Leaked Guantanamo files reveal details

More than 700 leaked secret files on the Guantanamo detainees lay bare the inner workings of America s controversial prison camp in Cuba.

The secret documents revealed that most of the 172 remaining prisoners have been rated as a “high risk” of posing a threat to the United States and its allies if released without adequate rehabilitation and supervision.

The documents are silent about the use of the harsh interrogation tactics at Guantanamo that drew global condemnation. US President Barack Obama pledged two years ago to close the prison but it remains in legal limbo.

Obama administration officials condemned the leaking of the documents but said the material is out of date.

Pooja Bhatt to take UTV to court owing to title row over Thank You

Even before its release this Friday (April 8), UTV Motion Pictures’ multi-starrer Thank You, directed by Anees Bazmee, finds itself in the midst of a controversy over its title. Actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt has been crying foul over the last few days claiming that the title Thank You belongs to her and was taken by UTV without her knowledge.

The actress has been fuming with rage and has even sent many mails to the Indian Motion Pictures’ Producers Association (IMPPA) and the Association of Motion Picture and TV Programme Producers (AMPTPP) in a bid to retain her title but her plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Fed up with the loopholes in the system, Pooja now plans to take the matter to court.

Meanwhile producers UTV are confident that they have done no wrong and have all the documents in place which suggests that the title Thank You rightfully belongs to them.

One will have to wait and watch what turn this case takes in the days to come.

Leaks Show Palestinians Giving Much Ground to Israel

Breaking News

JERUSALEM: Palestinian negotiators secretly told Israel it could keep swathes of occupied East Jerusalem, according to leaked documents that show Palestinians offering much bigger peace concessions than previously revealed.

The documents, obtained by the Al Jazeera television channel, could undermine the position of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose public declarations about Jerusalem are at odds with what his officials were promising in private.

Equally sobering for the Palestinian people, who want to create a state on land Israel seized in a 1967 war, is the fact that Israel offered nothing in return for the concessions and turned down their offer, saying it did not go far enough.

The leaked minutes of a 2008 meeting between Palestinian, U.S. and Israeli officials showed a senior Palestinian proposing that Israel annex all but one of its major Jerusalem settlements as part of a broad deal to end their decades-old conflict.

Al Jazeera said Sunday it had other documents that it would publish shortly showing the Palestinians were also ready to make other massive concessions on the hugely sensitive issue of the right to return for Palestinian refugees.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat went on the defensive, dismissing the documents as “a bunch of lies” during an appearance on Al Jazeera shortly after they were released.

In a heated exchange, Erekat was confronted by critics including Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based al -Quds al-Arabi newspaper, who asked him who had authorized him or the Palestinian leadership “to give up Islamic holy sites.”

One document quoted Erekat as telling an Israeli official: “It is no secret that …we are offering you the biggest Yerushalayim in history.” He used the Hebrew word for Jerusalem.

Ahmed Qurie, the lead Palestinian negotiator in 2008, was quoted as proposing that Israel annex all Jewish settlements in Jerusalem except Har Homa. He also said Israel could keep control of a part of the Old City of Jerusalem.

“This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition,” the document quoted Ahmed Qurie as saying.

He added that the Palestinians had refused to make such a concession during negotiations led by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in 2000.

FIA arrests illegal passport makers from Karachi

KARACHI: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday raided Saddar Passport Office in Karachi and arrested illegal passport making staffers.

According to details, a team of FIA Passport Circle carried out a raid on Saddar Passport Office today. During raid FIA team arrested Deputy

Assistant Rao Akhtar, Computer Operators Qamar Kazmi and Ibrahim and seized all record including CNICs and other documents.

According to FIA officials, these passport office staffers were arrested for making illegal Pakistani passports of foreigners.

The FIA officials have started investigation from the arrested passport office staffers. Trend Pk

Julian Assange calls for Obamas resignation

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange demanded the complete removal of every United States leader, from the lowest government official all the way to the highest office, for their involvement in spying on UN officials including the resignation of President Barack Obama.

The whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the US is to be seen to be credible nation that obeys the rule of law, Assange told an Australian newspaper through an internet phone call. The order is so serious it may well have been put to the president for approval. Obama should say what he knew about this illegal order and when he knew it. If he refuses to answer or provide no evidence that approved those actions, he should resign.

The whole chain of command who was aware of this order, and approved it, must resign if the US is to be seen to be a credible nation that obeys the rule of law. The order is so serious it may well have been put to the president for approval, Julian Assange told Spanish daily El Pais. Obama must answer what he knew about this illegal order and when. If he refuses to answer or there is evidence he approved of these actions, he must resign, he added during an Internet chat interview published online. WikiLeaks threw US diplomacy into chaos when it started releasing more than 250,000 classified State Department cables on November 28, creating an international firestorm as American diplomats private assessments of foreign leaders and politics have been publicly aired. According to one of the documents, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked for UN personnels telephones, emails, credit card details and frequent flier numbers. The US and other governments said the release of the documents broke their laws.

U.S. deeply regrets any disclosure of secrets

WASHINGTON: The United States deeply regrets any disclosure of classified information, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday in her first comment on the release of State Department cables by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.

While she would not comment directly on the cables, which were described on Sunday by five news organizations who had advance access to some of more than 250,000 cables obtained by WikiLeaks, Clinton said the United States would take aggressive steps to hold responsible those who “stole” them.

“The United States deeply regrets the disclosure of any information that was intended to be confidential, including private discussions between counterparts or our diplomats’ personal assessments and observations,” she told reporters.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the documents report that Saudi King Abdullah has repeatedly urged

Australian police investigate WikiLeaks founder

CANBERRA: Police were investigating whether any Australian law was broken by the latest leaking of confidential documents by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks, the attorney-general said Monday.

Robert McClelland said he was not aware of a request from the United States to cancel WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s Australian passport. A range of options were under consideration by Australian government agencies in response to the latest disclosure of classified U.S. material, he said.

McClelland told reporters there are “potentially a number of criminal laws” that could have been breached.

Defense Minister Stephen Smith said later that a cross-government committee was studying the documents to ascertain what damage could be done by their release.

“We need to take it … step by step, but our starting and endpoint is essentially protecting Australia’s

Pakistan criticizes release of secret US cables

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has criticized the release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that reportedly raise concerns about the country’s nuclear program.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said on Monday that the release of the documents by online whistle-blower Wikileaks was “irresponsible.”

He says the U.S. had warned Pakistan in advance about the release and officials were still examining the relevant documents.

Details about the cables were published Sunday by The New York Times and several other media outlets.

The New York Times reported that since 2007, the United States has mounted an unsuccessful secret effort to remove from a Pakistani research reactor highly enriched uranium that American officials fear could be diverted for use in an illicit nuclear device. AGENCIES

Pakistan criticizes release of secret US cables

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has criticized the release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that reportedly raise concerns about the country’s nuclear program.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said on Monday that the release of the documents by online whistle-blower Wikileaks was “irresponsible.”

He says the U.S. had warned Pakistan in advance about the release and officials were still examining the relevant documents.

Details about the cables were published Sunday by The New York Times and several other media outlets.

The New York Times reported that since 2007, the United States has mounted an unsuccessful secret effort to remove from a Pakistani research reactor highly enriched uranium that American officials fear could be diverted for use in an illicit nuclear device. AGENCIES

Pakistan criticizes release of secret US cables

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has criticized the release of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that reportedly raise concerns about the country’s nuclear program.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said on Monday that the release of the documents by online whistle-blower Wikileaks was “irresponsible.”

He says the U.S. had warned Pakistan in advance about the release and officials were still examining the relevant documents.

Details about the cables were published Sunday by The New York Times and several other media outlets.

The New York Times reported that since 2007, the United States has mounted an unsuccessful secret effort to remove from a Pakistani research reactor highly enriched uranium that American officials fear could be diverted for use in an illicit nuclear device. AGENCIES

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