Dozens of flights grounded as ash cloud reaches Britain

LONDON: Airlines halted dozens of flights on Tuesday after a plume of ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland blew over Britain, even forcing US President Barack Obama to revise his travel plans. Barely a year after a similar eruption in Iceland forced the biggest closure of European airspace since World War II, Britain's flagship [...]

Bin Laden cache reveals no evidence of imminent threats

WASHINGTON: No evidence of specific or imminent threats has emerged yet from material confiscated from Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout, Western counter-terrorism officials said, raising questions about how directly he was in control of al Qaeda. Aides to President Barack Obama have said that evidence seized in the US commando raid on bin Laden’s compound [...]

Pak-Afghan-US tripartite talks to begin

KABUL: The trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US will be held on today, DawnNews reported. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir will head the Pakistani delegation at the talks. Salman Bashir met with Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister, Javed Ludyan and Chairman of Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani to discuss the negotiation agenda of the talks and [...]

US push for Mideast democracy critical, says Boehner

WASHINGTON: The United States must erase any doubt over its commitment to Middle East democracy amid the "Arab Spring" that has brought dramatic but unstable change to the region, the top US Republican said Monday. Speaking before the powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, House Speaker John Boehner told the 10,000 assembled delegates that it was "delusional" [...]

Pakistani militant group, ISI coordinated: Headley

CHICAGO: The federal government’s key witnesses in the trial of a Chicago businessman accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks testified Monday that he first started training more than a decade ago with a Pakistani militant group that got assistance from the country’s main intelligence agency. The trial of businessman Tahawwur Rana is being closely watched [...]

Ryan Giggs sex scandal tests British privacy laws

LONDON: A British politician defied a court order on Monday by identifying Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs as the soccer star fighting a legal battle to prevent newspapers from publishing allegations of an affair. The release of Giggs’ name will be seen as a victory for the media over celebrities and their lawyers after an increasingly [...]

Sri Lanka reject Pakistan tour offer

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has turned down an offer to tour Pakistan because of security concerns, the Sri Lankan cricket board told Reuters on Tuesday.  "We have refused to tour Pakistan," a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) spokesman said by telephone. "We are concerned about the security and that’s why we said no to them."    Pakistan Cricket [...]

Militants attack Karachi military base

KARACHI: Several explosions have been heard near the PAF Museum on Dalmia Road in Karachi. The force of the blasts have  shattered  the windows of surrounding buildings, reports said. Heavy gunfire was also reported after the explosion. An eyewitness said that the blasts took place near the gate of Faisal Base. "We have four dead [...]

Saleh warns of Yemen civil war, Gulf deal unsigned

SANAA: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned on Sunday of civil war if the opposition defied his call for them to be present at his palace for him to sign a Gulf deal on a transition of power. "If they remain stubborn, we will confront them everywhere with all possible means," he said in a [...]

Pakistan on top after West Indies drop chances

BASSETERRE: Pakistan lead West Indies by 104 runs with all 10 second innings wickets intact at lunch on the third day of the second test on Sunday. The tourists’ advantage would have been even stronger had it not been for a fine rearguard battle from West Indies tail-enders Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul who put [...]

Thousands protest against US drone attacks in Karachi

KARACHI: Thousands demonstrated in Karachi on Sunday to demand an immediate end to US missile strikes in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas and urge the blocking of Nato supplies passing through the country. Activists from the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) continued a two-day sit-in outside the city’s Arabian Sea port, urging the government to end its [...]

Vettel holds off Hamilton for Spanish GP win

BARCELONA: Red Bull’s Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel took his fourth win in five races on Sunday in a Spanish Grand Prix that shed its reputation for predictable processions. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished second, just 0.6 seconds behind, after harrying the 23-year-old German over the closing laps in a far closer finale to a [...]

Van der Sar considered retirement U-turn: Ferguson

LONDON: Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was tempted to change his decision to retire at the end of this season. The 40-year-old Dutchman takes part in his last Premier League match for United when the champions host Blackpool on Sunday before playing the final game of his career [...]

Saudi Arabia beheads Pakistani over murder

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday beheaded a Pakistani convicted of killing a fellow citizen in the holy city of Mecca, the official SPA news agency said. "Tareq Gaweid Ghulam, a Pakistani, has killed Aref Khuda Bakhsh, (another) Pakistani, using an axe… because of a dispute between them," reported SPA, adding that Ghulam was executed Sunday. [...]

South Asian experts urge for climate change adaptation

KATHMANDU: South Asian environmentalists, hydrologists, climatologists and scientists at a regional training workshop on Saturday said that climate change in conjunction with other drivers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region would have a serious impact on water accessibility, people's vulnerability to water-fuelled hazards and socio-economics.   They underlined a need to close the knowledge gap on [...]

