Kerry Seeks To Boost European Unity
Paris: Top US diplomat John Kerry arrived in Paris on Saturday to boost European support for a deal with Iran as France voiced concerns over whether it would prove tough enough to stop Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Flying in from london on the last stop of a week-long trip, Kerry was to brief his French, German and British counterparts on the negotiations.
Karachi Airport Attack: Pak Court Indicts Three
Islamabad: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan on Saturday indicted three persons for their alleged involvement in a brazen Taliban attack on the country’s largest international airport in Karachi last year that killed 39 people. Asif Zaheer, Nadeem, Sarmad Siddiqui were produced in the Karachi ATC amid tight security. All the three suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. The court has summoned all witnesses in the case for the next hearing scheduled for March 14.
32 People Kidnapped In Baghdad
Baghdad: At least 32 people were kidnapped on Saturday from their homes in Iraq’s capital Baghdad. Some 30 gunmen wearing black military uniforms in 10 vehicles stormed several houses in Sadr City neighbourhood, kidnapping 32 people, including women and children, and fled the scene, an interior ministry official told Xinhua. The abducted people were members of several Sunni families in the Shia bastion of Sadr City, the official added.
Pro-Morsi Violence: Egypt Executes Man
Cairo: A man found guilty of pushing young boys off the rooftop of a building in Alexandria during pro-Morsi protests in July 2013 was executed here on Saturday. Mahmoud Hassan Ramadan was sentenced to death by an Egyptian court in May last year and he was hanged on Saturday, the official MENA news agency quoted the interior ministry as saying in a statement. Following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, violent clashes erupted in Alexandria’s Sidi Gaber district between his supporters and opponents. A video footage uploaded on the internet showed Ramadan, with a long beard holding a black flag associated with al Qaeda, throwing the children off the rooftop of the building. The court had sentenced 13 others to life in prison in the same case.