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3-state sweep revives Santorum’s hopes
Gilani files appeal against summoning
Putin warns against outside interference
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India promises help to detained traders in China
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3-state sweep revives Santorum’s hopes
Denver, February 8 Even though Romney still holds strong advantages in financing and organisation, his campaign will now have to refocus to fight back the challenge from the surging conservative Santorum. Backed by a wealthy “Super PAC” that pays for attack ads against rivals, Romney had excelled in major contests thus far in the race. After big wins in Nevada and Florida in the previous week, he did little campaigning in Minnesota and Missouri and had been expected to win easily in Colorado. Until Tuesday, Santorum had won only one of the first five Republican contests in the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination to face President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. But on the first day of multiple nominating contests in the 2012 primary season, Santorum trounced Romney by 30 percentage points in Missouri. That vote was a non-binding primary, but has symbolic value as a measure of support in a big Midwestern state. In Minnesota’s caucuses, Santorum won with 45 per cent of the vote. But in another setback to former Massachusetts governor Romney, US congressman Ron Paul was in second place with 27 per cent and Romney was a distant third with 17 per cent. The race was closer in Colorado, but Romney had been expected to win easily. But Santorum won by 5 percentage points over Romney. With eight contests to date in the Republican race - including the three on Tuesday - Santorum has now won in four states, Romney in three and former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich in one. The former Pennsylvania senator is a devout Catholic who had been in a battle with Gingrich to become the conservative alternative to the more moderate Romney. Gingrich was not on the ballot in Missouri and was crushed in the other two states. Santorum’s victories give heart to social conservatives fighting battles of abortion, gay marriage and contraception in recent days. The Minnesota result marked the first time so far in the 2012 Republican race that Romney did not come in first or second. Romney also lost in two states - Colorado and Minnesota - that he won in his failed 2008 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
— Reuters
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Contempt Case Admitting Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s appeal for review of the order summoning him for indictment on contempt charges, the Supreme Court has formed a larger eight-member Bench to take up hearing on Thursday. Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will preside over the bench that will not include six of the the seven judges who had prima-facie held Gilani responsible for refusal to implement ruling by a 17-member full court for reopening money-laundering cases against President Asif Zardari in Switzerland. The seventh, Shakirullah Jan, is included in the new bench. Earlier in the morning, the PM filed an appeal through his lawyer Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan against the summons for PM’s personal appearance on February 13 for indictment on contempt charges. The 200-page appeal pointed out 53 legal and constitutional points and case histories from 50 countries, including the US, Austria, Canada, Britain, France and India, besides the 1973 constitution to substantiate the point that Gilani did not commit contempt. It emphasised that the PM did not go against the Constitution by not writing a letter to Swiss authorities for reopening corruption cases against President Zardari. If convicted of contempt, Gilani could be jailed for up to six months and disqualified from public office bringing down the coalition he heads. Legal experts say that Gilani can only avoid being charged by appealing and apologising though even then he will have to write to the Swiss authorities. It also said that the court cannot question the prime minister’s responsibilities according to the Article 248 of the Constitution. This will be the first time Ahsan will appear before a SC bench that is presided over by the Chief Justice since he pldged never to do that after winning the case for Chaudhry Iftikhar against his dismissal by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007. Ahsan had several times stated that he will not appear before the Chief Justice in the hearing of any case, but during the press conference on Wednesday, he agreed to appear before the CJ.
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Putin warns against outside interference
Moscow, February 8 “We of course condemn all violence regardless of its source, but one cannot act like an elephant in a china shop,” Putin told Russian religious leaders at a meeting as talk turned to Libya and Syria. “Help them, advise them, limit, for instance, their ability to use weapons but not interfere under any circumstances,” said Putin, whose country vetoed a UN Security Council resolution last week backing an Arab League call for Syria’s president to cede power. “A cult of violence has been coming to the fore in international affairs in the past decade,” he said. “This cannot fail to cause concern ... and we must not allow anything like this in our country.” Putin, who is running in a presidential election next month, has often criticised the United States and its NATO allies over its use of military force abroad, from the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 to a NATO air campaign that helped Libyan rebels drive Muammar Gaddafi from power last year. He has also accused his political foes, who have since December staged the biggest opposition protests of his 12-year rule, of receiving financial and other support from the United States and Europe. — Reuters
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India promises help to detained traders in China Beijing, February 8 The two traders, Shyamsunder Agrawal and Deepka Raheja, met Krishna and explained the trauma they had gone through during their detention. The two, who claim to be employees of a firm, were detained after the head of the company fled without paying for supplies worth over $10 million. Krishna said the two were currently involved in resolving their disputes with Chinese traders. “They met me today and expressed desire to clear their name and return to India as early as possible,” the minister told the media. He said he has raised the issue in his talks with the Chinese leaders here today. “I empathise with them regarding traumatic experience and raised the issue with Chinese counterparts. The Indian mission will provide all assistance to resolve the issue,” he said. On reports that the Indian Government refused permission to a trade delegation of the Zhejiang province from visiting Gujarat, he said “there is nothing like prevention”. “They wanted to come in February. They are working out dates. There is nothing like prevention. The dates have to be convenient to the Government of India also,” he said.
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Former US senator Rick Santorum rejuvenated his presidential hopes on Tuesday with a shocking sweep of the three nominating contests in Colorado, Minnesota and
Missouri.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said today the world faced a growing “cult of violence” and Moscow must not let events like those in Libya and Syria be repeated in Russia, issuing a warning to the West against interference.
