Friday, April 19, 2013

BOSTON: Bombing suspect in custody after standoff in Watertown

The man believed to be responsible for placing the bombs that struck near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing 3 and injuring more than 170, was pulled this afternoon from his hiding place in a boat parked in the backyard of a home. Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge was apprehended shortly before 8:45 p.m. at a home on Franklin Street in this community just outside Boston. “We are eternally grateful for the outcome here tonight. We have a suspect in custody,” said Colonel Timothy Alben, commander of the State Police. “It’s a night where I think we’re all going to rest easy,” Governor Deval Patrick said at a news conference in Watertown.“It’s a night where I think we’re all going to rest easy,” Governor Deval Patrick said at a news conference in Watertown. Tsarnaev was rushed to a local hospital. Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said he was in serious condition. Police had approached him cautiously, worried that he might be wearing a suicide bomb vest. “We got him,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino tweeted immediately afterwards. He took to the police radio to thank officers personally, telling them, “Good job, guys!” The apprehension of Tsarnaev was the latest stunning development in a day that had shocked the city, even as it was reeling from Monday’s attack. The other suspect in the bombings, Tsarnaev’s brother, was killed early this morning in a gun battle with police. An MIT police officer was also killed Thursday night and an MBTA Transit Police officer suffered gunshots wounds. The two brothers threw pipe bombs at police who pursued them into Watertown, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was able to escape, officials said. In yet another twist in the fast-breaking story, New Bedford police said this evening that three people had been taken into custody in their city as part of the bombing investigation. New Bedford Police Lieutenant Robert Richard said his department assisted federal investigators in executing a search warrant at a home on Carriage Drive in New Bedford, about 10 minutes from the campus of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Tsarnaev was a student. Richard said the FBI took two men and a woman into custody. “They appeared to be either fellow college students or fellow residents,” he said. Tsarnaev was discovered hiding in the boat at about 7 p.m., less than an hour after officials had held a news conference to say that he had eluded them, despite a daylong search of a 20-block area in Watertown by heavily armed police. A State Police helicopter peeked down into the boat from above. Police used “flash bang” stun grenades to disorient and distract him, Davis said. An FBI hostage rescue team eventually pulled him out. Davis said Tsarnaev was discovered by a resident who had come out of his house and noticed blood on the boat and that the tarp covering it had been ripped. The resident lifted the tarp and saw a bloody form inside. He said the resident had called police, and police had exchanged gunfire with Tsarnaev at the boat. A Globe photographer at the scene could hear police saying after Tsarnaev had been surrounded, “We know you’re in there. Come out on your own terms. Come out with your hands up.” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a native of Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz state news agency said. The Associated Press reported this morning that the dead suspect’s name was Tsarnaev’s brother Tamerlan. A law enforcement source told the Globe that an explosive trigger was found on Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body at the morgue. The frenzy of activity in the case came a day after authorities had released the suspects’ pictures, calling them Suspect No. 1 and Suspect No. 2. “We’re so grateful to bring justice and closure to this case,” said Alben.

