‘Ali Baba 40 thieves joined govt to rob country: Shahbaz

Talking to the media, the chief minister said that the Ali Baba 40 thieves are now planning to grab billions of rupees of EOBI, adding that accused of NICL, Punjab Bank, rental power and Hajj scandals were also active now. He stated that no corruption would be tolerated in the Punjab. He stated that PM Gilani and Raza Rabbani wanted to transfer ministries to the provinces but some non-democratic elements were creating hurdles.

He said that the federation owe Rs 70 billion to the provinces.

The CM also test-drove the vehicles to be provided under the yellow cab scheme. He selected green colour for the scheme cabs. Shahbaz also directed the representative of the company to improve the quality of the vehicles.

Canada dissolves parliament, election set for May 2

OTTAWA: A general election will beheld in Canada on May 2, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Saturday after his minority Conservative government was brought down on a non confidence vote in Parliament the day before.

Opposition parties toppled Harper on Friday on the grounds that his government was tainted by sleaze, had managed the economy poorly and was in contempt of Parliament. Polls show the right-of-center Conservatives are set to retain power in what will be Canada”s fourth election in less than seven years.

Harper, in power since 2006 with two successive minority governments, says Canada does not need an election at a time when economic recovery is still fragile.

“Against our advice, the opposition parties have chosen to force an election the country doesn’t want and the economy doesn’t need,” he told reporters.

Harper spoke after visiting Governor General David Johnston– the representative of Queen Elizabeth, Canada”s head of state — to seek the dissolution of Parliament.

The prime minister says that unless the Conservatives get a majority, the three opposition parties will form what he calls an unstable and reckless coalition.

Michael Ignatieff, leader of the main opposition Liberal Party, issued a statement on Saturday saying he would not form a coalition with other parties. (Reuters)

Suspect in Arizona Shooting Spree Appears in Court

PHOENIX, Arizona: A troubled 22-year-old college dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head.

His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said in a strong voice he understood the charges against him involving a shooting spree in Tucson on Saturday that left six people dead and 14 others wounded.

The bloody rampage — at an event Giffords hosted for constituents — has fueled debate about whether heated rhetoric seen in recent political campaigns can lead to violence.

President Barack Obama, who stressed unity after the shootings, plans to go to Arizona on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the dead, who included a federal judge, a 9-year-old girl and one of Giffords’ young aides.

Last year, Giffords had warned that angry campaign talk had prompted violent threats against her and vandalism at her office.

A police mug shot taken of Loughner after his arrest and released on Monday shows the accused killer, who faces a possible death sentence, smiling broadly.

At his court appearance, Loughner’s lawyer waived a detention hearing. Federal Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson ordered Loughner held, calling him a danger to the community.

The judge scheduled a January 24 preliminary hearing.

Having survived a shot to the head at point-blank range, Giffords, a popular 40-year-old Democrat, remained in critical condition at a Tucson hospital.

Lawmakers Plead Their Cases About Fake, Invalid Degrees

trendpk: Twelve lawmakers including their counsels on Monday appeared before the special committee of Election Commission of Pakistan and pleaded their cases about fake and invalid degrees.

The hearing regarding fake/invalid degrees of twelve Senators, MNAs and MPAs held under the chairmanship of ECP’s nominated officer Muhammad Afzal Khan.

The representative of Higher Education Commission Rahim Bux Channa was also present, said a press release issued here.

Barrister S.M. Zafar appeared on behalf of Senator Wali Muhammad Badini and pleaded that at the time of filing of nomination papers of his client, the condition of graduation was not required and requested to close the case.

Mazhar Hayat,MNA appeared in person and presented all documents including copies of University Card, Evaluation Reports, Passport, and list of participants of Convocation ceremony.

The committee asked him to provide a set of his complete documents with written reply along with an affidavit and adjourned the case till December 28.

Khalifa Abdul Qayyum Khan, MPA (PK-64) appeared in person and presented all his educational documents.

The Committee informed him that the name of the Madrassah, from where he got his education, is not included in the list of ten Maddaris degrees of which have been declared equivalent to graduation by the HEC. He was, therefore, asked to submit his written reply along with an affidavit and the case was adjourned till 20th December 2010.

For Nasim Nasir Khawaja, her representative Ms. Rozina Naveed appeared and pleaded that due to some technical errors in her reply, they could not submit it before the Committee, therefore, the case may be adjourned.

The Committee informed her about the allegations and advised her to submit credible documents in her defence on December 20 otherwise her case will be closed and placed before the Chief Election Commissioner.

For Syeda Majida Zaidi MPA, (PP-Reserved), Muhammad Imran Advocate appeared and sought adjournment for submission of written reply. The committee fixed December 20 as final date of hearing.

For Yar Muhammad Rind, MPA (PB-31), Sardar Addul Razzaq Khan Advocate appeared and pleaded that a petition had been filed in the Lahore High Court and Justice Sagheer Ahmad Qadri is hearing the case on December 22 and therefore sought adjournment.The Committee advised him to submit written reply in support of his contention and the case was fixed for December 28.

