Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina showed nerves of steel under pressure as they shocked second seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond to breeze into the women's doubles semi-final of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Pakistan's premier spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence and United States' Central Intelligence Agency are close to resolving their issues, with their behind-the-scene negotiations reportedly making progress.
A Pakistani court adjourned till March 16 a case against suspected CIA contractor Raymond Davis, arrested for gunning down two men in January, after defence lawyers sought more time to study documents filed by the prosecution.
Manoj Kumar eased past Valentino Knowles of the Bahamas, winning 17-11, to enter the second round in the light-welterweight (64kg) category and continue the Indian boxers' fine show at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday. Manoj, the lone Indian in action on Friday, has a tough bout next, as he is up against reigning European champion and fourth seed Raymond Moylette of Ireland.
The United States has asked Pakistan to honour the diplomatic immunity to American citizen Raymond Davis, who was arrested for killing two people in Lahore, and release him under the Vienna Convention.
The newspaper said that on February 8, the State Department spokesman P J Crowley, had contacted the paper's executive editor, Bill Keller, asking him not to speculate charges in the Pakistani press.
At least 30 suspected covert US operatives have suspended their activities in Pakistan and 12 have left the country following the arrest of CIA contractor Raymond Davis late last month, according to a media report.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is warning that the situation on the sub-continent has turned "grave" as it appears that open warfare is about to break out between Pakistan and the United States, The European Union Times reports.
Ties between US and Pakistan intelligence agencies have hit an all time low due to standoff over the arrest of American official Raymond Davis on murder charge compromising critical counter-terrorism operations including drone strikes targeting top terror leaders.
The startling revelation by Pakistan's former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that Raymond Davis, who allegedly killed two Pakistani citizens, does not enjoy blanket diplomatic immunity could lead to the conviction of the American national. Under such circumstance, paying Diyya (blood money) to the victims' families may be the only way for Davis, who has been charged for the murders under Pakistani law.
After weeks of tense standoff, the United States and Pakistan may be nearing an arrangement to repatriate US official Raymond Davis with the government expected to concede in court that the American qualifies for diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention. The government's counsel is expected to testify on Davis's diplomatic status when the Lahore high court reconvenes on Thursday.
The United States administration on Wednesday sought to address public anger in Pakistan over an American official, who shot and killed two men, by saying that the department of justice will conduct a criminal investigation into the incident despite his diplomatic immunity.
The United States has suspended all high-level dialogue with Pakistan to put pressure on Islamabad to release the American diplomat detained on possible murder charges. Ties between the two allies have become severely strained over the issue.
The United States has conveyed a veiled threat to Pakistan that their bilateral defence cooperation can come under a cloud if the standoff on the issue of double murder-accused US national Raymond Davis' immunity persists.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic added to the sexism row, saying male tennis players should earn more money than their female counterparts as more people watch their matches.
The United States will not stop its drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, President Barack Obama's top military officer has said, according to a report.
Pakistan has demanded a drastic cut in number of Central Investigation Agency agents and special forces personnel operating on its soil and a halt to drone strikes in the country's restive northwest, in signs of near collapse of the intelligence cooperation between the two nations.
The suspension of military aid to Pakistan is America's cumulative reaction to a series of events beginning with the Raymond Davis affair and ending with the killing of Al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden. The message to Islamabad is clear that duplicity in the war against terror will not be tolerated. But experts feel that being well aware of Pakistan's importance, the US has only temporarily cut off aid, which will be restored after a decent interval.
Pakistani authorities have agreed not to declare these US officials "persona non grata" if they voluntarily leave the country within a stipulated time, The Express Tribune quoted unnamed sources as saying.
The White House has welcomed the release of American Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis, arrested by Pakistani authorities after he shot and killed two men in Lahore in January. His release ended one of the most serious diplomatic stand-offs between Islamabad and Washington in nine years of partnering in the fight against terrorism.
The United States on Wednesday expressed its gratitude to the families of two Pakistani men gunned down by Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis for pardoning him and said the Department of Justice was investigating the shooting incident.
The New York police has said it is on "alert" after the killing of al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki in a US drone strike, amid possibility of attacks to avenge his death.
