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Egypt soccer violence kills 74
Pak SC summons Gilani in contempt case on Feb 13
US tells Pak to ‘cut-off’ ties with Taliban |
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100 feared dead as ship sinks off Papua New Guinea An aerial view of people in inflatable life rafts after the ferry in which they were travelling sank off the east coast of Papua New Guinea on Thursday. — AFP
Only ‘quality’ migrants welcome: UK
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Egypt soccer violence kills 74 Cairo, February 2 The unprecedented violence occurred last evening following a soccer match between top-tier clubs al-Masry and al-Ahly as fans invaded the pitch after Port Said club al-Masry won 3-1. Three days of national mourning have been declared in Egypt and all premier-league matches have been postponed indefinitely. Emergency meetings of the cabinet and Parliament have been called. Hours after the incident, protesters in Cairo chanted, “Down with military rule.” And the secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood party blamed Egypt’s military for the deaths. Egypt’s interior ministry blamed fans for provoking the police. It said in a statement that 74 persons died, including one police officer, and 248 were injured, 14 of them policemen. As many as 47 persons have been arrested for links to the violence. Witnesses quoted by the media said the atmosphere had been tense throughout the match since an al-Ahly fan raised a banner insulting supporters of the home team. As the match ended, their fans flooded onto the pitch attacking al-Ahly players and fans. A committee will investigate the circumstances surrounding the fighting, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces said in a statement. Angry crowds closed off Cairo’s Tahrir Square and state TV today, ahead of protests against the way police handled the riots. The demonstrators used metal barriers and vehicles to close the square. Port Said security chief Essam Samak was sacked after the riot, state media reported. — PTI
Fans blame military for security failure The deadly soccer violence has given a new weapon to the anti-military protesters who have blamed the Egyptian security forces for failing to ensure safety for the common people. Egyptian football fans who played a key role in the popular movement that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak last year have found a new target - the chief of the ruling military council Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. "We want your head, you traitor Tantawi...You could have carved your name in history, but you were arrogant and you believed Egypt and its people could take a step back and forget their revolution," the Ultras Tahrir Square (UTS), a group of football fans, wrote on its Facebook page.
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Pak SC summons Gilani in contempt case on Feb 13
Apparently upset by his defiance of its order to reopen graft cases against the President, Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday directed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to appear in person on February 13 for formal indictment. If convicted, 59-year-old Gilani could be jailed for six months and stripped of his post. Besides, he could be disqualified from holding any public office for five years. The Prime Minister will have the right to file an intra-court appeal against any order convicting him within a period of 30 days. The court took the decision after Gilani refused to implement its order and write letter to Swiss authorities for reopening money laundering case against President Asif Ali Zardari on plea that he enjoys constitutional immunity. The unprecedented court order involving country’s chief executive plunged the nation into another bout of already volatile political turmoil and instability amid an ongoing high profile memo scam that had brought the fragile democratic government to a dangerous face-off with the powerful military. “After the preliminary hearing, we are satisfied that prima facie (at first sight) there is enough case for further proceeding,” the bench ordered after the hearing. “The case is adjourned until February 13 for the framing of charges. The PM will be present in person,” a brief order by a 7-member bench of the court led by Justice Nasrul Mulk said after Gilani’s counsel and eminent jurist Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan concluded his arguments. Gilani is the first top official in the country’s history facing indictment on contempt charges. In 1997, the then PM Nawaz Sharif was also issued contempt notice but was let off the hook when he personally tendered his apology. Aitzaz Ahsan on Thursday warned that the Supreme Court’s indictment against PM Gilani would intensify current tensions between the executive and the judiciary of which any ‘third party’ could take advantage.
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US tells Pak to ‘cut-off’ ties with Taliban Washington, February 2 Pentagon spokesperson Navy Capt John Kirby told reporters during an off-camera briefing that the facts laid bare by the damning NATO report, which blew the lid off ISI’s “manipulation” of Taliban’s senior leadership, were “not a new notion” and these concerns have been raised earlier as well. “This is not a new notion, we made those concerns clear and the Secretary has been very clear about the ongoing problem of safe havens inside Pakistan for these groups,” Kirby said yesterday referring to a new NATO report on Taliban which says that the ISI continues to help the extremist group, which wants to come back to power in Afghanistan. “We have made it clear already that Pakistan needs to act against safe heavens. We would like ties between some elements of ISI and Taliban to be cut-off,” he said. Kirk said the US had “longstanding concerns” about the ties between the elements of the ISI and the Taliban but did not give details on what elements of the ISI he was referring to. Without going into the specific of the classified report, Kirby said the US does has information that the Taliban is becoming splintered and is not a monolithic organisation. For instance, he said, a couple of weeks ago about 50 Taliban came in and asked to be reintegrated. The reason they gave was that they can’t sleep at one place for more than a day and that they do not want to kill their own Afghan countrymen, he said. So the US pressure on the Taliban is yielding results, Kirby said. — PTI
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100 feared dead as ship sinks off Papua New Guinea Melbourne, February 2 About 350 Papua New Guineans were on board the Rabaul Queen when it went down in the Solomon Sea about 8.30am Melbourne time, according to reports. The ship was headed for the PNG north-coast town of Lae from the West New Britain town of Kimbe. “Many on board were likely to be secondary students on their way to start the new school year,” officials were quoted as saying by Australian daily The Age. It said Australian rescuers saved more than 200 from drowning after the ferry sank, but by nightfall fears remained for more than 100 were still missing. “About 200 people had been rescued - most of them from the water,” Rescue co-ordinator Captain Nurur Rahman said, adding that several passengers were still unaccounted for. Captain Rahman said four merchant ships were diverted to the scene by Australian authorities to help with the rescue. The rescuers are scouring the area for further survivors, he said, adding the priority at the moment is to save lives. He said it was too early to say why the ferry went down. Operator Star Ships said it lost contact with the MV Rabaul Queen while it was travelling between Kimbe and Lae in the east of the Pacific nation, blaming bad weather for the disaster. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the ferry, with about 350 people on board, went down 16 km off the coast of Finschhafen, which is about 80 kilometres from its final destination of Lae. — PTI
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Only ‘quality’ migrants welcome: UK London, February 2 Two proposals outlined in a major speech by Immigration Minister Damian Green are likely to affect Indian professionals and migrants. The government has already announced its intention to scrap the Post-Study Work visa for non-EU students, which has been popular among Indians. Non-EU professionals whose annual income at the end of mandatory five years work and stay in the UK is less than 31,000 pounds will need to return to their countries of origin. Only those with an income higher than this will be allowed to stay here permanently. British citizens and residents who seek to marry foreign spouses need to show an annual income of around 25,000 pounds before they can bring their spouses here. — PTI
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Melbourne, February 2
