43 killed in wave of attacks across Iraq
Baghdad, November 20
A wave of attacks, most of them car bombs targeting Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad, killed 43 people today in the latest bout of deadly violence to hit Iraq.

26/11 attacks: Terror court questions key Pak witness
Islamabad, November 20
A Karachi-based port worker, who had seen 10 LeT terrorists leaving in a boat hours before the brazen Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, was cross-examined in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court today.

Islamabad, November 20
The US has agreed to avoid drone attacks on Taliban militants engaged in talks with the Pakistan government, Prime Minister’s advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz said today.

Aziz told the senate’s standing committee on foreign affairs that the US had been informed that the recent drone strike which killed Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had disrupted negotiations with the militants.

He said Washington had given an assurance that militants holding talks will not be targeted, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Mehsud was killed hours before a government delegation was to meet with militants earlier this month. The parleys were cancelled and the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan vowed to avenge its chief's death.

The US was strongly criticised by politicians and the media for allegedly "sabotaging" peace talks with the Taliban, who are fighting to impose strict Shariah or Islamic law in the country. Aziz did not say how it would be determined that the Taliban were holding talks with the government or how the US would be updated about the status of negotiations.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced ahead of the general election in May that he would work for peace through talks. He organised an All-Parties Conference in September that approved a plan for talks.

After initial hesitation, the government selected three religious leaders to go to the tribal areas and hold talks with Taliban emissaries. But the plan fell apart after Mehsud was killed. The militants chose an anti-peace cleric, Mullah Fazlullah, as Mehsud’s successor but the government has announced that it will make a fresh bid for peace.

The US guarantee on drone strikes appears to be a major policy shift by Washington, which had in the past opposed any peace deal with the militants. — PTI

Policy shift PM’s adviser Sartaj Aziz tells a senate committee that Pakistan had recently lodged a strong protest with the US over disrupting Talks with the Taliban. The US’ assurance on drone strikes is a major policy shift as it had in the past opposed any peace deal with militants.

Kathmandu, November 20
The Nepali Congress led by Sushil Koirala today established an early lead in initial trends in counting of votes to choose a 601-member assembly that will draft a new constitution to end years of political uncertainty in Nepal.

The party was leading in 58 constituencies while its rival CPN-UML was ahead in 38 seats. The Prachanda-led UCPN-M, which had emerged the largest party in the last election in 2008, was in third position with a lead in just 17 seats. Madhesi Janadhikar Forum was leading in eight constituencies.

The counting was disrupted by the UCPN-M in one of the constituencies in Kathmandu. The party claimed that the number of ballot papers counted is higher than those cast. Former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of the UCPN-M was well ahead of all his rival in a seat in Gorkha district while party chief Prachanda had taken the lead in Siraha but was lagging behind in Kathmandu.

More than 70 per cent of the 12.147 million eligible voters participated in the second Constituent Assembly elections yesterday. The turnout was an all-time high. In the last election, the turnout was 61.7 per cent.

The counting will lead to the formation of a 601-member assembly to draft a new Constitution, including 240 elected under a direct voting system. There was proportionate voting for 335 seats and the remaining 26 members will be nominated by the government.

The counting began even as ballot boxes from some remote areas were still being ferried to district headquarters. Ballot boxes from mountainous districts like Humla, Kalikot, Mugu, Mustang, Taplejung, Gorkha and Jajarkot were transported by helicopters. Voting at a polling booth in Depal village of Jumla district was disrupted. The re-polling will be done on November 22, according to the EC. — PTI

Initial trends The Nepali Congress gets an early lead in initial trends. The party was leading in 58 constituencies while its rival CPN-UML was ahead in 38 seats. Prachanda-led UCPN-M, which had emerged the largest party in the 2008 polls, was in third position with a lead in just 17 seats.

Baghdad, November 20
A wave of attacks, most of them car bombs targeting Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad, killed 43 people today in the latest bout of deadly violence to hit Iraq.

The bombings and shootings, which also wounded more than 100 people, came amid a protracted surge in bloodletting just months ahead of a general election that has forced Iraqi officials to appeal for international help in combating the deadliest unrest since 2008.

