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DHAKA, April 18 (Xinhua) — A special court of Bangladesh\’s border guards on Sunday sentenced 57 more personnel of the paramilitary force to different terms of rigorous imprisonment for the February, 2009 mutiny involvement.

In the third verdict involving charges linked to the horrendous paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny of Feb. 25-26, 2009, the three-member special court headed by the force\’s chief Major General Mainul Islam acquitted five out of the total 62 accused of the charges.

The special court in the country\’s southeastern bordering Feni district, some 149 km away from capital Dhaka, sentenced 4 soldiers to 7 years while the remaining 53 were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for different terms ranging from six years and 4 months.

Earlier BDR\’s special court in its first verdict on April 7 and second verdict on April 12 sentenced 29 and 50 convicted soldiers respectively to rigorous imprisonment for different terms.

The paramilitary BDR in November last year constituted six \” special courts\” headed by its chief to try some 3,500 border guards accused in some 40 cases in connection with the bloody mutiny, which left 74 people dead, including 57 officers deputed from Army.

The Bangladeshi government decided to try the accused for offenses like killings, attempt to murder, looting and arson committed during the Feb. 25-26 mutiny, at the speedy trial tribunal under the penal code.

Other offenses like breach of discipline and defying superiors\’ orders at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka and other stations of the force across the country will be tried under the BDR laws.

The maximum punishment under the penal code is death while under the BDR laws it is seven years\’ imprisonment.

During the two-day bloody mutiny, nearly 8,000 BDR personnel were present at the headquarters of the paramilitary forces.

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MANILA, April 18 (Xinhua) — Philippine Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales has invited representatives from the international defense and military community to come to the country to observe the presidential and local elections in May.

In a press release on Sunday, Gonzales said he was inviting the international observers on the instruction of President Arroyo to \”invite the world\” to witness the elections.

Gonzales said he wants defense and military observers around the globe to see how the armed forces will behave in the elections. The defense chief has placed the country\’s armed forces under the full disposal of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the May elections.

\”I want the whole world to see how our armed forces will protect our election which is fundamental to any democracy,\” said Gonzales, adding this will be a big challenge that is good for the armed forces.

Gonzales said the presence of the international observers will frustrate attempts to discredit defense and military establishment in its efforts to assist the Comelec in ensuring honest, orderly and peaceful elections in May.

\”As you can see, there is really a proliferation now of groups that seek not simply to watch the conduct of our election, but to really convince our people that our armed forces, our police and the Comelec cannot be trusted. Well, we will prove them wrong,\” he said.

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MANILA, April 18 (Xinhua) — The Philippine presidential office said on Sunday that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not influence the Department of Justice decision to drop charges against two members of the Ampatuan clan in connection with the Maguindanao massacre.

In a radio interview, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Gary Olivar assured families of the victims of justice despite the DOJ decision to drop multiple murder raps against Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Mamasapano Mayor Makmad Ampatuan.

\”We can see no reason for the families of the victims to lose hope that they will be given justice… Let us presume good faith on each other\’s part. Let us presume that everybody is committed to the same pursuit of justice,\” he said.

Olivar said that \”it is obscene to insinuate that the President would interfere for any kind of political or personal reason in the legal proceedings of a heinous crime like the Maguindanao massacre.\”

\”However we may feel about this decision by DOJ, let us confine any debate to questions of law and fact, and let us reject baseless and inflammatory speculations. Campaign politics, no less than the sensitivities of the victims\’ bereaved families, should not be raked up in this tragic affair,\” Olivar said.

At least 57 people, mostly women and journalists, died in the Maguindanao massacre on November 23 last Year. It is considered the worst election-related violence in Philippine history.

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MANILA, April 18 (Xinhua) — The Philippine military said on Sunday that more government troops are going to be deployed in the streets and in public places in the coming days throughout the country as part of the military\’s thrust to ensure a \”peaceful elections.\”

\”There will be more deployment of our soldiers in tandem with the Philippine National Police in the coming days,\” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres said, without giving figures or areas of the deployment.

