In milestone, Pakistan parliament serves complete term

By Rebecca Santana ,AP
March 18, 2013, 12:05 am TWN

But after years of militant attacks, worsening electricity blackouts and faltering economic growth, the political party that took office five years ago on a wave of sympathy following the assassination of iconic leader Benazir Bhutto will likely find it more difficult this time to win voters to its side.

Underscoring divisions, politicians failed to reach agreement on a caretaker government in time for the final session of parliament before new elections are held. The country's constitution calls for a vote within 60 days, although no date has yet been set.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who maintains his position in the meantime, hailed the peaceful transition as a success for his Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

“We have strengthened the foundations of democracy to such an extent that no one will be able to harm democracy in future,” Ashraf said during a nearly hourlong televised address to the nation.

Ashraf portrayed the problems in the country as something inherited from the previous regime of ousted leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

One of the ruling party's main achievements has been its sheer survival — no small feat in a country that has experienced three successful coups and many more unsuccessful ones.

President Asif Ali Zardari has shown a remarkable ability to hold together a warring coalition government whose members threaten to quit every few months or so. He's also managed a balance between the need for U.S. assistance amid a deteriorating relationship between the two countries and rising anti-American sentiment.

Washington needs Pakistan's help fighting al-Qaida and stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan, but a series of recent scandals have severely damaged ties. CIA contractor Raymond Davis shot and killed two Pakistani men in Lahore, the U.S. unilaterally killed Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad and American forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani troops along the Afghan border.

“That the government has survived five years, despite rumors every three months that the government is going, should also be viewed as a kind of achievement,” independent political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said.

Zardari and the ruling party must share some of the credit. The army, traditionally eager to step in when they perceive Pakistan to be in crisis, has shown a reticence under Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, to involve itself at least outwardly in politics.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Jousting With Toothpicks - The Case For Challenging Corporate Journalism http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/alerts-2013/719-jousting-with-toothpicks-the-case-for-challenging-corporate-journalism.html.

Read More

Brother arrested in decapitation case

By Enru Lin ,The China Post
March 18, 2013, 12:05 am TWN

Chen Chia-fu (陳佳富), 37, was arrested early yesterday on suspicion of murdering his sister in New Taipei City and leaving her head in a public restroom in rural Chiayi.

He stood to collect upwards of NT$6 million in insurance claims upon his sister's death. Between 2012 and 2013, the suspect had his sister insured multiple times, according to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Chiayi County Police Bureau (嘉義縣刑警大隊).

After receiving an arrest warrant, authorities escorted Chen Chia-fu to Chiayi for questioning.

Shortly afterward the mother of the suspect and victim delivered formal documentation of the former's mental illness. Due to the disability, the suspect was questioned with an attorney present.

Hsu Min-che (許明哲), chief of the special investigation unit, told media that there is probable cause to suspect Chen Chia-fu's involvement in the murder.

Surveillance footage shows the suspect carrying two black plastic bags in Sanchong District at 4 a.m. on March 13.

On the same day at 11 a.m., a person with the suspect's height and build was captured by a surveillance camera in Chiayi County some 100 meters from where police found the victim's head. The figure in the footage was carrying a white plastic bag, according to Hsu.

'Not guilty'

The suspect denied all criminal charges during questioning on Sunday.

Interrogated over a still image of the surveillance footage, Chen Chia-fu appeared disturbed but gave no admission to the murder, according to Chiayi police.

Chen Chia-fu did confirm that he took out four insurance policies on his sister worth NT$3 million, NT$1.5 million, NT$1.55 million and NT$310,000, for a total of NT$6.36 million. The claims name two beneficiaries, the suspect and the Chen siblings' mother.

Chen Wan-ting had been insured “to safeguard her life,” Chen Chia-fu reportedly told police during questioning.

Home Life

Back in New Taipei City, Sanchong District police told media that Chen Chia-fu had resided with younger sister Chen Wan-ting, who also had a history of mental illness.

Despite sharing a home, the siblings saw little of each other, according to preliminary investigations by Sanchong authorities.

The victim loitered in a nearby vegetable market during the day, while the suspect spent work hours at odd jobs.

According to police, the suspect recently requested time off from his position as a cook. Prior to taking leave, Chen Chia-fu borrowed rubber gloves and knives from his employer, police reported.

He is suspected of murdering his sister and leaving her head in a public washroom in rural Shuishang (水上鄉), Chiayi County.

At 4 p.m. last Friday, the Datong Police Precinct received an anonymous crime alert requesting that “kind-hearted police officers help out and take care of the corpse.” Chiayi police found the severed head but not the victim's body at 5:30 p.m. the same day.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Jousting With Toothpicks - The Case For Challenging Corporate Journalism http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/alerts-2013/719-jousting-with-toothpicks-the-case-for-challenging-corporate-journalism.html.

Read More

Pope delights with 1st window appearance

By Frances D'Emilio, AP
March 18, 2013, 12:05 am TWN

He also spoke only in Italian — beginning with “buon giorno” (Good day) and ending with “buon pranzo” (Have a good lunch) — instead of greeting the faithful in several languages as his last few predecessors had done.

His comments and humor delighted a crowd of more than 150,000 in St. Peter's Square, drawing cheers and laughter.

But Francis did tweet in English and other languages, saying: “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me.”

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said it was likely Francis, at least for the moment, given the off-the-cuff style, was sticking with Italian, a language he's comfortable with. Lombardi left open the possibility that other languages would be used in the appearances with the public in the future.

In just five days, Francis' straightforward, spontaneous style has become immediate hallmark of his papacy.

Earlier Sunday, he made an impromptu appearance before the public from a side gate of the Vatican, startling passers-by and prompting cheers, before delivering a six-minute homily — brief by church standards — at the Vatican's tiny parish church.

Before he entered St. Anna's church to celebrate Mass, he heartily shook hands with parishioners and kissed babies.

After Mass, Francis put his security detail to the test as he waded into the street just outside St. Anna's Gate. As the traffic light at the intersection turned green, Francis stepped up to the crowd, grasping outstretched hands. The atmosphere was so casual that several people even gripped Francis on the shoulder.

A few minutes later as the traffic light turned red, Francis ducked back inside the Vatican's boundaries to dash upstairs for the window appearance from the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace.

The studio window was opened for the first time since Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, gave his last window blessing on Sunday, Feb. 24. Four days later, Benedict went into retirement, the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years.

The crowd was cheering wildly when the white curtain at the window of his apartment was parted, and Francis appeared, but fell into rapt silence when he began to speak. Some people's eyes welled up. Many people waving the blue-and-white flags of Argentine, the homeland of the world's first Latin American pope. Some people help their children aloft or on their shoulders to get a better look.

Said Ivana Cabello, 23, from Argentina: “We are so proud. He is Argentine, but also belongs to the rest of the world.”

Angela Carreon, a 41-year-old Rome resident originally from the Philippines, estimated the crowd was twice as big as for Benedict's last appearance on Feb. 28.

“I think he looks like John Paul II. I hope he is like him,” she said. “He has a heart.”

Hundreds of extra traffic police were deployed Sunday morning to control crowds and vehicles, for it was also the day of Rome's annual marathon.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Jousting With Toothpicks - The Case For Challenging Corporate Journalism http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/alerts-2013/719-jousting-with-toothpicks-the-case-for-challenging-corporate-journalism.html.

Read More