 |
| Monday, November 20, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
No relaxing of state
control, Clinton told Nusrat gets two yrs’ RI ‘Avoid wrangling in recount’ 17 killed in fresh Lankan fighting |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fujimori to
resign by tomorrow: PM Israeli diplomat shot at in Jordan
‘Impose’ arms embargo on Taliban Free phone calls over the Net? Maldives for ‘affluent tourists only’ Gets twins 5 days after first baby Seven killed in ’copter crash
Mori in trouble as 2 ministers quit Afghan’s ex-king
seeks to return home
|
|
No relaxing of state
control, Clinton told HO CHI MINH CITY, Nov 19 (AFP, AP) — Vietnam’s Communist leader hailed the Vietnam war as the birth of socialism in his country today as President Bill Clinton wrapped up his historic reconciliation visit with an impassioned plea for freedom. After two days of ostensible rapprochement, the former foes’ tortured history threatened to reopen old wounds and overshadow the rich symbolism of Clinton’s visit, the first by a US Head of State since the war. Apparently goaded by the ecstatic welcomes given to Clinton by tens of thousands of Vietnamese in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, the Communist authorities’ irritation spilled over in public with an uncompromising defence of state control. In a tone contrasting with reformers in his own government and in a rebuff to
Clinton’s pleas to heal “shared suffering”, Communist Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu termed the war against the USA as the cradle of modern Vietnam. He demanded the US respect Vietnam’s monolithic political system and banged the drum of the North’s victory over the US-backed south as Clinton visited the scene of America’s wartime humiliation in Saigon, now renamed after Washington’s guerrilla nemesis. “The resistance wars brought the Vietnamese people national independence and reunification to advance the country toward socialism so for the Vietnamese people the war was not ultimately a story of darkness, sadness and unhappiness”, the official Vietnam News Agency quoted Phieu as saying when he met Clinton yesterday. The President rammed home the country would only fulfil its potential if the authorities loosened their iron grip on dissent, a message which also led his unprecedented live address to the nation on Friday. He said the whole thrust of
July's landmark bilateral trade deal between Hanoi and Washington was to open state-controlled
Vietnam to new ideas which he stressed as vital for economic development in an information-based economy. He also pledged $ 200 million in aid to help implement July’s deal, still yet to be ratified by either country. He hailed the importance of the deal agreed in July in a speech to Vietnamese business figures at an international container terminal at the Ho Chi Minh City port. “The USA is committed to providing assistance to Vietnam to help to implement this trade agreement”, Mr Clinton said. concluding the historic visit, President Clinton urged this Communist nation to allow greater individual freedom and said that he hoped more Americans would become “involved with the Vietnam of the future and not the Vietnam of the past.” Mr Clinton plunged into crowds on a narrow shopping street, shaking hands and stopping at markets to buy last-minute gifts in the bustling city of 5 million known as Saigon before its surrender to Communist forces 25 years ago. Despite his pleas, Vietnam’s powerful Communist Party chief said his country would go its own way. “We respect other nations’ choices of lifestyle and political systems,” Le Kha Phieu was quoted as telling Mr Clinton. “We also demand other nations respect our country’s political system and choices.” After losing 58,000 Americans during the Vietnam war, the USA withdrew its combat forces from then-Saigon in 1973. Two years later, on April 30, 1975, a rear guard of 11 Marines scrambled aboard a helicopter at the US Embassy in a blaze of tear-gas and smoke grenades. They fled Saigon as Communist forces surged into the city and the US-backed government announced an unconditional surrender. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honour of the revolutionary leader who declared Vietnam’s independence from French rule in 1945 and led the struggle against the USA. Yesterday, Mr Clinton honoured the war’s dead — 3 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans — as well as American mias and Vietnamese children maimed from leftover mimes and bombs. The Vietnamese count about 3,00,000 of their people still missing. The USA lists 1,498 Americans missing in Vietnam, 421 in Laos and 65 in Cambodia. |
|
ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (PTI) — An accountability court of Pakistan has sentenced Begum Nusrat
Bhutto, mother of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to two years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) for not appearing before it despite repeated warrants. The court has also ordered attachment of her property. It issued permanent warrants for her arrest and ordered that these be sent to the police officials of Lahore and Karachi. Begum
Nusrat, wife of late former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is being tried in the court for allegedly amassing assets worth $ 1.5 billion through illegal means. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League
(PML) would have no objection if the army, as a result of some bargaining, hands over power to PPP Chairperson Benazir
Bhutto, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif has said. ‘The Dawn’ quoted Kulsoom as saying that the PPP government would be better than the military rule. Unlike the present rulers the PPP government would not persecute its opponents. She said the new set-up would have to hold elections to restore
democracy. Kulsoom said, with the induction of the PPP government, no matter what methodology was adopted for the purpose, it would become easier for the PML to attain its goals. The deposed Prime Minister’s wife was of the opinion that problems facing the country were so serious and so many that no government would find it easier to tackle them. Even Bhutto would be unable to improve the situation, she
said. Kulsoom said if the PPP chairperson was thinking that the army would put her in the saddle, she was mistaken. But, she said, the PML would not be affected even if such an incredible development took place. |
