It isn’t hard to find the home of Pakistan’s most famous killer. At every corner in this maze of tightly packed streets, mere miles from the army’s headquarters, taxi drivers and street vendors readily gesture toward the birthplace of Mumtaz Qadri, the police bodyguard who, nine months ago, pumped 27 bullets into Salmaan Taseer, the Governor of Punjab. Taseer had opposed the country’s blasphemy laws, which were, in turn, championed by religious conservatives like Qadri. Along the way, banners hanging from electricity pylons hail the “bravery” and “greatness” of the assassin many in Pakistan chillingly regard as a “hero of Islam.” Nowhere is this status plainer than outside the crowded,…
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SIRTE, Libya — Libyan revolutionary forces claimed to have captured parts of a sprawling convention center that loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi have used as their main base in the ousted leader’s hometown and were shelling the city to try to rout snipers from rooftops in their offensive aimed at crushing this key bastion of the old regime. The inability to take Sirte, the most important remaining stronghold of Gadhafi supporters, more than six weeks after the capital fell has stalled efforts by Libya’s new leaders to set a timeline for elections and move forward with a transition to democracy. Gadhafi supporters also hold the enclave of Bani Walid, where revolutionary forces have been stymied…
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Cairo – At least 24 people were reported killed in clashes between troops and mostly Coptic Christian demonstrators in central Cairo. The casualty figures given by the Health Ministry and reported in the media put the number of injured at more than 200 in Sunday’s clashes outside the state television building. Egypt’s military rulers imposed a five-hour curfew in parts of the capital early Monday, state television said. About 2,000 Copts gathered…
Continue reading …Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy meet to tackle differences over euro crisis
October 12, 2011 No Comment
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will thrash out differences with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday over how to use the euro zone’s financial firepower to counter a sovereign debt crisis threatening the global economy. With the turmoil threatening to spiral into financial meltdown as the value of banks’ sovereign bond holdings slide, Merkel and Sarkozy are likely to discuss in Berlin both how to manage Greece, prevent contagion and strengthen lenders….
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A NEW poll shows 57 per cent of Americans no longer believe in the Afghanistan war. The war in Afghanistan has entered its 10th year and insurgents – believed to be armed and organised from within Pakistan – are now staging sustained attacks on ISAF outposts near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and then retreating back inside Pakistan. In a report that makes depressing reading for anyone who still believes that Afghan forces can take charge of their own security by 2014,…
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Salvage crews were scrambling to off-load oil from a stranded container ship in New Zealand’s pristine Bay of Plenty, as Prime Minister John Key demanded to know why the vessel hit a reef in calm waters. With the official Metservice forecasting deteriorating conditions, including possible gale-force winds, from Monday afternoon, the race to remove heavy fuel oil from the 47,000-tonne vessel Rena on Sunday took on added urgency. Officials fear the stricken ship will break up and sink in the North Island bay and potentially cause New Zealand’s worst maritime pollution disaster in decades if the 1,700 tonnes of oil is still on board. The crippled vessel has already leeched an estimated 20…
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Anti-Gaddafi forces claim to be on the verge of taking full control of the dictator’s home town of Sirte. Fighters loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council say they have have seized a conference centre and university, as well as taking control of the Mediterranean town’s hospital. The fortress-like Ouagadougou conference centre, constructed to host pan-African summits, has been a major…
Continue reading …‘Clean energy revolution’ crucial to ensure growth in poorer countries – Ban
October 12, 2011 No Comment
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses “Energy for All” Conference in Oslo, Norway10 October 2011 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for a “clean energy revolution” to help the estimated three billion people that lack modern power and urged countries to recognize the impact that energy security has on all aspects of development. “Three billion people rely on charcoal or wood for cooking and heating. They are energy-poor. And energy poverty translates into grinding, dehumanizing poverty,” he told…
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Poland’s governing centrists won a landmark second term in Sunday’s general election, exit polls showed, seeing off a challenge from the conservative opposition. Pollsters TNS OBOP said Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Platform (PO) had obtained 212 seats, up from 208 in the outgoing parliament. Its junior coalition partner, the rural-based Polish People’s Party (PSL) scored 27, down from 31. Together, the result gave them a total of 239, mirroring their current majority in the 460-member chamber. If confirmed, the result would be a political watershed as no incumbent government has won a new mandate in the six general elections…
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