Dozens killed in Pakistani bus crash

© Asif Hassan, AFP | Pakistani volunteers search for survivors inside a burnt out passenger bus after it collided with an oil tanker along the super highway near Karachi early on January 11.

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2015-01-11

At least 57 people including women and children were killed in southern Pakistan when their bus crashed into an oil tanker, igniting a fierce blaze early Sunday, officials said.

Authorities fear the death toll could rise, with most of the bodies burnt beyond recognition. Initial reports said the oil tanker was travelling in the wrong direction along the dilapidated stretch of road, police said.

"We have received more than 57 dead bodies but the death toll may rise as most of them are completely burnt and stuck to each other," Doctor Semi Jamali at Karachi's Jinnah hospital told AFP.

Jamali said the bodies of at least six children were stuck to women who may have been their mothers, adding it was impossible to separate the remains.

"They are beyond recognition, they can only be identified by DNA test," she said.

The overloaded bus, carrying more than 60 passengers, was en route to the town of Shikarpur from the southern port city of Karachi when the collision occurred.

Television channels showed live footage from the fiery crash site where rescue workers were busily evacuating dead bodies and any injured.

Earlier, senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwaar said the bus "hit the oil tanker, which according to initial reports was coming in the wrong direction" and caught fire.

Another senior police official, Aamir Shiekh said an investigation has been launched but it appeared the poor condition of the single track road also contributed to the cause of the accident.

"We are trying to ascertain if the driver of the oil tanker was solely at fault or whether the bus driver also showed negligence," Anwaar said.

A few passengers escaped unhurt after they jumped out of the bus windows, police official Muhammad Jan said.

It was the second major fatal crash in Sindh province in less than three months.

Pope canonises Sri Lanka's first saint

Hundreds of thousands of people attend mass in Colombo as Joseph Vaz, a 17th century missionary, canonised by pope. Last updated: 14 Jan 2015 09:52

Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans have crowded the Colombo seafront as Pope Francis canonised the island's first saint in one of the biggest public gatherings the city has ever witnessed. On Wednesday, Francis conducted a mass on Colombo's Galle Face Green before canonising Joseph Vaz, a 17th century missionary who disguised himself as a beggar, in the first papal visit to the island nation in two decades. It is the highest-profile celebration at the landmark site since former President Mahinda Rajapaksa led a victory parade in 2009 after the end of the country's brutal decades long civil war with Tamil rebels. The pope, who has focused on post-war reconciliation during his visit, said Vaz had shown "the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace", ministering to those in need regardless of their creed. Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country but has significant Hindu, Muslim and Christian minorities, and has witnessed a rise in religious violence in recent years. "Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Each individual must be free, alone or in association with others, to seek the truth, and to openly express his or her religious convictions, free from intimidation and external compulsion," said the pope. Vaz is credited with reviving the Catholic church on the island at a time of religious persecution by Dutch colonisers, giving him a contemporary significance for Sri Lankans. He travelled from village to village ministering to Catholics from both the Tamil and the majority Sinhalese ethnic groups, disguised as a beggar because the Dutch had banned Catholic priests from the island. The Our Lady of Madhu church in the mainly Tamil north provided sanctuary during the war, and is now a pilgrimage destination for Christians from across the ethnic divide. The pope's visit comes just days after an election that exposed bitter divisions on the island and saw the surprise exit of former president Rajapaksa. Around six percent of the mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka's 20-million-strong population is Catholic, including people from both the Tamil minority and the majority Sinhalese ethnic groups.

Source: Agencies

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/southasia/2015/01/pope-canonises-sri-lanka-first-saint-201511453618282611.html

Report: Washington Post bureau chief to stand trial in Iran

Jason Rezaian, held in Iranian prison since July 2014, is indicted on unknown charges, official news agency reports

January 14, 2015 1:51PM ET

by D. Parvaz   @dparvaz

Authorities in Tehran have indicted the Washington Post’s Iran Bureau Chief, Jason Rezaian, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported Wednesday on its Farsi-language website, without specifying what charges he faces or a date for a trial to begin.

Rezaian, an Iranian-American with dual citizenship who has been detained in Iran since July 22, 2014, is set to appear in the country's Revolutionary Court, the report said. No date was mentioned for the trial.

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said that Rezaian's mother had traveled to Iran to meet with her son, along with an Iranian case worker who handles his file.

His brother, Ali Rezaian, told Al Jazeera that the indictment was not entirely unexpected, and that he expected a court date to be set within the next two weeks.

