US top court

to decide on
gay weddings
Washington: The US Supreme Court said on Friday it
will decide whether same-sex
couples nationwide have a
right to marry under the Constitution, setting up a potentially historic ruling on one of
the countrys most sweeping
social issues in a generation.
The justices will take up
gay-rights cases that ask them
to overturn bans in four states
and declare for the entire nation that people can marry the
partners of their choice, regardless of gender. The cases
will be argued in April, and a
decision is expected by late
June. Attorney general Eric
Holder said the Obama administration would urge the court
to make marriage equality a
reality for all Americans.
Supporters of same-sex marriage said they expect the
court to settle the matter once
and for all. Advocates for traditional marriage want the
court to let the political process play out, rather than have
judges order states to allow
same-sex couples to marry.
``The people of every state
should remain free to affirm
marriage as the union of a
man and a woman in their
laws,'' said Austin R. Nimocks,
senior counsel for the anti-gay
marriage group Alliance Defending Freedom. Momentum
has shifted dramatically in
the US in recent months . AP

After anti-terror raids, Belgium Toon protests

deploys troops to guard cities rage in Niger, 2
Soldiers Used To Reinforce Police For The First Time In 30 Years churches burned
Brussels: Soldiers fanned
out to guard possible terror
targets across Belgium on
Saturday, including some
buildings within the Jewish
quarter of the port city of
Antwerp.
It was the first time in 30
years that authorities used
troops to reinforce police in
Belgiums cities, and came a
day after anti-terror raids
netted dozens of suspects
across Western Europe.
In an interview broadcast
on Saturday on Belgiums
VRT network, Belgian defence minister Steven Vandeput said soldiers could be deployed to protect certain
embassies and some buildings within Antwerps Jewish quarter. Belgium has increased its terror warning to
3, the second-highest, following the anti-terror raids of
Thursday which left two suspects dead. In France, an official disclosed that Said Kouachi, one of the gunman who
attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie
Hebdo, had been quietly buried.
After an initial refusal,
the mayor of Reims was
forced to backtrack and allow

Reuters

Reuters

Francois Hollande embraces John

Kerry at Elysee Palace in Paris
on Friday

and unlikely to be shared between anyone except lovers or

parents and their children. Other words or phrases are typically
more romantic-sounding. Most

Terror suspect held

at London airport
ritish police have arrested

B an 18-year old woman at a

A Belgian paratrooper guards a Jewish school in Antwerp on Saturday

the burial. Mayor Arnaud

Robinet said the government
had insisted he allow the elder Kouachi brother to be
buried in Reims, because according to French law residents of a town have the right
to be buried there.
He was buried last night,
in the most discrete, anonymous way possible, Robinet

French are not that into hugging,

Kerry learns on his Paris trip
Paris: When top US diplomat
John Kerry rushed towards the
French president, arms open, to
warmly embrace him on Friday,
what followed was a cringeworthy culture clash that has befuddled many a visitor to France.
The French are just not that
into hugging. Kerry had given
fair warning to his French counterparts that some Americanstyle affection was on the cards.
My visit to France is basically
to share a big hug for Paris and
express the affection of the
American people, he said on
the eve of his trip.
The phrase alone sparked
confusion in the media who
struggled to pin down a translation for hug. There is calin,
which is more akin to a cuddle

11

TIMES GLOBAL

SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, AHMEDABAD

JANUARY 18, 2015

eventually settled on the cooler

sounding accolade. But for the
leader of a country where la
bise or cheek-kissing is the
standard greeting between
strangers, friends and colleagues, it was never going to be
easy. The towering Kerry was
metres from Hollande when he
first opened his arms. In turn,
the French President stretched
out his, clasping Kerrys hands.
Kerry pulled him into a brief
hug to his right, at which time
Hollande appeared to go back in
for la bise.
Kerry caught up, accepted
the kiss on right cheek, clasped
hands again, as they awkwardly
placed arms around each other
and walked into the Elysee
Palace. AFP

said in an interview on
French channel BFM TV. Robinet said he didnt know
where Kouachi was buried in
the cemetery, which he didn't
identify.
Kouachi and his brother
Cherif were killed by French
counter-terrorism police Jan.
9 after they killed 12 people at
the offices of Charlie Hebdo.

