Saturday, December 24, 2011

Around 120,000 people protest in Moscow: organisers

8:40 AM McGhori

MOSCOW: Around 120,000 people on Saturday attended a rally against Vladimir Putin’s domination of Russia, organisers said, as a protest leader vowed to bring one million out on the streets for the next demonstration. “120,000 people have come,” Russian politician Vladimir Ryzhkov who organised the protest, said. “Next time, we will bring one million people onto the streets of Moscow,” blogger Alexei Navalny, who has emerged as a figurehead of the protest movement, said in a speec...
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CIA suspends drone missile strikes in Pakistan: report

3:18 AM McGhori

LOS ANGELES: The US Central Intelligence Agency has suspended drone missile strikes on gatherings of low-ranking militants in Pakistan due to tensions with that country, The Los Angeles Times reported. Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper said late Friday the undeclared halt in CIA attacks is aimed at reversing a sharp erosion of trust between the two countries. US-Pakistani relations deteriorated last month after a series of US air strikes killed 24 Pakistan soldiers near the border with Afghanistan. A joint US-Nato investigation concluded that a disastrous spate of errors and botched communications led to the deaths. Pakistan has rejected the findings. The pause in the missile strikes comes...
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Ruling party official shot dead in Indian Kashmir: police

3:17 AM McGhori

SRINAGAR: Suspected militants on Saturday shot dead an official of the ruling party in Indian-ruled Kashmir, police said, days after rebels made a failed bid on the life of a senior government minister. Bashir Ahmed was killed the main city of Srinagar, a police officer said, asking not to be named. “He was shot in the head and died before he could be taken to a hospital,” he said, blaming anti-India rebels for the daylight killing. No rebel group has claimed responsibility so far. The killing came days after suspected rebels killed a policeman in an attack on December 11 on senior minister Ali Mohammed Sagar, who escaped uninjured. Like Sagar, Ahmed was also associated with the ruling National Conference. Militants who...
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Pakistan ties ‘too important’ to fail: US

3:14 AM McGhori

WASHINGTON: The United States said on Friday that it was committed to working with Pakistan and pledged support for democracy, amid friction between the war partners and a political showdown in Islamabad. “The issues that we face – the challenges we face – are too important,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. “We desire a closer, more productive relationship with Pakistan both militarily and as well as politically. And we’re constantly working to build that closer cooperation,” he said. Relations between the United States and Pakistan have severely deteriorated this year. On November 26, US air strikes near the Afghan border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, leading Islamabad to halt supply routes for Nato...
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