09
The govt that you elect will have critical decisions to make.These decisions will
SKorean activist floats leaflets to North amid tension
North Korea had abruptly raised its rhetoric against S Korean civilian leafleting and pushed to resume its psychological warfare against the South
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, 23 JUNE
A
South Korean activist
on Tuesday said hun-
dreds of thousands
of leaflets had been
launched by balloon across the
border with North Korea
overnight, after the North
repeatedly warned it would
retaliate against such actions.
The move is certain to
intensify tensions between
the Koreas, after the North
abruptly raised its rhetoric
against South Korean civilian
leafleting and pushed to
resume its psychological war-
fare against the South.
‘26/11 Mumbai terror
attack accused Rana
not a flight risk’
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
WASHINGTON, 23 JUNE
Pakistani-origin Canadian
businessman Tahawwur Rana
(photo), who was rearrested
in Los Angeles on an extra-
dition request by India for his
involvement in the 2008 Mum-
bai terror attack, is not a
flight risk, his attorney has told
a US court and proposed a
USD1.5 million bond for his
release.
Rana (59), was recently
released from jail on com-
passionate ground after test-
ing positive for Covid-19.
However, he was rearrested
in Los Angeles on June 10 fol-
lowing an extradition request
by India. US District Judge
Jacqueline Chooljian of the
Central District of California
has scheduled his bond hear-
ing for June 30.
Rana should be released
on a robust bond: secured by
approximately USD1.5 million
in property pledged by fam-
ily and friends and under the
supervision of his daughter,
Lemaan Rana, a matriculat-
ing medical student and Ph.D.
candidate, Amy Karlin, the
Interim Federal Public Defend-
er said in the court submis-
sion on behalf of Rana.
India seeks his arrest on a
number of offences, includ-
ing the conspiracy to commit
murder, conspiracy to com-
mit forgery for the purpose of
cheating, and murder under
relevant sections of the Indi-
an Penal Code (IPC). He is
sought for his role in 2008 ter-
rorist attacks in Mumbai.
Karlin argued that the crim-
inal charges against Rana are
largely identical to those for
which he already went to
trial -- namely, that Rana
conspired with his childhood
friend and Pakistani-Ameri-
LEISURE
10 MINUTE CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 In what way? (3)
3 Tense (8)
9 Models' footway (7)
10 Conductor's stick (5)
11 Sign up (5)
12 Ground (7)
14 Bedspread (11)
18 Capacious bag (7)
20 Show amusement (5)
21 Convey (5)
23 Lack of care (7)
24 Circumvent (8)
25 Hawthorn (3)
SOLUTIONS TO YESTERDAY’S CROSSWORD
ACROSS Rue,
1 Eye, 11 Tidy,
3 Dearly (Ideal- 12 Also,
17 Orb,
ly),
7 Heir appar- 19 Pepper pot,
20 Haute cui-
ent,
9 Utterance, 10 sine,
21 Beings,
By arrangement with The Independent
Figures in parentheses denote
the number of letters in the words required
A balloon with a banner show-
ing Kim Jong Un, late leader
Kim Il Sung (C) and Kim Yo
Jong, Kim’s sister, is caught on
a tree after its launch on
Tuesday. � AFP
Police in the South Kore-
an border town of Paju said
can Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
terrorist David Coleman
Headley to carry out the ter-
ror attack in Mumbai which
left 166 people, including six
Americans, dead.
Arguing that Rana can
show he is entitled to bail
pending his extradition pro-
ceedings, his attorney told the
court that as was the case there,
any concern about his risk of
flight is mitigated by both
his substantial bond package
and the difficulties he would
face in leaving the country.
Rana faces health risks
above and beyond what are
faced by all individuals fac-
ing extradition, especially in
light of the Covid-19 pan-
demic. What is more, his
extradition challenge will
present a substantial question
with a high likelihood of suc-
cess. Finally, as the District
Court Illinois already found,
Rana's release would not
endanger the community,
the attorney said.
