US missile shield to encircle Chinese economic tiger

Sri Lanka Debrief News-23.07.2012

நிமலரூபனின் இறுதிச் சடங்கில் பொதுமக்கள் பங்குகொள்ளத் தடை! வீட்டிலும்,சுற்றத்திலும் இராணுவக்காவல்!!

வவுனியாவில் பலத்த பாதுகாப்புக்கு மத்தியில் நிமலரூபனின் திருவுடலுக்கு பா.உறுப்பினர் சி.சிறீதரன் அஞ்சலி

[ செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை, 24 யூலை 2012, 07:18.19 AM GMT ]

வவுனியா சிறைச்சாலையில் இடம்பெற்ற அசம்பாவிதத்தின் பின், கடந்த 4ஆம் திகதி மகர சிறைச்சாலையில் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்ட நிமலரூபனின் திருவுடலுக்கு த.தே.கூட்டமைப்பின் பா.உறுப்பினர் சி.சிறீதரன் மலர் மாலை அணிவித்து அஞ்சலி செலுத்தினார்.

நேற்றிரவு வவுனியா நெளுக்குளத்திலுள்ள அவரது இல்லத்திற்கு திருவுடல் கொண்டு வரப்பட்டது. இன்றைய தினம் மாலை 4 மணி அளவில் நெளுக்குளம் இந்து மயானத்தில் நிமலரூபனின் திருவுடல் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட இருக்கின்றது.

இந்த வணக்க நிகழ்வில் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினருடன் வவுனியா நகர சபை உப தலைவர் எம். எம். ரதன், வலி. வடக்கு உப தவிசாளர் சஜீவன், பாண்டியன்குளம் உப தவிசாளர் எஸ்.செந்தூரன் கிளிநொச்சி, மாவட்ட கட்சி அமைப்பாளர் வேழமாலிகிதன், நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரின் செயலாளர் பொன்.காந்தன் ஆகியோரும் வணக்கம் செலுத்தினர்.

நிமலரூபனின் இல்லத்தைச் சுற்றி பொலிஸார், படையினர் மற்றும் இராணுவ புலனாய்வு பிரிவினர் குவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், நிமலரூபனின் உடலுக்கு சுதந்திரமாக மக்கள் வணக்கம் செலுத்த முடியாத சூழலில் இறுதிச் சடங்கு  இடம்பெறுகின்றது என்பது இங்கு குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

தமிழக மீனவரைப் படுகொலை செய்த ஒபாமாப் படை.

"We know warning signs and sounds and there were none; it was very sudden. My friend was killed, he's gone. I don't understand what happened."- Muthu Muniraj

Indian foreign ministry said it had no position on the issue of whether the fisherman were warned before the shooting.

Muthu Muniraj speaks on the phone to his family in India as his friends visit him at a hospital in Dubai, July 17, 2012. Indian fishermen who survived a hail of gunfire from a U.S. navy boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates disputed U.S. claims that their boat drew fire after ignoring warnings to steer clear of the American vessel. One Indian national was killed and three others injured on Monday when the USNS Rappahannock, a refuelling ship, fired on the fishing vessel, which the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet approached at high speed and ignored repeated warnings.

Credit: Reuters/Jumana ElHeloueh

Indian fishermen say U.S. boat fired without warning
By Amena Bakr
DUBAI | Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:15pm BST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Indian fishermen who survived a hail of gunfire from a U.S. navy boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates disputed U.S. claims that their boat drew fire after ignoring warnings to steer clear of the American vessel.

One Indian was killed and three others injured on Monday when the USNS Rappahannock, a refuelling ship, fired on the fishing vessel, which the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said approached at high speed and ignored repeated warnings.

The incident highlighted the potential for a rapid escalation of tensions in Gulf waters, where U.S. forces are expanding their presence as Washington ramps up pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The fishermen, hospitalised with gunshot wounds after the incident near Dubai's Jebel Ali port, said on Tuesday that they received no warning before the U.S. craft opened fire, and that their craft had attempted to avoid any contact with it.

"We had no warning at all from the ship, we were speeding up to try and go around them and then suddenly we got fired at," 28-year-old Muthu Muniraj told Reuters from hospital, his legs punctured by the rounds of the U.S. craft's .50-caliber gun.

"We know warning signs and sounds and there were none; it was very sudden. My friend was killed, he's gone. I don't understand what happened."

A Fifth Fleet spokesman, Lt. Greg Raelson, asked whether the identification of the craft as a fishing boat made the threat cited by the Navy less likely, said an internal inquiry into the incident had not finished.

"Non-lethal measures were taken while attempting to signal the vessel," he said, adding that the fishing craft did not respond. "That was when the security team fired rounds from the .50-caliber ... Our ships have an inherent right to self-defence against lethal threats."

The United States has been particularly wary of attacks on its ships since two al Qaeda suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the USS Cole in 2000, blowing a massive hole in its side and killing 17 U.S. sailors.

