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G-8 agrees to subsidy cuts
Bush, Blair on West Asia |
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Mumbai blasts accused handed over to India
49 Indians evacuated from Lebanon
9 Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli strikes
Discovery makes safe landing
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G-8 agrees to subsidy cuts
St. Petersburg, July 17 “The Doha round should deliver real cuts in tariffs, effective cuts in subsidies and real new trade flows,” a statement issued at the G8 summit here said emphasising that, it was “fully committed to the development dimension of the ongoing WTO talks.” Regretting that the talks in Geneva failed early this month, the heads of governments of the USA, the UK, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Russia and Germany said. “We commit ourselves to substantial improvement for market access in trade in both agriculture and industrial products and expanding opportunities in trade in services.” The WTO talks in Geneva collasped after the USA stuck to its position and refused to move forward in cutting farm subsidies as desired by developing countries, including India. The statement said, “In agriculture we are committed to substantially reducing trade-distorting domestic support and to the parallel elimination by the end of 2013 of all forms of export subsidies a well as establishment of effective disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect as agreed in Hong Kong.” “We urge all parties to work with utmost urgency for conclusion of the round by 2006-end to strengthen multilateral trading system,” the statement added. At Geneva, while the EU had agreed to match the cuts in import tariff for farm products that developing countries, led by India and Brazil, had asked for, the USA was reluctant to move on farm subsidies. With the USA adamant on the issue of subsidies, there was no negotiating space for developing countries, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath had said on his return from the collapsed talks. The statement, which has revived hopes of resuming the stalled talks, said the Doha round was a historic opportunity to generate economic growth, create potential for development and raise living standards across the world. Asking WTO chief Pascal Lamy to work towards agreement on modalities in agriculture and industrial tariffs within a month, the statement called all countries to commit to taking necessary section for successful completion of the Doha round. Seven of the G8 countries are WTO members while Russia is negotisting its entry into it. On the issue of Russia’s entry into the WTO, the statement said the G8 supported its expenditious secession to the WTO in accordance with the rules that applied to all its members.
— PTI
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Bush, Blair on West Asia ST Petersburg, July 17 Bush was talking privately to British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a lunch at the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg about an upsurge of violence in the West Asia. Neither immediately realised a microphone was transmitting their candid thoughts on that and other issues. “I think Condi (Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice) is going to go (to the West Asia) pretty soon,” Bush said. Blair replied: “Right, that’s all that matters, it will take some time to get that together.” Rice said yesterday she was thinking of going to the region if it would help. However, Rice headed back to the United States after the G8 summit closed today, a State Department spokeswoman said. Blair added: “See, if she (Rice) goes out she’s got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk.” Bush replied: “See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hizbollah to stop doing this shit and it’s over.” — Reuters
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Mumbai blasts accused handed over to India
Kathmandu, July 17 “The two, Asim Ali and Waled, were taken to India through Bhairahawa route and were handed over to the Indian police under the supervision of the Interpol,” the daily quoting highly-placed sources said. The Nepal police was given names of six suspects by the Indian police in connection with the Mumbai blasts, it said adding the police was said to be searching for other two suspects in the case. However, Superintendent of Police, Kathmandu, Dhak Bahadur Karki denied the reports saying they had not arrested anyone in connection with the Mumbai blasts.
— PTI
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49 Indians evacuated from Lebanon New Delhi, July 17 The 49 Indians, who were evacuated by road to neighbouring Syria, are the members of Indian Embassy staffers’ families and other nationals living there, Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry Rajiv Sikri told reporters. Mr Sikri said there were an estimated 12,000 Indians in Lebanon and contingency plans were being put in place to evacuate all those who wished to leave the country. New Delhi had also lodged a protest with Tel Aviv after an Indian soldier, part of a UN peace keeping mission, was injured in the Israeli military action in Lebanon. Israel had expressed regret, he said. Four Indian Naval ships, which were in the vicinity, had been directed to position themselves near the Lebanese coast to be ready for helping in evacuation of Indian nationals. Meanwhile, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has instructed the troops to confine themselves to bunkers after injury to the Indian soldier. The UNLIF said two of its positions, both held by Indian peacekeeping troops, were hit by direct fire from Israelis yesterday and 15 other posts had near misses. The statement, which was also received by the Army Headquarters here, said one of the soldiers from the Indian contingent had been seriously injured.
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9 Lebanese soldiers killed in Israeli strikes
Beirut July 17 Meanwhile, an Israeli air strike flattened the eight-storeyed Palestinian Foreign Ministry building in Gaza City today. A separate air strike gutted the offices of a Hamas-led security force in the Islamist stronghold of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Israel launched its Gaza offensive after militants, some from Hamas, captured an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, in a cross-border raid on June 25. The Israeli military has since killed more than 85 Palestinians in Gaza, about half of them militants. The Foreign Ministry building, which was badly damaged in a previous Israeli air strike, was completely destroyed in the early morning blast. At least nine Palestinians were injured, most of them children. Howeer, no deaths were reported. “The explosion was so powerful that it knocked my children out of their beds, crying and screaming,” said Umm Mohammed, who lives in an apartment across the street from the Foreign Ministry building. Mohammed said the blast knocked out windows in the room where her children were sleeping. The Israeli army confirmed the air strike. An army spokesman accused Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas of using his offices “to plan continued terror attacks against Israel”. Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003 that killed his eldest son. Hamas, which came to power in Palestinian territories after January elections, is committed to Israel’s destruction. Israel has bombed several buildings used by Hamas and its elected leaders, including the office of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
— Reuters
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Discovery makes safe landing
Cape Canaveral (Florida) July 17 The orbiter landed on schedule under overcast skies at the Kennedy Space Center after what the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) called a highly successful mission. Officials heaved a sigh of relief as a parachute deployed from the shuttle’s rear, and Discovery came to a full stop at the Atlantic seashore landing strip, safely returning the six astronauts to Earth. Two high-altitude aircraft, equipped with high-tech cameras, accompanied the shuttle as it approached the landing strip after soaring over southern Mexico and across the Gulf of Mexico. Its arrival was heralded by two resounding sonic booms. The final moments of the mission are among the most critical, and it was upon re-entering into the Earth’s atmosphere that Columbia had burst into flames on February 1, 2003. As it slices through the atmosphere, a shuttle is no longer powered by engines, but it glides toward the shuttle-landing facility. It touches down at a speed of about 350 kmph. The NASA authorities hoped Discovery’s mission would help ease concerns over the shuttle programme that have persisted since the Columbia disaster, and pave the way for a resumption of regular flights in August.
— AFP
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42 killed in Iraq
Baghdad, July 17
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Jerusalem, July 17
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