MQM struggling for real democracy: Altaf Hussain

LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has said that his party is struggling for the real democracy in the country. He said this at a three-day convention in a telephonic address to mark the party’s silver jubilee in Virginia. A large number of MQM activists belonging to different cities of US attended the convention. In his address, MQM chief said that on the name of democracy, feudocracy is being practiced in the country. “This democracy is by the feudal for the feudal,” he commented. He hoped that MQM would eliminate feudalism from the country to restore a just system.

SAA crew arrested in London

JOHANNESBURG: Twelve crew members of a South African Airways (SAA) plane arrested with a drugs haul at London’s Heathrow airport are being questioned by security officials after returning home, the airline said Wednesday.

“The crew members are being interviewed by the SAPS (South African Police Service) and SAA’s security division. The three cockpit crew members will return from London later in the week,” it said in a statement.

Customs officials arrested the 15-member SAA crew on Monday after seizing cocaine worth 250,000 pounds (354,307 dollars, 280,755 euros) on a flight from Johannesburg in a second drugs seizure in less than a month. They were released on bail and will be required to appear back in London on April 6, officials of the airline said.

source : jang.com.pk

Anger as major British train deal goes to Japan

LONDON: A British decision to award a 7.5 billion pound (10.9 billion dollar, 8.4 billion euro) order for trains to a Japanese-led group sparked anger Friday amid rising unemployment and recession here.

Agility Trains, a consortium including Japan’s Hitachi, Britain’s John Laing and Barclays banking group, was awarded the contract on Thursday for a fleet of “super express” trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. It beat a rival group Express Rail Alliance, comprising Bombardier Transportation, Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown, which said it was “extremely disappointed” after spending 18 months on its bid.

“Fury as Japan gets our jobs,” ran the front-page headline of the Daily Express, which highlighted the contrast with Prime Minister, Gordon Brown’s controversial pledge to protect “British jobs for British workers.”

source : jang.com.pk