theSun | MONDAY MARCH 16 2009
news without borders
briefs
Arrest warrant
issued for Lohan
LOS ANGELES: An arrest war-
rant has been issued against US
actress Lindsay Lohan for driving
under the influence in 2007, Bev-
erly Hills police said on Saturday,
but her lawyer said the warrant
stems from a “misunderstand-
ing.” According to officials, the
warrant against the 22-year-old
troubled star “stems from a
May 2007 arrest of Lohan for
DUI (driving under the influence)
and hit-and-run.” After a stay
in rehab, she was caught two
months later for driving under
the influence and possession of
cocaine. – AFP
Six hurt in ‘Next
Top Model’ audition
NEW YORK: Six women re-
ceived medical treatment on
Saturday and three people
were arrested after what lo-
cal radio described as a stam-
pede as thousands waited in
New York to audition for the
reality show America’s Next
Top Model. A New York Police
Department official said two
women and a man were ar-
rested on charges of inciting
to riot and disorderly conduct.
WINS radio reported that
chaos erupted outside a mid-
town Manhattan hotel after a
car belching smoke pulled up
near the line of women late in
the afternoon, leading to a cry
of “fire” that sparked panic.
Witnesses told the station the
situation was compounded
when a man leapt from a car
and began grabbing women’s
purses. – Reuters
Australia nabs
asylum-seekers
SYDNEY: The Australian Navy
intercepted a boat suspected of
carrying 54 asylum-seekers off
the coast of the Northern Ter-
ritory, officials said on Sunday.
The passengers and crew were
taken to the immigration deten-
tion centre on Christmas Island.
“The Australian government is
committed to strong border
security arrangements and is
determined to deal effectively
and appropriately with people
smugglers,” said Home Affairs
Minister Bob Debus. The vessel
was intercepted off the Coburg
Peninsula, northeast of Darwin,
on Saturday night after it entered
Australian waters. – dpa
Five killed in Miami
murder-suicide
MIAMI: A man shot and killed
four people before taking his
own life early yesterday in
Miami, police said. A sergeant
said the man, wielding a semi-
automatic handgun, killed
three females and a male
inside a house in the city’s
Little Havana district shortly
after midnight. He then drove
away and turned the gun on
himself at his home, which
he had apparently set on fire,
three miles away. “It was do-
mestic-related,” the sergeant
said. “The wife left him and he
EPAPIX
tracked her down.” – Reuters
Clashes as Pakistan ex-PM
Sharif defies arrest
LAHORE: Pakistan’s main oppo- most popular political leader in
Supporters
sition leader Nawaz Sharif defied the country, led about 10,000
of opposition
house arrest yesterday and declared supporters in a banned protest
parties shout
he was leading a mass protest on in Lahore but scrapped plans to
slogans
the capital, as riot police clashed address the crowd, diverting his
in Multan
with stone-throwing mobs. convoy towards Islamabad as
Pakistan
The former premier, now the darkness fell.
during a Sharif, locked in a
protest standoff with President
against Asif Ali Zardari since
police the Supreme Court
crackdown
on their
on Feb 25 barred him
from running for of-
colleagues. fice, is demanding the
government reinstate
judges deposed by ex-
military ruler Pervez
Musharraf.
“Our destiny is Is-
lamabad. We have left
for Islamabad,” Sharif
told flagship private
television channel
Geo in a phone inter-
view, apparently from
inside his bullet-proof
vehicle, still crawling
through Lahore.
“The response
from the people is
amazing. It is a golden
moment in Pakistan’s
history. It is a prelude
 11
to a revolution,” he said, vowing to
“rescue Pakistan from those who
have taken it hostage”.
The authorities have sealed off
the exits from Lahore with giant
shipping containers, which Sharif
supporters were trying to remove
with the help of cranes, but it was
not immediately clear whether he
would be able to leave.
Soldiers armed with guns have
shut off the main entry into Is-
lamabad from the garrison city of
Rawalpindi, an AFP correspondent
said.
In the most violent scenes since
the crisis began, riot police wear-
ing body armour baton-charged
protesters and fired tear gas. Wit-
nesses said more than a dozen
people were wounded.
“The main GPO Square looked
like a battleground. I saw at least
two ambulances ferrying casualties
to the hospital,” said resident Hanif
Goraya, as Sharif supporters brought
the city centre to a standstill.
“Police fired scores of shells,
inside and outside the Lahore
High Court building. A shell hit my
left thigh, I received stitches. The
injured include lawyers, political
workers and some police officials.”
Nasir Zaidi, an intelligence
official in Lahore, estimated
that around 10,000 people were
demonstrating in the city – 3,000
outside the high court and the rest
thronging behind Sharif, heading
towards the court. – AFP