He also said more checkpoints will be established and security around public areas, including at malls, will be enhanced in relation to the ongoing efforts of the military and the police to curb the proliferation of loose firearms.

\”There will be more checkpoints, there will be stricter security in malls and other public places. We are appealing to everybody to understand that we are doing all these things not to make life harder for you or to your day to day activities,\” said Torres.

\”On the contrary, these are aimed at ensuring that there is security in the areas where we roam in the cities and in the nearby areas,\” he said.

Torres said the Army has declared blue alert since last Thursday as part of the measures for the elections. \”We are now on blue alert and this kind of alert will be maintained in military units (for the meantime),\” he said.

The spokesman asked for the understanding of the public who may view the deployment as a form of inconvenience on their part, stressing these are intended for the smooth conduct of the May polls.

Philippine Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales has put the entire military at the disposal of the Commission on Elections, a deviation from a 2006 memorandum agreement that limited the soldiers\’ role in polls to spare them from partisan politics.

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ISLAMABAD, April 18 (Xinhua) — Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will sign Monday key constitutional amendments that will strip him of his sweeping powers, a presidential spokesman said here Sunday.

\”The signing ceremony of the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be held in the presidency tomorrow on Monday,\” Spokesperson to the president Farhatullah Babar said.

Pakistan\’s Senate and the National Assembly (lower house) have already passed the amendments with majority votes and it will become part of the constitution after the president signs it.

Zardari telephoned Sunday morning the opposition leader Mian Nawaz Shairif and invited him to witness the ceremony, the spokesman said, adding that Sharif has accepted the invitation and will be attending the signing ceremony.

The amendments also include taking away the president\’s power to dismiss an elected government and appoint military chiefs.

The amendments change the name of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (Khyber side of the land of the Pashtoons).

Earlier the constitution conferred vast powers on the president, including the power to appoint services chiefs, the head of the election commission and the head of the public service commission.

The president also had the power to dismiss all or any of the central or provincial governments and parliaments.

The presidential spokesperson said that arrangements are being finalized for a ceremony befitting the historical occasion of reforming the constitution and ridding it of all undemocratic clauses inserted into it by successive military rulers.

The amendments declared as illegal all the measures taken by General Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 after dismissing the elected government of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Enditem

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BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s \”yellow-shirt\” group Sunday is holding a meeting, in which key leaders and nationwide supporters are attending to assess the country\’s political situation.

The \”yellow-shirt\” meeting, which started in the morning, is organized at Bangkok\’s Rangsit University, amid the month-long rally by the anti-government \”red-shirts\”.

Also, the \”yellow-shirts\” are now discussing an action plan, a role of the \”yellow-shirt\” movement, and a campaign to reform Thailand, the National News Bureau of Thailand reported.

\”Yellow-shirt\” core leaders including Major General Chamlong Srimuang, Mr. Pipob Thongchai, Somkiat Pongpaiboon, and PAD coordinator Mr. Suriyasai Katasila are present at their major meeting.

Meanwhile, on the opposite site, the \”red-shirt\” core leaders and their supporters are now gathering at the Rathchaprasong Intersection in the center of capital Bangkok.

They have demanded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to \” immediately\” dissolve the lower House of parliament and hold a new general election.

The \”red-shirts\” have still viewed that, apart from the House dissolution, there is no other solution to the country\’s ongoing political conflict.

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MIMANA, Afghanistan, April 18 (Xinhua) — A bicycle bomb ripped through a bazaar in Daulatabad district of Faryab province in north Afghanistan Sunday, killing one civilian and injuring 14 others, provincial governor Abdul Haq Shafaq said.

\”The bomb planted on a bicycle and apparently the target was a tribal elder Awraz Zabit and detonated by remote control. As a result one innocent civilian was martyred and 14 others including two sons of Awraz Zabit were injured,\” Shafaq told Xinhua.

He blamed anti-government militants for the blast, saying the insurgents by carrying out such activities want to sabotage peace in the province.

Awraz Zabit, who escaped unhurt in the attack, according to the official, is a supporter of the government and advocates for peace and reconciliation.

