Tuesday 17 June 2014

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Lahore tragedy: Police ordered to arrest vehicle-vandalism suspect Gullu Butt

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Inspector General (IG) Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera on Tuesday took notice and ordered arrest of the man who was seen vandalizing vehicles using sticks during the bloody clash between the police and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT). The man was allegedly identified as Gullu Butt, Dunya News reported.Video footages and news broadcast shows the miscreant kept destroying vehicles one by one while the police officials stood by and watched.Reportedly, the man was identified as Gullu Butt and belongs to the Faisal Town area.After the vandalism, Butt lifted two cold drinks from a nearby shop and kept drinking while the policemen enjoyed.Earlier, at least eight were killed and dozens others injured in violent clash between PAT workers and police.Political leadership including Imran Khan, Altaf Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi and Sheikh Rasheed lashed out at government, heavily criticizing for the civilian casualties.

Lahore tragedy: PAT workers protest in various cities

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers and supporters on Tuesday protested in various cities including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Peshawar against killing of PAT workers and removal of barricades from Minhajul Quran Secretariat at Model Town Lahore by police. Demonstrators and police clashed in Gujranwala, Dunya News reported.PAT workers including women and children staged sit-in protest outside Karachi Press Club. The demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans.Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)’s Shia Action Committee, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PMLQ) delegates showed solidarity to the participants of the rally.Workers in twin-cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad also kept protesting. Demonstrators blocked Express Way and staged sit-in at Faizabad.PAT workers staged protest at Aziz Cross Chowk for over six hours that badly disrupted the traffic which led to a brief clash between police and the protestors.Demonstrators protested at various areas of Faisalabad. Demonstrators burned tyres and blocked the traffic. PAT workers even staged a protest at Kachehri Bazar.The protests also continued in Multan where PAT workers took to streets and blocked Ali Chowk after burning tyres.PAT workers also protested in Peshawar. Demonstrators shouted anti-government slogans and blocked Cantt Station Road.Earlier, at least eight were killed and dozens others injured in violent clash between PAT workers and police.Political leadership including Imran Khan, Altaf Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi and Sheikh Rasheed lashed out at government, heavily criticizing for the civilian casualties.

Lahore tragedy: Report presented to PM claims police fired 'in self-defense'

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – The preliminary report presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday by intelligence agencies claims that Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief’s television statements provoked his followers who distributed arms and sticks amongst members prior to the incident, Dunya News reported.The report says that when police reached the area to remove the barricades late night, youths started throwing stones. It adds that the police were not ready to retaliate as backed off. Meanwhile more teachers and students arrived at the sight.Prime Minister is told that Tahirul Qadri’s speech on TV had provoked the party workers and that they even distributed arms and sticks among other weapons.The report says that as the police contingents faced strict retaliation as they arrived early morning to proceed with the task. It says that police were even fired at from behind the bunkers.The report further notes that police personnel fired in their defense, adding that eight people died and ninety including police officers were injured.The preliminary report claims that police recovered a Kalashnikov, a pistol, and MP 32 guns and heavy amount of weaponry was recovered from the demonstrators. It says that heavy amount of weapon still exists in Minhajul Quran secretariat.

Lahore killings: Pakistan Bar Council to boycott court proceedings in protest

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Bar Council on Tuesday announced to hold countrywide boycott of court proceedings to protest against Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers’ killings. The protest will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) and will continue throughout the day, Dunya News reported.In a statement, vice chairman Pakistan Bar Council Ramzan Chaudhry said that the attack on Minhaj-ul-Quran secretariat is the worst form of state barbarism, adding that he along with council members stand in solidarity with those martyred and injured in Model Town Lahore incident.He said no lawyer will attend court proceedings tomorrow and full day of mourning will be observed.He also appealed that facts be brought to the surface and those responsible be brought to justice.Earlier, at least eight were killed and dozens others injured in violent clash between PAT workers and police.Political leadership including Imran Khan, Altaf Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi and Sheikh Rasheed lashed out at government, heavily criticizing for the civilian casualties.

PM Nawaz arrives in Tajikistan

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DUSHANBE (Web Desk) - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived Dushanbe on a two day official visit to Tajikistan.The visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between the two brotherly countries.During his stay in Dushanbe, the Prime Minister would have meetings with President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda discussing all aspects of bilateral relations, including political, trade, economic, energy, infrastructure, defence and security, and people-to-people contacts.CASA-1000, a project for regional energy cooperation among Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, would be another key area of focus.In the regional context, the Prime Minister is expected to exchange views with the Tajik leadership on the developments in Afghanistan.A number of agreement and MoUs are expected to be concluded during the visit.

