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Syrian opposition to attend peace conference
Syrian opposition to attend peace conference (AP) / 19 January 2014 The Syrian National Coalition’s media office said that of 73 voters, 58 voted in favour of attending the conference. The main, western-backed Syrian opposition group voted on Saturday in favour of attending next week’s peace conference aimed at ending the country’s bloody civil war. The Syrian National Coalition’s media office said that of 73 voters, 58 voted in favour of attending the conference. It added that 14 voted against, two abstained and one placed a blank ballot. The coalition was under huge pressure from its Western and Arab sponsors to attend the peace talks, scheduled to open on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux. The Syrian government has already said it will attend the UN-sponsored talks. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition since the country’s crisis began in March 2011, killing more than 100,000 people and displacing millions. The US and Russia have been trying to hold the peace conference since last year and it has been repeatedly delayed. Both sides finally agreed to sit together on the negotiations table after dropping some of their conditions. The aim of the conference, dubbed Geneva 2, is to agree on a roadmap for Syria based on one adopted by the US, Russia and other major powers in June 2012. That plan includes the creation of a transitional government and eventual elections. One of the main demands of the opposition was that President Bashar Al Assad agrees to step down before going to the conference. With his government troops keeping their momentum on the ground, Assad’s government has said he will not surrender power and may run again in elections due in mid-2014. Many coalition members were hesitant to attend a conference that has little chance of success and will burn the last shred of credibility the group has with powerful rebels on the ground, who reject the talks. Many members boycotted the Istanbul meetings that began on Friday, forcing the coalition’s legal committee to approve the decision in a simple majority vote. The coalition’s media office said the group’s leader, Ahmad Al Jarba, will give a speech “to the Syrian people” later Saturday. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Sunanda’s autopsy reveals unnatural death and injury
Sunanda’s autopsy reveals unnatural death and injury Nithin Belle / 19 January 2014 The body of Shashi Tharoor’s wife cremated; doctors say it was a case of sudden, unnatural death. A day after her body was found in her hotel room, the mortal remains of Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor, wife of India’s junior minister for human resources Shashi Tharoor, were consigned to the flames at a crematorium in Delhi on Saturday evening. Tharoor, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) following “a cardiac event” on Friday night, was present to perform the last rites. Earlier in the day, a team of AIIMS doctors who performed autopsy on Sunanda’s body, declared that it was “a case of sudden, unnatural death”. While they found some injury marks on her body, the doctors refused to reveal much about it. The final report of the autopsy, which also rules out poisoning as a cause of death, will be submitted in a couple of days. There was speculation on Saturday that Sunanda might have taken an overdose of sleeping pills the previous day. Top figures in the ruling Congress party rallied round Tharoor. Premier Manmohan Singh wrote he was with the minister “in this hour of grief”, while Congress President Sonia Gandhi paid him a condolence visit at his home. The police were expected to record a statement from the minister about the death. A sub-divisional magistrate has also launched a mandatory probe, as the woman died within seven years of her marriage. The Tharoors got married in 2010 and it was the third marriage for both of them. However, the marriage appeared to be on the rocks over the past few days, especially after a bitter feud occurred between the couple over the exchange of messages between the minister and Mehr Tarar, a Pakistani journalist. Sunanda confessed a few days earlier, both on social and mainstream media that she suspected her husband of having an affair with the journalist, a charge denied by Mehr. Just a day before her death, Tharoor had issued “a joint statement” with her, claiming that the two were happy and there were no problems in the marriage. But reports on Saturday mentioned that the two had fought on the flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi and even at the Leela Palace Hotel in Delhi. nithin@khaleejtimes.com Also Read: Sunanda Pushkar’s death: Police gather CCTV footage Body of Sunanda Pushkar taken to hospital for autopsy Shashi Tharoor complains of chest pain, hospitalised Sunanda Pushkar found dead in south Delhi hotel Absolutely shocked: Mehr Tarar Security cover at Shashi Tharoor’s office, home Sunanda was seriously ill: Former diplomat Alleged affair threatens Indian minister’s poll prospects Angry wife outs Indian minister’s affair on Twitter Khaleej Times stands by report on Indian minister’s wife Sunanda Tharoor throws hissy fit in Dubai India’s Tharoor denies Swamy’s charges For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
UAE hails 98.1 % yes vote in Egypt referendum
UAE hails 98.1 % yes vote in Egypt referendum (AP, Wam) / 19 January 2014 Egypt’s High Election Commission says 38.6 per cent of the country’s more than 53 million eligible voters took part in the two-day poll. Egypt’s election committee said 98.1 per cent of voters have approved a new, military-backed constitution in the first vote since a coup toppled the country’s president. Egypt’s High Election Commission said on Saturday that 38.6 per cent of the country’s more than 53 million eligible voters took part in the two-day poll. That’s 20.5 million voters casting ballots. UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated the Egyptian people on the success of the referendum on the constitution. “The move is major milestone towards the roadmap for the future which will usher sisterly Egypt into the aspired stability and development,” Shaikh Abdullah said, expressing his pleasure at the huge turnout of voters and their landslide approval for the new constitution, reflecting in a clear way the will of the Egyptian people and their support for the framework which will govern the state and society. Shaikh Abdullah also expressed his confidence that this step would contribute to enhancing stability and confidence in the future of Egypt, promoting its regional and international standing and delivering stability, development and prosperity to the Egyptian people. This was the first vote since the military removed Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohammed Mursi, following massive protests in July. Officials view the vote as key in legitimising the country’s military-backed interim government and its plan for parliamentary and presidential elections. — AP, Wam For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
