SC indicts PM Gilani on contempt charge

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: A seven-member of the Supreme Court (SC) framed charges of contempt against Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) Implementation case.

The SC bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk read out the 2-page charge sheet signed by all bench judges and indicted him of the contempt with PM Gilani standing in the dock.

“Have you read the charges framed against you?” asked the bench.

“Yes, I have read. I understood,” he replied adding after the consultation with his counsel, “I will plead innocence.”

The court exempted the PM Gilani from appearing in person in next hearing.

The 2-page charge sheet states that the PM Gilani violated Article 204 of the Constitution by not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities in accordance with the court orders. It said he also violated para- 178 of the court’s verdict in the NRO implementation case.

Later on, the PM Gilani’s counsel Aitezaz Ahsan pleaded the court he will go to London on February 18 and will return on 21.

Granting his plea, the court said the evidences will be recorded on February 28, adding the documents of the prosecution will be submitted on February 22.

Attorney General has been directed file documents by 16 February.

It should be mentioned here on Friday, the SC dismissed the intra-court appeal filed by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani against indictment order, saying the indictment ruling by seven-member bench is in accordance with law.

An eight-strong bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry heard the appeal against the February 2 order; however, concluding the proceedings, the court upheld the previous ruling by 7-member bench, saying there is no need for the apex court to interfere with the proceedings of the seven-strong bench.

Earlier, the court was prayed to retract the show-cause notice issued to the PM Gilani. The court held that the cases abolished abroad, will be revived and a letter was sought from the government of Pakistan to this effect, adding the government never on any stage opposed this.

The order said the PM Gilani was called upon to implement this order in the capacity of chief executive of the country; but, he failed to perform his duty in this regard.

The five-member bench, consequently, kick-started the judicial proceedings; but, the government continued its policy of negligence and avoidance to implement the order. Viewing this government attitude, the court gave six –option ruling on January 10.

Even now, there was no headway in this connection; then, a seven-strong bench issued contempt of court notice to the PM Gilani on January 16; but, the court did not receive any written rejoinder from him to this date.

The PM’s counsel Aitezza Ahsan, a renowned lawyer told the court, “The PM Gilani was not directed in the show-cause notice to give a written order.”

The apex court, after hearing the PM’s counsel for two consecutive days, decided today (Friday) to indict him (PM Gilani) on next hearing scheduled on February 13 (today) before the seven-judge bench.

The next hearing will be held on February 22 and then on Feb. 28. TrendPK

Thai student on hunger strike over royal insult law

 

His father has been arrested under the kingdom s strict lese majeste laws began. He hunger strike on Saturday in Bangkok against the controversial legislation.

 

Activist Somyot Prueaksakasemsuk, the former editor of two now-defunct “Red Shirt magazines, was arrested last April and charged under article 112 of the Thai criminal code over two articles deemed critical of the Thai royals.

 

His son Panitan, a law student, began his strike on Saturday afternoon in front of Bangkok s criminal court, and was set to fast for 112 hours to highlight the point of law in question.

 

His protest, which a few dozen people came out to support, comes after the seventh request for his father s bail was denied last month.

 

“My hunger strike is to call for the right to bail and to show society the injustice on someone who was charged with lese majeste,” he told AFP before starting the protest.

 

He wore a white T-shirt with the message: “Give my dad the right to bail”.

 

Lese majeste carries a penalty of up to 15 years for each count and is designed to protect senior royals from insult, but academics say it has been politicised in recent years.

 

Many of those charged, like Somyot, have been linked to the “Red Shirt” movement which backed ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and other critics of the previous establishment-backed government.

 

The royal family is an extremely sensitive subject in Thailand, but calls for reform of the law have grown and sparked fierce debate in recent months after several high-profile convictions.

 

A 61-year-old man was jailed in November for 20 years for sending text messages deemed insulting to the monarchy, while a US citizen in December was also handed two-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly defaming the king. –AFP

 

Halle Berry Moving To Europe

Gabriel Aubry is not to happy these days after finding out that Halle Berry, her boyfriend, and their daughter possibly could be moving to Europe, France to be exact. Halle Berry is asking the judge who is in charge of the custody hearing if she can have permission to move Nahla to France with her and her boyfriend. Gabriel Aubry is stating that over his dead body this is something that is just not going to happen.