Musharraf's arrest 'embarasses' the military

Police has arrested former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in a case revolving around his decision to sack senior judges while in power. It is yet to be seen how the army will react to its former chief's arrest. Former Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf has been put under arrest in his house in one of Islamabad's posh suburbs after a court canceled his bail on Thursday, April 18. The arrest order relates to Musharraf's decision to fire judges of senior courts in 2007. On Friday, the Islamabad High Court ordered the police to keep the former military chief and president in custody for two days and present him before an anti-terrorism court on Monday. In a video message posted on social networking website Facebook, Musharraf said his arrest orders were "politically motivated" and claimed that he was being punished for his services to Pakistan and its people. The general ousted the popular former premier Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless military coup in 1999. He then ruled the Islamic Republic for eight years. He was also considered to be one of the most important US allies in the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and received ire of religious groups as a result. A popular leader with many Pakistani liberals, the general now faces death threats from the Taliban and other Islamists, with whom he dealt with an iron hand during his eight years of dictatorial rule. He also has a bounty on his head, which was placed by the son of slain Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti. Musharraf was impeached when the elected government led by Yousuf Raza Gilani came to power in 2008. He went into self-imposed exile for five years. He returned to Pakistan from Dubai on March 24 this year with the purpose of contesting parliamentary elections, due on May 11. However, to his dismay, the Election Commission of Pakistan rejected his electoral nomination papers on April 16, and disqualified him from taking part in elections, as a number of cases are pending against him in the courts, including one in which he is implicated for the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
'Embarrassed' military
Musharraf's arrest orders has come to many who thought that the powerful Pakistani army would not allow its former head to be arrested as a surprise. The general had managed to get his bail approved after landing in Karachi. He got it extended earlier this month and was hoping to get another extension. But the Islamabad High Court dismissed his appeal and ordered his arrest, after which the retired general had fled the court premises. According to Pakistani media reports, the general left the scene unperturbed under the protection of his commandos and security personnel which have been provided to him by the Pakistani military and the government. "Those who were supposed to arrest Musharraf were guarding him," Pakistani writer and activist Masood Qamar told DW. Karachi-based defense and political analyst Ali K. Chishti told DW the Pakistani generals were "unhappy" with Musharraf's arrest. "The military is not happy and watching the developments very cautiously. I spoke to some serving generals and they said they found the situation extremely embarrassing for their institution. The Pakistani army does not want to see their former chief behind the bars," Chishti said. "Musharraf still represents the army. The military commanders won't let this happen," Talat Bhat, a Sweden-based Kashmiri political activist had told DW prior to Musharraf's arrest. "It is but a test and a defining moment for Pakistan, its army and the judicial system. We will see if a general can also be arrested." Critics say that Musharraf, even after his arrest, is getting a "privileged" treatment because of his military background. Had he been a civilian politician, he would have been sent to a jail, they say. Others disagree. "He is receiving special treatment because he faces death threats. I don't think it is because of fact that he was the head of the military," Chishti commented.
Clash of institutions
Miqteda Mansoor, a columnist in Karachi, said that the power dynamics in Pakistan are changing. "The judiciary has emerged as a powerful institution during the past five years," Mansoor told DW. He, however, said he thought that Musharraf's arrest orders had been issued out of "revenge" by the judiciary. "There should have been a proper trial first," he said. Chishti disagreed: "Musharraf's arrest shows that Pakistan has a vibrant judiciary which wants to ensure the rule of law," he said. Experts say that under the present circumstances, the May 11 parliamentary elections could well be postponed, but even if these do take place on time, political stability will not return to Pakistan any time soon.

President Obama surrounded by top advisers as Boston manhunt continues

http://www.nydailynews.com/
President Obama was surrounded by his top advisers on Friday as the city of Boston and its surrounding suburbs were locked down while authorities hunted a suspected terrorist presumed to be armed and dangerous. Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and CIA Director John Brennan were all at the White House Friday afternoon as the massive manhunt continued. "A number of Cabinet Secretaries and other senior officials are at the White House to participate in a previously scheduled meeting of National Security Principals," a White House adviser said. Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel was also seen entering the White House on Friday. A White House official told Buzzfeed that Emanuel often stops by the White House when he’s in town and there is no “specific topic” for his visit. Emanuel, now the mayor of Chicago, told an ABC News reporter he was there “to think big thoughts.” The Boston area was on lockdown Friday morning as police hunted for 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, a suspect in Monday’s deadly marathon bombings. His brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was gunned down by police overnight. At the State Department, Kerry declined to comment on the implications of the brothers’ Chechen background. Earlier Friday morning, Obama and Vice President Biden were joined in the Situation Room by their national security advisers for a briefing on the bombing investigation and manhunt. The Situation Room briefing also included FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder and other top aides and advisers. Kerry, Brennan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano joined the morning meeting by video conference. The Situation Room briefing began shortly after 9:45 a.m. and wrapped up about an hour later. Obama was also updated throughout the night about the developments in Boston and the suburb of Watertown, where the hunt has focused. The White House daily press briefing was delayed until further notice.

Uncle of suspected Boston bombers says exactly the right thing at exactly the right moment

