You are here

  • Home
  • Musharraf allowed to travel abroad

Musharraf allowed to travel abroad

Musharraf allowed to travel abroad
Updated 18 March 2016
Agence France Presse

Musharraf allowed to travel abroad

Musharraf allowed to travel abroad
Updated 18 March 2016
Agence France Presse

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has given the green light for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to leave the country, a day after the Supreme Court lifted a ban on him traveling abroad, the interior minister said Thursday.
Musharraf’s lawyers said he needed to go abroad for urgent spinal treatment not available in Pakistan.
The retired general and former president was banned from leaving the country in 2013 after he returned to the country on an ill-fated mission to contest elections.
“Today lawyers of General Musharraf filed a proper application and in the light of Supreme Court decision, the government has allowed him to go abroad for medical treatment,” the interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, told a press conference.
Khan said that Musharraf’s lawyers had given guarantees that he would return to Pakistan after six weeks and that he would appear in court for ongoing cases against him.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the government to lift the travel ban on Musharraf, but the government, headed by his long-time rival Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, appealed the verdict.
In January, Musharraf was acquitted over the 2006 killing of a Baloch rebel leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti.
But there remain four cases against him — one of treason for imposing emergency rule, as well as those involving the unlawful dismissal of judges, the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and a deadly raid on Islamabad’s radical Red Mosque.
Musharraf ousted Sharif from power in 1999 in a bloodless coup and ruled Pakistan until democracy was restored in 2008.

Russian ambassador returns ‘optimistic’ to Washington

Russian ambassador returns ‘optimistic’ to Washington
Updated 42 min 43 sec ago
AFP

Russian ambassador returns ‘optimistic’ to Washington

Russian ambassador returns ‘optimistic’ to Washington
  • Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington had all but broken down since Biden took office
Updated 42 min 43 sec ago
AFP

MOSCOW: The Russian ambassador in Washington flew back Sunday to the United States saying he hoped to build “equal and pragmatic” ties after a US-Russia summit in Geneva aimed at reducing tensions.

The plane transporting ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who was recalled in March for consultations, took off at 9:20 a.m. (0620 GMT) from Moscow’s Cheremetievo airport for New York, where he will travel on to Washington, Russian news agencies reported.

“Given the results of the meeting between the two presidents, I am counting on constructive work with my American colleagues to build equal and pragmatic relations,” Antonov told the Ria Novosti agency, adding he was in an “optimistic mood.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow and Washington agreed for their ambassadors to return, after summit talks in Geneva with US counterpart Joe Biden.

Diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington had all but broken down since Biden took office and accused the Kremlin of interfering in US elections and launching cyberattacks.

After Biden likened Putin to a “killer,” Russia in March took the rare step of recalling ambassador Antonov and said the US envoy John Sullivan to Moscow likewise should return to Washington.

Sullivan left Moscow in April, as the two countries announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats.

In May, Russia formally designated the United States an “unfriendly” state, barring its embassy from employing Russian nationals. The only other country on that list is the Czech Republic.

Topics: Russia US United States of America (USA) Joe Biden Vladimir Putin US-Russia US-Russia tensions

Related

Russia’s Vladimir Putin hopes US counterpart Joe Biden less impulsive than Donald Trump
World
Russia’s Vladimir Putin hopes US counterpart Joe Biden less impulsive than Donald Trump
‘Pragmatic’ Biden-Putin summit agrees to resume arms talks, return envoys
World
‘Pragmatic’ Biden-Putin summit agrees to resume arms talks, return envoys

China vaccine doses pass one billion mark

China vaccine doses pass one billion mark
Updated 51 min 54 sec ago
AFP

China vaccine doses pass one billion mark

China vaccine doses pass one billion mark
  • Some provinces are offering vaccines for free to encourage people to roll up their sleeves
  • China reported 23 new coronavirus cases Sunday
Updated 51 min 54 sec ago
AFP