Saudi woman
beheaded for
sexual abuse
Ben Tufft

uthorities in Saudi Arabia publicly beheaded a

woman in the holy city of
Mecca, prompting further criticism of the countrys human
rights record.
Laila Bint Abdul Muttalib
Basim, a Burmese woman who
resided in Saudi Arabia, was
dragged through the street, held
down by four police officers and
executed by sword on Monday.
She was convicted of sexual
abuse and murder of her sevenyear-old step-daughter. The
kingdom executed seven people
in the first two weeks this year.
In 2014 the executions rose to 87,
from 78 in 2013. THE INDEPENDENT

London airport on suspicion of

preparing acts of terrorism and
membership of a banned
organization, police said. Her
arrest on Friday after she
arrived on a flight at Stansted
airport was connected to a
prior investigation which had
already resulted in the arrest of
a 21-year-old man in October
last year. She was taken to a
London police station where
she remains in custody. The
arrest is the latest in a series
carried out by counterterrorism officers after the
countrys threat level raised
because of risks posed by
returning ISIS fighters. REUTERS

Cherif Kouachi is to be buried in Gennevilliers, a suburb

of Paris where he lived, the
city said in a statement Friday. A third terrorist, Amedy
Coulibaly, killed five people
including four hostages at a
kosher market in Paris before
he was killed by police. There
has been no word of plans for
his burial. AP

Niamey: At least two

churches were torched in
Nigers capital on Saturday
as protests raged on against
the publication of a Prophet
Muhammad cartoon by a
French weekly Charlie Hebdo.
Around 100 helmeted
riot police stood in front of
the Niamey cathedral at
mid-day, protecting it from a
crowd of stone-throwing
youths.
Earlier, police fired tear
gas to disperse some 1,000
youths in front of the citys
grand mosque and protesters were seen in several
parts of the city armed with
iron bars and clubs. Frances embassy in Niamey
warned French citizens to
stay indoors after rioters also
ransacked
several
French-linked businesses,
including telephone kiosks
run by Orange.
Saturdays protest came
a day after a policeman and
three civilians were killed
and 45 injured in protests in
Nigers second city of Zinder, which saw three
churches ransacked and the
French cultural centre
burned down. AFP

Reuters

People in Niamey protest

against Niger President
Mahamadou Issoufous
attending the Paris unity
rally last week

Rally against
Prophet cartoons
in Russia
round 15,000 people on

A Saturday rallied in Russias

Muslim North Caucasus region

of Ingushetia against Western
publications that insult the
Prophet Muhammad,
authorities said, in the wake of
the Charlie Hebdo attack. Local
press service said the crowd
gathered for the officially
sanctioned event in Magas to
protest against Prophets
cartoons, insults of Muslims
beliefs and Islamophobia. AFP

Paks fourth nuke reactor

is now operational
Washington:
Pakistans
fourth heavy water reactor at
Khushab nuclear site which
allows it to build a larger
number of miniaturized plutonium-based nuclear weapons now appears to be operational, a US think-tank has
said. It is part of Pakistans
programme to increase the
production of weapons-grade
plutonium.
A recently purchased
Digital Globe high resolution
satellite image dated January
15, 2015 shows that Khushabs
fourth reactors external construction is complete and has
become operational, David
Albright and Serena KelleherVergantini of the Institute for

Pakistans nuclear
arsenal is
increasing at a
pace faster than
any other country.
It is now reported
to have more
nuclear weapons
than India
Science and International Security (ISIS) said on Friday.
This assessment is based on
the presence of a very specific
signature: steam is venting
from the reactors cooling system, he said.
Pakistans nuclear arsenal is increasing at a pace

faster than any other country

and now is reported to have
more nuclear weapons than
that of India. Albright and his
co-author said Khushab nuclear site, located 200 kilometres south of Islamabad, is
dedicated to the production of
plutonium for nuclear weapons.
Its expansion appears to
be part of an effort to increase
the production of weaponsgrade plutonium, allowing
Pakistan
to
build
a larger number of miniaturized
plutonium-based
weapons that can complement its highly enriched uranium nuclear weapons, they
wrote. PTI

Yemen prezs
top aide
abducted
Sanaa: Yemens Houthi movement pulled out of a meeting
with the countrys other main
political and regional factions
on a new constitution after its
fighters abducted a top government official, sources
close to the situation said.
Houthi gunmen seized
Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak,
office director for President
Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi in
the capital Sanaa early on Saturday to stop him from attending the meeting, which was to
discuss a draft of the constitution. The movements representatives then withdrew
from the meet, showing how
wrangling over the constitution threatens to intensify political turmoil in a country
with an al-Qaida wing. REUTERS

AROUND THE
WORLD

Tongan volcano
creates new
island: Officials
Tongan volcano has cre-

A ated a substantial new is-

land since it began erupting

last month, spewing out huge
volumes of rock and dense
ash that has killed nearby
vegetation, the lands and natural resources ministry said
on Friday. The volcano, about
65 kilometres northwest of
the South Pacific nations
capital Nuku'alofa, rumbled
to life on December 20 for the
first time in five years. The
ministry said experts took a
boat trip to view the eruption
on Thursday and confirmed it
had transformed the local
landscape. The new island is
more than a kilometre wide,
two kilometres long and
about 100 metres high, it
said.

Afghan officials say 5

held for Pak school massacre: Afghan security services held five men in connection with the massacre at a
Pakistan military school last
month. The men, all foreigners, helped the December 16
assault by the Taliban in Peshawar, Afghan officials said.
The men were arrested in recent weeks near Afghanistans eastern border with
Pakistan.