|
WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (AFP) — With the US presidential election hanging in the balance, a top lawmaker called yesterday for a congressional investigation into US electoral standards and procedures to minimise future disputes. “I really believe it’s important for us to get the best assessment about whether or not we can improve the mechanism set up around the country to deal with issues like this in the future”, said Senate Democratic Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. He said he would ask the General Accounting Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress — to look into how these procedures could be improved to avoid the kind of wrangling over votes that has snarled the race between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. “I think we should start doing that immediately”, said Mr Daschle in a CNN interview, adding he was inviting Senate Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi to join him in the effort. The announcement came amid charges by the Bush campaign that hand recounts requested by Mr Gore supporters in several heavily Democratic counties in Florida, were chaotic, lacked standards and opened the door for partisan “mischief”. With Friday’s resolution of two House races in the states of Florida and New Jersey, it has become clear that, barring unexpected legal challenges, Republicans will control 221 seats in the House, 212 will go to Democrats and two to independent lawmakers. In the Senate, Republicans may scrape together 51 seats compared to 49 for Democrats, if incumbent Republican Senator Slade Gorton of Washington transforms his less than 1,800-vote lead over Democratic businesswoman Maria Cantwell into victory. If he loses, for the first time in more than a century the Senate could be divided 50-50, with the Vice-President casting the tie-breaking vote. Vote counting in the washington election was expected to end by the middle of next week. With exhausting races barely behind them, lawmakers surveyed in disbelief the presidential electoral battlefield, contemplating scenarios under which the unresolved US presidential election could be thrust upon them. Under the 12th amendment to the US Constitution, a presidential race is decided by Congress if any of the candidates fails to secure a majority of the Electoral College or 270 electoral votes at this stage. Mr Daschle said that if the dispute between Gore and Bush remained deadlocked for a long time, he would favour appointing another such commission possibly headed by two former Presidents Democrat Jimmy Carter and Republican Gerald Ford. |
|
17 killed in fresh Lankan fighting COLOMBO, Nov 19 (Reuters) — Fierce fighting erupted in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula today when government troops launched their first offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels since a fresh Norwegian peace initiative late last month. Seven soldiers were killed and 27 were wounded in the fighting, a government statement said, adding troops had recovered the bodies of 10 rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). “Security forces launched (the) operation ... to capture Madduvil South, approximately 3 km west of Chavakachcheri and to the north of the A-9 road,’’ the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The latest casualties take to 27 the number of troops and rebels killed in the past 24 hours in the bloodiest fighting since Norwegian peace envoy Erik Solheim met LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at the end of last month. Chavakachcheri, the peninsula’s second largest town, was captured by troops during a series of military offensives before parliamentary elections in October. But the rebels still control most of the A-9 highway which links Chavakachcheri to Jaffna city 15 km to the west. There was no immediate comment from the LTTE on the latest fighting, but rebel radio said six soldiers had been killed on Saturday in an abortive military thrust about 100 km south of Jaffna, in the rebel-controlled Wanni region. |
|
Fujimori to resign by tomorrow: PM LIMA, Nov 19 (AFP) — Embattled Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori will resign by Tuesday, Prime Minister Federico Salas said today. Salas said Fujimori, who had been due to end an abbreviated term after elections in April 2001, would present his resignation to Congress by Tuesday. Fujimori confirmed his intention to resign in a telephone conversation from Tokyo. TOKYO (Reuters): President Alberto Fujimori was holed up in a Tokyo hotel today facing his worst crisis in a decade of power. Tight-lipped Fujimori has extended his stay in the capital of his ancestors until November 22, fuelling the belief that he may be trying to seek political asylum in Asia as his power slips from his grasp in Peru. Congress reverted to Opposition control on Thursday for the first time since Mr Fujimori’s “self coup” in 1992 and his resignation or ouster is openly discussed in Lima. “It’s obvious he’s moving cash around and looking for a home abroad ... somewhere to stay after he resigns or is ousted,” Luis Solari of the biggest opposition party, Peru Posible, told Peruvian Radio. Mr Fujimori arrived in Tokyo on Friday en route home from a brief trip to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Brunei and was tight-lipped about rumours that he was seeking political asylum in Asia. “We have been notified by the Peruvian Embassy that President Fujimori has a cold and would extend his visit because of that,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Tokyo. “Apart from that we have received no information,” he said. Security was tight outside Mr Fujimori’s room in a smart central Tokyo hotel. A Peru Embassy official in Tokyo said only that Mr Fujimori was in Japan. Speculation mounted at home that he was using his extended stay in Tokyo to plot his future and a possible exit strategy as his power ebbs rapidly at home. He had been due to leave Tokyo yesterday afternoon to attend a weekend summit of Latin American leaders in Panama. In Lima, an official notice said Mr Fujimori would stay in Japan until Wednesday to continue talks to secure a credit aimed at balancing the budget for 2001. Israeli diplomat shot at in Jordan JERUSALEM, Nov 19 (Reuters) — Gunmen shot an Israeli diplomat in Jordan today, raising fears that Arab-Israeli violence is spreading to neighbouring countries at peace with the
