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Shikarpur: Two women recovered after jirga declared them Kari
Indias Congress blames incompetent state leadership for poll drubbing
SC to hear PM contempt case today
Rain delays start of NZ, South Africa 1st test
Greece reshuffles Cabinet
Australia economy surges by 0.4pc
Major Greek banks agree on bond deal
Blatter apologizes over Valcke remarks: Brazil
Mercedes reveals design revamp with new A-Class
Karzai backs strict guidelines for women
FBI offers $1m reward for missing American
World powers agree Iran nuclear talks can resume
Engineer held for killing his father
CENTCOM chief to visit Pakistan soon
US to ensure Israel's military supremacy: Panetta

Shikarpur: Two women recovered after jirga declared them Kari

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As per details, two had been kidnapped by Jatoi community. However, both were freed after Ibrahim Jatoi’s intervention. After the incident, a jirga of the local community held and declared both the women kari. After airing the news on different news channels, the government took notice and police recovered both the women from the jirga and registered a case against 16 men. SSP Larkana told the media that both the women will be presented before the Session Judge today. On the hand, Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan has also condemned the incident.

Indias Congress blames incompetent state leadership for poll drubbing

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After an initial introspection India s federal ruling Congress party blamed its state leadership for the dismal performance in the northern Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections. The Congress party flop in India s most politically vital state Uttar Pradesh (UP) was also a blow to the already-tottering government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reducing his scope to re-launch reforms and reverse a slowdown in economic growth. Speaking to mediapersons after meeting with Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Digvijay Singh said that he was  extremely hurt, disappointed and guilty  after the result was announced. He added that the Congress state leadership in Uttar Pradesh had let the party down. With the count nearing its conclusion on Tuesday, the Congress party was trailing in fourth place in UP, which with 200 million people would be the world s fifth-most populous country if independent. It looked set to win about 28 of the state assembly s 403 seats, a marginal improvement on its lacklustre performance there five years ago and far short of the 100-plus tally it had boasted Gandhi s tireless election campaigning would deliver. Congress sought to shield Gandhi from blame, arguing it was up to local lawmakers to convert his electioneering into assembly seats.

SC to hear PM contempt case today

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A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk will hear the contempt of court case against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. During the last hearing &sbquo; the bench on the plea of Aitzaz Ahsan&sbquo; Counsel of the Prime Minister&sbquo; had summoned Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi to appear before the court as a witness. Earlier, the counsel of the Prime Minister’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsan submitted a list of witnesses in the Supreme Court which also included the names of Babar Awan and Law Secretary Masood Chishti. He also prayed the court to call them as witness in the case. It was said in the application moved in the Supreme Court that that the prime minister, in his personal capacity, did not wish to exercise official power in directing any official to appear as a defence witness. The application, however, also stated that the officials should be summoned by court in the capacity of court witnesses. However, Babar Awan declined to oblige, saying he had been a lawyer in the NRO review case; therefore, he was not eligible to appear as a witness. He said if he appeared as a defence witness, it would be tantamount to professional misconduct. Similarly, Law Secretary Masood Chishti offered regrets to appearing as a court witness, saying he too had appeared as a counsel in the NRO review petition.

Rain delays start of NZ, South Africa 1st test

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Steady rain was falling at University Oval when the toss was due to be made at 10 a.m. NZT (2100 GMT), 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of play. The pitch was still covered and its surrounds and outfield were saturated after showers throughout the night and morning. Umpires Aleem Dar of Pakistan and Billy Doctrove of West Indies called for lunch to be taken 30 minutes early at noon (2300 GMT), meaning no play was possible in the morning session. A ground inspection is due to be made shortly before the break. The umpires said groundstaff were expected to need at least two hours to prepare the ground for play once rain abated, as it was forecast to do in the early afternoon. Neither side had confirmed its playing 11. However, New Zealand is expected to have two players making test debuts: opening batsman Rob Nicol and South African-born wicketkeeper Kruger van Vyk who will replace the injured B.J. Watling. South Africa has already won 2-1 in the Twenty20 international series and 3-0 in the one-day international series. A clean sweep of the three-test series would allow the Proteas to replace England as the top-ranked test nation. South Africa has won 20 of 35 previous tests against New Zealand, including six of 14 in New Zealand.

