theSun | TUESDAY JULY 21 2009 9

news without borders

Thousands flee western

ern Canadian wildfires
VANCOUVER (British Columbia):
Emergency crews battled rugged
terrain on Sunday to contain two
large wildfires that have forced
thousands of residents of a western
Canadian community to flee their
homes.
Wind and dry conditions were
fuelling the large blazes that broke
out on Saturday in the hills along
Okanagan Lake west of the city
of Kelowna, British Columbia
where housing subdivisions have
encroached on the surrounding
forest in recent years.
“The winds are definitely add-
ing to the fire activity,” said Elise
Riedlinger, a spokeswoman for the
British Columbia Forest Service,
which has not estimated when
the fires can be brought under
control.
No injuries or deaths were
reported, but as many as nine
buildings are feared to have been
destroyed.
Crews were able to protect a
large sawmill complex that had
Anger in US over
been threatened,
according to local
media.
About 17,000
hostage video
people have been LONDON: The American the military applied pressure
told to either leave military yesterday condemned to find him.
their homes or be the Taliban for releasing Afghani and US troops
ready to evacuate on a propaganda video that have been searching for Pte
a moment’s notice if showed a captured soldier Bergdahl for two weeks and
asked to do so by pleading for US troops to be have offered a reward for help.
emergency officials. withdrawn from Afghanistan. Locals have told them Taliban
The Glenrosa The Pentagon named the fighters initially planned to
fire, which was the did not believe them to be related. Smoke from private as Bowe Bergdahl, 23, smuggle the soldier across the
first to erupt on Saturday, had Helicopters and aircraft nearby from Idaho. border into Pakistan, but ruled
grown to 350ha, while the Rose dropped water and fire retardant forest fire A 28-minute video of Pte that out because of US missile
Valley Dam fire, which broke out on flames to back up the more and evening Bergdahl was posted on the strikes and Pakistani bombing
a few kilometers to the north had than 200 firefighters working on cloud mix internet, showing the soldier attacks against militant targets
grown to 150ha, Riedlinger said. the ground. as residents in good health but saying he in the area.
A third fire northwest of Kel- Adding fuel to the fire were gather on was scared and missing his “I am scared. I’m scared
owna was also burning out of trees that have died in recent the shores family. It is believed to be the I won’t be able to go home.
control, but did not threaten any years because of an infestation of of Okanagan first time in more than two It is very unnerving to be a
populated areas. mountain pine beetles. Lake to watch, years that a US serviceman prisoner,” Pte Bergdahl says
Kelowna, in south-central Brit- Emergency officials were deal- in Kelowna, has been captured in either in the video. He is dressed in
ish Columbia, is about a 400 km ing with the situation using plans British Iraq or Afghanistan. loose Afghan clothing, appear-
drive east of Vancouver. developed after the Kelowna area Columbia “We condemn the use ing with a shaved head and a
Police said the cause of fires was struck by massive wildfires northeast of of this video and the public light beard, drinking tea and
was under investigation, but the that destroyed more than 200 Vancouver on humiliation of prisoners. It is eating – but he is clearly being
provincial fire service said they homes in 2003. – Reuters Sunday. against international law,” a directed in what to say.
US military spokesman said. “I have my girlfriend who
“We are doing everything is hoping to marry. I have

Saudi princess given

we can to return this soldier
to safety.”
The Taliban said the video
was dated 14 July, although it
was impossible to verify the
date. The military in Afghani-
stan has been distributing
leaflets calling for the return
my grandma and grandpas. I
have a very, very good fam-
ily that I love back home in
America,” he says, and then
a voice off camera prompts
“miss them”.
The soldier continues:
“And I miss them every day

secret UK asylum
WOMAN FEARS SHE WILL BE STONED AFTER
GIVING BIRTH TO AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD
LONDON: A Saudi Arabian princess
who had an illegitimate child with a
British man has secretly been granted
asylum in this country after she claimed
she would face the death penalty if she
were forced to return home. The young
woman, who has been granted anonym-
ity by the courts, won her claim for
refugee status after telling a judge that
her adulterous affair made her liable to
death by stoning.
Her case is one of a small number of
claims for asylum brought by citizens
of Saudi Arabia which are not openly
acknowledged by either government.
British diplomats believe that to do so
would in effect be to highlight the perse-
cution of women in Saudi Arabia, which
would be viewed as open criticism of the
House of Saud and lead to embarrassing
publicity for both governments.
The woman, who comes from a very
wealthy Saudi family, says she met her
English boyfriend – who is not a Muslim
– during a visit to London. They struck
up a relationship.
She became pregnant the following
year and worried that her elderly hus-
band – a member of the Royal Family of
Saudi Arabia – had become suspicious
of her behaviour, she persuaded him to
let her visit the UK again to give birth
in secret. She feared for her life if she
returned to Saudi Arabia.
She persuaded the court that if she
returned to the Gulf state she and her
child would be subject to capital punish-
ment under Syariah law – specifically
flogging and stoning to death. She was
also worried about the possibility of an
honour killing.
Since she fled Saudi Arabia, her
family and her husband’s family have
broken off contact with her.
The woman has been granted per-
manent leave to remain in the UK after
the Immigration and Asylum tribunal
allowed her appeal.
The Home Office yesterday declined
of Pte Bergdahl, who said he
was picked up by the Taliban
after falling behind while on
patrol.
Last week, Mawlavi Sangin,
a Taliban commander in Pak-
tika province, the south-east-
that I’m gone. I miss them and
I’m afraid that I might never
see them again and that I’ll
never be able to tell them that
I love them again. I’ll never be
able to hug them.”
Later, the voice prompts:
to discuss the case. A spokesman for ern area where Pte Bergdahl “Any message to your peo-
the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in went missing ple?” Pte Bergdahl then adds:
London said that he would call back but on 30 June, “Yes. To my fellow Americans
subsequently became unavailable. said his who have loved ones over
The Middle East state has been men were here, who know what it’s like
shrouded in controversy over oppressive holding the to miss them: you have the
policies against women and homosexu- soldier and power to make our govern-
als. Secrecy surrounds much of the Saudi would kill ment bring them home.
legal system, but in a recent report on him if Pte Bergdahl’s father, Bob
the use of the death penalty in the king- Bergdahl, said yesterday: “We
dom, the human rights group Amnesty hope and pray for our
International highlighted its extensive son’s safe return
use against men and women. to his comrades
Adulterers face public stonings and and then to our
floggings and, in the most serious cases, family. – AFP
beheadings and hangings.
The high numbers of executions in
Saudi Arabia in 2007 continued into Bergdahl
2008. There were at least 102 executions watches as one
of men and women last year – at an av- of his captors
erage rate of two every week. Amnesty displays his
is aware of at least 136 individuals cur- identity tag to
rently awaiting execution. the camera at
In 2007, King Abdullah II of Saudi an unknown
Arabia was jeered during a state visit location in
to Britain as dozens of demonstrators Afghanistan on
turned out to protest at his country’s hu- Sunday.
man rights record. – The Independent