http://www.dallasnews.com/
I want Ruslan Tsarni to run for office or something. I can’t ever remember someone of such humble roots emerging from complete obscurity to stand in front of the national media, speaking live to the nation, and speaking with such clarity, forcefulness and conviction. The uncle of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnayev, the two prime suspects in the Boston bombings declared in no uncertain terms: “Of course we are ashamed!” These two young men, his nephews, are “losers” who come from a loser family that was unable to assimilate after receiving asylum in this country sometime around 2005-2006. Tsarni’s brother, the father of the bombers, apparently couldn’t find a job. Nor could the boys. Whatever the cause of their bitterness, they apparently chose to lash out at America, the country that hosted them and gave them shelter from the many troubles facing their homeland, including a radical Islamist separatist movement that opposes Chechnya’s absorption into Russia. Instead of being grateful to America for the opportunities this country offered them, they apparently chose to explode bombs and kill innocents who had nothing to do with the two young men’s problems. Ruslan Tsarni has an amazing economy and facility with words. In the very short time he stood before reporters, he stated the feelings of people who resent what they know is coming: the tarnishing of an entire ethnicity’s reputation by the acts of two deranged individuals, and the further tarnishing of the Islamic religion by two people confused about how to express their religious devotion. Tsarni made absolutely clear: They don’t represent Chechens. They don’t represent Islam. “Turn yourself in,” Tsarni shouted to his nephew, wherever he is hiding. And apologize and ask forgiveness for what you have done. Tsarni recalled his own feelings of shock upon learning that an 8-year-old boy, a Chinese student and a 29-year-old young lady known had their lives wiped out by the bombers. He expressed condolences. And then to learn that the bombers apparently were his own nephews, “the children of my own brother,” was the biggest shock. The anger and hurt on Tsarni’s face was unmistakable. Wow. I wanted to hug him. He said exactly the right things at exactly the right moment. Let’s hope his nephew, Dzhokhar Tsarnayev, was listening.

Suspect Manhunt Puts Boston on Lockdown

Police in Massachusetts are conducting a massive manhunt for one of the suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, after killing the other suspect in a shootout late Thursday. US media are reporting the suspects are brothers of Chechen origin. Authorities say the "white hat" suspect from the marathon bombings, known as Suspect Two, is on the loose and is "armed and dangerous." Police are searching through the suburb of Watertown, about eight kilometers from Boston, and other parts of the Boston metropolitan area.The suspects were driving a carjacked Mercedes SUV and police chased them after they were called to the scene of a robbery in Cambridge, across the river from Boston. Authorities say the suspects had fatally shot a campus police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Police say explosive devices were thrown at them from the fleeing car, and in an exchange of gunfire one of the suspects was shot, while the other fled in the vehicle. Ed Davis, the commissioner of the Boston police department, said they believe the suspect is a terrorist. "We believe this to be a man who has come here to kill people," he said. "We need to get him in custody.'' The first suspect was taken with multiple gunshot wounds to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. U.S. law enforcement officials say the two suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon bombing are legal U.S. residents of Chechen origin, identified as 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Officials say the elder brother died from wounds sustained during a shootout with police. Dzhokhar, the suspect wearing a white hat in video taken near the marathon bombings, has been called "Suspect Two" by police searching for him, and they say he is armed and dangerous. The brothers were believed to be living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and have at least one sister. A young Chechen who lives in Boston and says he knew the family told VOA the Tsarnaev family lived mainly in Central Asia before coming to the U.S. more than eight years ago. Multiple sources, including Temirmagomed Davudov, a school headmaster in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan, say the Tsarnaevs are originally from Kyrgyzstan and are of Chechen ethnicity. The headmaster said the two Tsarnaev brothers attended his school and left for the U.S. in 2002. Friends of the two men say they were smart and athletic, the elder a boxer and the younger a wrestler. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev graduated in 2011 from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, about five kilometers from the center of Boston. Authorities are urging residents throughout Boston and a number of its suburbs to stay indoors, as police lay a dragnet for the suspect. Classes have been cancelled at schools and universities, and the entire public transport system of the Boston metropolitan area has been shut down. Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon killed three people and left more than 170 injured.

