Abdullah threatens to reject Afghan election result

KABUL: Afghanistan’s election crisis deepened Thursday when presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said he would reject the result because his claims of massive fraud have failed to stop the ongoing vote count.

Abdullah´s complaints about alleged fraud in Saturday´s run-off election have thrown the country´s first democratic transfer of power into turmoil ahead of preliminary results due out on July 2.

A smooth election was seen as a key benchmark of Afghan progress by the US-led coalition that has fought against insurgents and donated billions of dollars in aid since 2001 when the Taliban regime was ousted.

But the dispute could trigger instability as NATO combat troops withdraw by the end of the year.

"From now onwards, since (the election authorities) have not responded to our legitimate demands... everything they do and the result of their activities will not be accepted by us," Abdullah told reporters.

Referring to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Election Complaints Commission (ECC), he said: "We will not consider these two institutions as legitimate."

Abdullah had demanded an immediate stop to the vote count and the sacking of Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, head of the IEC secretariat, over Amarkhail´s alleged attempt to remove unused ballots from the IEC headquarters on polling day.

But the IEC refused his demands, saying it would stick to the schedule in an election that will choose a new president after Hamid Karzai´s 13-year reign.

In a strong statement late Wednesday, the UN mission had described Abdullah´s earlier decision to suspend cooperation with the IEC as "regrettable".

The UN warned that if candidates "abandon the legal process and framework and appeal directly to supporters (it) could incite violence".

"Some people have already called for civil disobedience and some incidents have already taken place," the UN said, calling for the electoral timetable to be followed.

Abdullah took on Ashraf Ghani in the run-off vote after the two came first and second in an eight-man election on April 5, when Abdullah was well ahead with 45 percent against Ghani´s 31.6 percent. (AFP)

Taliban threatens to burn palaces in Islamabad, Lahore

MIRANSHAH: The Pakistani Taliban on Monday warned foreign firms to leave the country and vowed retaliatory strikes against the government after tanks, ground troops and jets were deployed in a long-awaited offensive in a troubled tribal district.

The warning came as Pakistan´s major cities braced for revenge attacks by ramping up security at key installations and ordering soldiers to patrol the streets, while hospitals in the northwest prepared for incoming casualties.

The offensive on North Waziristan, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, was launched a week after a brazen insurgent attack on Pakistan´s main airport in Karachi which left dozens dead and marked the end of a troubled peace process.

Pakistan´s Western allies, particularly the United States, have long demanded an operation in the mountainous territory to flush out groups like the Haqqani network which use the area to target NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan. But authorities had held back from a final push -- possibly fearful of angering pro-Pakistan warlords and of opening too many fronts in their decade-long battle against homegrown Islamist insurgents.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) main spokesman Shahidullah Shahid warned foreign countries to stop doing business with the government and supporting their "apostate army". "We warn all foreign investors, airlines and multinational corporations that they should immediately suspend their ongoing matters with Pakistan and prepare to leave Pakistan, otherwise they will be responsible for their own loss," he said in a statement.

"We hold Nawaz Sharif´s government and the Punjabi establishment responsible for the loss of tribal Muslims´ life and property as a result of this operation," he added, vowing to "burn your palaces" in Islamabad and Lahore. The warning came as major cities beefed up their security, with troops seen patrolling the streets of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

"The security of the capital was already on alert, but a new alert has been issued," an Islamabad police spokesman told AFP. Police in Pakistan´s economic hub Karachi have declared a "red alert" and cancelled leave for all 27,000 personnel, spokesman Atiq Shaikh told AFP. And in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province which borders the tribal zone, the government has declared a state of emergency in all hospitals and asked them to prepare for incoming casualties, provincial health minister Shahram Khan Tarakai said in a statement.

Pakistani air force jets have been pounding suspected militant hideouts in the region since Sunday and have been joined by tanks and infantry engaging in heavy artillery strikes. An AFP reporter in the region´s main town of Miranshah said tanks were now occupying the bazaar as troops fire intermittently in the air to warn people not to leave their homes.

More than 2,000 troops could be seen at new posts set up in the mountains. Pakistan already had troops stationed in the tribal district, but these were reinforced in the days leading up to the offensive.

