Former Pakistani PM’s Son Kidnapped at Election Rally

Ali Haider Gilani, son of former Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who is contesting in the upcoming general election, speaks during a campaign meeting at a house on the outskirts of Multan, May 9, 2013, before his abduction by unidentified gunm

Sharon Behn

May 09, 2013

SLAMABAD — The son of former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been taken hostage by gunmen during a political rally in his home area of Multan. It's the latest incident in what has been a violence-marred election campaign in the run up to the May 11 national assembly elections.

Amid a spray of gunfire, unidentified men on motorbikes Thursday sped up to the rally and kidnapped Ali Haider Gilani, who was addressing his supporters.

Gilani had just finished speaking to his People’s Party of Pakistan supporters in the eastern town when the attack took place. Party official Malik Aamir Dogar said three men then pushed Gilani into a car and drove away.

“When he finished the meeting, he go outside. Some people came on motorcycle and straight away they start the firing, and one guard is killed at the movement, and his private secretary is injured at the movement, and there are total of three people and they pulled out to Haider Gilani into the car and they go out,” said Dogar.
Candidates have been holding their final rallies before voters head to the polls to elect a new national assembly on May 11. Gilani was running for a provincial assembly seat in Multan.
 
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari immediately condemned the attack, saying it was a “reprehensible act of a cowardly enemy.” Zardari called on the Election Commission and caretaker government to ensure the elections were not hijacked by extremist elements.
 
The kidnapping is the latest incident in what has turned out to be the most violent election campaign in Pakistan’s history.
 
Militants and extremists with differing objectives have attacked and killed candidates and party supporters in different areas of the country, targeting not only moderate and secular parties like the PPP, but also religious and nationalist parties.
 
Dogar, who called off his own political rally as a result of the attack, said the Taliban most likely was behind Gilani’s abduction.
 
Multan city Police Chief Ghulam Muhammad Dogar, who is not related to Malik Aamir Dogar, said the police were moving swiftly to find the captors.
 
He said police have sealed all the roads joining the district of Multan, and that district police officers are out in force. He also noted that they are making every effort to ensure that all vehicles crossing district boundaries are being checked.
 
Militant groups, such as the Sunni extremist Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and other pro-Taliban organizations, are known to operate in the southern Punjab area where Multan is located.
 
Despite the violence, elections are expected to go ahead as planned on May 11.

VOAnews.com

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Posted in: USA,violence

Chinese fishing boats violate Vietnam’s territorial waters

Da Lon island, part of Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly)
archipelago in the East Sea

As Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in the East Sea, all activities of parties in this area without Vietnam’s approval violate the country’s sovereignty, a Vietnamese official said.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Luong Thanh Nghi made the statement at the ministry’s press conference in Hanoi on May 9 in response to reporters’ questions on Vietnam’s reaction to China’s deployment of 32 fishing boats to the archipelago area on Monday. 

He emphasized that “all activities in the East Sea must comply with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with respect to sovereignty, sovereign right and jurisdiction right of concerned countries.”

The official said Vietnam will continue to closely monitor all developments related to the issue.

Earlier at the US-ASEAN Dialogue in Washington on May 2-3, which focused on orientations and measures to promote the bilateral cooperation, the two sides emphasized the need to settle disputes in a peaceful manner on the basis of international law and the UNCLOS in order to maintain peace, stability, security and maritime safety in the East Sea.

In order to consolidate trust and ensure peace, security and stability in the region, the dialogue’s delegates agreed that ASEAN and China need to launch negotiations on the establishment of the Code of Conduct (COC) as soon as possible.

At another press briefing in Hanoi on April 30, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nghi said Vietnam demands that China stop its wrongdoings on the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, over which Vietnam has irrefutable sovereignty.

These wrongdoings included the cutting of the ribbon by Chinese officials to inaugurate the Xinhua bookstore on Hoang Sa’s Phu Lam island, taking tourists to Hoang Sa and preparing for a fishing competition in the archipelago area.

Vietnam has irrefutable sovereignty over Hoang Sa, so such actions blatantly violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, did not comply with the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and went against the Joint Statement of the 15th ASEAN-China Summit on the 10th Anniversary of the DOC, Nghi said.
Tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Politics

Flu in pregnancy 'may raise bipolar risk for baby'

By James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News

Flu during pregnancy may increase the risk of the unborn child developing bipolar disorder later in life, research suggests.

A study of 814 expectant women, published in JAMA Psychiatry, showed that infection made bipolar four times more likely.

The overall risk remained low, but it echoes similar findings linking flu and schizophrenia.

Experts said the risks were small and women should not worry.

Bipolar leads to intense mood swings, which can last months, ranging from depression and despair to manic feelings of joy, overactivity and loss of inhibitions.

Researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center identified a link between the condition, often diagnosed during late teens and twenties, and experiences in the womb.

In their study looking at people born in the early 1960s, bipolar disorder was nearly four times as common in people whose mothers caught flu during pregnancy.

The condition affects about one in 100 people. The lead researcher, Prof Alan Brown, estimated that influenza infection during pregnancy could lead to a 3-4% chance of bipolar disorder in the resulting children.

However, in the vast majority of cases of bipolar disorder there would no history of flu.

Seasonal vaccination

So in the list of things pregnant women have to worry about, how high should it rank?

"I wouldn't say high," Prof Alan Brown told the BBC.

"The chances are still quite small. I don't think it should raise alarms for mothers."

He said seasonal flu vaccination, which is advised for pregnant women in many countries, would reduce the chances of catching flu.

Similar studies have shown a link between flu and schizophrenia

How flu could affect the foetal brain has not been completely explained.

Influenza is not thought to directly affect the foetus, but the mother's immune response to the virus could affect development.

Dr Fiona Gaughran, lead consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This highly regarded group of researchers has reported similar links between schizophrenia and various maternal infections.

"If future work confirms the link reported here, policymakers may need to consider implications for flu prevention pre-pregnancy, but mothers need not be worried.

"The overall risk of offspring developing bipolar disorder is low, even if one did get flu in pregnancy."

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Posted in: Health