India’s aim to arm Afghan forces may anger Pakistan

NEW DELHI: India has signed an agreement under which it will pay Russia to supply arms and equipment to the Afghan military as foreign combat troops prepare to leave the country, in a move that risks infuriating Pakistan.

Under the deal, smaller arms such as light artillery and mortars will be sourced from Russia and moved to Afghanistan.

But it could eventually involve the transfer of heavy artillery, tanks and even combat helicopters that the Afghans have been asking India for since last year.

Iran Wants 400 New Planes by 2025 If Sanctions End

Iran is looking to buy 400 passenger planes in the next 10 years to upgrade its aging fleet if Western sanctions imposed over its controversial nuclear program are lifted, the country's top aviation official said Wednesday.

The remark by Ali Reza Jahangirian of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization reflects Tehran's interest in attracting foreign investment and upgrading its creaking aviation industry.

Two Blasts on Train at Chennai Central Railway Station, Woman Dead

Chennai:  Two explosions on a train killed a 24-year-old woman and wounded 10 people, two of them critically, at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday morning.

Sources say a man who was found hiding in the train was questioned.

The blasts took place at around 7:15 am in two sleeper coaches of the Guwahati-Bangalore Express, which had just pulled into platform 9 of the station for a 10-minute stop.

Manmohan Singh, Jayalalithaa condemn blasts at Chennai railway station

Chennai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the Chennai blasts, saying such "barbaric acts" highlight the "desperation and cowardice" of those responsible and asserted that no efforts would be spared in bringing the perpetrators to justice.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa strongly condemned the twin bomb blasts on a train and expressed her grief at the death of one young woman and several who were injured.

Three schools blown up in Northern Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Three primary schools were blown up on Thursday in the Mohmand Agency and Shabqadar areas of the Charsadda district.

Police said militants had blown up a girls primary school in the Saro Kalley area in Charsadda.

The militants had planted explosives at the school and blew it up in the wee hours of Thursday.

In the bordering Mohmand Agency two schools were also blown up in the Drwazgai area.

Bahrain jails five for plotting to bomb 2013 F1 race

MANAMA: Five people, including a woman who used a pillow to pretend she was pregnant, were sentenced to five years in jail on Tuesday for plotting to disrupt the 2013 Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix by planting a bomb at the circuit, state news agency BNA said.

It said policewomen foiled the scheme when they searched the woman and found her disguise while she was on a trial run for smuggling a home-made bomb in on the day of the race in April last year.

Florida jail blast kills 2, injures dozens

Part of the Escambia County, Florida, jail collapsed after an apparent gas explosion, killing two inmates and injuring about 100 others.

The explosion happened late Wednesday night in the Pensacola jail's central booking area, county spokeswoman Kathleen Castro said. About 600 inmates were in the building at the time, she said.

Clashes near Damascus kill 14 rebels

BEIRUT: Clashes between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters killed 14 rebels in a flare-up overnight along a strategic corridor between Damascus and the Lebanese border, activists said Thursday.

The fighting in Zabadani - a town near Damascus and the last rebel stronghold in the area - is part of the larger battle for control of the mountainous Qalamoun region, stretching from the Syrian capital to the border with Lebanon.

Taliban will accept Pakistan Constitution: Taliban negotiating team

PESHAWAR: Member of the Taliban negotiating committee Professor Ibrahim said on Thursday that the Pakistan Army and the Taliban were the real parties to the peace talks, DawnNews reported.

Ibrahim during an address to a tribal jirga in the provincial capital said that the persisting conflict could not be solved by any army operation or militant attacks - it could only be solved through peaceful negotiations.

Afghan and foreign forces kill 60 near Pakistan border

KABUL: Afghan troops backed by Western air power killed at least 60 militants near the Pakistan border, Afghanistan's intelligence agency said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest single assaults against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.

US officials say Washington has intensified its drive against the network in an attempt to deal a lasting blow to the militants in Afghanistan before foreign combat forces depart this year.

Mortar strike on Damascus school kills at least 14

Two mortar shells struck a school complex in central Damascus on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding dozens, state media and a monitoring group said.

The attack in the district of Shaghour came a day after President Bashar Al Assad nominated himself to stand for re-election, in defiance of calls for him to step aside and allow a political solution to Syria’s civil war.