Rana's youngest daughter,
Lemaan Rana, a US citizen has
volunteered to act as the third
party custodian for her father
and to act as a surety on an
unsecured bond in any
amount set by the Court, Kar-
lin said.
Lemaan graduated from
the University of California,
Berkeley, in 2017, and currently
works as a Graduate Student
Researcher at Smith-Zhang
Laboratory.
BEETLE BAILEY/Mort Walker
RED EYE/Bill Yates & Mel Casson
DOWN
1 Computer criminal (6)
2 Aquatic birds (9)
4 Commit oneself after
hesitation (4,3,6)
5 Traffic light colour (5)
6 Mesh (3)
7 Eating (6)
8 Liquid measure (6)
13 To a disgusting extent
(2,7)
15 Mucus (6)
16 Baby birds (6) DADDY DAZE/John Kovaleski
17 Talkative (6)
19 Chasm (5)
22 Fishing pole (3)
22 Gut. 8 Deportment,
DOWN 13 Lapwing, 14
1 Exhaustion, 2 Spot on,
Evicted, 15 Spices,
3 Depend, 16 Merit,
4 Agreed, 18 Blasé.
5 Liner,
6 Padre,
impact your lives and livelihoods,and shape Singapore for many years to come
Tuesday they were checking
into details about the report-
ed leafleting.
Activist Park Sang-hak said
his organization flew huge
balloons carrying 500,000
leaflets, 2,000 one-dollar bills
and small books on North
Korea from Paju on Monday
night.
Park, who was formerly a
North Korean who fled to
South Korea, said in a state-
ment his leafleting is a strug-
gle for justice for the sake of
liberation of North Korean
residents.
Calling North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un an evil and his
rule barbarism, Park said he'll
Chinese kits
don’t work
in Nepal labs
ARJUN POUDEL
KATHMANDU, 23 JUNE:
The polymerase chain reac-
tion (PCR) test kits procured
by the Nepal Army from China
are incompatible with most
testing machines in the coun-
try, according to the Health
Ministry officials.
According to Dr Roshan
Pokhrel, chief specialist at
the Health Ministry, the test
kits supplied by the army
cannot be used in many of the
country’s laboratories, includ-
ing at the National Public
Health Laboratory, the cen-
tral laboratory that tests large
numbers of specimens col-
lected from the districts.
“We have tried to use those
test kits in big laboratories but
have been unable to as they
do not fit into the PCR
machines we have available,”
Pokhrel told the Post. “We are
now trying to use them in hos-
pitals that directly collect the
specimens.”According to an
official at the Health Ministry
who spoke on condition of
anonymity, almost all attempts
to use the 28,000 kits procured
by the Nepal Army have failed,
with less than a hundred kits
used so far at the Bir Hospi-
tal laboratory.“We are worried
that those kits may expire if
they are not used,” said the
official.“We have tried and dis-
cussed with experts about their
use but have not been able to
find a way out.” According to
the official, the PCR kits sup-
plied by the army use 1ml viral
transport media, but most
machines in the 22 laboratories
operating across the country
use 3ml viral transport media.
“We have not used the PCR
test kits bought by the Nepal
Army as they do not fit in our
machines,” Dr Runa Jha,
director at the National Pub-
lic Health Laboratory, told
the Post.
THE KATHMANDU POST/ANN.
IN HIS ADDRESS TO THE NATION ANNOUNCING THE DATE FOR THE GENERAL ELECTIONS
South Korea tests 176 workers at Busan port
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, 23 JUNE
South Korea says it's testing
176 workers at the southern
port of Busan following a
coronavirus outbreak among
crew members of a Russian
cargo ship that has so far sick-
ened 16.
Kwon Jun-wook, director
keep sending anti-Kim leaflets
despite worries about his safe-
ty. Though North Kore-
FOR A CAUSE
Healthcare workers take part in a protest calling for better
work conditions and gather in memory of a worker who died
from Covid-19 at Ixelles Hospital in Brussel on Tuesday. � AFP
Saudi: Hajj will see at most ‘thousands’
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DUBAI, 23 JUNE
A Saudi official said on Tues-
day that the hajj pilgrimage,
which usually draws up to 2.5
million Muslims from all over
the world, will only see at the
most a few thousand pilgrims
next month due to concerns
over the spread of the coro-
navirus.
