world news | Islamic country news| india pakistan news

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

RPP implementation case: CJ says SC cannot overlook Kamran Faisal’s death

ISLAMABAD: During Wednesday’s hearing of the rental power projects (RPP) implementation case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said a separate Supreme Court bench would hear the case pertaining to the death of Kamran Faisal, an officer of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) who was investigating the RPP scam, DawnNews reported.

NEW DELHI: Does growing flowing beard by a religious Muslim policeman clash with his professional requirement? The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the issue and sought response from the Union ministry of home affairs to settle the dispute once and for all.

Zahiroddin Shamsoddin Bedade, a constable in the Maharashtra Reserve Police Force, was permitted by the Commandant to keep beard by a May 7, 2012 order with a caveat that it will be kept trimmed, neat and tidy.

New Delhi: A government commission tasked with looking at India's sex crime laws after the gang-rape of a student on a New Delhi bus has submitted its report, which is expected to recommend tougher sentences.

New Delhi: Rajnath Singh has been elected unopposed as the new president of the BJP till 2015. The 61-year-old will lead the party as it battles the Congress in next year's general election.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday backed the Centre on the withdrawal of United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) from the states saying it has failed to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control (LoC).

At least 22 people were killed and several others injured in a wave of attacks that included three car bombings in and around Baghdad .

The attacks, coming amid sectarian tensions, have deepened fears of a surge in violence.

Though there are no claimants, Sunni insurgents - such as Al Qaeda's local franchise - are being suspected for the attacks.

Unknown gunmen kill four in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Unknown gunmen killed four persons in Budh Bher area in the outskirts of Peshawar, DawnNews reported.

Unidentified gunmen entered a Hujra (guestroom) and opened fire, leaving four men dead.

The attackers fled from the area after the incident.

According to police, the motive behind the killings was still unknown however; local sources said that the incident could be a result of personal enmity.

The bodies were shifted to a morgue for the post-mortem.

Moreover, the Budh Bher police registered a murder case against unknown gunmen and started investigations.

For more news visit our page : Magazine, Urdu News, asianaffairs

The United States has ruled out any extradition for the American born LeT terrorist David Headley, in lieu of providing critical information to the US agencies about various other terror outfits.

The Mumbai attack accused also agreed to co-operate with the government, as well as any foreign judicial proceedings held inside US through video conferencing or deposition, Attorney Gary S Shapiro informed a Chicago court yesterday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday cited 'Indian adventures on the Line of Control' and a wave of terrorist attacks as examples of security challenges faced by Pakistan as it moves toward a general election, which is expected to be held in May."Recent Indian adventures on the Line of Control and a wave of terrorist attacks in the country amidst political flux ahead of national elections point towards the magnitude, scale and enormity of the challenges faced by the country," Ashraf said.

Khurshid backs Shinde on saffron terror

External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday backed home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's statement on "Hindu terrorism" saying it was based "entirely on facts" made available by investigative agencies. He, however, said that terror has no religion and colour. "Let me just

LAHORE: Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Tuesday announced his decision not to contest Pakistan’s upcoming general elections.

The Canadian-Pakistani cleric led thousands of people to Islamabad last week, protesting for electoral reforms. However, he called off the four-day sit-in after the federal government decided to accept some of his demands.

SRINAGAR: Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir are warning residents to build bomb-proof basements, collect two weeks’ worth of food and water and be prepared for a possible nuclear war.

There was no official reason given for the sudden concern about a nuclear attack in the region, repeatedly fought over by India and Pakistan.

LAHORE/NEW DELHI: Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed latched onto home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's comments on " saffron terrorism" being fomented by BJP and RSS training camps to claim charges leveled against LeT with regard to 26/11 were false.

New York: India is of the opinion that international observers in Jammu and Kashmir have been rendered irrelevant by the bilateral pacts between Delhi and Islamabad. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Ambassador to the UN, pointed out that "UNMOGIP's role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement of 1972 between India and Pakistan, signed by the Heads of the two governments and ratified by their respective Parliaments."

Pakistan has conveyed to India at the diplomatic level that their foreign ministers should meet to discuss the ceasefire violations on the Line of Control that triggered tensions, a media report said today.

Nirmal: A local court on Tuesday extended till February 5 the judicial remand of MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi, accused of sedition and criminal conspiracy for his "hate speech." The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader, who is presently lodged in Adilabad District Jail since his arrest on January 8 by Nirmal Police from Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, was produced before the Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate court here which extended his judicial custody till February 5.

In a judgment that could have electoral ramifications in Haryana, former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala and his son Ajay Chautala were today sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for corruption amidst scenes of violence by his supporters in a Delhi court complex.

Special CBI Judge Vinod Kumar, who last week had convicted the Chautalas and 53 others, including two IAS officers, for corruption in a teachers' recruitment scam and other charges, on Tuesday handed them varying jail terms.

Karimnagar (AP) : A man allegedly axed his wife and one-and-half-year old daughter to death at Venkatapur village here following an altercation today.