BOSTON: Profile Of Terrorist Tsarnaev Brothers

The two suspects in the deadly bombing of this week’s Boston Marathon hailed from a Russian region near Chechnya, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing an unidentified source. Media speculation has been rife that the suspects' family hailed from Chechnya itself, though a number of reports say the two spent most if not all of their lives outside the restive Russian republic. One of the two suspects in the April 15 bombing, which left three people dead and almost 200 injured, was killed earlier today, police said, after the fatal shooting of an officer at Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US media reported. The Reuters news agency, citing a national security official, identified the surviving Boston bomb suspect as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Boston police have posted a "wanted" notice for the man on its Twitter feed, saying the "suspect [is] considered armed & dangerous." Reuters, citing the same official, identified the dead suspect as Tsarnaev's brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26. The brothers had been in the United States for several years, the official said. The AP, citing a man identified as the Tsarnaevs' uncle, reported the brothers had lived in the United States for 10 years. Boston officials have told all city residents to stay indoors while the hunt for Tsarnaev continues, US media said. CBS News said the two men were from “Chechnya or Turkey." A person named Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appears on a list of 45 people awarded Cambridge City scholarships in 2011.A page on VKontakte, Russia’s answer to Facebook, in the name of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, with a photo bearing a resemblance to one of the men in images released by US authorities of the blast suspects, says he studied at a school in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s republic of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, from 1999-2001, and graduated from the Cambridge Ringe & Latin School in 2011. The page lists the languages spoken by the young man as English, Russian and Chechen, and identifies his worldview as “Islam” and his personal priorities as “career and money.” There was no way of confirming that the VKontakte page belonged to the suspected bomber. Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya was ravaged by two brutal wars between federal troops and local forces in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The republic’s capital, Grozny, was devastated by some of the most intense aerial bombing of an urban area since World War II during the first of the two wars, which began in 1994, around the time Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was born. While the first war hinged on separatism, the second had a strong Islamist strain. However, the region, especially Grozny, has experienced a period of relative calm in recent years since the Kremlin appointed a former anti-Moscow fighter, Ramzan Kadyrov, to rule the region. Kadyrov and his personal army have been accused of human rights abuses, but he denies the charges. Kadyrov was also reported last week to have been placed on the secret section of a US list of Russian officials subject to visa bans. He laughed off the report and said he had no intention of traveling to the United States, in any case. He also sharply criticized Washington’s foreign policy. A State Department official said last week that while the Russians named publicly on the list were subject to visa bans and US asset freezes, those on the secret part of the list would not be subject to asset freezes.

Pakistan's medical schools _ where the women rule

Associated Press
In a lecture hall of one of Pakistan's most prestigious medical schools, a handful of male students sits in the far top corner, clearly outnumbered by the rows and rows of female students listening intently to the doctor lecturing about insulin. In a country better known for honor killings of women and low literacy rates for girls, Pakistan's medical schools are a reflection of how women's roles are evolving. Women now make up the vast majority of students studying medicine, a gradual change that's come about after a quota favoring male admittance into medical school was lifted in 1991. The trend is a step forward for women in Pakistan, a largely conservative Muslim country. But there remain obstacles. Many women graduates don't go on to work as doctors, largely because of pressure from family and society to get married and stop working — so much so that there are now concerns over the impact on the country's health care system. At Dow Medical College in the southern port city of Karachi, the female students said they are adamant they will work. Standing in the school's courtyard as fellow students — almost all of them women — gathered between classes, Ayesha Sultan described why she wants to become a doctor. "I wanted to serve humanity, and I believe that I was born for this," said Sultan, who is in her first year. "The women here are really striving hard to get a position, especially in this country where women's discrimination is to the zenith, so I think that's why you find a lot of women here." For years, a government-imposed quota mandated that 80 percent of the seats at medical schools went to men and 20 percent to women. Then the Supreme Court ruled that the quota was unconstitutional and that admission should be based solely on merit. Now about 80 to 85 percent of Pakistan's medical students are women, said Dr. Mirza Ali Azhar, the secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association. Statistics gathered by The Associated Press show that at medical schools in some deeply conservative areas of the country such as Baluchistan in the southwest and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest, men still outnumber women. But in Punjab and Sindh provinces, which turn out the vast bulk of medical students, the women dominate. At Dow, it is currently about 70 percent women to 30 percent men. In comparison, about 47 percent of medical students in the U.S. are women, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. There are a number of different reasons why men don't make the cut, say students, faculty and medical officials. Medical school takes too long and is too difficult. Boys have more freedom to leave the house than girls, so they have more distractions. Boys want a career path in business or IT that will make them more money and faster, in part because they need to earn money to raise families. "In our society, girls are working harder. They are just more concentrated on their studies," said Azhar. Boys also see how hard doctors have to work even after they get their degree. "They do not like to work hard as a matter of fact." Ammara Khan is fully prepared for the years that it will take to fulfill her dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. She decided she wanted to pursue neurosurgery after watching an operation while volunteering at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi. "It's like an adrenaline rush, and I knew I wanted to be that and nothing else," she said. Still, medical officials and students acknowledge many women don't go on to practice medicine. At Dow, for example, just about all the male graduates work as doctors, but only an estimated half the women do, says Dr. Umar Farooq, the school's pro-vice chancellor. Nationwide figures on how many women graduates forgo actual practice don't exist, but despite years of increased women's enrollment, the gender breakdown of doctors remains lopsided. Of the 132,988 doctors registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, 58,789 are women. The number of female specialists is even smaller: 7,524 out of 28,686. The pressure on women to get married, have kids and stay home to raise them is powerful. The prestige of a medical degree gives a woman a boost in marriage prospects, so many parents push their daughters to enroll, many students and faculty said. Prospective in-laws like the idea of having a doctor in the family and want their sons to have an educated wife to ensure the grandchildren are educated as well. But that doesn't mean they want the woman to actually use her degree and take away from child-raising time. "They want a doctor label but they don't want it to go anywhere. They don't think you're a real person who might want to specialize or work on it," said Beenish Ehsan, a student at Dow. Her own family supports her completing the initial five years of medical college. But when she started talking about further studies for a specialization, they worried it would take away from her future family life. "They're like, 'No, but you'll take care of the house, won't you?'" Ehsan said. "You have to convince them," she said, adding that too many women don't push back against their families. "Sometimes girls give up too soon, I feel." There are also cultural impediments. Women who do work often don't want to do so in rural areas far from their families or don't want night shifts, given the country's deteriorating law and order. Some male patients only want to be treated by men because they don't want women touching them or because they perceive the men to be smarter and more qualified. During the 2010 floods that devastated Pakistan, Dow wanted to send medical students to Sindh province to treat victims but were hindered by the school's overwhelmingly female enrollment, admissions director Rana Qamar Masood said. The boys could go on their own for long stretches. The girls were also lobbying heavily to go, but the school decided to send them in teams on buses with chaperones out of concern for their safety. They would return home each evening, thus limiting how far they could travel. "We are responsible for these girls. How can we send them out to these hard-hit areas?" she said. "These are the ground realities in our society." Amid concerns over the number of the doctors in the future, proposals are being touted to rebalance the student body. Masood said she would support some sort of gender bias in admissions to bring in more male students. The PMA has floated the idea of building a number of medical schools just for boys. Already there are five medical schools for women. Among the students, some said a new quota was necessary. Others said it would be unfair. "That would be injustice. Girls are studying harder," said one male student, Aleem Uddin Khan, who said it took him two tries to get into Dow. "If we want the seats, we should study hard." The debate here echoes the "mommy wars" in the U.S., where women have been trying to figure out the balance between work and home life for years. Midhat Lakhani, a Dow student, has only to look to her mother, who's a doctor, to know it's possible to pursue a career and have a family. Her mom took her postgraduate exams 15 days after giving birth to Midhat's sister. "You have to be supermom, obviously," she said.

