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Iran
quake toll could cross 50,000, says UN
Quake
hits central Italy Pak Parliament gives
more powers to Pervez USA for
Indo-Pak conciliation on Kashmir |
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USA
asks Lanka to end political standoff Santas in Moscow to celebrate New Year Moscow, December 30 As Russia goes into the mood for New Years celebrations, Muscovites will have a chance to get acquainted with and celebrate the New Years Eve in the Japanese, the US, and Oriental style, or even in line with the African Aborigines’ customs. Frankfurt (Germany), December 30 Mission controllers today redirected Europe’s Mars Express orbiter closer to the Red Planet’s poles, taking a crucial first step to push it into a lower orbit where it will be able to listen for its missing Beagle 2 surface probe. 
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Iran quake toll could cross 50,000, says UN Bam, December 30 Hundreds of bulldozers and recovery workers continued the gruesome task of pulling out rotting corpses, 28,000 of which have already been buried, according to state radio quoting officials. Ted Purn, a UN spokesman at the base where the world body is coordinating the international side of the massive humanitarian effort involving 1,700 staff from over 30 countries, said the death toll was currently believed to be “in the vicinity of 30,000”. “But whole families have perished and entire neighbourhoods have been flattened, so there has been no-one left to register them as missing. So it could go up and the real figure may never be known,” he said. In the main regional city of Kerman a senior provincial official said “the number of dead could exceed 50,000 because some districts and some surrounding villages have not been properly searched yet.” The official, asking not to be named, agreed with Purn, saying that “In some instances, whole families have been wiped out and so there is nobody to inform the rescue teams.” Meanwhile, 80 US doctors and rescue workers have flown in to south-east Iran and are headed for the earthquake-stricken zone of Bam, a local government official said today. The US flown in from a US air base in the region, arrived in Kerman, the capital of the province, yesterday and were headed by road for Bam, less than 200 km away, Assadollah Iranmanesh said.
— AFP |
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Dead mother’s embrace saves infant’s life BAM (Iran), December 30 Red Crescent aid officials said yesterday that the mother’s protective embrace had shielded six-month-old Nassim from the falling debris and saved her life. The rest of her family, which officials said included sisters and brothers, were found dead. . A Red Crescent Society official said the girl was discovered on Monday, a full 72 hours after the quake, but rescue officials and the state television later said she had been found after 37 hours. “She is alive because of her mother’s embrace,’’ Mr Hessamoddin
Farrokhyar, Red Crescent public relations deputy director in Tehran, said. “The baby girl is in good condition considering the circumstances.’’ He said the girl was found in the southern part of Bam. It was not clear how she survived without food or water. Temperatures at night have been bitterly
cold. The Iranian state television also reported Nassim’s rescue, a sliver of hope on an otherwise bleak day when the death toll climbed towards 30,000. “The baby girl was found after 37 hours by rescue teams,’’ the state television reported. ‘’Unfortunately her mother was dead and she is the only one left alive in her whole family.’’ The world’s most lethal quake in at least 10 years laid waste most of Bam’s mud brick buildings in seconds. On Saturday night, rescuers found a young boy alive under the rubble, but he suffocated as people rushed forward to dig him free. “We found a seven-year-old boy alive,’’ said Austrian rescue worker Sabine
Seichtinger. “The crowd rushed to the scene. But the boy choked and then died.’’ The search for children — and the recovery of their broken lifeless bodies — has provoked particular grief in Iran, with the media capturing heart-breaking images such as one of a man carrying the corpses of his two young sons over his shoulders and burying them together in a small grave.
— Reuters |
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Quake hits central Italy Rome, December 30 There were no reports of damage or injuries, officials said. The 3.9-magnitude quake hit the Molise region at about 6:31 am, the Civil Protection Department said. The epicenter was around the towns of Provvidenti, Bonefro, Castellino del Biferno and Campolieto. The region, about 200 km southeast of Rome, was the same area hit October 31, 2002, by a 5.4-magnitude quake that killed 29 people. Twentysix of them were children who died in the town of San Giuliano di Puglia when their school collapsed during a Halloween party. State-run RAI television said the main concern following today’s temblor was that buildings still damaged by the 2002 quake might suffer further damage. But the department said there didn’t appear to be any major structural problems.