Solar eclipse pits superstition against science

MUMBAI: Indian astrologers are
predicting violence and turmoil across
the world as a result of this week’s
total solar eclipse, which the supersti-
tious and religious view as a sign of
potential doom.
But astronomers, scientists and
secularists are trying to play down
claims of evil portent in connection
with tomorrow’s natural spectacle,
when the moon will come between
the Earth and the sun, completely
obscuring the sun.
In Hindu mythology, the two
demons Rahu and Ketu are said to
“swallow” the sun during eclipses,
snuffing out its life-giving light and
causing food to become inedible and
water undrinkable.
Pregnant women are advised to
stay indoors to prevent their babies
developing birth defects, while prayers,
fasting and ritual bathing, particularly
in holy rivers, are encouraged.
Shivani Sachdev Gour, a gynaecolo-
gist at the Fortis Hospital in New Delhi,
said a number of expectant mothers
scheduled for caesarian deliveries
on July 22 had asked to change the
date.
“This is a belief deeply rooted in
Indian society. Couples are willing to
do anything to ensure that the baby is
not born on that day,” Gour said.
Astrologers have predicted a rise
in communal and regional violence
in the days following the eclipse,
particularly in India, China and other
Southeast Asian nations where it can
be seen tomorrow morning.
Mumbai astrologer Raj Kumar
Sharma predicted “some sort of attack
by (Kashmiri separatists) Jaish-e-Mo-
hammad or Al Qaeda on Indian soil”
and a devastating natural disaster in
Southeast Asia.
An Indian political leader could be
killed, he said, and tension between
the West and Iran is likely to increase,
escalating into possible US military
action after Sept 9, when fiery Saturn
moves from Leo into Virgo.
“The last 200 years, whenever
Saturn has gone into Virgo there has
been either a world war or a mini
world war,” he said.
It is not just in India that some
are uneasy about what will transpire
because of the eclipse.
In ancient China they were often
associated with disasters, the death of
an emperor or other dark events and
similar superstitions persist.
“The probability for unrest or war
to take place in years when a solar
eclipse happens is 95%,” announced
an article that attracted a lot of hits
on the popular Chinese web portal
Baidu.com.
Sanal Edamaruku, president of the
Indian Rationalist Association, dis-
missed such doomsday predictions.
“Primarily, what we see with all
these soothsayers and astrologers
is that they’re looking for opportuni-
ties to enhance their business with
predictions of danger and calamity,”
he said.
“They have been very powerful in
India but over the last decade they
have been in systematic decline.”
Astronomers and scientists are
also working to educate the public
about the eclipse.
Travel firm Cox and Kings has
chartered a Boeing 737-700 aircraft
to give people the chance to see the
eclipse from 12,500m.
Experts will be on board to explain
it to passengers, some of whom have
paid 79,000 rupees (RM5,600) for
a “sun-side” seat on the three-hour
flight from New Delhi.
The eclipse’s shadow is expected
to pass over the aircraft at 15 times
the speed of sound (Mach 15), said
Ajay Talwar, president of the SPACE
Group of companies that promotes
science and astronomy.
“It’s coming in the middle of the
monsoon season. On the ground,
there’s a 40% chance of seeing it in
India. On the aircraft you have almost
a 90% chance of seeing the eclipse,”
he added.
Siva Prasad Tata, who runs the
Astro Jyoti website, straddles the two
worlds.
“There’s no need to get too
alarmed about the eclipse, they are a
natural phenomenon,” the astrologer
told AFP
But he added: “During the period
of the eclipse, the opposite attracting
forces are very powerful. From a spir-
itual point of view, this is a wonderful
time to do any type of worship.
“It will bring about good results,
much more than on an ordinary day.”
– AFP