Australian Police to Get Power to Lift the Veil Under New Burqa Laws

MELBOURNE: Even as its neighbour New Zealand is counselling for cultural tolerance, police in the Australian state of New South Wales have been handed over-riding powers to demand removal of burqas or any other form of face veil if they suspect people of committing crimes.

The state cabinet approved a new legislation to bolster police powers during routine car stops after a recent case of muslim woman who was acquitted when a judge ruled that she could not be positively identified because she was wearing a burqa. The new law comes into force after the state premier Barry O' Farrel reacted strongly to the acquittal saying, "I don't care whether a person is wearing a helmet, a burqa, a naqab, face veil, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear."

Though the New South Wales government is refusing to give details on the new laws, ABC reported that it provides that anyone who refuses show their face to police could be jailed upto a year or fined Australian dollars 5,500.

The new law follows a recent high-profile case of Carnita Matthew who was sentenced to six months jail in November 2010 for falsely accusing police of forcibly trying to remove her burqa when she was stopped for a traffic offence.

Her sentence was quashed last month by a judge who observed she had not been positively identified because the officers could not see her face.

SriLanka Vs Pakistan [Pakistan vs Sri lanka] Live Highlights Video Online World cup 2011 -26th february 2011

Pakistan will be playing their first big match of the world cup against hosts SriLanka. Pakistani cricket fans are getting nervy, they do not have confidence in their team and fear loss before every encounter.

Team Pakistan and it’s fans should remember only one thing they have beaten Sri Lanka in each of their six encounters in the World Cups and have won their previous five games at the R Premadasa. The fans of Pakistan team and the cricket pundits have been a bit nervous regarding their bowling combination, the form of Shoaib Akhtar and the lack of pace of Abdul Razzaq has been the main concern.

The newly laid pitch at Premadasa stadium has so far been a bat first- low scoring track, the average score at this track has been 225. I think Pakistan still has enough fire power in their bowling even if they don’t make a change they should not drop a batsman against SriLanka as Srilanka is a good bowling side. They can play Riaz in place of Akhtar if he is not fully fit but thats about it.

Play the match like any other match no need to get nervous this match will have little or no consequences on Pakistan’s chances to qualify for the QF, so Afridi & CO should play their natural game and should not take any pressure at all for this match. The pundits might not respect Pakistan team but in my opinion this team has all the firepower to beat any team in this tournament.

All we need is that our key players should play the match with their natural flare. We lose matches when we take pressure and self implode. Pakistan has beaten this SriLankan team on many occasions, they will have a home advantage and a knowledge of the newly laid track to their advantage but if Afridi led the team calmly it will be tough for SriLanka to beat Pakistan team.

What Afridi should realize is that tough matches in the initial round develop or destroy the confidence of the teams, regardless of the result Afridi will have to show calmness as a leader and should continue to encourage his players through thick and thin , he will have to make his players believe that they are the best.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Shahid Afridi (capt), 8 Abdul Razzaq, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Upul Tharanga, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Chamara Kapugedera, 6 Thilan Samaraweera, 7 Angelo Mathews, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Ajantha Mendis, 11 Muttiah Muralitharan

U.S. seeks to ease India's Afghan fears, backs Pakistan

India have a lawful position in the stabilization of Afghanistan, the countrywide man, contain Fred not bring the region Uren hjælp sin atombevæbnede rival Pakistan, the joint States udsending Richard Holbrooke supposed on top of Thursday.

India Wanted to Be Just a Holiday: Mahmood Qureshi

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, making the situation complex and it seems that he is not willing to go to New Delhi by then, unless all exceptional issues with India, Pakistan, "meaningful, beneficial and result - oriented 'talks Not ready to become.

Pakistani doctor missing since the terrorist to treat

Lahore .. Recent terrorist attacks on Ahmadi mosque in Lahore hospital, a doctor treating a terrorist of the past three days L

Apato and police have registered a case of kidnapping in this regard.

According to FIR, Ali Abdullah on Sunday night was kidnapped while returning home from duty. Riding on the motorcycle was returning home.

US could label Pakistan-based militants 'terrorists': NYT

Terrorists, a go that could make difficult an Afghan following settlement, say a explanation Wednesday.

Pak suicide attacks death toll jumps to 104

Peshawar: The bereavement toll in a devastating suicide attack on a administration place of work in Pakistan's ethnic area belt areas on Saturday rose to 104 after more than a few of the wounded succumbed to their injuries and rescue personnel dug out 36 more bodies as of the shell of buildings misshapen.

