DR Congo president’s aide killed in plane crash

 

A close aide to DR Congo President Joseph Kabila was killed and the country s finance minister seriously injured in a plane crash on Sunday in the east of the country, the president s office said.

 

The statement identified Kabila s aide as Augustin Katumba Mwanke, 48, considered a key member of Kabila s entourage, who had the ear of the president.

 

Finance Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo was in a serious condition, while Sud-Kivu governor Marcellin Tshisambo had suffered fractures in both legs, said an airport official.

 

The plane overshot the runway at Bukavu airport, the president s office said.

 

“There were three killed: two American crew members and one passenger,” Mwanke, a Bukavu airport official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that there had been eight passengers on the aircraft.

 

Mwanke and the pilot “died on the spot,” a source at the presidency said.

 

The twin-engine Gulfstream 200 had flown in from the capital Kinshasa via Goma and apparently missed its landing at Bukavu airport, in the vast country s east.

 

“It touched down only halfway down the runway and went skidding into a ditch beyond the runway. The plane is damaged,” the airport official said.
 

People being misled in the name of change: Governor Khosa

TrendPK.com

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Latif Khosa on Sunday said that some people were misleading the nation in the name of change.

Addressing a large public gathering in Sialkot today (Sunday), Governor Khosa said the real change was brought about by late PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Speaking on this occasion, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said conspiracies are being hatched against the PPP government from the very first day. The PPP, she said, came into power through power of people.

Criticizing Shahbaz Sharif, she said Punjab Chief Minister had to close its Food Program due to corruption.

The minister said the government would be held accountable in the court of public. TrendPK

Jails not new for PPP ‘Jialas’, says Firdous

While addressing the inauguration ceremony of NADRA office and the passport office at a village Kobey in the suburb of Sialkot, Minister for Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said that accountability, penalty and prize are the rights of the masses. The PPP stands first among giving sacrifices for the sake of democracy, she said.

 

She expressed that the government is taking concrete steps to overcome energy and gas crisis. She also has had a meeting with delegation comprising members from Chamber of Commerce, Dry Port Association and Surgical Association of Sialkot who called on Information Minister and Governor Punjab Sardar Muhammad Latif Khosa today.

 

The delegation was led by Chairman Chamber of Commerce Naeem Anwaar Qureshi and Chairman Dry Port Association Saddique Ishaq Butt.She announced that one more gas pipeline is being laid down from Wazirabad to Sialkot to resolve the problem of gas shortage in the city.

 

“We are focusing to generate electricity from hydel power which is cheaper and also directed provinces to initiate small projects to overcome the energy crisis”, she said.

 

Around 2000 megawatt electricity would be produced through the factories’ wastes which would also help resolve the issue.

 

Keeping in view the energy crisis, she informed that an energy conference would be arranged in Lahore soon.
Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Ahmad Khosa said that some people were hatching conspiracies to derail the system of democracy but such tactics would be foiled.

 

He said that the people claiming for change were actually committing forgery and fraud in the name of rule of law.
Commenting on next budget, he said the delegation that the upcoming budget would be people and business friendly.
The suggestions would be sought from Chamber of Commerce, Dry Port Association and Surgical Association in this regard which would be incorporated while planning the budget.

 

Latif Khosa said the country cannot progress until the government extend the tax net.

 

The government is taking concrete steps to overcome prevailing energy crisis in the country.

 

The delegation said 251 million dollars export is being made from Sialkot annually while the local industry is providing job opportunities to 0.4 million people.

 

PPP’s real court is masses and some elements are trying to halt the Senate polls with their threats, she said.

NATO airstile killed eight children: Karzai

 

A NATO airstrike killed eight children in Afghanistan s Kapisa province, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday.

 

The president “strongly condemned the aerial bombing by foreign troops that killed a number of children in Nejrab district” northeast of Kabul on Wednesday, said a statement from his office.

 

“Based on information by (the) provincial governor, as a result of an air strike conducted on February 8 in Geyawa village in Nejrab district of Kapisa province, eight children were killed,” the statement said.

 

Karzai had assigned a delegation “to launch an all-out probe into the NATO bombing”, it added.

 

A NATO spokesman said he could “confirm there has been a situation. A joint assessment team went there to identify the situation”.

 

The Afghan president, who has a strained relationship with his Western allies, has regularly condemned NATO for civilian deaths in the decade-long war against Taliban insurgents fighting to overthrow him.

 

A record number civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2011 — the fifth straight year the death toll has risen, the United Nations reported last week.

 

A total of 3,021 civilians died — mostly at the hands of insurgents — up eight percent from 2,790 in 2010, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its annual report.

 

Taliban-led insurgents caused 77 percent of the deaths last year, up 14 percent from 2010, while pro-government forces were responsible for killing 410 civilians — 14 percent of the total, the report said.

