LONDON, May 24: A fierce family row on board the diverted Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane appeared to have triggered the alarm that led the British authorities to scramble fighter jets to escort the civilian plane to safety.
The plane was due to land in Manchester in northern England but escorted to Stansted near London instead, whereupon British police arrested two men on the flight.
“Two men have been arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft,” police in Essex said in a statement. “They are aged 30 and 41 and are being taken to a police station for interview by detectives.”
The incident was not believed to be terrorism-related. An airline source told AFP the incident had stemmed from a family row on board.

TEL AVIV, May 24: The sale of S-300 air defence systems by Russia to Syria would be “destabilising” for the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.
“S-300 missiles coming from Russia, or other countries, Iranian missiles, are destabilising to the region,” Kerry said.
“The United States is committed, not only in its defence of Israel, but in its concerns for the region to try to address this issue.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that Russia would honour a deal with Syria to supply it with S-300 air defence systems.
“Those who do not plan aggressive actions against a sovereign state have nothing to worry about, because means of air defence – and this is clear from the name – is a purely defensive system required to repel air attacks,” Lavrov said.
He said the deal was signed before Israel planes hit targets in Syria earlier this month.
S-300 is widely acknowledged by defence analysts as one of the world’s most advanced air defence systems.
An S-300 battery would “provide coverage of much of northern and central Israel if deployed in the south west of Syria for targets other than those at low altitude,” said Douglas Barrie, an air warfare analyst with the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The sale of Russian weapons to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been a source of bilateral tension between Moscow and Washington, with US officials accusing Russia of arming a regime the US says is killing its own citizens in Syria’s raging civil war.
Washington has criticised Moscow for delivering advanced Yakhont anti-ship missiles to Damascus, and also called on Russia not to deliver overhauled helicopter gunships to the Assad regime.
Russia, however, has insisted that the deliveries are legal under international law and that it is not supplying Syria with offensive weapons which can be used to kill civilians. –Online

KARACHI, May 24: Amid country-wide loadshedding, the hot weather will continue to prevail as Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) forecast downpour at isolated places of Malakand division and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 12 hours.
According to Media Reports, mainly hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country on Friday.
The PMD said rain with thunderstorm is expected at isolated places of Malakand division and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next twelve hours.
It said Islamabad and areas of upper Punjab are likely to experience rain coupled with gusty winds on Saturday and Sunday.
Temperature of some major cities recorded on Friday:
Lahore 44 degree, Sukkur 35, Faisalabad 41, Hyderabad 32, Bahawalpur 40, Multan 43, Larkana 39 degree centigrade.

LONDON, May 24: Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has denied teaching MQM workers to take bribes or be corrupt.
“I never taught party workers to take bribes, be corrupt or put undue pressure on people for favours”, said Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain said on Friday.
Altaf was speaking to members of the interim Rabita Committee and other party workers.
Addressing the issue of his stay away from home, Altaf told his party members that his family members went abroad to save their lives.
He said his family worked hard while living in a foreign land.
Delving more into his family and political affairs, the MQM chief said he never favoured his family with gains from his political movement.
“I did not give party tickets to my relatives in elections,” he added.

Erin Pelton, the spokesperson for the US Mission to the United Nations, said in a statement issued on Monday that the US would not send its ambassador to the conference.

She added that the US believes the Islamic Republic of Iran should be barred from any formal or ceremonial positions in UN bodies.

Iran, which frequently calls for the elimination of all the weapons of mass destruction in the world, will accede to the rotating presidency of the 65-nation conference based in Geneva on May 27 and hand it over to another country on June 23 in an alphabetical order.

The conference seeks to reach an agreement on global nuclear disarmament, preventing arms from spreading to outer space and stopping the development of other weapons of mass destruction.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

ISLAMABAD, May 24: Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan, Mustafa Babur Hizlan called on Prime Minster Justice (R) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso at Prime Minister’s House on Friday.The Turkish Ambassador congratulated the Prime Minister for successfully conducting the general elections in the country.
Mustafa Babur Hizlan who was also an observer during the elections said, these were one of the fairest elections Pakistan ever had.
The Prime Minister said that he bowed his head in gratitude to Almighty Allah for providing him the strength to hold general elections in the country. These elections, the Prime Minister said augurs well for the country and would ensure continuity in the democratic process.
He said that the next phase of transfer of power to the elected representatives will see through the process culminating into the first ever transition to a democratically elected government.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan and Turkey have historical, cultural, religious and brotherly relations and we are proud of our relations with the great Turkish nation.
He said that Pakistan and Turkey have been closely cooperating on various issues at bilateral and multi-lateral forums and enjoy exemplary relationship.
The Prime Minister expected the hope that the relationship between the two brotherly countries would continue to expand further in times to come and cement the existing fraternal relations.