Tahirul Qadri wants to create anarchy, mischief: Kh Saad Rafique

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique alleged on Tuesday that Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri wants to create anarchy and mischief in the country. He said that PAT workers attacked the police with stones and bricks, adding that judicial commission will expose the incident, Dunya News reported.Condemning the Lahore incident, Rafique said that people know imposters like Tahirul Qadri very well. He claimed that Tahirul Qadri wants to become ‘Amir-ul-Momineen’ literally ‘chief of believers,’ adding that the Lahore incident strengthened Qadri’s motives.Railway Minister said that the police did its duty to eliminate the ‘no-go area’ in Lahore, and that it’s possible there are people in the civil administration who orchestrated the whole incident as part of a conspiracy so that Tahirul Qadri could have an excuse to cry out loud.He said that the reality of the incident will be exposed after judicial commission completes its investigation. He said that strict action will be taken against the police officers who went beyond their authority.Earlier, at least eight were killed and dozens others injured in violent clash between PAT workers and police.

Chief Minister Vows turn around for India's 'failed state'

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LUCKNOW (AFP) - Best known as home to the Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh is gaining a new reputation as India's failed state, with a series of rapes and killings fuelling calls for it to be brought under central government control.After yet more grim headlines Monday over another gang-rape and fatal shooting of two policemen, Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced he was closely monitoring the prevailing law and order situation.With senior members of his administration warning things could get worse unless deep-rooted social problems are tackled, the heat is on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.But in an interview with AFP, Yadav insisted he would not be bowed by his critics and was determined to restore the good name of the state which has a population of some 200 million -- the biggest in India.Because UP is a big state, politically, it is a very strong state and critics don't want to see a young chief minister here, they think 'let's damage him', Yadav, 40, said at his residence in the state capital Lucknow.But the critics are making me more strong and they think I'm going to lose. No, I'm going to be strong and I will work more hard. In a good way I will improve.Since he became India's youngest state minister two years ago, Yadav has struggled to shake off the impression that he is merely doing the bidding of his powerful father Mulayam Singh Yadav.The elder Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and federal defence minister who remains leader of the socialist Samajwadi Party (SP), triggered outrage during the recent general election with comments about rape in which he said that boys will be boys.But in the interview Sunday, the chief minister said that he was in favour of capital punishment for rapists.- Respect for women -The society that respects its women, only that society progresses, said Yadav, once a student in Australia.We are people with such values, we are socialists, but since we are doing politics in Uttar Pradesh, anything we do becomes national news.The state's police have frequently been accused of failing to properly investigate accusations of rape, covering up for perpetrators who have family or caste connections.The lynching of two girls gained national attention after villagers prevented police from taking the dangling bodies down from a mango tree until the local media had captured them on film.A.L. Banerjee, Uttar Pradesh's top police officer, acknowledged there had been some bad handling of cases but said claims of apathy among his force were wide of the mark.Privately, police say crime rates are unlikely to improve unless underlying causes such as high youth unemployment are tackled.Mohammad Tauheed Siddiqui, founder of a charity for disaffected youngsters known as the Youth Club Welfare Foundation, said there was a general lack of resources.Not enough funds for schools, not enough funds to provide electricity to schools, no teachers, nothing, he told AFP.While it adjoins New Delhi and its lawmakers include Prime Minister Nardendra Modi and his beaten election rival Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party, Uttar Pradesh is widely seen as a victim of neglect.Even major cities such as Varanasi suffer from the lack of proper roads, sanitation and high levels of unemployment. In rural areas meanwhile, power cuts lasting 12 hours a day are commonplace.- 'Victim of neglect' -Some 40.9 percent of the state's population lives below the poverty line, according to India's Planning Commission, while 42.4 percent of its children are underweight, according to the UNDP.Some analysts say the state's size -- its population is bigger than Brazil's -- makes it impossible to administer.In a searing report last week, India's Outlook magazine said the state is too large, hence ungovernable with too many power centres.Uttar Pradesh has already been reduced after its northern tip broke away and formed the state of Uttarakhand 14 years ago.R.K. Singh, the former top civil servant in the federal home ministry and now a lawmaker for Modi's party, said the failures were so deep-seated the state should be brought under direct rule as an emergency measure.There is no law and order. Rape and murder are very common. There is no control, he told reporters earlier this month.The state has completely failed. It is a fit case for the president's rule.Last month's elections, when the mother and son duo of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi led Congress to a humiliating defeat, illustrated how the public can turn on ruling dynasties.The SP saw its share of seats in parliament fall from 22 to five and Delhi-based analyst Amulya Ganguli said it could be wiped out at state level by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.I don't think Akhilesh can do anything to redeem himself before the elections, due in 2017, Ganguli told AFP.