The dharna and the drone attacks

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday started its two-day sit-in in front of Karachi Port against the US drone attacks in tribal areas of Pakistan, and logistic support en- route Pakistan to the Nato troops in Afghanistan. Thousands of people from different walks of life and political activists gathered at the Native Jetty Bridge near Karachi [...]

Hargreaves to be released by United

LONDON: Owen Hargreaves will leave Manchester United at the end of this season after Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the injury-ravaged England midfielder will not be offered a new contract. Hargreaves endured a miserable four-year spell at Old Trafford as tendinitis in both knees left him l anguishing in the treatment room for long spells. Having [...]

Upper Sindh districts lack PCR Hepatitis facilities

Ratodero, Sindh: There is no facility of PCR Hepatitis test for the patients of seven upper Sindh districts which is essential before the start of Hepatitis B & C treatment. The largest teaching hospital of upper Sindh, Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) had the costly PCR machine provided by the Director General Health Services Sindh [...]

Wenger ready to splash the cash

LONDON: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted he is ready to make big-money signings ahead of next season in order to help end the Gunners’ six-year trophy drought. Another season without silverware – Arsenal suffered a shock loss to Birmingham in the English League Cup final – ends with their final Premier League match against [...]

Loew to bring down curtain on Ballack’s Germany career

BERLIN: Coach Joachim Loew said Sunday he plans to have a final meeting with former German captain Michael Ballack after June’s Euro 2012 qualifiers and bring the curtain down on his stellar international career. Ballack, 34, won the last of his 98 caps in March 2010 before suffering back-to-back injuries last year which have seen [...]

Germany helps mediate US talks with Taliban: report

BERLIN: Germany is helping mediate secret, direct talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, with meetings taking place on German soil, Spiegel magazine reported here Sunday. Germany's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Michael Steiner is moderating the talks, the latest round of which took place on May 7 and 8 in Germany, [...]

How the French title was won

PARIS: Lille ended a 57-year wait to win the French league title after drawing 2-2 at Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday, thereby completing a league and French Cup double. Take a look back at the twists and turns that took place over the course of the Ligue 1 title race. AUGUST Defending champions Marseille get off [...]

NEWS IN BRIEF

Man alleges police torture TAXILA, May 21: A salesman working in Wah Cantonment on Saturday said the local police illegally detained, tortured and implicated him in a fake case. Mohammad Bilal, a resident of Lala Rukh, told reporters that on April 6 he was repairing his motorbike when SI Nazar Mohammad along with other cops [...]

Speakers want 10pc GDP spent on social sector

ISLAMABAD, May 21: Rising poverty in Pakistan necessitates that 10 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) be spent on social sector including education, health, safe drinking water, sanitation and basic infrastructure to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. This was a key demand at a pre-budget seminar on 'We Demand Budget for [...]

Girl `gang raped`

ISLAMABAD, May 21: A 20-year-old girl was allegedly raped by four persons, police said on Saturday. SF, a resident of G-11, told Kohsar police that she was gang raped by friends of her boyfriend in a house at G-8. She said she was kidnapped from Super Market and taken to G-8 Markaz and subjected to [...]

Tent pegging attracts crowds

TAXILA, May 21: Hundreds of enthusiasts from as far as Balochistan turned up at Badhana, about 15 kilometres from here, to witness the thrilling and adventurous annual tent pegging held there. Teams from Sargodha, Pindigheb and other parts of the country participated in the event. Famous rider Malik Fateh Khan and Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab [...]

AJK polls No decision yet on party nominations

MUZAFFARABAD, May 21: With only five days left for filing of nomination papers, all three major political parties of Azad Jammu and Kashmir are yet to make a final decision about their nominees for the 41 constituencies of Legislative Assembly, it has been learnt. The opposition People`s Party (PPAJK), which boasts of forming the next [...]

Japan, China, S. Korea summit starts in Tokyo

TOKYO: Leaders of Japan, China and South Korea Sunday began a trilateral summit, at which Tokyo is expected to offer to share lessons it has learned from its earthquake and tsunami and the ongoing nuclear crisis. The meeting came as Japan struggles to control the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl at the Fukushima plant, [...]

Pakistan army denies US troops were in northwest

Pakistan's military has denied a report that US Special Forces were embedded with Pakistani troops for intelligence- gathering missions in the northwest of the country. The local Dawn newspaper said on Saturday it obtained secret dispatches from WikiLeaks that revealed that US Special Forces were deployed with Pakistani troops in joint operations in Pakistan [...]

`Fishy` hirings for road projects

ISLAMABAD, May 21: Ignoring its own experienced engineers, the cash-starved Capital Development Authority (CDA) has acquired the services of engineers from the private sector at lucrative salaries for the three road development projects, which have already turned out to be white elephants for the civic body, Dawn has learnt. An official close to the development [...]