Greece reshuffles Cabinet

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Anna Diamantopoulou, a former European Union Commissioner, was named the development minister late Tuesday, replacing Michalis Chrysohoidis, who was moved to the public order portfolio. Respected academic Giorgos Bambiniotis was named the new minister of education. The new ministers will be sworn in Wednesday. The government is expected to call a general election for late April. The vote would come as Greece continues to face a massive debt crisis forcing it to rely on international loans. The Cabinet changes were announced after Christos Papoutsis resigned as public order minister Feb. 27 to run for the Socialist party s leadership.

Australia economy surges by 0.4pc

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Australia s mining-driven economy slowed, growing just 0.4 percent as investment stalled and export prices slumped, data showed Wednesday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said gross domestic product expanded by 0.4 percent in the three months to December, half the revised 0.8 percent growth seen in the previous quarter. On-year growth was 2.3 percent. Economists had expected quarterly growth of 0.8 percent and a yearly figure of 2.4 percent. Solid consumer spending was offset by slumps in business and dwelling investment, while Australia s terms of trade -- the value of its exports against its imports -- fell 4.7 percent. It was the measure s first drop since September 2009, according to the ABS,  following an easing in commodity prices as global demand slowed. "This was reflected in real gross domestic income, which declined 0.6 percent in seasonally adjusted terms for the quarter," the ABS said. The Australian dollar dived to a six-week low of US$1.0524 on the data which was seen as increasing the chances of an interest rate cut in the near-term. It had been fetching $1.0572 immediately prior. Canberra expects growth of 3.25 percent for 2011-12, while the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed its GDP forecasts last month for the financial year to June 30 to 3.5 percent. The central bank has tipped 3.0-3.5 percent growth for calendar 2012.

Major Greek banks agree on bond deal

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The Finance Ministry said the six banks have already agreed to participate or would recommend participation at board meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. Though Greece still needs many more creditors to sign up by the deadline, the inclusion of some of the big banks is a relief for officials and potentially persuasive for smaller bondholders. The bondholders will lose 53.5 percent of the face value of their debt and around 75 percent in real terms in exchange for new bonds with longer repayment deadlines and lower interest rates. The bonds deal is vital to avoid default later this month and aims at cutting more than €106 billion ($139 billion) off the country s national debt. The deal depends on near full participation by creditors, but if a large number agree to take part it can force any holdouts, and more interest is likely to come at the last minute. A dozen international banks had already signaled they would participate. The ministry statement did not name the Greek banks involved in the talks, but a government official later confirmed that they were National Bank, Eurobank, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank, ATE Bank and Postbank. Greek banks hold about €45 billion ($59.2 billion) of Greece s total €206 billion ($271 billion) privately-held debt, with the six largest banks holding 97 percent of that amount, according to IMF estimates. Continued uncertainty over the Greek deal hit global markets Tuesday, but shares on the Athens Stock Exchange rallied 2.77 percent to 755.06, with banking stocks up 8.5 percent on improved local expectations of an agreement. The bond deal is an integral part of the country s second package of international bailout loans, from eurozone countries and the IMF, worth €130 billion ($171 billion). Greece was trying to step up the pressure on other private creditors to sign up . The country s Public Debt Management Agency issued a warning to potential holdouts on the agreement, known as the Private Sector Involvement, which depends on high participation to have any success. "Greece s economic program does not contemplate the availability of funds to make payments to private sector creditors that decline to participate in PSI," the agency said. A group representing private holders of Greek government bonds had already said on Monday that a dozen banks, insurers and investment funds including German insurer Allianz, French bank BNP Paribas, Germany s Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank will participate in the swap. "There remains a long way to go given that these particular (overseas) banks account for only 20 percent of the available bonds covered in the PSI agreement," said Michael Hewson, markets analyst at CMC Markets, before the Greek banks signed on. Greece has passed legislation known as collective action clauses, or CACs, which could allow it to force holdouts to participate if a majority of bondholders agree to sign up voluntarily. Bondholders who do sign up will get sweeteners such as a payment up front and added interest linked to the growth of Greece s economy. If the PSI goes ahead, the actual swap is set for March 12, and the settlement date for those who hold Greek bonds issued under foreign law has been set for April 11.

