Pak confusion: Sarabjit stays in jail

Zardari’s spokesman clarifies: It’s Surjeet who will be set free

Islamabad/Chandigarh, June 26
Hours after reports emerged that Pakistan was to free Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, the presidential spokesman clarified that authorities had taken steps for the release of another Indian prisoner named Surjeet Singh who has been jailed for three decades.
“I think there is some confusion. First, it is not a case of pardon. More importantly, it is not Sarabjit. It is Surjeet Singh, son of Sucha Singh. His death sentence was commuted in 1989 by President (Ghulam) Ishaq (Khan) on the advice of (then premier) Benazir Bhutto,” presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
Law Minister Farooq Naek today conveyed to the Interior Ministry that Surjeet Singh had completed his life term in jail and ought to be released and sent back to India, Babar said. “Keeping him in jail any longer will be illegal confinement,” he added.
Any references to President Asif Ali Zardari in the entire matter were “out of context,” the presidential spokesman said.
Surjeet Singh, currently being held in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, has been in Pakistani captivity for over 30 years.
He was captured near the border with India on charges of spying during the era of military ruler Zia-ul-Haq.
Earlier in the day, Pakistani news channels had reported that President Zardari had converted Sarabjit Singh's death sentence to life imprisonment and directed authorities to release him if he had completed his prison term.
Sarabjit was sentenced to death on September 15, 1991 on charge of involvement in three blasts in Lahore and one in Multan in which 14 persons were killed. As the news of the presidential order became known, the media in Lahore flocked to the jail, hoping to see Sarabjit walk a free man.
Four of Sarabjit’s clemency petitions had been turned down earlier. Determined to see her brother walk free, Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur had sent an appeal to President Zardari during his visit to India in April. Official sources too had said that steps had been initiated for Sarabjit's release.
In New Delhi, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had thanked Zardari for the steps purportedly taken for Sarabjit's release.
Sarabjit, 49, too is currently being held at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore and has been on death row for over 20 years.
Though Sarabjit was set to be hanged in 2008, Pakistani authorities put off his execution indefinitely after former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani intervened.
His family maintains he wandered across the border in an inebriated condition and was arrested by Pakistani authorities.

22-year ordeal continues
August 1990: Sarabjit crosses over to Pak near Kasur. Arrested, charged with involvement in serial blasts in Lahore & Multan in 1990 that left 14 dead

1991: Awarded death sentence by anti-terror court

March 2006: Pak Supreme Court rejects Sarabjit's mercy petition, upholds death sentence

March 2008: Ex-president Pervez Musharraf rejects Sarabjit's mercy petition May 2012 Sarabjit files fresh mercy plea, accepted by President Zardari

June 26: News reports emerge that Sarabjit Singh's death sentence has been commuted, to be freed. Past midnight, Pak clarifies that prisoner to be released is Surjeet Singh, who was pardoned in 1989, not Sarabjit.

Another corruption case against Congress minister

 Virbhadra Singh

Union Minster Virbhadra quits as a corruption charges framed by a Shimla Court

New Delhi, June 26
A day after a Shimla court ordered that charges be framed against him in a corruption case, Union minister Virbhadra Singh resigned from the Cabinet today, putting a question mark on his political future in his home state Himachal Pradesh where he is seeking a sixth term as chief minister in the year-end assembly polls.

Virbhadra Singh is the third minister in the UPA II government to have quit on corruption charges, the other two being A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran.

The 78-year-old veteran Congress leader submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence this afternoon. “I have resigned on moral grounds. Nobody asked me to quit, but I did not want to embarrass my party, the PM or the government,” Virbhadra said after his meeting with the PM. He had also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last evening. The PM accepted the minister’s resignation and forwarded it to President Pratibha Patil shortly after it was submitted.

Congress sources said since Virbhadra had moved the High Court, the party leadership had decided to wait for the judicial process to be completed before taking a view on his resignation. It also did not want any controversy to mar the ongoing Presidential election.

