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Islamist party celebrates poll triumph in Tunisia
NATO ends Libya mission on Oct 31
Pakistan tests N-capable cruise missile
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Arrest warrants against Musharraf
PML-N rally demands Zardari’s ouster
Thai floods inch closer to city centre
Plane crashes on road in Vancouver, 11 injured
Nayef is Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince
CHOGM sees debate on human rights action plan
C’wealth countriesend male heir rule
WW-II submarine wreckage found
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Arab Spring’s First Elections Tunis, October 28 But as victory celebrations were underway, its offices in Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the Tunisian revolution, were targeted by youths upset after candidates belonging to rival party were disqualified by election authorities. Late-night results showed Ennahda, banned under dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, took 90 of the 217 seats in an assembly that will rewrite the constitution and appoint a president and a caretaker government. The historic polls nine months after Ben Ali’s ouster, saw the Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol emerge as the biggest parties on the splintered left, with 30 and 21 seats, respectively. Both have said they were in coalition talks with Ennahda. Fourth place, or 19 seats, went to the Petition for Justice and Development, a grouping of independents led by Hechmi Haamdi, a rich London-based businessman said to have close ties to Ben Ali. This despite the invalidation of six of its candidates’ lists, including those in Sidi Bouzid in central Tunisia. Haamdi later withdrew from the assembly in protest. The invalidation announcement triggered violent protests in Sidi Bouzid, where an unemployed university graduate set himself on fire in December and sparked the Tunisian uprising that launched region-wide revolts. Large crowds marching on the Ennahda party headquarters in the town overnight where they threw stones at police and burnt tyres in the street, witnesses and officials said. Several public buildings were vandalised but calm had returned by the early morning hours though schools, public buildings and businesses remained closed, an AFP correspondent said. Ennahda’s offices, a municipal building and a local court were damaged in the unrest, and administrative files burnt, interior ministry spokesman Hichem Meddeb said. Ennahda’s number two and prime ministerial candidate Hamadi Jebali, meanwhile said: “I thank God for this victory, we are on the road of glory. “Thank you to our martyrs. I bow before their sacrifice, and salute our competitors and those who did not vote for us,” he said on national television after the announcement of the vote tally. — AFP
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NATO ends Libya mission on Oct 31
Brussels, October 28 Alliance warplanes would wind up the mission on Monday after flying more than 26,000 sorties and bombing almost 6,000 targets in an operation that helped a ragtag rebel force oust Muammar Gaddafi. NATO ambassadors meeting in Brussels agreed “by unanimity to end Operation Unified Protector) on October 31,” a diplomat said. The alliance had made a preliminary decision last week to end operations on October 31 after judging that civilians were essentially safe from attacks following Gaddafi’s death and the fall of Sirte. — AFP
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Pakistan tests N-capable cruise missile
Islamabad, October 28 The test of the “multi-tube indigenously developed” missile, which has stealth capabilities, was successful, the military said in a statement. The missile with a range of 700 km can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. “The test will consolidate Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capability and further strengthen national security,” the statement said. The test was aimed at validating the “design parameters of the weapon system.” The military said a “special feature” of the launch was the validation of a “new multi-tube missile launch vehicle”. The vehicle with three missile tubes “enhances manifold the targeting and deployment options in the conventional and nuclear modes”. “With its shoot-and-scoot capability, the missile launch vehicle provides a major force multiplier effect for target employment and survivability,” the statement said. The Hatf-7 or Babur is a “low flying, terrain hugging missile with high manoeuvrability, pinpoint accuracy and radar avoidance features”. The missile system incorporates the “most modern cruise missile technology of Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching and Area Co-relation (DSMAC)”, the statement said. — PTI
