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Indonesian tsunami kills 113
Octopus oracle Paul is dead |
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China’s rebuff: Not altering J&K visa policy
Special to the Tribune
Nepal Conundrum
Expose Pak’s anti-India activities: US report
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Indonesian tsunami kills 113
Jakarta, October 26 The 7.5 magnitude quake hit 78 km west of South Pagai, one of the Mentawai islands, late on Monday. Local legislator Hendri Dori Satoko told Metro TV the latest toll was 113 dead and 502 missing. Most buildings in the coastal village of Betu Monga were destroyed, said Hardimansyah, an official with the regional branch of the Department of Fisheries. "Of the 200 people living in that village, only 40 have been found. 160 are still missing, mostly women and children," he told Reuters by phone. "We have people reporting to the security post here that they could not hold on to their children, that they were swept away. A lot of people are crying." Hardimansyah, who has only one name, said 80 per cent of the houses in the area were damaged and food supplies were low. A tourist boat carrying between eight and 10 Australians has been out of radio contact since the quake, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. The Macaronis surfing resort on North Pagai island was also hit. In an official press release, World Surfaris said Macaronis had "experienced a level of devastation that has rendered the resort inoperable". Reports via Facebook from a surfer at the resort suggested that all villas had been "wiped out" by the tsunami. A report posted on the Surfaid website by one of the aid organisation's staff members described a three-metre-high tsunami crashing through the resort and boats knocking together, then bursting into flames. — Reuters Mount Merapi erupts, claims life of 3-month-old Yogyakarta: Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted three times on Wednesday, causing thousands to flee and claiming the life of a three-month-old baby girl as it emitted searing clouds and volcanic ash. Before the latest eruption, people living in the shadow of Indonesia's most active volcano had been warned to evacuate. Authorities had put an area of 10 km around the crater of Mount Merapi on red alert on Monday, ordering 19,000 people to flee. — AP
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Octopus oracle Paul is dead
Berlin, October 26 “Management and staff at the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre were devastated to discover that oracle octopus Paul, who achieved global renown during the recent World Cup, passed away overnight,” the aquarium said in a sombre statement. “Paul amazed the world by correctly predicting the winners of all Germany’s World Cup clashes, and then of the final,” said Sea Life manager Stefan Porwoll. “His success made him almost a bigger story than the World Cup itself ... We had all naturally grown very fond of him and he will be sorely missed,” said Porwoll. Paul beat the odds during the World Cup by correctly forecasting all eight games it was put to predict, including Spain’s 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the final. Paul’s body is now in cold storage while the aquarium decides “how best to mark his passing away.” However, Paul’s fans need not despair. The aquarium has already been grooming a successor, to be named Paul like its mentor. “We may decide to give Paul his own small burial plot within our grounds and erect a modest permanent shrine,” said Porwoll. “While this may seem a curious thing to do for a sea creature, Paul achieved such popularity during his short life that it may be deemed the most appropriate course of action.” — AFP THE PREDICTION PROCESS Two boxes were lowered into the salty soothsayer’s tank, each containing a mussel and a flag of the two opposing teams. Watched by a myriad of reporters, Paul would head to one box, wrench open the lid and gobble the tasty morsel, with the box he plumped for being deemed the likely winner
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China’s rebuff: Not altering J&K visa policy
Beijing, October 26 Weeks after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna hoped that Beijing would maintain "neutrality" on the affairs related to Jammu and Kashmir and respect India's sensitivities on the issue, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said, "Though China had friendly relations with India, its policy towards the stapled visas for residents of the state remained unchanged." The comments come ahead of this week's meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of East Asia Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. The issue of stapled visa is likely to figure prominently at the talks. Ma Zhaoxu, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said at his bi-weekly briefing, "As for the Indian Kashmir visa our policy is consistent and has stayed unchanged." He was replying to questions whether the issue would come up for discussions at the meeting between Singh and Wen. He said officials of both the countries were in "touch" with each other to arrange the meeting. Indian officials expect the meeting to take place on October 30. Ma declined to comment on the just-concluded visit of Manmohan Singh to Japan and the Indian Prime Minister's talks with his Japanese counterpart, Naoto Kan in which China figured prominently. "We usually do not comment on leaders meeting from other countries. Our friendly position with India remains unchanged. Meanwhile, we value strategic relations with Japan," Ma said. China has been issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir since 2008. The policy had its biggest fall out when China recently declined to grant visa to Lt.Gen. B S Jaswal, the Chief of Indian Army's northern command for official talks here on the ground that he headed troops of a disputed area. The move prompted India to put on hold all defence exchanges with China, even though Beijing played down the move saying that defence ties are intact.
