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| Sunday, November 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Singapore to help India
join ASEAN summit
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OIC call to isolate Israel Arafat presses UN for protection force US Election 2000 Courts may resolve great US
dilemma More states may go the
Florida way Atom bomber pilot won’t mind doing it
again |
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End US embargo, demands
Cuba When peek-a-boos were
booed Estrada to abide by
Congress’ decision SC quashes Mugabe’s
land-grab move Women gain weight at
puberty, menopause
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Singapore to help India
join ASEAN summit SINGAPORE, Nov 11 — Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is keen that India should first become eligible to take part in the post Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit rather than make a bid at this juncture to join the Association of Petroleum Exporting Countries (APEC) and the Asian European Meeting (ASEM). He disclosed that Singapore would take up this idea with other friends in ASEAN later this month. The current arrangement in this regard is ASEAN and the three countries of China, Japan and South Korea. If consensus emerges, India will be fourth nation to join the post ASEAN summit dialogue. In an interface with Indian mediapersons after a meeting with President K.R. Narayanan here this afternoon, Mr Goh did admitted that Singapore cannot do much to push India’s case both in APEC and ASEM. In ASEM he recalled that the grouping has decided to evolve the criteria for membership even as nine countries have applied to be part of the grouping. Similarly, many parties are waiting to join APEC even as the association has slapped a decade-long moratorium for inducting new members. As a full dialogue partner of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the Prime Minister felt New Delhi should offer some benefits. At the same time, Singapore shared India’s concerns about stability in the region. Appreciating the state visit of Mr Narayanan to this city state, Mr Goh stressed that Singapore would like to act as a catalyst for India’s experiment in removing the stops in opening the economy quickly. India and Singapore can benefit because of the huge market in India. He did not visualise any decline in Singaporean investments in China for another five to 10 years because of the common language and familiarity with that country. He would like to see forward movement with India in sectors like information technology, insurance, telecom, civil aviation, tourism, industrial parks and possibly property, hotels and apartments. Mr Goh reaffirmed Singapore’s keenness to push for a free trade zone between the two countries which will see a huge surge of investments from this country. He said the Task Force on economic cooperation would study the modalities for setting up the FTZ. There is a distinct possibility of Singapore and India also setting up a third Task Force or a working group on tourism and civil aviation. He expressed his country’s readiness to formalise this Task Force within a month. He said by using Singapore as a hub, they wanted to transport tourists from Hong Kong, China and the Southeast region as a whole to India. They wanted additional flights to India to meet this requirement and hoped that India will further liberalise its open skies policies soon. An official spokesman said in the evening after Singapore’s senior minister Lee Kuan Yew called on the visiting President that India is keen to join the ASEM and APEC. New Delhi finds it inconceivable that India is not part of ASEM, especially because of its status in Asia. |
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Singapore Diary The Sikh community which constitutes about 2.5 to 3 per cent of the ethnic Indian population of 8 per cent in Singapore is engaged in virtually every sphere of activity. Members of this community are Members of Parliament, eminent lawyers and doctors. A smattering of them are also in the armed forces and the police of this city state. Most of them are second generation Singaporeans. Mr Davinder Singh, a lawyer and MP, had earlier been the President of the Singapore-India Business Council as well as an advisor to the top leadership. The Sikh community has retained its cultural identity though a large number of them are second or third generation Singaporeans. They partake in all the festivities and celebrate with great fervour the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. * * * *
First Lady Usha Narayanan had her own itinerary in Singapore. Mrs Narayanan went round the headquarters of the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisation on Friday and was pleasantly surprised to meet nominated MP Claire Chiang, who is a family friend of the Narayanans. Mr and Mrs Narayanan have had a long standing friendship with Mrs Chiang’s father-in-law and former diplomat Ho Rih Hwa. Ms Chiang paid tributes to Mrs Narayanan saying that the First Lady had been a social activist during the time her husband was a career diplomat. * * * * *
Mr Narayanan’s state visit, the first by an Indian Head of State in three decades, was not all symbolism. It has been substantively aimed at putting India-Singapore relations in proper perspective after a virtual standstill for some time. He drew attention to the growing recognition of India as a software superpower. He offered India’s technological expertise as well the expanding market back home which has now opened up to the world. * * * * *
The bespectacled and 37-year-old NASSCOM President Dewang Mehta appears to have been an instant hit with Singapore president S.R. Nathan and his wife Umi. When the First Lady of Singapore Umi saw him at the banquet last night and she instantly said “here comes the Elvis Presley look alike”. Mr Mehta was also quite amused. Did the comparison to the late Rock legend make him uncomfortable, Mr Mehta replied with a mischievous grin and twinkle in his eyes. Notwithstanding his IT savvyness, Mr Mehta is a commercial pilot to boot. He regularly is at the controls of a Jet Air aircraft on the Delhi-Mumbai sector to keep his commercial pilots licence intact. |