The kingdom's Hajj Min-
ister Muhammad Benten said
a small and very limited num-
ber of people even as
low as just 1,000 from inside
the kingdom will be
allowed to perform the pil-
grimage to ensure social dis-
tancing and crowd control
amid the virus outbreak. The
number, God willing, may be
in the thousands. We are in the
process of reviewing so it
SINGAPORE PRIME MINISTER LEE HSIEN LOONG
KOLKATA WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE 2020
of South Korea's National fever. The 176 people being
Institute of Health, said on tested included cargo han-
Tuesday that all 21 crew dlers, customs officials, repair
members were tested after workers and interpreters
the ship arrived at Busan's who made contact with the
Gamcheon Port on Sunday infected crew members. Port
carrying frozen seafood. officials and workers earli-
He said the ship's captain er on Tuesday agreed to halt
failed to properly inform unloading cargo from the ship
port authorities that three of and another Russian ship at
the crewmembers had high the port.
an residents have become the rights to know the truth?
modern-day slaves with no he said.
basic rights, don't they have South Korean officials have
Singapore polls on 10 July
ROYSTON SIM
SINGAPORE
Singaporeans will go to the
polls on July 10, in a general
election that will see the con-
test for hearts and minds
waged on a drastically different
battleground due to the coro-
navirus pandemic.
The widely anticipated
announcement of the election
date came today, when Pres-
ident Halimah Yacob dis-
solved Singapore's 13th Par-
liament and issued the Writ
of Election.
Nomination Day will be
next Tuesday, with the mini-
mum of nine days to campaign
before Cooling-off Day on
July 9. Polling Day will be a pub-
lic holiday.
There will be nine nomi-
nation centres. In a televised
address to the nation today,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong said he has decided to
call the general election now,
announce its decision. The tim-
ing indicates the sensitivity
around major decisions con-
cerning the hajj that affect Mus-
lims around the world.
This is a very sensitive
operation and we are work-
ing with experts at the Health
Ministry, Benten said, stress-
ing the need to protect the lives
and health of pilgrims. As
could be 1,000 or less, or a lit- part of the curbs, officials
tle more, Benten said in a vir- said no one over the age of 65
tual press conference. will be allowed to perform the
While the decision to dras- hajj and that all pilgrims and
tically curb this year's hajj was those serving the pilgrims
largely expected, it remains this year will be quarantined
unprecedented in Saudi Ara- both before and after. Saudi
bia's nearly 90-year history and Arabia first announced late on
effectively bars all Muslims Monday that only a very lim-
from outside the kingdom ited number of pilgrims would
from travelling there for the be allowed to perform the hajj
pilgrimage. The Saudi gov- in Mecca from among resi-
ernment waited until just five dents of nationalities already
weeks before the hajj to inside the kingdom.
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rabble and Scrabble Tiles are registered trademarks. All
rights in the game are owned in the U.S.A by Hasbro Inc.,
in Canada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere by J.W.
Spear & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.
vowed to ban leafleting and
said they would press charges
against Park, who has sent
leaflets toward North Korea for
years.
Authorities said Park's
activities are unnecessarily
raising animosities between
the Koreas and potentially
endangering residents in bor-
der areas.
In 2014, North Korean
troops opened fire at propa-
ganda balloons flying toward
their territory, triggering an
exchange of fire that caused
no known causalities.
Last week, North Korea
blew up an inter-Korean liai-
son office on its territory and
Nomination Day will be
next Tuesday, with
the minimum of nine
days to campaign
before Cooling-off Day
on July 9. Polling Day
will be a public holi-
day. There will be nine
nomination centres
while the Covid-19 situation
is relatively stable, to "clear the
decks" and give the new gov-
ernment a fresh, full five-
year mandate.
