Tag: Force

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia launched a massive security operation on Friday in a menacing show of force to deter protesters from a planned a "Day of Rage" to press for democratic reform in the kingdom. Illegal demonstrations were supposed to start after Muslim Friday prayers at noon but as the mosques emptied there were no signs of rallies, with security men manning checkpoints in key locations across several cities. In the strategic Olaya commercial centre of the capital Riyadh, where

BENGHAZI - Libya's air force carried out new raids on Tuesday on a rebel-held town as the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi's regime entered its third week amid mounting calls for a no-fly zone over the country. As the violence escalated, the Arab League said foreign ministers of its member states would meet on Friday for crisis talks on the situation at the headquarters of the league in Cairo.
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also stepped up the pressure for the

NEW DELHI - India is opposed to a no-fly zone or the use of force in Libya, and other major developing nations have "reservations", a top Indian foreign ministry official said in remarks published on Friday. "As of now we are not in favour of a no-fly zone. We are opposed to use of force," foreign secretary Nirupama Rao told The Hindu newspaper. "Among BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, questions have been raised and reservations expressed," she said. India is a temporary

LAHORE - "No one has any idea how many people have died and how many others are still suffering because of a ban on kite flying," says Khalid, a thread manufacturer. "There have been suicides, deaths and several women and young girls have taken to prostitution, only because the Punjab government could not come up with a better strategy to handle Basant," he says.
The ban is not only restricted to Basant, but stretches out the entire year and stops anyone from kite flying, has

Lahore - Hajvery University D-Pharm students on Wednesday forced the university's administration to take back their decision of increasing the fee. The university had increased the fee from Rs 47,500 to Rs 60,000 per semester. Responding to this fee hike, the students staged a protest at the university's Euro Campus, Gulberg. Students were asked to submit fee according to the new fee schedule, but they refused. They boycotted classes and gathered in front of the admin office where

EXPERT COMMENT - Pakistan's preparation for the World Cup has been completely over-shadowed by the match-fixing charges that have hogged headlines over the last few months. The overriding emotion in Pakistan is anger and sadness. That three young and talented cricketers have let their country down fills cricket fans with a feeling of humiliation, but if one thinks about it, the verdict pronouncing Salman Butt, Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Asif guilty reflects the chaos and lack of

KARACHI - A separate force will soon be established for the protection of VIPs, which would relieve the regular police force from the task it is currently performing. Minister for Interior Rehman Malik said this on Saturday while addressing the members of business community at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to inaugurate the Crisis Management Cell.
He maintained that all possible measures were being taken to improve the law and order in the province through

FAISALABAD - An old problem with the rules and regulations is that they are always framed in good faith but it is their out-of-context implementation that reverses the very logic behind them, producing chaotic results.
The much-publicised weekly holiday for Punjab police announced by Inspector General Punjab Police Javed Iqbal, soon after taking the charge of his office, turned out to be a useless exercise as a majority of police personnel think they are better off without

ALGIERS - Up to 2,000 Algerian demonstrators briefly forced a police cordon Saturday as they tried to begin a banned march calling for regime change a day after the fall of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak. Protestors, put at 800 by police but estimated at 2,000 by journalists at the scene, found themselves blocked again by security forces, who had encircled the area, backed up by armoured vehicles.
There were scuffles with security forces and numerous arrests well before the

PARIS - Formula One team Force India will improve on their seventh place finish in last year's championship because they have drivers hungry for success, said the team owner Vijay Mallya on Tuesday. The Indian billionaire was speaking at the launch of the new model, the VJM04, for the upcoming season and said he had great faith in the two race drivers Germany's Adrian Sutil and rookie Scotsman Paul di Resta, who replaced Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.
The team also has the talented

LAHORE - Seven "dear ones" of the Punjab government given re-employment after retirement resigned on Wednesday to avoid any legal action. The resignations came in response to a Supreme Court ruling in January against the re-employment of retired officers. Moreover, the S&GAD had also sought details of all such employees in various government departments across Punjab.
Some of the officers offered re-employment contracts and who resigned on Wednesday are prosecution secretary Rana

ISTANBUL - Israel used "excessive" force in its assault on a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza that killed nine Turkish activists, according to the findings of a Turkish inquiry announced on Sunday.
The preliminary conclusions of the report said "the Israeli army used excessive force against the Mavi Marmara". The preliminary conclusions of a report were released on Sunday, coinciding with the findings of Israel's own inquiry into the incident in the eastern Mediterranean

COLOMBO - Flooding in Sri Lanka has forced more than one million people out of their homes, the government said on Thursday as it began distributing emergency food, clothing and bedding. At least 23 people have died during a week of monsoon floods, with the centre and east of the island worst hit by rising water levels and mudslides.
A spokesman for the disaster management centre in Colombo said the eastern district of Batticaloa, which saw bloody fighting in the civil war that

MADRID - Smokers stubbed out their cigarettes in tapas bars and restaurants across Spain as one of Europe's strictest anti-tobacco laws came into force on Sunday.
After a one-day amnesty granted for New Year's Day, the new law banning smoking in all bars, restaurants and public places - including even some outdoor areas - took effect at the stroke of midnight Saturday. It was a shock for many Spaniards for whom the cafe culture - lighting up with a few friends while enjoying a

GENEVA - An international accord aimed at preventing abductions - a fate affecting tens of thousands of people throughout the world - came into force Thursday, the United Nations said.
The International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which was launched by the UN General Assembly in 2006, became law following its ratification last month by Iraq and Brazil. This took the number of ratifications past the required 20 countries, the United

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided not to table the Reformed General Sales Tax (GST) Bill in the forthcoming session of the National Assembly as it failed to build consensus on the proposed tax law with its coalition partners - the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) -not budging from their positions.
"We will not table the bill in the National Assembly session staring from December 18," a senior parliamentarian, asking not to be named,

LAHORE: Islami Jamiat Taliba (IJT) convinced the students of Government Islamia College Civil Lines and MAO College that the Punjab Assembly was planning to abolish blasphemy law through a bill on Wednesday and forced them to participate in a protest which was actually against the establishment of Board of Governors (BoG).
Around two dozen teachers of Joint Action Committee (JAC) were arrested after around 400 students and teachers converted Charing Cross into a battle field from