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Greek election set for close finish
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Fire kills 13 in Turkey prison Pak coalition discusses SC rejection of Speaker’s ruling in Gilani case
Defence minister Prince Salman, who is likely to succeed Prince Nayef 25 killed in Nigeria church bombings UN observers in Syria suspend patrols
Taliban praises India for resisting US pressure on Afghanistan A first: Bone from fat stem cells
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Greek election set for close finish Athens, June 17 A joint exit poll by five pollsters, published as voting closed on Sunday, showed New Democracy taking between 27.5 per cent and 30.5 per cent of the vote. Syriza was essentially level with 27-30 per cent, followed by the Pasok Socialists taking 10-12 per cent of the vote. Syriza has vowed to tear up the terms of an EU/IMF bailout package keeping Greece from bankruptcy, potentially sending the country crashing out of Europe's single currency. New Democracy broadly backs the bailout, as does Pasok. The party that comes in first secures a dividend of 50 parliamentary seats which will be crucial to its chances of forming a new government. Another pollster refused to call the result because it was too close. Exit polls in an earlier May 6 election, which produced stalemate, gave a good indication of the way the vote had gone. The official projection, which is expected at 9.30 pm. (1830 GMT), was very close to the final result. "Greeks voted with emotion and not with reason, this is why you see these numbers," said manufacturing worker Evangelos Datsos (60) at a New Democracy kiosk in Syntagma Square. At Syriza’s scruffy headquarters in a central Athens square, party officials greeted the exit polls with excitement. "We are optimistic that we are going to be the biggest party," said Syriza press assistant Andreas Kandzsis after the first numbers were flashed onto TV screens. Greece's lenders say a new government must accept the conditions of a 130-billion-euro ($164 billion) Greek bailout agreed in March or funds will be cut off, driving Athens into bankruptcy. A Greek euro exit has the potential to unleash shocks that could even break up Europe's single currency and plunge the global economy into chaos. World leaders gathering at a G20 summit starting in Mexico on Monday will be watching with alarm.
— Reuters
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Fire kills 13 in Turkey prison Istanbul, June 17 The blaze, at a jail housing more than 1,000 prisoners in Sanliurfa province, occurred after a row broke out in a dormitory on Saturday evening, provincial governor Celalettin Guvenc told reporters. The police surrounding the prison fired tear gas and water cannon at relatives of inmates who had rushed there on hearing news of the fire. Some of the crowd thew stones at the security forces and banged on the prison gates, Dogan news agency reported. Local media reports said the prisoners set fire to their bedding in a protest at prison conditions, but the governor denied there was any mutiny after inspecting the jail with prosecutors, military officials and the police chief. "They set fire to the dormitory and unfortunately 13 of the 18 persons held there lost their lives," Guvenc said. "There was absolutely no confrontation with the guards or soldiers. This has nothing to do with political prisoners." Firefighters extinguished the blaze after about 90 minutes. Five surviving inmates sought refuge in a toilet and were later taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. Dogan said the dormitories were designed for 8 persons, but 18 persons were staying in them, with some having to sleep on the floor. Prison capacity was around 350, but 1,057 inmates were held at the jail, it said. — Reuters
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Pak coalition discusses SC rejection of Speaker’s ruling in Gilani case The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and coalition partners of the government, in a bid to defend incumbent Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani, had gathered on Saturday to discuss the Supreme Court's rejection of the National Assembly (NA) Speaker's ruling, which stated that Gilani could not be disqualified from his current position. On April 26, a seven-member Bench of the Supreme Court convicted Gilani on contempt of court charges over his refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities asking them to open graft charges against President Asif Ali
Zardari. Opposition parties demanded Gilani's disqualification, following the conviction. NA Speaker Fehmida
Mirza, however, ruled in Gilani's favour, refusing to send a reference against him to the Election
Commission. Zardari and Gilani also took their allies into confidence on the raging controversy over alleged government plot to target the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court under cover of allegations by property baron Malik Riaz against Chief Justice’s son Arsalan
Iftikar. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement that the allies reiterated resolve to uphold supremacy of the Parliament, an apparent reference to its contradiction with the judiciary. They endorsed the NA Speaker’s ruling rejecting the contention that Gilani stands disqualified after contempt of court conviction. The hearing in petitions challenging the Speaker’s ruling will be resumed in the Supreme Court on Monday. The apex court has indicated that it may pass an order within couple of days.
Gilani told a public rally in Mardan that there was no conspiracy against any institution. “If at all there is any, it is only against democracy in a bid to derail the democratic process,” he said.