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Window on Pakistan FOR over 4.4 crore Pakistani citizens suffering from utter poverty and deprivation, Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf has offered them a sop — a kind election to the local bodies. This is perhaps his answer to the problem of rising prices and unemployment and the consequent high tide of crime. These elections are part of a grand design to provide some kind of democracy to the citizens sick of consistent army rule over the past five decades or so. Pakistan has had more army rulers than civilian Heads of Government. This did not enthuse the common man as reflected by mainline Pakistani newspapers. In fact, there are more reports about bomb blasts and related violence in the streets of Karachi, Lahore and Multan. A leading daily, Nawa-e-Waqt, was attacked with bombs that saw two innocent lives lost. It is the first blatant and deadly attack on the freedom of the press and must have the blessings of some powerful people unhappy with the Urdu daily. Karachi alone has suffered much. Last week alone, 15 persons died in four bomb attacks and ghastly group violence. Most of them were youngsters belonging to one or the other faction of the MQM. A country that has been exporting violence and trying to champion the cause of “freedom fighters” elsewhere, is unable to set its own house in order. Karachi is just one stark example. But for most Pakistani newspapers, the economic issues are getting focused, indeed a good sign of awareness. Some have been warned that over 4.4 crore poverty-stricken people may not remain just silent sufferers. These newspapers, including Dawn, The Nation, Friday Times, Frontier Post and, of course, The Muslim, are worried about the growing crisis as international debt itself is rising everyday. It is more than $ 34 billion. Prices are rising everyday and the economy is still in a slowdown mode. This is so despite the fact that the country had bumper wheat and other crops. An article in Pakistan Today provided some details. It said the prices of a large number of essential food items have shown a steep rise. Among these items are wheat flour, sugar, tea, pulses, vegetables, etc. “The count, according to latest reports, goes up to 60, mainly edible. The causes of these increases are many and varied, but the most important of these is the absence of an integrated policy on prices. Prices of individual items are generally considered in isolation without taking into account what effect the rise in the price of a basic item will have on those of others.” “The most glaring example of this ripple effect has been the coming into effect of a sizable increase of Rs 60 in the procurement price of 40 kg of wheat. Wheat in our economy determines the price level in general. The higher procurement price of wheat was no doubt intended to provide an incentive to the farmer to raise production. But the main drawback in this approach is the virtual absence of a simultaneous drive to promote productivity through better provision of inputs at a lower cost. Had it been done, the precarious dependence on price incentive as the only means of stimulating higher production and ensuring better earnings for the grower would have been drastically reduced,” so goes the comment. The rise in the price of sugar is the result of what had happened last year when farmers experienced a great hardship at the hands of the crushers who withheld the payment of their dues on one pretext or another for a long time. This bad experience, coupled with the shortage of irrigation water, has caused the crisis of sugar this season — as a consequence mainly of a substantial fall in the production of sugarcane. Although sugar is said to have been imported in substantial quantity (about 500,000 tonnes) to meet the shortfall, the flare-up in the price is not abating: the reason may be cornering of stocks by mills and importers for reasons of profiteering. The government seems to be indifferent to the whole situation. It does not appear to be doing anything to bring about a halt to the increase in the prices of these items in the international market. The increases in the prices of vegetables are said to be due to short-production resulting from a rise in diesel prices. The general spurt in the prices of food items is bound to have an adverse effect on the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty. The erosion of purchasing power of the common man, who spends the major portion of his measure income on food, will add to his worries. The burden of the lower and middle classes will also go up. But General Musharraf, now busy in operations like keeping the politicians either in jail or divided, has little time to think of any means to reduce the growing burden on the poor and middle classes. |
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OIC call to isolate Israel DOHA, Nov 11 (UNI) — The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has called on all Muslim nations to sever all diplomatic and commercial relations with Israel, accusing the Ehud Barak government of ‘‘serious war crimes’’ against innocent Palestinians. In its draft communique finalised by the Foreign Ministers after two days of discussions on Middle East, the 56-member grouping urged the ‘‘members that have relations with Israel or those who have taken measures towards
establishment of such ties to break them.’’ However, Egypt and Jordan have expressed reservations on the resolution, stating that they were committed to maintaining diplomatic ties with Israel under internationally recognised treaties. Mauritania, which had established full diplomatic ties with Israel, is being