Huge blast' in Pakistan tribal village kills 10

Information said more than a small figure of populace had been killed by the explosion in rural community in Mohamed ethnic area.

Strike in Lahore to protest Pakistan shrine bombing

Shops and offices were shut in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Saturday in a protest strike over suicide attacks on an Islamic shrine which killed 43 people.

Police said they have "apprehended" several people in their investigation into Thursday's bombings, which left a trail of carnage at a packed Sufi shrine, but have made no formal arrests.

Police also said they had uncovered 20 suicide bombing vests and two dozen police commando uniforms during a raid in Lahore late Friday.

Angry protesters had taken to the streets in Pakistan on Friday, burning tyres and blaming Taliban extremists for the latest bloodshed in the city, a major military, political and cultural hub.

Raghib Naeemi, a leader of a Sunni Muslim council that called the strike, said a major rally was being planned on Saturday evening.

"We will continue our protest till the government takes some concrete actions to curb terrorist activities," he said.

Investigators said they had yet to identify the two suicide bombers who blew themselves up among crowds of worshippers at the shrine to Sufi saint Data Ganj Bakhsh in Lahore, capital of Punjab province.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's bombings and the Pakistan Taliban, which has been blamed for a wave of bloody attacks over the past three years, denied it was involved.

Source:- www.google.com

India, Pak agree to share intelligence report

slamabad: On a two-day visit to Pakistan to attend the SAARC summit, Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram held crucial meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi here.

Coming out of denial, Pakistan said Saturday that it will act against the Taliban and terror groups based in its Punjab province. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that his meeting with Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram was positive.

Kolkata: Cargo vessel for Karachi carrying arms detained

The Indian Navy is onboard the detained vessel laden with explosives that was bound for Pakistan, sources told TIMES NOW.

Kolkata Police detained Pakistan-bound ship off the coast of Kolkata. The ship was carrying a consignment of arms and ammunition and was detained at Diamond Harbour in West Bengal's South 24 Paraganas district. The cargo ship has not declared the kind of explosives it was carrying.

'D.C. Five' jailed in Pakistan on terror charges

slamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Five Americans arrested on terror charges in Pakistan have been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison, the deputy prosecutor general said Thursday.

The men, dubbed the "D.C. Five," will also have to pay a fine of 75,000 Pakistani rupees ($878), public prosecutor Nadim Cheema said.

Pak to examine dossier before Foreign Secretary level talks

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry will examine the eleventh dossier handed over to Islamabad by India on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks ahead of a crucial meeting of the Foreign Secretaries to bridge the trust deficit between the two countries.

Read More on beta.thehindu.com

India not to discuss substantive issues with Pak, for now

New Delhi India is not not going to discuss substantive issues like Kashmir with Pakistan in the proposed rounds of dialogue but is only attempting to create the "right atmosphere" for removing the trust deficit for a broad dialogue later.

read full story at expressindia.com

Attackers Torch NATO Supply Convoy in Pakistan | Voanews

Gunmen have attacked the means of transportation stop outside of the U.S. property assembly of tankers and trucks bound for Afghanistan, NATO troops torching.

Pakistani officials said 10-15 armed men store the bullets began to shoot at least 30 trucks just before 10 km from Islamabad on Tuesday. He said the attackers fled, cars and bikes.

read full story at voanews

Making sure that Pak not using military aid against India: US

To meet one of India's biggest worries Obama administration point man in South Asia, said that the U.S. has taken the necessary steps to ensure that armed support Pakistan has not been second-hand in India.

Cyclone "Phet" leaves 15 dead, thousands homeless in Pakistan

The terrible cyclone "Phet" converted to plain Strong wind force as it slipped into India Rajasthan coastal desert area on Monday after taking a toll on more than 15 lives and injured dozens and thousands were on the streets in the coastal belt in southern Pakistan .

Pak coastal areas brace for Cyclone Phet

Pakistan's profitable capital Karachi braced itself for the cyclone Phet as meteorologists warned that it could create chaos and disturb life in coastal areas near the city and in Sindh region.

Krishna in US, Indo-US strategic talks tomorrow

India and U.S. are set to hold their first strategic dialogue here in the morning where the two sides are expected to discuss the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation and bilateral cooperation against terror.

US asks Pakistan to act against LeT, other anti-India groups

Expresses its gratitude to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's readiness to take political risks to resume a dialogue with Pakistan, the United States has once again asked Islamabad to take effectual action against Indian terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.