Blatter apologizes over Valcke remarks: Brazil

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FIFA President Sepp Blatter apologized for remarks made by Secretary General Jerome Valcke about Brazil s preparations for the 2014 World Cup, the country s government said on Tuesday. Blatter apologized in a letter to the government on Monday, a day after Valcke sent his own apology. The government officially informed FIFA that it would no longer deal with Valcke after he said: "You have to push yourself, kick your (backside)" to speed up the country s preparations. It remained unclear whether the government would accept the apologies and change its position regarding Valcke. The government says Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo would first answer the letters from FIFA officials before making his decision public. In a letter released by the sports ministry, in Portuguese, Blatter expressed his "deepest regret" about the situation. "I m extremely worried about the deterioration of the relationship between FIFA and the Brazilian government," he said. "My only comment regarding this subject is to apologize to everyone who may have had their honor and their pride hurt, especially the Brazilian government and President Dilma Rousseff."

Mercedes reveals design revamp with new A-Class

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The sleek, sporty look of the new A-Class contrasts sharply with its dowdy predecessor, favored by the over-50s since it was launched more than a decade ago. "We re looking for younger and more female customers," said Dieter Zetsche, the CEO of Mercedes  parent company Daimler. The customer reaction so far had been positive, he said, calling the new design strategy on which the A-Class is based "an exclamation point." "It visualizes how we are changing the company," Zetsche told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show. Don t expect the premium brand to dive into the mainstream just yet, though. Mercedes also rolled out seven other new models that resemble more closely the company s cool, conservative style. These include the E-Class 300 BlueTEC, a business vehicle with diesel-hybrid propulsion, and the powerful SL 63 AMG. All vehicles tout greater fuel efficiency, with the A-Class coming in at just under 99 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Zetsche said the company is aiming to get its fleet average down to 125 grams of CO2 per kilometer by 2015. The Daimler CEO was upbeat about his company s prospects in a challenging global market for automobiles. Worldwide sales for the industry are expected to grow by about 4 percent, said Zetsche. "We very much believe that we will be better than that."

Karzai backs strict guidelines for women

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Afghanistan s president endorsed a "code of conduct" issued by an influential council of clerics that activists say represents a giant step backward for women s rights in the country. President Hamid Karzai s remarks backing the Ulema Council s document, which allows husbands to beat wives under certain circumstances and encourages segregation of the sexes, is seen as part of his outreach to insurgents like the Taliban. Both the U.S. and Karzai hope that the Taliban can be brought into negotiations to end the country s decade-long war. But activists say they re worried that gains made by women since 2001 may be lost in the process. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan prior to the 2001 U.S. invasion, girls were banned from going to school and women had to wear burqas that covered them from head to toe. Women were not allowed to leave their homes without a male relative as an escort. The "code of conduct" issued Friday by the Ulema Council as part of a longer statement on national political issues is cast as a set of guidelines that religious women should obey voluntarily, but activists are concerned it will herald a reversal of the trend in Afghanistan since 2001 to pass laws aimed at expanding women s rights. Among the rules: Women should not travel without a male guardian and women should not mingle with strange men in places like schools, markets or offices. Beating one s wife is prohibited only if there is no "Shariah-compliant reason," it said, referring to the principles of Islamic law. Asked about the code of conduct at a press conference in the capital, Karzai said it was in line with Islamic law and was written in consultation with Afghan women s groups. He did not name the groups that were consulted. "The clerics  council of Afghanistan did not put any limitations on women," Karzai said, adding: "It is the Shariah law of all Muslims and all Afghans." Karzai s public backing of the council s guidelines may be intended to make his own government more palatable to the Taliban, or he may simply be trying to keep on the good side of the Ulema Council, who could be valuable intermediaries in speaking to the insurgents. But either way, women s activists say that Karzai s endorsement means that existing or planned laws aimed at protecting women s rights may be sacrificed for peace negotiations. "It sends a really frightening message that women can expect to get sold out in this process," said Heather Barr, an Afghanistan researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch. Shukria Barikzai, a parliamentarian from the capital Kabul who has been active in women s issues, said she was worried that Karzai and the clerics  council appeared to be ignoring their country s own laws. "When it comes to civil rights in Afghanistan, Karzai should respect the constitution," Barikzai said. The Afghan constitution provides equal rights for men and women. The exception for certain types of beatings also appears to contradict Afghan law that prohibits spousal abuse. And the guidelines also promote rules on divorce that give women few rights, a real turnaround from pledges by Karzai to reform Afghan family law to make divorces more equitable, Barr said. "This represents a significant change in his message on women s rights," she said. Afghan women s rights activist Fatana Ishaq Gailani, founder of the Afghanistan Women s Council, said she feels like women s rights are being used as part of a political game. "We want the correct Islam, not the Islam of politics," Gailani said. She said she supported negotiations with the Taliban, but that Afghanistan s women should not be sacrificed for that end. Hadi Marifat of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization, which surveyed 5,000 Afghan women for a recent report on the state of women s rights in Afghanistan, argued that the statements show Karzai is shifting more toward the strictest interpretations of Shariah law. "In the post-Taliban Afghanistan, the guiding principle of President Karzai regarding women s rights has been attracting funding from the international community on one hand, balanced against the need to get the support of the Ulema Council and other traditionalists on the other," Marifat said. "The concerning thing is that now this balance is shifting toward the conservative element, and that was obvious in his statement."

