Silver Scorpio - International News | Spot News | Top News | Flash News | Live News
June 13 (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of Libya and Switzerland signed an agreement on their relations on Sunday, a Reuters reporter at the signing ceremony said.
The agreement was signed by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and her Libyan counterpart Moussa Koussa, the reporter said. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos was also present. There were no details immediately available on the content of the agreement. (Reporting by Ali Shuaib; Writing by Christian Lowe)
June 13 (Reuters) – Libya and Switzerland will soon sign a memorandum of understanding to resolve their long-running diplomatic dispute, a source in the Libyan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey arrived in the Libyan capital for talks early on Sunday and is expected to make a statement to reporters shortly, the source, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters. (Reporting by Ali Shuaib; Writing by Christian Lowe)
Islamabad, June 6 (IANS) Unidentified militants beheaded a 60-year-old Afghan man for allegedly ‘spying’ for the US military based in neighbouring Afghanistan, media reports said.
The body, identified as that of Wadeen, was found in Darpa Khel village, five km from Miranshah, in North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, Xinhua reported citing a statement in the Daily Times.
A piece of paper found near the body said the man was beheaded was spying for the US and that anyone else doing the same ‘would meet the same fate’.
In February this year, Taliban militants beheaded three men including two Afghans in Mir Ali area in North Waziristan, accusing them of spying for the US.
Sania Mirza is finding Dubai to be a home away from home. The other day she was training on the courts of an academy housed in a star hotel in the UAE metropolis when the temperature touched 41 degrees Celsius at 9.30 in the morning. By afternoon she got to hear that it was 45 degrees in Hyderabad. Just like at home, a few heads — mainly from Pakistanis and Indians — turn in her direction as she begins sparring with her hitting partner, Zeeshan Ali, the former India player.
“The last three weeks have been good with regard to training,” Sania told The Indian Express on Wednesday, while talking about her injured wrist that has kept her out of action since February. “My wrist has bothered me for the last two years. It is a chronic wrist injury but at the moment it is not hurting. I have been training in Dubai for the past nine days and it feels good,” Sania said.
Sania and her husband, Pakistan batsman, Shoaib Malik are busy setting up their house in Dubai. The couple whose marriage attracted controversy are now happy that the hullabaloo surrounding them has died down. Dubai is a neutral venue for both of them.
“Whatever happened just before our wedding was disturbing and difficult for both of us and for the families. When it was all over, I said to Shoaib ‘we have come through this. I think we can come through more things in my life rather easily now’. We both faced what people never face in their lives probably. We were not even married when all the controversy happened. It is great to be together. After all that happened, we are both back to being happy again and that really counts.”
Sania believes not much has changed since the wedding. “I have to get used to sharing my bathroom and bedroom,” she said jokingly. “Shoaib and I have been working out together. We play sports in which we have to be lean but also strong. It helps that we are from sporting backgrounds,” Sania added.
“Just yesterday, when we were watching a movie, we were telling each other that we can’t believe we are married. One good thing is that we never fight over watching soap operas or serial. I am not the ‘girly’ types so I watch sport and so does he.”
Good news came in the form of Malik’s name being in the probables list for the Asia Cup. The former Pakistan skipper is undergoing a one-year ban for ‘indiscipline’. “I have heard that things can change overnight in Pakistan cricket. I never used to follow Pakistan cricket earlier but now I do. Shoaib didn’t follow too much of women’s tennis but now he has no choice.”
Sania will kick-start her return with the event in Birmingham before heading to Wimbledon. “I didn’t take time off because I was getting married. I got married because I had time on my side due to my wrist injury. Somehow, people don’t understand that. Everyone goes through rough patches and Shoaib himself has had a roller-coaster year. He understands what it means to make a comeback after an injury.
“Grass is the most difficult surface to make a comeback, especially after a wrist injury, as the surface is uneven and one has to make lot of adjustments with the wrist. If I had a choice I would have made a comeback on a hard court. But that said I have played well on grass.”
