Lahore: Main procession initiating from Nisar Haveli is on its way

The main Muharram procession which initiates from Nisar Haveli, Lahore is still ongoing and strict security measures have been ensured along the route of this procession.

This procession of 9th and 10th Muharram was originated from Nisar Haveli at 9.30 pm and thousands of mourners are participating in it. Water and milk stands for the mourners have been placed at various points on the route of this procession. This procession will reach Rang Mahal during afternoon where prayers will be offered. After which this procession will continue its journey till it ends at Karbala Gamay Shah at Namaz-e-Maghrib. According to CCPO Lahore, more than 20,000 policemen have been deployed along the route of this procession.

Iran: UN watchdog misinterpreted Tehran tests

TEHRAN: Iran’s atomic energy chief says the U.

More: 
Iran: UN watchdog misinterpreted Tehran tests

Thousands honor slain aid ship activists in Turkey

ISTANBUL: Mourners in Istanbul hoisted coffins above their heads to cheers of God is great! Thursday to honor activists slain during an Israel commando raid, as Israel rejected demands for an international panel to investigate its deadly seizure of an Gaza-bound aid ship.

Original post:
Thousands honor slain aid ship activists in Turkey

bangkok

Thai Soldiers Fire Tear Gas at Protesters
Thai soldiers fired tear gas and water cannons at antigovernment protesters gathering on the outskirts of Bangkok, according to local television, as authorities appeared to ratchet up their efforts to reassert law and order around the city.
There were no immediate reports of injuries at the site, an operations station for Thaicom Public Co., Thailand’s sole private satellite operator. Antigovernment protesters marched to the site, in a province just outside Bangkok, on Friday after the government shut down a satellite television operation used by the protest leaders to communicate with supporters.

Footage of the incident was broadcast live on other Thai television channels, including TNN, a private Thai cable television station. Some protesters were seen running across the grounds as smoke collected around them. Others were seen merely walking around the site.

The protesters — many of whom are followers of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup four years ago — have vowed to continue disrupting Bangkok until the government agrees to dissolve Parliament and call new elections. The current, anti-Thaksin government has said it isn’t ready to call elections soon but might do so at the end of the year.

kyrgyz

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Crowds gathered in the center of this traumatized capital city on Friday for a memorial to the scores of people who died this week in deadly protests that forced the president to flee the capital. In front of looted and burned government buildings, they demanded that the president formally resign, though he has insisted that he would not.
“We are hungry but proud, and we will never back down,” said one of the mourners, a 50-year-old teacher named Ishenbek Ashirov, 50, who was standing near piles of flowers that marked the places where antigovernment demonstrators were shot on Wednesday.

People held impromptu prayer services near bloodstains still visible on the pavement. Light posts were riddled with bullet holes from the violence that broke out after riot police opened fire on thousands of people who were protesting what they termed the repressive rule of the Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

The police attack provoked a fierce backlash, and the demonstrators soon overwhelmed the officers and took control of key government buildings. By late in the day on Wednesday, Mr. Bakiyev had fled, and the opposition had effectively taken control of the capital. Officials said at least 68 people died and more than 400 were wounded in the fighting.

“Kyrgyzstan now has a unique chance to try to build a democracy for the second time,” said one of the mourners, Ravil Bikeyev, 57, a businessman, referring to the so-called Tulip Revolution of 2005, which carried Mr. Bakiyev into office. President Bakiyev had promised to allow democracy to flourish in Kyrgyzstan, only to become what human rights groups called an increasingly repressive autocrat.

“The first time, we failed, and Bakiyev usurped all the power,” Mr. Bikeyev said.

President Bakiyev’s whereabouts were unknown on Friday, but the protesters said he had to be dealt with harshly.

“He is now seeking guarantees for his life, and the lives of his children,” said Demir Kadyrkulov, 42. If Mr. Bakiyev returns, it will be “blood for blood. People will tear him to pieces.”

The United State Embassy in Bishkek said on Friday that it was closed to the public, but remained operational. The embassy said in a statement that it had moved some personnel and their families to the large American military base on the outskirts of the city, though it would not evacuate them from the country.

“We continue to urge calm and nonviolence,” the embassy said. “We are in active discussions with all parties to encourage peaceful and orderly behavior.”

On Thursday, the transition government in Kyrgyzstan declared that it was in charge, but the president issued veiled threats that suggested the country could face renewed instability.

Thursday’s events were dominated by two compelling and contrary figures in Kyrgyz politics: the interim leader, Roza Otunbayeva, a bespectacled former diplomat who once taught Marxist-Leninist theory before embracing Western mores; and President Bakiyev, the streetwise president, who has long been steeped in the country’s clan rivalries and boasted in an interview last year that he feared “absolutely nothing.”

Ms. Otunbayeva, 59, took the stage first, calling a news conference with her opposition colleagues to issue a series of directives that she said would calm the country. “You can call this a revolution. You can call this a people’s revolt,” she said. “Either way, it is our way of saying that we want justice and democracy.”

Like her colleagues at the news conference, Ms. Otunbayeva — who once backed Mr. Bakiyev before breaking with him early in his tenure — urged the president to acknowledge that he was through and to resign.

But a few hours later, Mr. Bakiyev, 60, emerged to make clear that he had no intention of doing so.

Mr. Bakiyev left the capital on Wednesday after thousands of opposition protesters, infuriated by rising utility costs and a government they saw as repressive and corrupt, seized control of important government buildings, including the television stations.

On Thursday, he issued a statement saying that the opposition was solely responsible for the violence the day before. Then he gave an interview to a radio station in Moscow in which he maintained that he had widespread support among the Kyrgyz people, though he conceded that he no longer commanded the government.

7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala

: 7 million Shia mourners pour into Karbala, Hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims have poured into Iraq’s holy city of Karbala, ignoring government warnings that they could be targets of bomb attacks.
Pilgrims from around the world have made their way to the city, 80km south of Baghdad, to mark the religious rite of Arbaeen, which culminates today. Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh century battle in Karbala. Around 30,000 troops and police have been deployed to protect pilgrims. Mohammed al-Moussawi, the head of the provincial council, estimated that seven million pilgrims had visited the city in the past 10 days, including from regional countries and Iran. He said motorbike-propelled carts had been banned from the city. Twenty-five medical teams and 10 mobile clinics have been deployed with 65 ambulances on call. Two units of counter-terrorism forces have been sent to the city from Baghdad.

---

7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 10:40 am.

Google And NSA

Google And NSA, The Washington Post is reporting that internet search giant Google, and America’s electronic security agency, the NSA, will be teaming up to analyze data from the recent cyber attack that is believed to have originated from China. Neither the NSA nor Google is commenting on the partnership, however the Post has an anonymous source who claims, “the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications.” The Post went on to say, “the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.” What do you think? Does the thought of the NSA working with Google make you feel more secure?

---

Google And NSA was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 9:37 am.

7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala

: 7 million Shia mourners pour into Karbala, Hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims have poured into Iraq’s holy city of Karbala, ignoring government warnings that they could be targets of bomb attacks.
Pilgrims from around the world have made their way to the city, 80km south of Baghdad, to mark the religious rite of Arbaeen, which culminates today. Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh century battle in Karbala. Around 30,000 troops and police have been deployed to protect pilgrims. Mohammed al-Moussawi, the head of the provincial council, estimated that seven million pilgrims had visited the city in the past 10 days, including from regional countries and Iran. He said motorbike-propelled carts had been banned from the city. Twenty-five medical teams and 10 mobile clinics have been deployed with 65 ambulances on call. Two units of counter-terrorism forces have been sent to the city from Baghdad.

---

7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 10:40 am.