persuaded to snap them in view of growing atrocities. Qatar has already closed down Israeli trade office in Doha to register its protest. Urging the USA to take a ‘‘humanitarian and honest stand against Israeli aggression,’’ the OIC said that Tel Avivs’ acts symbolised ‘‘war crimes’’. Iran, Libya and Iraq demanded harsh measures against Israel, which include a ban on Israeli goods and boycott of international events attended by Tel Aviv. But Turkey, which maintains military alliance with Israel, strongly regreted the proposal. It was agreed to set up an OIC committee on Palestine to seek international community’s support and deployment of UN force in Gaza. Palestinian Planning Minister Nabil Shaath was the head of the drafting committee. The communique also in its reference to Jammu and Kashmir, urged both India and Pakistan to resolve the issue through dialogue. It expressed concern on escalation of violence in the state and hoped for an early settlement of the problem. The communique expressed grave concern over the repeated violation of the Line of Control. OIC Secretary-General Azzizdui Laraki said dispute between India and Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir is a cause of concern for the Islamic world. Pakistan which tried to seek clarification on the draft resolutions was not allowed by Qatar Foreign Minister who observed that the session was not the right forum to raise the issue. Meanwhile, Mr Abdul Sattar, foreign Minister of Pakistan, who also attended the meeting of the OIC contact group on Jammu and Kashmir, said that his government strongly favoured peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue. He expressed dismay over India’s refusal to resume bilateral talks with Pakistan. India has made it clear that Pakistan should first create conducive atmosphere by ending support to cross- border terrorism to re-start bilateral dialogue that got derailed due to the Kargil conflict. He claimed that the IOC had reiterated its support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue demanding implementation of the UN resolutions. Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has achieved a sort of diplomatic victory as the OIC has allowed it to participate in the current Ninth Islamic Summit here. A senior representative of the Taliban Government will attend the Summit, OIC sources said. However, chief of the Taliban, Mulla Omer will not be present at the Summit. The seat has been remaining vacant for the last four years. The Taliban regime is now recognised only by Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia. However, Taliban’s participation at the OIC summit will boost its chance of getting recognition from more member states. Some Central Asian nations are known to give due recognition to Talibans on certain conditions. |
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Courts may resolve great US dilemma WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (IPS) — Two days after almost 100 million US citizens cast their ballots for a new President, it appears that the next occupant of the White House will ultimately be decided by the courts, and perhaps not for many days or even weeks.The election’s extraordinary denouement is forcing many citizens to take a new and closer look at the way presidents are elected. Already, many people are demanding that the electoral college system, adopted under the Constitution more than 200 years ago, be radically revised or abolished. While the particular focus of concern now is on the final vote count in the key state of Florida, larger questions are being asked about a system in which the candidate who received the most popular votes, in this case, Democratic Vice-President Al Gore, may be defeated by Republican Texas Governor George W. Bush, who claims to have won a majority of the electoral vote. The unprecedented indecision results from the extraordinarily close vote in Florida, where democrats appear poised to demand that voters in one predominantly democratic county, where almost 20,000 ballots were disqualified, be permitted to re-cast their votes. In an initial count of the votes Tuesday night, Mr Bush appeared to win the state and all of its crucial 25 electoral votes by an 1,800-vote margin out of six million votes cast. Winning Florida — no matter by how little — would give Mr Bush the 271 electoral votes he needs to claim the presidency, under the USA’s unique electoral system. Bush’s margin, however, had fallen to just 350 votes about 90 per cent of the way through an official re-count, which is required in very close elections under Florida law. But even if Mr Bush, as expected, is confirmed as the winner of the re-count, several thousand votes from Floridians overseas remain to be counted over the next several days. And even if both candidates agree with the official totals at that point, the question of almost 20,000 spoiled ballots is still likely to be referred to the courts. There is no question that the next presidency is at stake. With 260 electoral votes firmly in his column, 25 more from Florida would send Mr Gore over the threshold and into the White House. While it is in both the immediate and longer-term interests of the Democrats that the electoral system be changed in favour of a more Democratic system, the Gore campaign has said it considers itself bound by the existing Constitutional system. But the fact that Mr Gore won the popular vote appears to be making the Democrats more willing to fight over the results. Normally, according to legal experts, courts are extremely reluctant to order new votes and have done so only in the cases where fraud appears to have taken place. But the Democrats now appear to be preparing a case to submit to the courts. Their focus is Palm Beach County, home to a large number of Jewish-Americans, who normally vote overwhelmingly democratic. The Bush campaign, however, noted that the margins of Mr Gore’s victory in several states was less than 10,000 votes, and that recounts there could also uncover some discrepancies, as they had in Florida.