Ranked 91 in singles and 75 in doubles, Sania knows that she’ll realise how match fit she is only after playing a couple of games. “I am not going in hoping to make the quarterfinal of Wimbledon. It is not going to be that easy. It doesn’t work like that. I want to get on court and play a few matches. And then we will see.”
Lahore, May 19 (ANI): Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is planning to target Parliament House and other important government installations.
According to intelligence inputs, the TTP has recruited a suicide bomber named Amer Aaqa Hadifa, who is in his 20’s, to strike at important buildings.
The intelligence report said that Hadifa was last seen in the Mir Ali region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), The Daily Times reports
Following the report, all the concerned agencies have been directed to beef up security in and around Parliament and all other government buildings in Islamabad and across the country.
Security agencies have also been asked to keep a tight vigil on all entry and exit points of the capital city and also in Lahore. (ANI)
Peshawar, May 12 (ANI): The Peshawar police has killed an alleged militant wanted over terror attacks, including last year’s murder of an official with the Iranian consulate, officials said.
Sources told Daily Times that Amanullah, a resident of Badhber village, was travelling in a car in the Sheikhabad area when police flagged him down but he made a run for it.
Amanullah was asked to surrender for a complete search but he refused to do so, which led to an exchange of fire.
The militant was killed on the spot while two policemen – identified as Tariq and Javed – were wounded during the gun-battle.
However, local police chief Liaquat Ali told a foreign news agency that police, acting on a tip-off, conducted a raid on a house in the provincial metropolis where Amanullah had been hiding.
A gun battle broke out and Amanullah was killed, he said, adding that two police officials were wounded in the clash, which lasted for about half an hour. (ANI)
Kuala Lumpur, May 11 (IANS) A Malaysian Indian woman entrepreneur Tuesday rejected the charge of cheating a corporate body, which she headed, and opted for a trial.
Former Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) CEO P. Chitrakala Vasu was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Tuesday with three counts of cheating
The corporate body was cheated of about RMN four million ($1.24 million).
The court allowed her bail a day after she was formally arrested and interrogated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Star Online, website of The Star reported.
MACC director of investigations Mustafar Ali said Chitrakala was called to the commission headquarters and was arrested when she arrived at 2.30 p.m. Monday.
It is learnt that the 39-year-old spent a couple of hours at the MACC headquarters where her statement was recorded.
MIED is the education arm of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) that distributes scholarships among the ethnic Indian students.
Vasu was once close to Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president S. Samy Vellu. But the two fell apart over control of MIED funds.
Washington, May 10 (ANI): Hundreds of people of Pakistani origin living in Brooklyn”s Coney Island Avenue, which is often referred a ‘little Pakistan’, are worried about backlashes against them following US Attorney General Eric Holder’s remarks that the Pakistan Taliban was behind the May 1 botched Times Square bombing plot.
People in the ‘little Pakistan’ want the Taliban to be crushed once for all, as few handful of people were bringing a bad name to the whole community.
“If one is bad, it”s making problems for others. If there are some bad people, it doesn”t mean all people are bad,” The Daily News quoted a cab driver Asif Ali, as saying.
Ali said he wants the Taliban to be wiped off, but added that the Pakistan government has been doing all it can in this regard.
“They”re (Pakistan government) trying their best to stop it. They are trying to do whatever they can. It”s hard to stop. Terrorists are everywhere. They are all over the world,” he said.
Mohammad Bashir, who owns a grocery shop at the Coney Island Avenue, said the Pakistan government has been engaged against the Taliban for long, but the situation has gone from bad to worse in the recent past.
“They”ve been fighting the Taliban for a long time, not only recently. Everybody feels bad,” said Bashir, who had migrated from Pakistan nearly 25 years ago.
“Every country has some black sheep,” added Asim Kayani, who works for a travel agency. (ANI)
Karachi, May 6 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf’s ‘safe’ exit and incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari’s return to the country was part of a deal inked between both leaders, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) General Secretary Mushahid Hussain Syed has said.
Interacting with media persons during a press conference here, Syed also revealed that the deal was also backed by international powers.
