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Clinton foundation gives $10 m for AIDS afflicted
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Tough passage for next US Ambassador to UN
Kashmiris’ role in talks essential, says Pervez Film to be made on Charles and Camilla
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Bush warns Sharon against expansion in West Bank
President George W. Bush on Monday warned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon not to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Mr Bush met Mr Sharon at his ranch in Crawford, Texas - a privilege reserved for close allies - but the bonhomie of the meeting was clouded by the President’s concern about Israeli plans to build new homes on occupied land. Israel has unveiled a blueprint for 3,500 homes on land near Maale Adumim - the largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank - forming a link with Jerusalem. Mr Bush said the move was a clear breach of the terms of the road map for peace, but Mr Sharon insisted Maale Adumim “would be part of Israel” and that there ought to be “contiguity between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem.” Speaking to reporters at his ranch, Mr Bush said he told Mr Sharon of his “concern that Israel not undertake any activity that contravenes road map obligations or prejudice final status negotiations. Therefore, Israel should remove unauthorised outposts and meet its road map obligations regarding settlements in the West Bank.” Mr Bush reiterated this point a few times during the course of his press briefing with Mr Sharon. The Israeli leader, meanwhile, assured the President of his commitment to remove unauthorised outposts. “As for settlements, Israel will also meet all its obligations under the road map,” he said. Later, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters the road map “is the way forward to achieving the two-state vision.” “It’s important to keep the focus on making sure we succeed in Gaza,” he said. “The withdrawal from Gaza provides an opportunity to move forward to achieve the two state vision, if it is successful.” Mr Sharon’s invitation to the President’s ranch is seen as a reward for the Israeli leader’s decision to pull out all 8,000 Jewish settlers, and Israeli troops who protect them, from Gaza this summer. Mr Bush praised Mr Sharon’s “courageous initiative” which has been opposed by militant Jewish groups and Israeli hawks in Mr Sharon’s Likud Party. Israel will, however, keep control of the borders, coast and airspace of the occupied territory, which is home to 15 lakh Palestinians. Four isolated settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will also be evacuated. The international community considers all settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this assertion. Mr Bush said the USA was committed to Israel’s security and well being as a Jewish state, and also voiced his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state “that is viable, contiguous, sovereign and independent.” The fatal shooting of three Palestinian boys in the Gaza Strip and a retaliatory barrage of mortar attacks by Palestinian militant groups over the weekend has threatened the fragile peace process. Mr Sharon said Israel could not move ahead with talks until the Palestinians ensure “a full cessation of terror.” “The ongoing violence and terror must not prevail,” Mr Sharon said. “We should make a commitment not to accept any temporary solutions regarding terror, but to act decisively to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and to eliminate terrorism once and for all.” “Defeating terror is the only way to build peace,” he said. “The Israeli people have no intention of missing this opportunity.” |
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Clinton foundation gives $10 m for AIDS afflicted
Washington, April 12 The William Jefferson Clinton Foundation has partnered with Cipla, a drug manufacturer based in India, to lower the prices of the drugs. Mr Clinton said his foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative would deliver antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 10,000 children in more than 10 nations by the end of this year. This programme approximately doubles the number of children on ART in the developing world outside Brazil and Thailand. “One in every six AIDS deaths each year is a child,” Mr Clinton said. “Yet children represent less than one of every 30 persons getting treatment in developing countries today. These children need hope, and we know what must be done. The global community has the means to save many lives, and we must meet that responsibility as quickly as can.” Paediatric medicines are normally four to five times as expensive as adult HIV/AIDS medicines, in part because suppliers do not have large enough orders. With Cipla’s help, the Clinton foundation has cut the cost by more than 50 per cent. Cipla will make the paediatric AIDS medication available for as little as $140 a year. The first order for medicine has been placed and will reach China, the Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Rwanda and Tanzania this spring. In May, children in China will begin to receive treatment as a result of this
programme. |
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Tough passage for next US Ambassador to UN
Washington, April 12 Lincoln Chafee, a member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, holds John R. Bolton’s fate in his hands as the eight Democrats on the 18-member panel appear set to oppose the Bush nominee. Mr Chafee said he is likely to vote for Mr Bolton. Even as the Democratic Senators turned up the heat on the nominee who once remarked that there was “no United Nations,” Mr Chafee praised Mr Bolton. The Rhode Island Republican began his questioning of Mr Bolton by telling him that he had said “all the right things in your opening statement.” He went on to ask about a phone call Mr Bolton said he received from United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “I’m curious. Did he endorse your candidacy,” Mr Chafee asked. Mr Bolton replied that Mr Annan had said, “Get yourself confirmed quickly.” Later, when asked whether Mr Annan’s support would help Mr Bolton’s confirmation, Mr Chafee said: “Yes, very much so.” Indicative of the significance of Mr Chafee’s vote in this nomination, Senator John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, launched an advertisement urging his Republican colleague to vote against Mr Bolton. |
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Kashmiris’ role in talks essential, says Pervez
Islamabad, April 12 The President stated that Kashmiris would have to be part of the negotiating process at some stage and emphasised that no solution of Kashmir would be acceptable without consultation with the Kashmiri leadership on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and taking into account the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. He said there had been positive indications from the Indian side in this regard. He said as the LoC was part of the problem, there was no question of accepting any solution which gave permanence to it in any form. Receiving Kashmiri representatives of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference and leaders of Azad Jammu and Kashmir representing all shades of political opinion, days ahead of his scheduled visit to New Delhi, President Musharraf assured them of Islamabad’s continued moral, diplomatic and political support in quest of a lasting solution to the dispute. General Musharraf said there had been no change in Pakistan’s principled stance on the Kashmir issue, which was plebiscite in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. However, he said if India were to show flexibility, Pakistan would also be prepared to reciprocate and show flexibility. “This flexibility will never be unilateral”, the President asserted. He described the recently commenced Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service as an appreciable confidence-building measure that would help alleviate the sufferings of the people on both sides of the LoC and allow the divided families to meet. Appreciating the flexibility shown by India over the initiation of the bus service, the President emphasised, that the bus service was not a substitute for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, adding that flexibility, courage and boldness on the part of both Indian and Pakistani leadership could lead to a Kashmir solution, acceptable to all, including the people of Kashmir. The Kashmiri leaders, in their remarks, assured the President of their wholehearted support and appreciated his forthright emphasis on Kashmiris’ participation in the talks process. They expressed gratitude to General Musharraf for presenting the Kashmir case convincingly and powerfully during his meetings with world leaders and at international fora, including the United Nations. They assured the President of their unstinting support and expressed full confidence in him for talks with the Indian leadership on the issue during his forthcoming visit to India. |
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Film to be made on Charles and Camilla
London, April 12 Britain's ITV television channel said yesterday it was currently casting actors for a two-hour dramatisation of the first meeting and early relationship between Britain's heir to the throne and Camilla Parker Bowles, then known by her maiden name Camilla Shand. But the film will end at Charles's 1981 marriage to then Lady Diana Spencer, without going into lurid but little-known details about how he and Camilla, sometime in the late 1980s and while still married to others, rekindled their romance. The film is to be entitled "Whatever Love Means"— quoting Charles's response to the press when he was asked earlier this year whether he loved Camilla. The couple married on Saturday in a modest civil ceremony in Windsor, west of London, followed by a religious service and reception attended by hundreds, including celebrities and royals at Queen Elizabeth II's Windsor Castle.
— AFP |
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