 |
|
Kanishka trial: reviewer to seek fresh probe Iran vote at
IAEA: India to act on merits
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
China, USA differ over pace of economic reforms Racial discrimination suit by India-born scientist Arab-American plotted to kill Bush Hardliners left out in new Lanka Cabinet 100 hurt in B’desh train mishap
|
|
Kanishka trial: reviewer to seek fresh probe Vancouver, November 23 In a report to be released today in Ottawa, Rae will tell Public Security Minister Anne McLellan, there are lingering questions of public interest to be answered about the 20-year-old crime. “Then it’s up to the government to decide how they choose to respond,” said Noormohamed, director of the Air India Review Secretariat set up to facilitate Rae’s work. “The minister will take the time, I’m sure, to read the report and to consult with her colleagues and to make a decision as to how she wants to proceed,” he said. The British Columbia Court had in March found the main accused Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Vancouver-based millionaire businessman and a mill worker Ajaib Singh Bagri not guilty of murder and conspiracy charges, triggering a wave of protests from relatives of the 329 victims, who termed the judgement as a “second tragedy” and demanded a public inquiry. — PTI
|
|
Iran vote at IAEA: India to act on merits of case Washington, November 23 India’s Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen also rejected the notion in some quarters that his country’s stance on Iran was a “deviation” from the non-aligned position. Expressing hope that the Iran issue will not come up for vote at the IAEA this Thursday, Mr Sen told “...The path of negotiation which is currently on will hopefully lead to a general dialogue and that Iran will live up to its obligations and commitments...but if we find that this vote becomes inevitable, we will act on the merits of the case and in terms of our interests”. “As far as the deviation or adherence to the non-aligned position on this issue at the IAEA, I would like to point out that there has not been a nonaligned position on these issues. And in any case, on issues relating to non proliferation, India’s own stance has been widely divergent from that of the vast majority of the nonaligned countries —in fact, virtually all other nonaligned countries, barring one or two”, Mr Sen maintained.
— PTI |
|
China, USA differ over pace of economic reforms The differences between the USA and China during their recent talks was not of the direction of economic reforms but of the pace of it. The US is demanding a push at a faster pace while China prefers to go slow to maintain economic stability, according to Andrew Yang Nien-dzu of the Taipei based Chinese Council for Advanced Studies. Yang felt that Washington remained at odds over the issue of mainland currency and their differences were not as big as some analysts believed. The summit clearly indicated that they were moving closer. Another expert, Sun Zhe of Fundan University’s Centre for American Studies, felt that China would make some compromises on trade issues even though they might not have been spelt out clearly at the summit between the US President George W Bush and the Chinese President Hu Jintao. But China would not take immediate steps. He pointed out that the Chinese way of diplomacy was to avert an impression that it was acting under foreign pressure, especially from Washington. Hence China would present the compromises as its own decisions. Chinese President Hu Jintao had clearly suggested in his welcome address to the US President on arrival at Beijing for a 40-hour visit that China was ready to protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and would go hammer and tongs against any breach of IPR in China. Hence China would soon follow it up with strict legislations and execute the existing laws on IPR as well as in other trade areas of concern for America. Many analysts feel that the tone of talks between the two dignitaries as well during the pre summit talks at the official level were essentially to smoothen the uneven surfaces so as to reduce the perceptional frictions rather than slide down to any tangible outcome. Both sides know that the surfaces of their perceptions about each other were bumpy and rough that have caused frictions in the past. The US has not drawn completely blank over the political reforms issues as was the first impression. President Hu Jintao has shown willingness to have dialogue with America over the issues relating to human rights and other politically sensitive issues. Jintao agreed to conduct dialogue with Washington over human rights and democracy. Yang pointed out that China had issued its first white paper on human rights earlier this year. It had also touched up on issues of political reforms. |
|
Racial discrimination suit by India-born scientist Edinburgh, November 23 Dr Prim Singh (45), the appellant, said Prof Ian Wilmut (61) forced him to quit his job from the world-renowned Roslin Institute in Midlothian, where he earned £ 40,000 per annum. Dr Singh alleged that he was "passed over for promotions" and given second-rate laboratory equipment only because of the fact that he was an Asian. He also mentioned in the law suit that he was once dismissed from his position as head of nuclear reprogramming at Roslin in June 2004 after he lodged a complaint against Professor Wilmut. Dr Singh's counsel Lawrence Davies told the industrial tribunal in Edinburgh, where hearing began yesterday, that his client had secretly tape-recorded meetings with senior institute staff members without their knowledge and would be using transcripts as evidence. But, defence counsel Aiden O'Neill said the transcripts should not be admissible evidence. "If one person is covertly taping a meeting then the whole structure of that meeting has been altered to the fact that one person knows that he is taping the meeting so he can illicit certain responses." The hearing is set to see about 30 witnesses for evidence. Meanwhile, according to the report, another scientist, Dr Jeremy Brown, also claimed that he was forced to leave Roslin for backing Dr Singh. His compensation case is due to be heard next year. —ANI
|
|
Arab-American plotted to kill Bush
Washington, November 23 Abu Ali (24), born to Jordanian parents and raised in Falls Church, Virginia, could get life imprisonment. The sentencing is set for February 17,2006. Ali is said to have shown no emotion when the verdict was read yesterday and his lawyer said he would appeal although he maintained that it would be difficult to get a fair trial when accusations revolved around Al-Qaida. In the course of the three-week trial, the jury was shown a videotape confession in which Ali said he joined the Al-Qaida as he hated America’s support for Israel.
— PTI |
|
Hardliners left out in new Lanka Cabinet
Colombo, November 23 President Rajapakse kept two key portfolios, defence and finance, while giving Cabinet posts to members of his People’s Alliance. Key allies at the November 17 presidential election, the Marxist JVP (People’s Liberation Front) and the JHU (National Heritage Party), a party of Buddhist monks, were kept out amid speculation that they had requested for more portfolios than the President was willing to give them.
— PTI |
|
100 hurt in B’desh train mishap
Dhaka, November 23 Officials of the state-run Bangladesh Railways said the passenger trains — the Upokul Express and the Noakhali Express — collided last night near the Amirganj area in Narsinghdi district, 35 km, east of Dhaka. Amirganj station master claimed that both trains ignoring the signal moved on resulting in the accident. One of the compartments was found rammed into the engine of the other train. Witnesses put the number of injured at more than 100, but local officials said about 50 passengers were injured and train communications was disrupted between northeastern Sylhet and southeastern Chittagong cities for more than eight hours.
— PTI |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
(