“This deal was not a usual one as it had the support of international powers,” The News quoted Syed, as saying.
He, however, did not disclose the names of those ‘international powers.’
Syed also claimed that Zardari had entered into a secret deal with former US President George Bush, according to which the US would continue the drone strikes in the country’s tribal areas, and Islamabad would go on criticising Washington for the missile hits. (ANI)
New Delhi, May 5 (ANI): United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Ali Abdussalam Treki met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and reportedly discussed a wide range of issues, including peace and security, United Nations (UN) reforms and other international and regional issues.
“We discussed the way to make the United Nations very strong, reform of the UN, Security Council and UNGA. We also discussed certain problems that the United Nations is facing like climate change, Middle-East Problem and other issues,” said Treki.
National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao were also present at the meeting.
Treki arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit after holding parleys with China.
He is expected to leave for Pakistan today. (ANI)
Washington, April 29 (ANI): Lindsay Lohan is leading a messy life in an unclean home with “spilled coffee and drinks around the rooms, and stuff all over, clothes everywhere,” it has emerged.
Just a few years ago, the Mean Girls star was one of the hottest things to have happened to Hollywood.
However, all the stardom seems to have drained out of her life and Lindsay doesn”t even have work now.
But even now the starlet, 23, has not come back to her senses and living a shabby life is almost becoming a habit with her.
“Lindsay has been living in a major mess lately. Whether she”s in her home or a hotel room, she does not pick up after herself or take care of things,” Fox News quoted a source close to Lohan, as saying.
The insider added: “She sleeps on a mattress on the floor, there”s spilled coffee and drinks around the rooms, and stuff all over, clothes everywhere. It is not a clean home environment. She sleeps most days and it is difficult to wake her up.”
Mum Dina seems to believe making Lindsay”s sis Ali, 16, stay with her can solve her elder daughters problems.
The informer said: “Ali lives with Lindsay. I think [their mother] Dina believes that it will help Lindsay to have Ali around.
“Ali is also in L.A. for work and is hoping to land something soon as an actress. It”s a stretch to think that Lindsay should be responsible for Ali. Lindsay has enough trouble taking care of herself.”
However, matters have only worsened for Lindsay.
She recently lost out on a role in the flick “The Other Side,” after Katie Holmes backed out.
The snitch said: “Lindsay was cut from the movie for multiple reasons.
“It”s an independent film and the budget with the insurance coverage would have skyrocketed. Drug testing would have been a part of the insurance process as well.” (ANI)
Miranshah (Pakistan), Apr 26(ANI): At least five suspected militants were killed and various others injured in a fresh US drone attack in the restive North Waziristan on Monday.
According to reports, unmanned Predator aircrafts fired three missiles at a house in Mir Ali area of Khush’hali Klay, killing four on the spot and injuring several others.
It is believed that at least four spy planes were hovering over the region and making low flights, The News reports.
US drone attacks routinely target Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions along the Afghanistan border.
Although Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they violate its sovereignty and fuel anti-Americanism among the population, it is believed that it was sharing intelligence with the US about the insurgents and their hide-outs.
More than 830 people have been killed in more than 90 US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, with a surge in the past year as President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of his fight against Al-Qaeda. (ANI)
Miranshah (Pakistan), Apr 26(ANI): At least five suspected militants were killed and various others injured in a fresh US drone attack in the restive North Waziristan on Monday.
According to reports, unmanned Predator aircrafts fired three missiles at a house in Mir Ali area of Khush’hali Klay, killing four on the spot and injuring several others.
It is believed that at least four spy planes were hovering over the region and making low flights, The News reports.
US drone attacks routinely target Taliban and Al-Qaeda commanders in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions along the Afghanistan border.
Although Pakistan publicly opposes the attacks, saying they violate its sovereignty and fuel anti-Americanism among the population, it is believed that it was sharing intelligence with the US about the insurgents and their hide-outs.
More than 830 people have been killed in more than 90 US strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, with a surge in the past year as President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of his fight against Al-Qaeda. (ANI)
London, April 24 (ANI): Lindsay Lohan has claimed that her father Michael once threatened to kidnap and kill her.
