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Imran ups the ante against
Sharif
After 8 yrs, Fijians queue up to vote in return to democracy
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Bangladesh top court commutes Jamat leader’s death penalty
IS bans math, social studies for children
Air strikes kill 50 in Syrian city
Residents try to put out a fire at a site after two air strikes by forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a market in central Douma, near Damascus, on Wednesday. Reuters
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Imran ups the ante against
Sharif
Hoping to attract a record crowd, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has announced that the coming Friday would mark as 'Go Nawaz Go Day' and a 'Day of Deliverance'.
But defiant Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he would not resign on the wishes of a few thousand.
Speaking to the participants of the Azadi March at D-Chowk here, Imran said he would continue the protest movement till Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns. He vowed that he would spend Eidul Azha protesting in the red zone. "Today is the 35th day of the protest and there has been an ever-increasing flow of participation of the masses," he claimed. Imran further said that he would burn his electricity bill on Friday to remind the rulers that they have doubled the power rates. His decision to do so comes after reports that the PTI Chairman had actually paid most of his bills since the civil disobedience movement was announced. In the same speech, Imran alleged that PM Sharif was going to spend another Rs 4 crore on his three-day US trip to attend the UN General Assembly session. "The Sharif brothers do not care for the masses. See the lifestyles of their children," he said. Imran also said he would end his dharna the moment Nawaz Sharif declares his and his family member's assets. "I am certain he would never do so," he added. Questioning the validity of arrest of hundreds of PTI workers, Imran said: "The constitution of Pakistan allows for peaceful protests. Why then have PTI workers been arrested?" He claimed credit to his awareness campaign for what happened to former interior minister Rehman Malik who was forced out of plane by passengers for delaying flight. "The people are no longer in a mood to accept injustice or VIP culture," he said. Meanwhile, cleric Dr Tahir ul-Qadri who is heading a parallel sit-in for his 'Inqilabi March has withdrawn his appeal for inscribing the slogan 'Go Nawaz Go' on currency notes following a reminder by the State Bank of Pakistan that these notes would become illegal. Instead he has asked his followers to shout the slogan if a mosquito or a fly bites them or if the get inflated power or gas bills.
Nawaz booked for murder
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After 8 yrs, Fijians queue up to vote in return to democracy
Suva, September 17 Fiji, a tropical idyll about 3,200 km east of Australia, has suffered four coups since 1987, the latest in 2006 led by former army chief Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama, whose Fiji First Party had a strong lead heading into the general election. Voters thronged to the polls, appearing ecstatic about once again choosing their leaders despite the spectre of security threats raised by the military and criticism of Bainimarama for using state media to drown out other parties. "I have waited for eight years to be part of this historic day. Everyone voting as ... members of this place we call home," Ramesh Chand told Reuters after casting his vote for Fiji First. Bainimarama seized on a long-simmering rivalry between indigenous Fijian nationalists and minority ethnic Indians, the economically powerful descendants of labourers brought by the British to work sugarcane fields, to justify his coup in 2006. In 2000, ethnic Fijians held the first Indo-Fijian prime minister hostage in Parliament for 56 days, in a coup that began with deadly riots in the streets of the capital, Suva. Bainimarama quickly abolished traditional, rival power bases such as the ethnic Fijian Great Council of Chiefs and old electoral boundaries that roughly grouped people according to their ethnicity, to the advantage of majority ethnic Fijians. He also pushed steadily for equal rights, culminating in a 2013 constitution, helping him to consolidate his popularity among Indo-Fijians. While new laws mean equality has improved on the surface, some have argued that the animosity continues to fester under the surface. — Reuters
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Bangladesh top court commutes Jamat leader’s death penalty
Dhaka, September 17 "He shall serve in prison for the rest of his natural life," Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain pronounced in a crowded courtroom, overturning a war-crimes tribunal ruling that awarded the 74-year-old leader death penalty last year. A five-member bench of the apex court, headed by Hossain, pronounced the verdict by "majority view". Sayedee is a stalwart of Jamaat, which was opposed to Bangladesh's 1971 independence siding with the then Pakistani junta, forming notorious militia groups like Al-Badr ad Al-Shams as auxiliary forces of the Pakistani troops. He was handed down death penalty by International Crimes Tribunal in February last year that triggered the deadliest political violence in the country's history. The Tribunal had found Sayedee guilty of six major charges while the apex found valid three of those including killing, rapes and forceful conversion of a number of Hindus to Islam and relieved him of charges of mass killings. In an instant reaction, Attorney General Mahbubey Alam said the verdict has "saddened" him as he expected the apex court to uphold the tribunal judgment. "My expectation was that his death penalty would be upheld, which has not been fulfilled...so I feel bad," he told reporters. He said that he now await the delivery of the full verdict for his detailed analysis. Alam said the verdict unmasked Sayedee's image as an ardent servant of Islam as allegations of forceful conversion of several Hindus was proved against him.
— PTI |
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IS bans math, social studies for children
Dubai, September 17 Instead, the children will be subjected to the teachings of the radical Islamist group. And any teacher who dares to break the rules "will be punished." ISIS announced its new educational demands in fliers posted on billboards and on street poles, CNN reported. In the letter, IS said alternative courses will be added. It also said teachers must erase the phrase Syrian Arab Republic-the official name of Syria-and replace it with Islamic State. Educators cannot teach nationalistic and ethnic ideology and must instead teach "the belonging to Islam ... and to denounce infidelity and infidels." The letter ends with a firm warning: "This is an obligatory announcement, and all violators will be punished."
— PTI |
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Air strikes kill 50 in Syrian city
Beirut, September 17 The death toll is unusually high, even by the vicious standards of the Syrian civil war. Similar information was reported by a local Talbiseh activist collective. The Observatory said leading members of a rebel group were killed, but didn't identify which one. The bombings also crushed families under rubble, both groups reported. State-run media said Tuesday that the army targeted a meeting of "terrorists." Syrian officials refer to armed rebels as "terrorists."
— AP |
Indian-origin man jailed for raping woman in NZ
Obama dubs Ebola outbreak ‘global security threat’ Naipaul dropped from Bali festival over ‘large fee’
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Hoping to attract a record crowd, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has announced that the coming Friday would mark as 'Go Nawaz Go Day' and a 'Day of Deliverance'.
In a surprise verdict, Bangladesh Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of Delwar Hossain
Sayedee, a key 1971 war criminal and fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami leader, triggering clashes between police and protesters who demanded the execution of the Islamist leader.
Beirut, September 17
