lebanese PM Mikati resigns
Beirut: lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced the resignation of his Government on Saturday, citing divisions on several issues, and called for the formation of a national unity Government. “I announce the resignation of the Government, hoping that this will open the way for the major political blocs to take responsibility and come together to bring lebanon out of the unknown,” Mikati said. His resignation comes as lebanon buckles under the pressure of the conflict engulfing neighbouring Syria, which has exacerbated existing tensions in lebanon’s multi-confessional population.
Zardari quits post of PPP co-chairman
lahore: Acting on a court order, President Asif Ali Zardari has quit the political office of co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party and made his son Bilawal its “patron-in-chief”. “President Zardari is no more the co-chairman of the PPP. The main body of the PPP has been dissolved and his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has been elected the party’s patron-in-chief,” a close aide to 57-year-old Zardari told PTI. The decision was made in compliance with the lahore High Court’s order which had asked Zardari to quit his post in the PPP as the President is expected to be impartial.
Syria rebels seize key military base in Daraa
Beirut: Rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday seized a key air base in the southern Syrian province of Daraa after two weeks of fierce battles with loyalist troops, a watchdog said. Elsewhere, at least 35 rebels were killed in battles against troops loyal to Damascus that raged near the sensitive ceasefire line with Israel, in the southern province of Quneitra.
Tornado kills 23 in Bangladesh
Dhaka: The death toll from a tornado that swept through some 25 villages in eastern Bangladesh, rose to 23 with rescuers finding 3 more bodies in debris, a day after the deadly storm which also left nearly 500 people injured. The storm which hit the area on Friday left a trail of destruction in 20 villages of Brahmanbaria Sadar & Bijoynagar.