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26 killed in Pak bomb blast
A first: Egypt votes to elect Prez
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Pak SC discusses ‘conspiracy’ to undermine judiciary
Talented young illegal immigrants can stay in US, says Obama
China puts its first woman astronaut into orbit
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef dead
Maoist dissidents aim to launch new party
Maj Avtar Singh sneaked into US
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Peshawar, June 16 The target in the town of Landi Kotal appeared to be a tribal leader allied
with the government against the Pakistani Taliban, the Islamist militant group blamed for many of the suicide bombings across the country, security officials said. Hospital officials said 65 persons were wounded, most of them fruit and vegetable vendors. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. One security official said a suicide bomber connected with the attack began wandering around the town near the border with Afghanistan shortly after the explosion. "The blast was so
powerful, it was heard far and wide and caused damage to nearby buildings," said resident Sher Mohammad Shinwari. The Pakistani Taliban is seeking to topple the US-backed government.
Suicide attacks have eased in recent months, but there are no signs Pakistan's military has broken the back of the
group. — Reuters
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A first: Egypt votes to elect Prez Cairo, June 16 Reeling from a court order two days ago to dissolve a new Parliament dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, many question whether the wealthy generals who pushed aside their fellow officer Mubarak last year to appease the pro-democracy protests of the Arab Spring will honour a pledge to let the civilians rule. "Egypt chooses a President today without a Constitution or a Parliament," Al-Masry Al-Youm daily wrote in a front-page headline, highlighting the uncertainty many Egyptians feel 16 months after Mubarak's 30-year rule ended with mass protests. With neither a Parliament nor a new Constitution in place to define the President's powers, Saturday and Sunday's run-off vote will not settle the matter, leaving 82 million Egyptians, foreign investors and allies in the United States and Europe unsure what kind of state the most populous Arab nation will be. Many fear the Brotherhood will not accept a defeat quietly and a Shafik win could touch off new turmoil on the streets, forcing the army to take sides to impose order and further unsettling a state at the heart of a turbulent Middle East. The euphoria that accompanied Mubarak's overthrow on February 11, 2011 has given way to exhaustion and frustration after a messy and often violent transition overseen by the generals. For those who preferred the secular centrists, leftists and moderate Islamists who lost in the first round, the two-man run-off leaves an unpalatable choice from the extremes. Some of Egypt's 50 million eligible voters say they will despoil their ballots rather than back Ahmed Shafik (70), a former air force commander who was Mubarak's last Prime Minister, or Mohammed Morsy (60) of the Brotherhood, the clandestine enemy of army rule for six decades. “Both are useless but we must choose one of them unfortunately," said Hassan el-Shafie (33) in Mansoura, north of Cairo. "But I am thinking of spoiling
my vote." — Reuters Between the devil and the deep sea
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Pak SC discusses ‘conspiracy’ to undermine judiciary
The full court of 16 judges of the Supreme Court in a meeting here discussed what most judges described as a conspiracy to undermine the judiciary under the cover of the Arsalan scam implicating Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s son in a controversial financial impropriety with real estate baron Malik Riaz. The court formed a two-member committee to investigate the controversial off-air clips during a two-hour interview with Riaz aired by a private television apparently designed to further malign the Chief Justice and the court. The clips, which have taken the media scene by storm and brought to surface inner rivalries of media men and barons, indicate that the interview was a fix in which Riaz was found feeding anti-Chief Justice questions to two anchors and receiving calls from the management and government figures prompting the anchors. The registrar of the apex court said the intention of the programme was to defame the judiciary. Planted questions were asked from Riaz in his interview, he added. “It apparently has exposed the entire plot”, Chief Justice Chaudhry observed while the clips were played before the judges during early part of the session when the media was also allowed to watch the proceedings. The apex court directed Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) to present a complete report on the issue to the Supreme Court’s registrar. The two-member panel comprises Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif, who had earlier heard the suo motu notice taken by the Chief Justice in the scam in which his son Arsalan Iftikhar was accused of accepting bribes in the form of cash and expensive tours of Europe totalling over Rs 340 million. The two judges in their verdict threw Arsalan at the mercy of the government asking Attorney-General Irfan Qadir to order probe and take stringent action against Arsalan, Riaz and his son-in-law Suleman, a British national who is alleged to have made all payments to Arsalan.
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Talented young illegal immigrants can stay in US, says Obama
Washington, June 16 The shift on the politically volatile issue of immigration policy prompted immediate praise from Latino leaders who have criticised the Congress and the White House for inaction, while Republicans reacted with outrage, saying the move amounts to amnesty. "Effective immediately, the Department of Homeland Security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people," Obama said in his remarks to the White House press corps at the Rose Garden.
