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Syrian warring sides call truce
Taliban panel seeks meeting with PM, army, ISI chiefs
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Pak court summons Musharraf on Feb 18
Diplomat uses F-word, leaves US red-faced
Don’t break away, Cameron to Scotland
Member states to decide on rights probe in Lanka: UN
China keen to settle border dispute
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Syrian warring sides call truce
Homs, February 7 The first bus carrying 11 weary-looking evacuees, accompanied by Syrian Arab Red Crescent officials, arrived at a meeting point outside Homs as government soldiers stood by. The aid group expected 200 people to leave. Another person was brought out by ambulance from the Old City district where activists say 2,500 people have been under siege for more than a year, hungry and malnourished. Russia said a three-day ceasefire had been agreed in Homs, which was one of the first cities to erupt in protest against President Bashar al-Assad nearly three years ago and where street after street has been destroyed in heavy fighting between Assad's forces and rebels seeking his overthrow. "It is foreseen that all children, women, men under age 55, as well as wounded people, can leave the combat zone without obstacle," Russia's Foreign Ministry said. It said Syrian authorities had announced that evacuees would be provided with medical treatment and shelter. "Those residents of Old Homs who prefer to remain will be sent the necessary humanitarian aid," the ministry said. Moscow, which has supported and armed Assad throughout the civil war, hailed the Homs deal as a "landmark agreement". US officials were doubtful when the deal was announced on Thursday, saying they feared for the fate of anyone who moved from rebel areas into government control. "We have reason on the basis of history to be very sceptical," US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said. Rebels have rejected similar offers to evacuate women and children in the past because of concerns about what might happen to any men, including fighters, who are left behind. Dozens of men were detained and disappeared after a deal last year reached in Mouadamiya, west of Damascus. — Reuters
Govt confirms it will take part in Geneva talks
State news agency SANA cited Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad on Friday confirming the government would attend the second round of talks and demand a discussion "article by article" of the 2012 Geneva Communique. “Restoring peace and stability throughout the Syrian Arab Republic requires putting an end to terrorism and violence, as is said in the Geneva communiques,” Mekdad said. |
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Taliban panel seeks meeting with PM, army, ISI chiefs
A three-member committee named by the Taliban for peace dialogue with the government has sought meetings with the army chief, the ISI chief and the Prime Minister before consulting the TTP leadership on next move for parleys. The government committee on its part wished to meet a nine-member Taliban committee named to "monitor" the dialogue. The government and Taliban panel of three in their first meeting on Thursday agreed on the need to cease violence and hold negotiations under the ambit of the Constitution. Addressing a joint press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, government negotiator Irfan Siddiqui and Maulana Samiul Haq from the Taliban committee said the committees agreed that the talks should not be prolonged as the nation was hoping for good news. Maulana Samiul Haq said the committees condemned the violent attacks that happened in recent days.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Friday claimed the Taliban's decision to hold talks under Pakistan's Constitution has exposed the lobby that was deliberately maligning him with labels like “Taliban Khan”.
US designates Pak extremist as ‘global terrorist’
Washington: The US has designated Lashkar-e-Jhangvi co-founder Malik
Ishaq, blamed for killing scores of members of Pakistan's Shia minority, as a global terrorist. The consequences of this designation include a prohibition against American nationals engaging in transactions with Ishaq and the freezing of his property in the US. |
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Pak court summons Musharraf on Feb 18
The special court constituted to hear the treason case against former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has summoned him on February 18. The court accepted the petition seeking Musharraf's exemption from appearing in court during on Friday's proceedings. In his arguments before the court, Musharraf's counsel Anwar Mansoor assured the court that his client would appear on February 18. "Pervez Musharraf will appear before the court after being discharged from the hospital," Anwar said. Justice Faisal Arab remarked that a non-bailable warrant for Musharraf would be issued if he failed to appear before the court. Earlier, Anwar Mansoor pleaded that his client's petitions challenging the appointments of the prosecutor and judges should be taken up first, as during the entire week-long hearing at no point was this petition heard. He said that if the hearing proceeded without deciding on the petitions it would be injustice to his client. Justice Faisal Arab intervening said proceeding in the case were deferred on three consecutive hearings, adding it is not our personal matter whatever case comes before the court it is our responsibility to hear. The hearing of the case has been adjourned till February 10.
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Diplomat uses F-word, leaves US red-faced
Kiev, February 7 “F*** the EU," Victoria Nuland, Washington's new top diplomat for Europe said in what appeared to be a recent phone call with US ambassador to Kiev, Geoff Pyatt, which was intercepted and uploaded onto YouTube accompanied by Russian captions. The US was left fuming after the leak, pointing the finger at Russia for allegedly bugging the diplomats' phones. — AFP |
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Don’t break away, Cameron to Scotland
London, February 7 Speaking in London, Cameron, an Englishman whose Conservative party has only one of 59 UK-wide seats in Scotland, made his most passionate defence yet of the UK, which comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "We would be deeply diminished without Scotland," Cameron told an audience in the cavernous London velodrome used for the 2012 Olympic Games, saying he would fight with all he had to hold the country he governs together. "Together, we get a seat at the UN Security Council, real clout in NATO and Europe, and the prestige to host events like the G8. Make no mistake: we matter more as a United Kingdom - politically, militarily, diplomatically and culturally too. If we lost Scotland, if the UK changed, we would rip the rug from under our own reputation." Scots will decide in a referendum on Sept. 18 whether their nation, which has a population of just over 5 million and is a source of North Sea oil, should end its 307-year-old union with England and leave the UK. Cameron said a "yes" vote would imperil Britain's stability and foreign direct investment. "We are quite simply stronger as a bigger entity," he said. Political analysts say a "yes" vote could weaken London's claim to a permanent seat on the United Nations. — Reuters
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Member states to decide on rights probe in Lanka: UN
Colombo, February 7 “Ultimately, its up to different member states to determine whether there will be an international process. We have presented information to them and we've made clear what we believe is the need for accountability and we rely on the member states judgement to follow through," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said. The UN Human Rights Council is expected to move a third successive resolution in Geneva next month censuring Sri Lanka. — PTI
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China keen to settle border dispute
Beijing, February 7 India and China will hold their 17th round of Special Representative talks on the boundary issue in New Delhi on February 10-11, the first meeting since the countries inked the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) last year. "China is ready to work with the Indian government to advance the process of negotiations so as to achieve a fair and reasonable framework acceptable to both sides in order to make the border areas into a bridge and bond between the two peoples to facilitate their exchanges and communication," Hong said. — PTI |
Attempt to hijack Ukraine-Turkey flight Seoul wins battle against Japan for US textbooks Cambodian police recover stolen Buddha relics Biden to decide next year whether to run for presidency Indian pleads guilty in Singapore riot case Indian astrologer accused of rape in Australia 2 more charged with Indian-origin man’s killing in UK Indian death row convict gets reprieve in Malaysia Famed Taiwan film director indicted in naval base ploy Saudi woman denied medical aid under gender law, dies |
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Syria began evacuating civilians from a besieged area of Homs on Friday while Russia announced that Syria's warring parties had agreed a three-day ceasefire.
