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Pakistan will push UN to declare Indian Ocean 'nuclear free zone', says Aziz
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign
Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Thursday informed Senate that Pakistan is
considering to move a resolution in United Nations, urging it to declare
the Indian Ocean a "nuclear free zone". The adviser expressed concern over India's interceptor missile test of its advanced air defence missile Ashwin and vowed to raise the issue with all major powers 'bilaterally and multilaterally'.
He announced that Pakistan is planning to highlight the dangerous implications of India's plans to nuclearise the Indian Ocean at all relevant international forums and a proposal is under consideration to move a resolution in the next session of UN General Assembly to declare the Indian Ocean a "nuclear free zone".
"Apart from this air defence system, India has also recently conducted tests of nuclear capable, submarine based K4 ballistic missiles. Simultaneously large nuclear powered submarines are being built to carry these nuclear armed missile as a part of its second strike nuclear capability," Aziz told Senate.
During his speech to the upper house, Aziz said that these two developments are part of the massive conventional nuclear and missile development programmes being pursued by India, which are now leading to nuclearization of Indian Ocean and will affect the maritime security of all the 32 littoral states around the ocean.
Terming Indian moves 'against the peaceful and friendly' neighbourhood model proposed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Aziz revealed that Pakistan had offered discussions on an ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system free zone in South Asia during the composite dialogue with India but so far it has not received a favourable response.
He assured the Senators that Pakistan is not oblivious to its defence needs and will upgrade its defense capabilities 'without entering into an arms race'
"Our efforts for peace and friendship must not be interpreted as a sign of weakness," said Sartaj Aziz.
New Bond film ‘Spectre’ breaks box office records in UK
London: The
latest James Bond movie "Spectre" is breaking records at the British
box office, Sony Pictures Entertainment said on Wednesday.
The
movie starring Daniel Craig as secret agent 007 took $9.2 million in
its first full day in what Sony said was the biggest Tuesday ever in
movie-going history in Britain. The figure was also bigger than the
first-day U.K. gross for the last Bond movie, "Skyfall," in 2012, the
studio said in a statement.
"Skyfalll" went on to take in $1.1 billion at global box offices, easily recouping its estimated $200 million budget.
"Spectre,"
which had its world premiere in London on Monday night, has won good
reviews from movie critics and is due to open in North America and much
of the rest of the world on Nov. 6.
Nawaz meets Obama at White House
WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif apprised the US President
Barack Obama about Pakistan’s resolve to take effective action against
United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its affiliates.The premier said that action against them will be taken as per international commitments and obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force.See full story
Obama to discuss Afghan reconciliation with Nawaz
Obama also announced a plan to keep 5,500 American troops in Afghanistan into 2017, cancelling his earlier plan to bring home most of the troops before he leaves office.
The US president said he held extensive consultations with his commanders in Afghanistan, the US national security team, international partners and Afghan leaders before making the announcement.
Obama also spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday to discuss this plan and also discussed with him the Afghan-led reconciliation process.
Also read: Nawaz to take up Indian ceasefire violations issue with US leadership
The US troops will operate from three bases in Bagram, Jalalabad and Qandahar and will be able to operate quickly when needed.
He also slowed the pace of the reduction of American forces and plans to maintain the current US force of 9,800 through most of 2016.
Obama called the new war plan a “modest but meaningful” extension of the US military mission in Afghanistan, which he originally planned to end next year.see full story
Nawaz to take up Indian ceasefire violations issue with US leadership
Nawaz, while chairing a meeting held to discuss his upcoming trip to US, said “the visit would help in further promoting the bilateral relationship between the two countries”.
The meeting focused on deliberations regarding the issues of mutual interest between Pakistan and US, said a statement issued on Thursday.
The prime minister expressed hope that the visit will also provide Pakistan with an opportunity to highlight the matchless sacrifices and huge losses during the war on terror.