— AP |
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Pak Parliament gives
more powers to Pervez Islamabad, December 30 The 17th constitutional amendment, consisting the provisions of his agreement with Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA), was approved by the 100-member upper house called Senate with 72 votes to none. The 342-member National Assembly already approved the Musharraf-MMA pact two days ago. The Bill will become part of the constitution after Musharraf formally signs it. Under the newly amended constitution, Musharraf will have powers to dissolve Parliament and Assemblies but his decision will be referred to the Supreme Court for a review within 15 days and the apex court will take a decision on it within 30 days. The new law enables Musharraf to constitute the military-dominated National Security Council (NSC) through an act of Parliament. The NSC will be headed by Musharraf, which was denounced earlier by the MMA as an attempt to perpetuate a permanent role for army. Musharraf will also retain the power to appoint chiefs of the armed forces. Previously the power was vested with the Prime Minister. Under the new amendment, the President will appoint the service chiefs in consultation with the Prime Minister. He, however, is not under obligation to abide by the Prime Minister's advice. |
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USA for Indo-Pak conciliation on Kashmir Washington, December 30 But he made it clear that the US was not imposing itself as a mediator. India
and Pakistan, he said, continued to dispute who should control Kashmir. During 2002, a major war between them — perhaps involving nuclear weapons — seemed distinctly possible, he said. “So, working with partners in Europe and Asia,” he said, “we mobilised to help end the crisis”. “We have since been trying to turn our parallel improvement of relations with India and Pakistan into a triangle of conflict resolution. We do not impose ourselves as a mediator. But we do try to use the trust we have established with both sides to urge them toward conciliation by peaceful means,” he said in the latest issue of ‘Foreign
Affairs’ journal. India’s democracy dated from its independence in 1947. With recent economic reforms setting institutional roots, India was developing into a mature market economy”, he said. Meanwhile,
The United States has condemned the latest bid to assassinate Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, and rejected rising criticism here of his key role in its anti-terror campaign. Mr Powell spoke to Musharraf on Friday following his latest escape, to express “great relief at his safety and well-being,” State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. “The United States strongly condemns these attacks against the president of Pakistan,” said Mr Ereli. “We extend our condolences to the families of the bystanders who were killed in these cowardly acts of terror.” Condemning the assassination bids on the Pakistan President,
the United States said the repeated attempts on his life demonstrated that Islamabad faced serious problems from terrorists. “These attacks further demonstrate that Pakistan faces serious problems with extremists and — we stand ready, as always, to assist Pakistanis in confronting this threat,” Mr Ereli said . The US and Pakistan are allies in the war on
terror, Mr Ereli said, adding that the countries continued to work closely and productively in fighting the threat of terrorism, “which endangers us all equally.”
— PTI, AFP |
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USA asks Lanka to end political standoff Colombo, December 30 US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Chandrika Kumaratunga must find a way to resolve their power struggle that would allow Mr Wickremesinghe to continue to lead the peace process. “The Deputy Secretary said the current political impasse in Sri Lanka cannot be allowed to continue, and added that he will consult with the other donor co-chairs — Norway, Japan and the European Union — to define a way forward,” US Embassy spokesman Adam Ereli said in a statement released today. Efforts to restart peace talks that stalled in April were thrown off track last month, when Ms Kumaratunga took over the Defence Ministry and two other ministries, accusing Mr Wickremesinghe of offering the rebels too many concessions. Efforts to revive the talks have been in limbo since, with Mr Wickremesinghe saying he will not lead the peace process unless he controls security and Norway suspending its role as mediator until the impasse is resolved. The Tigers are arch-foes of Ms Kumaratunga, and nearly killed her in a 1999 suicide bomb attack.
— Reuters |
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Santas in Moscow to celebrate New Year Moscow, December 30 ‘Father Frost’, the Russian Santa Claus, has invited his counterparts from all over the world to assemble in Moscow on December 31, to celebrate the New Years Eve with the ‘’inhabitants of the country of birch trees and balalaikas.’’ A Santa Claus from the USA, the Oriental ‘Kor
Bobo,’ a Japanese ‘Father Frost’ from the land of the Rising Sun, and the African
Tumba-Yumba, are among the dozens of Santa Clauses, who will participate in events on the New Years Eve on Teatralnaya Square in the
city centre. The public merry-making in the Capital, will begin tomorrow at 2300 hrs (Moscow time; 8.30 pm IST) with the opening of the Throne-Room of Frost. The ‘red-nosed’ Father Frost will be the first to greet the spectators, and then ‘’an effective procession’’ of Santa Clauses of the world will enter the square. The oriental Kor Bobo will be riding a camel, Santa Claus will, as usual, arrive in a sledge with reindeer, Tumba-Yumba - on a colourful sedan-chair, and Japanese Santa Claus will come ‘’modestly but tastefully’’ — on foot, holding a lama by the bridle. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzkov welcomed Father Frost who arrived here yesterday, with the Snow Maiden, from the northern city of Veliky Ustyug (Vologda region), his original permanent residence, for Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7 by the Orthodox Church in Russia. The most spectacular celebrations are planned for Red Square, with a laser show, fireworks and a concert by bell ringers from the Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. A large screen will show President Vladimir Putins New Years address to the nation, to be followed by footage of celebrations in other Russian cities.
— UNI |
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Mars orbiter repositioned Frankfurt (Germany), December 30 Officials at the European Space Agency’s mission control center in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, adjusted the orbit by firing the main engine of Mars Express for five minutes at about 0800 GMT (1330 IST), spokesman Bernhard Von Weyhe said. The
manoeuvre “has been completed very successfully”, he said. The British-built Beagle 2 is believed to have reached the Martian surface early on Christmas, its impact softened by gas bags and parachutes. But several attempts to hear its signal have not been successful.
— AP |
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China, Europe launch satellite Beijing, December 30 |
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Islamabad, December 30
