W O R L D

Karzai first elected President of Afghanistan
Kabul, November 3
US-backed incumbent Hamid Karzai was today officially declared winner of Afghanistan’s first presidential election, almost a month after eight million Afghans defied threats of violence to have their first say in their country’s leadership.

Sobhraj's escape bid foiled
Kathmandu, November 3
Notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who is serving life sentence in a Kathmandu jail, has made an attempt to escape, but the police today claimed to have foiled it by unearthing an e-mail sent from his laptop asking a friend to help drug prison guards.

World leaders mourn death of UAE President
Dubai, November 3
World leaders today mourned the demise of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, the founding father and President of the United Arab Emirates, terming his death as an "irreplaceable loss."

Bush lead: ‘Not good news for Middle-East’
Cairo, November 3
West Asians, people, with the exception of Israelis and some Iranians, reacted with resigned disappointment today to the US election results expected to give President George W. Bush four more years in power.

London policemen threaten strike
A rmed police operations have been postponed as up to 120 of the 400 specialist officers in the Metropolitan's SO19 firearms unit have threatened to hand in their certificates that allow them to carry guns.

Gurinder Chadha honoured at House of Commons London, November 3 Gurinder Chadha, NRI director of Aishwarya Rai-starrer “Bride and Prejudice”, has been honoured at the House of Commons for her outstanding achievement and contribution to the British film industry.

Indian novelist and human rights campaigner Arundhati Roy speaks at a Press conference in Sydney on Wednesday, after it was announced that she has won the Sydney Peace Prize. Roy, a Booker prize winning author, follows other distinguished recipients such as Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President of East Timor Xanana Gusmao and former UN commissioner for human rights Mary Robinson. — AP/PTI

Video

Musharraf says a Kashmir solution humiliating either country not acceptable. (28k, 56k)

Karzai first elected President of Afghanistan

Kabul, November 3
US-backed incumbent Hamid Karzai was today officially declared winner of Afghanistan’s first presidential election, almost a month after eight million Afghans defied threats of violence to have their first say in their country’s leadership.

“Karzai is the winner,” the UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Commission’s spokesman Sultan Baheen said after the findings of a fraud probe concluded that “shortcomings” did not affect the poll’s outcome.

But Karzai would not be present for the declaration of his victory, as he has flown to Dubai to attend the funeral of United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan.

The drawn-out vote count was only completed last Thursday. Preliminary results gave Karzai a landslide win of 55.4 per cent with a 39.1 point lead over his nearest rival, former Education Minister Yunus Qanooni.

Qanooni was not immediately available for comment.

The favourite of the powerful anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, Qanooni preferred to wait until the results were publicly certified and may hold a press conference later, his spokesman Hamed Noori said.

The election commission, known as the Joint Electoral Management Body, had to assess the report of a three-person panel of experts, plus the findings of its own investigation into irregularities, before certifying the election as “free and fair.”

The panel was set up by the UN after 14 of the 18 candidates threatened to boycott the election in the middle of voting on October 9 over alleged irregularities, mainly arising from the failure and mix-up of indelible ink, which was meant to stain voters’ fingers to prevent repeat voting.

Panel member Craig Jenness, a former Canadian diplomat, said Afghans deserved to be proud of their first election.

“The 2004 Afghan presidential election was conducted in a relatively calm and secure environment with high turnout and much enthusiasm and substantial participation of women,” he told reporters. — AFP

Sobhraj's escape bid foiled

Kathmandu, November 3
Notorious serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who is serving life sentence in a Kathmandu jail, has made an attempt to escape, but the police today claimed to have foiled it by unearthing an e-mail sent from his laptop asking a friend to help drug prison guards.

Authorities seized the laptop, a mobile phone and a cordless phone from the prison cell of Sobhraj, known as "the serpent", and discovered the mail asking for some specific chemicals to drug the prison guards, spokesman of the Nepal police Ramesh Singh said today.

The criminal, known for his talent for disguise and escape, had given a list of chemicals that could make people unconscious and sought arrangements for taking him to India and then to France, a police official said.

The Home Ministry had formed a three-member inquiry committee last week to investigate reports that Sobhraj was being allowed to use a mobile phone inside the jail. — PTI

World leaders mourn death of UAE President

Women wait for the funeral procession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, at al Musafa in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

Bush lead: ‘Not good news for Middle-East’

Cairo, November 3
West Asians, people, with the exception of Israelis and some Iranians, reacted with resigned disappointment today to the US election results expected to give President George W. Bush four more years in power.

One consolation for them was that few had high hopes from Democratic challenger John Kerry, who attacked the way Bush had handled the occupation of Iraq but did not promise action Arabs wanted to see on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Many said they feared another four years of Bush would bring more conflict and bloodshed to the West Asia.

A few said Bush was preferable because he now knew the region and would have time to adjust his policies, or because of his campaign for political reform in the Arab world.

Jasim Ali, a Bahraini analyst, said: “This is not good news for the Middle East. Bush could take this as a sign that his foreign policy in the region is a success and he may harden his positions. There will be more killing and bloodshed.”

