The summary was drafted in light of the decision taken by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani at a meeting on Wednesday at the Prime Minister House.

Spokesman for the president Farhatullah Babar told The News that the Presidency received the summary, along with the advice of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, and President Asif Ali Zardari signed and sent it back to the Prime Minister House.

After the signing of the summary, the Ministry of Law will issue a formal notification for the appointment of Justice Saqib Nisar and Justice Asif Saeed Khosa of the Lahore High Court as judges of the Supreme Court while Khalilur Rehman Ramday as ad hoc judge of the apex court for one year.

The president, on the advice of the prime minister, also appointed the following 22 additional judges in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and nine additional judges in the Sindh High Court (SHC):

Additional LHC judges: Mian Shahid Iqbal, advocate; M Farrukh Irfan Khan, advocate; Mamoon Rashid Shaikh, advocate; Shaukat Umar Pirzada, advocate; Waqar Hassan Mir, advocate; Yawar Ali Khan, advocate; Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, advocate; Ch Shahid Saeed, advocate; M Anwar Bhour, advocate; Ijaz Ahmad, advocate; Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan, advocate; Hassan Raza Pasha, advocate; Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, advocate; Muhammad Anwaarul Haq, advocate; Muhammad Qasim Khan, advocate; Shahid Hameed Dar, advocate; Ch Muhammad Tariq, advocate; Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu, advocate; Rauf Ahmad Shaikh; Shaikh Ahmad Farooq; Muhammad Naseem Akhtar; Syed Akhlaq Ahmad

Additional SHC judges: Nisar Muhammad Shaikh; Syed Zakir Hussain; Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, advocate; Salman Hamid, advocate; Zahid Hamid, advocate; Muhammad Tasnim, advocate; Muhammad Ali Mazhar, advocate; Imam Bux Baloch, advocate; Abdul Hadi Khoso, advocate.

The case has further strained relations between Paris and Tehran. France awaiting a verdict for Clotilde Reiss, a French national held in Tehran, while Iran has demanded the liberation of Kavakand and accused France of bowing to US demands in the matter.

Kakavand was arrested in March 2009 at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on an international arrest warrant issued by the USA. He subsequently spent five months in prison before being released on bail. The US is demanding, and expecting, his extradition for having purchased electronic products over the Internet from US firms in violation of a US embargo on exporting goods to Iran.

The Paris court is soliciting a “technical opinion” from a wing of the Ministry of Defence in order to determine the nature of the goods Kakavand bought in the US and sent to Iran.

The case will be reopened on March 31.

The matter went largely unnoticed by Paris until the arrest of French national Clotilde Reiss on July 1 in Iran. The young academic was accused by Iranian authorities of acting against Iranian national security during anti-government protests. She is currently under house arrest in the French embassy in Tehran where she awaits the conclusion of a long drawn-out trial. Her last court appearance for which was on Jan. 16.

Marion Gaudin, a FRANCE 24 correspondent covering the Kakavand trial at the Paris appeals court, said, “Iranian justice has been dragging its feet on making a decision on Clotilde Reiss; perhaps Iran is waiting to see how the Kakavand case pans out.”

The destiny of both Reiss and Kakavand are closely tied to diplomatic tensions between France and Iran. The two nations have found themselves at political and legal loggerheads, with insults and accusations on both ends. In Dec. 2009, Iranian authorities called for the liberation of Kavakand, accusing France of “acting under pressure from the US.”

Kavakand’s own lawyers are similarly concerned about the role of the US  in the affair. FRANCE 24 correspondent Catherine Nicholson, also covering the trial, cited Kakavand’s barrister, Diane François, as saying that an extradition to the US would be illegal by French law. Should the French courts approve the extradition, François intends to bring the case to the supreme court, according to Nicholson.

Both France and Iran eagerly await the court’s decision. If Kakavand is extradited to the US, he may face up to 20 years in prison.

Brandishing a photo of the plane, which he described as a P-3, Chavez said the overflight was the latest incursion in Venezuelan skies by the U.S. military from its bases on the Netherlands’ Caribbean islands and from neighboring Colombia.

« They are provoking us … these are warplanes, » he said.

There was no immediate response from the U.S. Defense Department or the White House.

