W O R L D

Democracy to be restored in Nepal, King tells Manmohan
Dhaka, November 13
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said King Gyanendra had given an assurance that Nepal would work out a roadmap to usher in a multi-party democracy in the country.

Nepal nationals march during a protest against the new media law, which curtails the freedom of press and bans news on FM radio, in Kathmandu on Sunday. The rally was organised by various civil societies, professional organisations and media organisations. — Reuters photo

SAARC pact on avoidance of double taxation
Dhaka, November 13
India and six other South Asian countries today signed three agreements covering avoidance of double taxation, on Customs, setting up of SAARC arbitration council besides liberalising regime to facilitate freer travel among people, including mediapersons.


Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia (L) gets her glasses from an aide as Dr Manmohan Singh looks on during the closing session of the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka on Sunday. — AFP photo

Manmohan to skip Commonwealth meet
Dhaka, November 13
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would not be attending the Commonwealth Heads of State or Government Meeting to be held in Malta later this month because of the winter session of Parliament beginning on November 23.

Jordan identifies attackers
Amman, November 13
The Jordanian Government today gave the names of three Iraqi men and an Iraqi woman who took part in the suicide attacks in luxury hotels last week.

UK national claims to be cured of HIV
London, November 13
In a sensational medical development, a 25-year-old British man has emerged as the first HIV sufferer in the world to be cured of the killer virus, a tabloid claimed here today. Andrew Stimpson, a sandwich-maker, has miraculously tested negative for the virus after having it for more than a year, according to a report in News of the World.

Democracy to be restored in Nepal, King tells Manmohan
Ajay Kaul

Dhaka, November 13
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said King Gyanendra had given an assurance that Nepal would work out a roadmap to usher in a multi-party democracy in the country.

“I have been given an assurance that a carefully worked out roadmap would be prepared to usher in the democratic process which includes multi-party system,” he told reporters here on his 40-minute long meeting with the Nepal monarch, who had seized powers on February 1.

The Prime Minister said the King “recognises” that multi-party system was the “core of any flourishing democracy”.

At the meeting on the sidelines of the 13th SAARC summit, Dr Manmohan Singh asked the King to take “concrete steps” for the early restoration of democracy in Nepal, making it clear that it would not be possible without involvement of political parties. Early this year, the SAARC summit was delayed after Dr Manmohan Singh cancelled his trip to Dhaka following Gyanendra’s sacking of the Deuba government and seizing of power in a royal coup.

“The Prime Minister underlined (to the Nepalese King) the importance of restoring multi-party democracy as early as possible and need to take concrete steps in this regard,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters after the one-on-one meeting between Dr Manmohan Singh and Gyanendra. — PTI

SAARC pact on avoidance of double taxation

Dhaka, November 13
India and six other South Asian countries today signed three agreements covering avoidance of double taxation, on Customs, setting up of SAARC arbitration council besides liberalising regime to facilitate freer travel among people, including mediapersons.

Addressing the concluding session of the 13th SAARC Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the SAARC declaration as “forward-looking document” but emphasised the need to expedite the process of resolving the few outstanding issues to set up Free Trade Area in the region by January 1, 2006.

Speaking in his capacity as incoming Chairman after India was chosen to host the next SAARC summit, he said there were a number of substantive proposals at the Dhaka summit, including India’s offer to greatly expand airline connectivity within the region on a reciprocal basis.

The three agreements signed by the seven SAARC countries comprising India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives are: — limited multilateral agreement on avoidance of double taxation and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters — mutual administrative assistance in customs matters — and establishment of SAARC arbitration Council.

Appreciating the decision to bring Afghanistan into the SAARC fold, — Dr Manmohan Singh said “We are delighted to welcome Afghanistan to our group. This is appropriate recognition of long-standing ties of culture and history that Afghanistan shares with us”.

He said China and Japan had evinced interest to become observer of the South Asian group and the SAARC council of ministers will finalise the guidelines and modalities for such statues at the earliest.

The forward-looking declaration adopted at the summit would add “new vigour” to the SAARC process, he said adding “we have planned several measures to develop our most valuable asset, our human resources”. This includes establishment of a South Asian university by integrating elements in SAARC social charter and creating a collaborative healthcare project involving regional telemedicine network.

“We hope these and other similar measures will enable us to take one step in the eventual abolition of age old scourges of poverty and ignorance. We also agree to find new ways of cooperating in exploiting the opportunities of the future, ranging from information and communication technology to evolving a collective energy strategy,” he said. — PTI

Manmohan to skip Commonwealth meet

Dhaka, November 13
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he would not be attending the Commonwealth Heads of State or Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Malta later this month because of the winter session of Parliament beginning on November 23.

“I cannot be away when several important issues will be debated in Parliament. Paying attention to Parliament is far more important than going to the CHOGM,” Dr Singh told reporters here before winding up his three-day visit to attend the 13th SAARC summit. — UNI

Jordan identifies attackers

Amman, November 13
The Jordanian Government today gave the names of three Iraqi men and an Iraqi woman who took part in the suicide attacks in luxury hotels last week. Deputy Prime Minister Marwan al-Muasher said the woman, who failed to blow herself up, was the wife of one of the attackers and the sister of a lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the Al Qaida in Iraq. — Reuters

UK national claims to be cured of HIV

London, November 13
In a sensational medical development, a 25-year-old British man has emerged as the first HIV sufferer in the world to be cured of the killer virus, a tabloid claimed here today.

Andrew Stimpson, a sandwich-maker, has miraculously tested negative for the virus after having it for more than a year, according to a report in News of the World.

The results so dumbfounded doctors they repeated the test twice because they could not believe it, but they could find no trace of HIV in his blood, it said.

They have labelled Andrew’s case as “medically remarkable”. Andrew will now offer himself for medical tests to unlock the secret in his body that has killed off a virus responsible for wiping out 20 million people worldwide since 1981.

“I feel truly special and lucky,” he told the newspaper. “All the doctors have told me it is a medical miracle that I am clear.”

“I remember after the repeat tests my doctor came into the room saying, “You’ve cured yourself! This is unbelievable, you’re fantastic!” It’s so amazing to think that one day I was staring death in the face and now I am waving it goodbye,” he added. — PTI