Father of legendary cricketer Wasim Akram dies in Lahore

Lahore: Father of Pakistan cricket team former skipper Wasim Akram has been died due to illness here on Wednesday in Lahore

Chaudhry Muhammad Akram died of prolonged illness in Lahore.

The decision of burial would be taken with the permission of his son Wasim Akram who is in United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a bowling consultant of Indian Premier League (IPL 7) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

At least 40 Hindu pilgrims injured in a road accident near Badin

Badin: At least 40 people have been injured including women and children when a Hindu pilgrims bus overturned near Badin district of Sindh here on early morning of Wednesday.

According to police, the hindu pilgrims were comprised of women and children and there were going to Badin for worship.

The police said that the bus overturned due to over speeding when it was going from Karachi to Badin.

Muzaffarpur: Policemen suspended for letting jailed Bihar leader use phone in court

Patna: The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday ordered the suspension of six policemen for allowing a jailed former legislator to use a mobile phone in a court premises in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

Munna Shukla was brought to the court for a hearing in connection with a murder case, said additional chief electoral officer R Lakshmanan told media persons.

Blast kills five in South Waziristan

PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed on Wednesday in remote control blast in the Shaktoi area of South Waziristan, DawnNews reported.

The bomb was planted on a roadside near a parked car.

South Waziristan is one of the seven semi-autonomous regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) that are governed by tribal laws.

Govt punishes itself for not paying power bills

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to clear outstanding dues of billions of rupees, the capital’s electricity company disconnected power supply to most major government departments on Tuesday to demonstrate its commitment to cracking down on power thieves and defaulters.

The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) cut power to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, President House, Supreme Court and Pakistan Secretariat, including the offices of the Ministry of Water and Power.

Five security men killed in Mastung firing

MASTUNG: At least five security personnel and a robber were killed during exchange of fire with thieves in Balochistan's militancy-hit Mastung district on Tuesday, levies said.

A levies official, who declined to be named, told Dawn.com that armed robbers looted money from a private bank located in Mastung bazar.

"The robbers were fleeing when policemen retaliated," he said.

Police arrests more than 500 before elections in

SRINAGAR éMore than 500 youth were arrested across Muslim majority areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir ahead of the fourth phase of Indian general elections, local police said.

The massive crackdown on youth has been taken as part of precautionary measures to ensure incident-free elections on Wednesday.

Russia assures U.S. it won't invade Ukraine: Pentagon

WASHINGTON é Russia has assured the United States that it will not invade Ukraine, said the U.S. Department of Defense Monday.

The assurance was given by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, according to a statement released by the U.S. Defense Department.

SC grants conditional bail to Sahara chief Subrata Roy

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Sahara group chief Subrata Roy to deposit Rs 10,000 crore with the market regulator Sebi for his release on interim bail from judicial custody.

The apex court bench of Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice JS Khehar said that of the Rs 10,000 crore, Rs 5,000 crore would be deposited in cash, and the balance Rs 5,000 crore will be furnished through a bank guarantee.

Erdogan likely to toughen position toward Israel if his party wins municipal elections'

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to become even more inflexible regarding an accommodation with Israel if his AK Party wins critical municipal elections on Sunday, according to assessments in Jerusalem.

Minister appeases hardliners on child marriage bill

ISLAMABAD: The religious affairs minister on Tuesday seemed appeasing mullahs who failed to stop the introduction of a private bill in the National Assembly that seeks to make child marriage a cognizable offence with higher punishment for violations.

The bill, brought by five lawmakers of the ruling PML-N, invited a retrogressive tirade from Maulana Mohammad Khan Shirani, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and a member of the government-allied Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F), who, along with another party colleague, called the move contrary to Islam and the Constitution, pressing a stance that recently outraged liberal circles and rights groups.

Scores killed in string of Iraq attacks

Violence across Iraq has killed more than 80 people, including 41 soldiers, and left scores more injured, amid the country's worst protracted period of unrest since 2008.

The bloodshed on Tuesday comes just weeks before Iraq is due to hold its first national vote since 2010, though the poll was thrown into disarray earlier when the entire electoral commission resigned over political interference.

In the deadliest attack, 22 soldiers were killed and 15 others injured in Al-Nibaee village, near Taji city, north of Baghdad.