Halle Berry has already put her papers to the judge and currently the only thing they are waiting on is the hearing date to be set. Gabriel Aubry feels that Halle Berry is doing this to take his daughter away from him by making sure that he can have no contact with her. Also, Gabriel Aubry is even more upset because if the move is approved Halle Berry’s long term boyfriend Olivier Martinez will also be residing with his daughter.

From the way we see it Halle Berry has a good reason to move. Matter of fact, the stalker who broke in her property numerous times has just been released from jail. So, she will definitely be safer over in Europe.

Be sure to visit trendpk.com where this article was originally published for more celebrity gossip and celebrity news.

Afghan troops to take over by end-2004: US

 

They will take over even though only a small number of them now operate independently from NATO-led troops, a top US general said Wednesday.

 

Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, deputy commander of US forces and the head of the NATO-led force s joint command, acknowledged that Afghan army and police still had a way to go before overseeing security without major assistance from foreign troops.

 

But he rejected a more pessimistic view voiced by some in and outside the US military, including US Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis, who accused his superiors of glossing over the failings of Afghan forces in an article published this week.

 

Some US soldiers in the field have been critical of their Afghan partners, Scaparrotti told a news conference, but the Afghan forces have been built up over a short period and could not be compared to a US standard.

 

“At times, a (US) private will tell me they re not that good. But a private s looking at it from the perspective of how he s trained, or the Marine s trained, and the standards are very different,” the general said.

 

“I can tell you personally from experience and from feedback from others, these soldiers will fight, particularly at the company level. There s no question about that,” he said.

 

“And they re going to be good enough, as we build them, to secure their country and to counter the insurgency that they re dealing with now,” he said.

 

The state of Afghanistan s security forces has taken on growing importance as the United States and its allies pursue a troop drawdown and after Washington announced last week it would shift from a combat to a training role as early as mid-2013.

 

President Barack Obama was briefed on efforts to build “capable” Afghan security forces at a meeting on Wednesday that focused on Afghanistan, including efforts to broker a possible peace settlement with the insurgency, the White House said in a statement.–AFP

 

Spice Girls: Reunited?

Usually, the stars are the ones trying to stop rumors from being spread yet in this case the stars are the ones beginning the rumor.

According to Mel B it seems as though the Spice Girls will be getting back together. Last night she tweeted to her followers saying, “Will be back in UK next month to see my Spice Girls, can’t wait, missed them all sooooooo much!!!!!Girl power all the way baby!!!”

For those who don’t know, there were some rumors going around about the Spice Girls last month and this tweet is definitely making fans think that they are getting back together. However, fans should not get their hopes up to high yet because no one said why the four – Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm – would be meeting up with her.

Sources have been speculating that rehearsals may be in order. Also, Mel B has hinted that they may be pulling out their hot pants and Union Jack dresses in the near future. She told the media that she has her fingers crosses and she would not mind a Spice Girls reunion last month. She also mentioned that she is a spice girl until the end.

Be sure to visit trendpk.com where this article was originally published for more celebrity gossip and celebrity news.

Kim Kardashian Divorce: Reality Show?

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorce is turning out to be downright ugly. It seems as though Kris’s lawyer has plans to put the trial on reality TV. However, this may be something that Kris Humphries may not want to do because it could potentially end up blowing up in his face.

Lee Hutton, Kris’s lawyer, an Kris Humphries have come up with the brilliant – or not so brilliant – idea of exposing the M.O. of reality TV by providing that Kim Kardashian did not intend on being married to him for long from day one. They feel as though the only reason she married him was so her rating would go up for her reality TV show.

But wait!

They are trying to prove their point to the judge by asking him to allow TV stations to broadcast the trial. As we know earlier Kim Kardashian filed for a divorce due to “irreconcilable differences” and Kris Humphries is claiming that she is a “fraud”.

Why Kim Most Likely Will Not Be Looked At As A Fraud:

• Kris Humphries proposed
• Kris Humphries was made famous and marketable which allowed him to make millions because of the publicity
• Kim has a long and complicated prenup that goes all the way into details of what would happen years into the future

Be sure to visit trendpk.com where this article was originally published for more celebrity gossip and celebrity news.

Dr. Conrad Murray Shares Same Jail Block as Michael Jackson’s Ex Brother-in-Law

Sometimes the world can feel super small.

Surprisingly, Dr. Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson’s former brother-in-law – James DeBarge who is Janet Jackson’s ex-husband – are in the same jail and are seeing a lot of each other these days. Both of them are being held in the L.A. County Men’s Jail which is home to almost 4,000 inmates at the time, yet they see each other daily. As a matter of fact, Dr. Conrad Murray is in a cell that is just a few feet away from James DeBarge.