After the election, the new
government can focus on the
national agenda - which
includes handling the coro-
navirus pandemic, the econ-
omy and jobs - and the diffi-
cult decisions it will have to
make and to carry, he said.
The alternative is to wait
out the pandemic, he said, not-
ing however that there is no
assurance that the outbreak
Dhaka tables Bill to
enable virtual trials
THE DAILY STAR/ANN
DHAKA, 23 JUNE
A bill titled Adalat Kartik
Tathiya Projukti Bebohar (Use
of Information Technology
by Court- Bill 2020) was placed
in Bangladesh’s national par-
liament today to empower
the country's courts to run trial
proceedings through video
conferences and other digi-
tal means using information
technology.
Fisheries and Livestock
Minister SM Rezaul Karim, in
absence of Law Minister Anisul
Huq, placed the bill in par-
liament. It was sent to the par-
liamentary standing com-
mittee of the concerned min-
istry for scrutiny. They have
been asked to place their
Howrah 2666-8111; Behala
2497-6285
Civic Services
Kolkata Municipal
Corporation: 2286-1000
Water: 2543-1602
Calcutta Telephones
Changed Number
Announcement
1951,1952,1953
Taxi Refusal
SMS 575756: Complaint and
registration
SUDOKU
irections Make a 2 to
7 letter word from the
letters in each row.
Add points of each
word, using scoring
directions at right, 7-
letter words get 50-
point bonus. "Blanks"
used as any letter
have no point value.
All Judd’s words are
in The Official
Scrabble Players
Dictionary(Merriam-
Webster) and OSW
Official Scrabble answer to
Words(Chambers).
Judd’s solution previous
tomorrow.
10-25-12
puzzle
threatened to take unspecified
steps to nullify 2018 agreements
aimed at lowering front-line
military tensions.
On Monday, North Korea's
state media said it had man-
ufactured as many as 12 mil-
lion propaganda leaflets to be
floated toward South Korea in
what it said would be the
largest-ever anti-Seoul leaflet-
ing campaign.
Experts say that North
Korea is likely using the South
Korean civilian leafleting as a
chance to boost its internal
unity and apply more pressures
on Seoul and Washington
amid stalled nuclear |
diplomacy.
will be over before the Gov-
ernment's term ends next
April, with the virus expect-
ed to linger for at least a year
- most probably longer - until
a vaccine is available.
This general election will
be like no other that Singapore
has experienced, he said, not
just because of the special
arrangements to deal with
Covid-19, but also the gravi-
ty of the situation and the issues
at stake. "The government
that you elect will have criti-
cal decisions to make," Lee
said. "These decisions will
impact your lives and liveli-
hoods, and shape Singapore
for many years to come, far
beyond the five-year term of
the next government."
The election, Singapore's
13th since independence, is
likely to again see the People's
Action Party (PAP) challenged
for all seats - as the ruling party
was in 2015.
THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN.
report before the House with-
in seven working days.
This law was already pro-
mulgated by President Abdul
Hamid as ordinance because
the parliament was not in
session during the time. It
was brought about to reduce
the pile-up of cases during the
countrywide closure. The
ordinance was approved by the
cabinet on May 7. The closure
was enforced from late March.
According to the previous
law, the trial proceedings are
run in the physical presence
of judges, counsel and wit-
nesses in the court. With this
ordinance, it became possi-
ble to run the proceedings dur-
ing the coronavirus outbreak
when physical distancing is
mandatory.
Police Toll Free No. 1073
Transport Deptt. No.
6451-6718
CESC Fault Reporting
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Trains
Howrah Station Old Complex
1331/1332 (Auto Telephone
Numbers), 1310, 2638-
7412/3542/2581 (manual).
Sealdah: 2350-3535/3537
Shalimar Station: 2668-1121,
Eastern Railway and South-
Eastern Railway: 139.
Sudoku is a number-placing
puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with
several given numbers. The
object is to place the numbers 1
to 9 in the empty squares so
that no row, no column and no
3x3 box contains the same
number. The difficulty level
increases through the week.