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PPP leaders let off, workers still in custody
Gyanendra opens world Hindu body celebrations
China, Japan blame each other for worsening ties
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Who will be the Pope?
Chidambaram for more powers to developing nations in IMF Polls put Labour ahead of Conservatives 5 lakh illegal immigrants in Britain: report
Book to assist lawyers for NRIs
Maoists execute 10 villagers in Nepal
Grewal completes walk from Amritsar to Kanyakumari
No debt relief to Africa
Saudi kills 2 Indians, beheaded
11 escaped prisoners recaptured
Bomb blast in mosque
Woman bites off rapist’s tongue
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PPP leaders let off, workers still in custody
Lahore, April 17 The authorities deployed thousands of policemen yesterday to block access to the city’s airport ahead of the return of Bhutto’s spouse, Asif Ali Zardari, from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Mr Zardari had travelled to Dubai, where Ms Bhutto has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999 to avoid arrest on graft charges, after his release on bail in December. Scores of members and lawmakers from Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were freed after being detained for violating a ban on public rallies in Punjab province, said its Law Minister Raja Basharat. However, the minister said hundreds of other opposition activists were still being held in Lahore and elsewhere in the province. The police baton-charged more than 100 of Zardari’s supporters yesterday, and bundled many of them into vans after they managed to slip through the police blockade. At least three persons were injured. Mr Zardari had planned to hold a rally in Lahore, and the Opposition had trumpeted his return as a test of President Pervez Musharraf’s commitment to democracy and tolerance of political opponents.
— AP |
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Gyanendra opens world Hindu body celebrations
Kathmandu, April 17 The event coincided with the Hindu festival of Ram Navami. Representatives of Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religion known as Omkar Parivar performed religious prayers at the function here which began with the recitation of vedic hymns by priests. Terrorism and violence have become the feature of today’s world as people have ignored religious values and norms, therefore, it is the duty of the Hindus all over the world to play an active role in preserving and promoting spiritual and religious values of life, WHF President and King Gyanendra’ honorary aide Bharat Keshar Singh said on the occasion. The King attended the function with Queen Komal but did not address the gathering. He handed the ‘Shanti Kalash’ (peace vessel) to Bharat Keshar Singh which will be sent to 49 countries, including India to wish for world peace. The King, on the occasion honoured WHF India Chapter President and Lok Sabha Member Yogi Adityanath with an appreciation letter. Queen Komal handed over “Panini Award” to Agnihotri Tirtharaj Acharya, author of poem “Putrovadesh.”
— PTI |
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China, Japan blame each other for worsening ties
Beijing, April 17 During a meeting to defuse the unprecendented tension, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura expressed concern over the growing protests in recent days, while his counterpart Li Zhaoxing chose to blame Tokyo for hurting Chinese people’s feelings. “The fact that there has been vandalism, including that against the Japanese Embassy, and violence toward Japanese people for three weeks in a row is a very regrettable situation,” Kyodo news agency quoted Machimura telling Li. The Chinese leadership, people and the state media are furious at a revised Japanese school textbook that, they say, distorts atrocities committed by Japanese militarists during their 1931-45 occupation of China. The two Foreign Ministers were expected to discuss the situation arising out of Japan allowing its firms to go for gas projects in the disputed waters in the East China Sea. Tokyo says talks can be held only if China stops its own gas exploration projects in the area and hands over data on these projects to Japan. China has declined to do so, offering instead a proposal to jointly explore the area. Li and Machimura will also try to set the stage for talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Africa summit in Indonesia, Japanese media reported. Meanwhile, demonstrators across China took out protest demonstrations, which sometimes turned unruly and violent. Some 2,000 persons marched through the streets of the north-eastern Chinese city of Shenyang today chanting China’s national anthem and raising slogans condemning Japan’s moves of approving the controversial history textbook and allowing its firms to conduct oil exploration in the East China Sea. Tens of thousands of Chinese marched to Japan’s consulate in Shanghai yesterday, smashing windows with rocks and damaging Japanese restaurants along the way. On April 9, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing as well as the ambassador’s residence was attacked and damaged. Protests were also reported from Hong Kong Autonomous Region. — PTI
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Who will be the Pope?
