Third Bosphorus bridge to be called 'Yavuz Sultan Selim'

The $3 billion new bridge to be built over Istanbul’s Bosphorus will be named after Yavuz Sultan Selim, one of the prominent and notorious sultans in Ottoman history.

The sultan, known as Selim the Grim in English, was famous for his conquests in the eastern world, and Turkey’s contemporary border with what is now Iran was determined following the 1514 Battle of Çaldiran against Sah Ismail of the Safavids.

Mumbai terror attacks: India may get access to Headley, Rana

New Delhi: India may get access for the second time to Mumbai attack terrorist David Headley and his accomplice Tahawwur Hussain Rana, currently in the custody of the United States, for questioning. The positive indication was given by Washington to New Delhi during a recent bilateral meeting held in America.

Government sources said following New Delhi's consistent persuasion, the US has indicated to interlocutors that India could be given access to Headley, who carried out a recce of the 26/11 targets for the Pakistan-based terror outfit

Islamic Body Set to Ban Amplification of Mosque Sermons

Indonesian cities may soon be a bit quieter, as an influential Islamic body has announced it will issue a ban on the amplification of mosque services.

“We’re discussing the technical detail and the concept,” said Jusuf Kalla, head of Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Jusuf, who’s also a former vice president of Indonesia, said that it’s alright for the mosque to use the loudspeaker for azan (call for prayer) but not for other purposes.

Bugti murder case: Musharraf files for pre-arrest bail in ATC

QUETTA: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf filed a pre-bail arrest plea in the Akbar Bugti murder case in Quetta’s anti-terrorist court, DawnNews reported.

The application was filed by Musharraf’s counsel and the court was to discuss and rule on the plea on June 6.

Earlier, former interior minister Aftab Sherpao requested the bench to summon Musharraf to appear before the court in the Bugti murder case. A notice was subsequently issued by the ATC to the former army strongman.

Waliur Rehman buried, say intelligence officials

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistani intelligence officials said the Pakistani Taliban's deputy leader has been buried after his death in a US drone strike.

The killing of Waliur Rehman has not been confirmed by the White House or the official Pakistani Taliban spokesman. But it would be a major blow to the militant group.

The US had accused Rehman of involvement in a 2009 suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA employees.

Bengali cinema's new wave pioneer Rituparno Ghosh passes away

Kolkata: Award winning Bengali filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh passed away in Kolkata, he was 49. Heart attack is said to be the reason of his death.

Ghosh was born on August 31, 1963 in Kolkata. His father was a well known documentary filmmaker.

Rituparno Ghosh came to prominence with his 1994 film 'Unishe April'. He won multiple National Awards and several acclaimed international awards.
Ghosh, who started his career in advertising, was one of the most innovative Bengali filmmaker.

With the Odds Against Them, Democrats Are Still Optimistic

The graft-ridden Democratic Party remains optimistic in its bid to secure 15 percent of the total votes in the 2014 presidential election, 6 percent less than the total that the party bagged in 2009.

“We are sure that we will reach the 15 percent mark, and maybe even exceed it,” Syarief Hasan, the party’s managing chairman, said on Wednesday.

“Surveys may show lower numbers, but with enough hard work, we’re optimistic about reaching the target.”

Female school owner gunned down in Karachi

KARACHI: Unknown miscreants opened fire at a local school owner that killed her on the spot in Karachi’s area of Orangi Town, reported Express News on Thursday.

The female gunned down was the owner of Al Qaim school.

Police officials will verify the name of the victim after the body is shifted to a nearby hospital for autopsy.

Agha Siraj Durrani elected Sindh Assembly speaker

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Agha Siraj Durrani was elected as the speaker of the Sindh Assembly on Thursday, Express News reported. He will be the 16th speaker of the provincial assembly.

Durrani secured 87 out of a possible 155 votes. He took oath under the supervision of the outgoing speaker Chaudhry Nisar Khoro.

Three Muslim inmates attack UK jail warden

LONDON: Ripples from last Wednesday's explosive Woolwich murder of soldier Lee Rigby have now been felt in one of Britain's maximum-security prisons.

Three jailed Islamic extremists in Full Sutton prison in East Yorkshire carried out a brutal attack on a warder after an imam reportedly called on them to pray for Rigby. The trio snatched the warder from the high-security prison and held him hostage for four hours, beating him to a pulp.The victim, who is in his thirties, was locked in a cleaning room where he was beaten with mop handles.

Russian missiles have arrived in Syria, President Bashar Assad says

BEIRUT: The Syrian president has told Lebanon's Hezbollah-owned TV station that Damascus received the first shipment of Russian air defense missiles, according to remarks released on Thursday.

Bashar Assad's comment on the arrival of the long-range S-300 air defense missiles in Syria will further ratchet up tensions in the region and undermine efforts to hold UN-sponsored talks with Syria's warring sides.

Blow to Congress in Andhra Pradesh as three MPs decide to quit and join TRS

New Delhi: In a major jolt to the Congress in Andhra Pradesh, Keshav Rao, the party's most prominent face in Telangana, threatened to quit along with two other MPs, Dr M Jagannath and Dr Gaddam Vivekanand.

Israel warns Russia over Syria arms delivery

Israel has said it will act if Russia delivers promised anti-aircraft missiles to its ally Syria, in an apparent allusion to another air raid on the neighbouring country.

Moshe Yaalon, Israeli defence minister, issued his warning on Tuesday shortly after a senior official in Moscow said the Russian government reserved the right to provide Syria with state-of-the-art S-300 air defence missiles

At least 14 dead, 36 injured in bus-tanker collision in Thane

At least 14 people were killed and 36 others injured in a collision between a private bus and a tanker at Medvan Khind on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway on Wednesday.

The collision between the private luxury bus and the tanker took place around 7 a.m., police said.

Resident Deputy Collector Manoj Gohad said rescue operations have already been launched.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan undergoes surgery

NEW DELHI :  Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan has undergone surgery for a shoulder injury suffered while doing stunts for his new movie "Chennai Express."

Sanjay Desai, his doctor, said Khan's surgery in a Mumbai hospital on Tuesday was successful but he will need to rest for two months.

French stabbing "religiously motivated" - prosecutor

PARIS:Evidence gathered by French authorities suggests the Muslim convert suspected of stabbing a soldier near Paris was acting in accordance with his religious beliefs, a state prosecutor said after the suspect's arrest on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference the suspect was seen on video surveillance camera "saying a Muslim prayer" minutes before an attack which came three days after the May 22 murder of a British soldier on the streets of London.

Libya assembly chief quits after political ban

Mohamed al-Megaryef, the president of Libya's top political body, resigned on Tuesday to comply with a new law banning Kadhafi-era officials from government jobs.

"Everyone must obey the law out of respect for legality and democracy. I tender my resignation... in conformity with the law," Megaryef told a plenary session of the General National Congress.

Megaryef was Libya's ambassador to India in the 1980s under the regime of now slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi before he defected to become a leader of the exiled opposition for three decades. "I leave with my head held high and my conscious clear," said Megaryef, who stressed he was the first of Kadhafi-era officials to conform to the law.

Turkish national team’s woes continue in 3-3 draw against Latvia

Turkey’s miserable international form continued on May 28, as the national football side was forced to settle for a 3-3 draw against Baltic outsiders Latvia during a friendly in Duisburg, Germany.

With hopes of reaching the 2014 World Cup effectively in tatters, Turkish coach Abdullah Avci entertained a number of different options throughout the match, making five substitutions during the match.

Chief Justice takes suo motu notice of Gujrat tragedy

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the tragic explosion in a school van in the outskirts Gujrat on May 25 which had claimed the lives of at least 15 children, DawnNews reported.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry taking notice of the tragic incident fixed June 4 as the date of hearing over the case.

Malaysian opposition figures charged with sedition

A Malaysian court on Wednesday charged four people with sedition as part of what critics have decried as a crackdown on accusations that the government cheated to win recent elections.PKR vice-president Tian Chua (C) and student activist Safwan Anang (R) arrive at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on May 29, 2013.

Mosque, orphanage burned in Myanmar violence

YANGON, Myanmar: A police officer and a monk in the remote Myanmar city of Lashio have confirmed that a mob burned down a mosque, a Muslim orphanage and shops in the northeastern town after rumors spread that a Muslim man had set fire to a Buddhist woman.

According to the policeman and the Buddhist monk contacted by telephone Wednesday morning there were no fatalities after violence erupted the night before in the northeastern city.

US special envoy to visit Pakistan soon

ISLAMABAD: With the United States eager to establish a working relationship with the incoming PML-N government, its special envoy for the region will soon be visiting Islamabad.

A meeting with Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins would probably be the next government’s first direct, face-to-face, and formal engagement with any senior Obama administration functionary.

Nawaz Sharif, who has been named by PML-N as the next prime minister, has already met Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and talked to a number of world leaders, including President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Hamid Karzai by phone after his party won the May 11 polls.

Informed sources said that during his visit, Mr Dobbins would discuss both bilateral issues and matters related to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

Washington’s policy towards the incoming PML-N government has been one of developing a good interactive relationship. US Ambassador Richard Olson has visited Mr Sharif twice at his palatial estate in Raiwind to brief him on the US perspective about the bilateral relationship.