Virbhadra’s aides maintained it was the senior leader’s personal decision to put in his papers. Since Himachal Pradesh is headed for Assembly polls later this year, the former CM felt it was a better option to pitch his tent there to focus his energies on waging a political battle against the BJP-led government.

The resignation was also meant to take the sting out of the opposition’s campaign against the senior Congress leader. Virbhadra has repeatedly refuted the charges framed against him, describing them as “concocted” and a conspiracy by the BJP Chief Minister P K Dhumal who, according to him, “was the biggest liar in Himachal Pradesh.” The former CM was also at pains to state that his resignation should not be taken as an admission of guilt. On the contrary, he was preparing to battle it out till the bitter end.

“I have handled several portfolios in the last 50 years but nobody has questioned my integrity,” Virbhadra said. Congress leaders admitted the court decision and Virbhadra’s Singh’s resignation had pushed the party on the defensive on the issue of corruption.

Swedish reporter Lena Pettersson reimbursed for sitting next to dead man on Kenya Airways flight

It's one thing to have a fellow airline passenger fall asleep and drool on your shoulder, but quite another to have him die and sit next to you throughout your flight.

That's exactly what happened to Swedish reporter Lena Pettersson on a recent Kenya Airways flight from Europe to Tanzania.

When Pettersson boarded her plane at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, she couldn't help noticing her co-passenger was in rough shape.

"He was sweating and was having convulsions," she told Sveriges Radio, the state broadcaster for whom she works. Regardless, the plane took off as scheduled.

It wasn't long after liftoff that the passenger's condition worsened. The crew put out a call for medical help and eventually was forced to give the man cardiac massage, but it didn't help. The passenger had died in his seat. The Kenyan crew, unsure of protocol, covered the man and laid him across three seats next to Pettersson until the plane landed hours later.

The airline did reimburse Pettersson for being subjected the macabre incident, but only after months of e-mail exchanges. Eventually she got $713, about half the cost of her ticket.

"This feels much better," she said. "It's reasonable. Of course it was unpleasant, but I am not a person who makes a fuss."

Death at 35,000 feet isn't terribly uncommon. Last September a man choked to death on an in-flight meal during an 11-hour trip from Singapore to Auckland. Passengers were given only $100 travel vouchers for their troubles.

Elliot Lake mall collapse claims one life, fears for 30 more still missing

Debris is removed as rescue workers continue attempts to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., on Monday.

ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. — Officials have confirmed at least one person has died and 30 others are now unaccounted for after a roof collapsed at a shopping mall in Elliot Lake, Ont.

Rescuers said earlier today that tapping sounds had been heard coming from under the rubble at the Algo Centre Mall around 4 a.m., but residents of the small northern city are expressing grave concern for the fate of those still unaccounted for in the wake of Saturday’s tragic events.

As crews worked around the clock to stabilize the scene and make it safe enough for search and rescue teams to go in today, provincial police said images of the partially collapsed car park roof showed a hand and a foot in the dusty debris.

Bill Needles, a spokesman from the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team which travelled from Toronto, said the structure and the escalator in the area where the roof collapsed is still shifting.

“It’s still very unstable, very unsafe. We still need to be careful with every move we make.”

Needles added that rescuers are now focusing their efforts on the area where the tapping was heard, and a person is believed trapped.

“This morning around 4 o’clock, the OPP utilized the piece of equipment that they have to again determine that there was signs of life from the one same locations that we had indicated yesterday. And again we’re still diligently working as fast we can towards that person.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got a setback, in that the structure after some of the weight had been removed, from some of the other parts had fallen.. It’s still shifting. It’s become more unstable for us.

“We’ve had to remove our crews to reassess our entry point,” Needles said, adding: “It’s not to say that we have stopped working. We have now gone back to the other avenue from the north to now come back from that entrance, to now start shoring and putting up posts and supporting the roof above, to keep moving towards that void where the person was located this morning.