Rana Jehanzeb Akhtar Advocate appeared on behalf of Ms. Saima Aziz, MPA (PP-Reserved) and informed that his senior Barrister Rafiq Rijwana could not reach Islamabad to plead the case; therefore, the case may be adjourned.Her next date of hearing is in office.

Muhammad Imran Advocate appeared in the case of Ms. Samina Khawar Hayat, MPA (PP-Reserved) and requested for adjournment. The Committee fixed December 20 as next date of hearing.

A representative, Inamullah appeared on behalf of Sardar Ali, MPA (PK-34). The Committee informed him that the second degree submitted by him has also been declared bogus by the University of Peshawar. The representative requested for issuance of notice to the Controller of Examination of the University of Peshawar to produce the record before the Committee. The Committee decided to ask the Controller of Examination to produce record on December 28 and advised the representative to ask Mr. Sardar Ali to appear before the Committee in person on the same date.

An Advocate,Tariq Khokhar appeared on behalf of Mir Humayun Aziz Kurd, MNA (NA-267) and pleaded that the degree of his client is invalid but not fake. No criminal proceedings can be initiated against his client as no mala fide intention was involved. The Committee advised him to provide documentary proof in support of his contention and also submit an affidavit/written reply to proceed further in the matter. The Committee fixed December 28 as next date of hearing.

In the case of Ijaz Ahmad MPA, (PP-209) his advocate Raja Jehanzeb Akhtar appeared and pleaded that he had already submitted written reply in the case with the contention that the degree of his client is quite genuine and issued by a recognized institution. He relied upon a judgment of Division Bench of Lahore High Court dated September 11 in the case of Ihsan-ud-Din Qureshi and others. The Committee informed him that the degree was issued by the institution itself which was not authorized to issue degree. His next date of hearing is in office.

Chakwal by-polls: Polling underway at NA-61

Polling is continued for the seat NA-61 at Chakwal, Dunya News reported on Wednesday.
The constituents of NA 61, Chakwal-II, will elect one of the two Tamans: Sardar Mansoor Hayat Taman and Sardar Mumtaz Taman as their representative in the National Assembly.
A tough contest is expected between these two candidates.
This constituency is dominated by Awans who use Taman as their sir name and got popularity in the last general election as the then Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had lost election to a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Sardar Faiz Taman.
The situation is very interesting in the constituency this time, as Malik Mansoor Hayat Taman, who always contested election on the PML-N ticket, is an independent candidate.
There are 395,039 registered voters in this constituency and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set up 363 polling stations. Out of 363 polling stations, 231 are established for combined polling while 66 each are established for men and women. The total number of polling booths is 775, out of this 391 are reserved for men and 384 for women.
The ECP has appointed 363 presiding officers while the number of polling officers and assistant presiding officers is 775 each. The poling will continue till 5pm.

US congressmen seeks explanation from Facebook

WASHINGTON: Two members of the US Congress have asked Facebook to explain how applications transmitted information about users to advertising and Web tracking companies in violation of the social network’s rules.

Representative Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, and Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, asked Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to reply to 18 questions about what they called a “privacy breach.”

Facebook on Monday acknowledged that some popular third-party applications had passed on user identification (UID) information but played down the privacy implications.

“Nevertheless, we are committed to ensuring that even the inadvertent passing of UIDs is prevented and all applications are in compliance with our policy,” Facebook engineer Mike Vernal said in a blog post.

“Our policy is very clear about protecting user

World Teachers Day marked in Islamabad

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: A large number of students from private schools held a walk in the federal capital to mark World Teachers Day on Tuesday.

The walk was led by Dr. Warren Mellor, UNESCO’s Director and Representative in Pakistan.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Mellor said that the presence of better teachers, along with modern facilities is vital for the growth of education sector. SAMAA

Lahore: Blackcoats, police get rough

Police on Saturday resorted to aerial firing and baton-charged the lawyers bent upon taking out a rally to protest yesterdays mishandling of some lawyers by the cops .
The clash between cops and lawyers entered second day. Section 144 was also imposed for stopping the lawyers to take out the rally, however, the black coats defied it to press their demands.
Rowdy lawyers threw stones on policemen and were seen damaging police vehicles. Policemen were brutally manhandled by some lawyers, as some were dragged out of police mobiles and beaten up.
The lawyers also tortured media personnel covering the event. Camera men and reporters of various news channels and papers were reportedly injured as a result.
Police in response resorted to baton charge and aerial firing to disperse the protesting lawyers. Several lawyers and poliemen have been reported to have gotten injured in the clashes.
During the Fridays clash one dozen lawyers received severe injuries and four police officials also got wounded as the protesting lawyers pelted the cops with empty glass bottles. The police arrested more then 30 lawyers including two female ones and confined them in different police stations of the City.
On Thursday, the police had arrested a good number of lawyers when they tried to storm the Lahore High Court chief justice courtroom. Some protesting lawyers also broke windowpanes of the courtroom, however, the representative bodies of the lawyers denied such allegations saying some other persons broke the same as they knew well the importance and sanctity of courts and law. On Friday, the lawyers first held a meeting in the civil courts bar room under the chair of vice president Saeeda Lubna, and then tried to come out on the road outside Aiwan-e-Adl for taking out the rally against the arrests of lawyers on Thursday, and the Punjab governments decision for arresting the lawyers who chanted anti-LHC CJ slogans.
The police entered the bar room and brutally tortured some of the lawyers who could not manage to escape. They were dragged outside the room by the cops as a result of which one female lawyer received severe injures on her leg. The police threw tear gas inside the court premises for dispersing the furious lawyers.

