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Greek Leftists get mandate to form anti-austerity govt PM Gilani faces disqualification for 5 years: SC US foils Qaida’s bid to bomb passenger plane |
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Hollande, Sarkozy show rare unity
France’s President-elect Francois Hollande and outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy during a ceremony marking the 67th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Paris on Tuesday. — AFP US envoy to Pak Munter to quit Indian diplomat’s daughter seeks $1.5m as damages
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Greek Leftists get mandate to form anti-austerity govt Athens, May 8 Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras met for talks with Greek President Carolos Papoulias who formally tasked him with forming a government. “I called you to give you the Greek mandate to form a government,” Papoulias said. Arriving for the talks on foot and wearing a grey suit, white shirt and no tie, Tsipras said it was a “historic moment” for the Left and a “great responsibility” for himself, state television NET reported. Tsipras, 37, has said he would use the three-day mandate to pull together a cabinet that will reject “barbaric” austerity measures imposed on debt-laden Greece as part of an EU-IMF bailout deal. “We will exhaust all possibilities to reach an understanding, primarily with the forces of the Left,” said Tsipras, whose far-left party came second in Sunday’s elections as Greeks routed pro-austerity parties. Tsipras was expected to hold talks with Communist leader Aleka Papariga, who is unlikely to cooperate, and Fotis Kouvelis, head of the smaller Democratic Left party that is mostly composed of former Syriza cadres and lawmakers. He will also see former socialist minister Louka Katseli, who formed a splinter party in March after opposing the latest round of austerity cuts. Syriza spokesman Panos Skourletis said the party would reject the EU-IMF deal and seek an understanding with Greece’s EU peers on making the country’s huge debt sustainable. “We need to find a European solution on the debt after setting the (loan agreement) aside,” he told Flash Radio. A new government has to be formed by May 17 or new elections will be called. The verdict in Greece has alarmed markets and many analysts have warned that the country’s economic crisis is far from over. — AFP
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PM Gilani faces disqualification for 5 years: SC Islamabad, May 8 A seven-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk issued a 77-page detailed order regarding the conviction of the premier for refusing to act on directives to revive cases of alleged money laundering against President Asif Ali Zardari in Switzerland. Earlier, the same bench had issued a short order when it convicted Gilani of contempt and gave him a symbolic sentence of less than a minute on April 26. Even in the short order, the bench had hinted that Gilani faced possible disqualification. The apex court referred to an earlier order it had issued on January 10, which had said that under provisions of Articles 63(1) and 113 of the Constitution, a conviction of contempt “may entail a disqualification from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament) or a Provincial Assembly for at least a period of five years”. — PTI
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US foils Qaida’s bid to bomb passenger plane Washington, May 8 A non-metallic explosive device that could have passed through airport security unnoticed like the one used in the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound jet in 2009 by underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was recovered, the official said. It was meant for use by a suicide bomber, he said. “As a result of close cooperation with our security and intelligence partners overseas, an Improvised Explosive Device designed to carry out a terrorist attack has been seized abroad,” the FBI said in a statement. The FBI said it currently had the possession of the IED and was conducting technical and forensics analysis on it. “Initial analysis indicates that the device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations,” the statement said. President Barack Obama was informed about the plot in April, and the attempt “underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad,” the White House said. “While the President was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack,” Deputy Spokesperson of National Security Council Caitlin Hayden said. “The disruption of this IED plot underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad,” Hayden said, adding that President Obama thanked all the concerned authorities for their “outstanding” efforts in foiling the bid. The news of the plot emerged shortly after the US marked anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. It also comes a day after killing of Fahd al-Quso, a senior leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. — PTI
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Hollande, Sarkozy show rare unity Paris, May 8 Hollande beat Sarkozy, the conservative incumbent, in Sunday's runoff election to become the country's first Socialist president in 17 years, putting an end to a bruising election campaign. In a ceremony at Paris' Arc de Triomphe, however, the two men stood side by side in silence laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate Victory in Europe Day and the surrender of Nazi forces on May 8, 1945. "The French have voted and both presidents ... had to be here to pay homage to all those who laid down their lives for the country," Hollande told reporters. "We faced each other in an election but it was our duty to be here at this ceremony. France's citizens should feel proud that the Republic is united," he said. Hollande, the self-styled "Mr Normal", sought throughout his campaign to brand himself as a man capable of uniting France after what his supporters said was a divisive five-year term by Sarkozy. After a campaign dominated by anger over the economic crisis and Sarkozy's unpopular presidential style and perceived pandering to the rich, Hollande swept to victory on Sunday vowing to fight for equality and justice. — Reuters
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US envoy to Pak Munter to quit Washington, May 8 "It's a personal decision" US Embassy spokesman Mark Stroh was quoted as saying by CBS News. It's not because either the Pakistani government or the US government is dissatisfied with his performance," he added. — PTI
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Indian diplomat’s daughter seeks $1.5m as damages New York, May 8 Krittika Biswas (18), the daughter of Vice-Consul in the Consulate General of India in New York Debashish Biswas, was detained and arrested in February last year on the grounds that she had sent “offensive and sexually threatening” emails to her teachers in Queens’ John Browne High School.. — PTI
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Indian to be released from Pak jail after 30 yrs Lahore, May 8 (PTI) The Punjab government yesterday told the Lahore High Court that Surjeet had completed his term and would be released. Through a written report submitted in the court of Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik, the government said Surjeet was given the status of an internee last month. The judge was hearing a petition seeking the release of Surjeet filed by his Pakistani lawyer Awais Sheikh, who is also counsel for Sarabjit Singh, an Indian on death row after his conviction for alleged involvement in bomb blasts in 1990. Sheikh pleaded that Surjeet had been held in the Pakistani jail even after completing his term of life imprisonment. Relying on the Punjab government's reply, the judge adjourned the hearing till July 9. The lawyer told PTI that he had filed the petition for Surjeet's release at the request of his family. "I met the son and daughter of Surjeet in Amritsar and they told me that their father was languishing in Kot Lakhpat Jail," he said. Punjab's Inspector General of Prisons informed the court that no prisoner by this name had been detained in any jail of the province. — PTI
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani faces the prospect of being disqualified as an MP for five years after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled today that he “wilfully, deliberately and persistently” defied the highest court and brought the judiciary into “ridicule”.
France's President-elect Francois Hollande stood shoulder to shoulder with ousted opponent Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, showing a united front after months of bitter rivalry as they marked the end of World War II.
Hollande beat Sarkozy, the conservative incumbent, in Sunday's runoff election to become the country's first Socialist president in 17 years, putting an end to a bruising election campaign.
A relatively unknown four years ago, young Leftist leader Alexis Tsipras has been thrust into the limelight after his Syriza party struck a chord with austerity-weary Greeks to take Sunday’s election by storm.