“We’re still scared, it even has the potential of falling down. We put on some tactile equipment to assess how much movement. It’s still very unstable, still very unsafe, and we have to be careful with every move that we make.”

“We are still moving forward with that rescue… To give you a time frame, I just can’t do that. because now we’re reassessing the whole operation. Moving forward in what is now a different direction. So I don’t have a time frame on when we will be able to make contact.”

The collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall is seen from a nearby hill in Elliot Lake, Ont. on Sunday June 24, 2012.

Amateur video of the aftermath of the Elliot Lake mall roof collapse

 Asource who has been briefed on the recovery effort said this morning that rescuers still believe as many as three people could be trapped alive inside the mall’s wreckage. Authorities don’t know how many casualties there could be beyond the one confirmed death.

“The truth is no one has a handle on how bad it could be,” said the official, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

Late Sunday night, police said there were still nine names on the list of those unaccounted for. That figure rose to 30 early Monday afternoon.

Ontario Provincial Police Insp. Percy Jollymore noted that the number had been fluctuating with some names being taken off the list, and others added.

“It is difficult to determine who was a casual customer or visitor to the mall,” Jollymore said Monday afternoon. “We have been maintaining a list of individuals and we have been encouraging people to call in. We went through the staffing of the mall, who was working, and who we thought would be there, the vehicles parked in the mall, that type of thing.”

Jollymore claimed the missing list had been fluctuating up and down: “Last night  the list shortened to about 3 or 4. But overnight it has grown again with people calling in worried about people they hadn’t been in touch with. So, the list was in the high 30s. But I caution, it goes up and down, and as you can imagine, difficult to determine who was a casual customer or visitor to the mall at the time of the collapse. We continue along those lines.”

The roof came down with a thunderous crash just before 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, injuring at least 22 people.

Rescue workers cut timber as attempts continue to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario on Monday June 25, 2012.

Mayor Rick Hamilton told the National Post Monday that people are praying there is a positive outcome.

“We have an expert crew in there. They’re doing a fantastic job. They’re working as quickly and safely as possible. And I would certainly like to commend them on their efforts thus far.”

Hamilton said he couldn’t comment on complaints from residents about mall leaks and suggestions that repairs were needed before the collapse

“The Ministry of Labour is on site, and they will be doing a full investigation. At that point, we will be able to comment and react accordingly. “

Heather Richer owns a restaurant in the mall and was at work when it happened.

“I’m hoping everyone’s found, but I’m giving up hope on whether they’re going to find them alive,” she said Sunday.

Bianka Manning, a teacher from the local French high school V.F.J., said she feared a former high school classmate may be trapped among the wreckage.

Manning said her friend worked at the mall’s lottery kiosk, but she didn’t know if she was inside the mall when the roof caved in.

Manning and two of her students spent all of Sunday night sitting outside the mall wrapped in blankets, waiting for news.

“She might be alone in there, but she wasn’t alone all night,” said Manning, 36. “Somebody was with her — maybe not in there, but we’re out here for her.”

Manning said her friend used to come in to the school to do mock interviews for students in civics class.

A woman checks out the damage after a roof collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., Saturday, June 23, 2012. 

Several candles were lit in front of the mall early this morning.

“We’re the uranium capital, so they say when you’re from Elliot Lake, you glow in the dark,” said Manning. “Hopefully someone’s glowing in there and they’ll find them.”

“Everybody’s blaming everybody, but really, who cares? I’m more concerned about who’s in there and how are they going to get out of there safely,” she said.

The two-storey centre, which was built in the early ’80s, underwent a structural study in May and received a passing grade, said a source with Eastwood Mall Inc., which owns the mall.

Work was being done on the roof before the collapse to prevent leaks, but no “substantial renovations” were underway, the source said.

Some irate city residents, however, insisted the building was much in need of repairs.

“The mall’s always had leaks (and) roof damage,” said Jean-Marc Hayward, who was in the mall at the time of the collapse.