— PTI
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Pak won’t use military aid against India: US
Ashish Kumar Sen in Washington
The Obama administration has assured India that a $2 billion military assistance package it has offered Pakistan will not be diverted against India. “They have assured us they will ensure the weapons are used for what they are intended for,” an Indian official said on the condition of anonymity.
The US wants Pakistan to do more in its fight against terrorist networks operating on its soil, including Lashkar-e-Toiba, the Haqqani network and the Pakistani Taliban. The Obama administration said last week it would ask the US Congress for a $2 billion military assistance package for Pakistan. The multi-year security assistance commitment will be spread over a period between 2012 and 2016. This package will complement $7.5 billion in funds being provided to Pakistan for civilian projects under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation. “We think security assistance should be more focused on counterinsurgency than providing military equipment [to Pakistan],” the Indian official said. The official noted that such security assistance packages for Pakistan are not unusual. The George W. Bush administration had offered similar assistance. The fact that new package will only become operational in 2012 will give the Obama administration “leverage” to ensure Pakistan is delivering in the war against terrorists, the official said. President Barack Obama will visit India in November. The visit is the first in several decades by a US President to India in his first term in office. A US National Security Strategy paper in May identified the US relationship with India as one of three key international ones for the US. The US-India relationship is based on a broad agenda, which includes nuclear cooperation, export controls, agriculture, health and clean energy. The dialogue during the President’s visit will also feature discussions on India’s role in Afghanistan, stability in India’s neighbourhood, East Asia, maritime security and cyberspace. No pre-conditions attached, says Pak Islamabad:
No conditions are attached to the $2-billion military aid package the United States announced for Pakistan this weekend but there are expectations that require Islamabad to expedite its effort to dislodge militants from North Waziristan, according to analysts here. Diplomatic sources say that during the strategic dialogue, which concluded on Friday, the Americans accepted Pakistan’s position that it did not have enough troops or resources to launch a major offensive in North Waziristan, as Washington demands.
— TNS
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Poudyal fails 13th time
Bishnu Budhathoki in Kathmandu & PTI Nepalese lawmakers failed to end the uncertainty over the formation of a new government on Tuesday as Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudyal, the sole candidate for the post of prime minister, was unable to garner a majority support for an unprecedented 13th time in a row. Nearly four months after the 22-party coalition led by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal collapsed, 13 rounds of elections in Parliament have so far failed to elect a new leader. Poudyal, who is adamant over not quitting the race despite a boycott of the process by the main opposition Maoists and CPN-UML, secured 98 votes in the 601-member Constituent Assembly, which functions as the country’s interim parliament. Of the 144 lawmakers who participated in the voting, 44 remained neutral while two cast their votes against Poudyal, who remains the sole candidate after the withdrawal of Maoist chief Prachanda following a deal with the CPN-UML on September 17 in a bid to facilitate the formation of a national consensus government. The next two rounds of the election will take place on Oct 29 and Nov 1. Main opposition CPN-Maoist, which ended its decade-long civil war in 2006, is the single largest party with 238 seats, while Nepali Congress has 114 members in the House whose two-year term was extended by a year.
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Expose Pak’s anti-India activities: US report
Washington, October 26 Releasing a report on Indo-US relations ahead of President Barack Obama's visit, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said Kashmir issue is a challenge. "Washington can do more than it typically has to hold the Pakistani military and the ISI to pledges that they will not abet violent actors in Kashmir," the report 'Toward Realistic US-India Relations' said. "At a minimum, the United States should expose Pakistan publicly whenever it fails to act to prevent infiltrations across the Line of Control, shut down jihadi training operations, or arrest leaders of organisations that foment attacks on India," the report authored by George Perkovich said.
— PTI
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Ex-deputy PM of Iraq Aziz sentenced to death Iran injects fuel into first N-reactor Chinese boy survives 20-storey fall 
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