 |
|
|
Damage-control exercise Pervez takes back press gag order
Malaysian PM Badawi ties knot again
|
|
|
Leeds varsity honours Bachchan, Shabana
Husain, SRK’s ‘Anarkali’ fetches £160,000
Atlantis blasts off to bring back Sunita
Gurinder Chadha gives birth to twins
|
|
Damage-control exercise
President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz last night initiated a round of interaction with ruling party ministers and lawmakers in small groups apparently aimed at damage control and at offsetting the debilitating impact of Wednesday's denunciation of their ineptness by Musharraf who complained they always left him alone to fend for himself.
Musharraf told a group of lawmakers and federal ministers at a meeting in Parliament House that they would soon hear good news hoping the present judicial and political crisis would be over in days. He promised to have greater interaction with the coalition law makers and told them to take heart and confront the crisis by closing ranks among them. This was Musharraf's first appearance in the Parliament House in three years since he met coalition members before removing the then premier Zafrullah Khan Jamali. He resumed this interaction towards the end of last year while launching a concerted campaign for his re-election through present assemblies. In recent days since the eruption, however, this interaction has become more frequent. Prime Minister Aziz also met another group of ministers and party members and debunked the suggestion by a government lawyer that he should resign if the suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry won his case in the Supreme Court. Aziz said he had submitted the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry after satisfying himself that charges against him were based on solid evidence. He said the Prime Minister's advice under the Constitution could not be questioned. He, however, reiterated the government's stance that it would honour the judgement of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Judicial Council. The PM contested the veracity of Chief Justice's affidavit. He said the CJ had made incorrect statements while the three officials who filed counter-affidavits had given a correct version of what happened on March 9 when the CJ met President Musharraf. He denied that he or President Pervez Musharraf had passed remarks against party legislators in their interaction with coalition parliamentarians as reflected in some newspapers. PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain expressed surprise over the counsel's advice, saying it meant that anyone who filed a suit in the court would be punished if the verdict went against him. Retired Justice Qayyum Malik who represents the federation in the petitions filed by the CJ in the Supreme Court was quoted by media as telling reporters the Prime Minister having advised the President to file reference against CJ should resign if the reference was rejected by the court or the Supreme Judicial Council. Qayyum spokesman today said he was quoted out of context. He did not elaborate.
|
|
Pervez takes back press gag order Islamabad, June 9 Three days later, he suspended the order after scathing criticism in Pakistan and abroad, and today he withdrew it altogether. Information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said Musharraf agreed to rescind the decree after meeting a delegation of broadcasters. “Pakistan Broadcasters Association will prepare a code of conduct that will ensure decency in coverage and respect for national institutions like the armed forces and judiciary,” Durrani said. “In return, the President instructed that the government will withdraw the ordinance.” — Reuters
|
|
|
Malaysian PM Badawi ties knot again
Kuala Lumpur, June 9 Abdullah (67) who exchanged rings with 53-year-old Jeanne Abdullah, in a private ceremony, later visited the nearby grave of his first wife, Endon, who died of breast cancer in October 2005. Today's ceremony was attended by the premier's son and son-in-law. Jeanne, whose previous marriage to Endon's brother ended in divorce, has two daughters. She has worked as a manager of the Seri Perdana Complex, the Prime Minister's official residence. Meanwhile, all politicians, across partylines, have congratulated
Abdullah on his remarriage. — PTI
|
|
Leeds varsity honours Bachchan, Shabana
Leeds, June 9 Azmi, Bachchan and Chopra were conferred with an honorary doctorate in art by Chancellor of the University Brandan Foster at a solemn ceremony this morning. Accepting the honour, Bachchan went into a nostalgic mood reminiscing about his father Harivanshrai Bachchan, who passed out of Cambridge. He also used the occasion to point out that Indian cinema had come a long way from the earlier days when it was looked down upon. "In the earlier days our popular culture or our cinema was the butt of ridicule, but today, the same culture is the subject of much respect and analysis," the legendary actor added. Bachchan also announced that the auditorium of the university, in which the function was held, would be named as Gandhi Hall.
— PTI
|
|
Husain, SRK’s ‘Anarkali’ fetches £160,000
London, June 9 The painting, a scene from K. Asif’s epic magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam, showing Anarkali lying in a beautiful, slightly transparent dress with her head in the laps of Salim while a sitar is being played, had attracted over 1,200 guests in London yesterday. The painting was almost done in the past two days but the finishing touches were left to be done by Shah Rukh under the guidance of Husain. Husain gave the brush to Shah Rukh and asked him to complete the colouring of the sitar which he did quite deftly. Husain explained why he chose to paint a scene from one of the classics of the Indian cinema. “Anarkali was possibly a fantasy, an imagination of a writer. But she and the love of Salim for her was immortalised by K. Asif. She became a real person symbolising real love.
— UNI
|
|
Atlantis blasts off to bring back Sunita
Houston, June 9 Williams, 41, is also set to break astronaut Shannon Lucid’s record for the longest stay in space ever by a woman on June 16.
— PTI
|
|
Gurinder Chadha gives birth to twins
London, June 9 Chadha(47) director of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice is recovering well after the arrival of the baby boy and girl on Thursday. Her husband, American Paul Berges and her 80-year-old mother, Balwant, were with her at the University College Hospital since she returned to London from her Los Angeles home to give birth.
— PTI
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
