Pakistan Ambassador calls on Commander of UAE Naval Forces

DUBAI:H.E. Mr. Asif Durrani, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE called on Major General Naval Ibrahim Saleem Mohammad Al Musharrakh, Commander of the UAE Naval Forces at his Office on Thursday. Issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting including training of Naval officers from the UAE. Major General Ibrahim expressed his satisfaction over the strong relations that exist between the Naval Forces of Pakistan and the UAE.
Air Commodore Rizwan Butt, Defence Attaché accompanied the Ambassador in the meeting.

Ireland deports bedoons who tore own passports

KUWAIT: Two bedoon brothers were taken to the Criminal Investigations Department after returning to Kuwait from Ireland where they reportedly headed to seek political asylum. The men tore their article 17 Kuwaiti passports and demanded asylum on the basis that they were subjected to persecution in Kuwait, according to the Irish authorities’ report. The two claimed they had lost their passports, but Irish police took reports of eyewitnesses who said that they saw them tearing their documents. The two were put back on a plane that had brought them from the United Arab Emirates where they had transited after a flight from Kuwait. They arrived at the Kuwait International Airport Tuesday and taken in police’s custody for questioning. A letter was sent to the General Department for Citizenship and Passports in the meantime containing a recommendation to include the two brothers on the blacklist of bedoons not allowed to obtain temporary passports for emergency travel.

Spotrs play an important role in development of personality,Javed Malik

DUBAI: Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Ambassador Javed Malik was the guest of honour alongwith diplomats from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India who were joined by the Chairman of Dubai Cricket Council at the launching ceremony of T-20 Super stars cricket tournament being organized in Dubai under the auspices of Dubai Cricket Council. Sixteen teams would take part in the high profile tournament which also includes *seven teams from Pakistan.


Speaking about the initiative Ambassador Javed Malik said “sports play an important role in connecting people and promoting a sense of healthy interaction aimed at building positive relations between the communities,and therefore we always support such initiatives that bring people together, this is part of diplomacy aimed at building positive relations"he added.

Durrani calls on Commander of UAE Air Force

DUBAHI:Ambassador of Pakistan H.E. Mr. Asif Durrani called on Major General. Ibrahim  Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence at the Air Headquarters. Matters pertaining to close cooperation between the air forces of the two countries and the forthcoming visit of Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of the Air Staff,Pakistan Air Force were discussed during the meeting.
Issues pertaining to training of UAE air force personnel, and joint air exercises also came up for discussion.

Putin congratulates Assad on Independence Day

DAMASCUS (SANA) President Bashar al-Assad received Wednesday a letter from the Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulating him on the Evacuation (Independence) Day.

President Putin said he is confident that a continued bolstering of traditional friendly relations between Russia and Syria and the constructive bilateral cooperation will help ensure stability and security in the Middle East.

President Putin wished President al-Assad health and success and the Syrian people peace and wellbeing.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr. Wael al-Halqi received a letter from his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, congratulating him on the occasion.

Medvedev said he is sure that a continued consolidating of mutual, multi-faceted ties between Syria and Russia and developing cooperation of mutual benefits in the trade, economic, scientific, artistic and cultural fields serves the interests of the two friendly nations.

Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, for his part, received a congratulation letter from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. In his letter, Lavrov expressed confidence that the Syrian people can overcome ordeals, restore security and stability and lay the groundwork of prosperity for all citizens in a strong, democratic and undivided state.

Lavrov said that he highly appreciates close cooperation between Russia and Syria on all regional and international issues, affirming that Russia will continue to fully back the inter-Syrian dialogue and work to prevent external meddling in the affairs of the sovereign Syrian state.

Egypt police attack students at al-Azhar University

Egyptian riot police have attacked supporters of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, at Cairo’s al-Azhar University.

Security forces used buckshot and tear gas to disperse the protesters at the university, which has been a common site of unrest in recent months.Dozens of protesting students were injured and several others bussed to detention centers.

Spokesmen for student protesters have claimed security forces fired live rounds at them.Violent clashes have been also reported in other universities in the cities of Zagazig and Asyut.

Armed men under the protection of security forces have reportedly attacked the protesters, causing injuries.The fierce clashes at university campuses have been the latest in a new wave of bloody crackdown against anti-military students.

Also on Wednesday, an Egyptian court sentenced nearly 120 supporters of Muslim Brotherhood to three years in jail each.The latest developments come after Egypt's former defense minister, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, officially submitted his bid to run for president.

Sisi led the overthrow of Morsi, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament in July last year. He is also accused of leading a severe crackdown against the supporters of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.Egyptian military-installed interim officials have mounted a heavy-handed crackdown on Morsi supporters and members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Give us a clear majority: Modi

RATLAM,INDIA:The BJP prime ministerial candidate appealed to youth to give BJP 300 seats for a secure future Vowing to let no ‘Hand’ — the Congress symbol — near the union exchequer, Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi asked supporters in Ratlam on Wednesday to give a clear majority to “the only party whose goal is development and to change people’s lives.” Mr. Modi lauded the voters of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for voting his party to power for a third time.

“If Bantadhar (spoilsport, a slur on former CM Digvijaya Singh) had remained in MP, then what would have been the plight of your lives? The same spoilsport politics that made MP a BIMARU (backward) state has also destroyed India. MP finished off the spoilsport. Now it is your task to finish off the spoilsport in Delhi,” he said.

He added that during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime the Congress controlled all forms of government from “panchayats to parliament” and there was no sign of the BJP. “He (Gandhi) had then said that for every rupee sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reach villages. Which Hand scrubbed the rupee into 15 paise... I shall not let any Hand come near the treasury in Delhi,” he said.

Mr. Modi asked voters below 28 years of age to ensure his party getting a clear majority. “This is the most important age of your lives,” he said comparing the life period of 18 to 28 years to one’s intermediate exams. “If there is a useless government at the centre then your lives will be destroyed... The elders will ensure a BJP victory for sure, but you need to see to it that we get 300 seats to form a strong government.”