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More states may go the
Florida way WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (AP) — Florida’s vote count isn’t the only one still in question during this year’s unusual presidential election. Four more states may see their presidential votes end with recounts. In New Mexico, voting tallies released yesterday by the clerk in the state’s largest county gave Republican George W. Bush a 17-vote edge over Democrat Al Gore, a sharp reversal of a previous unofficial Gore lead of 6,825 votes. However, as many as 370 additional special absentee ballots remained to be counted next week. Republicans have threatened to challenge close Gore victories if he draws out challenges in Florida. But New Mexico has only five electoral votes and wouldn’t be enough be itself. In Oregon, the race may be headed for a recount, Mr Gore was ahead by 6,092 votes. State law requires a recount if the margin is less than one-fifth of 1 per cent, or about 2,800 votes. About 40,000 more votes remain to be counted in the state’s mail-in balloting. In Iowa, Republican officials were exploring the possibility of requesting a voter recount in a state that Mr Bush lost by less than 5,000 votes. In Wisconsin, where Mr Bush lost by about 6,000 votes, there is no automatic recount. But a candidate may request one, and Mr Bush officials said they were looking at that possibility. |
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Arafat presses UN for protection force UNITED NATIONS, Nov 11 (AFP) — Mr Yasser Arafat has appealed in person to the Security Council to send a UN force to protect Palestinians, but the USA said it would oppose the move without Israeli support. The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Lancry, met separately with the council, and told reporters he had “expressed very clearly our opposition to an international force.” Mr Arafat, the President of the Palestinian Authority, yesterday conferred in private with ambassadors of the 15 council member states for an hour and a half in the council chamber. He then had a short meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General, Louise Frechette, before departing. He passed a phalanx of waiting reporters but did not stop to speak. On Monday, the Palestinian Observer to the UN, Mr Nasser, Mr al-Kidwa, wrote to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, asking the world body to deploy 2,000 military observers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Richard Holbrooke, told reporters that Mr Arafat had repeated the appeal before the council. “We will oppose it, unless and until it is supported by both parties in whatever form would emerge,” Mr Holbrooke said. The USA was not opposed on principle to Palestinian suggestions, he said. NABLUS (West Bank): A fourth Palestinian was killed today by Israeli fire near Jenin, bringing the toll of victims in six weeks of Israeli-Palestinian clashes to 200, a hospital source said. Ayad Fahmawy, 25, was hit in the head by gunfire during clashes with Israeli soldiers during which another Palestinian, Usama Mazen Azuqa, 15, was killed by an Israeli bullet through his shoulder and his chest. His death brought the tally of victims, the vast majority Arabs, to 200 since riots broke out in late September following a visit by Israeli right-wing hardliner Ariel Sharon to an Islamic holy site of east Jerusalem. |
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Atom bomber pilot won’t mind doing it again DALLAS, Nov 11 (DPA) — Paul Tibbets is an amiable old man with a thick crop of white hair who speaks thoughtfully and looks at the world through a pair of alert, penetrating eyes. “Yes I would do it again if the war situation and the circumstances demanded it,’’ Tibbets told a recent convention of social studies teachers in Dallas, Texas. His reward was a thunderous applause. The lively 85-year-old man was the pilot and commander of the bomber which dropped the first-ever atom bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. He is a controversial figure in world history but most Americans regard him as a hero. Tibbets never tires of recalling the operation that was to shape the rest of his life. More than 140,000 persons were killed in the atomic blast and tens of thousands died from the after-effects of radiation. “I didn’t realise at the time what effect dropping the atom bomb would have,’’ he told the teachers who had invited him to share his memories of that fateful day. “Our sole aim was to do everything to beat the Japanese. They were our enemies and we were at war. We were patriots and we wanted to see an end to the slaughter so that our soldiers could come home,’’ Tibbets said. Although Tibbets was following orders, he has been forced to confront the moral repercussions of the bombing. His name became known throughout the world along with that of the plane used to drop the bomb, the “Enola Gay,” which was named after his mother. From that day on he was “the man who dropped the atom bomb.’’ During World War ii, Tibbets was regarded as one of the top US bomber pilots. He flew dozens of sorties against Nazi Germany and later tested the huge B-29 superfortress bomber. In the autumn of 1944, Tibbets was entrusted with assembling a special operations group and, amid great secrecy at a remote airfield in Utah, the 17 B-29s of the wing began practicing the technique used to drop large bombs of a type never used before. In March, 1945, the unit was transferred to the island of Tinian in the Pacific while scientists and technicians at the Los Alamos Atomic Research Centre worked feverishly to complete the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare. US War Minister Henry Stimson and Secretary of State James Byrnes tried to persuade President Harry Truman to deploy the potent weapon about whose huge destructive power scientists could only speculate. It was estimated that conquering the Japanese mainland would have cost the lives of up to a million US troops and in the Potsdam Declaration of July 27, 1945, Japan was again called upon to capitulate. The empire refused and Truman gave the go-ahead for the atom bomb to be used. On August 6, 1945, at 2.45 a.m. The “Enola Gay” took off from Tinian. On board was a uranium type of atomic bomb nicknamed “Little Boy’’. The bomb was primed by technicians during the flight and dropped over Hiroshima at a height of 9,450 metres. The device exploded 580 metres above the city centre just after 8.16 a.m. The “Enola Gay” returned to its base without any incident and the operation was pronounced a military success. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and on August 14, Japan capitulated. “After the war I met President Truman,’’ said Tibbets. “He told me I had done my duty and that if anyone criticised me for dropping the bomb, I should send that person to see him because he gave me the order to do so.’’ The retired General has been around the world a lot since then but has never gone back to Japan.
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HAVANA, Nov 11 (Reuters) —Jubilant about a record vote in the UN General Assembly to condemn the US economic embargo on their island, leaders of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party demanded an unconditional lifting of the sanctions. “The blockade will not be ended at the negotiating table,” Vice-President Carlos Lage yesterday told a partisan audience of 4,000 foreign delegates to a “Cuba Solidarity” conference in Havana. “The blockade has to be lifted unconditionally and unilaterally by the US Government,” Mr Lage added, to roars of “Cuba, Si! Yankee, No!” in the Karl Marx auditorium. He and other top officials spoke a day after the UN, for the ninth year, voted massively in favour of an end to the sanctions which were imposed nearly four decades ago in a bid to topple President Fidel Castro. The vote was a record 167 for to three against — the USA, Israel and the Marshall Islands — with four abstentions: El Salvador, Latvia, Morocco and Nicaragua. |
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MALE, Nov 11 (UNI) — As beauties from all over the world begin to congregate here to vie for the oldest and the coveted Miss World 2000 crown, there are galores of amusing incidents and experiences to be recounted from the pageants held over the past five decades. On the picturesque beaches of the Maldives when the contestants from today don their revealing beachwears, each seeking to expose more than cover, silent thanks should go to their predecessors who in the sixties clamoured to break through the rigidities. That they could not have their way is another matter as then any “offensive” variations in even one piece suits were considered infra dig. In 1965, when swimwears as such were sedate and plain, Miss World officials banned the peek-a-boo swimsuits sought to be worn by four contestants. The swimsuit of Miss Canada Carol Ann Tidey offering a spectacular view through the net of her back and sides was disallowed. So were the outfits of Miss Peru and Miss UK that too had net-covered plunging necklines that went nearly all the way down. Equally abhorrent was Miss Greece’s see through net used to join together the briefest of bikinis. A far cry from net-less revelations of nowadays. In 1967 Miss Sweden Eva Englander wanted to wear a peek-a-boo cutout swimsuit which exposed her sides and entire back. Contest officials once again issued a flat no... too revealing, they declared. However, it needed the guts of Miss Venezuela Tatiana Capote Abdel who in 1979 at a preview of the final judging popped out of her scanty one-piece swim suit. As the photographers scrambled for the best angle, contest chairman Eric Morley hastily adjusted the swimsuit, according to reports culled from various newspapers. Exactly 20 years before in an instance of envious accusation, Miss USA Loretta Powell charged that Miss World Corine Rottschaffer of Holland was “padded in the bra”. A charge that Corine disproved by changing into a one piece bathing suit and being measured with a tape. Her 37-22-37 measurements in fact turned out to be a fraction of an inch larger around the chest, according to compilations from the archives of noted pageant scholar Donald West of Canada. If bare all was out, so was not baring enough. It was in 1978 when Miss Tunisia Malek Namlaghi refused to pose for publicity pictures without her veil, asserting “I am not here for sex — only beauty.’’ After the contest organiser Julia Morley disqualified her, Malek changed her mind and removed her veil. She was allowed to compete. As late as in 1986 Miss USA Halle Berry drew gasps when she wore a bikini featuring stars and ropes of beads during a parade of national costumes saying she wanted “to catch the eye from the start.’’ but it was the wrong fora, not being the beachwear section and justifiably many thought it was unfair. |
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Estrada to abide by Congress’ decision MANILA, Nov 11 (Reuters) — Embattled Philippine President Joseph Estrada, facing an almost certain impeachment over charges of bribery and corruption, vowed today to abide by the decision of the Congress but again maintained that he was innocent. Estrada, who has denied the charges and rejected calls that he should quit, made the promise ahead of a mass gathering of his supporters in a Manila park. Organisers said they expected at least 1 million persons to turn out at the park later in the day for the prayer rally for peace and reconciliation. “I will accept the decision in accordance with our Constitution”, he said. The Opposition said on November 9 that 115 members of the House of Representatives had endorsed the impeachment complaint against Estrada. A full session of the lower house is to convene on November 13 and take up the impeachment resolution. If one-third of its 218 members vote in favour of the motion, Estrada would be impeached and the proceedings would move to the Senate. The Senate will then hold an impeachment trial, possibly starting later this month. A two-thirds majority of its members is required to remove Estrada from office. Meanwhile, five teams of the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had been formed to investigate the allegations of ill-gotten wealth against Estrada, a top ranking government official said today. Interior and Local Government Secretary Alfredo Lim said the five NBI teams had been told to verify reports that Estrada had acquired at least six mansions in posh neighbourhoods for his mistresses while in office. |
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SC quashes Mugabe’s
land-grab move HARARE, Nov 11 — The Supreme Court in zimbabwe ruled yesterday that the country’s “fast-track” land resettlement programme is unconstitutional and ordered the police to remove government supporters from more than 1,600 white-owned farms. The decision is a blow to President Robert Mugabe and his land redistribution scheme, which has seen Zimbabwe’s most productive farms engulfed by violence and prevented from growing crops. The ruling states that if the government wishes to seize land, it must follow the procedures of the country’s Land Acquisition Act, which gives owners a chance to contest farm seizures in court and at least 90 days to vacate their land. The court accused the government of promoting illegality and violence under the guise of land redistribution and called for the police to stop the occupation of farms by war veterans and other Mugabe supporters. Until now the police have refused to remove the occupiers and have not protected owners from violence. |
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Women gain weight at
puberty, menopause LOS ANGELES, Nov 1 (Reuters) — Several studies show women are most vulnerable to putting on weight at puberty, after pregnancy and after menopause, giving doctors new information to help reduce obesity among females. The prevalence of obesity in North American women has almost doubled in the past 20 years, and while many factors were cited in presentations at a conference on obesity in Long Beach, California, south of Los Angeles, a lot of research showed women putting on the most weight during those three life-changing periods. “It could easily be the number of times you go for happy meals,” one researcher said yesterday, citing similar patterns of weight gain for new fathers as well as mothers. “But there may be a physiological component for women.” Two studies suggested that early menarche (the onset of menstrual cycling) in young girls sets the stage for obesity later in life. |
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Charles to be offered
soap opera part Accidental shooting sparks riots Claudia Schiffer single again German govt allows ‘gay weddings’ Thai prince orders gourmet takeaways Lifetime Achievement award for Streisand N-cooperation forum opens amid protests Deuba to contest for Nepali PM’s post Oxford varsity’s chair on Indian history |
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