Odisha minister operated upon, out of danger

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Toursim and Culture Minister Maheswar Mohanty was on Saturday operated upon and the bullet lodged in his ribs removed after he was shot at by assailants in his Puri constituency.

The condition of the 59-year-old minister is stable and “he is out of danger”, hospital sources said.

The minister was in the intensive care unit of the private hospital after the surgery by a team of four doctors.
Mohanty on Friday night sustained bullet injuries on his left arm and back when the attackers, who were apparently following him on a two-wheeler, opened fire at him in a narrow lane near his house in Puri, police said.

He was rushed to a hospital in Puri and subsequently shifted to Bhubaneswar.

Superintendent of Police, Puri, said investigation was in progress and some people were being interrogated.

A host of leaders including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited the hospital and wished him speedy recovery.

Patnaik has asked the police to take steps to apprehend the attackers at the earliest.

US, China armies to start institutional dialogue: US officer

Beijing: Notwithstanding the current row over the meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, the US and China are working to establish institutional dialogue between their two armies.

"It is a very important first step," General Ray Odierno, US Army Chief of Staff told reporters here noting that the dialogue is the first time at institutional level and is "more long-term and more long-standing."

The first meeting of the dialogue is expected to be held this year, he said. He said that the dialogue would include humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, peacekeeping and various military exchanges.

Odierno is on his first visit to China as US army chief. His trip is focused on improving the military-to-military relationship between China and the United States.

He said he believes that the two militaries have a lot in common and that it is important to emphasise engagement, dialogue, understanding and trust.

As significant Pacific nations, it is important that the US and China have "a common understanding and work together to continue to develop the objectives that we both have, which is a secure and stable environment that allows both our economies to grow," he said.

On the subject of the US military position on disputes between China and Japan in the East China Sea, Odierno said the US side reinforces the importance of dialogue and discussion between the two Asian neighbours and expects great care to ensure there are no miscalculations along the way.

During his two days in Beijing, Odierno had meetings with Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong and senior officials on the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Odierno will continue his trip in China with a visit to Shenyang.

China vociferously objected to yesterday's meeting between Obama and Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, stating that it constituted interference in its internal affairs and warned Washington that it would have an adverse effect on bilateral ties.

Thailand revokes Indian businessman's residency status

Bangkok: Thai authorities have revoked the permanent residency status of long-time Bangkok-based Indian businessman Satish Sehgal, paving the way for his deportation for allegedly defying an emergency decree and leading anti-government protests.

The decision was made at a second round of meetings of the Interior Ministry's immigration committee yesterday, newspapers quoted sources as saying on Saturday.

A secret ballot was held on the issue of revoking Seghal's permanent residency status and five members of the committee voted for it while two others opposed it and two more abstained, the media reports said.

The committee had earlier decided on February 11 that there was not enough evidence to deport 70-year-old Sehgal, who has lived in Thailand for 65 years but still holds an Indian passport.

The committee's decision has been submitted to Chalerm Yubamrung, director of the Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order (CMPO) that is overseeing the government's response to the protests.

If the deportation is approved by CMPO, Sehgal can approach the court to oppose the move.

However, Seghal said he had not received anything in writing yet or been informed of any allegation of wrongdoing.

"I am innocent, I did not do anything wrong. I have not been investigated by police or any officials," said Sehgal, who has a publishing business.

He said he only knew what the media had reported, adding the matter was now being handled by his lawyers.

The move for Seghal's deportation came after he took part in anti-government protests after the emergency was imposed last month in Bangkok and surrounding areas.

Sehgal has been accused of harming national security by leading protesters to besiege government offices, including the Department of Civil Aviation.

The businessman earlier served as an advisor to several ministers, including those in the administration run by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Indian-origin surgeon probed for deaths under his care in UK

London: An Indian-origin consultant surgeon in the UK is being investigated for the deaths of at least three patients under his care.

Sudip Sarker, a consultant surgeon at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, is under the lens after West Mercia Police received a letter in December last year raising concerns about him.

The police said the deaths of three patients, whose joint inquest was adjourned last year, formed part of the inquiry, the BBC reported.

Sarker, 44, worked at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch in northeast Worcestershire from August 2011 but was suspended in October 2012.

"We were made aware that there were a number of concerns in relation to the deaths of patients in 2012 who had been under Sarker's care," said superintendent Kevin Purcell of West Mercia Police.

"We are in the early stages of obtaining the relevant information from hospitals and other health organisations in order to conduct our investigation."

At the time of Sarker's suspension "a number of concerns" had been raised about him, the trust said.

"This is a complex matter which will undoubtedly take a considerable amount of time to investigate thoroughly," Purcell added.

The General Medical Council said it had obtained an interim order restricting where Sarker could practise, but did not stop him working altogether.

A spokesman said they could not confirm where, or if, he is currently employed.

Obama-Dalai meeting an embarrassment for China: Chinese media

Beijing: As China made strong diplomatic protest over US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Chinese media on Saturday said the event turned out to be an embarrassment for Beijing with its warning making little difference.

