W O R L D

Jamali calls meeting of top oppn leaders
Islamabad, May 25
As the six-month-long deadlock between the Pakistan Government and the Opposition over the legality of President Pervez Musharraf's constitutional amendments continues, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has called a meeting of top opposition leaders on May 30 to reach an agreement on when the President should relinguish his post as army chief.

• Sinha’s proposal is theoretical: Pak

GLOBAL MONITOR

US hip-hop singer Eve waves at fans upon her arrival at the MTV Video Music Awards, Japan 2003, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Sunday. Eve is nominated for the Best Live Performance award. — Reuters

Kathmandu, May 25 As many as 85 climbers, many trying to break records, have reached atop the Mount Everest within two days from May 22 even as the Nepal’s capital is witnessing arrival of large number of world-renowned mountaineers ahead of the 50th anniversary of the world’s highest summit’s conquest.

Tashi Tenzing (R), grandson of first Everest summiter Tenzing Norgay, takes a rickshaw ride during a rally to mark the 50th year of the first Everest ascent in Kathmandu on Sunday. — Reuters photo

Kapadia gets Patron’s Medal
London, May 25
Mumbai-based Harish Kapadia, editor of Himalayan Journal, has won the Patron’s Medal of the world renowned Royal Geographic Society, an honour bestowed on an Asian and Indian for the first time in past 125 years.

India keen on Pak-Afghan Gas pipeline Islamabad, May 25 With India showing an interest in participating the gas pipeline project that will link Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the project coordinator - Asian Development Bank - is planning to call bids by November this year. India, which was initially reluctant to take part in the project, has sought a guarantee from Turkmenistan that it will cut the whole system in case Pakistan disrupts supplies to India. The steering committee for the project will analyse India’s response when it meets from June 6 to 8 in Ashkabad. UNI

Pakistani railway workers fix a train track at the Wagah railway station near Lahore in Pakistan for possible restoration of rail link between Pakistan and India. — This PTI picture was taken on Saturday.

China flays US approach on terrorism
Moscow, May 25
In an obvious reference to the USA, Chinese President Hu Jintao has criticised the “double standards” adopted by some nations in combating terrorism and said limits of anti-terror action cannot be broadened at one’s will.

Bachchan gets Asian Guild award
London, May 25
Amitabh Bachchan was chosen for the Bollywood’s Life-Time Achievement Award by the London-based Asian Guild here last night while Shah Rukh Khan, winner of the prestigious Filmfare Awards nine times, got Bollywood Star of the Decade Award.

Queen’s man in Australia quits
Canberra, May 25
The embattled representative of the British Queen in Australia resigned today after a sex scandal from his clergyman past stripped him of public and political support, Australian media reported.

11 more SARS deaths
Beijing, May 25
China today reported 11 fatalities from the SARS virus, taking the global cumulative toll from the highly infectious disease past the 700-mark, as life in Beijing, the world’s worst-hit city, is gradually returning to near normal.

Videos

Amfar Benefit, one of the Cannes Film festival's most dazzling evenings, studded with an impressive number of stars, including Liz Hurley, Elizabeth Taylor and Iman, raised almost $ 1. 4 million for Aids research. (28k, 56k)

Rabindra Nath Mitra of Siliguri scripts the success story of Tenzing Norgay. (28k, 56k)

Jamali calls meeting of top oppn leaders

Islamabad, May 25
As the six-month-long deadlock between the Pakistan Government and the Opposition over the legality of President Pervez Musharraf's constitutional amendments continues, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has called a meeting of top opposition leaders on May 30 to reach an agreement on when the President should relinguish his post as army chief.

Ahead of the fresh meeting, Mr Jamali has begun consultations with a number of allied parties which back the ruling pro-military Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) to devise a strategy.

Mr Jamali's decision to call the meeting follows the failure of a 11-member committee of the ruling and the opposition parties to reach an agreement.

Submitting the report to Mr Jamali, the head of the committee, Speaker Chowdhary Amir Hussain, highlighted the demand of the opposition parties that President Musharraf should quit as chief of the army at least by Pakistan Day on August 14, 2004.

The opposition parties are demanding that President Musharraf should give a tacit commitment to quit the post so that the modified proposals of his constitutional amendments could be approved in Parliament.

Meanwhile, top leaders of the combined Opposition in the National Assembly will meet here tomorrow in an attempt to evolve a unified approach on talks with the government.