Saudi Arabia calls for 'changing the balance of forces' in Syria

KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Crown Prince Salman has called for "changing the balance of forces" on the ground in Syria's civil war, saying the crisis there had reached catastrophic proportions.

Arab League summit under way amid divisions

Heads of Arab states are holding their annual summit amid an unprecedented diplomatic fallout among the Gulf countries and tension over the crisis in Egypt and the conflict in Syria.

Thirteen heads of states and other representatives have gathered in Kuwait for the two-day Arab League summit that began on Tuesday.

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, in the opening session, called on Arab states to end rifts he said were obstructing joint Arab action.

Militants attack Kabul election office

KABUL: Militants launched a gun and suicide attack on an Afghan election commission office in Kabul on Tuesday, police said, less than two weeks before the presidential poll.

The Taliban have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the ballot on April 5, urging their fighters to attack polling staff, voters and security forces in the run-up to election day.

Indian Mujahideen commander Tehseen Akhtar arrested by Delhi Police

Jodhpur: In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police Special Cell on Tuesday arrested militant outfit Indian Mujahideen's (IM) head of India operations Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu, who was wanted in several terror attack cases.

According to reports, Tehseen Akhtar belonged to the Darbhanga module of the banned terrorist outfit and was heading IM operations in India after Yasin Bhatkal's arrest in August last year.

Akhtar is believed to have masterminded the serial blasts in Patna and Gaya.

Peace talks deferred due to bad weather, says Ibrahim

ISLAMABAD: The government and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Shura will not meet today to pursue peace talks on account of bad weather conditions, DawnNews reported.

Jamaat-i-Islami Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief and a member of the Taliban talks committee Professor Mohammad Ibrahim confirmed that talks between the two sides were postponed for today as it was not possible to travel due to bad weather.

Muslims unlikely to vote in uniform manner across the country, says Madani

Muslim's constitute 13.4% of the country's population and have a major say in the poll prospects in 110 Lok Sabha constituencies. Little wonder then that every time there is an election round the corner, the big question on most people's minds is, which way will India's largest minority vote. This year the question has an added significance, given the fact that Narendra Modi is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.  The jury is still out on which way the Muslims will tilt.

Suspected IM terrorist Mohd Sakib Ansari's aide arrested from Jodhpur

Barkat Ali, an alleged accomplice of suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Mohd Sakib Ansari, was arrested here on Tuesday.

Ali had managed to give the police the slip on Sunday and several police teams had swung into action to catch him.

"We received information about his arrival at home this morning following which the police cordoned off his house and arrested him," a police official said.

Pakistan bus accident leaves at least 10 dead

Islamabad  – At least 10 people including two children and as many women were killed when a bus fell down a hill just northeast of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, officials said on Sunday.

The bus, which was carrying 20 passengers from the hill town of Murree to Rawalpindi, lost traction on a slippery road amid rainfall, rolling on its side as it fell down a slope.

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane it says violated air space

Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian plane on Sunday that Ankara said had crossed into its air space in an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces for control of a border crossing.

"A Syrian plane violated our airspace," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally in northwest Turkey. "Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard."

Egyptian court sentences 529 Muslim Brotherhood members to death

An Egyptian court sentenced 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death on Monday on charges including murder, a defense lawyer said, in a sharp escalation of a crackdown on the movement.

Most were arrested during clashes which erupted in the southern province of Minya after the forced dispersal of two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo on August 14.

Twenty Yemen soldiers killed in 'Qaeda attack'

Aden : Gunmen in Yemen killed 20 soldiers Monday at a checkpoint in Hadramawt province, the official Saba news agency said of the latest in a wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda.

"Twenty soldiers were killed in the armed attack on an army checkpoint" near Reida, 135 kilometres (85 miles) east of the provincial capital Mukalla in the south, Saba said.

Volcanic eruption in Indonesia closes three airports

SURABAYA: Volcanic ash from a major eruption in Indonesia shrouded a large swath of the country's most densely populated island on Friday and closed three international airports.

Local media reported two people were killed when parts of their homes collapsed after Mount Kelud's explosive eruption overnight.

The initial blasts sent millions of cubic meters of dust and rocks into the atmosphere, according to the country's disaster agency, and could be heard up to 200 kilometers away.