France's Hollande slams 'unjustifiable' assault on Roma teen

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PARIS (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday slammed the savage vigilante assault of a Roma teenager who was left fighting for his life as an unspeakable and unjustifiable act.In a statement issued by the presidency, he asked that everything be done to find those responsible for this attack on the 16-year-old who was dragged into a basement Friday and brutally beaten by a dozen residents of a housing estate north of Paris.Prime Minister Manuel Valls joined Hollande in condemning the assault on the teen, who was discovered unconscious Friday evening in a supermarket trolley after the assault in the town of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine.The teenager, who lived with his family and other Roma in a squalid camp sprung up around an abandoned house, was accused of breaking into an apartment in the estate just hours earlier.A group of several people came to find him and take him away by force, a police source said Monday, adding the boy was then locked in a basement where he was beaten.Another source close to the case said about a dozen people took part in the attack. It was the boy's mother who alerted police that her son had been kidnapped.A judicial source, also requesting anonymity, said the boy's life is in danger. He is in a coma.Michel Fourcade, the mayor of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, said the boy had been questioned by police several times this month in connection with a string of robberies in the housing project.This had fuelled anger towards the Roma, an ethnic minority also known as Gypsies, whose presence in illegal camps on the fringes of towns and cities has often spurred controversy in France.Ion Vardu, who lives next to the Roma camp, said some 200 members of the traditionally nomadic community had arrived three weeks ago.On Monday the camp lay abandoned, rubbish, clothing and mattresses strewn in the garden after the Romas' rapid departure following the attack on the teenager.They left immediately, said Vardu.Rights organisations have warned of a spike in violence against the Roma in France, where they are often stigmatised and accused of being behind a rise in petty crime.SOS Racisme said the attack was the obvious result of nauseating tensions faced by our fellow citizens.We expect a radical change in discourse and an extremely clear denunciation of the violence they are facing, said Benjamin Abtan, head of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM).France has faced mounting criticism over its treatment of the Roma minority, having evicted a record 19,380 members of the community from camps in 2013.

Saudi 'responsible' for militant financing: Iraq cabinet

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BAGHDAD (AFP) - Saudi Arabia should be held responsible for militant financing and crimes committed by insurgent groups in Iraq, the Baghdad government charged on Tuesday.Comments from Riyadh indicates it is siding with terrorism, the cabinet said in a statement issued by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office.We strongly condemn this stance, the statement read.We hold it (Saudi Arabia) responsible for what these groups are receiving in terms of financial and moral support.It continued: The Saudi government should be held responsible for the dangerous crimes committed by these terrorist groups.The statement came just days after Saudi Arabia and Qatar blamed sectarian policies by Iraq's Shiite-led government against the Sunni Arab minority for the unrest that has swept the country.The unrest could not have taken place if it was not for the sectarian and exclusionary policies implemented in Iraq over the past years that threatened its stability and sovereignty, the Saudi government said in a statement.In March, Maliki accused both Saudi Arabia and Qatar of supporting terrorism in Iraq.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets Chinese premier

