|
|
|
|
|
As Taliban refuse to talk to Kabul, Karzai seeks Pak help
Clean-up call for stricken N-reactor
Chemical weapons used in Syria: US
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Prosecutors want severe sentence as Bo’s trial ends
Anger as China ‘restores’ Dalai Lama’s home
Indian descent girl in team building world’s fastest car
|
|
As Taliban refuse to talk to Kabul, Karzai seeks Pak help
Islamabad, August 26 Karzai, who arrived here on a day-long visit, made his appeal in talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who promised to extend all possible assistance. Stating that both he and Sharif discussed all issues of mutual concern, Karzai said, "We discussed in this regard primarily and with emphasis the issue of joint fight against extremism and reconciliation in Afghanistan with the expectation that the Government of Pakistan will facilitate and help in manners it can to the peace process in Afghanistan and providing opportunities on all platforms for talks between Afghan High Peace Council and the Taliban movement." The Afghan President said the primary concern for both countries is the lack of security for their citizens and the continued menace of terrorism. “It is this area that needs to have primary focussed attention by both countries. It is with hope on this that I have come to Pakistan and to advance efforts and action together so that we can have peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Karzai said. Sharif on his part said his government has assumed office with the resolve to create a peaceful external environment so that it can focus on Pakistan’s domestic priorities. “Being in a cooperative and stable relationship with all our neighbours is a vital component of this vision. Our security and future prosperity is linked to Afghanistan in multiple ways,” Sharif said. — PTI AFPAK Dialogue
|
||
|
Clean-up call for stricken N-reactor
Hirondo, August 26 Japan signalled it may dip into a $3.6 billion emergency reserve fund to help pay for the clean-up. Visiting the plant crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi today said he would set up a taskforce to take charge of the clean-up, and send officials to Fukushima to oversee operations. “I feel that the government should get fully involved,” he said after touring the Fukushima Daiichi facility. Motegi ordered Tepco to replace storage tanks that are at risk of leaking radioactive water. Tepco acknowledged last week that hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from one of around 350 tanks that were assembled quickly after the 2011 nuclear meltdowns at the site. Motegi said Tepco should have more frequent patrols around the tanks and better documentation of inspections. He said the utility should replace weaker bolted tanks with sturdier welded storage units. Tepco said it was setting up its own group of experts to oversee storage tanks at the Fukushima site. “For measures that require sophisticated technology, we will appropriately implement them as the government while collaborating with authorities on fiscal measures, including the use of a reserve fund,” Motegi said. — Reuters
|
||
|
Chemical weapons used in Syria: US Washington, August 26 President Barack Obama has discussed the Syrian crisis with his French counterpart Francois Hollande. The White House said Obama and Hollande expressed grave concern over the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime near Damascus. “While investigators are gathering additional evidence on the ground, our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense. The reported number of victims, the reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, the firsthand accounts from humanitarian organisations on the ground — these all strongly indicate that everything these images are already screaming at us is real, that chemical weapons were used in Syria,” Kerry told a news conference. “What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality. Let me be clear. The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Kerry said. — PTI Russia warns against military Action Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday any military intervention in Syria without a mandate from the United Nations would be a grave violation of international law. Lavrov appealed to the US and other Western powers to avoid “past mistakes" and not take military action in Syria. — Reuters Cameron cuts short holiday London: British Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short his holiday to deal with the Syria situation, and will meet shortly with top cabinet ministers, a Downing Street spokesman said on Monday. Cameron, who has been on holiday in Cornwall, will be returning to London to continue working on the international response to the chemical attack. — AFP
|
||
|
Prosecutors want severe sentence as Bo’s trial ends
Beijing, August 26 “The defendant’s crimes are extremely serious. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and there are no extenuating circumstances suggesting lighter punishment,” prosecution told the court in Jinan in the Shandong province, winding up five days of dramatic hearing against Bo. “It must be dealt with severely according to the law,” the prosecutors said, sparking speculation that Bo could either get death sentence, suspended death sentence or life sentence. Bo was sacked last year after allegations of his wife Gu Kailai’s involvement in the murder of a British businessman Neil Heywood surfaced. — PTI
|
||
|
Anger as China ‘restores’ Dalai Lama’s home
Hongai, August 26 The building in Hongai village, at the summit of a towering peak, is the only place in China dedicated to the man Beijing considers a violent separatist. But the house has become a symbol of China's bitterly divisive policy in Tibetan regions following its $400,000 refurbishment, amid concern from international rights groups over the scale and speed of Tibetan housing and relocation programmes. "This is not modernisation but Sinofication," Tibetan poet and activist Tsering Woeser said. — AFP |
||
|
Indian descent girl in team building world’s fastest car
Cape Town, August 26 The project was launched to attract youth towards engineering profession. The rocket-powered car, expected to be ready by 2016, is expected to cover 1,600 km per hour, almost 400 km per hour faster than the current record of 1,227.9 km per hour. — IANS |
Pakistan court orders repoll after ban on women voters Typhoon Trami kills two in China Snowden ‘stayed’ at Russian consulate Wildfire nears San Francisco water supply Palestinians call off peace talks 70 former Maoist rebels join Nepal Army |
||||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