“Both sides will discuss bilateral cooperation on a wide range of issues, including the ceasefire violations alongside the LoC and working boundary by India, Pakistan's efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, the regional security situation and the steps to counter ISIS presence in the region,” read the statement.see full story
At least 10 reported dead in shooting at school in US
Authorities said the shooting took place in one of the classrooms in the science building at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg and that a suspect was in custody.
Between seven and 10 people were killed and at least 20 wounded, local news network KATU quoted Oregon State Police Lieutenant Bill Fugate as saying.full story
Dossier on Indian hand in terrorism in Pakistan ready, says PM
NEW YORK:
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the dossier pertaining to
Indian interference in Pakistan's affairs and fomenting terrorism on
Pakistan's soil by India was ready, and that he would soon send it to
the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Sharif
said that if he had a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
at the UN Headquarters, he would have handed the dossier over to him.full story
Sinkhole opens up on street in St Albans
A massive sinkhole has opened up on a
street in St Albans, forcing the evacuation of several families from
their homes in the night.
The 66ft (20m) diameter hole spread across a front garden and driveway on Fontmell Close and is 33ft (10m) deep.Hertfordshire County Council said five homes were evacuated and 20 people were taken to a centre set up at the nearby Batchwood Sports Centre.
Residents are said to have heard a crash before the huge crater appeared.
Hole opened up 'substantially overnight'
A spokesman for the fire service said it was previously aware of a small hole that was due to be filled in.full story
15 civilians killed in Boko Haram attack in SE Niger
"We found a dreadful scene, around 15 people had been executed, four of whom were from Nigeria," Hassan Ardo, an official from the Diffa governorate told the Tele Sahel television station. The attackers had also torched 22 houses, a car and a mill, he said, and left four others wounded.full story
Pakistan court orders government to enforce climate law
A high court in Pakistan has set a legal precedent – both at home and internationally – by ordering the government to enforce its own climate change policy and establishing a climate change commission to oversee the process.
An individual farmer, Asghar Leghari, brought a public interest litigation case against the government in the Lahore High Court on 31 August.
Leghari, who relies on agriculture for a living, argued that the government had not taken steps to develop the required resilience to climate change as set out in the 2012 National Climate Policy and Framework.
Quoting from the policy, the farmer stated that climate change threats have led to "major survival concerns for Pakistan, particularly in relation to the country’s water security, food security and energy security".
Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah noted that climate change "appears the most serious threat faced by Pakistan" and ordered representatives from government ministries and departments to appear before the court and explain what progress had been made under the framework to meet the challenges.
Days later, government representatives told the court that 734 action points had to be addressed by various interested parties. Out of these, 232 must be completed by 2016.
The joint secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change admitted that, "by and large the response of various departments … has not been positive".
Representatives of the irrigation, agriculture and forestry departments, Ministry of Water and Power, Federal Flood Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others also failed to show that tangible progress has been made in delivering adaptation measures.
In light of this apparent inaction, the judge observed that "climate change is a defining challenge of our time…it is a clarion call for the protection of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan…like the right to life which includes the right to a healthy and clean environment and right to human dignity."
Invoking fundamental rights and constitutional duties, the judge called for existing environmental jurisprudence to be fashioned to meet the more urgent and overpowering needs of climate change. He also became the first judge to recognise the principle of "climate change justice".see full story
Bin Laden had prior knowledge of 2008 Mumbai attacks, reveals new book
These revelations were made in the recently published book ‘Pakistan’s secret war on Al-Qaeda’, written by Azaz Syed, an investigative journalist and a former correspondent for DawnNews.
The first chapter in the book reveals the untold story of Khalid Sheikh Muhammed (KSM), a close aide of Osama bin Laden and the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. Based on interviews of KSM’s Pakistani facilitators and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials who were involved in his capture and subsequent interrogation, previously unknown details about KSM’s life and activities have come to the forefront.
