Maoist chief Prachanda slapped at public event Kathmandu, November 16

Nepal's most powerful politician Maoist supremo Prachanda was today left shaken after a young activist, believed to be a supporter of his own party, slapped him in full public view, breaking his glasses. The incident took place during a tea reception hosted by 57-year-old Prachanda's UCPN (Maoist) party to mark the festivals of 'Deepawali', 'Chhath' and Nepalese New Year here. A 25-year-old youth, identified as Pawan Kunwar from Baglung district of western Nepal, slapped Prachanda at the function, according to eye witnesses. Prachanda's spectacles flew off his face and one of the lens of his spectacles was shattered, eye-witnesses said. Soon after, Maoist cadres attacked Kunwar, who got seriously injured, before police took him into custody. He had got blood all over the face after the beating. Kunwar, a former member of the Young Communist League (YCL), the youth wing of the Maoist party, is undergoing treatment in Police Hospital, DIG Keshav Adhikari said.  PTI

Pak court stops renaming of rotary after Bhagat Singh

Lahore HC scuttles Punjab govt move to rename Shadman Chowk Lahore, November 16

Days after an official panel endorsed the renaming of a roundabout in Lahore after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh despite opposition from the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a Pakistani court today barred authorities from going ahead with the move. Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh of the Lahore High Court stopped the Punjab government from renaming Shadman Chowk as Bhagat Singh Chowk in response to a petition filed by Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool, a movement launched by the JuD. The judge issued notices to the Punjab government, the City District Government of Lahore, the Dilkash Lahore committee and the Bhagat Singh Foundation to file their responses to the petition by November 29. Zahid Butt, who filed the petition on behalf of Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool, alleged that Indian spy agency RAW had funded the Bhagat Singh Foundation to raise the issue of renaming Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh. He claimed the foundation had lobbied with the Dilkash Lahore committee, which had endorsed the move to rename the roundabout after Bhagat Singh. Senior JuD leader Amir Hamza is the head of the Tehrik Hurmat-e-Rasool. Hamza had earlier said his organisation would not allow places in Lahore to be renamed after Hindus, Sikhs or Christians. Pakistan is a Muslim country and such ideas cannot be appreciated, he had said. About two weeks ago, the City District Government of Lahore had put on hold a move to rename Shadman Chowk due to objections from hardline groups like the JuD and Jamaat-e-Islami and a section of local residents. The matter was referred to Dilkash Lahore, a committee set up to revitalise and beautify Lahore and to finalise new names for squares, roads and intersections after assessing their historical significant before the creation of Pakistan. The committee rejected all objections earlier this week and asked authorities to notify Bhagat Singh Chowk as the new name of the roundabout without any further delay, officials said. JuD leaders and traders from Shadman Market, located near the roundabout, protested against the governments decision yesterday. Senior JuD leader Amir Hamza and Zahid Butt, the president of the local traders body, announced that they would refer to the roundabout as Hurmat-e-Rasool Chowk. Members of the Dilkash Lahore committee, while discussing the renaming of Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh, highlighted the importance of the place where the freedom fighter was hanged by the British. Bhagat Singh was hanged in March 1931 in the erstwhile Lahore Jail, which stood at the spot where the roundabout was built later.  PTI The controversy Two weeks ago, the City District Government of Lahore had put on hold a move to rename Shadman Chowk due to objections from hardline groups like the JuD and Jamaat-e-Islami

Earlier this week, a committee had rejected all objections and asked the authorities to notify Bhagat Singh Chowk as the new name of the roundabout

Laloos name echoes in Pak Parliament Islamabad, November 16

A Pakistani lawmaker surprised his colleagues today by suggesting that the countrys railways should be handed over to former Indian Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav if the government was unable to tackle the state-run entitys numerous problems. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) lawmaker Sajid Ahmed made the suggestion in the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament while Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Noman Islam Sheikh was answering questions about the performance of the railways. Yadav is widely credited for guiding the turnaround of the Indian Railways. The Pakistan Railways has been plagued by several problems over the past few years, including the lack of locomotives, shortage of spare parts and fuel and the cancellation of dozens of trains due to lack of financial resources. Sheikh said new locomotives would have to be purchased for reviving the railways and making it a profitable organisation.  PTI

Bera is third Indian-American to make it to US Congress Washington, November 16

Indian-American physician Ami Bera has won the Congressional election from California in a tight race, becoming only the third from the community to make it to the US House of Representatives. Nearly 60 years after Dalip Singh Saund scripted history by becoming the first Indian-American to be elected to the House, Democrat Bera repeated the feat defeating incumbent Republican Dan Lungren in Californias Seventh Congressional District. While the counting of votes was still going on, local media projected Bera, 47, to have won the November 6 poll. The Sacramento County Registrar of Voters announced yesterday that Bera had increased his lead against Lungren and was now ahead by 2.2 per cent or 5,696 votes. Beras lead has widened with each new count. On November 6, Bera had a lead of just 184 votes, thus necessitating the counting of provisional and absentee ballots. This lead grew to 3,800 votes on Tuesday. Latest update shows that weve processed another 38,510 ballots since Tuesdays update. Its increasingly clear that the voters of Sacramento County want new leadership that puts the people first. Our lead continues to widen and we are confident that this election will be resolved in our favour, Bera said in a statement. He is currently in Washington for an orientation course for new lawmakers, which incidentally is being led by Lungren. Bera would only be the third Indian-American to have been elected to the House of Representatives after Dalip Saund in the 1950s and Bobby Jindal in 2005 and 2008.  PTI

BRIEFLY Former CIA director Petraeus to testify on Benghazi events

WASHINGTON: Former CIA Director David Petraeus will testify on Capitol Hill about the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, but also is expected to be asked about his resignation last week over an extramarital affair. Petraeus was invited to testify behind closed doors to the House of Representatives and Senate intelligence committees that are investigating what happened in Benghazi on September 11 when attacks by militants on the mission and nearby CIA annex killed the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.  Reuters





A displaced Congolese woman walks past a retreating army tank in a village near Goma, following an alleged ambush by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congos restive North Kivu province.  AFP UN court frees Croatia generals

The Hague: The UN Yugoslav war crimes court on Friday acquitted Croatian ex-generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac of charges, including war crimes, during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia and ordered them freed. The appeals court "enters a verdict of acquittal" for Gotovina and Markac, judge Theodor Meron said at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. The court's packed public gallery erupted in cheers and clapping as the acquittal was read, with many people bursting out in tears.  AFP 113 rebels killed in DR Congo

Kinshasa: As many as 113 rebels died in clashes between the M23 rebel group and Democratic Republic of Congo troops, the regional governor said, as violence flared days after the UN and US imposed sanctions on the group's leader. The fighting near the eastern city of Goma came a day after the UN said armed groups in the region slaughtered over 200 persons, including scores of children between April and September. Government spokesman Lambert Mende had said earlier that "51 bodies (of rebels) wearing Rwandan army uniforms have been collected".  AFP