Chavez said the F-16s escorted the U.S. plane away after two incursions lasting 15 and 19 minutes each.

The perceived threat of U.S. intervention has become a central element of Chavez’s political discourse and a rallying cry for his supporters.

Foes say Latin America’s loudest U.S. critic is hyping the idea of a foreign threat to distract Venezuelans from domestic problems such as economic recession, rampant crime and inadequate public services.

The socialist leader surprised the diplomatic world in December when he accused the Netherlands of abetting potential offensive action against his government by granting U.S. troops access to its islands close to Venezuela.

The Dutch government says the U.S. presence on Curacao and Aruba—where about 250 Air Force crew and ground staff are based—is only for counternarcotics and surveillance operations over Caribbean smuggling routes.

A U.S. appeals court based in Richmond, Virginia, rejected arguments by Moussaoui, who is serving a a life sentence at a super-maximum federal security prison in Colorado, that his guilty plea was invalid because the U.S. government failed to turn over classified evidence that could have helped in his defense.

“Moussaoui challenges the validity of his guilty plea and his sentences” on the various counts, the three-judge panel said in its ruling. “We affirm Moussaoui’s convictions and sentences in their entirety.”

The bombing of a Shi’ite Muslim procession in Karachi underscored multiple security challenges facing the nuclear-armed U.S. ally at a volatile time for embattled President Asif Ali Zardari.

The government launched a security crackdown last October against al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants in their tribal strongholds in northwest Pakistan and retaliatory bombings since have killed hundreds of people across the country.

The attack in Pakistan’s biggest city may have just been part of a series of bombings designed to spread panic or an attempt to ignite sectarian bloodshed to pile pressure on security forces.

Pakistani security forces patrolled nearly empty streets.

« I appeal to the people of Karachi to stay peaceful. This is the economic hub of Pakistan, » Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters after attending the funeral of a paramilitary soldier who authorities said pounced on the suicide bomber.

« Anybody trying to destablise Karachi is actually destablising Pakistan. »

The provincial government of Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital, declared a public holiday, although banks and the stock market remained open. Public transport was out of service and most shops and petrol pumps were shut after religious and political parties called for a day of mourning.

« Our office and the whole building is completely burnt. Everything has been destroyed, » said Saleem Khan, who runs a car rental business along what is normally a busy road.

Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmed told Reuters initial investigations showed the suicide bomber was aged between 18 and 20, and that he used 8-9 kilograms of explosives. He said at least 500 shops and nine buildings had been set ablaze in the aftermath of the attack.

« It is clear that the terrorists are very well organised. They want to destabilise the country, » said Anjum Naqvi, who was part of the bombed procession.

A spokesman for the paramilitary rangers, Major Aurang Zeb, said his forces would take every possible step to maintain peace.

Provincial health secretary Hashim Raza Zaidi said the death toll had risen to 43, while 52 people were still in hospitals.

TRANSPORT IDLE, SHOPS CLOSED

Some grieved before attending funerals, which can be risky — militants have bombed funerals for their victims, usually in the northwest. Others said their lives had been shattered.

« It’s a huge loss for the families of those killed. But what about our families? We are alive and have lost everything, » said Mohammad Shams, owner of a shop which makes plastic.

A teeming city of 18 million, Karachi has a long history of ethnic and factional violence, although it has been spared the brunt of Taliban attacks over the past couple of years.

Investors have factored in the violence. But sustained trouble could hurt financial markets in an economy in virtual recession. The stock market opened over one percent lower.

In Monday’s bloodshed, the assailant blew himself up at a march by thousands of people marking the climax of Ashura, the Shi’ite calendar’s biggest event, despite heavy security.

The attack was the third in as many days in Karachi.

« Karachi is the heart of the country and any incident here does have a negative impact on investor sentiment, » said Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of brokerage Topline Securities.

Aside from al-Qaeda linked militants bent on toppling his government, the president is also under political pressure.

Some of Zardari’s closest aides and thousands of members of his party could face renewed corruption charges which could weaken him further at a time when the United States is pushing his government for tougher action against militants.

“Americans and Zionists are the sole audience of a play they have commissioned and sold out. A nauseating play is performed,” the president was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying.

