singapore hotel: Flashback 2013: The world that was

Tuesday Dec 31, 2013, New Delhi: The world bid a tearful adieu to anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, a row broke out between Indian and the US over the latter’s treatment to Indian diplomat and disclosures by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on surveillance sent shock waves across nations as the year 2013 draw to a close.

Following is the diary of events during 2013: Jan 1: Singapore: A 13yr old Indian student has been arrested by Singapore police for posting Facebook message in which he allegedly threatened to bomb luxury casino resort in the city-state. Jan 2: Chicago: US court reschedules the sentencing of Pakistani American LeT terrorist David Headley, accused of involvement in 26/11 Mumbai attacks, from Jan 17 to Jan 24, while that of his accomplice Tahawwur Rana has been rescheduled for second time to January 17.

Jan 3: Washington: One of the biggest Hindu temples in the US, built at a whopping cost of USD 100 million near Hollywood city in Los Angeles has become a major draw for its grandeur and environment-friendly design, since its inauguration. Jan 4: London: Malala Yousafzai, Pak teenage activist, who was shot in the head by Taliban for advocating girls’ education, has been temporarily discharged from a British hospital after she made “excellent progress in her recovery,” doctors treating her says. Jan 4: Manila: Philippine officials say police have rescued a kidnapped Indian businessman whose severed finger was delivered to his family. Jan 5: Washington: The US city of Aurora, that was the scene of a movie theater massacre last year, was shaken again by a hostage crisis that ended with the death of four people, including the gunman.

Jan 6: Cairo: Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi inducts an economist as his new finance minister as he undertook a major cabinet reshuffle, aimed primary at resurrecting a tottering economy, on the eve of a visit by an IMF delegation for talks over a USD 4.8-billion loan. Jan 7: London: An Indian-origin mother, who beat her 7-year-old son to death “like a dog” for failing to memorise the Quran, is sentenced to life for killing him and setting his body afire to hide evidence after applying barbeque gel. Jan 8: London: More than two months after an Indian dentist dies in Ireland after being refused termination of an unviable pregnancy, a committee set up by the Irish Parliament began hearing submissions from medical and legal experts along with religious leaders on drafting new abortion laws.

Jan 8: Islamabad: Pakistani military rejects Indian Army’s contention that Pakistani troops had killed 2 Indian soldiers after crossing Line of Control, saying accusation was aimed at diverting attention from another incident over weekend. Jan 9: Washington: Concerned over increasing tension between India and Pakistan over brutal killing of 2 Indian soldiers, US has instructed its envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad to work with two govts to de-escalate the situation. Jan 9: Islamabad: Pakistani military rejects India’s contention that its troops had attacked an Indian patrol and killed two soldiers, claiming that it had carried out ground verification and “found nothing of this sort happened.” Jan 10: Paris: India is fine-tuning a contract to buy 126 French-made Rafale fighter jets, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid says, adding that Paris would have to “wait a little” to pop the bubbly.

Jan 11: Islamabad/New Delhi: India and Pak continue to trade accusations over ceasefire violations with Pakistani govt summoning the Indian envoy to serve a demarche on yesterday’s incident, which Indian authorities say was a “controlled response” to “unprovoked” firing by other side. Jan 12: Washington: Signalling a virtual end to a 12 yr old Afghan war, US President Barack Obama promises to speed up handover of combat operations to Afghan forces, gave a go ahead for talks with Taliban and laid groundwork with Afghan president for a small troop presence in the country post 2014. Jan 13: Colombo: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa sacks the country’s first woman Chief Justice by ratifying her controversial impeachment by Parliament on corruption charges despite protests at home and global calls for restraint, pushing the nation into the brink of a major Constitutional stand-off.

Jan 13: Cairo: An Egyptian court accepts ex-president Hosni Mubarak’s appeal against his life sentence and orders his retrial and that of his sons over the killing of hundreds of pro-democracy protesters demanding his ouster in 2011. Jan 14: Beijing: India and China agrees to resume their joint military exercises and expand their exchanges to include Armies, Navies and Air Forces of the two countries. Jan 14: Dhaka: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says her country has resolved almost all border disputes with India. Jan 15: Washington: The remarks made by Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh following the beheading of an Indian soldier on the LoC last week were “very hostile”, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar says, as she asked Indian leaders to “catch up” with developments in her country.

Jan 16: Islamabad: As India and Pakistan agree to deescalate the situation along the border, Islamabad offers to hold talkswith New Delhi to address concerns related to the LoC and to reinforce a nine-year-old ceasefire, saying any increase in tensions would be counter-productive. Jan 16: Ho Chi Minh City: India is committed to work with ASEAN, particularly with Vietnam, to enhance security and add greater content to bilateral strategic partnership according to Vice President Hamid Ansari. Jan 17: Chicago: Tahawwur Rana, an accomplice of Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley, is sentenced to 14 years in jail followed by five years of supervised release for providing material support to Pakistan-based LeT and for backing a”dastardly” plot to attack a Danish newspaper.

