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Iran poised to be N-superpower
Ahmadinejad to be sworn in tomorrow
Pak Parliament can order
Mush trial: AG
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Maoists serve three-day ultimatum on govt
LTTE remnants plan to call for transitional govt
Pak Christians shut schools over killings
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Iran poised to be N-superpower
London, August 3 Quoting Western intelligence sources, The Times daily claimed that Iran had perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and was merely awaiting the green signal from its Supreme Leader. A US National Intelligence Estimate two years ago had concluded that Iran had ended its nuclear arms research programme in 2003 because of the threat from the American invasion of Iraq. But intelligence sources told the newspaper that Tehran had halted the research because it had achieved its aim - to find a way of detonating a warhead that could be launched on its long-range Shehab-3 missiles. Should Ayatollah Khamenei approve building of a nuclear device, it would take six months to enrich enough uranium and another six months to assemble the warhead, sources said. The Iranian Defence Ministry had been running a covert nuclear research department for years, employing hundreds of scientists, researchers and metallurgists in a multibillion-dollar programme to develop the technology alongside the civilian nuclear programme, it said. The report said Iran’s scientists had been trying to master a method of detonating a bomb known as the “multipoint initiation system” - wrapping highly enriched uranium in high explosives and then detonating it. The sources said the Iranian Defence Ministry had used a secret internal agency called Amad (“supply” in Farsi), led by Mohsin Fakhri Zadeh, a physics professor and senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Council. “If the Supreme Leader takes the decision (to build a bomb), we assess they have to enrich low-enriched uranium to highly-enriched uranium at the Natanz plant, which could take six months, depending on how many centrifuges are operating,” said the intelligence sources, adding that Iran could have created smaller, secret facilities, other than those at the heavily guarded bunker at Natanz to develop materials for a first bomb. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency only keep tabs on fissile material produced at monitored sites and not the number of centrifuges that Iran has built. Washington has given Iran until next month to open talks on resolving the nuclear crisis. — PTI
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Ahmadinejad to be sworn in tomorrow
Tehran, August 3 The ceremony to be held in parliament comes as Iran grapples with its worst turbulence since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with deadly street protests, a raft of political trials and an escalating feud between rival factions. Ahmadinejad, 52, is himself under fire from his own hardline camp, which questions his loyalty to the Supreme Leader. The announcement of Ahmadinejad’s landslide victory in the June 12 presidential vote was met with an outpouring of anger from opposition supporters, who claim their votes were stolen. Massive street protests that erupted in the wake of the announcement left at least 30 persons dead. Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who stood against Ahmadinejad in the election, have accused the authorities of massive vote rigging and have branded Ahmadinejad’s presidency as illegitimate, in flagrant defiance of Khamenei. —
AFP
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Pak Parliament can order
Mush trial: AG
Attorney General (AG) of Pakistan Sardar Latif Khan Khosa on Monday said Parliament could approve the trial of former President Pervez Musharraf by a simple majority resolution against his November 3, 2007 acts.
Talking to reporters after the oath-taking ceremony of Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Khosa said if a resolution for conducting trial of the former president was moved in Parliament, the government would be bound to act upon the decision of Parliament, which was the supreme law-making body. Meanwhile, President Asif Zardari on Monday notified that 76 judges of the Supreme Court and five provincial high courts have been relieved. They include seven judges of the Supreme Court, 34 Lahore High Court, 20 Sindh High Court, six Peshawar High Court and seven Islamabad High Court. All five judges of Balochistan High Court including the chief justice took oath under the PCO and would face misconduct charge in the Supreme Judicial Council. On Monday the court remained dysfunctional and media people were not allowed to enter the premises. Those judges who were in service prior to November 3 emergency but took oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) promulgated by Musharraf will continue in their present position. However, their cases will be sent to the SJC for proceedings on charge of misconduct for having defied the judgment of seven judges on November 3, declaring the PCO as unconstitutional. Media reports say most of these judges have decided to accept retirement instead of facing trial in the SJC. That will protect their right to draw pensions and other retirement benefits. Replying to a question regarding the fate of two judges of the SC who also took oath under the PCO, Latif Khosa said the cases would be sent to the SJC.
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Maoists serve three-day ultimatum on govt
Kathmandu, August 3 The former rebels also warned that they will launch a protest movement “from the streets and parliament” if the CPN-UML-led government fails to address their concerns. The Maoists have been raising the demand for upholding “civilian supremacy” since its chief Prachanda had to quit as Prime Minister in May after President Ram Baran Yadav shot down his move to sack Army Chief General Rukmangad Katawal. Maoist central secretariat member Narayankaji Shrestha “Prakash” said the “ultimatum” issued by the CPN-Maoist to the coalition government expires on Wednesday and before that the Prime Minister should restore civilian supremacy over military. He did not elaborate how. “As this government was formed by maintaining military supremacy, we prefer the government to be dissolved and (to) form another government of national consensus led by the Maoists,” he said. — PTI
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LTTE remnants plan to call for transitional govt
Colombo, August 3 The announcement was made by Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran who claimed to be coordinator of the committee for the formation of provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). He said the elections would be held next year. The claim by little-known Rudrakumaran came as Colombo is preparing to undertake local bodies elections in Jaffna and Vavuniya, where election fever is at its height. “What we are trying to establish is not a government in exile,” a Pro-LTTE website quoted Rudrakumaran as saying. “We are very confident that this initiative will succeed. Even though the Government of Sri Lanka has brutally crushed the armed struggle, they cannot quell the Tamils’ thirst for dignity, equality and freedom,” the LTTE leader was quoted by Indian news-magazine ‘Tehelka’ from an unknown destination. “We envisage a TG that does not require a host state. This government will be elected by the Tamil diaspora. There is no precedent of a TG created by an ethnic group,” he said. — PTI
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Pak Christians shut schools over killings
Islamabad, August 3 Six Christians died in flames, while two were killed by gunshots. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said an initial probe had debunked the Quran defilement rumour. "We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," the dawn quoted Bishop Sadiq Daniel, as saying. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice," he added. Federal Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti said the attackers belonged to a banned Sunni Muslim extremist group, Sipah-i-Sahaba. —
PTI
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in for a second term on Wednesday, strongly backed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei
