Pak PM’s aide to resign over conflict of interest
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor on aviation has decided to step down after it emerged that he has Canadian citizenship and interests in a firm involved in a major aviation project. Attorney General Munir Malik assured a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry that Shujaat Azeem, adviser to the Prime Minister for aviation, would resign “very soon” to avoid any controversy. Malik further said that on Thursday Azeem had admitted that he had been court-martialled while serving in the Pakistan Air Force but not on grounds of moral turpitude.
Honeymoon murder: SA assures NRi of fair trial
Johannesburg: South Africa has assured NRI businessman Shrien Dewani of a fair trial after his extradition from Britain in a case related to murder of his Indian-origin wife during their honeymoon in Cape Town. The assurance came two days after a British Court had decided that it would not be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite the
33-year-old, accused of plotting to kill his Swedish-born Indian wife Anni in November 2010.
39 killed as 2 blasts rock Pakistan town
Peshawar: In a sudden surge in violence against the minority Shia community, 39 people were killed today when two blasts ripped through a town in Pakistan's tribal belt hours after two persons died when a truck hit a landmine. About 100 people were injured in the twin blasts that targeted Shia mosques in Parachinar, the main town of Kurram tribal region..
cops detain crash train driver for ‘recklessness'
Santiago de Compostela (Spain): Spanish police on Friday announced they have formally detained the driver of a fast-moving train that flew off the tracks, killing at least 78 people, saying he was suspected of “recklessness”. “He has been detained since 8:00 pm (Thursday). He is accused of crimes related to the accident,” Jaime Iglesias, the police chief in the northwestern region of Galicia, told reporters.
FBI concedes drones inside US for surveillance
Washington: FBI has acknowledged that the law enforcement agency uses drone aircraft in the United States for surveillance in certain cases.
The information was shared by the FBI in a letter to Senator Rand Paul, who released the unclassified version of the letter on Friday. Noting that it uses drones in very limited circumstances to conduct surveillance when there is a specific, operational need, the FBI said these have been used for surveillance to support missions related to kidnappings, search and rescue operations, drug interdictions, and fugitive investigations.
‘US Secy of State to visit Pak in next 2 days'
Islamabad: With Secretary of State John Kerry set to visit Pakistan in the next two days, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday committed himself to cooperative ties with the US and all initiatives to promote peace in war-torn Afghanistan. Sharif made the remarks during a meeting with US Ambassador Richard Olson in advance of the trip by Kerry, who is "likely to visit Pakistan in the coming two days", said a statement from the premier's office.
EU formally lists Hezbollah as terror group
Brussels: The European Union formally listed the armed wing of the powerful lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist entity on Friday, paving the way for sanctions. The EU's Official Journal — the bloc's record of decisions and their implementation — added the “Hezbollah Military Wing” to the list of 11 persons and 25 groups deemed to be involved in terrorist activity. Others on the list include Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, Colombian rebel group FARC, Peru's Shining Path and the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing.
Ohio kidnapper pleads guilty, accepts life sentence
Cleveland (US): A US man who kidnapped three women and held them as sex slaves for a decade, Ariel Castro, pleaded guilty to his crimes today and accepted a life sentence. The Cleveland native told the court that he had also agreed to a prison term of more than 1,000 years on top of the life sentence, and that he knew he would never be released. The deal allows him to avoid the death penalty.