 

Most deaths attributed to NATO forces were a result of attacks from the air, but there was an overall decline of four percent in the number of civilians killed by pro-government forces, the report said.
 

Sri Lankan President to visit Pakistan on Friday

 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa will leave for Pakistan on February 10 for a two-day official visit, the President Media Unit said.

 

He will be visiting Pakistan on an invitation of Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, in return for Zardari s visit to Sri Lanka in 2010.

 

During his two day visit, President Rajapaksa will meet President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

 

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral and several other ministers and top government officials are also expected to accompany the President during his visit to Pakistan.

 

Pakistan has been a close ally of Sri Lanka during the 2004 tsunami and war on LTTE providing technical expertise, training and military equipment. The two countries have long-standing cordial bilateral relations and have been actively
 

Suicide attack kills 3 in Afhganistan

 

A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO armoured vehicle in the southern Afghan city of Lashkar Gah on Thursday, killing at least three civilians and wounding 31 others, an official said.

 

“A suicide attacker detonated his Toyota sedan vehicle loaded with explosives on an armoured vehicle,” Daoud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the Helmand provincial governor said.

 

The bomber struck near the education department in the capital of Helmand.

 

A child was among the dead and several women and children were wounded, he said, adding that the death toll could increase.

 

The commander of the Afghan forces coordination center in the province, Mohammad Ismail Hotak, said “30 Afghan civilians have been taken to hospital in Lashkar Gah.

 

“At the site of the blast, some vehicles were destroyed and some others caught fire,” he said.

 

British and Danish troops with NATO s 130,000 strong International Security Assistance force operate in Helmand, a focus of attacks by Taliban insurgents.
 

Khosa flays Shahbaz for holding several portfolios

 

Talking to media after a function at University of Animal Sciences Lahore, Latif Khosa said that more than 100 deaths in PIC medicines reaction was a big tragedy but the Punjab CM does not like to discuss the issue.

 

He added that the federal government has directed FIA to probe into the issue so that the provincial government may not term the centre responsible for the tragedy.

 

The Punjab Governor said this is beyond understanding why the Punjab CM is holding so many portfolios when he cannot administer them properly.
 

Gas price hike challenged in SHC

TrendPK.com
KARACHI: The recently hiked prices of the gas have been challenged in Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday.

The petition has pleaded the court to make as respondents the federal government, Chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the federal petroleum minister, MD Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

The petitioner said the raise in gas prices is an additional burden on the people and it will unleash a new wave price hike; hence, the hike should be withdrawn. TrendPK

Protests in Rawalpindi, Islamabad as CNG strike continues

TrendPK.com

Rawalpindi: The CNG dealers continued their strike in Punjab, including Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday, triggering protests in various cities, TrendPK reports.

Chairman CNG Owners Association accused government of unfair distribution of the fuel while Secretary Petroleum Ministry claims petroleum prices were raised after consultation with CNG dealers.

The dealers rejected raise in gas prices, saying it would put an extra burden on the masses who were already groaning under inflation.

CNG dealers in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad went on an indefinite strike on Sunday at the end of the three-day weekly closure, shutting down filling stations in Punjab and Potohar region.

The strike was observed against latest increase in prices and ban on provision of CNG to public transport vehicles with kits installed on the rooftops or beneath the seats.

The closure multiplied miseries of commuters as they were faced the worst situation, prompting protest demonstrations in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and other cities.

Hundreds of protestors, including transporters and traders, gathered at Adiyala road of Rawalpindi and staged protest demonstration, shutting down markets and business activities.

In Islamabad, the trader community suspended business activities in the federal capital where hundreds of people took to roads in protest against the CNG closure. They urged the government to withdraw the recent increase in prices for both CNG and domestic consumers.

Long queues of vehicles were seen outside filling stations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with local residents criticizing both the government and filling station owners for closing supply for five days running.

The government has directed CNG station owners in Punjab to shut down filling stations for six hours a day.

Sources said the decision was taken by Sui Northern Gas Company. In the first phase, they said, it would be implemented in Lahore and Sheikhupura where the fuel supply to gas stations would be suspended for three hours in morning and evening, 6 pm to 9 pm. — TrendPK

Over 600 CNG stations closed in KP

TrendPK.com

PESHAWAR: In protest against current hike in fuel prices and other government steps, the CNG Owners Association on Monday shut down more than 600 filling stations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, TrendPK reports.

They said the stations were closed in connection with the indefinite strike against raise in petroleum prices, low gas pressure at filling stations, import of CNG cylinders and ban on fixing CNG kits in commercial vehicles.

The strike came after a three-day closure of CNG stations in Punjab and Balochistan provinces where filling station owners observed shut down on Sunday, creating innumerable problems for commuters and ruining the business of transporters. TrendPK

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