In Monday's incident, other members of the boat's crew, which consisted of six Indians and two Emiratis, said their boat had come under fire as it returned from trawling in waters off Jebel Ali.
"We were fishing and then on the way back they started shooting at us, so many shots, like a storm," said 35-year-old Muthu Kannan, who had a gunshot wound to the abdomen and a lower leg wired into place with metal rods.

"This is not the first time for us to go out in the boat and we all know what a warning is," said 26-year-old Pandu Sanadhan. "All I can remember is a lot of shooting."

ASSURANCES

An Indian government spokesman said he had assurances that Washington would provide a full account of the incident, and the Indian foreign ministry said it had no position on the issue of whether the fisherman were warned before the shooting.

But in the UAE, Indian ambassador M.K Lokesh told Reuters after meeting with the fishermen: "Obviously if they were warned they would not go close to such a big vessel. Even if shots were fired in the air, these fishermen would have moved away."

Asked if the Indian government would press for legal charges to be lodged against the U.S. sailors involved, he said: "We have to wait for the inquiry to be completed by the Dubai police before we move any further. But we are pushing for quick completion for the investigations."

Some Indian media appeared to blame the United States for the incident; one television channel ran headlines reading "Murder on the High Seas" and "No Regret, No Apology from America". In a statement, the U.S. embassy in New Delhi expressed its condolences to the families of the boat's crew.

Iran said the incident threatened to further destabilise a region already shaken by the international dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Washington and its allies believe is geared to make bombs.

Tehran denies it is seeking nuclear weapons and has repeatedly threatened to close the Gulf's outlet, the Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world's sea-borne oil exports are carried, if threatened over its nuclear plans.

"We have announced time and again that the presence of foreign forces can be a threat to regional security," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said during a news conference broadcast on state television.

The U.S. Navy said in February that Iran had built up its naval forces in the Gulf and prepared boats that could be used in suicide attacks.

"They have increased the number of submarines ... they increased the number of fast attack craft," said Vice Admiral Mark Fox, commander of U.S. naval forces in the region.

"Some of the small boats have been outfitted with a large warhead that could be used as a suicide explosive device. The Iranians have a large mine inventory."

(Additional reporting by Praveen Menon and Marcus George in Dubai and Ross Colvin in New Delhi; Writing by Joseph Logan; Editing by Myra MacDonald and Peter Graff)

Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners

அமெரிக்க, ஆங்கிலேய தலைமையில், துருக்கி,கட்டார், சவுதி அரேபியா ஆகிய நாடுகள் இணைந்து நடத்தும் ஆட்சிக்கவிழ்ப்பு சதிப்புரட்சி சிரியாவில் புதிய திருப்பத்தை அடைந்துள்ளது.அசாத் அரண்மனைக்குள் அமெரிக்கா நடத்திய பயங்கரவாதத் தாக்குதலில் அதி முக்கிய நபர்கள் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்டதைத் தொடர்ந்து, நேரடி இராணுவத் தலையீட்டிற்கான ஐ.நா.தீர்மானம் ரசிய சீன எதிர்ப்பால் தோற்கடிக்கப்பட்டது.தலை நகர் டமாஸ்கஸ் நோக்கிய சதிப்புரட்சிப் படையின் முன்னேற்றம் தடுக்கப்பட்டது.இதைத் தொடர்ந்து அந்நிய ஆக்கிரமிப்பாளர்களுக்கு எதிராக இரசாயன ஆயுதங்களைப் பயன்படுத்த தயங்கமாட்டோம் என சிரிய வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சின் பேச்சாளர் அறிவித்துள்ளார்.பதிலுக்கு `சர்வதேச சமூகம்` பார்த்துக் கொண்டிராது என ஒபாமா கர்ச்சித்துள்ளார்! மீண்டும் ஒரு உலக மறுபங்கீட்டு யுத்தப் பேரிகை சிரியாவில் ஒலிக்கத் தொடங்கிவிட்டது.

Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners

(Reuters) - Western states expressed alarm after Syria acknowledged for the first time that it has chemical and biological weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervene.

A week of unprecedented fighting inside the capital, Damascus, including a bomb attack that killed four of President Bashar al-Assad's closest advisers, has transformed the 16-month uprising and dramatically escalated international pressure on Assad.

Damascus residents said the capital was relatively quiet in the early hours of Tuesday after a day of fighting that saw government troops storm a neighbourhood.

Defying Arab foreign ministers who on Sunday offered Assad a "safe exit" if he stepped down, the Syrian leader has launched fierce counter-offensives, reflecting his determination to keep power as the uprising enters its most violent phase.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the army would not use chemical weapons to crush rebels but could use them against forces from outside the country.

"Any chemical or bacterial weapons will never be used ... during the crisis in Syria regardless of the developments," Makdissi said. "These weapons are stored and secured by Syrian military forces and under its direct supervision and will never be used unless Syria faces external aggression."

Damascus has not signed a 1992 international convention that bans the use, production or stockpiling of chemical weapons, but officials in the past had denied it had any stockpiles. Washington and other Western capitals rushed to warn Syria against making any threats to use such weapons.

