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Protests across Russia to test Putin, opponents
China’s support, peace prize for Putin
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Pak to deploy air defence weapons on Afghan border
26/11: Pakistan notifies formation of judicial panel
Rome, December 9 The head of Italy's tax collection agency Equitalia was wounded today when a letter bomb sent to his office in Rome detonated, prompting prosecutors to launch an inquiry for terrorism.
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Protests across Russia to test Putin, opponents
Moscow, December 9 Demonstrations in dozens of cities, from Kaliningrad in the west to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast nearly 7,400 km away, will also gauge Putin's tolerance for pressure from the streets. The parliamentary election last Sunday, in which his ruling United Russia party won only a slim majority in the State Duma lower house, showed growing discontent with his rule and the political system he has dominated for 12 years. "People will come out tomorrow ... because they are sick of the party of swindlers and thieves," said Yevgeniya Chirikova, a prominent activist and one of the organisers, using a popular label for the ruling party that has spread on the Internet. The protesters have permission to stage a big rally in Moscow. But police, whose show of force doused protests after a rally on Monday turned into the biggest opposition rally in the capital for years, have vowed to stamp out any illegal actions. Opinion polls show Putin, 59, is still Russia's most popular politician. He could rule the world's biggest country and energy producer until 2024 if he is elected in March and again six years later, but his authority is now under threat. — Reuters
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China’s support, peace prize for Putin
BEIJING: Accused in the West of trampling on democratic freedoms and denounced at home by protesters over the conduct of a parliamentary election, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won not only China's support on Friday, but also a peace prize. The organisers of the Confucius Peace Prize, set up in a riposte to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo winning the Nobel Peace Prize last year, said they had chosen Putin because of his opposition to the NATO attacks on Libya.
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Pak to deploy air defence weapons on Afghan border
Islamabad, December 9 The decision to deploy air defence weapons is part of Pakistan's re-evaluation of its strategy for guarding its western borders against air raids, the Pakistan Army's Director General of Military Operations, Maj Gen Ashfaq Nadeem Ahmed, told the cabinet and the Senate's Standing Committee on Defence during briefings yesterday. "After the November 26 NATO attack on two military check posts in the Mohmand Agency, we fear an attack from the western border. Hence a decision has been taken to deploy air defence weapons in that region," a participant of one of the briefings told the Dawn newspaper. Ahmed was quoted by The Express Tribune as saying that last month's air strike was part of a "pre-planned conspiracy" against Pakistan. He said he suspected the CIA and Special Forces in Afghanistan might have been behind the incident. "We can expect more attacks from our supposed allies," Ahmed was quoted as saying during his briefing to the Senate panel. He also rejected claims by the US and NATO that the attack was unintended and the result of a misunderstanding. Pakistan closed all NATO supply routes and asked the US to vacate the Shamsi airbase by December 11 following the air strike. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has given troops "full liberty" to retaliate against any further attacks without prior approval of the high command. During a meeting today with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Kayani said the army had revamped its defence capabilities on the Afghan border to counter the "recurrence of the incursion into the Pakistan territory". Gilani said any future attack would meet with a "detrimental response". — PTI
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Militants attack NATO trucks, oil tankers
Islamabad, December 9 The armed men yesterday targeted a terminal at Kharotabad, on the outskirts of Quetta, where dozens of trucks and tankers were parked. At least 44 vehicles were engulfed by the flames, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels. They fired several rockets that triggered a massive blaze within the terminal last evening, witnesses said. Television footages showed tongues of flame leaping into the night sky. Several tankers exploded, the witnesses said. Security forces surrounded the area and prevented people from approaching the terminal. Pakistan closed all routes used to transport supplies to US and allied forces in Afghanistan after a NATO air strike on November 26. Since then, hundreds of container trucks and oil tankers have been parked at terminals in cities like Quetta and Peshawar. — PTI
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Zardari ‘may fly to UK for further treatment’ Dubai/Islamabad, December 9 “Zardari will continue to be under observation in Dubai for some more days and it may last even more than two weeks,” Gulf News reported, as the media in Islamabad said the Pakistan President is “likely to be flown to London for detailed treatment.” Pakistan’s The News daily said
Zardari, 56, had a “mild” stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis before he was flown to Dubai for treatment. The daily, quoting sources, said the President was stable and out of danger as the stroke and internal bleeding were not “life threatening”. Reports about Zardari being in stable condition, however, did little to dampen rumours and speculation that he had suddenly left Pakistan under some kind of safe passage deal, fearing a coup by the military which is said to be upset with him over a number of issues, the latest being the secret memo handed to the US seeking its intervention to avert a possible military takeover. Zardari would require “some treatment, including speech therapy, to resume his normal life”, said The News, which is known for its strident criticism of the President. The paper said Zardari “collapsed in the Presidency” on Tuesday because of the stroke. The Gulf News reported that Zardari was admitted to the American Hospital in Dubai and had undergone more tests for the third consecutive day. “His condition is stable, he is OK,” presidential spokesman Farhatulla Babar said. Gulf News said the officials at the Pakistan embassy were unable to say when the President will return home and declined to comment further. “It can take two days or even more than two weeks, it all depends on what doctors advise him,” one of the aides said. Meanwhile, Zardari’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has quietly stepped in to assume a larger role in the affairs of the ruling PPP as his father recovers. A day after he jointly chaired a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP’s) top leadership with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani, Bilawal yesterday received a briefing from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Raza
Rabbani.
— PTI
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26/11: Pakistan notifies formation of judicial panel
Islamabad/Lahore, December 9 A gazette notification has listed the members who will represent Pakistan government in the judicial commission, sources said. The delegation will include Khalid Qureshi, the head of the Federal Investigation Agency's Special Investigation Group, and Muhammad Azhar Chaudhry and Chaudhry Zulifqar, the two main prosecutors.
— PTI
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Letter bomb injures Italy’s tax chief
Rome, December 9 Equitalia's director-general Marco Cuccagna has been taken to hospital and fire brigade and police were investigating at the scene of the blast. "A letter bomb exploded. The director is injured to the hand" after he opened the letter, a spokesman for Equitalia said. A police spokesman said Cuccagna was also injured in the eye when he opened the letter, which arrived in the post. Prime Minister Mario Monti issued a statement expressing "solidarity," adding:
"Equitalia has always carried out and is continuing to carry out its duty in full respect of the law." "It is essential for the functioning of the state, without which it would be impossible to provide services to citizens," he said. Prosecutors have launched an inquiry for terrorism, ANSA news agency reported.
— AFP
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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's opponents hope to bring large numbers of people out onto the streets across Russia on Saturday for rallies that will test their ability to channel outrage over allegations of election fraud.