"It's part of the process ... they've been going through their legal process very slowly," Ali said by phone from Istanbul, where he was visiting their mother, Mary Rezaian.

He said his brother has not yet been allowed to meet with an attorney, to view his file or to review the evidence against him.

"The biggest concern is his mental health,” Ali Rezaian said. “He's now been held longer than any other Western journalist ... nearly six months."

New Delhi bans Uber after rape allegations

Latest update : 2014-12-09

Transportation authorities in the Indian capital of New Delhi on Monday banned Uber after a female passenger was allegedly raped by one of the online taxi service’s drivers, according to media reports.

"(The) Transport Department has banned all activities relating to providing any transport service by the www.Uber.com with immediate effect," news agency AFP reported, quoting from a government statement.

The ban came days after a 25-year-old woman said she was raped by a driver hired through the popular mobile app. Police said a medical examination had backed up her allegation. The driver of the taxi was arrested on Sunday.

Friday's alleged sexual attack has dealt a major blow to the reputation of the San Francisco-based company, which operates in dozens of countries.

The company claims to put passengers' safety first and has said it was cooperating with the police investigations into the incident.

Earlier Monday, the company sent a text message in Hindi to its drivers telling them to stand together “in these difficult times” and promising that, “Uber is not going anywhere,” according to the leadingNDTV station.

But within hours, Delhi authorities had “blacklisted” the company for “misleading customers”, a transportation official told local reporters.

Peshawar school massacre challenges Pakistan's squabbling leaders

Analysis: Pakistani Taliban attack highlights security challenges facing politicians locked in ceaseless power struggles

December 16, 2014 9:35AM ET

by Omar Waraich

The massacre of more than 100 children at an army-run school in Peshawar has highlighted the continued vulnerability of Pakistan’s civilians to ruthless acts by the local Taliban in retaliation to military operations against the extremist group. An attack that may well rank as the most distressing, even by the morbid standards of a country scarred by repeated extremist atrocities over the past decade, has exposed not only security weaknesses, but also a Pakistani political leadership distracted by partisan infighting.   

Responsibility for the attack was immediately claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, also known by the acronym TTP — an umbrella organization of local extremist groups inspired by, but separate from, its Afghan allies of the same name.

The TTP’s base is in the Pashtun heartland of northwestern Pakistan, where it has at various points controlled large swathes of territory that abuts the Afghanistan border. The Afghan Taliban has been nurtured over the years by Pakistan’s security services — the group’s leadership is said to be based in the Pakistani city of Quetta — and it has always avoided challenging authorities in Islamabad. The TTP, however, while backing the Afghan Taliban’s fight against the U.S.-led NATO forces, has waged its own war against the Pakistani state.

Although the Pakistani military has at various points over the past decade negotiated cease-fires with the group, it has also been engaged in a long-term counterinsurgency campaign to contain the extremists. The TTP said Friday’s attack was a response to the Pakistan army’s offensive in North Waziristan, a tribal area along the Afghan border notorious for its heavy concentration of radical fighters from all parts of the world, and a leading contender for the most dangerous place on the planet.

Family of reporter held in Tehran speaks to FRANCE 24

Latest update : 2014-12-15

FRANCE 24 on Monday spoke to the family of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist held in Tehran since July. Rezaian's mother, Mary, and his brother Ali Rezaian said they are petitioning Iran's leadership for his release.

Rezaian, the Tehran correspondent for US newspaper the Washington Post, was detained on July 22 along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper the National.

Rezaian, 38, has dual US-Iranian nationality and has worked for the Post in Tehran since 2012.

The family has been working with Change.org to petition Iran’s President Hassan Rohani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for Rezaian's release. They have also set up a website with informationon his case.

Mary Rezaian says her son’s health has been deteriorating during his time in detention.

The Washington Post reported on December 7 that Rezaian had been charged after a lengthy court appearance but said the charges levied against him remained unclear.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement that he was "disappointed" by the reports that Rezaian had been charged and denied bail more than four months after his arrest, most of it spent in solitary confinement.

‘Progress made' as Iran nuclear talks deadline extended

Latest update : 2014-11-24

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian President Hassan Rohani said that progress had been made in the latest round of Iran nuclear talks, which were extended after diplomats in Vienna failed to reach a comprehensive deal by Monday’s deadline.

Speaking to reporters, Kerry said that “substantial progress” had been made towards reaching a final deal during the most recent round of talks but that negotiations would remain tough in the coming months.

“If we can [get a deal] sooner, we want to do it sooner,” Kerry said. “These talks are not going to get easier just because we extend them. They’re tough. They’ve been tough. And they’re going to stay tough.”

