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PM paves way for re-opening of graft cases against Zardari
Woman bomber kills 12 in Kabul
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topless kate
Rushdie’s 633-page memoir hits stands
Seven killed in twin blasts in Karachi
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PM paves way for re-opening of graft cases against Zardari
In a U-turn, Pakistan Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that his government would revoke a letter to Swiss authorities asking for the closure of graft probe against President Asif Ali Zardari, a move that may pave way for reopening of the cases against him. Ashraf informed the apex court of the government's decision when he appeared before a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa to face a contempt charge for failing to reopen the cases against Zardari. Ashraf said he had instructed Law Minister Farooq Naek to revoke the letter written by former Attorney General Malik Qayyum in late 2007. The Prime Minister's move to revoke the letter came as a surprise because till date the government had refused to act on apex court's demands saying the President enjoys immunity in Pakistan and abroad. The case had cost former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani his job in June. With the revocation of the letter written during the regime of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, Ashraf said it would be up to Swiss authorities to decide whether the cases against Zardari should be reopened. Recent reports in the Pakistani media have suggested that the statute of limitations in Switzerland has ended and the cases can no longer be revived. The government is also banking on the premise that Swiss authorities will refuse to reopen the cases as the President enjoys immunity under international conventions. The apex court will hear the case next on September 25 and has exempted the Prime Minister from future appearances. "I do not want to seen standing on the wrong side of the history," Ashraf said in the court hearing that lasted nearly 50 minutes. The Prime Minister added that he took the decision "in the larger interest of the people of Pakistan and in the larger interest of the integrity of Pakistan". (With inputs from PTI)
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Woman bomber kills 12 in Kabul
Kabul, September 18 The powerful early morning blast was the first to target Kabul since a video clip of the film was posted on the Internet last week, sparking angry protests across the Muslim world including in Afghanistan. It was also the second and deadliest attack in Afghanistan that militants have said they carried out as revenge strikes in response to the film. Haroon Zarghoon, a spokesman for the Islamist militant group Hizb-i-Islami, claimed responsibility for the dawn attack in telephone call to The Associated Press. He said it was carried out by a 22-year-old woman named Fatima. Suicide bombings carried out by women are extremely rare in Afghanistan, and few if any women drive cars. "The anti-Islam film hurt our religious sentiments and we cannot tolerate it," Zarghoon said. He said the 22-year-old Fatima volunteered to be the suicide bomber. Zarghoon warned of more attacks against foreigners working for NATO. —
AP
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topless kate London, September 18 The court injunction came after William and Kate, both 30, took legal action against the French magazine for selling and distributing the images. The publishers must give the originals to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge within 24 hours, the court said. The magazine, which published 14 images of Kate on Friday, will face a fine of £8,000 for every breach if it re-publishes or distributes the photos. The photographs were also published by the Irish edition of Daily Star, whose editor has been suspended. No British newspaper has printed the pictures. The photographs were taken while Kate was sunbathing on a private holiday with Prince William at a French chateau earlier this month. The couple argued that the publication of the photos by the French magazine breached their privacy. — PTI
Irish newspaper suspends editor London: The editor of an Irish daily that carried topless pictures of British royal Kate Middleton has been suspended over the publication of the controversial snaps. The editor of the Irish Daily Star Michael
O'Kane, has been suspended over the publication of the "indecent" photographs of the 30-year-old Duchess of Cambridge. The Irishpaper's co-owners, Independent News and Media, confirmed that O'Kane has been suspended, the BBC reported.
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Rushdie’s 633-page memoir hits stands London, September 18 Some accounts in the book have already been published and narrated by 65-year-old Rushdie in pre-publication interviews, while the book received mixed reviews as the first copies were snapped up in bookshops in Britain and elsewhere today. Writing in The Guardian, Indian author Pankaj Mishra says the memoir is too long, over-dependent on Rushdie’s journals, and “unquickened by hindsight, or its prose.” Rushdie chose the name ‘Joseph Anton’ as a tribute to his two favourite writers, Joseph Conrad and Anton Chekhov. — PTI
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Seven killed in twin blasts in Karachi Karachi, September 18 The explosions took place near a shopping mall just outside the bustling Hyderi market and the number of casualties could increase. Senior Superintendent of Police Asim Qaimkhani told PTI that the explosions appeared to have been caused by remote controlled devices fixed in motorcycles in the parking lot of a shopping mall, Dolmen Mall. "The explosions were severe and loud and have caused lot of damage. The police is presently busy in trying to clear the area to avoid anymore casualties," he said. A witness told a TV news channel that the first blast occurred in a garbage dump and second near a car in a parking lot. Geo News channel reported that seven people had been killed while several injured were being rushed to hospitals. Officials of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said they had received six bodies, including that of a young girl. At least 15 injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. — PTI
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Myanmar’s Suu Kyi begins landmark American visit ‘Mahatma Thali’ at London restaurant Soon, slap your phone to turn it silent Anti-Japan protests re-ignite in China
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Ashraf on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that his
government would revoke a letter to Swiss authorities asking for the closure of graft probe against President Asif Ali Zardari, a move that may pave way for reopening of the cases against him.
Written in the third person, the 633-page memoir titled ‘Joseph Anton’ is a personal narrative as well as a collection of comments and reporting in newspapers of what turned out to be a fight for freedom of expression that led to millions of pounds being spent on his security by the British taxpayers.
BEIJING/TOKYO