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Sharif may face pending cases on return
Mush to accept verdict on Sharif's petition
Emergency Big Ben falls silent for repairs
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4 Indians die in Dubai road mishap
Indian gets life term for murder
Conflicting claims about hostages' release
Two die in Indonesia blast
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Sharif may face pending cases on return
The government has initiated legal process to reopen several cases of financial scams and abuse of power against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday moved an application in the Accountability Court at Rawalpindi, requesting it to resume proceedings in three corruption references against Nawaz Sharif, brother Mian Shahbaz Sharif and other family members. The cases were registered in 1999 after the former PM was toppled but have been allowed to remain dormant since Sharifs were freed from jail and flown to Saudi Arabia in 2000 under an alleged deal that envisages an exile for 10 years. Shahbaz attempted to return two years ago but was sent back to Jeddah from the airport. Reacting sharply, he said the government had panicked by the prospects of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s return and vowed to stick to the plan. NAB deputy prosecutor Zulfiqar Bhutta had moved an application in Accountability Court 4 of Rawalpindi on Friday and the proceeding of these cases are likely to be reinitiated on August 15. Three references against Nawaz would be reopened. These include the Hudaybia Paper Mills case, the Raiwind Estate case and the Ittefaq Foundry case. The NAB deputy prosecutor general said since these cases had been pending before the court, they would automatically reopen in the event of either of the accused returning to Pakistan. Mushrraf to seek trust vote
President Pervez Musharraf said he would seek a vote of confidence from new assemblies if elected President from the incumbent houses. He also said exiled premiers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and MQM chief Altaf Hussain “should” not return to Pakistan because it would destabilise the political situation. President Gen Pervez Musharraf can continue to be in uniform even beyond 2007 through an act of parliament, Attorney General Qayyum Malik said on Saturday. He said there was no Constitutional obstacle in the election of the General from incumbent assemblies while still in uniform, which can be extended beyond 2007 through an act of parliament. He said the Constitution allowed the Parliament to declare any office in the government of Pakistan as office of profit or otherwise. Pakistan Muslim League (PML) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said President Pervez Musharraf did meet PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi but did not promise to make her the Prime Minister after elections. He said Bhutto had agreed not to resign from assemblies to put hurdles in Gen Musharraf’s re-election in uniform from the present assemblies. Instead, the PPP members would abstain from voting, he said.
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Mush to accept verdict on Sharif's petition
Islamabad, August 11 The beleaguered General said after his re-election for a five year term, he would also get an "endorsement" from the new assemblies to be formed after the general elections. Having suffering recent setbacks, including the reinstatement of SC Chief Justice last month, Musharraf told a delegation of the representatives of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS) that Bhutto, Sharif, his brother Shabaz and the President of the Muttahida Quami Movement Altaf Hussain, who lives in London, should not return home before the general elections. — PTI
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Emergency
Islamabad, August 11 He also rejected media reports that claimed Musharraf decided against declaring emergency after receiving two telephone calls from US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice. “Who is she to interfere in our affairs? General Musharraf takes decisions in accordance with our interests,” he was quoted as saying by the media here as the Foreign Office acknowledged yesterday that the issue of emergency figured during the telephone talks between Musharraf and Rice. He said he was one of those who advised Musharraf to declare emergency. – PTI
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Big Ben falls silent for repairs
London, August 11 Time briefly stood still as the clock’s hands were frozen shortly after 8 am. They were then wound to 12 O’clock as a team of specialist “industrial rope-access technicians” descended to clean the clock’s four latticework faces, part of maintenance ahead of its 150th anniversary in 2009. Although the clock will soon being ticking again, the famed bell that sounds the hour at Britain’s Houses of Parliament will be silent for four to six weeks as engineers replace bearings in the clock mechanism. This is the first time since 1956 that both Big Ben’s sonorous hourly bongs and the chimes that mark each quarter-hour will be silent, robbing London of one of its most distinctive sounds. Parliament's neo-Gothic clock tower, designed by Charles Barry, is popularly known as Big Ben, although the name refers only to the 13.5-ton (12 metric ton) Great Bell inside. Cast at the Whitechapel Foundry in east London, Big Ben first rang out in July 1859. Soon after, it cracked - as an earlier version had during testing. Officials simply turned the bell so the hammer wouldn’t strike the crack. That same bell, crack and all, remains in use. — AP
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4 Indians die in Dubai road mishap
Dubai, August 11 “The minibus was completely destroyed in the accident. While three victims died on the spot, one succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital. The four injured were shifted to Rashid Hospital,” the official was quoted by the local media. The four deceased have been identified as Prakasan, Mallayah, Devendra and Beenanath Yadav; all workers of a city-based construction company. They were all going to their worksite yesterday when the accident took place. However, the consrtuction company’s representative was not available for comment. — PTI
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Indian gets life term for murder
London, August 11 Merjit Bains (32) was found guilty of murder by a court in London and handed out a life sentence. He must serve a minimum of 12 years in prison. Merjit along with his friends, Jatinder Kandola, Jagpal Jaswal and Ritesh Marwaha, mercilessly beat Ragbir Singh Chahal to death with a 'kara' after a heated argument. All four, who were apparently drunk, later dumped the body in West Midlands and fled to Birmingham. But they left Chahal's mobile phone in his trouser pocket. The police caught them after finding their numbers in the phone's memory, the newsshopper.co.uk reported. Jaswal and Marwaha were acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and attempting to pervert the course of justice. They were jailed for four years each. Kandola was cleared of both murder and manslaughter, but convicted for attempting to pervert the course of justice and jailed for three years. — IANS
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Conflicting claims about hostages' release
Ghazni (Afghanistan), August 11 "Today at 6.30 pm (1330 GMT), we released two female Korean hostages who were seriously ill without any condition," Taliban spokesman told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location. "It is possible that at any moment they will reach Ghazni. It all depends on the transport. As far as we are concerned, they are free. It is a gesture of good faith to the people of Korea and to the Korean delegation in Afghanistan." However, the governor of Ghazni province and a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said they had no knowledge of any release. The Taliban have already killed two male hostages and threatened to kill more among the remaining 21, 18 of whom are women, unless Taliban prisoners are freed in exchange. — Reuters
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Jakarta, August 11 The explosion blew the head of one of the victims and destroyed eight houses and damaged scores of others, Antara said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear.The officials were not immediately available for comment. Gas explosions and industrial accidents are common in Indonesia, but the police will also be investigating whether the blast was caused by a bomb. The country has been hit by a string of bombings by Islamic terrorists since 2002, including suicide bombings in Jakarta and on the resort island of Bali that together killed more than 240 people. The police have arrested more than 200 militants in the bombings, but both they and foreign governments warn that extremists are planning further attacks in the country. — AP
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Urmila to marshal parade Musician dead Spacewalk 
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