26/11 trial of 7 Pakistani shifted to Islamabad
Islamabad: In a move with significant ramifications, the trial of seven Pakistanis, including leT commander Zakiur Rehman lakhvi, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks was shifted from a court in Rawalpindi to a new anti-terrorism court on Saturday. Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman of the Rawalpindi-based anti-terrorism court accepted an application from the prosecution to move the case to the anti-terrorism court of Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi in Islamabad.
John Ashe elected UN General Assembly President
UN: The United Nations General Assembly elected by acclamation Ambassador John W Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda as President of its upcoming 68th session. Taking the floor immediately after his election, Ashe, who is Antigua and Barbuda's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, said that in 18 months, the world body would launch an agenda for sustainable development for all, which "may very well be the boldest and most ambitious project that the United Nations has ever had to accomplish."
Police take on protesters, Turkish PM seeks calm
Ankara: Police firing water cannons and tear gas have dispersed protesters who erected street barricades near Turkey's parliament overnight. It was the latest face-off between authorities and demonstrators over the government's response to a protest sit-in that began more than two weeks ago at a coveted Istanbul park. The pre-dawn melee today in Ankara on a street also close to the US Embassy came hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Government asked a small delegation of protesters to persuade the hundreds of others occupying Gezi Park to leave.
Shun legislative fashions: Pope to French MPs
Vatican City: Pope Francis urged French members of Parliament to shun “fashions” in legislation, a day after the pontiff spoke out against gay marriage. “Your role... Consists in proposing laws, amending them or even repealing them,” the pontiff told a delegation of MPs from France, adding that it is “necessary... To inject them with something more, a spirit, a soul which does not just reflect fashions and ideas of the time.” The laws should "provide the indispensable quality which raises and ennobles the human person,” the 76-year-old said. Yesterday, Francis praised the head of the Anglican Church, Justin Welby, for his stance against gay marriage.