Kerry said that although some obstacles remained, now was not the time to walk away from negotiations with Iran.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani echoed Kerry’s comments, according to Iranian state television.

“During the talks in Vienna many gaps were narrowed, and our positions with the other side got closer,” he was quoted as saying.

Twelve-year dispute

Earlier in the day, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced that diplomats had failed to reach an agreement in the latest round of negotiations by a Monday deadline, adding that talks had been extended until June 30, 2015. Others set the deadline for July 1, 2015.

Iran and six powers – the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany – have been engaged in intense talks, the second round this year, to resolve a 12-year dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The group reached an interim deal, called the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), in Geneva a year ago, under which Tehran halted higher level uranium enrichment in exchange for a limited easing of sanctions, including access to some frozen oil revenues abroad.

The six world powers want Iran to scale back its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. Tehran says it is not seeking nuclear weapons, but wants to produce atomic energy.

The Vienna talks, which are due to resume next month, aimed for a deal that could transform the Middle East, opening the door to ending economic sanctions on Iran and to start bringing a nation of 76 million people in from the cold after decades of hostility with the West.

Iran’s regional foes Israel and Saudi Arabia have been closely monitoring the talks, with the regional Sunni power and nuclear-armed Israel nervous about the security implications of the talks. Israel refuses to confirm or deny it has nuclear weapons, but is widely presumed to possess them.

Key sticking points

The main sticking points in the talks have been the scope of Iran's enrichment programme, the pace of lifting sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and the duration of any deal.

So far, Western officials said Tehran has refused to budge on its demands to continue to operate most of its enrichment centrifuges currently in operation. Tehran blames the West for the deadlock, accusing it of making excessive demands on the Islamic Republic.

It became increasingly clear during a week of intensive negotiations between the top US and Iranian diplomats that what officials close to the talks had been predicting privately for weeks is proving to be correct: a final deal remains too far off to hammer out by the parties' self-imposed deadline.

Several Western officials have questioned the value of extending the talks again, saying there is little reason to expect the Iranians will show the flexibility needed to end the impasse in the weeks and months ahead. They have also questioned the Iranian leadership's desire to compromise.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)

Date created : 2014-11-24

http://www.france24.com/en/20141124-iran-nuclear-talks-deadline-extended-kerry-rohani-progress/

Officials: Afghan president to fire leaders in volatile provinces

News of shakeup among Afghan civilian, military leaders follows another suicide bombing that killed nine people

December 1, 2014 7:27AM ET

Facing an intensified Taliban insurgency, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani plans to fire senior civilian and military leaders in the country's most volatile provinces to reinvigorate the fight against insurgents, officials told The Associated Press.

The news came on the heels of a suicide bombing Monday at a crowded funeral that left two policemen and seven civilians dead. 

With Afghan security forces suffering high casualties in the run-up to the official Dec. 31 end of the U.S. and NATO combat mission, the newly elected president is eager to chart a new course. But the question remains what impact the firings will ultimately have in a war-torn country mired in corruption and riven by complex ethnic rivalries.

Ghani plans to replace officials in the northern provinces of Kunduz and Baghdis, Ghazni and Nangahar provinces in the east bordering Pakistan and Helmand in the south, presidential spokesman Nazifullah Salarzai told the AP.

"Senior government officials will be replaced," Salarzai said.

The provincial sweep will roll out over the next two to three months and will begin soon, he said.

Areas of all five provinces have been under Taliban control for years, and security forces have suffered record-high casualties as they come under regular attack by insurgents. 

The attacks put pressure on Ghani's new administration, which earlier this month ordered a top-to-bottom review of the country's military and security strategy. The review, which officials say will examine everything from battlefield strategy to the rules of engagement for Afghan security forces, is expected to be completed within six months.

Meanwhile one major resignation came Sunday when Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir stepped down following a string of attacks in the capital over three days that killed four foreigners — including an employee of the British embassy — and several Afghan civilians. On Monday, however, police spokesman Obidullah, who goes by one name like many Afghans, said that the Interior Ministry rejected Zahir's resignation.

Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan in the run-up to the official end of the U.S. and NATO combat mission on Dec. 31, raising concerns about whether local security forces will be able to protect the country as foreign troops shift to a supporting role.

Taj Mohammed Taqwa, chief of the Burka district in the Baghlan province north of Kabul, said that Monday's suicide bomber appeared to be targeting police and local officials, including him, who were among some 1,000 people attending the funeral.

Afghanistan faces a looming challenge as U.S. forces will be reduced to 9,800 by the end of this year, a figure expected to be cut in half by the end of 2015 before a planned complete withdrawal at the end of 2016.