Ahead of the meeting, the six party Islamist alliance, Muthahida Majlis Amal, will hold a meeting of its supreme council to finalise a strategy. PTI

Sinha’s proposal is theoretical: Pak

Islamabad, May 25
Pakistan today described Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha’s proposal to share intelligence for curbing infiltration as “theoretical”, saying it would not succeed without New Delhi and Islamabad first entering into a dialogue.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Ahmed Kasuri today said that theoretically, everything was possible. But practically, confidence, trust and mutual understanding was imperative, which could only be achieved through dialogue, The News reported.

He said, without dialogue, there would be no positive impact on the relations between the two countries.

Yesterday, Mr Sinha proposed a joint mechanism by India and Pakistan, including “intelligence sharing”, to deal with infiltration, even as he questioned Islamabad’s sincerity in tackling cross-border terrorism. UNI

85 atop Everest in two days 

Kathmandu, May 25
As many as 85 climbers, many trying to break records, have reached atop the Mount Everest within two days from May 22 even as the Nepal’s capital is witnessing arrival of large number of world-renowned mountaineers ahead of the 50th anniversary of the world’s highest summit’s conquest.

More than 100 international Everest heroes have already arrived in Kathmandu to take part in the golden jubilee celebrations on May 29 of the conquest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, while 206 have confirmed their participation.

More than 400 climbers, including over a 100 Nepalese, are expected to gather in Kathmandu for the grand occasion to honour the Everest heroes.

Nepalese crown prince Paras will confer Sagarmatha Golden Jubilee medal to world-renowned climbers, including Hillary and first woman climber Junko Tabei of Japan, who have set different records on Everest, at a special function in Kathmandu’s Yak & Yeti Hotel on May 29.

Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand will honour the other Everest mountaineers at Birendra International Convention Centre on the same day. Hillary and Junko Tabei will get special hour by taking them round the city on a decorated horse pulling cart on May 27.

So far, 1,251 persons from around the world have climbed the Everest since 1953, when Hillary and Norgay first conquered the 8848 m mountain. PTI

Kapadia gets Patron’s Medal

London, May 25
Mumbai-based Harish Kapadia, editor of Himalayan Journal, has won the Patron’s Medal of the world renowned Royal Geographic Society, an honour bestowed on an Asian and Indian for the first time in past 125 years.

Kapadia, has been chosen for the prestigious medal for his exceptional contribution to exploration and geography. The award will be presented on June 2, 2003, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the coronation of the Queen and also with the 50th anniversary of the first Ascent of Everest.

A former vice president of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, Kapadia has dedicated the award to his son late Nawang Kapadia, a Gorkha officer of the 4th battalion of the 3rd Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army who made the supreme sacrifice while defending the country from militants in Kashmir.

“He shared my passion for trekking, love for the nature and gave his life defending the Himalayas”, Kapadia said.

He began climbing and trekking in the range around Mumbai, the Western Ghats. His first visit to the Himalayas was almost 40 years ago. He has never looked back after that, still trekking and climbing actively.

His main contribution to Himalayan climbing has been to explore unknown areas and, in a number of cases, to open up climbing possibilities.

Some of Kapadia’s major ascents have been of Devtoli (6788m), Bandarpunch West (6102m), Parilungbi (6166m), Lungser Kangri (6666m), the highest peak of Rupshu in Ladakh. He led eight international joint expeditions, five with the British, two with the French and one with the Japanese mountaineers, to high peaks, like Rimo (7385 m), Chong Kumdan I (7071 m), Sudarshan Parvat, Panch Chuli, Rangrik Rang, and Padmanabh (7030 m). In 2002 he explored the high Teram Shehr Ice-Plateau on the Siachen Glacier. PTI

China flays US approach on terrorism

Moscow, May 25
In an obvious reference to the USA, Chinese President Hu Jintao has criticised the “double standards” adopted by some nations in combating terrorism and said limits of anti-terror action cannot be broadened at one’s will.

“Terrorism cannot be attributed to any particular nation or religion. Nor can one use so-called ‘double standards’ in these efforts. We must combat the manifestations and ultimate causes of terrorism alike”, Hu said in an interview to Russian state TV ahead of his six-day visit to that country.

Without naming the USA, he denounced the practice of classifying nations into ‘evil axis’ or ‘rogue states’ and underscored that the “limits of anti-terror action cannot be broadened at one’s will.”

