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Plea challenging Rana’s appointment dismissed
Lal Masjid fallout
Lanka clash: 16 soldiers killed |
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Haneef sent e-mail after failed UK attacks
Trading food for gold with rebels
UN secy-gen calls Hindi a language of harmony
IAF pilots battling inclement weather to break world record
Iran ‘arrests’ squirrels for spying
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Plea challenging Rana’s appointment dismissed
Islamabad, July 14 The Bench comprising Justices Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi and Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed heard the petition filed by Shahid Orakzai, which contended that a non-Muslim could not head the judiciary in an Islamic state. The petitioner requested that the court allow him six hours to argue his case but Justice Khan said the court's time was very precious and could not be wasted. The court observed that the petition was frivolous and asked the petitioner to be seated. On Orakzai's refusal to leave the rostrum, the court ordered the police to take him out. Maulvi Iqbal Haider, another petitioner, said a non-Muslim could hold the office of the CJP. Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan responded to the petition by saying that the authorities concerned did not need a certificate from Haider to appoint a judge. The court dismissed his petition.
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Lal Masjid fallout
Islamabad, July 14 The attack took place near the Daz Nerai area in north Waziristan Tribal Agency around 11.30 am, Pakistan’s defence spokesman Major-Gen Waheed Arshad said. A car filled with explosives hit a military convoy, which was moving from Ramzak to Bannu, he said. Local officials in Miranshah, a town in the tribal agency, said 24 soldiers were killed and scores injured in the attack. However, Arshad confirmed the death of only eight Army men. It “could be,” he said when asked whether today’s attack was a fallout of the Army crackdown on the Lal Masjid. At the same time, he reminded that such incidents took place earlier also. Arshad said the Army was taking measures to tighten security in the volatile tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. Hardliner Maulana Zafarullah, also known as Maulana Radio for his fiery sermons delivered through illegally-run FM Radio in Malakand, has already threatened to launch revenge attacks on troops over the death of Lal Masjid deputy head cleric Abul Rashid Ghazi, who was killed in the Army operation. The Pakistan Army has deployed over 3,000 troops with heavy weapons to deal with any attempts by the cleric to step up attacks. Armed militants appeared in the Bannu area in the tribal belt yesterday and declared that from now onwards Friday would be observed as a holiday and ordered all people to attend prayers. As a result, all government offices and banks were closed in the area. — PTI
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Lanka clash: 16 soldiers killed Colombo, July 14 Troops and LTTE rebels traded long-range attacks across the de facto front line at Vavuniya district early this morning, the defence ministry said placing its losses at 10 killed and 32 wounded. However, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said it killed at least 16 soldiers and wounded another 45 for the loss of three of their own fighters. Military sources too confirmed that about 10 soldiers were killed and several others were unaccounted for. The military called in air support and deployed war planes to bomb suspected Tamil Tiger positions, the ministry said, adding rebel casualties were believed to be high. It, however, did not give the exact details. — PTI
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Haneef sent e-mail after failed UK attacks
Melbourne, July 14 The e-mail is not enough to charge Haneef and much would depend on how he conducted himself during interviews which resumed last night, the 'Sydney Morning Herald' quoted counter-terrorism officials as saying today. Haneef and his family said he planned to visit his wife and daughter in Bangalore. The federal police is sceptical. Two sources have confirmed that much of the suspicion rests on an e-mail Haneef sent just before his thwarted departure. "He said he had to leave in a hurry. He made no mention of his sick wife or child," said an official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
— PTI
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Trading food for gold with rebels
Kinshasa, July 14 The investigation is one of a series, including a probe authorised by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, into the 17,000-strong UN mission in Democratic Republic of Congo. The operation is credited with organising the country’s first democratic polls in 40 years but tarnished by allegations ranging from sexual abuse to killings. Kemal Saiki, spokesman for the UN mission in Congo, confirmed media reports of the allegations made against Indian peacekeepers in eastern Congo’s troubled North Kivu province. “We acknowledge there were accusations. Following these allegations, our procedures kicked in and an investigation by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was launched,” he said, in reference to the UN watchdog in New York. Rights campaigners expressed concern the scandals could damage the reputation of UN peacekeeping missions. Human Rights Watch has accused the United Nations of stalling on earlier investigations, involving Pakistani troops. In New York, Ban announced that the peacekeeping department was sending a “management audit team” to Kinshasa “to obtain a full picture of various recent allegations of serious misconduct against UN personnel.” According to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the head of UN peacekeeping, “The management team will look at why these issues surfaced, what could be done to strengthen the management of (the mission) to be more pro-active on these things,” while the OIOS would investigate the actual allegations. Large areas of North Kivu along the border with neighbouring Rwanda are under the control of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu-dominated rebel movement. The FDLR is composed in part of former Interahamwe militia who fled to Congo after taking part in the genocide in Rwanda that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994. In Congo, they are accused of grave human rights abuses in areas under their control, and recent fighting between the foreign rebels and Congolese army brigades have driven more than 1,65,000 people from their homes.
— Reuters
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UN secy-gen calls Hindi a language of harmony
New York, July 14 "Hindi is a language of understanding and harmony. It unites the vast Indian diaspora, building bridges between different countries," he said on Friday, accepting Hindi's growing importance in the world. Mentioning that his first diplomatic posting was in India when he tried to pick up some Hindi, the secretary-general from South Korea spoke a few sentences in Hindi, drawing applause from the audience that included the ambassadors of 50 countries. Ban Ki-moon's appearance at the conference assumed importance in the light of India's stated objective to get the official language status for Hindi at the UN. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his video message screened at the inaugural function, said the Indian Government was working towards achieving that objective. "It is already a world language. Statistics show that Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world," he said. The venue for the rest of the three-day conference is the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Over 1,000 Hindi lovers, writers, poets and scholars, are attending the conference. India's minister of state for external affairs Anand Sharma told the Press that India would start a worldwide campaign to secure the support of two-thirds of the UN members for adding Hindi to the list of six UN languages (English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Arabic).
— IANS
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IAF pilots battling inclement weather to break world record
Two Indian Air Force pilots are battling inclement weather on their mission to break the world record for circumnavigating the globe in a microlight.
The plane, piloted by Wg Cdr Rahul Monga and Wg Cdr Anil Kumar, is travelling behind schedule after having run into bad weather over Russia and Alaska. The microlight, a CTSW Advance, has a maximum take-off weight of 500 kg. In an interview with The Tribune Wing Commander Monga said he and Wing Commander Kumar had faced a new challenge on every day of their mission. The journey is part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the IAF, which turns 75 on October 8.
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Iran ‘arrests’ squirrels for spying
Jerusalem, July 14 "In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders," Iranian state news agency IRNA was quoted by 'Ynetnews' as saying. "The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services," the Iranian agency reportedly
said. — PTI
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