Bomb believed made to explode on plane-UK’s Cameron

LONDON: A bomb found on a U.S.-bound cargo plane in Britain is believed to have been designed to explode on the plane, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday.

“We believe the device was designed to go off on the aeroplane. We cannot be sure about the timing when that was meant to take place,” Cameron told reporters at his Chequers country residence outside London.

“There is no early evidence it was designed to take place over British soil but of course we cannot rule that out,” he said after the bomb was found on Friday at Britain’s East Midlands airport.

“I’ve also spoken to President (Ali Abdullah) Saleh of the Yemen making the point that we have to do even more to crack down and cut out the cancer of al Qaeda in Yemen and the Arabian peninsula,” he said. AGENCIES

UK prime minister’s father dies in France

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron’s father died on Wednesday after falling ill during a holiday in southern France.

Conservative leader Cameron had flown to his 77-year-old father Ian’s hospital bedside earlier on Wednesday after the former stockbroker suffered a stroke and heart problems.

The prime minister, who returned to work only this week from paternity leave, will remain in France overnight with his mother and other close members of the family.

The prime minister’s parents were halfway through a holiday in France when his father suddenly fell ill.

“It is with deep regret we can confirm that Ian Cameron died earlier this afternoon. He passed away shortly after the prime minister arrived at the hospital in France where he was undergoing treatment,” Cameron’s office said in a statement.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy provided

Judge grants Sandra Bullock restraining order

LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles judge has granted Sandra Bullock a restraining order against a man who has a history of stalking the actress and traveled cross-country to try to meet her.

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Judge grants Sandra Bullock restraining order

Cameron, Obama push for Mideast peace talks

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron’s office says he and President Barack Obama agreed on the need for urgency on Middle East peace talks in a telephone conversation.

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Cameron, Obama push for Mideast peace talks

President Zardari faces terror row in Britain

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron defended Tuesday a warning about Pakistani support for terror, as President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Britain vowing to confront the charges head-on.

Zardari — also under fire for continuing a European trip despite deadly floods at home — said he would explain Islamabad”s anger “face to face” after Cameron suggested elements in Pakistan backed “the export of terror.”

The Pakistani leader was also criticised for claiming that the international community is “losing” the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“The war against terrorism must unite us and not oppose us,” Zardari told French newspaper Le Monde, after he met French leaders before starting his visit to Britain, where he will meet Cameron on Friday.

“I will explain face to face that it is my country that is paying the highest price in human life for this war,” he said.

But hours before Zardari”s arrival in London, Cameron stood by the comments he made during a visit to India last week. “I gave a pretty clear and frank answer to a clear and frank question,” he told media.

“I don”t regret that at all,” he said, adding: “We have to work with them to close down the terror networks that are in Pakistan that… have threatened innocent people all over the world.”

Zardari has insisted Islamabad is committed to fighting militants in the region, including in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have waged a fierce insurgency since the US-led invasion drove them from power in 2001.

But he faced US criticism for claiming that the Taliban are winning.

“The international community, to which Pakistan belongs, is losing the war against the Taliban. This is above all because we have lost the battle to win hearts and minds,” he told Le Monde.

“I think they have no chance of regaining power, but their grip is strengthening,” Zardari said of the hardline Islamist movement.

US President Barack Obama”s office dismissed the comments. “I don”t think that the president would agree with President Zardari”s conclusions that the war is lost,” said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Relations between London and Islamabad soured after Cameron said last week that Britain “cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that (Pakistan) is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror.”

Britain is the second largest troop contributor to a NATO force in Afghanistan which faces daily attacks from Taliban fighters who intelligence analysts say draw operational support and funding from Pakistani agents.

The Pakistani leader is due to meet Cameron at the prime minister”s rural retreat, despite some calls in both countries for him to cancel the visit in protest.

However, Zardari”s office argued that the trip gives Pakistan a chance to make its case, according to a statement on Monday.

Some British parliamentarians of Pakistani origin pulled out of a planned lunch Thursday with Zardari, saying he should be back home sorting out the country”s flood disaster that has affected about 3.2 million people.

“I”m not going to meet with the president because I believe that a head of state needs to be in his country of origin when there”s a state of emergency,” Lord Nazir Ahmed told media.

“He”s out of touch and his advisors are ill-informed.”

In contrast to the tensions surrounding his forthcoming visit to Britain, Zardari”s visit to France appeared free of controversy.

After talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace on Monday, the Pakistani leader vaunted Islamabad”s relationship with France.

“France feels that Pakistan is a responsible partner with them in the world,” Zardari told reporters, adding that Sarkozy had said he would visit Pakistan later in the year.

ISI calls off UK visit

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency has cancelled planned talks with British security experts in protest at British Prime Minister David Cameron’s terror accusations against Pakistan.

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ISI calls off UK visit

Pak ready to face England in 4-test series

NOTTINGHAM, England: Pakistan will begin a four-test series against England on Thursday in the belief that its young side is about to start a new era in the national game.

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Pak ready to face England in 4-test series

Al-Qaida No. 2 slams France veils ban

CAIRO: Al-Qaida’s No.

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Al-Qaida No. 2 slams France veils ban

British PM appeals for trade links on India visit

BANGALORE, India: British Prime Minister David Cameron appealed Wednesday for a new relationship between India and Britain, arguing closer ties could spark both economies, as London agreed for the first time to allow the export of nuclear technology to India.

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British PM appeals for trade links on India visit

Degrees of more lawmakers declared as fake

MULTAN: Bahwaldin Zakaria University on Wednesday declared National Assembly member Salman Mohsin and Punjab Assembly member Waseem Afzals degree as fake.

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Degrees of more lawmakers declared as fake

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