BEIJING: The number of Covid-19 jabs administered in China has passed the one billion mark, health officials said Sunday, more than a third of the doses given worldwide.
The announcement by the National Health Commission comes after the number of shots administered globally surpassed 2.5 billion on Friday, according to an AFP count from official sources.
It is unclear what percentage of China’s population has now been inoculated but its vaccination drive got off to a slow start after a successful fight against the virus left little sense of urgency to get jabbed.
A lack of transparency and previous vaccine scandals have also led to resistance among residents.
Authorities have set an ambitious target of fully vaccinating 40 percent of the country’s nearly 1.4 billion people by the end of this month.
Some provinces are offering vaccines for free to encourage people to roll up their sleeves. Residents in central Anhui province have been given free eggs, while some living in Beijing have received shopping coupons.
A recent outbreak of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus in the southern city of Guangzhou has also served as a wake-up call for many dragging their feet.
China reported 23 new coronavirus cases Sunday.
The country has four conditionally approved vaccines, whose published efficacy rates remain behind rival jabs by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have 95 percent and 94 percent success rates respectively.
China’s Sinovac previously said trials of its shot in Brazil showed around 50 percent efficacy in preventing infection and 80 percent in preventing cases requiring medical intervention.
Sinopharm’s two vaccines have efficacy rates of 79 percent and 72 percent respectively, while the overall efficacy for CanSino’s stands at 65 percent after 28 days.
Many of them require two doses.
China is expected to produce more than three billion vaccine doses this year, state news agency Xinhua reported in April.
Health authorities have not said when China will reach herd immunity or what proportion of its vaccine doses will be sold abroad.

Topics: China Vaccines

Related

Malaysia says China to contribute 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines
World
Malaysia says China to contribute 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines
Special UAE, China to supply Indonesia with vaccine
World
UAE, China to supply Indonesia with vaccine

France elects regional leaders, preps for presidential vote

France elects regional leaders, preps for presidential vote
Updated 20 June 2021
AP

France elects regional leaders, preps for presidential vote

France elects regional leaders, preps for presidential vote
  • The elections for leadership councils of France’s 13 regions are primarily about local issues like transportation, schools and infrastructure.
Updated 20 June 2021
AP

PARIS: Marine Le Pen’s far right party is riding high on her tough-on-security, stop-immigration message as French voters start choosing regional leaders Sunday in an election that’s seen as a dress rehearsal for next year’s presidential vote.
President Emmanuel Macron’s young centrist party is expected to fare poorly, lacking a strong local political base and suffering from frustration at his government’s handling of the pandemic.
Turnout in Sunday’s first round could hit a record low. Those who do show up to vote must stay masked and socially distanced and carry their own pens to sign voting registries.
The elections for leadership councils of France’s 13 regions, from Brittany to Burgundy to the French Riviera, are primarily about local issues like transportation, schools and infrastructure. But leading politicians are using them as a platform to test ideas and win followers ahead of the April presidential election. Le Pen and Macron are expected to dominate that race.
Parties that win more than 10 percent of the votes in Sunday’s first-round regional voting advance to the decisive runoff June 27.
Polls suggest that Le Pen’s National Rally party may win control of one or more regions, which would be a big boost for her decade-long effort to legitimize a party long seen as an anti-democratic, anti-Semitic pariah. A major question for the runoff is whether French voters will band together to keep the party out of power as they have in the past.
Traditional conservative party The Republicans looks set to keep control of several of the seven regions it currently runs, including the all-important Paris area.
Among the strongest National Rally candidates is Thierry Mariani, running to lead the region that includes Provence, the French Riviera and part of the Alps. Mariani has said he wants more police and no more public funding for groups promoting individual communities, which many see as targeting Muslim associations or LGBTQ movements.
The National Rally has racked up political victories in local elections in recent years, and has made security a top issue in this campaign. Its candidates have rallied around police unions who say they’re facing spiking violence, and called for tougher prison sentences and a moratorium on immigration — even though these fall within the powers of the state and not the regional councils.
France’s Greens party, which surged in recent elections, is hoping to gain new influence in the regional vote, while the Socialist Party may further lose ground.
Prospects look shaky for Macron’s centrist Republic on the Move party, which is just four years old and so didn’t exist the last time voters chose regional leaders in 2015. It’s facing disillusionment with Macron’s policies, including from rural voters who supported the yellow vest uprising against perceived economic injustice.
The regional elections were delayed as the virus surged.
As infections have ebbed and vaccinations spread, the government recently reopened long-shuttered restaurants, shops and travel possibilities. The prime minister scrapped an unpopular and unusually long-lasting curfew starting Sunday.
Voters Sunday will also be choosing people to run France’s more than 100 “departements,” another layer of the country’s territorial governance system.

Topics: France elections

Related

France’s Le Pen, at record high in polls, proposes hijab ban
World
France’s Le Pen, at record high in polls, proposes hijab ban
Blow for Macron as Le Pen tops EU election in France
World
Blow for Macron as Le Pen tops EU election in France

At least 15 die in multiple attacks near US-Mexico border

At least 15 die in multiple attacks near US-Mexico border
Updated 20 June 2021
AP

At least 15 die in multiple attacks near US-Mexico border

At least 15 die in multiple attacks near US-Mexico border
  • The attacks began in the early afternoon in several neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city
  • The shootings mobilized the army, National Guard, state police and other agencies
Updated 20 June 2021
AP

CIUDAD VICTORIA: Gunmen aboard a number of vehicles staged attacks in several neighborhoods in the Mexican border city of Reynosa on Saturday, and at least 15 people died in clashes that caused widespread panic, according to local law enforcement.