— PTI
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China puts its first woman astronaut into orbit
Jiuquan (China), June 16 A Long March rocket blasted off in the early evening from the remote Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the northwestern Gobi Desert, carrying with it the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft and the three astronauts, including 33-year-old woman fighter pilot Liu Yang. This is China's fourth manned space mission since 2003 when astronaut Yang Liwei became the country's first person in orbit, and comes as the United States has curtailed manned launches over budget concerns and changing priorities. The launch was carried live on state television, and until moments before blast-off, a camera showed the three astronauts in the cabin occasionally waving. A red placard with the Chinese symbol for good fortune hung behind them. Within days, the astronauts will try to dock with the orbiting Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1 module launched last September, part of a 13-day mission crucial to China's ambition to put a space station in orbit around 2020. "I believe that we can achieve this goal, because we already have the basic technological capability," Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China's manned space engineering project, told reporters before the launch. A successful manned docking mission for China would be the latest show of the country's growing capabilities in space, to match its expanding military and diplomatic clout. Still, Beijing is playing catch up with the United States and Russia, which, along with other countries, jointly operate the International Space Station some 240 miles above Earth. Rendezvous and docking techniques such as those which China is only testing now were mastered by the United States and the former Soviet Union decades ago, and the 10.5 metre-long Tiangong 1 is a trial module, not a full-fledged space station. ––
Reuters
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Riyadh, June 16 Analysts and former diplomats said the succession process was likely to be stable, however, with the king and a family council expected to start work on the appointment of a new crown prince, who would probably be another brother of King Abdullah. "With deep sorrow and grief... King Abdullah mourns his brother... Crown Prince Nayef who passed to the mercy of God on Saturday outside the kingdom," said a royal court statement carried by state media. State TV said Nayef had died in Geneva where he had been receiving medical treatment for an unknown problem — he was thought to be 78. His death was not expected to trigger any major changes to the kingdom's energy policy or to key relationships with the United States and other allies. "The fundamental principle that the Saudis operate under is stability. So they will, I'm sure, develop a consensus among the senior members of the family over an orderly succession. That has likely been forming in recent months in any event," said Robert Jordan, US ambassador to Riyadh from 2001-03. Defence Minister Prince Salman (76) has long been viewed as the next most senior prince after the late Nayef. If he became king, analysts believe he would continue King Abdullah's cautious reforms. Nayef, interior minister since 1975, was appointed crown prince in October after the death of his elder brother and the previous heir Crown Prince Sultan. State television said the burial would be in Mecca on Sunday. —
Reuters
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Maoist dissidents aim to launch new party
Kathmandu, June 16 Addressing the gathering, senior vice-chairman and top dissident leader Mohan Vaidya said the party leadership had failed to serve the interests of the country and the people. Vaidya, whose group has charged Prachanda and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of abandoning the "communist ideals" and succumbing to "status quo-ist forces", told the gathering that they will bring unity among the people by launching a new party. The top hardliner leader said the "Maoist party has lost its identity" there is a "need to form a new party with a new identity". He also blamed top leaders of major political parties, including Maoist chief Prachanda and Premier Bhattarai for the dissolution of Constituent Assembly (CA) without drafting a constitution. The party sources said a final decision on whether to split the ruling UCPN-Maoist will be taken tomorrow in a closed-door session, which will be attended by 200 delegates. More than 3,200 representatives from across the country attended the first day of the gathering being organised near the famous Bouddhanath Stupa at the outskirts of the Nepalese capital today. The meet is significant as it would decide whether the faction would actually break away and form a new party. The dissident group has asked both Prachanda and Bhattarai to vacate their top posts, as they have deviated from the party's official line. Vaidya had rejected Maoist chief's seven-point agenda for party unity. The dissident group's meeting comes a day after Prachanda and Bhattarai called out to the dissident group for unity and discussions to sort out differences. — PTI
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Maj Avtar Singh sneaked into US
Selma (US), June 16 Singh killed his wife and two sons and grievously injured another before turning the gun on himself last week in Fresno County in California. The Canadian authorities had let Indian officials know that Singh was living in Canada in 2004, according to court documents shown to the Associated Press. Singh was living in Canada with relatives for two years and applied for asylum there. However, it was denied, according to Singh's US asylum documents provided to the AP by his immigration consultant. After his cover was blown, Singh and his family illegally entered US and settled in Fresno County. There he again filed an asylum application in 2011. "He told me: 'My job in India was to eliminate terrorists who were against the Indian government. I was good at that. They never found the bodies when I did it,'" said Stephens, Singh's immigration consultant. In his asylum application, Singh said he did not kill Kashmiri activist Jaleel Andrabi, but knew who did. "I am being made a scapegoat," he said, adding that he would be killed if he returns to India. Singh lived quietly in California initially, working at a truck wash and at a sandwich shop. He eventually started a trucking business; he owned five tractors and trailers, which he named Jay Truck Lines after his third son, a US citizen.
— AP
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A bomb planted in a pickup truck killed at least 26 persons at a market in northwest Pakistan on Saturday and wounded 65 other, security and hospitals officials
said.
Riyadh, June 16
