Archive for category: News

A recent report shows that Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, with some 25 million children between 5 and 16 out of school, Press TV reports.

According to a report by Alif Ailaan, a local alliance for education reform, around 70 percent of the out-of-school children have never attended school.

Mazhar, a child laborer who has never been to school told the Press TV correspondent in Islamabad, “I have been working at this workshop for some years now. I financially support my family by working here. I wanted to go to school but my parents never sent me there.”
 
It also shows that the proportion of out-of-school children rises as the level of education increases so that by the higher-secondary level some 85 percent are not in school.

Mosharraf Zaidi, who works for the promotion of children’s education in Pakistan, told the correspondent, “The poor state of education in Pakistan is entirely, entirely the responsibility of the Pakistani state. No country in the world has become educated on the back of private sector or on the back of religious schools. Every developed county, every country that is doing well and has a chance to do well in the future is doing well because its state, its government, invested in the capacity of its people by giving children an education.”      

The report goes on to state that there are 13.7 million girls out of school and 11.4 million boys out of school.

It also shows that while most of the boys choose not to go to school, a majority of girls’ parents do not permit their attendance.

SRK/AS/MHB

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah stressed that takfiri militants of Qalamoun and Arsal barrens “are incapable of invading any Bekaa region,” emphasizing that “our preparations are very advanced,” local daily Al-Akhbar reported Tuesday.

During the “Annual Meeting of Scholars and Informers” on Monday, prior to the month of Muharram, Sayyed Nasrallah urged unity among Muslims which “we are badly in need to it”, called for staying away from provocation and for “providing a refined and bright Islam to the contrary of the one provided by ISIL (the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and similar groups.”

His eminence called for a strong and effective presence in Ashoura’ gatherings, stressing that people of Resistance will not be attacked and Hezbollah will not allow anyone to attack them.

He also reiterated sticking to the choice of fighting off the Takfiri terrorist armed groups, underlining that sacrifices that Hezbollah paid are much less than the victories that Resistance has so far achieved.

He also reassured that the security situation is under control to a large extent, but if certain violation occurs “this does not mean that we have failed, because the greatest countries in the world cannot proclaim its security is under control by 100%.”

Sayyed Nasrallah explained that his latest visit to Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon was “to increase my reassurance”, highlighting that the recent events in Brital and Asal Al-Wared barrens were just “detailed limitations which have been recovered”, contrary to the prevailing media exaggerations.

“In war time, we would have a day of joy and a day of sorrow,” he said, adding that “I was briefed on the situation on ground, and traveled on foot several kilometers between positions. I assure you that we are very strong on the ground, preparations are very advanced and our plans are well-knit, and we are ready for any step they (takfiri groups) might do.”

Sayyed Nasrallah elaborated that the gunmen are incapable of invading any Bekaa area because they are trapped and facing a real crisis, stressing that they have three choices: either to die of cold, to return back to Syria, or to leave Arsal as civilians to inside Lebanon through smuggling.

Moreover, Hezbollah Secretary General said that each day passes “our belief gets stronger that our fight in Syria was to protect Lebanon… Today, we – the Resistance axis – are the victorious. When enemies’ schemes fail, that means you are victorious, knowing that the battle still has long way before reaching the final victory.”

“We are in front of golden opportunity to break the takfiri scheme,” his eminence expressed.

Sayyed Nasrallah, however, believed that ongoing conflict is neither on Syria, nor on toppling President Bashar Al-Assad, but to re-draw a new map of the region, emphasizing that survival of ISIL serves the US and Turkey interests.

He described the International-Arab coalition against ISIL as “nail trimming operation” and “setting red lines” for this terrorist group in order not to affect the Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Arbil, indicating that raids launched since the beginning of the operation are equal to the raids launched in one single day during July war that the Zionist entity launched on Lebanon in 2006.

Sayyed Nasrallah stated that United States uses ISIL as scarecrow to frighten, blackmail and exhaust the regional countries to impose its hegemony, especially in Syria and Iraq. He voiced beliefs that Turkey would not engage in the international coalition against ISIL, and would only meet the U.S. requirements for real strategic and geographic gains in return.

“It (Turkey) may extend its influence down to Aleppo, and therefore will not provide aid to the Kurds of Kobanî, and will not move any step that might threaten ISIL,” Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah concluded.