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Saudi prince Nayef to be buried in Mecca Mecca, June 17 An aircraft bearing the body of Prince Nayef left Geneva early today for the kingdom's western city of Jeddah, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported. The funeral of the Gulf nation's security czar is expected to take place later in the Muslim holy city of Mecca after sunset. He will be buried in Al-Adl cemetery near the Grand Mosque, where several members of the royal family and prominent Islamic scholars are interred, the Okaz daily said. "Crown Prince Nayef devoted his life to promoting the security of Saudi Arabia," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. — AFP
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25 killed in Nigeria church bombings Abuja, June 17 As many as 80 persons were also reported wounded in the restive Nigeria region that has become a centre of ethnic strife in the country. In Kaduna city, where 10 persons were killed inside a Catholic church and 29 wounded, the attacks also led to reprisals by Christian youth against local Muslims. Following reports of violence, the government imposed a 24-hour curfew to prevent the situation from going out of hand. In all, two churches were attacked in Kaduna city while another two were bombed in a nearby Zaria city. Red Cross officials in the city said in a church located in Zaria town, most of those killed or wounded were children. At least 25 persons have been killed in the violence, initial estimates by officials said. In the first attack, a bomber tried to drive a Honda Accord SUV into an Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) auditorium but was stopped by security men causing his bomb to explode at the entrance, killing some persons and the bomber, Spokesman of Nigerian police Frank Mba said. Eyewitnesses at another scene of attack said a bomber drove into KC church in Zaria, killing several people, including children and students of a nearby polytechnic. While no group claimed responsibility so far, similar attacks in the past have been blamed on radical Islamic sect Boko Haram. — PTI
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UN observers in Syria suspend patrols Damascus, June 17 The plan called for the UN monitors to check that the peace plan is observed in the country that was supposed to go into effect on April 12, but they have become the most independent witnesses of the carnage in the country. Major General Robert Mood, the UN mission chief, said intensifying clashes over the past 10 days were ‘posing significant risks’ to the 300 unarmed observers spread out across the country, and impeding their ability to carry out their mandate. The observers will not leave the country, but will remain in place and cease patrols, Mood said, adding that the suspension would be reviewed on a daily basis. UN teams have been stationed in some of Syria's most dangerous cities, including Homs and Hama. "The lack of willingness by the parties to seek a peaceful transition, and the push towards advancing military positions is increasing the losses on both sides," Mood said. The decision came after weeks of escalating attacks, including reports of several mass killings that have left dozens dead. The US reiterated its call for the Assad regime to comply with the plan, “including the full implementation of a ceasefire”. — ANI
Weekend death toll 80 in Homs Beirut: Troops pounded besieged districts of the flashpoint city of Homs as 10 persons were killed across Syria on Sunday, taking the weekend death toll to nearly 80, a watchdog said.
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Anxiety mounts as Egypt’s presidency vote nears end Cairo, June 17 A win for either Ahmed Shafik - the last Prime Minister of ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak - or Mohamed Morsy, a US-educated engineer who would turn Egypt into an Islamic democracy, will go far to define the outcome of the wave of Arab Spring uprisings last year. "We have to vote because these elections are historic," said Amr Omar, voting in Cairo. "I will vote for Morsy. Even if it means electing the hypocritical Islamists, we must break the vicious cycle of Mubarak's police state." Turnout at polling stations in several areas seemed lower on Saturday than during the first round. Polls re-opened at 8 am on Sunday (0600 GMT) and were due to close at 9 pm. With no opinion polls, it was impossible to forecast who will emerge the winner by Monday - and whoever it is may face anger and accusations of
foul play. — Reuters
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Taliban praises India for resisting US pressure on Afghanistan
Kabul, June 17 "No doubt that India is a significant country in the region... They are aware of the Afghans' aspirations, creeds and love for freedom. It is totally illogical they should plunge their nation into a calamity just for the American pleasure," the Taliban said in a statement. The group, accused of repeatedly targeting Indian interests in Afghanistan and believed to be close to the Pakistani spy agency ISI, praised India for what it called sending US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta "empty handed towards Kabul". The Taliban led by elusive one-eyed Mullah Omar said Panetta in his recent visit to India encouraged New Delhi to take a more active role in Afghanistan as most foreign combat troops leave the country in 2014, but he failed to "gain any success or progress in his efforts". Panetta "spent three days in India to transfer the heavy burden to their shoulders, to find an exit and to flee from Afghanistan," said the Taliban. "Some reliable media sources said that the Indian authorities did not pay heed to demands," it said. — PTI
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A first: Bone from fat stem cells
London, June 17 The new procedure, carried out on an animal model, is also hoped to be applied to produce other tissues, including heart, skin and cartilage, the researchers said. "This is opening up a new dawn in personalised regenerative medicine in which people can isolate stem cells from their fat for repairing damaged bone, muscle, skin or cartilage,” lead researcher Prof Chia Soo from University of California was quoted as saying. "Fat has a large number of tissue-growing stem cells. People could go for liposuction and save fat cells for future use, or they can use the fat cells immediately." The new technique, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, involves isolating the stem cells that can form bone. These are then cultured to produce more stem cells which are then mixed with a growth factor to become bone stem cells. — PTI
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