world news and middle east

Wednesday 5 June 2013

New Delhi apologises over Pakistani diplomat’s mistreatment

ISLAMABAD: In a telephone call to the Pakistani Foreign Office on Tuesday, India's foreign secretary apologised to his Islamabad counterpart over the mistreatment of a Pakistani diplomat in New Delhi, diplomatic sources told DawnNews.

Pakistan's First Secretary (Trade) Zargam Raza and his driver Haider were beaten up by a group of men while the former was returning home from the High Commission Monday evening.

DHAKA: Former Bangladesh cricket captain Mohammad Ashraful was suspended from the sport on Tuesday after he confessed his involvement in fixing, a top cricket official said.

The International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) has been probing allegations of match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 competition.

“As Ashraful has confessed his involvement in fixing to the ACSU team, so he should not be allowed to play any level of cricket until we get a full report of the investigation,” Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan told reporters.

ISLAMABAD: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court on Tuesday recused himself from the bench hearing the appeal challenging the cancellation of Pervez Musharraf's bail in the judges' detention case on account of what he called a smear campaign against him on social networking websites.

Justice Siddiqui dissociated himself from the IHC's divisional bench, comprising himself and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan, at the start of today's hearing of the appeal.

The appeal was filed against the rejection of the former military ruler’s post-arrest bail petition by the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) of Islamabad.

BRUSSELS: As NATO defence ministers began a two-day meeting here on Tuesday, the alliance secretary-general ruled out an immediate decision on the number of troops that would stay in Afghanistan post 2014.

“I wouldn’t expect this meeting to make decisions on the exact number of troops and trainers after 2014,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters. NATO and ISAF defence ministers would adopt guidelines for the new mission in Afghanistan, he said.

About the shape of the Resolute Support mission, beginning in 2015, he said certain elements were already clear and that it would be a non-combat campaign with a much smaller number of troops and trainers.

New Delhi: There is more trouble for arrested cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan in the IPL spot-fixing case. They have been sent to judicial custody till June 18 along with 21 others.

Prosecution has invoked the harsh Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against them. But the police have not decided on whether MCOCA will be applicable to all those arrested in the case.

MCOCA is one of the most stringent laws. It provides for any confession made in front of the DCP in Delhi or the SP in any other state to be accepted as evidence.

The U.S. Embassy to Turkey has issued a warning to its citizens in Turkey about potential violence, the Hürriyet Daily News has learned.

The embassy issued a warning letter for the attention of American citizens, reminding of the tension in the country that has been ongoing since last week.

The Daily News has also learned that U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone has canceled a trip to the U.S. due to the ongoing unrest in Turkey. He had been due to attend an American-Turkish Council meeting.

ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif, whose nomination papers for the prime minister's election were submitted today, is set to become prime minister for the third time after his party secured simple majority in the newly-elected National Assembly.

The nomination was submitted by Ishaq Dar, Tariq Fazal, Khawaja Asif and Abdul Qadir Baloch on Sharif's behalf.

Moreover, Amin Fahim, who also submitted his nomination papers is the Pakistan Peoples Party's candidate for premiership.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army started on Monday war games codenamed Azm-i-Nau (New Resolve) IV to update its readiness strategy for dealing with the complex security threat environment.

“This Army War Game is the culmination of the series of such exercises and aims at validation and crystallisation of operational plans prepared in view of the emerging threat environment,” a military spokesman said about the exercise being held at the National Defence University, Islamabad.

The drill is taking place amid renewed fears of chaos and instability in Afghanistan after withdrawal of coalition forces in 2014, continuing internal threat of terrorism and India’s growing regional ambitions.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police have arrested a woman and her nephew, who were travelling on the two-wheeler that hit a Pakistani envoy's car on Monday. Both have been accused of rash and negligent driving, among other charges.

The action came after Pakistan issued a strong statement seeking a thorough probe into the incident. Trouble began after Pakistan's First Secretary Zirgham Raza's car hit a woman and her nephew on a two-wheeler and an argument broke out.

Pakistan 207 for 4 (Farhat 56, Hafeez 54 retired) beat South Africa 202 for 9 (McLaren 55, Duminy 43, Wahab 3-30, Asad 3-30) by six wickets.