Ghani left Monday for Brussels, where he will meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the foreign ministers of NATO countries. He later will travel to London for a crucial conference to showcase his administration's first efforts to reform the country.

But Ghani's security push also may have had an unintended consequence. Moderate members of the Taliban that Ghani himself hoped to negotiate with may have been sidelined because of it, political analyst Wahid Mozhda said.

"Those we call the moderate Taliban have lost that hope," Mozhda said. "More extremist leaders have taken over and believe that war is their only option."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/1/afghanistan-suicideattackatfuneralkills9.html

Hundreds march in New Delhi for gay pride in Modi's India

The march was the first since the country reinstated a ban on gay sex

December 1, 2014 8:59AM ET

Hundreds of people danced, sang and cheered in a gay pride parade in New Delhi on Sunday, the first since the country's top court reinstated a ban on gay sex in the world's largest democracy.

Multi-coloured balloons, masquerade masks and wigs, a huge rainbow flag and a St. Bernard dog ushered in the seventh Delhi Queer Pride parade, with many shaking their hips to drum beats.

Participants chanting "Azaadi" (freedom) and shouting slogans such as "I'm gay, that's OK" carried banners and placards demanding their right to love.

"We are making a statement that we exist. We are not a minuscule minority. Deal with it," said Mohnish Kabir Malhotra, 27, a publicist and one of the organizers of this year's event.

In December, India's Supreme Court threw out a 2009 ruling by a lower court that had decriminalized gay sex, saying only parliament could repeal Section 377 of India's penal code which bans sex against the order of nature.

The British colonial-era law is widely interpreted to mean homosexual sex, and can be punished with up to 10 years in jail. Many choose to hide their sexuality for fear of discrimination.

Some participants said they had little faith that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government would revoke Section 377, despite having a majority in the lower house of parliament.

Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a right-wing nationalist outfit perceived to be more conservative than the previous Congress-led government.

Modi has not publicly commented on the issue of homosexuality, although his colleague Rajnath Singh had called gay sex "unnatural" in the wake of the December court ruling. Some BJP politicians such as Arun Jaitley have said that gay sex should be decriminalized.

Al Jazeera and Reuters

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/1/hundreds-march-innewdelhiforgayprideinmodisindia.html

Bangladesh finds an answer in solar energy

A blackout in Bangladesh left an entire country in the dark and searching for answers. Experts say the South Asian country desperately needs alternative energy sources, for instance solar power.

Last week, Bangladesh suffered a nationwide blackout for around 12 hours. The country's hospitals, airports, businesses and government offices were forced to use backup generators. The capital Dhaka resembled a ghost town as it plunged into darkness.

Unfortunately, blackouts in the South Asian country aren't a rare occurrence. The country, which relies on a 400 MW (mega watt) power line from India to provide electricity for its people, has experienced many power outages in the past few years.

According to official estimates, the country only produces 3,500 to 4,200 MW of energy a day but requires at least 4,000 to 5,200 MW. This lack of energy has produced frequent power shortages, which have been a cause of concern for the public.

Iranian women targeted in series of acid attacks

© Atta Kenare, AFP

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2014-10-20

A series of acid attacks on women in the Iranian city of Isfahan has raised fears that the victims were targeted for not being properly veiled. Police have declined to comment but an investigation is ongoing.

A series of acid attacks on women in the historic Iranian city of Isfahan has raised fears and prompted rumours that the victims were targeted for not being properly veiled.

Police have declined to comment on a motive but suspects have been arrested and an investigation is ongoing, General Hossein Ashtari was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

He said four acid attacks had been reported in Isfahan, 450 kilometres (280 miles) south of Tehran, but he gave no other details.

The violence led to chatter on social networks that there had been up to 13 acid attacks against women drivers who were "badly veiled" with accompanying warnings against leaving car windows open.

Such incidents have risen in recent years in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, with the abusers claiming they punished women for "sullying" their family "honour" by committing "indecent" behaviour.

Under Islamic law in force in Iran since the 1979 revolution, women must wear loose clothing, known as hijab, that covers the head and neck.

Some 100 people dead in Sri Lankan mudslide

© AFP/Ishara S. Kodikara

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2014-10-29

A major mudslide at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka killed about 100 people on Wednesday, with the victims buried alive, the country's disaster management minister said.

"I went to the spot. What I gathered is that about 100 people have been buried alive," Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told AFP by telephone after visiting the site in the eastern Koslanda region.

"There is no chance they could have survived."