According to the book, Major General Ehtesham Zameer of the ISI had received a tip off from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about the expected arrival of a high value target at Islamabad airport. The target was a Saudi financier of the 9/11 attacks, and was tailed by ISI operatives to a house in Rawalpindi. The house in question belonged to one Dr Abdul Qudoos, who had befriended KSM in Germany and Sudan.
Read: Excerpts from Abbottabad Commission report
see full story
At least 25 killed in Yemen during Eid prayers
SANAA: Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a
mosque run by Houthi rebels in Sanaa on Thursday during Eidul Azha
prayers, witnesses said.
The Houthis Ansarullah group's website
said at least 10 people were killed in the attack. Medics, however,
claim the attack killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more.
The blast happened in the Balili mosque where Houthi rebels go to pray, witnesses say.
Witnesses reported that after a first blast inside the mosque, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt at the entrance as worshippers rushed outside.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Yemeni capital has been shaken by a string of bombings of Shia mosques in recent months claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group.
The Houthi rebels have seized several regions of Yemen including Sanaa which they overran a year ago.
Pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led air strikes have recently managed to wrest back some southern provinces, including Yemen's second city of Aden.
IS and the Yemen-based branch of its rival Al Qaeda have exploited the turmoil to boost their activities in the impoverished country.se full story
The blast happened in the Balili mosque where Houthi rebels go to pray, witnesses say.
Witnesses reported that after a first blast inside the mosque, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives belt at the entrance as worshippers rushed outside.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Yemeni capital has been shaken by a string of bombings of Shia mosques in recent months claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group.
The Houthi rebels have seized several regions of Yemen including Sanaa which they overran a year ago.
Pro-government forces backed by Saudi-led air strikes have recently managed to wrest back some southern provinces, including Yemen's second city of Aden.
IS and the Yemen-based branch of its rival Al Qaeda have exploited the turmoil to boost their activities in the impoverished country.se full story
Karachi operation: Rangers nab 17 'criminals'
Those arrested include target killers, terrorists affiliated with banned outfits and kidnappers, said a Rangers press release. Weapons were recovered from the arrested men.
The Rangers conducted targeted raids in the Moinabad, Landhi, Green Town, Stylish Garden, New Karachi Town, PIB Colony, Hill Park, Gul Plaza and Liaqatabad areas.see full story
Two target-killers remanded into Rangers custody in Karachi
KARACHI: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Karachi on Wednesday remanded two alleged target-killers into Rangers custody on 90-day remand.
A spokesman for the paramilitary force said that both the accused hit-men – Shakeel Baba and Shaikh Ilyas aka Sheru – are affiliated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Accused Shakeel belongs to Unit 173/A North Nazimabad and Sheru to Unit 32/A Lyari sector of MQM, he said.
According to Rangers spokesman, the accused have confessed to killing 46 people on political and sectarian grounds. Sheru has confessing to killing DSP Nawaz Ranjha and two Rangers officers.
Pakistan to highlight Kashmir issue, Indian interference at UN: Sartaj
ISLAMABAD:
Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs
Sartaj Aziz Thursday said Pakistan would highlight the Kashmir issue,
Indian Interference and threats to strategic balance in South Asia at
the United Nations.
Briefing the Senate on the Prime
Minster Nawaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA), he said Pakistan has prepared a dossier to highlight India’s
involvement in abetting terror in the country.
Tropical storm Henri forms in the Atlantic: forecaster
The storm, which was packing 40 mile (65 kilometer) per hour winds, was on a northeasterly track parallel to the United States and Canada but at a safe distance from shore, the National Hurricane Center said.
It was expected to lose strength as it reaches colder northern water in the coming days, the Miami-based forecaster said.
Located 230 miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda at 0900 GMT, Henri is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began in June and ends in November. It typically peaks in September.
Only two of those storms have reached hurricane strength, but to date the most destructive has been tropical storm Erika, which left at least 31 dead and two dozen missing after striking the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica last month.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that the current season will be less active than usual, with at most four hurricanes.