James DeBarge is serving time for an assault with a deadly weapon and miscellaneous drug charges. However, since he was the lead singer in “El DeBarge” he is in the Administrative Segregation which houses famous inmates.

Murray has also been staying in Administrative Segregation since he was convicted of manslaughter in November 2011. It has been said that they run into each other quite often in the unit. The last time they saw each other was when they were both visiting with their lawyers on Monday.

According to DeBarge’s lawyer, Spencer Vodnoy, DeBarge is furious that he has to be so close to Murray. He feels that even though Janet and him were married briefly he still thinks of Michael as a brother.

Be sure to visit trendpk.com where this article was originally published for more celebrity gossip and celebrity news.

Israel has not decided on attacking Iran: Obama

 

US President Barack Obama said Sunday he did not think Israel had made a decision on whether to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran s nuclear installations, a threat that has rattled the region.

 

Obama — seeking to reassure Americans over the danger posed by Tehran s suspect nuclear program, and any negative side-effects for the United States — said Washington was working “in lockstep” with Israel to bring Iran to heel.

 

“I don t think Israel has made a decision” to strike Iranian facilities, Obama said in a pre-Super Bowl interview with NBC.
When asked if Washington would be consulted first should Israel move ahead with those plans, he said he could not go into specifics but added that the two allies had “closer intelligence and military consultations” than ever before.

 

“My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States. But also, the security of Israel. And we re going to make sure that we work in lockstep, as we proceed to try to solve this — hopefully diplomatically.”

 

Obama said the Islamic republic was “feeling the pinch” of ever tougher sanctions imposed by the international community, and dismissed concerns that Tehran could retaliate by striking US soil, saying such a strike was unlikely.

 

“I ve been very clear — we re going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region,” he said.

 

“We have mobilized the international community, in a way that is unprecedented. They are feeling the pinch. They are feeling the pressure,” he said.

 

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for strictly peaceful purposes.

 

On whether Tehran could possibly strike US targets, Obama said: “We don t see any evidence they have those intentions or capabilities.” He added: “Again, our goal is to resolve this diplomatically. That would be preferable. We re not going to take options off the table, though.”

 

Last week, a Washington Post opinion column said US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will strike Iran s nuclear installations this spring.

 

When asked about the newspaper s article by reporters traveling with him to a NATO meeting in Brussels, Panetta brushed it aside.

 

“I m not going to comment on that Israel indicated they re considering this (a strike), we ve indicated our concerns,” he said.

 

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was due in Washington on Monday, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the United States in early March, though a meeting between Netanyahu and Obama was not yet confirmed.

 

In the interview with NBC, Obama cautioned that “any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive. And has a big effect on us. It can affect oil prices.”
 

Karachi: Sacked KESC workers stage protest

During the sit-in organized by terminated workers of the Karachi Electric Supply Company, the security of the head office was tightened and heavy contingents of police have covered the head office building.

 

Despite of imposition of Article 144 in the city, the protesting workers reached to the head office and staged a sit-in for three hours. The protestors demanded to restore them according to the agreement made in the governor house. Two workers also tried to self immolate during the protest.

 

Afterward, labour leader Akhlaq Ahmed announced to call off the protest. However, Akhlaq vowed that their struggle would continue till the restoration of the terminated workers and fulfillment of their demands.
 

Lindsay Lohan: I’m Suing I Was Not Drinking!

Lindsay Lohan is super pissed at the media outlets who wrote a story stating that she was drinking at the SAG Awards after party this weekend. She is threatening to sue every last media outlet that published the story because she says it is a plain out lie.

Sources are stating that she has been exploring what legal rights/options she has with her attorneys because she feels as though the people who published the false story deserve to pay. She feels as though by them telling lies about her they are only sabotaging all of her efforts of saving her career.
Lindsay Lohan, however, does admit that she was partying at the Chateau Marmot hotel in Hollywood on Sunday night yet she claims that she was with Alan Cumming the entire time she was there and the only thing that went down her throat was water.

Also, sources are saying that Lindsay Lohan is also apparently pissed off because reports had been wrote stating that she had been making out with Dennis Hopper’s son Henry. However, while they were there she also supposedly purchased a Red Bull and some Vodka as well – according to the reports anyways.

Be sure to visit trendpk.com where this article was originally published for more celebrity gossip and celebrity news.

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