W O R L D

PM not to compromise on security
Berlin, May 28
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee categorically said today that India desired peace with Pakistan but if Islamabad was bent on whipping up tension, “we have to be prepared at all times for any eventuality so that the security of the country is not compromised.”

• Pak willing to release Indian prisoners

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee being welcomed by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer prior to their meeting at the Berlin Reichstag Parliament on Wednesday.  — AP/PTI photo

GLOBAL MONITOR

Sir Edmund Hillary, 83, smiles during a news conference at the British Embassy in Kathmandu on Wednesday. As he marks the 50th anniversary of reaching the roof of the world, Hillary doesn't care if he really was the first to reach the top of Mount Everest. What counts, he said, is that he and his climbing-mate Tenzing Norgay were the first to come back. — Reuters

Minorities abused in India: Amnesty
London, May 28
The Amnesty International has accused India of “undermining” the rights of minorities to “live in the country as equals.”

• Amnesty raps Nepal over rights abuses

Peru under 30-day state of emergency
Lima, May 28
President Alejandro Toledo put Peru under a 30-day state of emergency to better cope with widespread labour strikes, which he said are violating “the fundamental rights” of all Peruvians.

USA lifts remaining sanctions on Iraq
Washington, May 28
The US Treasury has said it was lifting most of the remaining US economic sanctions against Iraq, following through on a victory last week at the United Nations on easing international sanctions.

USA adapts Tamil technology to build warships
Washington, May 28
The USA adapted ancient Indian catamaran-making technology to construct fast ships which were used with dramatic effect in the Iraq war, a media report said.

Kathmandu, May 28 Sir Edmund Hillary and other Mount Everest pioneers say the world’s tallest peak deserves a rest after a half century of more than 1,300 climbers scaling its slopes. Children wait for summiteers to arrive at International Mountaineers Memorial Park at Kakani, near Kathmandu, on Wednesday. About 450 summiteers are in Nepal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ascent on Mount Everest. — Reuters

• 2 dead in copter crash near Everest

Storm claims 15 lives
Manila, May 28
Tropical storm Linfa was bearing down on Japan’s southern islands today after killing at least 15 persons in the Philippines, officials said.

PM not to compromise on security
Tribune News Service

Berlin, May 28
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee categorically said today that India desired peace with Pakistan but if Islamabad was bent on whipping up tension, “we have to be prepared at all times for any eventuality so that the security of the country is not compromised.”

“India has always been ready for peace and friendship but at the same time it is alert to meet any exigency,” Mr Vajpayee said forcefully while addressing Indian expatriates here last night.

“The nation cannot be left unguarded and the concerns about security cannot be lowered,” he observed.

In making another strong pitch for promoting peace and diverting scarce resources for developmental endeavours rather than spending on defence purposes, the Prime Minister said the genuine pursuit of peace coupled with the constant desire for war were incomprehensible in an interdependent and multi-polar world. There was imperative need to rid the global environment of a lot of venom evidenced now.

He failed to understand why India and Pakistan could not resolve their problems through peaceful means and negotiations. Even though mankind had made tremendous strides in science and technology and developing weapons of mass destruction, the desire to give up conflicts remained a serious threat. He regretted that man had acquired the requisite strength but lost the will to channelise it for the good of all.

In this context, Mr Vajpayee spoke of his bus yatra to Lahore in 1999. Even as he and the then Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, were drawing a road map for peaceful relations, a conspiracy was being hatched in Lahore to usurp land in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Sharif was also in the dark about this design and ultimately had to make his exit.

After the Kargil intrusion was squarely defeated, Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf was invited to Agra for a summit. But the Agra summit failed because of Gen Musharraf’s hard-line approach.

Nevertheless, considering the ups and downs in Indo-Pakistan relations, Mr Vajpayee said “we have not lost hope. The search for genuine peace will continue. India will not be found wanting in taking the necessary steps for promoting peace with its intransigent neighbour.” — TRR

Pak willing to release Indian prisoners

Islamabad, May 28
Pakistan is willing to release 335 detained fishermen and 20 civilian prisoners, who have been granted consular access since March, provided the Indian authorities are ready to receive them.

“All of them (prisoners) will be set free as soon as the Indian authorities are ready to receive them,” Pakistan newspaper ‘Dawn’ reported today, quoting a foreign office statement. UNI

Minorities abused in India: Amnesty

London, May 28
The Amnesty International has accused India of “undermining” the rights of minorities to “live in the country as equals.”

“Religious minorities, particularly Muslims, were being increasingly targeted for abuse by state and non-state actors,” the international human rights organisation said in its annual report here today.

The report, which was launched globally, charged that “in Gujarat, Muslims were victims of massacres allegedly masterminded by nationalist groups and the security forces abused human rights “as a result of” provisions contained in special security laws, including POTA.