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RIYADH: A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced two more people to death in connection with protests by Shia minority that began three years ago, official media said.

The latest convictions followed last week’s death sentence against prominent Shia cleric Nimr al Nimr, a driving force behind the demonstrations.

A special court in the capital Riyadh issued the latest verdicts “as a deterrent to others,” the Saudi Press Agency said late Tuesday.

A third person, named Hyder Ali al Namily, 23, was jailed for 12 years.

SPA named the accused as Dawood Hussain al Marhun, 18, and Abdullah Hassan al Zaher, 17, who allegedly were tried on charges including “participating in marches and rallies that caused riots” in the Eastern Province community of Awamiya.

They were also allegedly accused of “chanting slogans hostile to the state with the intent of breaching security and overthrowing the regime,” attacking security forces, and stealing medical supplies from a pharmacy to treat people injured during protests.

Two people had already been sentenced to death in June for “taking part in forming a terrorist group” and other crimes linked to the Shia demonstrations.

Several others have received multi-year jail sentences.

Most of Saudi Arabia’s estimated two million Shias live in the east, where the vast majority of the wealthy kingdom’s oil reserves lie.

Many Shias complain of marginalisation and discrimination in the Sunni-dominated kingdom.

They began demonstrating in February 2011 after an outbreak of violence between Shia pilgrims and religious police in the Muslim holy city of Medina in western Saudi Arabia.

Protests escalated after the kingdom’s intervention in neighbouring Bahrain to support a Sunni monarchy against an uprising led by the Shia majority.

Hundreds were arrested in Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International.

Tension rose further in July 2012 when security forces arrested the grey-bearded Nimr, who was shot and wounded.

After the sheikh’s conviction last week, his family accused the court of ignoring his “peaceful and non-violent approach,” saying the case had caused “social and political discontent”.

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The German government is not required to disclose information about its arms deals while they are in their early stages, the country’s highest court says.

According to a ruling issued by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court on Tuesday, the German administration is not obliged to provide the parliament (Bundestag) with details of its military export transactions.

Judges at the Karlsruhe-based court ruled that “parliamentary control shall apply only to completed processes.”

A number of German Green party lawmakers, including Hans-Christian Ströbele, Claudia Roth and Katja Keul, had brought the case against the government, arguing that the parliament had not received adequate information about the country’s arms shipments to Algeria and a controversial deal with Saudi Arabia.

However, the court said that revealing preliminary negotiations with arms firms in the lead-up to doing business with them could affect the “diplomatic dimension” of Germany’s arms export decisions.

In recent years, Germany has signed a bundle of arms deals with Algeria which are reportedly valued at 10 billion euros.
 
In 2011, it also approved the sale of around 200 German Leopard battle tanks to Saudi Arabia, but opposition lawmakers criticized the deal with Riyadh as a breach of the country’s weapons export guidelines.

SSM/HMV/SS

A former director of Britain’s spy agency has warned that British soldiers working along with US troops on controversial drones program could be at risk of breaking international law.  

David Omand, former head of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), issued the warning in a report released on Wednesday.

The report raised concerns about “embedded” officers from UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF) working along with American colleagues and piloting US drones. The British military and intelligence experts are based at the US Air Force’s command and control facility for remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA) in Nevada.

Omand argued that UK’s cooperation with the US military in its deadly drone strikes must not involve British officers in any illegal activity.

The former GCHQ called for new guidelines to ensure that Britain “does not inadvertently collude in RPA or other counter-terrorism actions that could be held contrary to international law.”

Jennifer Gibson, a lawyer at the legal charity, Reprieve, commented on Oman’s remarks, saying “When figures such as the former head of GCHQ suggest Britain needs to distance itself from the US drone program, the UK government needs to listen.”

“There can no longer be any doubt that covert US drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen contravene international law. As long as the UK continues to support this program – through the sharing of intelligence, air bases and personnel – it is complicit in these illegal drone strikes,” Gibson added.

The UK currently possesses 500 of its own drones, with the number expected to rise significantly over the next years amid a £2-billion investment program. In addition, a £1-billion contract with French aerospace multinational Thales will see the addition of a fleet of Watchkeeper surveillance drones.

CAH/HMV/SS