The 23-year-old singer retaliated after her father turned up uninvited at her residence with the police saying that he wanted to check if Lindsay and her 16-year-old sister Ali were alright, reports The Sun.
Michael said that Lindsay was in “life-threatening danger” due to her addiction to painkiller drugs – and begged Ali to return home.
“Ali is being exposed to nightlife and the people Lindsay surrounds herself with. Ali is just 16. Lindsay is not in the right frame of mind to deal with Ali,” he added.
“She had bloodshot eyes, make-up all over her face. She started shouting, ”Get out! Get out!” A so-called friend comes out of the room, looking like a walking zombie,” he said about Lindsay.
Lindsay, however, denied it and called Michael a “pathological liar”.
She posted numerous messages on her Twitter account claiming that her father is a drug-stricken “stalker” who will go to any level to gain some attention. “The only one in need of police protection here is me and Ali from our pathological, lying ex-father,” one of her posts read.
She violently denied that she is not able to care for her sister Ali. Lindsay said that Michael”s never contributed- financially or otherwise, for the upbringing of his children.
“Let”s not forget, that my father kidnapped me from a court room when I was 4 years old and is crazy. Nor was it for Michael and me when our father threatened to kidnap and kill us in front of our friends,” her Twitter page said. (ANI)
Islamabad, Apr.24 (ANI): Four alleged US spies have been slaughtered by the Taliban in restive North Waziristan’s Miranshah.
All four dead bodies, including a headless one, were found in Mir Ali, about 25 kilometres east of Miranshah.
A note found near the dead bodies accused the dead men of spying for the US troops and warned that anyone found spying for the foreign force would face the same fate, The Daily Times reports.
Dozens of men have been killed in a similar way in North Waziristan in the recent past, as the US continues to push the Pakistan Army to launch an all out attack on the militants based in the ungoverned tribal region and carry out their plan against foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan. (ANI)
Former President Pervez Musharraf was “hostile” and had a “confrontational” discussion with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto before her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in 2007, the slain leader’s close friend Mark Siegel has said.
Siegel, who helped Bhutto put together her final book ‘Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West’, claimed that Musharraf had telephoned Bhutto when she was with him in the US to discuss her return to Pakistan.
He said Bhutto later told him about the conversation, saying Musharraf confronted her as he did not want her to return to Pakistan.
“It wasn’t a very good conversation. He was very confrontational. He seemed to be very hostile. He didn’t want her to return. She made it clear that she was returning and the preparations were underway for her return,” Siegel told a TV news channel.
Soon after the 2002 general election, Musharraf had offered Bhutto a deal for dropping charges against her husband Asif Ali Zardari, releasing him from prison and giving him a ministry of his choice if she agreed to bid goodbye to politics for the next 10 years, Siegel claimed.
Bhutto was sitting with Siegel when Zardari telephoned her from prison and told her he had been offered the deal. “He (Zardari) said he won’t accept the deal under any conditions and would rather spend the rest of his life in jail,” Siegel said.
Bhutto had also sent Siegel an e-mail after her motorcade was the target of a suicide attack in Karachi hours after her return to Pakistan in October 2007 following eight years of self-imposed exile, asking what she should do and whom to hold accountable if something happened to her.
Siegel did not elaborate on the e-mail but said it asked him to hold Musharraf responsible in case anything happened to Bhutto.
The e-mail further said certain persons named in Bhutto’s letter sent to Musharraf on October 16, 2007 via the UAE embassy should also be held responsible.
Bhutto’s e-mail talked about threats to her life and the denial of security she had sought, Siegel said, adding he had approached the US government to directly ask Musharraf to provide security to the former premier.
Siegel said: “Even though I was stunned at her death, I knew I had to continue doing what she told me to… No matter how devastated I felt, I had to go forward and that’s when I released (Bhutto’s) e-mail to CNN.”
Bhutto was killed in a gun-and-suicide attack shortly after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.