It, however, appreciated the “independent position” taken by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the aftermath of the Gujarat violence but regretted that most recommendations of the commission remained “largely ignored” by the state government.

Claiming that human right activists were “isolated” in the country, it said “the rights defenders were frequently harassed by state and private actors, and their activities labelled as ‘anti-national’.”

The Amnesty today also criticised the round-up of some 400 Al-Qaida suspects in Pakistan last year as “arbitrary detention” devoid of human rights safeguards.

It described the captures and transfers of the terror suspects to US custody as “human rights abuses committed in the context of the (Pakistani) government’s continued support for the US-led war on terrorism.” PTI, AFP

Amnesty raps Nepal over rights abuses

Kathmandu, May 28
Nepal, racked by political instability, is in a spiralling human rights crisis in which civilians are routinely killed and tortured by security forces and Maoist rebels, Amnesty International said today.

In its annual report on human rights around the world, the London-based watchdog said civilians were increasingly suffering at the hands of both sides of a “forgotten” war in the kingdom.

“Against a background of mounting political crisis, there was a sharp rise in the incidence of unlawful killings, ‘disappearances’, torture and arbitrary arrest and detention by the security forces and of deliberate killings, hostage-taking and torture by the Maoists,” Amnesty said in its 2003 report.

“Political instability at the national and local level contributed to a spiralling human rights crisis.” it added. Just hours before the report was released, at least 20 persons, including ousted lawmakers, were hurt in a clash with the police when they tried to march to the parliament house, witnesses said. Reuters

Peru under 30-day state of emergency

Lima, May 28
President Alejandro Toledo put Peru under a 30-day state of emergency to better cope with widespread labour strikes, which he said are violating “the fundamental rights” of all Peruvians.

In a nationally broadcast speech, Mr Toledo said the armed forces would be in charge of “the country’s internal security,” during the emergency period. The police would also contribute to maintaining law and order, he added.

Mr Toledo said the government had ordered all public schools in the country to open and all roadblocks to be cleared so traffic can flow unimpeded.

Eight million children have been out of school for two weeks with teachers on an indefinite strike for higher wages. On Monday, farmers around the country joined the strike followed yesterday by doctors and nurses of state-run hospitals. The protesters have blocked main roadways since the start of the week.

“On constitutional authority, we’ve decided to declare a national state of emergency for 30 days in order to ensure the unhindered enjoyment of personal rights and freedom of movement,” Mr Toledo said on radio and television. AFP

USA lifts remaining sanctions on Iraq

Washington, May 28
The US Treasury has said it was lifting most of the remaining US economic sanctions against Iraq, following through on a victory last week at the United Nations on easing international sanctions.

“Today’s action represents the Bush administration’s commitment to return the Iraqi people to the family of trading nations as soon as possible and marks a new beginning for liberated Iraq,” Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a prepared statement yesterday. On Thursday, under US pressure, the UN Security Council voted to end its 13-year program of economic sanctions and cede to the USA and Britain power to run the war-torn country and its oil industry. On May 7, the Treasury said it was ending some US sanctions in a move aimed at boosting humanitarian relief and reconstruction aid.

“The US Treasury has acted rapidly to implement the UN Security Council’s resolution. It is vital that other nations take immediate steps to do the same,” Mr Snow said. Yesterday’s US action by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control lifts most of the remaining sanctions on trade between the USA and Iraq. Prohibitions will remain on trade in arms, certain cultural artifacts stolen from Iraq and with certain individuals. Reuters

USA adapts Tamil technology to build warships

Washington, May 28
The USA adapted ancient Indian catamaran-making technology to construct fast ships which were used with dramatic effect in the Iraq war, a media report said.

Among the new equipment the Americans used to win the Iraq war were 100 feet catamaran ships to ferry army tanks and ammunition from Qatar to Kuwait.

The ships, built with technology adapted from ancient Tamil methods to make catamarans, can travel over 2,500 km in less than 48 hour, twice the speed of the Pentagon’s regular cargo ships, and carry enough equipment to support about 5,000 soldiers, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Because they have a shallow draft, the boats can unload in rudimentary ports, allowing troops to land closer to the fight. The Pentagon now has only three of these ships but a dozen more are expected to be ordered, starting in the 2005-06 Budget, the report added.

The US is seeking to build lighter, faster forces that can reach trouble spots — breeding ground for Al-Qaida and other terrorists — within hours, it said. PTI

Mt Everest deserves a rest, says Hillary

Kathmandu, May 28
Sir Edmund Hillary and other Mount Everest pioneers say the world’s tallest peak deserves a rest after a half century of more than 1,300 climbers scaling its slopes.

Sir Hillary, 83, is in Nepal to mark 50 years since he and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay became the first person to reach the summit of the 29,035-feet peak.

“I have suggested to the Nepal Government that they should stop giving permission and give the mountain a rest for a few years,’’ said Sir Hillary, who reached the summit on May 29, 1953.