Calling for need to address the problems in a comprehensive manner, Hu reiterated China’s condemnation of “all forms and all manifestations of terrorism” and active support and participation in regional and international anti-terrorist efforts.

“Our position and our opinion on this remain unchanged. We believe that anti-terrorist efforts must meet the goals and principles of the UN Charter and other generally recognised standards of international relations”, Hu was quoted as saying by the Interfax. Hu is arriving in Moscow on Monday, for his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Responding to a query, Hu said the US-led war on Iraq in defiance of the UN had not changed the current global equation and the tendency for a mulipolar world would prevail. PTI

Bachchan gets Asian Guild award

London, May 25
Amitabh Bachchan was chosen for the Bollywood’s Life-Time Achievement Award by the London-based Asian Guild here last night while Shah Rukh Khan, winner of the prestigious Filmfare Awards nine times, got Bollywood Star of the Decade Award.

Sixty one-year-old Bachchan, was recently voted by Britain’s Channel 4 television as one of the greatest 100 film stars of all time. Earlier, he was voted as the star of the millennium in a poll conducted by the BBC on-line.

Pakistan’s most successful bowler in one-day cricket Wasim Akram, one of the all-time greats, who announced his decision to retire from the international game recently, was chosen for the Asian Guild Sports Award while India’s most successful film-maker Yash Chopra won the award for his outstanding contribution to the film industry.

Other award recipients were Prof Raman Bedi (Community Service Award), Sir Devinder Maini (Science Award), Krishnan Gurumurthy (Media Award), Naaz Coker (Asian Woman of the Year Award) and Naresh Goyal (Commerce and Enterprise Award).

The Asian Guild Awards 2003 were presented at a gala dinner held at the Gosvenor House Hotel attended by over 700 guests, including Lord Navneet Dholakia, Lord King, Lord Peter Archer, Ashok Kumar, MP, leading NRI businessmen S.P. Hinduja and G.P. Hinduja, Chairman and President, respectively of the Hinduja Group, leading NRI entrepreneur Joginder Sanger and Ram Jethmalani, MP.

Receiving the award amid thunderous applause, Bachchan who has acted in over 70 films with a sizeable number of blockbusters, thanked the Asian Guild for recognition of his achievement which, he said, was possible because of the “wonderful” opportunity the Indian film industry gave him. He also thanked producers, directors and other members of the crew for facilitating him in achieving what he did.

Accepting the award Shah Rukh Khan said “It is absolutely wonderful to be here” to receive the award and share people’s excitement and enthusiasm. PTI

Queen’s man in Australia quits

Canberra, May 25
The embattled representative of the British Queen in Australia resigned today after a sex scandal from his clergyman past stripped him of public and political support, Australian media reported.

Governor-General Peter Hollingworth resigned because it was clear that the controversy and allegations made against him had the potential to undermine the office of the Governor-General, media reports said, quoting Hollingworth.

Hollingworth, a 68-year-old former archbishop, stepped aside earlier this month after news emerged that he had been accused of rape. Reuters

11 more SARS deaths

Beijing, May 25
China today reported 11 fatalities from the SARS virus, taking the global cumulative toll from the highly infectious disease past the 700-mark, as life in Beijing, the world’s worst-hit city, is gradually returning to near normal.

China mainland reported seven deaths and 16 new cases of infections, taking the death toll to 315 and the cumulative infections to 5,316. However, in neighbouring Taiwan, the virus claimed 12 more lives and three more cases. PTI

GLOBAL MONITOR

CHINA LAUNCHES NAVIGATION SATELLITE BEIJING: China successfully established a complete strategic satellite navigation and positioning system by launching its third indigenously designed all-weather navigation satellite on Sunday. The rocket, ‘Long March 3-A,’ carrying the ‘Beideu’ satellite blasted off from the Xichang satellite launching centre in south-west China’s Sichuan province, the official Xinhua news agency reported. PTI The carrier rocket, 'Long March 3-A,' blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launching Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday.  — Reuters

GRENADE ATTACK ON FRENCH NGO
KABUL: A grenade was thrown at an office of French NGO, Madera, in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad but caused no casualties, a member of the NGO said on Sunday. The grenade was thrown by an attacker around 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Madera office in the centre of Jalalabad, 120 km east of Kabul, the source said. AFP