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Arrest warrants against Musharraf Islamabad, October 28 Crime Branch officials of Balochistan investigating the killing of Bugti had requested Judicial Magistrate Faisal Hameed to issue the arrest warrants. The Crime Branch had earlier obtained an arrest warrant for former provincial home minister and lawmaker Shoaib Ahmed Nosherwani in the same case. The Balochistan government has requested the federal government to extradite Musharraf, but federal authorities had sought an arrest warrant in order to ask Interpol to issue a red corner notice for the former military ruler, who is currently living outside Pakistan in self-exile. Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, the eldest son of Akbar Bugti, had registered an FIR at Dera Bugti police station in which he alleged that Musharraf, Aziz, former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, former Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, ex- Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf and Nosherwani were involved in the killing of his father. Bugti, the chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party, was killed with over 30 supporters in a military operation on March 25, 2006. — PTI
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PML-N rally demands Zardari’s ouster
Lahore, October 28 Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab province and younger brother of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, led a gathering of about 30,000 supporters in chanting the slogan "Go Zardari Go". Sharif and several other PML-N leaders criticised the PPP-led government and Zardari for failing to tackle problems like corruption, price rise and power cuts. "With this gathering as witness, I want to tell Zardari that the 180 million people (of Pakistan) have risen up against you. Vacate your seat by yourself, return our money or you and your looting associates will be hung upside down at this chowk," Sharif told the rally at Bhatti Chowk in Lahore. Comparing Zardari and his aides to "Ali Baba and the 40 thieves," Sharif said the PML-N would not rest in peace till it "chases them away". — PTI
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Thai floods inch closer to city centre Bangkok, October 28 The city of 12 million people is on heightened alert because of threats on two fronts-a seasonal high tide this weekend that is expected to coincide with the arrival of a mass of water from the flood-stricken central plains. The three-month crisis, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rains, has left at least 377 people dead and damaged millions of homes and livelihoods, mostly in northern and central Thailand. While the government is largely focused on defending the capital, people in the worst-hit provinces north of the city have endured weeks of flooding. Thousands of residents have left Bangkok after the government declared a special five-day holiday, flocking to rail and bus stations in the city and jamming roads as they head to areas out of the path of the water. So far, however, central Bangkok has only seen minor inundation in areas along the main Chao Phraya River, including near the Grand Palace, with most of the city centre still dry. — AFP
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Plane crashes on road in Vancouver, 11 injured
Vancouver, October 28 The Kelowna-bound flight had looped back shortly after departure from Vancouver International Airport but fell short of the runway and collided with a car yesterday on a road leading to the airport. “Shortly after departure, the crew advised that they were returning” to the airport, said Northern Thunderbird Air, which operated the Beechcraft King Air 100, Flight 204. “All passengers and crew have been transported to hospital,” the company said in a statement. The pilot and co-pilot are in “very critical condition” in hospital, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while the others are in serious condition. Nearby pedestrians had reportedly pulled the crew and passengers from the burning wreckage of the twin-propeller aircraft. — AFP
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Nayef is Saudi Arabia’s new Crown Prince Dubai, October 28 The country's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in a royal order issued on last evening, notified the chief and members of the Allegiance-Pledge Commission of his choice. The announcement was subsequently made on state-owned television channels. This has come within a week of the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Earlier, the King held a meeting with the Chief and members of the Allegiance-Pledge Commission at his palace in Riyadh. Abdulaziz will continue to hold the post of the Interior Minister. — PTI
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CHOGM sees debate on human rights action plan
Perth, October 28 The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), thrown open amid tight security by Queen Elizabeth II with a call for “possitive and enduring results, agreed to add muscle to its ministerial action group to deal with the member nations veering towards violation of human rights. She sought bold reforms to usher in "new vibrancy" for making the Commonwealth "fresh and fit". However, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma made it clear that he cannot pre-judge the outcome of the CHOGM which is set to discuss the report of the 11-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which suggested a human rights monitor for the grouping as one of its 106 recommendations to improve the organisation. “The EPG report will be discussed by the leaders at their retreat tomorrow. We cannot pre-judge its outcome,” was the refrain of Sharma and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard who briefed the media on today’s deliberations. All the 30 recommendations to strengthen the role of the organisation made by the Commonwealth Ministers Action Group (CMAG) have been accepted, Gillard said. She said the decision to strengthen the CMAG by empowering it to engage member nations moving towards serious violation of human rights was motivated by the undemocratic overthrow of the Fijian government in a coup in 2006. Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth since 2009. “The recommendations now adopted by leaders provide for a set of objective criteria as triggers for CMAG involvement,” Gillard said. Replying to questions, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai did not agree to a suggestion that the strengthening of the CMAG was a compromise for not setting up a human rights commissioner for the grouping. “There was lively discussion on the subject ...There was consensus at the Foreign Minister’s level that the proposal needed further study,” Mathai said, referring to the EPG recommendation on human rights commissioner. A section of the leaders pointed out that UN rapporteurs were already monitoring the human rights situation and an additional mechanism was not required, officials said. They added that attention was also drawn to the limited availability of funds at the disposal of the Commonwealth, to which some members suggested that funds for programmes that have outlived their utility could be set aside for the human rights commissioner. At the same time, another Indian official pointed out that CMAG recommendations carried weight as it was an inter- governmental body, while the EPG was civil society grouping. The Commonwealth also stood by Sri Lanka as questions were raised on it hosting the next summit following allegations of war crimes during the fight against LTTE. “There was no proposal to change the hosting of CHOGM 2013,” Sharma said replying to a question whether Canada had made any such proposal. “Decision was made in Port of Spain in 2009 to hold the next CHOGM in Perth, the 2013 meeting in Colombo and 2015 in Mauritius. This decision is firm and final.” — PTI
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C’wealth countriesend male heir rule
Perth, October 28 “We will end the male primogeniture rule so that in future the order of succession should be determined simply by the order of birth,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said after a summit of the 16 Commonwealth countries of which Queen Elizabeth II is head of state. The changes to the outdated laws would also allow heirs who marry Roman Catholics to inherit the throne. “We have agreed to scrap the rule which says that no one that marries a Roman Catholic can become monarch,” Cameron said at a press conference with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard here. Cameron said the changes would apply to descendents of the Prince of Wales and they will not be applied retrospectively. There has long been discussion about changing the archaic and discriminatory rules, but the issue took on fresh urgency after Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, married Kate Middleton in April. Cameron said the summit backed the changes to the law that gives any daughters born to Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge the same right to the throne as their sons. He said the changes meant that if Prince William and his wife Kate “were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen.” Cameron said all 16 countries that have the Queen as their head of state have agreed to support the changes. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state of 16 Commonwealth “realms”, including Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Under the old succession laws, dating back more than 300 years, the heir to the throne is the first-born son of the monarch. Only when there are no sons, as in the case of the Queen’s father George VI, does the Crown pass to the eldest daughter. “The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic - this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become,” Cameron said. Gillard said it was an extraordinary moment. “I’m very enthusiastic about it. You would expect the first Australian woman Prime Minister to be very enthusiastic about a change which equals equality for women in a new area.” Earlier in the day, the Queen inaugurated the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting of the 54-nation grouping here. In her opening speech, she did not directly mention the royal succession laws, but said women should have a greater role in society. — PTI
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WW-II submarine wreckage found Sydney, October 28 The wreck was discovered during joint Australia-New Zealand navy training in Simpson Harbour - a massive deep-water cavern created by an ancient volcanic eruption at the eastern tip of New Britain island. Simpson Harbour was the Japanese navy’s principal anchorage in the South Pacific during WW-II, with dozens of ships sunk there by allied bombing raids. Australian defence authorities said the wreck, believed to be of a submarine, was found off Rabaul yesterday. Rabaul was Japan’s forward base for its mainland campaigns in Papua New Guinea. — AFP
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Bangkok, October 28