However, Taliban militants who often organize such attacks have not made comment.

This is the first time that such blast has shocked Faryab, considered as a peaceful province in the northern region.

However, Kunduz and Baghlan in north Afghanistan have been experiencing Taliban-linked militancy over the past several months.

More than three dozen people including 20 militants and four German soldiers have been killed in northern Baghlan province over the past five days.

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BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s \”yellow-shirt\” group Sunday resolved at a meeting to give a seven-day ultimatum to the Thai government to solve the anti-government \”red-shirt\” protest problem.

The \”yellow-shirt\” ultimatum was announced at about 16.15 p.m., the Thai News Agency reported.

The ultimatum was agreed at the \”yellow-shirt\” meeting, in which core leaders and nationwide supports, attended to assess the country\’s political situation.

The \”yellow-shirts\” have supported the coalition government, which has been led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and has opposed the early-House dissolution

Also, the \”yellow-shirts\” have demanded the government to solve terrorists (on fears that they might incite violence at the \”red- shirt\” site and attack both \”red-shirts\” and security personnel.

During these forthcoming seven days, the \”yellow-shirts\” across the country will closely monitor the country\’s political development.

Significantly, any political movement by the \”yellow-shirts\” will be constitutional, they said.

\”Yellow-shirt\” core leaders including Major General Chamlong Srimuang, Mr. Pipob Thongchai, Somkiat Pongpaiboon, and PAD coordinator Mr. Suriyasai Katasila were present at their major meeting.

The \”yellow-shirt\” meeting, which started in the morning, was organized at Bangkok\’s Rangsit University, amid the month-long rally by the anti-government \”red-shirts\”.

Meanwhile, on the opposite site, the \”red-shirt\” core leaders and their supporters are now gathering at the Rathchaprasong Intersection in the center of capital Bangkok.

They have demanded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to \” immediately\” dissolve the lower House of parliament and hold a new general election.

The \”red-shirts\” have still viewed that, apart from the House dissolution, there is no other solution to the country\’s ongoing political conflict.

?Related:

Thai \”yellow-shirts\” discussing political situation, action plan

BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s \”yellow-shirt\” group Sunday is holding a meeting, in which key leaders and nationwide supporters are attending to assess the country\’s political situation.

The \”yellow-shirt\” meeting, which started in the morning, is organized at Bangkok\’s Rangsit University, amid the month-long rally by the anti-government \”red-shirts\”. Full story

Thai \”red-shirts\” to hold mass rally on April 20: core leader

BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — The anti-government \”red-shirts\” plan to hold a mass rally on April 20, \”red-shirt\” core leader Natthawut Saikua announced Sunday, the Thai News Agency reported.

However, Natthawut has not disclosed how the mass rally will be organized. Full story

Thais in various-color shirts rally against early-house dissolution

BANGKOK, April 18 (Xinhua) — Some 25 people lost their lives during the clashes between the anti-government \”red-shirts\” and security personnel on April 10 in capital Bangkok, the Erawan (or Bangkok Emergency Medical Service Center) told Xinhua Sunday.

Totally, during the clashes some 865 people, including the \”red- shirts\” and security personnel were injured, the Erawan center said.

And, of the total wounded people, by Sunday over 100 people are still being treated in hospitals across Bangkok, the Erawan center said.

All of the figures were recorded by 15.00 p.m.

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KABUL, April 18 (Xinhua) — Continued militancy and conflicts claimed the life of a soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in south Afghanistan, a press release of the military alliance said Sunday.

\”An ISAF service member died as a result of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) strike in southern Afghanistan yesterday,\” the press release added.

However, it did not disclose the nationality of the victim, saying it is the ISAF policy to defer identification procedures for casualties to the relevant national authorities.

This is the third causalities of NATO-led troops reported since Saturday.

Two more soldiers were also killed in south Afghanistan Saturday. Troops from the U.S., Britain, Holland, Australia and Canada have been stationed in the restive southern region to curb Taliban-linked militancy.

More than 160 soldiers or NATO-led troops with a majority of whom Americans have been killed since the beginning of 2010 in Afghanistan.

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