KARACHI, May 24: Pakistan’s legend actor Rangeela was remembered Friday on his death anniversary.
Rangeela was born as Mohammad Saeed Khan in 1937, in Parachinar, Pakistan. Rangeela made his professional cinematic debut in a 1958 Punjabi film called ‘Jatti’.
His movie career started back in the late 1950s. Despite acting in the movies, he also directed many of them. He also sung many songs and wrote some scripts.
The super hit film ‘Diya Aur Toofan’, May 9, 1969, was Rangeela’s directional debut. Additionally, he was also the producer- singer- writer- actor of the movie.
He directed numerous movies under the banner of ‘Rangeela productions’. Excellence of his acting potential was enormous in the super hit film ‘Rangeela’, September 11, 1970, in which he played the title role of Rangeela.
Director- producer- actor- writer, Rangeela earned plaudits from his adorers for his third consecutive super hit film ‘Dil aur duniya’, October 1, 1971, with Habib, Aasia and Rangeela as cast of the movie.
The above three films were big hits at the box office in a row. Thus, Rangeela successfully completed the ‘hat trick’ of his movies. He brings to the film ‘Dil aur duniya’, the sobering sense of a director’s prowess which is the very opposite to his celluloid persona.
Rangeela has been a dominant force in the Pakistani cinema for over forty years. He won many awards. With the passage of time his health deteriorated and Rangeela passed away on May 24, 2005, in Lahore. –Online

WASHINGTON, May 24: US lawmakers introduced fresh legislation seeking to address the problem of sexual assault in the military and summoned the nation’s top commanders to testify about the crisis, which has become an embarrassment to the armed forces.
The White House and Congress have demanded changes since seeing a damning report of a steep rise in the number of assaults on members of the military and a spate of high-profile sex-related incidents.
Most recently, a military official said on Wednesday that an Army sergeant was accused of videotaping female cadets in the showers at the Military Academy at West Point. The revelation came just hours after military leaders told a Senate panel they were making prevention of sexual harassment and sexual assault a top priority.
“This is a crime. It is a violent and vicious crime and the military needs to treat it as such,” said Representative Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican and co-chairman of the House Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus, a co-sponsor of the new bill.
The measure introduced by Democratic and Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives would mandate, at minimum, a dishonorable discharge for anyone found guilty of sexual assault or attempted assault. It would make it impossible for a commander to change a guilty conviction.
With several bills making their way through Congress, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced that it would hold a rare full-committee hearing on the legislation on June 4, with witnesses including General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the heads of all four service branches.
Most of the panel’s hearings on legislation involve only subcommittees, not the full membership. Another exception was the consideration of legislation – now law – that allowed homosexuals to serve openly in the military.
The Pentagon reported that complaints of unwanted sexual conduct shot up by more than a third to 26,000 in 2012. The steep rise in cases comes just as the military moves ahead with plans to integrate women into front-line combat roles.
The bill introduced on Thursday is not as sweeping as one introduced last week by Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand that would take responsibility for prosecution sexual assault cases away from the chain of command, making it easier for victims to seek justice.
The latest measure is more in line with the preferences of the military chiefs. Dempsey and other commanders have warned of a crisis of confidence in the growing ranks of women soldiers, but Pentagon leaders say that Gillibrand’s approach risks weakening commanders’ authority.
Senate aides said next month’s Armed Services hearing would play a large part in determining the scope of a final legislation, adding that the flurry of bills – there have been several others introduced in both chambers – is a strong sign that something will be done to address the issue this year.

LAHORE, May 24: PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif has said Pakistan wants to resolve all outstanding issues with India on the basis of equality through dialogue.
Talking to Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal in Lahore on FridayÇ he said Pakistan wants to move forward the dialogue process with New Delhi for a resolution of issues.
Indian High Commissioner congratulated Mian Nawaz Sharif on success of PML-N in elections. Mian Shahbaz Sharif was also present during the meeting.

The sale of alcohol will be outlawed from 10 pm to 6 am. Alcohol producers will have to place health warnings on packaging.

The law, which needs presidential approval before coming into effect, also bans alcohol-producing companies from sponsoring events and venues where alcohol is sold and consumed can no longer openly display drinks.

Turkey is an overwhelmingly Muslim nation with a secular constitution. Critics of the ruling AK Party say it is responsible for Islamism taking root in Turkey. Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

Conservative Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan‘s government denies those accusations.

It says it is not trying to limit people’s freedoms but aims to bring Turkey, which wants to join the European Union, up to European standards by tightening restrictions on the sale of alcohol and protecting the young.

Since coming to power in 2002, the ruling party has taken various measures to limit alcohol consumption, including imposing high taxes on alcoholic drinks. National carrier Turkish Airlines has stopped serving alcohol on some domestic flights.