Large explosion, gunfire heard in Kabul

 
KABUL: A large explosion followed by gunfire was heard in the Afghan capital Kabul Wednesday.

The explosion was heard in the AFP office in the diplomatic district of Wazir Akbar Khan, while gunfire was reported from near the French embassy.

Helicopter hits crane, crashes in C. London

LONDON: A helicopter crashed in central London and plunged to the ground in a ball of flames on Wednesday, with police saying it had hit a crane on top of a building.

Fire engines and police were at the scene of the crash near the River Thames at Vauxhall, where a huge plume of smoke billowed into the sky.

Paul Ferguson, who was working in an office near the incident, told BBC News: "There was a flash and the helicopter plunged to the ground. It exploded and you can imagine the smoke coming out of it."

Witnesses posted photographs of burning wreckage on social networking sites. Unconfirmed early reports said one person was on board, the pilot.

London's Metropolitan Police said the helicopter was not one of its aircraft. "We had a call at approximately 8am this morning and we are dealing with an incident," a police spokesman said. The crash was causing long tailbacks on roads during the morning rush hour.

Opposition parties meeting begins in Raiwandi

LAHORE: A crucial meeting of opposition parties, convened by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, has begun here in Raiwand on Wednesday, Geo News reported.

Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman, Munawwar Hassan, Professor Sajid Mir, Mir Hasil Bizanjo, Talal Bugti, Mehmood Achakzai, Aftab Shepao, Salim Saifullah, Hamid Nasir Chatha, and Sajid Tareen are attending the meeting.

Nawaz Sharif had invited all the leaders of the opposition parties to a meeting in Raiwind.

In a PML-N statement issued here, the situation that has arisen after Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran’s long march will be the order of the meeting.

IAEA experts back in Iran for fresh nuclear talks

 

IAEA experts back in Iran for fresh nuclear talks
By AFP
January 16, 2013 - Updated 1254 PKT
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[IAEA experts back in Iran for fresh nuclear talks ]

TEHRAN: Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) were back in Tehran early Wednesday to try to resolve long-running differences with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

The eight-strong team, led by the UN agency's chief atomic inspector and deputy director Herman Nackaerts, was greeted at the airport by Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, the ISNA news agency reported.


It was not clear who would represent Iran in meetings on Wednesday, but the office of top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is in charge of decisions regarding Tehran's atomic programme -- on behalf of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has final say on all key state matters. On Tuesday, before flying out from the agency's base in Vienna, Nackaerts had called on Iran to be "constructive".

"Throughout this process, the director general has always said that we are approaching these talks in a constructive spirit," he told reporters. "Also this time we are approaching it in the same spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in the same spirit," he added.

But the IAEA's hopes of reaching a deal are not high. IAEA head Yukiya Amano said Friday he was "not necessarily optimistic," while a Western diplomat told AFP on Sunday "there still remain some pretty big disagreements" with Tehran.

The agency wants Iran to respond to what it calls "overall, credible" evidence of nuclear weapons research having been carried out until 2003 -- and possibly since then.

Iran vehemently denies having ever sought an atomic bomb. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday that the government hoped to conclude a comprehensive agreement with the IAEA on Wednesday.

But Ramin Mehmanparast said that would only be possible if the agency recognised Iran's "nuclear rights." Mehmanparast appeared to play down the chances that the IAEA team might get access to Parchin, a military base near Tehran where the agency's experts suspect Iran could have carried out experiments with explosives capable of triggering a nuclear weapon.

"Parchin has no connection with Iran's nuclear activities," Mehmanparast said. Access to it could be discussed, but only in the context of a possible agreement, he added.

But the IAEA has pointed to new information uncovered since its last visits to the site in 2005. They include satellite evidence that the earth has been scraped and removed over a 25-hectare (62-acre) area, leading to Western accusations that Iran is destroying evidence.

Wednesday's talks will be closely monitored by the so-called P5+1 group -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany. Their parallel negotiations with Tehran over the nuclear programme are currently stalled. At their last meeting, held in June 2012 in Moscow, Tehran rejected P5+1 calls for it to scale back its nuclear enrichment activities, while asking for substantial sanctions relief.

Iran's economy is struggling to cope with punitive measures adopted by the US and the EU targeting its vital oil income and access to global financial systems. On Tuesday, top lawmaker Aladin Boroujerdi repeated Tehran's demands, ISNA reported. "The main focus of the next talks with the P5+1 should be on lifting the sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union," said Boroujerdi, who heads parliament's influential foreign policy committee.

Mehmanparast added on Tuesday that a much-debated religious decree against nuclear weapons by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was binding. "The fatwa is of utmost importance in clarifying Iran's nuclear activities," he said, dismissing Western doubts that the fatwa only served a religious purpose and was not necessarily an obligation for the government.

رینٹل پاور کیس:سپریم کورٹ کا وزیر اعظم کو گرفتار کرنے کا حکم

اسلام آباد…سپریم کورٹ نے رینٹل پاور کیس میں وزیر اعظم راجہ پرویزاشرف کو گرفتار کرنے کا حکم دیا ہے۔

 
۔چیف جسٹس آف پاکستان جسٹس افتخار محمد چوہدری کی سربراہی میں تین رکنی بنچ نے رینٹل پاور کیس کی سماعت کی۔ سپریم کورٹ نے سماعت کے دوران حکم دیا کہ سابق وزیر پانی و بجلی اور موجود وزیر اعظم راجہ پرویز اشرف سمیت 16 ملزمان کو 24 گھنٹے میں گرفتار کرکے چالان پیش کیا جائے۔عدالت نے مزید کہا کہ اگر ان ملزمان میں کوئی ایک بھی بیرون ملک فرار ہوا تو چیئرمین نیب ذمہ دار ہونگے۔سپریم کور ٹ نے کہا کہ ملزمان کو گرفتار کرکے کل تک رپورٹ پیش کی 
 جائے

Rental Power case: SC orders to arrest PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has issued orders to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in Rental Power case, Geo News reported.

The SC directed the authorities concerned to arrest 16 accused including the prime minister after presenting challan within 24 hours.

"The chief justice ordered that all concerned, regardless of their rank, who have been booked in the case be arrested and if someone leaves the country, then chairman of NAB (anti-corruption watchdog) will be held responsible along with his investigating team,"
lawyer Aamir Abbas told AFP.

"The sixteen include Raja Ashraf," said Abbas, referring to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

Following the Supreme Court orders, sources informed Geo News correspondent Asif Bhatti that the prime minister has summoned a meeting of close ministers for consultations. Sources add that Prime Minister Ashraf is waiting for the detailed Supreme Court order after which he would consult President Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the Supreme Court order was unexpected. Information Qamar Zaman Kaira while speaking to Kamran Khan on Geo News said that Prime Minister Ashraf and the Law Ministry had not received the written order of the Supreme Court. Kaira added that people would not let democracy be derailed.

Appearing on Capital Talk with Hamid Mir, Law Minister Farooq Naek said the Supreme Court order did not mention that Prime Minister Ashraf should be arrested.

Meanwhile after the Supreme Court order shops have been closed in Sukkur and aerial firing has been reported in Hyderabad.

The Karachi Stock Exchange fell by nearly three percent after news of the court order, highlighting anxiety over political uncertainty.