There were enough Pakistan supporters at The Oval to give the impression that this warm-up ahead of the Champions Trophy mattered, but in essence it was pointless, not just in terms of the group stages but also in the general scheme of things.

Pakistan will claim a psychological advantage after breezing to a six-wicket victory against South Africa with more than four overs to spare, they were vastly superior throughout and their supporters celebrated a well-drilled victory with their usual enthusiasm, but it will not much matter in the morning.

ANKARA: A 22-year-old man died in a hospital after being shot during anti-government protests in southern Turkey, the NTV television reported Tuesday.

“Abdullah Comert was seriously wounded… after gunfire from an unidentified person,” the station reported, quoting a statement from the local governor’s office in the Hatay province.

He died in hospital on Monday, the private station added.

Mumbai: Bollywood actress Jiah Khan was found dead in her apartment in Juhu, Mumbai on late Monday night. The police suspect it is a case of suicide but no suicide note found so far. Jiah was found dead around 10.45 pm on Monday by her mother.

The police also claim that there are some marks on Jiah's neck. A post-mortem has been ordered. Her body was taken in an ambulance to Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital in Juhu for post-mortem. Jiah is believed to have hung herself to death.

Nine children killed in Afghan suicide attack: officials

ISTANBUL :A total of 173 people were injured in clashes between protesters and policemen in the nationwide protests in the past week, according to Turkish authorities on Monday.

Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said that 115 police officers and 58 protesters were injured in the anti-government demonstrations which were staged last week by a group of protesters in Istanbul Taksim's Gezi Park to stand guard against the uprooting of trees.Protesters used a mosque in Istanbul’s Besiktas district near the prime minister’s office as a makeshift hospital following attacks by police early in the hours of June 3.

TEHRAN : Afghan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Janan Mosazai underlined the need for the further expansion of ties and cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan.The Afghan foreign ministry spokesman pointed to the good and friendly relations between Iran and Afghanistan, calling "Iran a very good neighbor".

"Iran has always supported the Afghan government in its campaign against terrorism," Mosazai said.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim said on Monday that his party would nominate a candidate for the prime minister’s election scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Speaking to media representatives in front of Parliament House, Fahim said the PPP received two requests from PML-N leaders urging it to support their candidates for the elections of speaker and prime minister.

“The party accepted the request for the speaker’s election but rejected the other request for supporting Nawaz Sharif to be elected as prime minister,” Fahim said.

Patna: Senior BJP leader CP Thakur on Sunday said the party wants to win the hearts of Muslims through development in the party-ruled states, and does not want to "mislead them by providing skull caps". "The BJP neither intends to mislead Muslims by providing skull caps for them in the party-ruled states nor wants to advertise their photographs with the minority people in the newspapers.... all the BJP wants is carry out development and welfare works for the minorities and win their hearts in the process," Thakur, BJP national vice-president said at the meeting of the party's minority front in Patna.

KABUL: A Taliban spokesman has confirmed that the Afghan insurgents have sent a delegation to Iran for three days of talks. The unprecedented meeting signals that Iran could be seeking the role of regional mediator between the Taliban and Kabul.

Spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said Monday in an email that emissaries from the Taliban's political office met with Iranian officials over the weekend.

TEHRAN :The Iranian intelligence ministry announced that it has disbanded a terrorist cell tasked with conducting sabotage activities concurrent with June 14 presidential election in Iran.

In a statement released on Sunday, the intelligence ministry said it has managed to identify and arrest all members of the terrorist cell after finding traces and gathering accurate information about the cell's activities and mission.

N Srinivasan will not carry out his duties as BCCI president until the commission appointed to conduct an inquiry into the betting and spot-fixing charges in IPL 2013 completes its task. During this period Jagmohan Dalmiya, a former BCCI president and current head of the Cricket Association of Bengal, will run the daily affairs of the board.

TEHRAN :Iran and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on mutual trade cooperation.

The MoU was signed during a meeting between Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Hamid Safdel and Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific Affairs Yuri Octavian Thamrin earlier this week.

Octavian Thamrin, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Tehran on a three-day visit starting on Monday to attend the fifth meeting of Iran-Indonesia Political Consultative Committee.