The incident took place under Yellareddypet police station limits, nearly 70 kms from here, in the wee hours, police said.

Six killed in incidents of violence in Karachi

KARACHI: Six people were killed in incidents of firing and violence in different areas of Karachi, while the police arrested two suspects during a targeted operation in, DawnNews reported on Tuesday.

One person was killed in a firing incident in Karachi’s Old Golimar area.

Two bodies bearing marks of torture were found in Baldia Town No. 2. One of the bodies had been beheaded and the head was found from Karachi’s Shershah area at the Dalda Mor.

Separately, another body bearing torture marks was found in the Old Haji Camp area of Karachi.

A man was gunned down by unknown attackers in the Khairabad area of Orangi Town in Karachi. His body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

BEIRUT :Russia said Monday it is sending two planes to Lebanon to start evacuating its citizens from Syria, the strongest sign yet that President Bashar Assad's most important international ally has serious doubts about his ability to cling to power.

ALGIERS, Algeria : The Islamist militants who attacked a natural gas plant in the Sahara included two Canadians and a team of explosives experts who had memorized the layout of the sprawling complex and were ready to blow the place sky-high, Algeria's prime minister said Monday.

Voting has begun in Israel's general elections, which are expected to return Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to a third term with a smaller majority in a coalition government of rightwing and religious parties.

Security has been tightened across the country for Tuesday's polls, which began at 7am (5:00GMT), and more than 20,000 police officers have been deployed to secure the vote.

Blast in Mohmand tribal region kills two security personnel

PESHAWAR: A blast in Mohmand tribal region’s Dawezai area killed two security personnel and injured nine others, including three members of a peace committee, on Monday.

Assistant Political Agent Fahad Wazir said that the security forces vehicle was targeted in Kanra village of Dawezai in Pandyali Tehsil and that the vehicle was badly damaged in the attack.

“Two security personnel have died while five FC men and four khasadars were inured in the blast, which appears to a remote controlled blast.” he added.

The injured were shifted to the Agency Headquarters Hospital Ghalanai from where they were airlifted to Peshawar via a helicopter.

For more news visit our page : Magazine, Urdu News, asianaffairs

KABUL: A Taliban raid of the Kabul traffic police headquarters is over and three police officers and at least five insurgents have been killed in the hours-long fighting, police said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi said the battle ended more than nine hours after it began early Monday with a car bomb attack against the front gate of the building.

JAKARTA: A senior Indonesian judge will face an ethics tribunal for saying rape victims enjoyed the act, an official said Monday, after a judicial commission recommended his dismissal.

The commission, which monitors judges’ conduct and professionalism, decided on Friday that High Court judge Daming Sunusi’s comments during a hearing for a Supreme Court position were “disgraceful”, spokesman Asep Rahmat Fajar told AFP.

ISLAMABAD: Staffers of the National Accountability Bureau’s Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar offices were protesting on Monday over the ‘mysterious’ death of Kamran Faisal, a NAB officer who had been investigating the rental power projects (RPP) case, DawnNews reported.

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s controversial war crimes court Monday sentenced to death a top Islamic televangelist for genocide and other atrocities during the country’s 1971 liberation struggle against Pakistan.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who has been on the run for about a year, is the first person to be convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal created by the country’s government to try suspected war criminals.

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider a plea by defence counsel to transfer the trial of five men accused of a fatal gang-rape out of the capital New Delhi.

The court said it would hear the plea on Tuesday after M.L. Sharma, counsel for defendant Mukesh Singh, said it would be impossible for his client to receive a fair hearing in the same city where the December 16 attack took place.

New Delhi: Hitting back at Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for his claims on Hindu terror, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson Ram Madhav said on Monday that the ‘real terrorists’ were rejoicing.

“Today Jamat ud Dawa etc congratulated Shinde. Now he has become d darling of real terrorists. It is Shinde who is helping our enemies by such statements. Now even LeT welcomed his statement I am told,” Madhav said tweeted.

Bokaro: At least 11 CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans were injured in a series of blasts triggered by the Maoists in Bokaro district of Jharkahnd Sunday evening during a combing operation.

The personnel of the 26th CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) were injured in a landmine blast in Maoist-hit Jhumra hills.

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Amin Fahim has called off his scheduled visit to India in the wake of prevailing tensions between the two countries over violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir region, online news agency reported on Sunday.

Fahim was to attend a business meet to be held on January 27-29 in Agra city at the invitation of Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma.

BATHINDA: Even before the memories of Patiala gang rape and suicide case fade, another abduction and gang-rape of a 26-year-old nurse, who was in Chandigarh to attend a job interview, shocked Punjab on Sunday.

In an observation in the Patiala gang rape and suicide case, the Punjab and Haryana high court last month had made scathing criticism of the state of affairs in Punjab, saying there is need to combat the 'rape culture' in the state. However, the 'rape culture' seems to be continuing in the state.