NAP will be intensified to improve security situation in Pakistan: Nisar
ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday said those
elements spreading mischief in the name of Islam will be brought to
justice.
Briefing the media today following the
meeting earlier on the National Action Plan (NAP), Nisar said that it
was decided to speed up and intensify NAP to improve the overall
security situation in the country.
He informed the press
that so far as part of Operation Zarb-e-Azab, around 11,000 intelligence
based operations have been conducted.
Regarding the
recent attacks on media personnel, the minister said terrorists do not
have any enmity with the media, their purpose is rather to spread
frustration and chaos.
The interior minister said, “We cannot claim complete victory yet, there is still time required.”
Nisar
went on to say that several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in
Pakistan were operating without authorisation and it is the
responsibility of the federal government to monitor the international
NGOs, adding that the responsibility of monitoring the local NGOs falls
on provincial governments.
He said the purpose of this is to create a database of all the NGOs with the help of NADRA.
Regarding
issuance of arms licenses in the country, the interior minister said
that people have taken complete advantage in the name of ‘licensed arms’
and all such licenses will be thoroughly reviewed as well as
computerised.
The minister went on to say that people in
the country are operating ‘security companies’ as a facade for running
big businesses. He said these companies do not provide training for
their employees and neither do they offer insurance for their guards.
Nisar
further said that seminaries across Pakistan will be registered in
consultation with their leadership. He added that their leadership will
be meeting with the federal government in the coming week.
He
also said that the registration forms for seminaries will be kept
simple and easy and that the standard curriculum of the country will be
implemented in the curriculum of the seminaries.
Regarding the issue of ‘Cybercrime’ in the country, the interior minister said a lot has to be worked upon by the IT ministry.
Speaking
about the Imran Farooq murder case, Nisar said the investigation has
been completed in Pakistan and that according to the international
agreement, all evidence has been shared with Scotland Yard.
NASA Astronauts, Events Mark Halfway Point of One-Year Space Station Mission
Tuesday, Sept. 15, is the midpoint for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of their one-year mission aboard the International Space Station. To mark the occasion, the National Press Club in Washington will host an event from 8:30 to 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 14, to discuss the first ever one-year space mission.
Kelly will participate live from the space station. His identical twin, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, and NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who returned in June from his mission aboard the space station, will participate in the conversation from the press club. The televised portion of the event will air on NASA Television and the agency's website from 9 to 10 a.m. at:
Media representatives may cover the event in person at the press club, located at 529 14th St NW. More information about the event is available on the National Press Club website at:
From midnight to 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, NASA partner Slooh will broadcast live views of the space station as it passes over a network of ground-based telescopes. The program, which also will air on NASA TV and the agency's website, will include participation by NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and other agency experts who will discuss the future of space exploration. More information about this program is available at:
The average International Space Station expedition lasts four to six months. Research enabled by the one-year mission will help scientists better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human missions deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer. It also carries potential benefits for humans on Earth, from helping patients recover after long periods of bed rest to improved monitoring for people whose bodies are unable to fight infections.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that enables us to demonstrate new technologies and make research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. It has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and, since then, has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next giant leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.
More information about the one-year mission is available at:
-end-
Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov
Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-792-7466
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov
Dan Huot
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-792-7466
daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov
Last Updated: Sep. 11, 2015
Editor: Gina Anderson
Tags: One-Year Crew
‘New era’ in Iran science with end of sanctions: report
Washington: The Iran nuclear deal will usher in a new era in science by lifting sanctions and encouraging research in the Islamic republic, the US journal Science said Thursday.
Sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon in recent years have also banned scientists from importing fossils, downloading software, subscribing to international science journals and buying much-needed equipment from abroad, the magazine reported in a special issue on the topic.
Still, science has managed to thrive in Iran, according to Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education in New York.