Blast near Rangers' vehicle in Karachi injures two

KARACHI: An explosion took place near a Rangers' vehicle in Karachi's Qayyumabad area injuring two personnel on Friday, DawnNews reported.

A rescue source said that one of the wounded persons was wearing the Rangers' uniform whereas the other was dressed in plain clothes.

The wounded were shifted to PNS Shifa hospital for treatment.

Truck crash kills 20 in northern Afghanistan

KABUL: Authorities say 20 people have died after a truck skidded out of control and crashed into a dam in northern Afghanistan.

Abdul Maman Yaqubi, chief of police for Khan Abad district in Kunduz province, says the truck was travelling on icy and snowy roads Thursday morning when it spun out of control and slipped off the road.

Four suspected militants killed in Dera Bugti operation

DERA BUGTI: At least four suspected militants were killed during an operation conducted by security forces’ personnel in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti area on Thursday, DawnNews reported.

According to a Frontier Corps (FC) spokesman, security personnel were carrying out an operation in Chap Garh, which is 40 kilometres ahead of Dera Bugti.

MP uses pepper spray, Speaker suspends 18 lawmakers

The Lok Sabha turned into a battlefield on Thursday with senior MPs scuffling as home minister Sushilkumar Shinde introduced the Telangana bill around noon.

The UPA government struggled to table the bill as expelled Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal heightened the drama by spraying pepper spray in the air after being stopped from rushing to the Speaker's chair.

The pepper spray left several parliamentarians, staff and journalists coughing and teary-eyed. Many MPs tried to rush outside to avoid the smell and chemical effects of the spray.

Musharraf’s attorney offers himself for punishment

ISLAMABAD: The proceedings of treason trial took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when an attorney of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf offered himself for punishment in place of the former president even though the special court has yet to indict the former dictator for high treason.

Advocate Rana Ijaz Ahmed, who was law minister of Punjab in the Musharraf regime, asked the court to hang him or sentence him for life as envisaged in the High Treason Punishment Act 1973 for abrogating the Constitution.

Afghanistan releases 65 Taliban prisoners despite US protests

KABUL: Afghanistan released 65 alleged Taliban fighters from jail on Thursday despite fierce condemnation from the United States, which says the men pose a threat to Nato and Afghan forces.

“The 65 prisoners were freed and walked out of the Bagram prison compound this morning,” Abdul Shukor Dadras, a member of the Afghan government body reviewing the detainees, told AFP.

“Their cases were reviewed and we have no reason to keep them in jail.” Dadras had also said.

Lebanon man sentenced for insulting President on Twitter

Beirut: A Lebanese web developer has been sentenced to two months in prison for insulting President Michel Sleiman on Twitter, a judicial source told a news agency.

"Jean Assy was sentenced to two months in jail for defaming and insulting the President via Twitter," the source said.

"The court decision can be appealed within 10 days."The case is thought to be the first time a Lebanese citizen has been sentenced for views expressed on a social network, though people have previously been charged for similar insults.

Armed activities are against Sharia: Fazl

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that the key to negotiations with the Taliban was with the army headquarters.

Talking in a TV programme, he said armed anti-sate activities in Pakistan were against religious teachings.

Maulana Fazl also said that Taliban had been involved in attacks on him.

Meanwhile, Rustam Shah Mohmand, a member of the government’s negotiating committee, said some rivals of the Taliban wanted to sabotage the peace talks.

Explosion in Karachi kills 13 cops, injures 37 others

KARACHI: At least Thirteen policemen were killed and 37 others, including civilians, were wounded Thursday morning in an explosion targeting a police bus near Razzaqabad police training college in Karachi's Shah Latif Town, DawnNews reported.

Rescue teams reached the site of attack whereas the victims were shifted to Jinnah Hospital.

The rear portion of the targeted bus was completely destroyed in the explosion and 50 persons were reportedly on board the vehicle.

LHC orders govt to produce anti-drone activist on Feb 20

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday ordered the government to produce an anti-drone activist — who was apparently detained by the country's intelligence agencies — at a hearing on Feb 20, his lawyer said.

Kareem Khan was picked up from his home on the outskirts of Islamabad on Feb 5, according to his legal team, just days before he was due to testify before European parliamentarians.

Islamist group prays for earthquake in Sochi during Winter Olympics

SOCHI, RUSSIA: A militant Islamist group has urged followers to pray for an earthquake in Sochi during the Winter Olympics to avenge Muslims who died there fighting "Russian infidels".