FBI offers $1m reward for missing American

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The case has increasingly frustrated investigators trying to bring him home. FBI Director Robert Mueller made a public appearance Tuesday to announce the reward, the latest high-profile effort by the FBI to find a way to determine Robert Levinson s whereabouts who vanished in Iran five years ago. Late last year, a video of Levinson was released by his family. The short video generated enormous publicity but no concrete leads. The private investigator disappeared from the Iranian island of Kish. Friday marks the five-year anniversary of his disappearance. The U.S. still has not identified the kidnappers, but there are indications he s being held along the borders of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.

World powers agree Iran nuclear talks can resume

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Iran gave permission for inspectors to visit a site suspected of secret atomic work. The two developments appeared to counter somewhat the crisis atmosphere over Iran s nuclear development programme, the focus of talks in Washington between President Barack Obama and Israel s visiting prime minister.  EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany agreed to a new round of nuclear talks with Iran. Previous talks have not achieved what the powers want  an end to uranium enrichment on Iranian soil. The last round of negotiations in January 2011 ended in failure. The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies that, insisting that its program is for peaceful purposes.  Ashton said in a statement that the EU hopes that Iran "will now enter into a sustained process of constructive dialogue which will deliver real progress in resolving the international community s long-standing concerns on its nuclear programme." The time and venue of the new talks have not been set. In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said Iran must comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and stop uranium enrichment. "We still believe diplomacy coupled with strong pressure can achieve the long-term solution we seek," he said in a statement. Britain s Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement that the onus would "be on Iran to convince the international community that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful." German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called for a diplomatic solution. "A nuclear-armed Iran must be prevented," he said. Ashton was responding to a February letter from Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, in which he proposed new discussions. This week Obama warned that the U.S. would use military action to protect its interests if necessary, while appealing for time for sanctions against Iran to show their affects. In his public statements during a visit to Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Obama for his support but did little to counter concerns that Israel might go ahead on its own with an attack on Iran. Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear programme and its references to destruction of the Jewish state. The U.N. s International Atomic Energy Agency last year published a report that included what it said was evidence of Iranian activity that could be linked to weapons development. The head of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, said Monday that his organization has "serious concerns" that Iran may be hiding secret atomic weapons work, singling out the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran. On Tuesday, Iran appeared to respond partially to those concerns, granting long-sought permission to IAEA inspectors to visit the Parchin compound. Iran describes the site as a military base, not a nuclear facility. The semi-official ISNA news agency stated a key condition: such a visit would require an agreement between the two sides on guidelines. "Given that Parchin is a military site, access to this facility is a time-consuming process, and it can t be visited repeatedly," ISNA quoted the Iranian statement as saying. It added that following repeated IAEA demands, "permission will be granted for access once more." Inspecting Parchin was a key request by senior IAEA teams that visited Tehran in January and February. Iran rebuffed those demands at the time, as well as attempts by the nuclear agency s team to question Iranian officials and secure other information linked to the allegations of secret weapons work. The Parchin complex has been often mentioned in the West as a suspected base for secret nuclear experiments  a claim Iran consistently denies. IAEA inspectors visited the site in 2005, but only one of four areas on the grounds, reporting no unusual activities. Last year, IAEA s report said there were indications Tehran has conducted high-explosives testing to set off a nuclear charge at Parchin. Iran denied the atomic activity and insisted that any decision to open the site rests with the armed forces. "We have our credible information that indicates that Iran engaged in activities relevant to the development of nuclear explosive devices," Amano said told reporters Monday outside a 35-nation IAEA board meeting in Vienna, describing his sources as "old information and new information." Tehran has dismissed the charge, saying it was based on "fabricated documents" provided by a "few arrogant countries," a phrase Iranian authorities often use to refer to the U.S. and its allies.