At least eight explosions, including seven car bombs, went off mostly against Shiite Muslim neighbourhoods of the Iraqi capital, killing 36 people and wounding nearly 100, security and medical officials said.

They came after similarly coordinated bombings in Baghdad on Sunday killed 21 people, and pushed the death toll for November above 300.

Wednesday's attacks struck in areas ranging from the city's main commercial district of Karrada to the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Shaab, as well as Sadriyah, one of Baghdad's oldest districts.

One car bomb also went off in the Sunni-majority neighbourhood of Adhamiyah in north Baghdad, officials said.

The blast in Karrada struck near a car dealership as Shiites were gathering to mark the anniversary of the death of a venerated figure in Shiite Islam, when Sunni militants often step up their attacks.

Security forces imposed tight restrictions in areas hit by the attacks, in many cases barring journalists from filming or taking photographs at bomb sites. — PTI

Islamabad, November 20
A Karachi-based port worker, who had seen 10 LeT terrorists leaving in a boat hours before the brazen Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, was cross-examined in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court today.

The hearing, held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for security reasons, went on for over five hours during which defence lawyers cross-examined Mohammad Saifullah Khan.

"One witness was cross-examined by the defence today. He was one of two witnesses who had seen the men leave the (Karachi) port in a boat," Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhury Mohammed Azhar told PTI.

"The cross-examination will continue tomorrow," he said. The Islamabad-based anti-terrorism court is conducting the trial of seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks in India. — PTI

London, November 20
Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt last year, today received the EU's Sakharov human rights prize at a ceremony in Strasbourg.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz presented the award to the 16-year-old who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.

Malala dedicated the award to "the unsung heroes of Pakistan" and to human rights campaigners worldwide.

“I am hopeful the European Parliament will look beyond Europe to the suffering countries where people are still deprived of their basic rights, their freedom of thought is suppressed, freedom of speech is enchained,” she said. The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded by the European Parliament annually in memory of Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov.

The 50,000-euro prize is considered Europe's top human rights award. Malala joins a distinguished list of winners of the prize that includes South Africa's Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. — PTI

Thimphu, November 20
A top Chinese diplomat has met Bhutan's Prime Minister Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay in a bid to enhance ties with the country with whom China has no diplomatic relation.

Wei Wei, Chinese Ambassador to India, called on Lyonchhen at his office yesterday. Lyonchhen told the envoy that people and the government of Bhutan value and attach high importance to its relations with China, an official statement said.

The Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction on the growing cordial relations between the two countries and said that the people-to-people exchanges contributed significantly to the development of tourism, trade and other areas of shared interest.

The Ambassador thanked Lyonchhen for his views and said that his country also respect and treasure the friendly relations 
with Bhutan. — PTI

Melbourne, November 20
Indonesia today downgraded its relations with Australia over spying allegations, further escalating the diplomatic tension between the two nations.

“The downgrading in the level of the Indonesian- Australian relationship has been done,” Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa said. He said: “We have taken measured steps in accordance with their response and attitude.”

According to the ABC news, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has refused to accept Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statement made in the Parliament yesterday in which he rejected Indonesia's demand for an apology.

Indonesia had demanded an apology and an explanation within two days. Yudhoyono said he "regretted" Abbott's response and was awaiting an official explanation. — PTI

Geneva, November 20
World powers resumed efforts to clinch a preliminary deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme at talks in Geneva on Wednesday, with Russia and Britain confident that agreement can be reached.

Seeking to end a long standoff and head off the risk of a wider Middle East war, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany came close to winning concessions from Iran on its nuclear work in return for some sanctions relief at negotiations earlier this month.

Policymakers from the six have since said that an interim accord on confidence-building steps could finally be within reach, despite warnings from diplomats that differences remain and could still prevent an agreement. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the remaining differences are narrow and a historic deal is within reach.

"It is the best chance for a long time to make progress on one of the gravest problems in foreign policy," Hague told a news conference in Tehran. — Reuters