The Tamaulipas state agency coordinating security forces said in a statement that the attacks began in the early afternoon in several neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, which borders McAllen, Texas.

The agency said one person died during an attack on police near a border bridge, but it was not clear if the others were shot in random attacks or were targeted.

The shootings mobilized the army, National Guard, state police and other agencies. Authorities said they detained a person who had two women, apparently kidnapped, in the trunk of his car, and said they seized three vehicles.

Reynosa Mayor Maki Esther Ortiz Domínguez sent a tweet demanding the attack be clarified and that the citizenry be protected.

The area’s criminal activity has long been dominated by the Gulf Cartel, but there have been fractures within the gang.

Topics: Mexio US US-Mexico US-Mexico border Gun Violence

Related

US arrests two Yemenis on terror watchlist who tried to cross border from Mexico
World
US arrests two Yemenis on terror watchlist who tried to cross border from Mexico
US detained nearly 100,000 migrants at Mexico border in February, sources say
World
US detained nearly 100,000 migrants at Mexico border in February, sources say

Taliban say committed to Afghan peace talks, want ‘genuine Islamic system’

Taliban say committed to Afghan peace talks, want ‘genuine Islamic system’
Updated 56 min 5 sec ago
Reuters

Taliban say committed to Afghan peace talks, want ‘genuine Islamic system’

Taliban say committed to Afghan peace talks, want ‘genuine Islamic system’
  • The statement came amid slow progress in the talks between the hard-line Islamic group and Afghan government representatives in Qatar
Updated 56 min 5 sec ago
Reuters

KABUL: The Taliban said on Sunday they were committed to peace talks, adding they wanted a “genuine Islamic system” in Afghanistan that would make provisions for women’s rights in line with cultural traditions and religious rules.
The statement came amid slow progress in the talks between the hard-line Islamic group and Afghan government representatives in Qatar and as violence rises dramatically around the country ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces by September 11.
Officials have raised concerns over the stalling negotiations and have said the Taliban has not yet submitted a written peace proposal that could be used as a starting point for substantive talks.
“We understand that the world and Afghans have queries and questions about the form of the system to be established following withdrawal of foreign troops,” said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s political office, in the statement, adding the issues were best addressed during negotiations in Doha.
“A genuine Islamic system is the best means for solution of all issues of the Afghans,” he said. “Our very participation in the negotiations and its support on our part indicates openly that we believe in resolving issues through (mutual) understanding.”
He added that women and minorities would be protected and diplomats and NGO workers would be able to work securely.
“We take it on ourselves as a commitment to accommodate all rights of citizens of our country, whether they are male or female, in the light of the rules of the glorious religion of Islam and the noble traditions of the Afghan society,” he said, adding that ‘facilities would be provided’ for women to work and be educated.
It was not clear whether the Taliban would allow women to carry out public roles and whether workplaces and schools would be segregated by gender. The group’s spokesman did not immediately to respond to request for comment.
In May, US intelligence analysts released an assessment that the Taliban “would roll back much” of the progress made in Afghan women’s rights if the Islamist extremists regained national power.
Before being ousted by the 2001 US-led invasion, the Taliban imposed a harsh version of Islamic rule that included barring girls from school and women from working outside their homes and prohibiting them from being in public without a male relative.

Topics: Taliban Afghan Peace Talks

Related

Special Kabul arrests dozens of Afghan tribal chiefs over troop surrenders to Taliban
World
Kabul arrests dozens of Afghan tribal chiefs over troop surrenders to Taliban
Special Taliban attacks peak as US eyes total exit, Afghan spy chief says
World
Taliban attacks peak as US eyes total exit, Afghan spy chief says

Latest updates

A&M sees more Saudi bank mergers after blockbuster quarter
A&M sees more Saudi bank mergers after blockbuster quarter
Libya’s Haftar closes border with Algeria
Libya’s Haftar closes border with Algeria
Moroccan-Italian model Malika El-Maslouhi is the face of La Perla’s new fragrance
Moroccan-Italian model Malika El-Maslouhi is the face of La Perla’s new fragrance
Kevin Hart in a new form struggling with parenting a toddler in ‘Fatherhood’
Kevin Hart in a new form struggling with parenting a toddler in ‘Fatherhood’
Israel’s Bennett calls election of new Iranian president a “final wake-up call”
Israel’s Bennett calls election of new Iranian president a “final wake-up call”

45thanniversary

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2021 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.