The appeal was made by a local branch of the Caucasus Emirate, a group which is waging an insurgency for an Islamist state in Russia's North Caucasus and called on supporters last year to attack the Games.

Turkish government working on anti-corruption reform: Minister

The government is working on an anti-corruption reform, the Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said yesterday, continuing his mission to soothe investors’ concerns regarding political transparency and stability in Turkey.

16,400 Russians to perform Haj this year, says ministry

Russian pilgrims praised the Saudi authorities for their constant efforts to develop and upgrade facilities for Haj pilgrims.

Elias Umakhanov, vice president of the Haj Council of Russian Federation, said it made it easy for them to perform the rituals at the holy sites.

Umakhanov, who is on a visit to the Kingdom, hailed the public transport system between Makkah and Madinah, the train service at the holy sites and the infrastructure projects, Haj Ministry officials said.

US Ambassador Nancy Powell to meet Modi on February 13

US Ambassador Nancy Powell has sought a meeting with Narendra Modi which will take place on Thursday in Gandhinagar, signalling an end to America's boycott of the BJP leader after nearly nine years.

Powell apparently wants to discuss with the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate issues related to the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and his vision for the country, sources said.

They said the Ambassador's request for meeting has been accepted by Modi and exact time and date are being firmed up.

Iran slams Pakistan over border guards abduction

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday denounced what it called Pakistan's inability to secure its own borders after five Iranian soldiers were kidnapped and taken into its eastern neighbour by extremists.

“We are unhappy with the Pakistani government over the abduction of our guards and their transfer to Pakistan,” Fars news agency reported quoted police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghadam as saying.

Jaish-ul Adl, the rebel group formed in 2012 whose name in Arabic means Army of Justice, has said it was behind the kidnapping in Iran's restive southeast province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

Roadside bomb kills eight Afghan soldiers: official

KABUL: A roadside bomb ripped through an Afghan army vehicle in southwestern Afghanistan on Sunday and killed eight soldiers, officials said.

The vehicle was hit in the Dilaram district of Farah province, said defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi.

Mohammad Sarwar Sebat, the governor of neighbouring Nimroz province, told AFP the soldiers were transporting ammunition to Farah from their base in Nimroz when the blast struck them.

Govt’s committee waiting for Taliban’s response

ISLAMABAD: The government negotiators holding talks with the Taliban are anxiously waiting for a reply from the leadership of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan to the conditions set by them.“We have put two conditions — talks will be held within the parameters of the Constitution and their scope will be limited to insurgency-affected areas of the tribal belt,” a member of the government’s committee told Dawn.He said now the ball is in the Taliban’s court and the future of peace negotiations, which began on Thursday, would be determined by their response.

Khuzdar graves are of missing persons, concedes minister

ISLAMABAD: Expressing serious concern over the discovery of mass graves in Balochistan, provincial Health Minister Rahmat Saleh Baloch claimed on Saturday that all the decomposed and mutilated bodies found in Tootak area of Khuzdar district were of those who had been missing since long.“This is intolerable and a cause of serious consternation, especially among the youths losing all hopes fast,” the minister said while talking to Dawn.

More children dying in Afghan violence, says UN report

KABUL:The number of children killed and wounded in Afghanistan's war jumped by 34 per cent last year as the Taliban stepped up attacks across the country and continued to lay thousands of roadside bombs, the United Nations said Saturday.Overall civilian casualties were up by 14 per cent, reversing 2012's downward trend and making 2013 one of the deadliest years of the 12-year war for civilians, the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan said in a report.

Shutdown in Karachi on MQM’s call

A complete shutdown of the city was being observed on Saturday on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's 'appeal' to observe a day of mourning across Sindh against extra-judicial killings of its party members, DawnNews reported.Businesses, commercial centres and shops were shut in most parts of the country's financial capital.

Govt negotiators looking at TTP demand to meet PM, COAS, DG ISI

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid on Friday said the government committee was taking into consideration the demand by the Taliban committee to meet the prime minister, army chief and director general Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives, Rashid said the government was awaiting recommendations from its negotiators on the demand put forth by the Taliban committee, adding that whatever recommendations are brought forward would be facilitated and implemented by the government.