Kayani meets Sharif brothers
Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met the Sharif brothers in Lahore on Saturday, spending a couple of hours to discuss a wide array of issues. Kayani who was in plain clothes, had lunch with Nawaz and Shahvaz Sharif after the meeting and felicitated them over their victory in the recent general elections. 



Incoming Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. — reuters

8 killed, 10 cops abducted in Iraq
Ramadi, Iraq, May 18
Suspected Sunni Muslim militants killed four state-backed Sunni fighters in Iraq on Saturday, security sources said, apparently viewing them as collaborators with the Shi'ite-led government of a nation plagued by sectarian hatred.

Seoul, may 18
North Korea fired three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday, South Korea's defence ministry said, but the purpose of the launches was unknown.

Launches by the North of short-term missiles are not uncommon, but the ministry would not speculate whether these latest launches were part of a test or training exercise.

"North Korea fired short-range guided missiles twice in the morning and once in the afternoon off its east coast," an official at the South Korean defence ministry spokesman's office said by telephone.

The official said he would not speculate on whether the missiles were fired as part of a drill or training exercise. "In case of any provocation, the ministry will keep monitoring the situation and remain on alert," he said.

A Japanese government source, quoted by Kyodo news agency, noted the three launches, but said none of the missiles landed in Japan's territorial waters.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has subsided in the past month after running high for several weeks following the imposition of tougher U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang following its third nuclear test in February.

The North had for weeks issued nearly daily warnings of impending nuclear war with the South and the United States.

North Korea conducts regular launches of its Scud short-range missiles, which can hit targets in South Korea.

It conducted a successful launch of a long-range missile last December, saying it put a weather satellite into orbit. The United States and its allies denounced the launch as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead.

During the weeks of high tension, South Korea reported that the North had moved missile launchers into place on its east coast for a possible launch of a medium-range Musudan missile. The Musudan has a range of 3,500 km, putting Japan in range and possibly the US South Pacific island of Guam. — Reuters

Paris, May 18
French President Francois Hollande has signed into law a bill allowing same-sex marriage, making France the 14th country to legalize gay weddings.

France's official journal announced on Saturday the bill had become law after the Constitutional Council gave it the go-ahead on Friday.

The bill, a campaign pledge by the Socialist president, has been for months hotly contested by many conservatives in France, where allowing gay marriage is one of the biggest social reforms since abolition of the death penalty in 1981.

Opponents have staged huge and often violent demonstrations against the bill and have called yet another protest on May 26. The leader of opposition to gay marriage has said it would draw millions into the streets.

Montpellier mayor Helene Mandroux, who is due to celebrate France's first gay marriage in the southern city on May 29, said the law marked a major social advance. "Love has won out over hate," she said, while voicing concerns the first gay wedding could attract violent protests.

France, a predominantly Catholic country, follows 13 others including Canada, Denmark, Sweden and most recently Uruguay and New Zealand in allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed. In the United States, Washington, DC and 12 states have legalized same-sex marriage.

Unlike former president Francois Mitterrand's abolition of the death penalty, which most French people opposed at the time, polls showed more than half the country backed gay marriage. — Reuters

An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on Saturday extended the judicial remand of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for 14 days in the judges’ detention case, following a dramatic withdrawal from the case by the main complainant.

The withdrawal of the complaint by advocate Aslam Ghumman, which mystified everybody, should hugely help Musharraf from a case which most jurists had termed as highly lethal against him. He dismissed and detained many top judges in the country after imposing emergency with both steps annulled by the Supreme Court as illegal and unconstitutional.

Ghumman failed to explain the reasons for withdrawal but stated that he was doing it in “national interest”. The detention case assumed a dangerous twist after the Islamabad High Court converted it into an act of terrorism in which the accused has limited defence options.

An application on Musharraf’s behalf was also presented in the court which stated that the former president, who is currently confined to his farm house in Islamabad, cannot appear before the bench due to security concerns. The court exempted Musharraf from appearing in the hearing and adjourned it till June 1.

The retired general also faces legal cases over the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the 2006 death of ex-Balochistan governor Akbar Bugti.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met the Sharif brothers in Lahore on Saturday, spending a couple of hours to discuss a wide array of issues.

Kayani who was in plain clothes, had lunch with Nawaz and Shahvaz Sharif after the meeting and felicitated them over their victory in the recent general elections. Party sources later said the post-election scenario, security, terrorism and regional situation figured during the discussions.

Nawaz Sharif, who takes over as prime minister, early next month, underpinned his top priorities.

Meanwhile amid speculations about Sharif’s continuing consultations to form a cabinet, he has reportedly picked up close aide Senator Ishaq Dar as finance minister. The budget is likely to be announced on June 10.

Sharif has also associated his former foreign and finance minister, Sartaj Aziz, to work out his package of domestic and foreign policy initiatives within first 100 days. Aziz is likely to be named national security adviser after formation of the federal government.

Shahvaz Sharif is set to again take over as Punjab CM. In Balochistan, the PML-N got enough votes from independents to secure a majority. PML-N provincial president Sanaullah Zehri is expected to be chief minister in a coalition that will include the Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party, the National Party and the Jamiat Ulema.