KARACHI: After the poor showing of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the May 11 parliamentary elections, President Asif Ali Zardari says he will not seek another term in office.

Asif Zardari was elected to the Presidency on September 6, 2008 and his five-year constitutional term expires in September 2013.

Mumbai thump KKR to go second

In the increasingly intense fight for the play-offs, Mumbai Indians joined Rajasthan Royals at No. 2 hours after the latter had broken away with a win of their own. And the win came easy against the defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders. It was the kind of win that coaches love: almost everything went to plan. They won the toss, batted first, Sachin Tendulkar and Dinesh Karthik got them a target, and their superior attack shut Knight Riders out. Only a faulty light tower and some good fielding towards the end of Mumbai's innings posed any resistance.

Three killed in suicide car bomb attack on Bannu police station

PESHAWAR: At least three people, including two women and a policeman, were killed while 27 others, among them 10 women and children, nine policemen and eight civilians were injured as militants targeted Bannu’s Domail Police station with a car bomb.

Officials said the suicide bomber struck an explosive laden vehicle on the backside of the police station on the outskirts of Bannu.

The attack completely destroyed the police station and at least two houses. Moreover, 10 houses surrounding the station were damaged and those inside were injured as well.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned the most senior Afghan diplomat in the country on Tuesday to protest over border skirmishes that it said left five security personnel wounded and strained bilateral relations.

Exchanges of fire and ensuing protests are threatening to worsen already fractious ties between Kabul and Islamabad, despite renewed efforts last month by US Secretary of State John Kerry to get them to work more closely on peace efforts.

Pakistan on Tuesday advised its citizens traveling to India to exercise "due caution" following reports that their security "may be in jeopardy".

"The Government of Pakistan wishes to advise its citizens who are planning to travel to India to exercise due caution and care while travelling to various parts of India," said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.The advisory was issued days after a Pakistani prisoner, Sanaullah Ranjay, was severely assaulted in a jail in Jammu.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan who was injured in a stage fall on Tuesday evening told newsmen today that although he was feeling better, he would not be able to cast his vote in his hometown of Mianwali as he had previously planned.

Khan had sustained head and back injuries after he fell from a lifter during a public meeting in Lahore. He received stitches on his head.

Suspected fighters from the Nigerian group Boko Haram have staged an attack on the northeastern town of Bama, freeing over 100 prison inmates and leaving 55 people dead, the military said.

Around 200 heavily armed members of Boko Haram arrived in buses and pick-up trucks and carried out the coordinated strike on Tuesday, first hitting the army barracks and the police station before breaking into the town's prison, military spokesman Sagir Musa told the Reuters news agency.

Washington: US police have arrested a 29-year-old transient in connection with a brutal Sunday morning attack with a steel rod on an 81-year-old Sikh man outside the Nanaksar Sikh gurdwara in southwest Fresno in central California.

The attack happened just after 7 a.m. at the temple on South Cherry Avenue as the victim, Piara Singh, was walking down the road, The Fresno Bee reported. Gilbert Garcia was arrested about 8 a.m. Sunday in a rural neighbourhood a half-mile away, the Bee reported citing police chief Jerry Dyer. Piara Singh was reportedly approached by a man in his late 20s or early 30s who was riding a bicycle and armed with a steel rod.

ADEN: Al Qaeda-linked suspects on Wednesday shot dead three air force colonels from the strategic Al-Anad air base in the southern province of Lahij, a military official told AFP.

BANGALORE: The Congress on Wednesday prepared to take power in Karnataka with an absolute majority, leaving the ruling BJP far behind with less than 40 seats in the 225-member assembly.

As votes were counted, the Bharatiya Janata Party appeared set for a humiliating rout in the state where it took power five years ago — relegated to the third spot.

In contrast, the Congress headed for triumph. Congress workers celebrated wildly in Bangalore, bursting firecrackers.

Malaysia's opposition leader is planning a rally against alleged electoral fraud in Sunday's election, despite a ban on the protest by police, and threats that those who attend will be arrested.

Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, or People's Pact, has been calling for support from people to attend the rally, which is due to begin at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday, after he lost the race to become prime minister.

