MQM chief Altaf Hussain. – File photo

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday sought reply within two weeks from MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Secretary Interior, Secretary Foreign Affairs and others on a petition seeking removal of Hussain from the MQM leadership and action against him after his repatriation to Pakistan for alleged remarks against the ideology of Pakistan.

Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan passed the orders on a petition filed by Advocate Fayyaz Ahmed Mehr.

Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel submitted before the court that Altaf Hussain is a foreign national and claims to be the chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM.)

He said, on May 12, he addressed his party workers and allegedly threatened the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the establishment, media and workers of political parties and politicians and also demanded to separate Karachi from Pakistan.

The counsel said Hussain’s demand was against the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and also against the ideology of Pakistan. “It is a conspiracy and a move to destabilise and create unrest in the country just to achieve his nefarious goals,” he added.

He said according to the Political Parties Order 2002, only the citizens of Pakistan can form, organise, continue or set up a political party. But, he added, Altaf Hussain is not a citizen of Pakistan and cannot claim to be the chief of a political party.

The petitioner’s counsel prayed the court that Hussain should be refrained from claiming himself to be the chief of MQM and also Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) be directed to stop all media outlets from giving coverage to his speeches.

The petitioner prayed the court to issue directions for bringing back Altaf Hussain and to deal with him in accordance with the law.

The court after hearing the arguments issued notice to the respondents and sought reply within two weeks.

—File Photo.

TEHRAN: An Iranian semi-official news agency reports the country is denying that an unmanned drone violated the airspace of Bahrain, the strategic Gulf kingdom that hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

The Thursday report by ISNA quotes an unnamed official in Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

The statement did not elaborate, instead urging Bahrain’s rulers to pay attention to their people’s demands.

On Wednesday, Bahrain said an Iranian drone has been found in the tiny island kingdom across the Persian Gulf from Iran.

Bahrain has repeatedly accused Shiite Iran of encouraging the more than two-year-long uprising in Bahrain by its majority Shias.

Iran denies it has any direct role.

Iran has recently claimed advances in its technology in unmanned aircraft.

Solar Impulse, piloted by André Borschberg, takes flight during the second leg of the 2013 Across America mission, at dawn, Wednesday, May 22, 2013, from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. — AP Photo

DALLAS – A solar-powered plane has landed in Texas, completing the second leg of a trip across the United States.

The Solar Impulse is making the first attempt by a solar airplane of flying day and night without fuel across the US.

The plane landed early Thursday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after taking off Wednesday from Phoenix.

The plane flew its first leg from California in early May. From Dallas, it will fly to Lambert-St. Louis airport, Dulles airport near Washington and New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.

Each flight leg takes 20 or so hours, with multiday stops in each city.

Pilot Andre Borschberg is one of the plane’s creators along with Bertrand Piccard.

South Korean rap star Psy.—File Photo by Reuters

CANNES, France: A man from rural France impersonated South Korean “Gangnam Style” entertainer Psy at the Cannes Film Festival, eating, drinking and partying with the stars in Cannes for two days, press reports said on Thursday.

Psy “was spotted all over town, attending festival parties and events and posing for photos with festgoers and other celebrities,” The Hollywood Reporter said.

“But it turns out that the man was not Psy at all, but rather an imposter using his name and fame to get access to the festival.” The double was dressed exactly like Psy, with his trademark jackets and round sunglasses. He spent a day at the top-ranked Martinez beach restaurant and partied at night at the A-listers’ Carlton hotel.

Those who fell victim to the con included “Skyfall” actress Naomie Harris, who tweeted an image of herself posing with him at a party thrown by luxury jewellers Chopard.

Who was the trickster?

According to La Montagne, a daily newspaper in France’s remote Auvergne region, it was a 34-year-old Psy lookalike from Clermont-Ferrand called Denis Carre.

Carre, born in the small town of Blanzat, said he got hooked on Psy-chology last September when he was in a club in Dublin with his girlfriend, La Montagne reported.

“A crowd of people gathered around me, and the situation got totally out of control. We were only able to get out with the help of the bouncers. Then it happened again and again, to the point that the resemblance (with Psy) was causing problems in my private life,” he said.