Engineer held for killing his father

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As per details, accused software engineer Bilal with the help of his friend had killed his father and portrayed it as a robbery incident. Police traced the incident and held both the accused.

CENTCOM chief to visit Pakistan soon

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The Commander of the Unites States Central Command, en. James Mattis has said that he is traveling to Pakistan within the next 10 days or so, where he would engage in discussions with Pakistan s military leadership, in a bid to streamline some of the issues cropped up in the recent part, particularly after the NATO airstrike on Salala check-post in Mohmand on Nov 26 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. While speaking during a hearing of the US Senate s Armed Services Committee on Defense Authorizations for 2013 Tuesday, he, however, did acknowledge that border coordination with Pakistan at different levels had been continuing after the Salala firing incident. Pakistan had initially withdrawn troops from border coordination posts before sending them back after hectic consultations between US, Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Responding to a question of Senator Richard Blumenthal about efforts undertaken by Pakistan for stopping the flow of IEDs from tribal areas to Afghanistan, Gen. Mattis said that Pakistani tribal areas "have a unique status and there area number of factors for transportation of IEDs". "My impression is that Pakistani security forces are not doing enough", Senator Blumenthal asserted. "I ll have to check whether the Pakistani forces are doing enough or not, before getting back to you about it", Gen. Mattis replied. Ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator John McCain, in his opening remarks on the occasion, also expressed concern about the alleged support of terrorist networks like the Haqqani network by Pakistan s intelligence agencies. This practice, he believed, was continuing despite US demands from Pakistan to check it without any delay.       Adminiral William McRaven, Commander of the US Special Operations Command, alluded to the recent reports of a deadlock between US and Afghan authorities over the issue of handing-over of prisoners and night-raids. "We remain concerned about the capability of Afghanistan in handling the prisoners as they are demanding now", he said. "We think night raids are the best option for going after the militants because it minimises the chance of harming civilian individuals. We don t understands why president Karazai is against the night raids because these have Afghans in the lead during such operations", he went on to add. The CENTCOM chief, Gen. Jmaes Mattis, in response to another question said that the US did not have a designated facility now where they could put the detainees arrested from the battlefield. "Decision to not shift any new detainees to Gunatanamo is a policy decision", he said adding that the decision on "where to put new detainees, taken in custody from Afghanistan or Pakistan, requires a government to government agreement". On the questions from Senators about the alleged threats emanating from Iran, Gen. Mattis said that the "Iranian threat is on four lines, including their nuclear program, long range missile ballistic threat, maritime threat and and their secret services and proxies that they support". "These concerns are for US and our friends in that region but we are trying to check and contain each of these threats from Iran", he assured.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC

US to ensure Israel's military supremacy: Panetta

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"This is an ironclad pledge which says that the United States will provide whatever support is necessary for Israel to maintain military superiority over any state or coalition of states, as well as non-state actors," Defense Secretary Panetta told the top pro-Israel lobby in Washington, AIPAC.

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