KABUL: Taliban militants attacked the US consulate in western Afghanistan on Friday morning, using a car bomb and guns to battle security forces just outside the compound in the city of Herat. It was not entirely clear whether any attackers managed to breach the facility, but at least two Afghans died, while the US said its personnel were all safe. The attack, which also injured several people and wound up leaving five alleged militants dead, underscored the perilous security situation in Afghanistan, where US-led troops are reducing their presence ahead of a full withdrawal next year.
Police clash with protesters in Istanbul
ISTANBUL: Turkish police used water cannon and tear gas late Thursday to break up fresh anti-government protests in Istanbul, amid anger over the death of a demonstrator earlier in the week. Officers faced 2,000-3,000 angry protesters on a second consecutive day of demonstrations in the Kadikoy district, an opposition stronghold. The police fired tear gas, water cannon and plastic pellets to break up the crowd as it approached the local offices of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).
High-stakes US-Russian talks open, Syria to join chemical arms ban
The United States and Russia began high-stakes talks on Thursday on Moscow’s plan for Syria to surrender its chemical weapons as Damascus formally applied to join a global poison gas ban, but Secretary of State John Kerry underscored that US military force may still be necessary if diplomacy fails.
Sartaj Aziz, Indian FM discuss Nawaz-Singh meeting, LoC
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz on Friday met with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, DNA reported.
Nine Nato oil tankers torched in Kalat
KALAT: At least nine North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) oil tankers were torched during an attack in the Sohrab district of Balochistan on Friday, DNA reported.
Political appointees in police: magnitude surprised Nawaz
ISLAMABAD: The issue of thousands of political appointments made in Sindh police since 2002 prominently figured at the meeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired last week in Karachi, which decided to launch a targeted operation led by Rangers in the metropolis against criminals.
Suspected mastermind of Chilas attack arrested: police
GILGIT: Police claim to have arrested the suspected mastermind responsible for killing a police officer and two military personnel investigating the Nanga Parbat killing case in which ten foreign mountaineers were shot dead in Himalayas from Kohistan on Thursday, DNA reported.
Ombudsman’s appointment: CJ irked at Salman Farooqui’s absence
ISLAMABAD: During the hearing of the case relating to the challenge against the appointment of Salman Farooqui as Federal Ombudsman, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed his displeasure at Farooqui’s absence from Thursday’s proceedings, DNA reported.
Govt to raise its case on drone attacks at the UN: FO
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Officer spokesman on Thursday said the government had prepared a case aimed at raising the issue of US drone strikes on Pakistani territory in the United Nations, DNA reported.
Brazil spy claims raise ‘legitimate questions’: US
WASHINGTON: Allegations of US spying on Brazil’s president and on its state oil company raise “legitimate questions”, a US official said Wednesday during talks with Brazil’s foreign minister.Luiz Alberto Figueiredo met US National Security Adviser Susan Rice to discuss the reported surveillance by the National Security Agency.Rice told Figueiredo “the United States understands that recent disclosures in the press – some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed — have created tensions…,” spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said after the talks.