Jan 20: Washington: US President Barack Obama was officially sworn in for a second four-year term by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at a small White House ceremony. Jan 22: United Nations: India and Pakistan clashed at the Security Council over the relevance of the UN Military Observer Group on the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir with New Delhi saying it has been “overtaken” by 1971 Shimla Accord and Islamabad insisting the force still had a role. Jan 23: Davos: Promising more reforms in the next couple of months, Indian ministers presented the country as an attractive investment destination with stable and transparent policies to global investors gathered at the World Economic Forum annual meet. Jan 23: Jerusalem: Benjamin Netanyahu-led right-wing bloc narrowly won a hard-fought election in which a political rookie emerged as the kingmaker, forcing the hawkish Israeli Prime Minister to look for new allies outside his battered coalition.

Jan 24: Chicago: Pakistani-American LeT terrorist David Headley was sentenced to 35 years in jail by a US Court for helping plot the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks but escaped death penaltyunder a deal with the US government over which the judge had serious reservations. Jan 25: Cairo: Egyptians returned to the Tahrir Square to mark two years since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, but the revolution seemed far from over as thousands protested against thnewly-installed Islamist regime and clashes with security forces left up to 120 injured. Jan 27: Cairo: The death toll in fierce clashes in Egypt rose to 42 with over 700 injured as President Muhammed Mursi declared emergency in riot-hit towns after fresh violence erupted during the funeral of the people killed in unrest triggered by death penalty given to 21 football fans.

Jan 27: Santa Maria (Brazil): At least 232 people died when a fire tore through a nightclub packed with university students in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said. Jan 28: Dhaka: India and Bangladesh signed a liberalised visa agreement and a landmark extradition treaty that would pave the way for the deportation of jailed ULFA ‘general secretary’ Anup Chetia and other wanted “criminals”. Jan 29: Almaty (Kazakhstan): All 21 people on board a domestic flight in Kazakhstan operated by SCAT airline died when their jet crashed on approach to Almaty airport in thick fog, officials said. Jan 30: Islamabad: The Pakistan government approved the transfer of the management of the strategic Gwadar deep sea port from Singapore to China, a move that could raise concerns in India.

Jan 30: Beijing: China has approved construction of three more dams on Brahmaputra river in Tibet in addition to the one being built, and much to the disquiet of India, it has not been informed about the plans so far. Jan 31: Dhaka: Violence gripped Bangladesh as activists of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami clashed with police,leaving six people, including a constable, dead and several others injured, during a nationwide strike called to protest the 1971 war crimes trials. Jan 31: Islamabad: Claiming that his 1999 Kargil operation was a “big success militarily”, former President Pervez Musharraf says that if the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not visited the US, the Pakistani army would have “conquered” 300 square miles of India.

Feb 1: Beijing: China’s take over of Pakistan’s strategic Gwadar port is not aimed at “encircling” India, but the move is crucial to the country’s economic interests as it gives western China access to the Arabian Sea to access oil supplies from the Gulf, official Chinese media said. Feb 2: Lahore: Forensic experts exhume the body of a Pakistani anti-graft investigator who died in mysterious circumstances last month while probing corruption charges against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and other politicians. Feb 2: Washington: Veteran Senator John Kerry, who favours strong ties with India, is sworn in as the US Secretary of State, replacing Hillary Clinton as America’s top diplomat. Feb 3: Islamabad: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf keeps such a tight lid on intrusions by Pakistani troops into Indian territory in Kargil in 1999 that the ISI learnt of the development when it intercepted Indian Army communications, a retired general says in his new book.

Feb 4: London: Afghan and Pakistani Presidents Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari sets a six-month time-frame to achieve a peace settlement for Afghanistan following trilateral talks with UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Feb 4: Beijing: Maintaining that its move to build three more dams on Brahmaputra river in Tibet will not affect the flows to down stream areas, China says, it is in “communication and cooperation” with India over cross-border river issues. Feb 5: Dhaka: A top leader of Bangladesh’s fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami is sentenced to life by a special tribunal for “crime against humanity” committed during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan, sparking riots that claimed at least one life.

Feb 5: Beijing: Amidst military tensions with its neighbours, a top Chinese General has warned countries in conflict with China not to underestimate its will to safeguard its sovereignty or its “military’s staunch power” to protect Beijing’s core national interests. Feb 8: Kathmandu: Prachanda, the powerful Maoist leader who became prime minister after toppling the 239-year-old monarchy in Nepal, is re-elected as president of the ruling UCPN-Maoist party. Feb 8: Dhaka: Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi youngsters stage a nationwide protest demanding death penalty to 1971 war criminals and a ban on fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party as their mass sit-in continued for the fourth consecutive day. Feb 9: Islamabad: During a raid on two LeT training camps in Sindh province, “huge quantity” of incriminating items including details about the distribution of weapons to the Mumbai attacks’ terrorists were found, a court conducting the trial of seven men charged with involvement in 2008 attacks was told.

Feb 10: Los Angeles: Sixty days after his demise, sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Grammy award, which was jointly accepted by his musically gifted daughters Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones. Feb 10: Islamabad: Swiss authorities cannot open graft cases against Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari under an order from the Supreme Court, Law Minister Farooq Naek. Feb 11: Vatican City: Pope Benedict XVI announces he would resign on February 28, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. Feb 11: Islamabad: Pakistan successfully tests the nuclear -capable Hatf-IX tactical missile with a range of 60 km, designed to defeat all known anti-tactical missile defence systems.