Authorities said that correct permits have not been obtained, and therefore it would be illegal to go ahead with the march.

BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials say a shooting and two car bombs have killed four people and wounded 26 in the western and northern parts of the country.

Police officials say the deadliest attack took place on Wednesday morning when gunmen sprayed a police checkpoint with bullets in the western city of Fallujah, killing three policemen.

In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, police say a car bomb exploded near the offices of a Kurdish party, wounding 20 people.

A Pakistani national has been arrested here for allegedly carrying fake Indian currency with a face value of Rs 1 crore, in one of the biggest seizures recently.

Sheikh Muhammad Fukran, 48, was arrested from the Tribhuvan International Airport on Tuesday, with fake Indian currency carrying a face value of around Rs 1 crore as soon as he landed here through the Qatar Airlines, according to Nepal Police spokesman Keshav Adhikari.

Over 18,000 Indians have approached the Indian embassy in Riyadh seeking ‘emergency certificate’ to leave Saudi Arabia amid concerns about possible job losses due to implementation of a new labour law .

“Nitaqat” that seeks to reserve 10 per cent jobs for locals.

The Indian workers have applied for issuance of Emergency Certificate (EC) to leave the country as they had given their passports to the sponsors.

Terrorist wanted by Pak for 7 years found in AP; deported

A terrorist wanted in Pakistan was today deported to Sri Lanka by a flight from here after Andhra Pradesh police found him living in a remote village near Cuddapah for the past seven years without a valid visa, airport sources said.

Based on an Interpol alert, 34-year-old Nissar Ahmed, who had fled Pakistan and entered India through Sri Lanka in 2006, was detained by Andhra Pradesh police on May 6 and brought to Chennai on Wednesday morning after producing him in a Cuddapah court.

As he had no visa, Ahmed was sent by a Jet Airways flight to Colombo from where he had arrived here seven years ago, the sources said.

PESHAWAR: One person was killed and 13 others were injured in a blast at the main market area near Jani Chowk, Hangu on Wednesday, Express News reported.

Rescue team and police reached the spot and cordoned off the area, while injured were shifted to the hospital for treatment.

A day earlier, a bomb exploded during an election campaign of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), killing at least 11 people and injuring 35 others, in the area of Doaba Bazar in Hangu.

Seeking justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots, leaders of various political parties on Wednesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and sought his intervention in directing the government to order a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into the violence.

Top leaders of BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal, alongwith those of Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, TDP, JMM, INLD, BJD and JD-U handed over a memorandum to President Mukherjee, asking him to direct the Central government for acceptance of their demands in addressing the grievances of the Sikh community.

Islamabad High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to SHO Aabpara on a petition seeking registration of FIR against former president Musharraf in Lal Masjid case.

A single-member bench, comprising Justice Noor Ul Haq Qureshi, heard a petition filed by Haroon Urrashid, the son of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi who was killed in army action.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s mother was also killed in the operation.

LAHORE: In majority Muslim Pakistan, religious minorities say democracy is killing them.

Intolerance has been on the rise for the past five years under Pakistan's democratically elected government because of the growing violence of Islamic radicals, who are then courted by political parties, say many in the country's communities of Shiite Muslims, Christians, Hindus and other minorities.

Four Saudis held over Tanzania bombing

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania has arrested four men from Saudi Arabia and four Tanzanians in connection with the bombing of church yesterday that killed two people, an attack that has heightened sectarian tensions in the east African nation. Investigators said they were still determining the type of device used in the attack on the Catholic church in Arusha, a town in the north of the nation of about 45 million people that is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court disqualified on Tuesday former MNA Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal from contesting the upcoming elections over possession of dual nationality, DawnNews reported.Iqbal was arrested earlier in April, for wrongly stating his dual nationality status while filing his nomination paper from NA-162 Sahiwal-III, and was charged under the Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution and was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000.

DHAKA: Bangladeshi opposition parties have called a two-day nationwide shutdown from Wednesday to protest what they describe as the “mass killing” of Islamists in a crackdown by security forces.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies called the strike after saying that hundreds of people were killed on Sunday and early Monday, when police broke up a mass rally in central Dhaka.