Rome, March 17 No one knows. Penetrating the secrecy around the cardinals who will select the next Pope has been all but impossible. For nine days since the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the 115 voting cardinals have been ensconced in secret deliberations to size up the biographies, positions and personalities of the candidates. Their meetings, following the practice of centuries, ended on Saturday. On Monday, their conclave opens at the Sistine Chapel and they will start to vote for the 265th Pope. According to students of this and past pre-election periods, the conclave is shaping up to be a clash of two outlooks. The first emphasises moral codes, right-to-life issues, a shoring up of the faith and an assault on industrialised countries for their consumerism, sexual licence and secular leanings. It claims continuity with John Paul's teachings. The second camp does not disagree on these matters, but points the papacy in a different direction: toward social issues, helping the poor and dispersing Catholic decision-making from the Vatican to individual bishops and their regional associations. Only two Popes in the 2000-year history of the church served longer than John Paul's 26 years. Selecting someone to follow in the steps of a charismatic and energetic Pope presents immense difficulties. Classifying candidates is difficult; many could be described as both conservative and liberal, centralisers and power-sharers, disciplinarians and conciliators. The decision could involve subtle attributes, piety or scholarship, courage and initiative, political acumen, preaching skill or simple kindness. In the 1978 conclave that elected John Paul, the inability of Italians to settle on a single strong candidate opened the way to the Polish Pope. The scenario could be played out again, observers speculate.
— By arrangement with the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post |
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Chidambaram for more powers to developing nations in IMF
Washington, April 17 Calling for a better voice for the developing countries in the IMF and the World Bank, he said the “democratic deficit” in the governance of the Bretton Woods Institutions “needs to be addressed to enhance legitimacy, transparency, accountability and ownership of the decision-making process.” “We find that progress has been limited to and distracted by peripheral issues which are not central to enhancement of ‘voice’ in decision making. We strongly urge gaining of ‘momentum’ towards tackling the central structural issue of voting power.” “The set of determinants presently used in computing the economic strength of the countries are not true reflection of economic realities and have tilted the fund’s and bank’s governance structure towards the developed countries,” he said. About economic policy, he said the process of second generation reforms would go a long way to raising the income levels of the people and “hopefully in wiping out extreme poverty in India by 2015.” — PTI
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Polls put Labour ahead of Conservatives
London, April 17 The ICM survey for The Sunday Telegraph showed that Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour has surged ahead in the past week of campaigning, since Chancellor Gordon Brown returned to the front line and the party made the handling of the economy the centre-piece of its campaign. The ICM puts Labour on 40 per cent, up two points from last Sunday, with the main opposition Conservatives down 4 per cent on 30 and the Liberal democrats up two on 22 per cent. If repeated on polling day, with a uniform swing across the country, Labour will have a majority of 158, only seven fewer than its 2001 victory. Using the same calculation, three senior shadow cabinet ministers, David Oliver Letwin and Tim Collins, will lose their seats, all to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives will win just one seat from Labour, and finish with 155 MPs, 10 fewer than in 2001. However, a Sunday Times-YouGov poll puts Labour on 36 per cent, down one on last week, the Tories on 35 per cent, unchanged, and the Liberal Democrats on 23 per cent.— PTI
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5 lakh illegal immigrants in Britain: report
London, April 17 The figures were compiled by the Home Office after the research was ordered by Prime Minister Tony Blair more than a year ago “as a matter of urgency” following a Downing Street summit on immigration, The Sunday Times reported quoting a confidential Whitehall memo. However, in the face of a political controversy over lax controls at Britain’s borders, experts involved were told not to reveal the figure, the report said. It includes not only migrants who have illegally entered Britain to work in the black market, but also failed asylum seekers who should have been deported. Opposition Tories had last week claimed that immigration controls were in a shambles after an illegal immigrant was convicted of murdering a policemen and plotting a terrorist attack with poison ricin. David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said, “This government now admits that the number of illegal immigrants is at least 5,00,000 and it could be much more. But yet again it is covering up the truth from the public.” The existence of the estimate was confirmed this weekend by Prof John Salt, Director of the Migration Research Unit at University College of London, who was commissioned by the Home Office to study the number of illegal migrants. — PTI
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Book to assist lawyers for NRIs
London, April 17 The book titled 'Acting for Non-Resident Indian Clients' was released by Lord Slynn of Hadley, who described it as “remarkable", in the presence of Indian High Commissioner Kamlesh Sharma and Lord Rana,
MBE, Honorary Consul of India, northern Ireland as well as a distinguished gathering. "It is a modest attempt to focus on certain key issues relating to Indian family laws and non-resident Indians," Lord Slynn said releasing the book at the House's Atlee Room. Referring to the joint authors, Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra, Chandigarh-based advocates, he said: "They give a great deal of information about customs and practices in India in relation to marriage." Appreciating the clarity, conciseness and practical importance of the book, he said: "The book throws light on many aspects of family life and family law, a key to the differences which exist between life in India and life in the United Kingdom — questions as to the protection of women from discrimination, the rights of children there, the rights to inherit with differences in the claims of the son and the daughter to the father's estate and the pressures of custom on the life of the newly widowed woman." In his foreword, Justice Y. K. Sabharwal, Judge of the Supreme Court of India said: "Many Indians living abroad face various problems relating to family matters which have been attempted to be answered in the book. The book dealt with divorce issues, including mutual consent and validity of Indian marriages as also recognition of foreign divorce degrees and enforcement of foreign courts or problems with immigration authorities in different foreign jurisdictions worldwide.