Police exacerbating situation: Hamid Khan
Senior Lawyer Hamid Khan, while talking to Dunya News, alleged police of exacerbating the matter. Deploring the police-lawyers clash, he maintained that some lawyers were acting nasty on the behest of the government. He stated that imposition of section 144 was not a sane decision.

Troublemakers disguised as lawyers: Justice (r) Wajihuddin
Justice Wajihuddin said that some nasty elements, in the guise of lawyers, are resorting to violence to create chaos.
He said that such elements are also present in the police force. He said that the group of lawyers that banned the entry of senior lawyers in the Bar is working at the behest of the government.

Lahore: Blackcoats, police get rough

Police on Saturday resorted to aerial firing and baton-charged the lawyers bent upon taking out a rally to protest yesterdays mishandling of some lawyers by the cops .
The clash between cops and lawyers entered second day. Section 144 was also imposed for stopping the lawyers to take out the rally, however, the black coats defied it to press their demands.
Rowdy lawyers threw stones on policemen and were seen damaging police vehicles. Policemen were brutally manhandled by some lawyers, as some were dragged out of police mobiles and beaten up.
The lawyers also tortured media personnel covering the event. Camera men and reporters of various news channels and papers were reportedly injured as a result.
Police in response resorted to baton charge and aerial firing to disperse the protesting lawyers. Several lawyers and poliemen have been reported to have gotten injured in the clashes.
During the Fridays clash one dozen lawyers received severe injuries and four police officials also got wounded as the protesting lawyers pelted the cops with empty glass bottles. The police arrested more then 30 lawyers including two female ones and confined them in different police stations of the City.
On Thursday, the police had arrested a good number of lawyers when they tried to storm the Lahore High Court chief justice courtroom. Some protesting lawyers also broke windowpanes of the courtroom, however, the representative bodies of the lawyers denied such allegations saying some other persons broke the same as they knew well the importance and sanctity of courts and law. On Friday, the lawyers first held a meeting in the civil courts bar room under the chair of vice president Saeeda Lubna, and then tried to come out on the road outside Aiwan-e-Adl for taking out the rally against the arrests of lawyers on Thursday, and the Punjab governments decision for arresting the lawyers who chanted anti-LHC CJ slogans.
The police entered the bar room and brutally tortured some of the lawyers who could not manage to escape. They were dragged outside the room by the cops as a result of which one female lawyer received severe injures on her leg. The police threw tear gas inside the court premises for dispersing the furious lawyers.

Police exacerbating situation: Hamid Khan
Senior Lawyer Hamid Khan, while talking to Dunya News, alleged police of exacerbating the matter. Deploring the police-lawyers clash, he maintained that some lawyers were acting nasty on the behest of the government. He stated that imposition of section 144 was not a sane decision.

Troublemakers disguised as lawyers: Justice (r) Wajihuddin
Justice Wajihuddin said that some nasty elements, in the guise of lawyers, are resorting to violence to create chaos.
He said that such elements are also present in the police force. He said that the group of lawyers that banned the entry of senior lawyers in the Bar is working at the behest of the government.

India promoting terrorism in region, Pakistan tells world

Pakistan on Thursday said that India is promoting terror elements in countries bordering it including Pakistan and occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Dunya News reported.
Pakistans Deputy Permanent Representative at UN Amjad Hussain Sial while addressing the General Assembly maintained: India was the only country, which raised the worlds most formidable terrorist outfit but despite its self-conduct, it is now teaching the world a lesson of peace, morality and unity. He said even in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK), the sole foreign involvement seen is Indias growing interstate terrorism activities.
The South Asian region can never brace for permanent peace unless Kashmiri people win their right of self-determination.He said by driving Pakistan into terrorism, India always wants to distract worlds attention from her sixty-year long worst interstate terrorism activities in Kashmir.
Amjad Sial said Kashmiris peaceful efforts for freedom from Indian occupation speak volume for their right of self-determination.Pakistan wants resolution of all longstanding issues with India through dialogue, he concluded.

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