Maoists kill four people in West Bengal

West Midnapore (West Bengal), May 14 (ANI): Suspected Maoists killed four people in West Bengal’s West Midnapore District on Friday.

According to the police the four bodies were found at Jabalpur, near Silda.

The incident occurred during a 24 hours shutdown call given by the Maoists.

The Maoists were protesting the arrest of its four women activists.

The Maoists claim that one Soma was arrested from Jhargram three days ago, but was not produced before a court.

They also alleged that security forces were targeting and harassing innocent people during operations and demanded the immediate release of arrested cadres.

On Tuesday, the Maoists triggered a blast near Salboni damaging a culvert on the road connecting Midnapore to Lalgarh.

The road is one of the two taken by security forces to move between Midnapore town and Lalgarh, the other being via Dherua.

According to police, the Maoists targeted the route in an attempt to block movement of forces.

During, the shutdown, shops, offices and other establishments in the area remained closed because and public transport remained off the roads.

The People’s Committee has also announced it will block roads in the tribal-dominated areas in the Jhargram subdivision for an indefinite period. (ANI)

British government urges release of Iraq hostages

London – The British government Thursday appealed for the immediate release of five hostages captured in Iraq two years ago as the families of the captives said they were hopeful about their freedom.

British IT consultant Peter Moore and four security guards were seized by about 40 armed men, disguised as police officers, in an audacious attack on a meeting in the Finance Ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007.

Moore had been working for American management consultancy Bearingpoint when he was kidnapped, while the other men were contractors employed to guard him.

To mark the second anniversary, Foreign Secretary David Miliband Thursday called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of the hostages.

“We call on those holding all hostages to release them immediately and unconditionally and return them safely to their families where they belong,” said Miliband in a statement.

Their captors, a group called the Islamic Shiite Resistance in Iraq, is reported to demand the freedom of militants from US custody.

Relatives of the hostages have told the BBC that they were “hopeful” of a release following the release of a video of Moore in March.

According to a BBC report Thursday, freedom for the five men had been “tantalisingly close” earlier this year.(dpa)

Obama “disappointed” by Iran sentencing US journo

Washington, Apr. 19 (ANI): President Barack Obama is “deeply disappointed” by Iran’s sentencing of a US journalist, the White House has said.
An Iranian court has held Iranian-American freelancer Roxana Saberi guilty of spying, and awarded her an eight-year jail term.

The United States is demanding Saberi’s release, and her lawyer will appeal against the sentence, Sky News reported.

The former beauty queen holds citizenship of Iran and the United States. Tehran, however, does not recognize dual nationality.

US-born Saberi was initially arrested in January on charges of buying alcohol, and has been in prison in Tehran ever since.

Her trial on spying charges took place behind closed doors.

The 31 year old, who has lived in Iran for six years, has covered stories for both the BBC and Fox News.
But Iranian officials said her press card was revoked in 2006 and she has since been working “illegally”.

In recent years, several US-Iranians including academics have been detained on security charges, but all have been released just after months.

Saberi’s sentence is the harshest handed out by an Iranian court to a dual-national on security charges.

Her sentence could increase tension between Iran and the United States at a time when Washington is trying to build bridges after 30 years of hostility.

Earlier, the US officials had called the charges “baseless and without foundation” and demanded Saberi’s immediate release. (ANI)

UN seeks direct contact with Solecki’s kidnappers

Islamabad, Feb.17 (ANI): The United Nations has urged the kidnappers of John Solecki, the head of the UNHCR in Quetta, to make direct contact, and called for his immediate release.

Solecki was kidnapped at gunpoint on February 2 while travelling to work. His driver was killed.

The Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), which claims to be holding Solecki, on Monday extended a 72-hour deadline for the government to meet demands for his release.

“The United Nations encourages the community leaders’ continued engagement and again asks those keeping John to initiate direct contact so that dialogue can be started for his immediate safe recovery,” the UN said in astatement on Tuesday.

“We are grateful for the growing community support for John Solecki and the response that their support has generated,” the statement added.

The world body said that it was aware of the message from abductors to the Quetta Press Club regarding extension in the deadline.

A grainy video released by the kidnappers and shown on local television channels on Friday showed a blindfolded Solecki appealing to the United Nations for his release and saying he was unwell.

The kidnappers are also demanding the release of 141 women Baloch detainees who are in Pakistani custody, and information about 6,000 men ‘missing’ from operations to put down Baluchistan’s insurgency. (ANI)