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Iran President’s remarks “shock” Annan
Annan’s veiled attack on US for secret detentions
OIC backs Pak’s stance on Kashmir
Carey, West lead Grammy nominees
‘Paheli’, ‘Black’ in Golden Globe race
Canada trying to get hostage released
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Iran President’s remarks “shock” Annan
United Nations, December 9 “The Secretary-General was shocked to see the remarks attributed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in which he reportedly cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust and suggested that the State of Israel should be moved from the Middle East to Europe,” a spokesman for Mr Annan said in a statement yesterday. Mr Annan urged all member-states to educate their populations about the well- established historical facts of the Holocaust, in which one third of the Jewish people were murdered, along with countless members of other minorities.” The statement also recalled Mr Annan’s reaction in late October to the Iranian President’s reported call for Israel to be wiped off the map. JERUSALEM:
The remarks by Iranian President that Israel should be moved to Europe has caused a storm of protest from across the world, with the Jewish country saying the comments defied international law which recognised its right to exist and amounted to denial of the Holocaust. Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks that Israel should be moved to Europe so that the West could make amends for the Holocaust, persecution of Jews by Hitler’s Nazi Germany, invited criticism from Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. Mr Shalom said the comments reflected a “clear denial” of the Holocaust and defied international law recognising Israel’s right to exist. “The International community should spare no effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons”, he said, adding “Europe and Russia have to join the United States in endorsing Iran’s referral to the Security Council”. Under the leadership of Mr Ahmadinejad, Iran would seek all means to destroy the State of Israel, he claimed.
— PTI |
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Annan’s veiled attack on US for secret detentions
United Nations, December 9 The message came even as the UN and the US were sparring over UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour’s criticism of methods used by Washington for interrogation of terror suspects. Without naming the US but referring to interrogation of terror suspects, Ms Arbour had said the absolute ban on torture was becoming a casualty of the so-called war on terror through loosened definition, secret detention, handover of prisoners without adequate safeguards and other practices. US Ambassador John Bolton publicly chastised Ms Arbour for the remarks, but Mr Annan has defended her strongly. Mr Bolton described her remarks as “inappropriate and illegitimate”, but UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General had no disagreement with the statement made by Ms Arbour on the occasion of Human Rights Day on Wednesday and saw no reason to object to it.
— PTI |
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OIC backs Pak’s stance on Kashmir
Dubai, December 9 In a declaration issued after the two-day summit of the grouping in Mecca, attended among others by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, OIC also called for “respect of the human rights of Kashmiri people and agreed to provide all possible political and diplomatic support to representatives of Kashmiri people.” Addressing the conference, Mr Musharraf, raising the Kashmir issue at the summit on Wednesday, had said “failure to resolve Kashmir and Palestine issues led to desperation, confusion and extremism” and asked Islamic countries to ban extremist groups. The OIC leaders also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and rejected any justification for it, the declaration said. Considering terrorism as a global phenomenon not related to any religion, race, colour or country, the conference emphasised the importance of joining international efforts to combat the menace.
— PTI |
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Carey, West lead Grammy nominees
New York, December 9 Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi” was yesterday nominated for best album of the year, while the ballad “We Belong Together” made the grade for best record of the year — a triumph for a woman whose career was all but written off just a few years ago. West was also nominated in those two categories, for the song “Gold Digger” and the hit album “Late Registration,” while his protege Legend was nominated for best new artist and best male R&B vocal performance. The other nominees for record of the year were “Feel Good Inc” by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day and “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani. On the day, fans of former Beatle John Lennon gathered to mark the 25th anniversary of his murder, his former song-writing partner Paul McCartney was nominated for best album of the year for his latest record, “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard.” — Reuters
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‘Paheli’, ‘Black’ in Golden Globe race
Washington, December 9 Amol Palekar’s fantasy ‘Paheli’, Yash Chopra’s romance across Indo-Pak border ‘Veer Zaara’, both starring Shah Rukh Khan, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Black,’ the story of a blind girl and her mentor played by Rani Mukherji and Amitabh Bachchan respectively, are among the 60 foreign films selected for nomination to the 63rd edition of the awards. ‘Paheli,’ which also stars Rani Mukherji, was already nominated as the Indian entry for the Oscars. As many as 60 foreign films have qualified for the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Philip Berk, president of the Holliwood Foreign Press Association, organisers of the Golden Globe, announced yesterday. There are four entries from China in the list dominated by European films. The nominations for the awards will take place on December 13 at the Beverly Hilton. The 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards gala will take place on January 16, 2006 at the Beverly Hilton. The event will be telecast live on NBC starting at 8pm eastern time. — PTI
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Canada trying to get hostage released
Wellington, December 9 Mark Brewer, brother-in-law of Sooden, said on New Zealand’s National Radio that Canadian authorities were working through Iraqi sources to determine the hostages’ whereabouts. Sooden was abducted on November 26 with three other peace activists belonging to Christian Peacemaker Teams. Sooden has been studying at New Zealand’s Auckland University for three years. Family members living there have pleaded for his release and an appeal by his mother was broadcast this week on Arabic news network Al-Jazeera. A number of leading Muslim clerics have also called for the hostages’ release. Brewer said Canadian authorities were exploring several possible ways to win the hostage’s release, including “actively” trying to establish their location. “I assume that ‘actively’ would mean they are making phone calls to people they know on the ground,” he said. “Certainly from the Canadians’ perspective, they are working pretty hard on this and they have quite a few people actively involved.” Prayer vigils have been held for Sooden in several New Zealand cities and his family remains hopeful that he will be released unharmed, Brewer said.
— AP |
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