SpiceJet, the low-cost air carrier, on Thursday got its shareholders' approval to issue additional equity shares to promoter Kalanithi Maran, who in turn will infuse Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion) into the airline. Maran's equity holding would go up from 38 per cent to 43 per cent of the company's shares.
The British home secretary has granted permission for jeweller Nirav Modi's extradition to India. During their arguments in a London court, his lawyers claimed Modi suffers from mental illness and is a suicide risk if he was sent to Mumbai's Arthur Road jail. A fascinating excerpt from Danish Khan and Ruhi Khan's Escaped: True Stories Of Indian Fugitives In London.
Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir throws light on the threat that Pakistan democracy faces due to corruption and poor governance. In a lecture delivered at the London School of Economics, he talks about some of the biggest problem the country faces today -- poverty, illiteracy and Raymond Davis.
ISI sources have confirmed that Davis, who is currently under detention in Lahore, had links to the CIA, and said that the conduct of the US intelligence agency around the incident has 'virtually thrown the partnership into question'.
A Pakistani court has directed the police to take action against the driver of a speeding United States consulate vehicle that killed a motorcyclist while rushing to aid American official Raymond Davis, arrested after he gunned down two men in Lahore.
Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed demanded "stern punishment" according to Pakistan's constitution for US official Raymond Davis, arrested for shooting and killing two men.
Pakistan's foreign ministry has sought more time from the Lahore high court to file its reply on the immunity status of double murder-accused American official Raymond Davis. The LHC began the hearing on Thursday to decide whether Davis possesses diplomatic immunity in a case that has frayed ties between the United States and Pakistan. Chief Justice LHC Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry said that the Pakistan government had to decide whether Davis was a diplomat.
The US has put tons of pressure on Pakistan to release Raymond Davis under the cover of diplomatic immunity but it is difficult for the president Asif Ali Zardari to solve the case in a way acceptable both to the American and Pakistani masses. While Zardari cannot put aside Obama's request but at the same time an Egypt-like situation could occur in Pakistan if Davis is released.
The tussle between the US and Pakistan over the fate of a jailed diplomat intensified as he was formally charged with murder even as Washington said it would plead before the jury that the official had diplomatic immunity. Rejecting Raymond Davis' claim that he shot two men in self-defence, the prosecution filed a 'challan' (chargesheet) in the court of a district and sessions judge, formally charging him with murder of two Pakistanis in Lahore.
The Taliban on Monday warned the Pakistan government not to release American national Raymond Davis, who allegedly shot dead two men in Lahore in January, saying any official involved in a move to free him would be killed by militants. "Any Pakistani government official playing any role in Davis' release will be killed by the Taliban," said Azam Tariq, spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. The Taliban have also demanded that Davis should be executed by the authorities.
The kind of blanket immunity Washington is pressing for (US official Raymond) Davis is not endorsed by the official record of the Foreign Ministry," said Qureshi, who declined to join Pakistan's new cabinet last week after he was not reallocated the foreign affairs portfolio.
Recent appreciation has not deterred companies like electric goods maker Havells to set up plant in India.
The controversy over the killing of two Pakistanis by a United States consulate employee in Lahore took a new turn on Monday with a media report stating that the dead men were believed to be "intelligence operatives".
Lionel Messi was at the top of his game as Barcelona earned a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to move up to third in La Liga.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl has blamed the Raymond Davis network for the two suicide attacks on party chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and said the murder attempts were a reaction to Fazl's stand taken on the Davis detention issue and drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal region.
Pakistan's fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party has announced it will provide financial aid of Rs 3 lakh to the families of the three men killed in an incident involving suspected Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis. This is in a bid to forestall reported efforts by Saudi Arabia to arrange a "blood money" deal to settle the matter.
The day's strike is a protest at the Union Budget proposal of a 10 per cent excise duty on branded garments. Garment makers had observed a day's strike on Friday, saying it cost them Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion).
In a setback to the United States' efforts to seek early release of its national Raymond Davis, who was arrested for double murder, a Pakistani court on Thursday rejected his claim that he has diplomatic immunity and said it would go ahead with his trial. During the last hearing of the case, 37-year-old Davis, a suspected Central Intelligence Agency contractor, had filed an application in which he insisted that he had immunity.
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