Top international news for the week Feb 18-24

Saturday

Newark: The biggest names in entertainment clap hands, sway to gospel hymns and sing along with the choir at Whitney Houston's hometown funeral in the church where the future pop star once wowed the congregation as a young girl.

Islamabad: Pakistan's top leadership react angrily to a resolution introduced in the US Congress seeking the right to self-determination for Baloch people, with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani describing the move as an attack on the country's sovereignty.

Sunday
   
Islamabad: The issue of Pakistan giving India Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status is being misconstrued though it is only meant to ensure that there is no discrimination in trade between the two countries, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza says.

London: Amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, Britain says it will not be "wise" for Israel to launch pre- emptive military strikes on Iran's atomic installations as it would have "enormous downsides."

Monday
   
Rome: Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi warns of "considerable differences" with India over the alleged killing of two Indian fishermen mistaken for pirates by Italian soldiers on an oil tanker.
   
Tehran: A delegation from the UN nuclear watchdog arrives in Tehran for a two-day visit aimed at seeking a solution to a dispute over Iran's nuclear programme, the ISNA news agency says.
   
Tuesday
   
Kathmandu: A senior Madhesi leader and minister in Nepal's cabinet is jailed for one-and-a-half years and fined Rs 8.4 million by the Supreme Court for amassing property worth Rs 20.8 million through illegal means.
   
Karachi/Islamabad: Pakistan will seek Interpol help to bring back Pervez Musharraf to face trial over ex-Premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination, Interior Minister Rehman Malik says, a month after the former military ruler deferred indefinitely plans to return home to contest polls.
   
Wednesday
   
Beirut: Syrian gunners pound an opposition stronghold where the last dispatches from a veteran American war correspondent chronicled the suffering of civilians caught in the relentless shelling.

Cairo: The fate of Egypt's former strongman Hosni Mubarak will be decided on June 2, with the Egyptian court conducting his trial setting the final date for verdict after the ousted president turns down a last chance to speak in its final session.
   
Thursday
   
New York: In a setback to an Indian diplomat, a US judge recommends that her maid be awarded nearly $1.5 million for the "barbaric treatment" and "emotional distress" suffered by her at the hands of her employer for three years.
   
Buenos Aires: Desperate families search for loved ones after a massive train crash in Buenos Aires kill 50 people, injure nearly 700 and leave dozens trapped for hours in the wreckage.
   
Friday
   
Kabul: Anti-US protesters try to storm a US consulate and march on NATO headquarters in Kabul as violent demonstrations over the burning of Qurans pushes into fourth day, killing 24 people.
   
New York: The trial of an Indian-origin Rutgers University student accused of spying on his roommate's sexual encounter with another man begins with attorneys preparing to give their opening statements.