The death toll from the offensive so far stands at 177, according to the military, the majority through air strikes but some through sniper fire. The figures cannot be verified independently. In the town of Bannu 10 kilometres (6 miles) east of North Wazirstan, hundreds of military trucks with machine guns installed on top were on their way toward the fighting zone, as were oil tankers and a military field hospital.

At the Kashoo Bridge area, some 25 kilometres northeast of Bannu, tractors were busy levelling the ground to set up a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs).

Arshad Khan, Director General Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) said: "We have made arrangements to accomodate IDPs in two camps. "Some 62,000 people have fled the region so far into other parts of Pakistan according to official data, with "hundreds of thousands" eventually expected.

Abhishek Loses Temper, Threatens Cameraman

It was a surprise to hear that Abhishek Bachchan lost his temper and roughed up a cameraman on sets of Happy New Year. The cameraman had been taking a few candid shots for a fun video but this allegedly did not go down well with Abhishek. He reportedly threatened him and also threw chairs on the sets and his director Farah Khan thought it was quite violent. Last year, there was a similar incident with Ranbir who snatched a camera from a cameraman. We wonder how his wife Aishwarya who is the epitome of diplomacy will react.

Crimea standoff threatens tourist season in Yalta

YALTA: Russian soldiers may not be in Yalta, but locals are worried about their tourist season as the city on Crimea's Black Sea coast wakes up to the first spring sun amid fears of a possible war between Ukraine and Russia.
In the seaside city nestled in the foothills of the Ukrainian Riviera, police loyal to the authorities in Kiev patrol the seafront with their hands in their pockets.
"All is well, all is calm," said one of them.
There are no ships in the port, only five yachts are bobbing on the waves, sails folded, and a dozen pleasure boats are lined up at the jetty.
"There are no Russians here, no soldiers, no problems. This is a civilian port, security is provided by private guards," said Anatoly Sviritov, a security officer.
It's normal for there to be no tourists yet in the first days of March, said Lilia Ivanova, a travel agency director.
But the tense political and military situation, loud headlines and photos of armed and helmeted men in major newspapers around the world, do not bode well for the tourism season.
Russian forces took de facto control of Crimea, home to the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet, following the ouster on February 22 of Ukraine's pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych.
The local parliament in Crimea took a step Thursday towards seceding from ex-Soviet Ukraine, asking to become part of Russia and pledging a referendum on the subject for March 16.
"We are against Putin's aggression, we fear that it will scare tourists away," said Ivanova.
"There is no tourism where there is terrorism," added the young woman.
An English-language poster on the wall in her Intourist travel agency reads: "Yalta, Crimea's cruise capital."
The city hosts some 10,000 cruise passengers a year and a first cruise ship, from Germany, is expected on April 11, she said.
"We do not know if they will come."
On the promenade, the tricycle rentals, fairground rides, bouncy castles with slides and shooting ranges are deserted.
In the cold wind, several families rush towards the few open cafes.
- 'What happened in Kiev is illegal' -
On the esplanade, pro-Moscow activists have set up a tent under the statue of Lenin.
One of their placards reads "No to NATO", another "Russia protects us from Nazis".
Patriotic songs and Russian flags attract gawkers. Some of them agree to sign a petition.
Businessman Vitaly Akhmetov, a 33-year-old strapping blond in a black leather jacket, said he collected "over 27,000 signatures to demand a referendum on Crimea's future".
"We feel reassured by the fact that Moscow has sent in troops to protect us," he said.
"We want them to stay. What happened in Kiev is illegal. Ukraine no longer exists as a country after their revolution. 98 percent of people do not want to deal with these bandits."
This was where the world was divided into Western and Soviet spheres of influence and the post-war geopolitical map was drawn up when Joseph Stalin hosted Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in February 1945.
In the palace's terraced garden overlooking the seashore, Vladislav, Yuri, and Inna bask in the sun, playing with a cat, and waiting for the start of an excursion. The teenagers came from central Ukraine to spend some three weeks in a nearby sanatorium.
"When the crisis began, our parents called us asking to leave but we reassured them. It is calm here," said Vladislav with a smile.
"All this is politics. There will be no war," added Yuri.
"The borders exist, why change them? Nobody is threatening the rights or lives of Russians in Ukraine. This is propaganda and it will not work."