8 security personnel killed in Gwadar

Assailants flee on motorbikes

Gwadar—Gunmen shot dead eight soldiers at a checkpoint here on Saturday, officials said, as violence marred the start of Ramazan. “Armed men surrounded Pashookan post of Pakistan coast guards near the town of Gwadar and gunned down eight soldiers,” local administration chief Sohailur Rehman said, adding that three other soldiers were wounded. The assailants, believed to be about a dozen, fled on motorbikes after the shooting, another official Rehmat Dashti told AFP.

15 die in Kurram, Dir attacks

Peshawar—The heartless terrorists did not care a fig about the first of Ramazan as at least 15 people were killed and equal number of others sustained serious injuries in two bomb blasts one each in Kurram Agency and Dir district Saturday morning. Those killed included three minor girls and a three year old boy. Reports reaching here from Kurram agency said a suicide bomber rammed his explosive laded vehicle with a building reportedly owned by a pro-government militant commander which destroyed the compound in Spin Thall area falling on the converge of Kurram and North Waziristan agencies.

UN approves 30 more days for observers as clashes continue in Syria

United Nations/Damascus—The UN Security Council (UNSC) members finally came together and passed on Friday a resolution which allows the unarmed UN monitors deployed in Syria to stay in the strife-torn nation for another 30 days. The approval of the rollover resolution, which extended the mandate of the UN mission in Syria that was about to expire at midnight Friday, came just one day after China and Russia again vetoed a Western-proposed draft resolution that would have threatened sanctions on Syria if Damascus did not withdraw its troops from populated areas.

Manmohan slow in response to Zardari’s initiative

Islamabad—Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appear reluctant to quickly respond to new initiative for a historic turn in Pakistan-India relationship and give a firm date for his long-promised visit to Pakistan. According to reliable diplomatic sources, President Zardari is eager to bring about a breakthrough in South Asia by inviting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan as early as in September or October this year. The move is also backed by Washington and other Western capitals but Indians are still hesitant to take a bold decision.

Raja seeks views of political leaders

Islamabad—Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Saturday said he would contact the political leadership of the country to solicit their views on matters of national importance at an appropriate time. “All political leaders are pro-Pakistan and genuinely desire that the country should march on a trajectory of peace, prosperity and stability, under a strong democratic system,” he told APP here at the PM House. The Prime Minister to a question said he would not hesitate for a moment to consult the political leaders any issue of national importance.

Crowds cheer Olympic flame through London

London—The Olympic torch has received a rapturous reception from thousands of well-wishers who rose early to mark its arrival in the Games’ host city.After being greeted by crowds all over Britain, the flame started its first full day in London at the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, in the south east of the capital. A carnival atmosphere spread through the streets of the Olympic borough as the rain of recent weeks gave way to brilliant sunshine.

Shahbaz: Ensure items of daily use at affordable rates

Lahore—Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Punjab government has taken effective steps to ensure provision of quality daily-use items at affordable rates, to the general public, during the month of Ramzan-ul- Mubarak. The Chief Minister was talking to Members Assembly, belonging to various districts here Saturday. He said that over 300 Ramazan Bazaars have been established, throughout the province, to ensure availability of inexpensive edible to the citizens.