Other veteran climbers who have gathered for tomorrow’s golden anniversary suggested limiting the number of expeditions, which turn into traffic jams on the fixed ropes and ladders that cross the icy ridges.

“The Everest has become too crowded. It needs a rest now,” said Junko Tabei, 64, of Japan, the first woman to reach the summit. “Only two or three teams should be allowed in a season to climb the Everest.”

But the Sherpas who earn their living from the backbreaking and dangerous work of guiding adventurers to the highest point on the earth oppose any reduction in climbing permits.

Officials in this undeveloped Himalayan kingdom say they have no immediate plans to close the mountain. Climbers are welcome as long as they are willing to pay, said Damodar Rana, executive vice-president of the Everest Golden Jubilee Committee.

Each team of seven climbers pays $ 70,000 to the Nepalese Government.

Reinhold Messner, an Italian who was the first to climb the Everest without bottled oxygen, pleaded at a news conference yesterday for the government to allow only one expedition per route each season. There are about 12 routes to the top, including the southern one that Sir Hillary and Norgay used. AP

2 dead in copter crash near Everest

Wreckage of the Russian-built Mi-17 helicopter lies near the Mount Everest base camp. — Reuters photo In video (28k, 56k)

Kathmandu, May 28
Two Nepalese were killed in a helicopter crash today near the Everest Base Camp, which injured six other persons, airport and hospital officials said in a new toll.

The dead were porter Phudorji Sherpa, and cabin attendant Anup Dewan, an airport official said.

An official at B and B hospital near Kathmandu, where the injured were taken, said the wounded included a German woman who was walking at the Base Camp when the helicopter crashed. AFP

Storm claims 15 lives

Manila, May 28 Tropical storm Linfa was bearing down on Japan’s southern islands today after killing at least 15 persons in the Philippines, officials said. Thirteen persons drowned, were crushed to death or electrocuted as Linfa cut across the northern section of the main Philippine island of Luzon yesterday, civil defence administrator Melchor Rosales told a news conference. One person drowned and another died from an asthma attack at an evacuation centre on the central island of Panay, he added. AFP

Children push a van that broke down in the middle of a flooded street after tropical storm Linfa struck Manila's Mandaluyong district.  — Reuters photo

GLOBAL MONITOR

2 FINED FOR SPITTING IN PUBLIC PLACE
SINGAPORE: Two men were fined $ 292 each for spitting in public place as the authorities stepped up enforcement of a law against the practice in view of the SARS outbreak, a report said on Wednesday. The two were caught spitting in the same area a day apart. Last week, 11 men were penalised for the same offence. AFP

REMAINS OF 200 M YR-OLD DINOSAURS FOUND
WARSAW: Polish geologists have unearthed the skeletal remains of several dinosaurs which roamed the territory, of what is now south-central Poland, some 200 million years ago, Polish Radio has reported. The prehistoric bones were reported to be well preserved in sandstone and were discovered by Polish geologists working in a mine in Przysucha, near Radom about 100 km south of Warsaw, the radio reported on Tuesday. DPA

RARE LEOPARD FOUND IN CHINA
BEIJING: Within weeks of the capture of a rare clouded leopard in south-west China, a region from which the animal had disappeared for half-a-century, a farmer has caught another, a media report said on Wednesday. The 13-kg leopard was recently caught in Changning county in south-west China’s Sichuan province when it was stealing poultry from a farmer who mistook it for an ordinary leopard, Xinhua reported. PTI

FINDING LOVE THROUGH BILLBOARDS
LONDON: Single Britons looking for love are being offered a new way of finding a partner — by advertising their charms on a billboard. The first hoarding depicting 16 hopefuls went up in Birmingham this week, alongside the slogan “Who Dares Dates” and a telephone number for passers-by to call. “People just love the glamour of having their face shown on a big billboard,” said Dan Monteigh, Billboard Dating managing director. Reuters

OLDEST MAN IN GERMANY TURNS 110
DUESSELDORF (GERMANY): Hermann Doernemann, the oldest man in Germany, turned 110 saying that the only exercise he ever believed in was walking to the corner shop to buy beer and cigars. Mentally still alert, though now restricted to a wheelchair and his eyesight failing, Doernemann celebrated his birthday on Tuesday at his daughter’s home surrounded by four generations of offspring, including great-grandchildren Nick, 2, and Noelle nearly 1. DPA

QUESTIONNAIRE FETCHES $ 1,42,800
PARIS: A handwritten copy of French novelist Marcel Proust’s famous questionnaire was sold at auction in Paris for more than $ 1,42,800 — more than four times its estimated value. The list of questions, devised to determine the personality of the respondent, was bound in an album along with 40 pages of answers signed and dated from 1884 to 1887, including those of Proust, written at the age of 14. AFP