While Obama played "dumb" at his meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House yesterday, so far "China has found no effective way to counter such acts, said state-run Global Times which is also an official publication of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

"With China growing stronger, old practices such as US presidents meeting the Dalai Lama or selling arms to Taiwan are having less impact. But still, Friday's meeting embarrassed China. Beijing had to protest, but the protest did not make much difference," it said.

As Obama went ahead with his third meeting with the Dalai Lama, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui summoned US envoy here to lodge strong protest over it.

Observers say the US move could cast a shadow on Obama's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping at the next month's nuclear security summit in the Netherlands.

According to Zhang, such a wrong move gravely interfered in China's internal affairs, seriously violated the US commitment of not supporting the "Tibet independence", gravely violated basic norms governing the international relations, and seriously undermined the China-US relations.

"Such a move will gravely sabotage China-US cooperation and relations, and will definitely undermine its own interests," he warned.

In its editorial, Global Times said that for the US, the Dalai Lama is an easy card to play - not as powerful as before - still, it is a card to deal with China.

"The instant effect of the meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama is nothing but some loss of face for China. It only serves as a reminder for the Chinese people to get a better understanding of what the US is," it said.

"The Dalai clique has been on the decline and is seeing an increasingly unclear future," it said.

"They are grasping at the West for support. The clique has been living in an out-of-date self-deceiving fantasy. Western leaders have met with the Dalai Lama one after another, but the influence of the Dalai clique continues to dwindle. Except some funding, Western countries have nothing to give them," it said.

The state-run China Daily said, America's "idea of using the Dalai Lama to assume a moral high ground is fundamentally flawed. The Dalai Lama is essentially a political fugitive whose supporters instigate separatist activities, fuelling them by committing self-immolation".

Indian-origin man arrested for killing compatriot in Saudi Arabia

Dubai: An Indian national has been arrested in Saudi Arabia for allegedly beating a compatriot to death and setting his body ablaze, according to a media report on Saturday.

Police in Jeddah said they arrested the man, who was not identified, after he confessed to the crime.
They said the suspect and the victim worked in different jobs. The suspect lured the victim to his residential building in Kandra district and then killed him.
Police officers and forensic experts found a charred body on the terrace of the building, Arab News reported.
Jeddah police spokesman Nawaf Al-Bouq said an argument over an old dispute had erupted between the two men earlier in the day.
According to the man's confession, he beat the victim to death with an iron rod by hitting him repeatedly on the head. After his death, the suspect took the body to the building's terrace and set it on fire.
Abdul Aziz Alsoli, chief constable of Makkah region, directed a team of officers with experience in complex murder cases to conduct an investigation due to difficulties in identifying the body and lack of information about the case.
Police determined the identity of the victim and arrested the alleged murderer within 24 hours of the crime. Initial investigations have been completed and the case referred to the Department of Investigation and Prosecution.

Ukraine's Yanukovych says he does not plan to resign

Kiev: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych denied on Saturday that he planned to resign in response to violence that left nearly 100 people dead in anti-government unrest.

"I am not leaving the country for anywhere. I do not intend to resign. I am the legitimately elected president," Yanukovych told a local television station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

The embattled leader said he felt that his own security and the safety "of people close to me" was being threatened by protesters who had taken control of large parts of central Kiev.

He added that he had been given "security guarantees" by international mediators who helped him and the opposition sign a political pact on Friday aimed at ending the country's three-month crisis.

"My car was shot at. But I have no fear," Yanukovych said.

He added that "everything happening on Saturday can primarily be described as vandalism, banditry and a coup d'etat. That is my assessment."

"This is not an opposition," Yanukovych added. "These are bandits."

Croatia Church finds priest guilty of sexually abusing minors

Zagreb: The Croatian Catholic Church has found one of its priests guilty of sexually abusing minors, the first such ruling in the staunchly Catholic nation.

The head of Croatia's Bishops Conference, Archbishop Zelimir Puljic, told Croatian state TV late yesterday that the Rev Nedeljko Ivanov was ordered to apologise to the victims and must donate part of his pension to charity. He is allowed to celebrate Mass only inside his retirement home, but cannot perform any other priestly duty.

The case emerged two years ago when Ivanov was accused by people who as children had been in the priest's congregation in Bibinje, near Croatia's Adriatic coast.

Ivanov cannot be tried by Croatia's judiciary because the alleged abuse occurred in 1980s and 1990s.

The priest had no comment on the ruling.

UNSC unanimously adopts Syria aid resolution

United Nations: The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously adopted a non-binding draft resolution to allow unhindered humanitarian aid access across war-torn Syria, even as UN chief Ban Ki-moon said it should not have been necessary since assistance is "not something to be negotiated".

The 15-nation UNSC met to vote on the resolution, co-authored by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg amid uncertainty that Russia and China could veto the draft.

Russia and China support the Syrian government and have vetoed three previous resolutions backed by Western nations that would have pressed Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the three-year conflict.

The resolution demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, "promptly allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most direct routes".

After the 15 nations voted in favour of the draft, Ban told the UNSC that he welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which if implemented quickly could ease "some of the suffering" and "prolonged desperation" of the Syrian people.

"This resolution should not have been necessary. Humanitarian assistance is not something to be negotiated; it is something to be allowed by virtue of international law," he said.

The humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate with half the country's people needing urgent assistance, he said.

"Despite the dangerous circumstances, UN humanitarian agencies and our partners are reaching millions of people. But too many millions are beyond our reach. And funding continues to fall short; I urge the international community to step up its contributions," Ban said.

The UN chief said it is "profoundly shocking" that the government and opposition in Syria are "besieging civilians as a tactic of war."

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power tweeted after the resolution was passed that the UNSC "finally spoke" after three years of conflict killed over 130,000 people and left nearly 6.8 million people in need of aid.

"...After barrel bombs, torture, starvation & arbitrary detentions, UNSC finally spoke," Power tweeted. She said while adoption of the this resolution is the "easy part", nations must "now must remain focused on implementation". "No more broken promises, delays or false concessions," she said.

Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos said the resolution would facilitate the delivery of aid to people in desperate need in Syria.

The resolution strongly condemns the arbitrary detention and torture of civilians, particularly in prisons and detention facilities, as well as kidnappings, abductions and forced disappearances.

It demands the immediate end of these practices and the release of all arbitrarily detained persons especially women, children, elderly people and including UN personnel and journalists.

The resolution also demands all parties in Syria immediately put an end to all forms of violence, and desist from violations of international humanitarian law, stressing that some of these violations "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The UN chief would report to the Security Council on the implementation of the resolution by all parties in Syria within 30 days of its adoption. It calls for "further steps" to be taken in case of non-compliance of the resolution.

Embattled Ukraine leader slams 'coup', defies calls to resign

Kiev: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Saturday refused to step down and denounced a "coup" by protesters as the emboldened opposition took control of parliament and parts of Kiev in another dramatic turn in the three-month crisis.

Yanukovych's regime appeared close to collapse as protesters took control of his offices and lawmakers voted to immediately free jailed pro-Western opposition icon Yulia Tymoshenko.

But Yanukovych defiantly told a local television station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv -- a pro-Russian bedrock of support -- that he would fight tooth and nail against the "bandits" trying to oust him.

"I am not leaving the country for anywhere. I do not intend to resign. I am the legitimately elected president," the 63-year-old leader said in a firm voice.

Yanukovych said with a hint of outrage that "everything happening today can primarily be described as vandalism, banditry and a coup d'etat."

"This is not an opposition," Yanukovych scoffed. "These are bandits." Yet a sense of an emerging power vacuum gripped the charred heart of the capital a day after Yanukovych and his political rivals signed a Western-brokered peace deal to end the ex-Soviet nation's worst crisis since independence from Moscow in 1991.

Key government buildings were left without police protection and baton-armed protesters dressed in military fatigues wandered freely across the president's once-fortified compound.

"We have taken the perimeter of the president's residence under our control for security reasons," Mykola Velichkovich of the opposition's self-declared Independence Square defence unit told AFP.

Thousands of mourners meanwhile brought carnations and roses to dozens of spots across Kiev's iconic Independence Square on which protesters were shot dead by police in a week of carnage that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Yanukovich abandons Kiev compound, opposition demands vote by May

Kiev: Protesters seized the Kiev office of President Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday and the opposition demanded a new election be held by May, as the pro-Russian leader's grip on power rapidly eroded following bloodshed in the capital.

Protesters entered the President's compound in the capital and were controlling the entrance, a Reuters reporter said at the scene. Security guards were present inside the building but were not tryng to expel the protesters.

Yanukovich's residence outside the capital was also abandoned, and journalists were freely able to enter, local media reported.

A security source said the president was still in Ukraine but was unable to confirm whether he was in Kiev.

Yanukovich, who enraged much of the population by turning away from the European Union to build closer ties with Russia three months ago, made sweeping concessions in a deal brokered by European diplomats on Friday after days of violence that killed 77 people.

But the deal, which called for early elections by the end of the year, was not enough to satisfy demonstrators who want him out immediately after bloodshed that saw his police snipers shooting from rooftops.
The Speaker of Parliament, a Yanukovich loyalist, resigned. Parliament has quickly acted to implement the deal, voting to restore a constitution curbing the president's powers and change the legal code possibly allowing his arch-foe, jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, to go free.

Events were moving at a rapid pace that could see a decisive shift in the future of a country of 46 million people, away from Moscow's orbit and closer to the West, although Ukraine is near bankruptcy and depends on Russian aid to pay its debt.

"Today he (Yanukovich) left the capital," opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, a retired world heavyweight boxing champion, told an emergency session of parliament debating an opposition motion calling on the president to resign.

"Millions of Ukrainians see only one choice - early presidential and parliamentary elections." Klitschko then tweeted that an election should be held no later than May 25.

The senior security source said of Yanukovich: "Everything's ok with him ... He is in Ukraine." Asked whether the leader was in the capital, the source replied: "I cannot say."

The UNIAN news agency cited Anna Herman, a lawmaker close to Yanukovich, as saying the president was in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

At the President's office in the capital, Ostap Kryvdyk, who described himself as a protest commander, said some protesters had entered the offices but there was no looting.

"We will guard the building until the next president comes," he told Reuters. "Yanukovich will never be back."