According to an AFP tally compiled after talking to police and medical sources, 38 people are known to have been killed since Sunday afternoon when police first confronted Islamist activists who had blockaded the capital.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the Israeli air raids on Syria were "unacceptable."

"No excuse can justify this operation," Erdogan told ruling party lawmakers in parliament after Israel's weekend strikes on the war-torn country sent regional tensions soaring.

Israeli air raids killed at least 42 soldiers, according to monitoring groups, fuelling international concern over a spillover of the conflict, as Damascus warned it would strike back.

HANGU: At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded when a bomb went off near a JUI-F’s election gathering here on Tuesday.According to police, the blast took place at the main market in Doaba area of Hangu district. JUI-F candidate in PK-43 Mufti Saeed Janan is also among the injured.Rescue and police teams reached the scene and started the injured to hospitals.According to district administration, curfew was clamped in Hangu immediately after the terrorist attack.

There were reports that Saif Ali Khan's daughter Sara will soon enter filmdom and her aunt Soha admits that her niece has the potential, but right now they want her to complete her studies.

Sara is Saif and his ex-wife, actress Amrita Singh's daughter.

"Sara is very smart. She is studying in college in America. She is very confident and super smart. She even dances very well. Right now, we all want her to finish her education," Soha told IANS here. She is shooting here for director Faraz Haider's war comedy War Chhod Na Yaar with Sharman Joshi and Javed Jaffrey.

David Miller scored the third-fastest century in Indian Premier League history and single-handedly powered Kings XI Punjab's remarkable chase and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. His unbeaten 101, off just 38 balls, helped Punjab to a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Monday.After being asked to bat, half-centuries from Chris Gayle and Cheteshwar Pujara ensured that Bangalore put up 190 for 3. But, in response, Punjab couldn't string together a big enough partnership.

ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR/QUETTA : A bomb blast struck a JUI-F public meeting in central Kurram on Monday, killing as many as 24 persons and injuring over 50 others, including two candidates of the religious party.However, a spokesman of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl confirmed that over 50 people were injured.

Around 3000 people were attending the rally, jointly organised by the party’s candidates from NA-37 and NA-38 Haji Munir Khan Orakzai and Ainuddin Shakir at a local seminary in Sewak village of Para Chamkani area, when the bomb planted at the site went off.

WASHINGTON: Asserting that China has signed agreements for arms exports worth USD 11 billion from 2007 to 2011, the Pentagon has said that Pakistan remains Beijing's primary customer for conventional weapons.

WASHINGTON: China has engaged in widespread cyber espionage in a bid to extract information about the US government's foreign policy and military plans, said a Pentagon report issued Monday.

China kept up a steady campaign of hacking in 2012 that included attempts to target US government computer networks, which could provide Beijing a better insight into America's policy deliberations and military capabilities, according to the Pentagon's annual assessment of China's military.

New Delhi: The Indian government may have denied any deal behind the Chinese troops' withdrawal from the Depsang Valley in Ladakh, but reports said New Delhi has agreed to remove bunkers set up by the Indian Army in Chumar near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The concession of demolishing bunkers at Chumar only facilitated the deal that led to the Chinese troops pulling back to their pre-April 15 position, highly placed sources said.

NEW DELHI: Two family member of Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay, who is in a Chandigarh hospital after being attacked in a Jammu jail, have reached India Tuesday after being granted permission from Indian officials.

The two family members arrived in Chandigarh via the Wagah-Attari border, according to a statement by the Pakistan High Commission. His two teenage sons were not able to receive visas because they both don't have ID cards.

An infiltration attempt from Pakistan was reportedly foiled by Indian troops at Ramnagar in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday morning. It was said that a gunbattle between the Indian Army and Pakistani Rangers continued for nearly 30 minutes.

Mumbai: Vikas Dalvi, the security guard of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) who dared to stop Shah Rukh Khan from entering the Wankhede Stadium during the last IPL season, will not be on duty for the Mumbai Indians versus Kolkata Knight Riders match on Tuesday.

The MCA decided to give Dalvi a break today. "I will not be there for tomorrow's match. MCA has asked me to take leave to avoid any unnecessary attention," Dalvi told MiD DAY.

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