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LONDON (AFP) - Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Windsor Castle on Tuesday on a visit to Britain which aims to repair strained relations between London and Beijing.Dozens of Chinese were waiting outside the mediaeval castle, west of London, to greet Li on the first full day of his three-day visit to Britain.Queen Elizabeth, 88, welcomed the 48-year-old premier with a smile and a handshake as they met in the castle's White Drawing Room.They were joined by Li's wife Cheng Hong, and Prince Andrew, the queen's second son, who works to promote the creation of skilled jobs in Britain.Andrew, the Duke of York, greeted Li and his party when they arrived at Windsor Castle in limousines.The Times newspaper reported last week that Beijing made a meeting between Li and the queen a precondition for the visit and threatened to call it off if it was not arranged.Li was later to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron for talks at his Downing Street office, aimed at boosting economic links and warming ties that were frozen over Tibet.Cameron's May 2012 meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama infuriated Beijing.Li's visit marks the latest stage in a painstaking diplomatic rehabilitation effort and could lead to business deals worth 18 billion ($30.5 billion, 22.5 billion euros).British energy giant BP has already said it will sign a deal worth around $20 billion (14.75 billion euros) over 20 years with Chinese state-owned peer CNOOC to supply China with liquefied natural gas.Britain also announced an easing of visa restrictions for Chinese tourists and business people.Li's trip to Britain is the first by a Chinese premier since his predecessor Wen Jiabao visited in 2011.The last president to visit was Hu Jintao in 2005, in a trip dogged by protests by pro-Tibet and human rights campaigners.The Free Tibet campaign group had written to Queen Elizabeth, urging her not to meet Li.They claimed the meeting does not appear to be in the interests of the monarchy, the United Kingdom, or those resisting oppression across the world.Pro-Tibet campaigners demonstrated outside Downing Street, posing in handcuffs and waving placards reading Free Tibet before free trade.

Russian reporter dies of wounds in east Ukraine: doctor

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KIEV (AFP) - A Russian state television reporter died of his wounds after being rushed to hospital in Ukraine's restive eastern region of Lugansk, the hospital's chief doctor told AFP.He was unconscious when he arrived and died on his way to the operating room, Lugansk District Clinical Hospital doctor Fedir Solyanyk said by telephone.The doctor said Igor Kornelyuk, a reporter with the Russian state media group VGTRK, received serious stomach wounds after being hit by shrapnel from what appeared to be either a mine or a grenade.A separatist Lugansk spokesman told AFP by telephone that Kornelyuk and his sound technician, Anton Voloshin, were caught in the middle of a grenade launcher attack staged by Ukranian forces in the Russian border region.The separatist spokesman said the fate of Voloshin and that of about 15 rebel fighters who were with the Russian television crew at the time remained unclear.Ukrainian security officials issued no immediate comment.Kornelyuk's death is the second confirmed fatality of a reporter in eastern Ukraine since fighting there broke out in mid-April.Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian assistant Andrei Mironov were killed outside Slavyansk in the neighboring Donetsk region in late May.

Israel to speed passage of force-feeding bill: report

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JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel is to rush through a bill allowing force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners, a newspaper reported Tuesday, as 80 Palestinian inmates were hospitalised after refusing to eat for nearly two months.Efforts to speed up the passage of the bill, which passed a first reading on June 9, are being led by Miri Regev, a hardline member of the ruling Likud who initiated the legislation, Haaretz newspaper reported.Parliament is expected to hold a second and third reading of the bill on Monday, a parliamentary official told AFP.It has sparked fierce opposition from medical and rights groups, with the UN also expressing concern over the proposed legislation which would allow for feeding prisoners against their will under certain conditions, in contravention of international law.The move comes as some 80 long-term Palestinian hunger strikers are being treated in hospital, with rights groups warning their lives were at risk after 55 days without food.Most are being detained without charge under a procedure called administrative detention, with the Palestinians demanding international intervention to hold Israel responsible for their health and push it to end the use of the procedure.The Israel Prisons Service put the total number of those on hunger strike at 110, saying 80 of them were being treated in hospital.The Palestinian leadership has put the number slightly higher, saying 130 prisoners are on long-term hunger strike, and that in total 400 prisoners had joined the strike at different stages.IPS spokeswoman Sivan Weizman also confirmed all family visits to prisoners had been cancelled because of an ongoing Israeli operation to locate three missing teenagers believed kidnapped by Hamas militants.In a separate development, the Israel Medical Association was to publish a guide for doctors treating hunger-striking prisoners, which would be distributed at wards where the strikers have been sent, Haaretz said.Most of the strikers are administrative detainees who are being held without charge for indefinitely renewable six-month periods in a procedure dating back to the British Mandate, which lasted from 1920 until 1948.The Palestinian leadership has also urged the international community to pressure Israel to cancel its administrative detention laws, in a letter addressed to UN and EU members last week.