Ahmadinejad also denounced comments made by US President Barack Obama and the British government, who have condemned Iran’s crackdown on protesters.

“We have advised them repeatedly, but if looks as if they insist on being humiliated, we are sure they will be humiliated more than their predecessors,” Ahmadinejad said.

Lashing out at ‘enemies’ both inside and out

Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament called for opposition demonstrators to receive maximum punishment and slammed Western governments for their “disgusting comments.”

The ISNA news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as singling out Great Britain, saying: “If they do not stop their absurd comments, they will be slapped in the mouth.”

His comment came as Tehran on Tuesday summoned British envoy Simon Gass and as a pro-government website reported that a Briton was among those arrested at the demonstrations.

The latest flare-up in the ongoing political tensions that have rocked Iran since Ahmadinejad’s contested re-election in June occurred on Sunday, when people took to the street on the holy day of Ashura, which commemorates the seventh century murder of Shiite Islam’s holiest martyr.

Eight people were killed as security forces used teargas and batons and eventually fired shots to push back thousands.

After Sunday’s protests, Iran rounded up scores of opposition figures and dissidents. On Tuesday, several reformist journalists and activists were also arrested, reports said.

Hardliners have also staged counter-demonstrations calling for tough action against protesters, state media reported.

A representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called opposition leaders “enemies of God” who should be executed under the country’s Sharia law, state television reported.

On another front, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi said intelligence agents had arrested her medical professor sister, Dr. Nooshin Ebadi, on Monday.

“She is not an activist and her arrest is in fact new pressure to stop my human rights work,” Ebadi said in a statement on the Rahesabz opposition website.

Ebadi’s arrest prompted a sharp reaction from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who called the move a form of “unacceptable pressure on this courageous activist.”

“I am asking Iranian authorities to respect the democratic right of its citizens and Iranian political parties to express themselves, to respect the freedom of the press and to release all those who have been unjustly detained,” he said in a statement.

‘Choosing a camp’

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s former crown prince and the son of the last Shah of Iran, noted that Western powers have arrived at a sort of crossroads in their dealings with Iran. He said it was now “very critical to see where the world stands when it comes to choosing a camp. You either have to support the people of Iran in their quest for freedom, or yet again be indifferent toward them, which will only contribute to the prolonging of the clerical regime.”

Pahlavi suggested that countries could back up their rhetoric with “visible action”, such as recalling ambassadors from Iran, “to show the regime that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”

He also said that the contentious relationship between Iran and the West would be resolved by a regime change: “Once Iran achieves a different form of government which is democratic, all threats, including anything the world is focusing on such as the nuclear threat, will also dissipate,” he said.

The crew requested to land for refuelling at Don Mueang airport, where inspectors discovered a haul of weaponry including firearms and missiles, said deputy prime minister Suthep Thaungsuban.

“They declared that the goods on board the flight were oil drilling equipment but when we examined we found it was all weaponry,” Suthep, who is also in charge of national security, told reporters.

Police said four of the men are from Kazakhstan and one is from Belarus.

“There were a lot of weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other war weapons,” said Lieutenant General Thangai Prasajaksattru, commander of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau.

Air Force spokesman Captain Montol Suchookorn and special branch police said the chartered plane originated in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.

“According to my information, the flight originated from North Korea. It was a cargo flight that requested to land at the civilian side of the airport,” Montol said, adding that the air force was guarding the aircraft.

Local media reported that the plane was carrying 40 tonnes of weaponry and was believed to be registered in Georgia.

Suthep told reporters the case would require careful examination as it involved several countries.

“This case will proceed carefully as there are many parties involved… everything must proceed transparently,” Suthep said.

A translator from the Russian Embassy would visit the suspects on their request early Sunday, police said.

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed the arrests came as a result of foreign intelligence.

National television channels reported that US officials had tipped off Thai authorities but a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, said he was unaware of the incident.

“Officials will proceed according to the law. This is a case of a false declaration of goods,” said Abhisit.

“It has no impact on Thailand’s internal security. This is a joint collaboration of intelligence. We received a tip-off,” he added.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayakorn said the weapons had been transferred to Takhli air force base in the central Thai province of Nakhon Sawan.

Thailand’s airports authority said the domestic Don Mueang airport remained open to passengers.