A report by a UN commission that probed Bhutto’s killing has held Musharraf’s regime responsible for not providing adequate security to her despite reports of several threats to her life.
Islamabad, Mar.30 (ANI): Defending his action of taking a U-turn over the issue of the constitutional reforms package, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that he has no regrets over his decision, and that he had taken it in the ‘supreme national interest.’
Speaking to media persons during a press conference here, Sharif refused to change his stance, saying ‘it is based on principles.’
He demanded that the number of members of the proposed judicial commission on the appointment of judges should be reduced to five from seven, The Daily Times reports.
The constitutional reforms committee had earlier increased the strength of the committee from six to seven members following a demand by the PML-N itself.
Earlier, the PML-N chief had described the constitutional package, which was to be tabled in Parliament as “half-baked”, and said matters were still under discussion when the government announced that it would be tabling the document in the house and that President Asif Ali Zardari would address a joint session of Parliament before that.
Sharif also called for curtailing the President’s powers in ‘single go’ before moving to other reforms in the constitutional package. (ANI)
Mumbai, Mar 26 (ANI): Bollywood actors Boman Irani, Minissha Lamba, Ritesh Deshmukh and Ila Arun attended the premier of their film ”Well Done Abba” that hit theaters on Friday.
Directed by Shyam Benegal, the film is a tale of Armaan Ali, played by Irani, who works as a driver with a big businessman in Mumbai.
“I faced problems as I did not know the local language. So, I faced problems in delivering the dialogue. But once I learnt it, it became easy. I have given my best attempt and I hope the audience will like it,” said Irani.
The film is a political satire, often witty and sharp but largely an ironic comedy with a central theme that deals with the many development projects that the government has initiated, which frequently get hijacked by systemic corruption.
“It”s a different type of film, sensitive film, it is almost like a satire on the system. I am looking forward to the film and I am sure it will be sweet, nice, funny film with a message,” said Ritesh Deshmukh. (ANI)
The local advisory board representing people living in a remote Aboriginal community says residents are not happy about having to pay a bond for broken down houses.
The Northern Territory Government is administering housing refurbishments under the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program rolled out through the portfolio of Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin.
The chairman of the Ali Curung local board, Noel Hayes, says some residents have complained their houses have only had very minor repairs.
He says they have discussed refusing to pay the bond as a protest and he has a message for other communities that are eligible for the housing program.
“When they come into your community ask all the questions and get everybody there and talk about all this rent and bond on everything,” he said.
“Because they’re just getting on their soapbox NT government and Jenny Macklin mob rave on and rave on and at the end of the day nothing happening we were doing these things even before they came along.”
The Northern Territory housing department says on average $75,000 is being spent per house on the improvements in Ali Curung.
The Territory Housing Minister, Chris Burns, has offered to meet members of the community to discuss their concerns.
Copyright © 2013 · eleven40 theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in
Lindsay can”t quite understand why she makes headlines
New York, April 30 (ANI): American actress Lindsay Lohan has no idea why she is an easy ‘target’ for drama.
“I think there”s a misconception,” Lohan said.
The 23-year-old actress’ latest controversy arose when she posted a photo on Twitter where she has posed with a gun.
“I don”t know why I am such a target, but I think there”s a big misconception of who I am as a person,” the baffled actress told L.A.’s 102.7 KIIS-FM.
“It”s a very build-you-up-to-take-you-down industry, and I am working hard. I am doing a clothing line, I am starting a movie soon, I”m producing some shows,” Lohan said.
“I”ve just been working a lot, and it”s not a crime to go out and have fun with your friends. I do realize it”s silly of me to give people what they want – to see me out at night,” she added.
Infact, her father Michael Lohan was concerned about her life because of Lohan’s nightlife, reports The New York Daily Post.
Michael had barged into LiLo’s apartment along with police. He later said that he wanted to check if Lindsay and her little sister Ali were alright.
She also said that her father”s public comments take away “from all the work I am doing. It only builds negative press and that”s why it really hurts me.”
Aside from who the public thinks she is, Lohan insisted that she”s just “a nice person” who loves “entertaining people.” (ANI)