem, he said, "This is a struggle in which we cannot relax. When we see turbulence in the region and growing factors of instability around us, we must strengthen our defences against terrorism."
from the Indian express

Paid news' in media threatens democracy: Soni

                                                                       
Paid news' syndrome is a menace capable of eating into the vitals of a free and fair media and rooting it out is essential for the health of democracy, Union Minister Ambika Soni has said.
Inaugurating the 125th year celebrations of Malayalam daily 'Deepika' here last evening, the Information and Broadcasting minister noted that the Press Council of India and Election Commission are seized of the matter and are making serious efforts to tackle this problem.
Opining that paid news has assumed both corporate and political dimensions, she said there have been complaints against big business players of either paying journalists directly or managements of media organisations to get favourable coverage, often concealing facts.
Similarly, poll candidates try to get image boosting write-ups by bribing journalists or publishing houses. "If this trend is not nipped in the bud, it will seriously harm democracy and society as a whole," she said.
Soni said regional newspapers like Deepika had an important role to play in strengthening national unity, creating political consciousness, promoting literacy and secularism.
She said it was essential to improve the quality of journalism in the country and it was with this intention that the UPA government decided to open four centres of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) in different regions in the country, including Kottayam in Kerala.
from .indianexpress

India all set to test Agni V missile on Wednesday

                                                                                 
Balasore: Range preparation for the maiden test of India’s indigenously developed nuclear capable ‘Agni-V’ ballistic missile with a strike range of over 5,000 km is “near complete” and the trial is likely to be held from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast this Wednesday.
“If everything goes as per schedule, the trial is likely to be taken up on Wednesday from the launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR),” a senior ITR scientist said.
The three stage solid fueled missile would be put into test for the first time with some advance and indigenous technology with the support of a canisterised mobile launcher, said the scientist, adding that “networking and health
parameters of both main and sub-systems have been validated during pre-test check-up”.
“For tracking and monitoring the pre-determined trajectory of the missile, sophisticated radars as well as telemetry stations positioned in different locations have been linked up,” the scientist said.
As it is a development trial, due attention has been given to the health parameters of this long range missile and some critical technologies have been incorporated, another scientist said, adding that there are two new composite motors to propel the missile to distances bordering ICBM capabilities.
All data about performance are to be thoroughly analysed and assessment has to be made for its next trial accordingly, he said. If the trial is successful, it will club India into a select band of countries in the world to possess the technology for Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM).
The surface-to-surface missile Agni-V which can carry a pay-load of 1 tonne is 17 m long, 2 m wide and weighs 50 tonnes. Scientists associated with Agni-V project are quite optimistic about its performances, as the first trial of Agni-IV on November 15 last year was highly satisfactory in terms of its ‘control and guidance’ system.
from first post india

Reds extend deadline on MLA's release

                                                                         
KORAPUT: Chances of abducted Laxmipur MLA Jhina Hikaka moving out of Maoist clutches showed signs of improvement on Sunday as his kidnappers made a climbdown, dropping top guerilla Chenda Bhusanam alias Ghasi from their list of prisoners who they want freed in exchange.
In the Maoist's latest letter released to the media, a representative of the rebels' Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (AOBSZC) said Hikaka's wife Kaushalya, rebels' lawyer Nihar Patnaik and 29 prisoners they want released must reach Balipeta in Koraput's Narayanpatna block by 5 pm on April 18 so that the 37-year-old legislator could be released.
AOBSZC leader Jagabandhu, in the letter, said Ghasi's name has been removed from the list of the 30 prisoners whose release they had earlier sought. The letter, written in Telugu, also warned against any police or intelligence officer reaching Balipeta for the proposed release. Earlier, the abductors had set April 10 deadline for Kaushalya and some others to reach Balipeta along with 30 jailed people to take back Hikaka, who was kidnapped on March 23 night. The Odisha Police Association had warned the government against letting off Ghasi, booked in over 40 cases in Andhra and Odisha and accused of killing at least 55 cops. Ghasi, who carries Rs 10 lakh as reward money in Andhra, was arrested in April, 2011, from Koraput.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said he was aware of the Maoists' new offer. "I will be in touch from Delhi about matters relating to the release of our young tribal MLA. I appeal to the Maoists to release our MLA immediately and unhurt," he said before embarking on a trip to the national capital to attend a meeting on internal security. Naveen on Friday visited Hikaka's family in Laxmipur.
Reacting to the guerrillas' demand that 29 prisoners reach Balipeta on April 18, home secretary U N Behera said of the 29 incarcerated people the government had since April 5 agreed to facilitate release of 25 (17 CMAS activists including Suka Nachika and Chakra Tadingi who were offered in exchange for Italian Bosusco Paolo besides eight Maoists). "It is necessary that bail petitions of those people be filed immediately so that their release can be facilitated," he said, hoping some bail pleas would be moved by Tuesday.
from times of india