JuD threatens stir over MFN status to India.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is continuing with its ‘hate India campaign’ as it held a massive protest rally in Lahore against the granting of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trade status to India by the Pakistan government.

JuD top brass including Ameer Hamza, Hasnain Siddique and Hafiz Khalid Waleed headed the rally and called for launching of more protests to oppose the move to grant India MFN status.

JuD, which has been linked to militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) also slammed Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar for initiating dialogue with India.

Hitting out at Khar, a JuD leader said, “How can this 33-year-old girl know anything about the 63-year-old Pakistan”.

On Nov 2, Pakistan granted MFN status to India, reciprocating a 15-year-old gesture.

Trade between India and Pakistan, currently at around USD 2.5 billion, is expected to double over the next three years on account of Pakistan granting MFN status to India.

Pawar slap: Protests in Maharashtra

Harvinder Singh, who slapped Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar would be produced in a Delhi court on today.

Immediately after he slapped Pawar yesterday evening, Harvinder was taken to Barakhamba Road police station for interrogation. The Delhi police booked him under Section 323 (Causing hurt), 353 (Attack on public servant) and 506 (Criminal intimidation).

In Maharashtra, angry over the attack on their party chief, National Congress Party (NCP) workers have called for a bandh in Pune, Sangli and Beed.

Protesters were held in many parts of the state after reports trickled in about the attack on the Maratha strongman. Demonstrations were held in parts of Mumbai, NCP workers forced shop-owners to down their shutters in Sion, Dadar, Worli, and Kandivali areas among others.

Suburban rail services were also disrupted for a few minutes after party workers squatted on the tracks at Masjid Bunder and Kurla stations.

Protests were held in other parts of the state like Nashik, Kolhapur, Latur.

In Delhi, as the Parliament is in session, NCP MPs may raise the issue in the house.

Harvinder Singh is from Rohini in Delhi and is the son of a transporter. He was reportedly upset with Pawar over the persistent rise in essential commodities and growing corruption in the country.

Pawar (71), who went to a literary function at a public auditorium on Parliament Street, was caught unawares when he was slapped by Harvinder Singh, who had assaulted former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram outside a court on Saturday last after he was sentenced in a corruption case.

The NCP veteran and one of the seniormost politicians in the country, who has very little security, lost his balance for a moment but regained composure after the assault, moved towards the exit of the auditorium and got into his waiting car.

A news agency quoted police sources said that during interrogation, Harvinder Singh reportedly claimed that actually he wanted to target Mukherjee but gave up the idea because of his age.

Delhi High Court will hear bail pleas of Kanimozhi today

The Delhi High Court will hear on Friday bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and five other accused in the 2G case, advancing the hearing of their petitions from December one.

"All the bail applications would be heard on today" Justice V K Shali said on Thursday.

The accused, who included former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura and filmmaker Karim Morani, had pleaded that their bail applications should come up on Thursday itself but the court said they will be taken up on Friday, advancing the date of their hearing from December one.

Others whose bail pleas will be heard on Friday are DMK-run Kaliagnar TV MD Sharad Kumar and private firm Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal.

During the proceedings, former Additional Solicitor General Altaf Ahmed and senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Kanimozhi and Morani repsectively, submitted that the situation of their clients was akin to that of the five corporate executives, who were granted bail yesterday by
the Supreme Court.

"We are either similarly or better placed in relation to the accused who have already been granted bail. If possible, please list them for hearing on Thursday itself," Luthra said.

"Don't send a wrong message to the general public that you are high and mighty," the court said while refusing to accede to their contention.

Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, appearing for CBI, cited the apex court judgement on the bail applications of the five corporate executives, He, however, did not make his stand clear on whether he was supporting or opposing their petitions.

Truce quiets Cairo streets, army apologizes

An overnight truce between Egyptian riot police and protesters succeeded on Thursday in calming violence that has killed 39 people in five days, but demonstrators occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square vowed to stay until the army gives up power.

Egypt's ruling military council, which has vowed to start parliamentary elections as scheduled on Monday, said it was doing all it could to "prevent the repetition of these events."

In a statement, it apologized, offered condolences and compensation to families of the dead, and promised a swift investigation into who was behind the unrest.