"Given the regime's stockpiles of chemical weapons, we will continue to make it clear to Assad and those around him that the world is watching and that they will be held accountable by the international community and the United States should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons," U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said warnings against using chemical weapons extended not only to the Syrian government but to rebels and any militants who might try to obtain them.

Britain, Germany and other countries also said it was unacceptable for Syria to say it might use chemical arms. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was very concerned Syria may be tempted to use unconventional weapons.

Western countries and Israel have expressed fears chemical weapons could fall into the hands of militant groups as Assad's authority erodes. Israel has publicly discussed military action to prevent Syrian chemical weapons or missiles from reaching Assad's Lebanese Shi'ite militant allies Hezbollah.

The Global Security website, which collects published intelligence reports and other data, says there are four suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria: north of Damascus, near Homs, in Hama and near the Mediterranean port of Latakia. Weapons it produces include the nerve agents VX, sarin and tabun, it said, without citing its sources.

Abdelbasset Seida, head of the Syrian National Council opposition group, said, "A regime that massacres children and rapes women could use these types of weapons.

"The technical infrastructure may not be suitable, but as I said, such a step could be expected from this murderous regime. The international community must prevent this," he told reporters after meeting Turkey's foreign minister in Ankara.

FLAGRANT INTERVENTION'

Arab League ministers meeting in Doha urged the opposition and the rebel Free Syrian Army to form a transitional government, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference.

Makdissi rejected the call for Assad to step down as a "flagrant intervention" in Syria's internal affairs. "We regret that the Arab League stooped to this immoral level," he said.

U.S. officials said on Monday the Obama administration was shifting its focus from deadlocked U.N. diplomacy over Syria and preparing to provide additional communications equipment and training to help the Syrian opposition improve its command-and-control capabilities for coordinating its fighters.

Officials insist that Washington has no plans for now to send lethal weapons to Syria's rebels, a step the White House has publicly ruled out.

On Monday, the army shelled rebel forces in the northern city of Aleppo and stormed the southern Damascus neighbourhood of Nahr Aisha, breaking into shops and houses and burning some of them, activists said.

Video showed dozens of men in green army fatigues massing in the neighbourhood, which looked completely abandoned. Men carrying machineguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers knocked and then kicked down doors and climbed through windows.

Assad's forces have reasserted control over several Damascus areas since they seized back the central Midan district on Friday, 48 hours after a bomb attack killed four of Assad's closest security officials.

"The regime strategy is to continue to confront the opposition, this time with much broader military response," said Ayham Kamel, Middle East analyst at Eurasia Group consultancy.

"The expectation that the regime is out of firepower or collapsing right now is misplaced."

But Assad's forces have lost ground outside cities, ceding control of four border posts on the Turkish and Iraqi borders.

Sky Television footage from the town of Azaz close to the border with Turkey showed rebel fighters parading through streets firing triumphantly after a prolonged battle with government forces.

In Aleppo, activists said thousands of residents fled the rebel-held districts of Al-Haideriya, Hanano and Sakhour after army shelling and clashes between rebels and government forces in which activists said three government tanks were destroyed.

A video posted by activists showed families crammed into taxis, vans and the back of trucks trying to flee. Dozens of other families set out on foot, carrying plastic bags with their belongings.

"This is a large-scale hit-and-run battle. The whole point is to bleed the regime dry. It is a very long fight, and it will be especially long in Aleppo," said a spokesman from the Islamist rebel group the Battalions for the Free Men of Syria.

DAMASCUS FIGHTING

The fighting in Damascus, Aleppo and the eastern city of Deir al-Zor has been some of the fiercest yet and showed Assad's determination to avenge last Wednesday's bomb attack, the most spectacular blow of the uprising.

Activists reported clashes on Monday in the Damascus districts of Qadam and Kafr Sousseh. Rebel sources say the guerrilla fighters in the capital may lack the supply lines to remain there for long and may have to make tactical withdrawals.

In the northeast district of Qaboun, where Assad's forces pushed fighters back in recent days, most streets were empty, said a resident reached by telephone who visited the area from another part of Damascus. A few people were returning to check on homes, some of which were destroyed.

"I came just to pick up some of my family's belongings, I am not returning for now," one woman told the visitor at her empty-looking four-storey building.

Groups of men were removing bodies from underneath the rubble of one building. "We have removed 25 bodies so far from this area, we are burying them quickly," one said.

An activist said 24 bodies had been found outside the capital in the Daraya district of the countryside on Monday, and that they appeared to be fighters who had been executed.

The accounts could not be verified independently; Syria restricts access by journalists.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which compiles reports from anti-Assad activists, said 1,261 people had been killed across Syria since last Sunday when fighting escalated in Damascus, making it by far the bloodiest week in an uprising activists say has claimed at least 18,000 lives.

(Additional reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Antakya, and Matt Spetalnick and Warren Strobel in Washington; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Peter Graff and Peter Cooney)