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Karachi
Violence
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Zimbabwe’s male MPs
to undergo circumcision
Japan’s finance minister Noda to be new PM
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Karachi
Violence
Karachi, August 29 In an unprecedented sitting in Karachi to take suo motu notice of the violence in the city, a five-member bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s account of the gory happenings in the city. The bench pulled up the authorities for lacking vision and analysis that were needed to make headway to check spiralling violence. The court wanted names of people employing vicious armed gangs who are waging a savage battle for supremacy in the Pakistan’s commercial hub Karachi. It has now directed that the country’s main spy agency ISI and the military intelligence to file reports on the backdrop to the violence. At the hearing, the Sindh police chief Wajid Durrani painted a grim picture of the law and order situation in the port city, saying that law-enforcement agencies cannot enter some violence-hit areas in Karachi, even though more than 32,000 policemen were deployed in 112 police stations. Durrani told the court that more than one ethnic groups were involved in the violence, which has thrown life out of gear in the city of 18 million multi-ethnic populations. Filing a report before the court as directed by the court, Durrani blamed ethnic and sectarian tension for the unrest, adding that land grabbers and extortionists were adding fuel to the violence in the city. The Supreme Court bench declined a Sindh government plea to keep the report classified saying that most of it was based on newspaper report and keeping it confidential was not important. Giving details of the losses, Durrani, when asked by the chief justice, said that 17 bodies were found in bags of which throats of eight had been slit. He said 78 vehicles were torched in 146 clashes between armed groups over a period of a month. Durrani also said that the police had rounded up 20 target killers. The court has now specifically asked the police chief to give names of those running violent armed gangs in the city and is to resume the hearing tomorrow.
— PTI
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Libyan rebels close in on Gaddafi hometown Sirte
Tripoli, August 29 Rebels were also battling to restore basic services in Tripoli, hit by cuts in the supply of water, electricity, petrol and even food following the fierce clashes of the past week. The leader of the rebels’ National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel Jalil urged in Doha today that there should be no let-up in international action against Gaddafi. “Gaddafi’s defiance of the coalition forces still poses a danger, not only for Libya but for the world. That is why we are calling for the coalition to continue its support,” Abdel Jalil said at a meeting of chiefs of staff of countries militarily involved in Libya, including Qatar. The international coalition launched Operation Unified Protector in Libya on March 19 under a UN mandate which authorised air strikes to protect civilians in the country’s civil war which began with a peaceful revolt in mid-February. Since March 31, the air strikes have been carried out under the command of NATO. Although Gadfafi’s whereabouts remain a mystery, there is widespread speculation that he is holed up in Sirte, 360 km east of Tripoli, among tribal supporters there. Rebel forces moved to within 30 km of Sirte from the west and captured Bin Jawad 100 km to the east, the rebel commander in Misrata, Mohammed al-Fortiya, told AFP yesterday. Sirte has been targeted by NATO warplanes, which since Friday have destroyed more than 50 military vehicles, two shelters, an observation point, four radars and two surface to air missile systems, according to NATO statements.
— AFP
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Zimbabwe’s male MPs
to undergo circumcision
Durban, August 29 All male members in the 150-member Zimbabwean Parliament and all male councillors in urban and rural councils will have to undergo the minor operation, state-run The Sunday Mail newspaper quoted Thokozani Khupe as saying. The Deputy PM said that the decision was in line with strategies the government was implementing to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS. “Research has shown that circumcised men are eight times less likely to contract HIV. Therefore, as leaders in the government, we should lead by example so that when we cascade to the grassroots they understand the importance and benefits of the exercise. “Our target is to have zero deaths emanating from HIV and AIDS. We can only achieve that when the opinion leaders are setting the pace. People need to understand that the HIV is there and no one should think that talking about male circumcision is taboo. “It’s agreed that all the members (Ministers) should go for the exercise if our aims of reducing the spread of HIV are to be translated into reality,” Khupe was quoted bas saying.
— PTI
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Japan’s finance minister Noda to be new PM
Noda is expected to be confirmed in Parliament tomorrow as the nation’s sixth new premier in five years, replacing outgoing Naoto Kan who quit last Friday after his approval rating tumbled over his handling of the triple crisis. Known as a fiscal hawk and a safe pair of hands rather than a charismatic leader, 54-year-old Noda has pledged a “middle-of-the-road” politics. — AFP
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Pakistan’s Chief Justice has warned that the situation in Karachi was in danger of spinning “out of hand” after the Sindh police chief admitted that many areas of the city have become “no go zones” with the death toll mounting to 306 in a month of gang wars and mayhem.
Tokyo, August 29