Month: June 2013

Nawaz wants to pursue policy of friendship, cooperation with India

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government will be pursuing a policy of friendship and cooperation with India.

He added that the same policy of amity has been followed by prevous government in power.

Nawaz expressed these views in a meeting with Pak-India Joint Business Council at the Prime Minister’s House.

According to the Daily Times, he said it had always been his utmost endeavour to bring the people of the two South Asian countries closer to each other so that they could benefit from each other’s experiences.

Musharraf challenges his disqualification from holding public office in SC

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Former Pakistan president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf has challenged his disqualification for life in holding a public office in the Supreme Court.

He also submitted an appeal in the apex court for his release in the judges’ detention case.

According to the Daily Times, Musharraf filed these two appeals in the Supreme Court through his lawyer Ilyas Siddiqui.

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) in April this year placed a lifetime ban on him for contesting elections.

Altaf Hussain quits as MQM chief following raid at London house over Imran Farooq murder case

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The founder of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf Hussain has resigned as chief of the party.

Hussain said he was voluntarily handing over all authority and responsibilities as party leader to the MQM”s Rabita (Coordination) Committee.

According to Dawn News, during a telephonic conversation with media from the UK, Hussain said he voluntarily decided to step down following a raid at his residence by Scotland Yard police some days ago.

Iran”s president-elect vows to ease tensions with world

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Iran”s President-elect Hassan Rouhani reiterated on Saturday that his administration will pursue the policy of easing tensions with the world.

Talking in a program broadcast live from the state IRIB TV, Rouhani said his international and domestic policies will be based on a “balanced approach” and will prevent any extremism.

His “moderate” policies will aim at “constructive interaction with the world,” he said, adding that in foreign policy, he will neither surrender to pressures nor seek confrontation.

He said he will also bring changes to the social and economic lives of people.

Protestors demand resignation of CM Oomen Chandy over solar panel scam

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Members of the Left Democratic Youth Front here on Sunday staged a mass protest with black flags demanding the resignation of Kerala”s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for his suspected role in the solar panel scam. Agitated protesters, under the banner of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) that functions as part of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) , waved black flags t.

PCB turns down `corrupt` umpire Nadeem Ghouri”s appeal

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The Pakistan Cricket Board has turned down the appeal of umpire Nadeem Ghouri on the four-year ban he was given for his involvement in corruption charges after he was unable to furnish the appeal fees of Rs 100,000.

The Daily Times had reported that Ghouri was caught in a sting operation, carried out by an Indian television channel, talking to a reporter on Skype as a businessman, about opportunities to fix games and make biased decisions, along with a Bangladeshi umpire who was banned for life.

Highly toxic Fukushima groundwater found just 6 meters from Pacific Ocean

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High levels of radioactive substances, including strontium, emitting beta rays have been detected in groundwater taken from a well at the port of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) said 3,000 becquerels of radioactive substances per liter were recorded in groundwater from the well, which is located just 6 meters from the Pacific.

According to the Japan Times, as levels of radioactive tritium have been rising in seawater around the port, radioactive substances are suspected to have leaked into the ocean.

U.S. wants Afghanistan to ink security pact within 3 months: Karzai

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Afghanistan”s President Hamid Karzai revealed Saturday that the United States wants to ink the proposed security pact with Kabul within the next three months.

“President Obama emphasized recently to reach agreement over the security pact within three months until next October,” President Karzai told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron here.

However, the Afghan president added that the talk for inking the security pact, is still suspended; noting Afghanistan has its condition for inking the controversial agreement.

British PM backs peace talks with Taliban

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British PM David Cameron made renewed attempts to improve relations with the Taliban during his unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Saturday after his top general had suggested that the West had missed an opportunity to achieve a peace deal 10 years ago. According to news24, Cameron went ahead to talk with troops in the southern province of Helmand before an appointment with President Hamid Karzai in a bid to revive the peace efforts with the Afghan government that collapsed recently.

Obama says US not threatened by China”s growth in Africa

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US President Barack Obama has said that he does not feel threatened by the mushrooming of trade and investment in Africa by China and other emerging powers, during a visit to South Africa for promoting business ties with the African continent.

Biden intervenes to prevent Snowden”s asylum in Ecuador

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The US Vice President Joe Biden has urged Ecuador”s president to reject Edward Snowden”s asylum request, after the NSA leaker”s attempts for refuge prompted Biden to personally intervene in the case. The highest-level conversation between the US and Ecuador begun with Biden talking to Ecuador”s Rafael Correa on Friday as the deadlock continued further, with conversations being publicly disclosed since Snowden started seeking asylum from the country, Fox News reports.

Secret to long, healthy life revealed

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After years of studying older folks, it has finally been revealed what it takes to age well.

Huffington Post has come up with three critical factors to a long, healthy life.

Firstly, a little pressure is actually good for you.

The key is to find your personal tipping point between pressures that energize and pressures that paralyze you.

Next thing to keep in mind is don’t think getting older is the end of the world.

Congress retains Himachal Lok Sabha seat with huge margin

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Congress candidate Pratibha Singh Sunday won the Mandi parliamentary bypoll with a huge margin of 136,724 votes, an election official said here.

She defeated her nearest rival Jai Ram Thakur, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator and former cabinet minister, in an almost one-sided contest.

Earlier, this seat in the Lok Sabha was represented by Pratibha Singh’s husband and six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who resigned following his election to the state assembly in December 2012.

Court acquits youth of rape, abduction charges

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A youth accused of abducting and raping a 19-year-old girl has been acquitted by a Delhi court on the ground that the couple were in love and married with each other’s consent.

Additional Sessions Judge T R Naval allowed Delhi- resident Lokesh to walk free, saying that the prosecution could not prove its case against him and gave him the benefit of doubt.

According to the prosecution, the family members of the girl had lodged a missing complaint on September 6, 2011 after she did not return home from school.

17-year-old raped at gunpoint, accused arrested

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A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped at gunpoint in a computer training centre in Habibpur village, police said on Sunday.

Zakir, an employee at the centre where the victim was enrolled, raped the girl on June 8 and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident, police said.

The accused had allegedly asked the victim to stay back and committed the crime after all other students had left, they said, adding that he has been arrested.

All Hindu Rights Forum launched for first time in Pakistan

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Prominent personalities in Hindu community have launched All Hindu Rights Forum (AHRF) in Pakistan.

The non-political organisation is aimed at striving constitutional rights for the largest religious minority living in Pakistan.

According to the Daily Times, AHRF President Dr Mohan Manjiani formally announced the launching of the forum at a press conference held in Karachi.

Dr Manjiani said that the Chairman of the forum will be former MNA Kishanchand Parwani.

Facebook to remove bug that collects phone numbers without permission

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An online security company has exposed a bug in Facebook”s Android app, which collects phone numbers without permission, even if the users are not members of the social networking site or sign into the app. According to the Huffington Post, the problem has been confirmed by Facebook and would be addressed in the new version of the app, with a spokesman for the social networking site revealing that the flaw came up in February this year.

BJP blames JD (U) for the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar

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Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shahnawaz Hussain said here today that the Bihar Government is responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. “The law and order situation of Bihar has gone from bad to worse. This is a big issue. In Bhagalpur there was a death that happened inside a police station, and the police said that he had a heart attack and this is terrible. I think the government should compensate the family. Bihar is worried, because the situation is deteriorating by the hour.

14 killed, 25 injured in Pakistan bombing

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At least 14 people, including three children, were killed and 25 others injured Sunday when a car bomb rocked a paramilitary convoy in Pakistan’s northwest Peshawar city, a media report said.

The bombing took place around 12.30 p.m. when the convoy was passing by Badaber area of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Xinhua cited Urdu TV channel ARY as saying.

Javed Marwat, deputy commissioner of Peshawar, told Xinhua that three vehicles of the Frontier Constabulary paramilitary force were on their way from Kohat to Peshawar when the bomb explosion hit them.

Hindus in Pakistan ‘victims of religious apartheid’

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Hindus in Pakistan are not “equal citizens of the state but victims of a religious apartheid”, a new non-political organisation, the All Hindu Rights Forum, has said.

The forum has been set up in the port city of Karachi in a bid to fight for due constitutional rights of the largest religious minority in the country, the Daily Times reported.

Kishanchand Parwani, former member of the National Assembly, was elected chairman, Mohan Manjiani became president and Manohar Lal Jesrani became general secretary of the new organisation.

Congress leaders seek early decision on Telangana

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Congress leaders from Telangana have urged the party leadership to take a decision on granting separate statehood to the region without any further delay.

In their first-ever show of strength, Congress leaders held a public meeting here, attended by hundreds of people from various parts of the region.

The meeting is being organized amid the intensified efforts by the party’s central leaders to take a decision on the contentious issue.

Narendra Modi lends an ear to Muslim critic on 2002 riots

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A known critic of Narendra Modi, Syed Zafar Mahmood on Saturday presented a slide show, touching various aspects of problems being faced by Muslims and the 2002 riots, in front of the Gujarat chief minister and said he was happy that his views were taken in stride.

Mahmood made the presentation at Young Indian Leaders Conclave where Modi remained closeted for a day with 150 young participants at the event organised by Citizen of Accountable Governance. Out of the 150 participants, around 30 were from the minority community.

Congress misusing CBI, constitutional authorities: Rajnath Singh

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The BJP has been stung by reports claiming that the CBI has come with fresh evidence that Modi and the then Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah had prior knowledge of the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan.

BJP today targeted Congress over CBI’s handling of Ishrat Jahan encounter case, accusing it of misusing not just the investigative agency but many constitutional authorities also.