The original Psy appears to have been unfazed by the identity theft. He tweeted: “Seems like there’s another ME at cannes… say Hi to him.”

Syrian refugees sell fruits on barrows along a street in the coastal city of Tripoli, north of Beirut on May 21, 2013. – AFP Photo

BEIRUT: Abu Faruq, a kiosk owner in an upscale Beirut district, does not hide his opinion about the influx of Syrian refugees: “Lebanon is occupied by foreigners,” he grumbled. “They’re ruining us.”

As the conflict in neighbouring Syria stretches into a third year, a wave of refugees has flooded Lebanon, stretching its economy and testing its resources as well the nerves of its citizens.

The United Nations says that at least 474,000 Syrian refugees have entered Lebanon, but experts say the figure could be closer to 700,000, in a country with a population of more than four million.

“May God be with the Lebanese people…Lebanon can’t take them all,” Abu Faruq said.
Ali, a taxi driver, is equally incensed, saying the influx threatens his livelihood.

“They’re taking our customers,” he said.

“Some of them are working as drivers without a licence. No one stops them, no one can say anything.”

Economists say the influx of refugees, and the conflict they are fleeing, has had a negative impact on Lebanon’s economy.

Nassib Ghobril, chief economist at Lebanon’s Byblos Bank, reeled off a string of alarming statistics: a 17.5 per cent drop in tourist arrivals last year, following a 23.7 per cent drop the year before, declining industrial exports, nosediving foreign direct investment (FDI) and a fall in both consumer and investor confidence.

“Consumer confidence dropped 37 per cent in 2012, after a 29 per cent drop in 2011, and FDI in Lebanon decreased by 68 per cent in 2012,” he told AFP.

“These are record lows since 2007,” he added, saying that inflation was also on the rise.

And yet Syrians inside Lebanon are spending, packing cafes and restaurants in Beirut’s trendy Zaitunay Bay, and encouraging landlords to demand ever higher rents in an already hot property market.

Half of the cars parked outside two serviced apartment buildings in the city have Damascus licence plates.

But economists say the Syrians’ consumption is not nearly enough to cover the overall losses to the economy.

“The impact is certainly a net negative,” Ghobril said.

Lebanon’s government is also feeling the pressure directly because it subsidises basic goods such as bread and flour, and services like electricity and healthcare.

And the refugee population is growing at an alarming rate, with UN figures showing it has more than doubled since January, when it stood at around 200,000 people, to 474,461 in mid-May.

Not all those arriving are poverty-stricken. Some came early, rented homes and bought cars, enrolled their children in local schools and even started businesses.

In southern Sidon, a former Damascus resident who declined to give his name has set up a supermarket with a Lebanese partner on Quds Street, now home to several Syrian-run businesses.

“I left because of the shelling and the problems,” he said, dragging on a cigarette.

“The profits just about cover the rent with a bit to get by, but in the future, if there’s a solution in Syria, I’ll definitely go back with my family.”

He said locals have been receptive, and 32-year-old Fady Qambaz, a Lebanese citizen working his vegetable stand nearby, insists he has no problem with the newcomers.

“We say welcome to them and I hope God helps them, they’re not doing anything wrong and we have to help them.”

Other Syrians have had less luck and are forced to stretch their savings, stopping daily at local moneychangers to see whether the exchange rate is any more favourable.

Others have resorted to selling their valuables to jewellers like Bilal Abu Harb, who has a shop in Beirut’s Hamra district.

“They have a child who needs to see a doctor or they need to pay their rent and they don’t have any money,” he said, rifling through a box filled with simple gold rings and pendants.

“It’s really sad to see. When a man comes with his wife, you see they have tears in their eyes when they’re selling, it’s really terrible for them.”

For those whose money has run out – or who never had any to start with – begging is the only option.

Near Abu Harb’s shop, Syrian women clutching children mingle with shoppers and diners, hoping for a handout.

One woman stands dressed in a black overcoat, her face covered with a black veil that leaves only her downcast eyes visible.

Her arms are outstretched, one hand open for donations, the other simply displaying her Syrian passport.