Relations between Islamabad and Washington have always been complicated, but remained particularly tense after 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad and the subsequent attack on the Salala border checkpost. The relationship, however, witnessed some improvement over the past year. Mr Sharif as an opposition leader in the past had been extremely critical of Washington, but soon after his party’s success expressed his desire for improved relations with the US.

“There are several factors that do not allow either of us to part,” one of Mr Sharif’s foreign policy advisers explained.

Pakistan has been depending heavily on economic and military aid from the United States and needs its political support at international forums and lending agencies.

The Americans, meanwhile, need Pakistan’s unconditional support for withdrawal from Afghanistan and achieving peace and stability in the war-ravaged country.

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Six suicide attackers killed in Afghanistan: officials

KABUL: Afghan security forces killed six suicide bombers who attacked the Panjshir provincial governor's office early Wednesday, officials said, in an assault on one of the most stable areas of the country.

Panjshir, an ethnically Tajik area northeast of Kabul, was a bastion of anti-Taliban resistance during the extremists' 1996-2001 regime, and has been among the most peaceful provinces in Afghanistan since they were ousted.

Afghan withdrawal discussed with Nato

ISLAMABAD: Nato Military Committee Chairman Gen Knud Bartels met Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne and Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Tuesday to discuss withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan and the post-2014 Pakistan-Nato relationship.

According to the ISPR, Gen Bartels discussed during the meetings the security situation in Afghanistan, coordination measures between Nato and the Pakistan Army and the post-2014 situation.

Afghan police defectors return to fold, kill seven colleagues

Two Afghan police officers who had recently rejoined the force after defecting to the Taliban, shot dead seven of their sleeping colleagues on Tuesday, a police chief said.

The killings came during a particularly bloody 24 hours for Afghan forces, with another 16 soldiers, police and bodyguards killed in different attacks, underscoring concern about government forces as foreign troops prepare to leave.

WHO suspends polio drive in Pakistani city after shooting

PESHAWAR :  The World Health Organisation suspended its polio eradication campaign in a Pakistani city on Tuesday after two young workers were shot as they administered drops, the latest attack aimed at the U.N.-backed operation.

The victims of the shooting in the violence-plagued northwestern city of Peshawar were aged 18 and 20. Police said both had died, but medical sources said one had died and one was seriously wounded.

More than 70 killed in wave of Baghdad bombings

More than 70 people were killed in a wave of bombings in markets in Shi'ite neighborhoods across Baghdad on Monday in worsening sectarian violence in Iraq.

No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. But Sunni Muslim Islamist insurgents and al-Qaeda' s Iraqi wing have increased attacks since the beginning of the year and often target Shi'ite districts.

Gunmen kill three troops on Lebanon-Syria border: official

BAALBECK, Lebanon: Armed men killed three Lebanese soldiers near the Syria border overnight, an official said Tuesday, in the deadliest such attack since the start of the Syrian revolt more than two years ago.

“Three soldiers were killed by armed men while they were in a four-wheel drive vehicle east of Arsal,” the security official told AFP, referring to a town in northeastern Lebanon where most residents support the Syrian uprising.

India committed to taking 'hard' decisions on economy: PM

TOKYO: India is committed to taking "hard and difficult" decisions in the long-term interest of the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday, while assuring Japanese industry that the long-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime facing hurdles from states will be in place in an "appropriate type" by 2014.

Core committee: PML-N huddle to pick top slots

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) decided on Monday to convene a core committee meeting before June 1 in which names for members of the cabinet, speaker and deputy speaker for the National and Punjab assemblies would be finalised, The Express Tribune has learnt.

During a party meeting, PML-N members decided against appointing the incumbent Punjab Assembly Speaker, Rana Muhammad Iqbal, and Deputy speaker Rana Mashood Khan to the posts in the next term.

Bomb blast in Swat kills peace committeea leader’s son

SWAT: A bomb blast took place in Swat’s  Mingor area killing Burgat Ali, son of a PML-N leader and peace committee member Sher Ali, on Tuesday.

Moreover, police said 10 people were injured in the explosion and the bomb was detonated through a remote controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

EU lifts embargo to arm Syria rebels: Hague

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers Monday agreed to lift an arms embargo in order to be able to supply weapons to Syrian rebels, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced.

Announcing the agreement after more than 12 hours of tough talks, Hague said the EU would maintain the remainder of a far-reaching package of sanctions against the Assad regime that had been set to expire Friday at midnight.

He stressed that Britain had "no immediate" plans to supply weapons to rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Lebanon: 1 Dead as Shells Hit Hizbullah Stronghold

Cross-border mortar shells from Syria killed one person and wounded another near the eastern Lebanese town of Hermel on Monday.

AFP reported that three mortar shells hit residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of the town in the Bekaa region, a stronghold of the Hizbullah terror group.

A security official told the news agency that a 17-year old girl was killed and another woman was wounded by the shells.