— PTI |
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Maoists execute 10 villagers in Nepal
Kathmandu, April 17 The Maoist fighters stormed the village of Somani, about 250 km south-west of Kathmandu, on Friday night and began hauling males out of their houses, the Royal Nepalese Army said. At least 10 persons, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot dead, the Army said. Two men survived and were being treated at a nearby hospital. The rebels also set fire to nine houses and bombed four others in the village, the sources said. A village official, Madhav Sharma, said Nepalese security forces had moved in and taken control of the village. “We have put soldiers to patrol the area to prevent further violence,” Sharma
said. — AP |
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Grewal completes walk from Amritsar to Kanyakumari
London, April 17 Mr Grewal, popularly known as Bobby Grewal, who commenced his walk from Amritsar on November 16, 2004, completed it on April 13, the association said today. "It was an experience of my life to see India from north to south walking on the roads step by step through nine states — Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu — with different colours, cultures, languages, customs and people," Mr Grewal, who is expected to return here by the end of this month, said in a
statement. — PTI |
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No debt relief to Africa
Washington, April 17 Aid advocates had wanted the wealthy countries to make good on their pledge to help rid the world’s poorest countries of their crippling debt, but Finance Ministers at a meeting of the Group of Seven major economic powers could not decide on the best way to pay for this. “How many children have to die before these seven men in suits develop a sense of urgency?” said Mr Jonathan Hepburn, policy adviser for the Oxfam International. British Finance Minister Gordon Brown, who has made Africa’s plight a personal crusade, predicted an agreement by the time Group of Seven leaders meet in Gleneagles, Scotland in July.
— Reuters |
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Saudi kills 2 Indians, beheaded
Riyadh, April 17 Abdul Rahman bin Sultan bin Daifallah al-Otaibi was convicted of robbing and killing Indians Senior Mayo and Tido Shankar and Pakistani Mohammad Ershad, as well as wounding another Indian, said a statement on the official SPA agency.
— AFP |
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11 escaped prisoners recaptured
Baghdad, April 17 The Iraqi security forces searched for them at dawn and quickly rounded up 10, but one remained at large. He was captured on Saturday afternoon about 15 km from the jail, the US military said. It was not clear how long the detainees had been at Camp Bucca, which holds about 6,000 prisoners, but the military said they were being held on charges ranging from possessing illegal weapons to attacks on the US forces.
— Reuters |
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Bomb blast in mosque
Gilgit, April 17 The explosion occurred yesterday night in Naltar, a village about 35 km west of Gilgit, said Raji Rehmat, a senior police official in Gilgit. More than 30 persons were in the mosque when the bomb went off during evening prayers but only three were injured, Rehmat said. No one claimed responsibility and the motive for the explosion was not immediately known. Rehmat said it was premature to speculate whether it was a sectarian attack.
— AP |
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Woman bites off rapist’s tongue
Durban, April 17 The 23-year-old man had broken into the bedroom of the woman from Mahlaswetsa, near Excelsior, on Thursday and tried to kiss her, when she bit it off, News.24.com quoted a police official as saying. The accused, who fled after the incident, was arrested from a squatter settlement the next day after the 32-year-old victim reported the matter to the police and gave piece of tongue as evidence, she said.
— PTI
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