KABUL: A suicide car-bombing followed by several other explosions and gunfire rocked western Kabul around dawn on Monday, police and witnesses said, as Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack.

A large pall of smoke was rising from the vicinity of a police complex on the road to the parliament and the road had been sealed off, residents in the area told AFP.

Dialouge with neighbours must be based on civilized behaviour: Sonia

JAIPUR: With beheading of an Indian soldier by Pakistani troops clearly weighing on her mind, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said on Friday that India's dialogue with its immediate neighbours must be based on accepted principles of civilised behaviour.

BAMAKO (Mali): The Algerian military launched an operation on Thursday against armed Islamist extremists holding dozens of hostages at a remote gas field on Thursday, and a top Algerian official said at least four hostages were freed.

ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani investigator probing graft charges involving Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf was found dead in mysterious circumstances at his official accommodation here on Friday, police said, amid reports that he was "under pressure" due to the high-profile case.

Kamran Faisal, an assistant director of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was found hanging from a fan in his room at the Federal Lodges in Islamabad, police officials said.

New Delhi/Islamabad: Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Salman Bashir has urged New Delhi to accept his country's offer for talks at the Foreign Minster level and denied, yet again, that Pakistani troops mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers after killing them in an ambush along the Line of Control last week.

Mr Bashir said, "Unfortunately, Pakistan bashing has become fashionable whenever there is an issue."

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has said that India will not let the recent tension along the Line of Control upset the peace process with Pakistan and that the government will "respond positively" to what Pakistan High Commissioner has said.

LAHORE: The roof of a dilapidated three-story building collapsed in Lahore’s Tibbi city area on Friday morning killing five people of a family, DawnNews reported.

The fatal collapse occurred after the city received rainfall during the previous night. The deceased included a married couple and their three children.

A fearsome spell of inswing bowling from Nuwan Kulasekara was the definitive performance in a bizarre third ODI at the Gabba, where both captains would have batted first, but 100 may have been a winning total. Kulasekara took a career-best 5 for 22 as he damned Australia to 74 all out, with the aid of Lasith Malinga, who tore down the tail.

Heavy snowfall across Kashmir has affected normal life and rendered the Valley cut off from the rest of the country with the Srinagar-Jammu national highway closed and air traffic suspended.

Snowfall, which began yesterday, has continued and resulted in the snapping of electricity and water supply lines in several parts of the Valley, official sources said.

JAKARTA: Floods in Indonesia's capital Jakarta have left at least 11 people dead, authorities said on Friday as murky brown waters submerged parts of the city's business district, causing chaos for a second day.

The capital's worst floods in five years have also forced 18,000 people from their homes, the nation's disaster agency said, with many ferried to temporary shelters on rafts.

LAHORE: The Catholic Church in Pakistan has demanded an apology from Interior Minister Rehman Malik for drawing a parallel between the Holy Father and Dr Tahirul Qadri.

In a statement on Thursday, Senior Priest of the Catholic Church in Pakistan Fr Emmanuel Yousaf Mani demanded that Rehman Malik should immediately withdraw unnecessary and provocative remarks.

KARACHI: Businesses, markets and educational institutes remained shut on Friday in Sindh’s Karachi, Hyderabad and other rural cities after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) announced a three-day mourning period over the killing of its provincial lawmaker Manzar Imam in Karachi a day earlier, DawnNews reported.

The "serious" prison sentence for Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Rana should send a tough message to all individuals planning to indulge in any direct or indirect terrorist activities that they cannot escape detection and punishment, US prosecutors said today.

52-year-old Rana, an accomplice of Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley, was yesterday 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.

Floods bring Indonesia's capital Jakarta to near standstill

JAKARTA: Waist-deep floods brought the Indonesian capital Jakarta to a standstill on Thursday, with roads impassable, thousands of homes under water, and the president forced to roll up his trousers at the palace.

The muddy waters paralysed the city, which is home to 20 million people and already notorious for its chaotic traffic, with drivers in snaking queues stuck for hours and cyclists pushing their submerged bikes with only handlebars and seat-posts visible.

WASHINGTON : The U.S. government said Wednesday that there was no "credible evidence" so far that showed the Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons.

"At the time we looked into the allegations that were made and the information that we had received, and we found no credible evidence to corroborate or to confirm that chemical weapons were used," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at a daily briefing.

TIKRIT, Iraq : At least seven people were killed and more than 25 wounded in two car bomb explosions in a town in Salahudin province north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Thursday, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

The first attack occurred in the morning when a car bomb detonated in the center of al-Dujail town, some 60 km north of Baghdad. Minutes later, another car bombing followed targeting security forces and civilians who gathered at the site of the first blast, the source said on condition of anonymity.

PESHAWAR : The police fired shells at the mourners staging a sit-in in front of the Governor’s House in Peshawar along with the bodies of their relatives. The shells caused a stampede among the protesters.

An eight-story apartment building collapsed Wednesday in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, killing at least 25 people in the second deadly accident to hit the country in as many days, according to police and health officials.

Home

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Thursday, January 17, 2013