Pakistan police take former president Musharraf into custody

Reuters
Pakistani police took former president Pervez Musharraf into custody on Friday to face allegations he overstepped his powers while in office, marking a dramatic break with a political culture in which military rulers have remained untouchable. The one-time army chief had hoped to rekindle a degree of influence by standing at general elections in May, but has instead become ensnared in a showdown with judges who fought bruising battles with him while he was still in office. "He's been shifted to a police guest house for two days of remand," Mohammad Amjad, Musharraf's spokesman, told Reuters. A magistrate had raised the stakes earlier on Friday when he ordered Musharraf be placed under house arrest for two days before he is due to appear in court on allegations of illegally detaining judges during a crackdown on the judiciary in 2007. Musharraf is accused of violating the constitution by placing judges under house arrest after he sacked the chief justice and imposed emergency rule. Judges had signaled their intent to take a tough line with Musharraf on Friday when they ordered his case be heard in an anti-terrorism court on the grounds that detaining judges could be considered an attack on the state. Police later transferred Musharraf into custody at a guest house at their headquarters in Islamabad after a senior officer failed to issue paperwork necessary for him to remain under detention at his home, his spokesman, Amjad, said. Pakistan television broadcast footage of Musharraf leaving his farmhouse residence at an exclusive estate on the edge of Islamabad in a black SUV escorted by police vehicles. The spectacle of a man who once embodied the army's control over Pakistan being forced to answer to judges was a potent symbol of the way power dynamics have shifted in Pakistan, which has been ruled by the military for more than half its history. FIRST TRANSITION BETWEEN CIVILIAN GOVERNMENTS The May 11 general elections will be the first transition between elected civilian-led governments. One of Musharraf's lawyers said he would file a petition to overturn the arrest order at the Supreme Court later on Friday. Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and resigned in 2008, returned to Pakistan after almost four years of self-imposed exile in London and Dubai last month to stand for the National Assembly but he was disqualified by election officials. While the sight of a former army commander being arrested is sure to rankle some in the military, who see the armed forces as the only reliable guarantor of Pakistan's stability, Musharraf's ill-starred return has bemused some former comrades. "I don't think the army was in favor of him returning and tried to dissuade him," said General Hamid Khan, a former senior army commander. "But he decided to come, and now he has to face this. The army is staying out of it." However, the order to place Musharraf under house arrest was surprising in a nation where the army still largely controls security policy and where support for the armed forces is equated with patriotism. He faces a raft of other legal challenges, including allegations that he failed to provide adequate security to prevent the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. He has also been accused of treason for his decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule.

Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai in Time's 'most influential' list

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani school girl and advocate for girls' education who survived a would-be assassin's bullet, is among the 100 most influential people in the world, Time magazine said on Thursday. Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, is one of seven honourees to also appear on one of the various covers that the magazine has devoted to the list. The 15-year old, who also has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, had surgery in February to repair the hole left in her skull by a gunman's bullet, and now lives in exile in Britain. The annual list picks luminaries from art, business and politics whose achievement make them among the world's most vital and vibrant figures. Making Time's list this year were Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day Lewis and Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. President Barack Obama appears on the list for an eighth time, and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, made it, too. Other politicians tapped by Time include US Senator Rand Paul, China's Xi Jinping, Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un. SpaceX founder and entrepreneur Elon Musk is mentioned, as is the newly installed Pope Francis. Pop music is represented by Justin Timberlake and Jay Z and his wife Beyonce, among others. In the world of sports, Italian football player Mario Balotelli was included, as was US basketball star LeBron James and Alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn, although her beau, top world golfer Tiger Wood, alas, does not. Short bios of each of the honouree appear in the magazine, penned in many instances by equally prestigious figures in their fields.

Malala Yousafzai to give speech in New York

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, will make her first public speech on her 16th birthday in New York, Gordon Brown announced on Friday.
She will speak at the United Nations on July 12, said Mr Brown, speaking in his capacity as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. Malala was shot at point-blank range by a Taliban gunman as her school bus travelled through Pakistan's Swat Valley on October 9 last year, She was flown to Britain for surgery on her head injuries and, once she had recovered sufficiently, returned to school in Birmingham last month."Malala is a true inspiration and a shining beacon for girls education around the world," said Mr Brown. "I am full of admiration for her courage and determination in the journey she is on, and am sure that she can become a real leader in the campaign for a school place for every girl - and every boy." Malala has become a global symbol of the campaign for girls' right to an education and has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Some 4,000 young people are expected to be in attendance for her debut speech. Her self-penned life story is due out later this year in a deal reportedly worth around $3 million.

Pervez Musharraf arrested, granted 2-day transit remand

THE FRONTIER POST
The judicial magistrate’s court on Friday granted ex-military leader Pervez Musharraf two days transit remand after he was arrested over charges related to judges confinement, officials said. Section 6 of anti-terrorism has also been added in the FIR against Pervez Musharraf. The Islamabad High Court had on Thursday ordered his arrest over his controversial decision to dismiss judges when he imposed emergency rule in 2007. It was the latest humiliating blow for the retired general, in power from 1999 to 2008, who promised to "save" the troubled nation and contest the May 11 vote after returning from four years of self-imposed exile. "General Musharraf has been sent on a two-day judicial remand and he will stay at his farmhouse," a spokesman for his All Pakistan Muslim League party told. The court has declared his Chak Shahzad farmhouse as sub-jail where he will be confined for the next two days. An official at the magistrate’s court in Islamabad confirmed the order. According to Private News Channel, Pervez Musharraf along with his team of lawyers appeared before Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Abbas Shah’s court today morning under strict security. At the occasion, lawyers chanted slogans against Musharraf. Musharraf’s lawyer pleaded the judicial magistrate to declare him judicial as his client has threats to his life. Musharraf waited in the court’s premises in his car and left for his residence after a while. APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said the magistrate had ordered Musharraf to appear before an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi after two days. "Musharraf himself surrendered before the court Friday morning," Amjad said, denying media reports that he had been arrested prior to going to court. Musharraf walked into the court wearing a traditional shalwar kamiz and surrounded by police and paramilitary. His team said they would seek bail in the Supreme Court later Friday. Musharraf is also accused of conspiracy to murder PPP leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and over the death of Akbar Bugti during a 2006 military operation. He had been granted bail repeatedly since his homecoming on March 24.