French rail strike rolls on as MPs set to debate reforms

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PARIS (AFP) - France's longest rail strike in years rolled on for a second week Tuesday as lawmakers debated a contentious debt-cutting reform plan opposed by unions.The crippling action -- which comes as the tourist season enters a peak phase -- has proved a key challenge for the embattled Socialist government, which has said it will not kowtow to the strikers.The state-run SNCF rail operator reported better services with more trains running Tuesday as it deployed some 10,000 employees to guide affected passengers and commuters.But as lawmakers began debating the proposed reforms in parliament, the strikers staged a protest outside the National Assembly and in several cities across the country.They also briefly blocked the tracks in Paris's busy Montparnasse station and decided to extend the strike by another day to Wednesday.The action, in a country where strikes occur regularly, drew outrage with a poll published in Le Parisien newspaper Tuesday showing that 76 percent opposed the protest, which has so far cost at least 80 million euros ($108 million).On Tuesday, 60 percent of trains on major routes -- including the super-fast TGV trains -- were expected to run on average.One of two trains were expected to be running to Italy and Switzerland and one of three to Spain. Services to Germany and Britain remained unaffected.The SNCF has taken costly special measures, including hiring thousands of extra workers, to ensure high school students got priority places as they headed to sit their final exams this week.It said there would be a marked improvement in services on Tuesday. The parliamentary debate is due to continue until Thursday.The strike was sparked by a reform aimed at tackling the rail sector's soaring debt, which stands at more than 40 billion euros and is set to almost double by 2025 if nothing changes.The reform plan looks to cut costs by uniting the SNCF train operator and RFF railway network and to eventually open up parts of the service to competition.Some unions signed up to the reforms after obtaining promises from the government.But two unions still backing the strikes, the CGT and Sud-Rail, rejected the accord and say the plans will lead to job losses without reducing the debt.SNCF management met with the striking unions on Monday but no progress was made and the strike was extended to a seventh day on Tuesday.The SNCF said the talks focused on a number of issues including salaries, working hours and hiring, but did not touch on the reform plans.

Imran Khan demands CM Punjab to resign over PAT workers' killings

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LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday demanded Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to resign over killings of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) workers in Lahore, saying that people had to face merciless violence. He said that the rulers take democracy for granted, Dunya News reported.Addressing press conference, Khan said that what happened today isn’t the first incident of its kind, adding that people have been killed mercilessly multiple times before.He said that Sharif brothers always misused the Punjab police, claiming that Punjab police had a role in 2013 election rigging as well.Khan announced that PTI will hold a rally in Bahawalpur on June 27. He said that PAT had installed barriers as per the decision of high court.“Don’t they have barriers outside Sharif family’s residence in Raiwind?” he asked.He said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) does such extra-democratic acts whenever it comes into power.PTI chief said that Shahbaz Sharif should immediately resign and that Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Inspector General (IG) should be sacked and sent to jail immediately.Khan said that the purpose of today’s violence on PAT workers was to scare them off, adding that it has been proven in one year that Nawaz Sharif is not a leader.

Dollar firms in Asia on Japan pension overhaul plan

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TOKYO (AFP) - The dollar and euro rose against the yen in Asia on Tuesday as investors bet Japan's public pension fund, the world's biggest, will start to shift some of its holdings into foreign assets.In afternoon Tokyo trade, the greenback rose to 101.97 yen from 101.84 yen in New York, although its gains were capped ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and owing to investor jitters over the growing unrest in Iraq, which has sent oil prices soaring.The euro also rose to 138.27 yen from 138.20 yen, while it weakened to $1.3560 from $1.3570 in New York.Dealers said the dollar was gaining support from expectations that Japan's $1.26 trillion public pension fund would soon shift more of its bond-heavy assets.Dumping low-yield sovereign bonds in search of higher, but riskier returns, could see cash flood global markets, boosting equities and demand for riskier currencies such as the greenback and euro.The move could also see other Japanese pension funds follow suit, said Daisaku Ueno, chief foreign exchange strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.However, the market mood was weighed by concerns over Iraq as militants sweep across the country, taking over key cities and heading for Baghdad.On Monday the jihadists battled government forces for control of a strategic northern town, while US officials considered using drone strikes against the rebels.The dollar was stronger against other Asia-Pacific units, rising to Sg$1.2527 from Sg$1.2504 on Monday, to 1,022.55 South Korean won from 1,019.59 won and to 43.96 Philippine pesos from 43.86 pesos.It also strengthened to 11,872.80 Indonesian rupiah from 11,817 rupiah, to 60.38 Indian rupees from 59.99 rupees, to 32.45 Thai baht from 32.36 baht, and to Tw$30.02 from Tw$30.00.The Australian dollar weakened to 93.59 US cents from 94.03 cents, while the Chinese yuan changed hands at 16.36 yen against 16.38 yen.
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