Wuhan, November 15
India, Russia and China today sought increased global efforts to tackle terrorism and prosecution of terrorists and their sponsors as the Foreign Ministers of the three nations discussed cooperation in fighting the menace and on issues like energy security, trade and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, a joint statement issued by the three Foreign Ministers said, “There could be no justification for any act of terrorism anywhere.” External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and their Chinese counterpart Yang Jeichi “emphasised the need for full international cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, particularly within the framework of the United Nations, to prevent terrorist attacks and to prosecute terrorists and their supporters,” it said, without naming any country.

“In this context, the ministers urged all UN member states to urgently conclude and adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” said the statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting of RIC Foreign Ministers here in the Central Chinese city.

The ministers emphasised the importance of joint efforts to counter the use of information and communication technologies for terrorist and criminal purposes. They also underscored the importance of joint efforts in countering the financing of terrorism.

They stressed that proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery as well as its association with international terrorism poses a grave threat to international peace and security and represents a cause for deep concern.

In the statement, Russia and China, the two veto wielding UNSC members, sought “comprehensive” reforms to make the council more democratic and they welcomed India’s entry into the UNSC as a non-permanent member. — PTI

Kathmandu, November 15
Nepal’s 17th run-off poll for a new prime minister was put off today with no clear winner expected in Parliament as in the previous series of elections, but the political parties inched closer to a deal to approve the delayed budget amid fears of a financial crisis.

Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudyal, the sole candidate who is adamant over not quitting the prime ministerial race, has failed to garner a majority in Parliament despite sixteen rounds of polls since the June 30 resignation of premier Madhav Kumar Nepal.

A meeting of Business Advisory Committee (BAC) in Parliament today decided to postponement the election to November 19. As per Nepal’s interim constitution, the election process should continue till a new leader is elected in Parliament through a simple majority of 301 vote.

Earlier a key meeting of the three major political parties-main opposition Unified CPN (Maoist), and the two largest parties in the caretaker government, Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML had decided to defer the futile election for a new leader.

The standoff has stalled the country’s peace process and delayed the annual budget, bringing the nation on the brink of a financial crisis. — PTI

United Nations, November 15
Pakistan has objected to the exclusion of Kashmir from a list of disputes under the observation of the Security Council as mentioned by the UK's top diplomat in an annual debate on UNSC reforms here. UK holds the presidency of UNSC this month.

“The Jammu and Kashmir dispute was not mentioned in the context of unresolved long-running situations,” said Amjad Hussain B Sial, Pakistan's acting envoy to the UN. He told the General Assembly, where the debate was held. “We understand this was an inadvertent omission, as J&K is one of the oldest disputes on the agenda of the Security Council,” he added.

Pakistan has been asking the UN to intervene to help resolve the issue but India has always maintained that it has to be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had said that the UN will not intervene in the Kashmir issue until requested to do so by both the parties, India and Pakistan. "As far as this role of good offices is concerned, the United Nations normally takes that initiative when requested by both parties concerned," Ban had said in October. — PTI

Participants dance at the annual gay pride parade in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. — AP/PTI

Man kidnaps girl he met on Facebook
Buenos Aires: A 39-year-old man in the Argentine capital was arrested on charges of kidnapping a teenaged girl he met on social networking website Facebook, authorities said. The kidnapper was arrested in La Tablada area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, where he had taken the teenager after abducting her at the gate of a school where they had agreed to meet for a date on Sunday. — IANS