"We got a pretty consistent message that their science is alive and well," Goodman, who traveled to Iran earlier this year with a group of US university officials looking for ways to collaborate with Iranian scientists, was quoted as saying.
The assassination of five Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade did not deter the Islamic republic from pursuing what it has described a peaceful program aimed at energy production, according to Ali Akbar Salehi, president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
"This did not really turn into an impediment to our nuclear activities," he told the journal Science.
"In fact it gave an impetus to the field, in the sense that after [the assassinations], many students who were studying in other fields changed to nuclear science."
In other areas too, such as when Iranian scientists were barred from importing seismic sensors to detect earthquakes, innovators devised their own, the report said.
Iran´s Minister of Science, Research and Technology, Mohammad Farhadi, said in an accompanying essay that sanctions "pushed its science, industry, and service sectors to cooperate in new and fruitful ways and also forced scientists to work more creatively and promote a knowledge-based economy for the first time in Iran´s history."
Now, the Islamic republic is looking forward to more international partnerships and research, he said.
"We invite scientists from all over the world to initiate a collaborative program with our scientists. Iran is ready."
Relief from economic sanctions is expected by year´s end.
- Astronomy, synchotron -
Plans to build a world-class astronomy observatory have pressed on, and the next year construction is set to begin on the $30 million Iranian National Observatory (INO), a 3.4-meter optical telescope that will study exoplanets and gamma ray bursts, hunt for dark matter, and probe galaxy formation.
Piero Salinari of the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory in Florence, Italy said that when completed in four or five years, it could be the best general-purpose telescope in the region.
Another big project is the construction, set to begin in 2018, of "Iran´s first synchrotron, a source of brilliant x-ray light for studies of everything from biological molecules to advanced materials," said the report.
"The $300 million Iranian Light Source Facility (ILSF) is the country´s biggest basic science project ever -- and expectations are high inside and outside the Islamic republic."
David Attwood, an applied physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, who visited the ILSF´s office in Tehran last year, said the synchrotron "will offer Iran the potential to do world-class science."
- ´New era´ -
As part of the nuclear agreement, the Fordow uranium enrichment facility will be converted into an international research center where experts will work on projects involving fusion, astrophysics, and radiomedicine.
Government spending on science in Iran is far less than what the United States spends -- about $30 billion annually through the US National Institutes of Health.
The Iranian government´s budget target for science spending is three percent of gross domestic product, but "the reality is closer to 0.5%, which in 2014 amounted to $1.75 billion," according to Vahid Ahmadi, Iran´s deputy science minister.
Ahmadi nevertheless expressed hope for the future.
"It´s a new era for science in Iran," Ahmadi said.
"We´re entering the post-sanctions era." (AFP)
Migrants crisis: Hungary's Orban lays bare EU East-West split
There is sympathy in Brussels for the dilemma facing Hungary as the latest flashpoint in Europe's migration crisis.
But
there are precious few admirers of either the rhetoric or the solutions
put forward by Hungary's controversial Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. "It's Germany's problem," he said in the European Parliament. And the moral thing to say to refugees? "Please don't come here."
His interlocutors in the European institutions made no attempt to sugar coat their disagreements with the pugnacious Mr Orban.
There were - unusually - very public rebukes.
"What we're seeing," said Martin Schulz, the parliamentary president, "is egoism instead of common European sense".
A deeper split in the EU "is a risk we cannot exclude," Mr Schulz added, if member states fail to work together.
How can EU resolve crisis?
Europe's volunteers welcome migrants
EU crisis in maps and charts
MQM to protest outside KPC against ban on Altaf’s speeches Friday
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will hold a protest demonstration outside Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Friday against ban on Altaf Hussain's speeches.
MQM to protest outside KPC against ban on Altaf’s speeches Friday
Dr Farooq Sattar expressed his party's disappointed over the visit of PM Nawaz Sharif to Karachi today, saying the premier returned to the capital without "answering our questions."
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