“Four more years means he will be relentless in fighting so-called terrorism. More innocent persons will be victims. Unless he has more sober people around him I don’t know what is going to happen,” added Khaled Maeena, Editor in Chief of the Saudi newspaper Arab News.

“All Saudis I've seen so far are disappointed. We spoke to more than 30 persons. They are disappointed that Bush has been awarded victory,” Maeena added.

The only immediate official comment came from Yemen, which has cooperated with Washington against the militant Islamists despite its reservations about overall US policy.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said his country would continue to cooperate “no matter who wins”.

But he added: “After September 11 there was unfortunately a violation of human rights of Arabs and Muslims in America, and Washington did not act on the bloody situation in the Palestinian territories, which led to anger towards the Bush administration, in addition to the war in Iraq which turned out to be completely unjustified.”

The Bush administration has brought America’s standing to record lows among Arabs, mainly because of its invasion of Iraq and perceived neglect of the Palestinian problem.

Even his campaign for reform and democracy in West Asia had not been well received because of suspicions that it was an attempt to impose US interests in the region.

There were pockets of pro-Bush sentiment in Israel, the closest US ally in the region, and paradoxically in Iran despite quarter of a century of frigid relations.

Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said: “But in the case of President Bush and the candidate Kerry, there is no significant difference when it comes to their warm support for Israel.”

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, an adviser to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, said a Bush victory was preferable despite his “wrong policies”. — Reuters

London policemen threaten strike
Jason Bennetto

Armed police operations have been postponed as up to 120 of the 400 specialist officers in the Metropolitan's SO19 firearms unit have threatened to hand in their certificates that allow them to carry guns.

So far at least 80 officers have refused to continue their firearms duties.

Some armed officers in the specialist units SO14 and SO16, which protect the Royal Family, Westminster, Downing Street and visiting heads of state are also understood to be considering leaving their positions.

The protest was sparked by the suspension of two SO19 officers after a fatal shooting. Inspector Neil Sharman and P.C. Kevin Fagan could face criminal charges after a second inquest into the death of Harry Stanley (46) last week for unlawful killing five years after his death.

The two officers said they thought he was pointing a shotgun at them but in fact he was carrying a table leg.

Sir John Stevens, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and Assistant Commissioner David Veness, who is in overall charge of security, held separate emergency talks with the disgruntled officers yesterday amid fears that the protest could escalate and leave London undefended.

The SO19 include the officers who operate armed response cars to shootings and other dangerous emergencies.

Sir John said: "It is a very serious situation indeed. It is spreading. At present we have had a large number of officers who have handed their tickets in."

"They are not prepared to carry guns at present considering the decision made in the coroner's court I want to make absolutely clear that I have sympathy for officers who have to make a split second decision in light of threatening circumstances." He continued. "We need these officers in London to ensure that Londoners and officers are safe", he added.

"We have a very serious problem at the moment......it is escalating." Sir John said he would also meet with the two suspended officers.

Glen Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the decision to suspend the officers had provoked "anger and disquiet" in the ranks.

Gurinder Chadha honoured at House of Commons
H.S. Rao

London, November 3
Gurinder Chadha, NRI director of Aishwarya Rai-starrer “Bride and Prejudice”, has been honoured at the House of Commons for her outstanding achievement and contribution to the British film industry.

Describing her hit film “Bend It Like Beckham” as the biggest British-financed and distributed film, Keith Vaz, MP, and former Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said last night it was impossible to quantify the achievements of Gurinder Chadha.

"Her hit film “Bend It Like Beckham” is the biggest British-financed and distributed film and “Bride and Prejudice” is the No.1 in the box office chart in Britain,” he said at a reception hosted in her honour by himself and two other MPs John Barrett and Michael Fabricant along with the ROKO Cancer Appeal headed by A.P.S. Chawla.

"Gurinder Chadha has made a fantastic contribution to the British film industry over the past 15 years. She is one of those rare British film-makers who has won artistic and popular acclaim from all over the world."

Chadha, who was emotionally moved, said it was for the first time a film director was honoured at the House of Commons "in this way."

Recalling the hardships her father faced when he came here from Kenya over three decades ago, she said "It was a very difficult 
time to get a job because he had a turban and beard”.

"The films I make are rooted in the heart of British Asians and they are a testimony to the fact that how much progress the British Asians have achieved over a period of time," she added. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Indian maid abused
SINGAPORE: A Canadian housewife has been charged in court here for alleged abuses against an Indian maid, including switching on a vacuum cleaner after sticking the hose into the maid’s mouth, the police said on Wednesday. Alka Mandloi (43) appeared in court on Tuesday to face seven counts of abusing her maid Drona Rai (25), over a three-month period between and December, 2001. — AFP

1.8 m Chinese have cancer
BEIJING: About seventy in every one lakh people in China have cancer and the number of cancer affected people in the country is nearly 1.8 million, a report said on Wednesday. The incidence of cancer in China is uneven between regions, director of National Centre for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Wu Fan said. — PTI