Demonstrators in Tahrir said the truce had taken hold from midnight. At dawn the area was quiet for the first time in days.

"Since about midnight or 1 a.m. there were no more clashes. We are standing here to ensure no one goes inside the cordon," said Mohamed Mustafa, 50, among a group barring a street leading to the Interior Ministry, flashpoint for much of the violence.

They were guarding a barricade made of a broken metal fence, a telephone booth laid on its side and part of a lamp post.

At the other end of the street, littered with shattered glass, lumps of concrete and heaps of rubbish, at least two army armored personnel carriers blocked the route. Mustafa's group said police were on the front line, and behind them the army.

Lines of Tahrir protesters manned similar barriers to block access to Mohamed Mahmoud Street, scene of repeated fighting.

Euro leaders meet amid bond crisis

Italy's Mario Monti is meeting Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy later, for the first time since Mr Monti took office.

They are likely to discuss Italy's economy and wider eurozone issues.

Germany and France currently disagree about whether bonds should be issued by the whole of the eurozone instead of individual countries.

On Wednesday, Germany sold just 3.6bn euros ($4.8bn; £3bn) worth of 10-year bonds, from 6bn euros on offer.

"In my conversations with analysts, traders and officials I'm finding more and more of them are talking about the end game for the euro. Not the end, necessarily, but a moment of truth very soon that will either force a big leap forward, or a wrenching break-up," said BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders.

"Even Germany cannot be a safe haven if this crisis goes critical."

On Wednesday, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso launched a consultation on whether the 17 eurozone countries could issue joint stability bonds.

But Mr Barroso stressed that the creation of the bonds would require much greater scrutiny of the budgets and economic policies of individual members.

Germany opposes both the issuing of joint bonds and greater involvement for the European Central Bank (ECB) in bailing out troubled economies.

Its government is concerned that joint bonds would reduce pressure on member states to reduce their debt burdens.

On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that it was "urgent" that the ECB be allowed to intervene in the debt crisis.

"It's urgent. It will be discussed this very day in Strasbourg," he told France Inter radio.

Germany has said that EU treaties prevent the ECB from buying bonds as the lender of last resort.

There has been much discussion of the implications of the failure to place all of the German bonds on offer in Wednesday's auction.

It may be that demand for low-yielding bonds is limited or that it was a result of the Bundesbank taking an unusual approach to pricing its bonds.

"But nearly everybody thinks the auction does not bode well," Stephanie Flanders concluded.

Two shot dead in renewed protests in Saudi Arabia

Two men were shot dead during renewed Shiite protests in Saudi Arabia, as police exchanged fire with gunmen who "infiltrated" the funeral of another protester, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

It said the new deaths late Wednesday brought to four the death toll of protests that began on Monday in the Eastern Province, while nine others were wounded, including two policemen and a woman, according to a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

"These casualties were sustained during exchange of fire with unknown criminals who infiltrated citizens and opened fire from residential areas," it said.

The ministry claimed that "a number of security checkpoints have since Monday been increasingly coming under gunfire attacks in the Qatif region by assailants motivated by foreign orders."

"Security forces have been exercising self restraint as much as possible," it said, adding that two citizens were killed and six others, including two policemen "who received gun shots," were wounded.

"Several incidents of fire exchange took place during the funeral of one of those ... which caused the death of two citizens and wounded three others," it added.

Medics had confirmed late Wednesday reports by witnesses and activists reports that two Shiites were shot dead during the funeral.

Ali Abdullah Al Qarayrees, 26, from Awamiya town, and Munib al-Sayyed Al-Adnan, 20, from Shweika, "were shot by security forces during demonstrations," witnesses said.

Sharad Pawar assaulted at NDMC auditorium

Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar was on Thursday slapped by a man, who had attacked former telecommunications minister Sukh Ram here four days ago. Pawar was attacked at the NDMC Centre here.

The Sikh man also took out his kirpan when security guards tried to overpower him and whisk him away. It is being reported that he has been taken in police custody.

He identified himself as Harvinder Singh from Rohini and runs a transport business. He told media that he attacked the minister to vent his anger on sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities.

It is believed that he also attacked former Union minister Sukhram on Saturday.

Meanwhile, leaders of all political parties have condemned the attack on Pawar.