The ceiling of the mall always dripped when it rained, he said.

The northern city, once an Ontario mining hub, is located about 160 kilometres west of Sudbury.

Well wishers leave candles at a vigil as rescue workers continue attempts to secure the building before searching for any survivors at the site of the collapsed roof of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario on Monday June 25, 2012.

4 dead, 30 wounded in weekend Chicago violence intensifying search for answers

CHICAGO - Two teenage boys - ages 13 and 14 - were among four people killed, and at least 30 others were wounded in shootings in Chicago over the weekend, CBS Chicago reports. The weekend incidents highlight a disturbing trend that makes the streets of the Windy City even deadlier than Kabul, Afghanistan.

By some accounts, rising murder rates have made Chicago more dangerous than a war zone: According to The Daily, homicide victims in Chicago outnumber U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year. 

While 144 Americans have died in Afghanistan in 2012, 228 Chicago residents have been killed. The murder rate is up 35 percent from last year, a rash of homicides that quadruples New York City's rate and doubles Los Angeles' rate.

Antonio Davis, 14, was gunned down during a drive-by shooting just before 9 p.m. Friday in Englewood, CBS Chicago reported. Tyquan Tyler, 13, also died in a gang-related incident after being shot in the chest at a party in a different Englewood neighborhood around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Two more people were fatally shot in other Chicago neighborhoods on Sunday: 29-year-old Hansen Jackson  was shot several times in the chest and later died at Mount Sinai Hospital,and 22-year-old Anthony Jones who was also shot and killed, according to a CBS Chicago report.

At least 30 others, including two other teenage boys, were reportedly wounded in shootings throughout the city. A 15-year-old and 14-year-old were taken in stable and fair condition, respectively, to a children's hospital following a shooting attack while they were playing basketball Saturday around 8:45 p.m.

Other victims include a man shot and two other hit by a vehicle in a suspected gang-related incident about 4 a.m. Saturday in front of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, police said. Another man, 36, was shot in the arm in an unrelated incident and was taken in critical condition to a hospital.

Violence also struck one of the city's most popular areas, where the floats rode down the streets for the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.

The city said street gangs are responsible for the bulk of the recent gun violence and announced this week that it will allow police to work overtime in order to put more officers on the street, according to The Daily.

"Just look at what's been happening every single weekend," Vice President of Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police Daniel Gorman told The Daily. "Although we appreciate the overtime, we still can't ignore that we've got a manpower crisis, and the recent violence in the city is proof of that crisis."

But highly publicized accounts of the recent murders, shootings and gang activity have some police arguing that the media have blown Chicago's crime problem out of proportion. Police superintendent Garry McCarthy said Chicago is facing a "perception issue."

Though there have been 228 murders in the city so far this year, The Daily reported that Chicago's murder rate has actually fallen over the past several years - but not as fast as the rates in New York or Los Angeles.

"We have a lot of violence, but the fact is, we have to keep doing what we're doing, because the trend is actually turning," McCarthy told CBS Chicago over the weekend. "You would never know it, but the trend is actually turning. It's hard to tell that for somebody who hears gunfire."

Police to partner with CeaseFire on anti-violence pilot program

CeaseFire is expected to receive funding through the city’s Department of Public Health to target crime in two Chicago police districts under a pilot program. CeaseFire has received federal and state funding over the past decade but no money directly from the city.

Originally, CeaseFire was supposed to receive $1.5 million, but the figure could be lower now that it will operate in only two districts instead of three, as originally planned, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The partnership was proposed after Chicago’s bloody Memorial Day weekend, druing which10 people were shot to death and the city’s homicide rate reached 200, a nearly 50 percent increase over the same period of 2011.

Through June 17, murders were up 38 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to sources, at a violence reduction meeting with federal and local officials last week, McCarthy expressed his discomfort at having to work with CeaseFire, which sends ex-felons into high-crime neighborhoods to “interrupt” potential violence.