Jewish state. “It’s part of the war in which we are engaged,” Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh told Army Radio following the attack on Israeli Vice-Consul Yoram Havivian as he stepped into his car in Amman. The diplomat was only lightly wounded. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy during clashes at the Karni crossing, hospital sources said. The killing raised the death toll in the current wave of bloodshed to 239 persons, most of them Palestinians. The attack in Jordan was the first on an Israeli target there since violence erupted in the neighbouring Palestinian territories more than seven weeks ago. Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told his Cabinet the shooting was a ‘’very serious’’ incident. |
|
Lights dim as oil squeezes Pak KARACHI, Nov 19 (Reuters) —High world oil prices are inflicting fresh pain on Pakistanis who know they can expect little help from their government. Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, main port and industrial hub, suffers daily power cuts simply because its loss-making power utility cannot afford the 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil a day it needs to make electricity. The state-owned Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), the city’s sole power supplier, has imposed two-hour power cuts — hitting industry in the evening, as well as commercial and residential customers during the day. “How would we be able to attract investment and confidence of investors?” said Abdullah Rafi, Chairman of Karachi’s main industrial body, site association of Industry. The cuts, which follow unannounced outages blamed on the utility’s shaky infrastructure, began in October when the cash-strapped utility decided to shut down one of the six 210-megawatt units at its main plant. “The KESC is testing the consumers’ patience beyond belief,” the influential Dawn newspaper said in an editorial. But, as long as world oil prices remain high there is little hope of relief. The military government, with usable foreign reserves worth less than the equivalent of one month’s imports, is not only unable to help but also under international pressure to take strict measures that would inflict more economic pain. |
|
‘Impose’ arms embargo on Taliban NEW YORK, Nov 19 (PTI) — The USA and Russia are joining hands to move the Security Council for imposing an arms embargo on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia as investigators link Osama Bin Laden to bombing of American destroyer uss Cole, a report has said. The report quoting us diplomatic and counter-terrorism officials, said new evidence had emerged linking Bin Laden with the Cole bombing that killed 17 American sailors and injured 39 others. Washington and Moscow decided to join hands as investigators in Yemen developed their strongest evidence linking top members of Bin Laden’s organisation to October 12 suicide attack on the high-tech destroyer, the New York Post reported. It quoted sources as saying that a man held by Yemeni authorities for being part of the attack has admitted to be a member of the Egyptian Islamic jehad organisation — and that he was in direct contact with its leader Ayman al Zawahiri. Zawahiri, 48, a former pediatrician, merged his group with Bin Laden in 1997, and he is now his second in command, according to us officials. Zawahiri, indicted along with Bin Laden in the bombings of us embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, fled to Afghanistan after being sentenced to death for his role in the 1981 assassination of Egypt’s Anwar Sadat. Zawahiri appeared with Bin Laden in September on a videotape released in Qatar in which he directly threatened attacks on us forces in Yemen and other Persian Gulf states, the report said. Russia, which is still battling former Afghan veterans who are helping Islamic rebels launch suicide attacks in Chechnya, is said to be supporting the
USA attempt to push through the Security Council measure. However, some Security Council members, including France, Britain and China, have expressed reservations about the move saying it will embolden Taliban’s local enemies, provoking more bloodshed. |
|
Free phone calls over the Net? WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (DPA) — Technology experts have been predicting that free long-distance phone calls placed over the Internet would one day be a reality for everyone. Is that day here yet? Read on to find the answer to this question and more. Q: I’ve heard about free phone calls through the Internet. I live in India and would like to call a friend in the USA with my PC. How do I do this? A: Free long-distance phone calls are indeed a reality for many with a PC and a decent Internet connection these days. Since voice can be digitised and sent over the Internet just like files and e-mail can, experts expect that it’s only a matter of time before the Internet is used regularly to place phone calls. What’s even more exciting is that if you have the right equipment and software, the recipient of a phone call you place does not even have to own a PC. You can place a call over the Internet from your computer to another person’s standard telephone. Assuming you have a good connection, the person who receives your call may not be able to tell that you’re calling over the Internet, using your PC. Those who live in the USA and Canada can take advantage of this so-called PC-to-phone technology now by downloading programs such as Microsoft’s Messenger from //messenger.msn.com (http://messenger.msn.com) or Net2Phone from www.net2phone.com. With either program, you can place a call from anywhere in the USA or Canada to anyone else in the USA or Canada for free. Microsoft plans to provide calling capability to and from more countries in a future release. With Net2Phone, you can place free PC-to-PC calls anywhere in the world now. So how do you equip your PC for placing phone calls over the Internet? In addition to the PC itself, you need a good-quality sound card, a headset microphone that plugs into the sound card, and as fast an Internet connection as you can get. You can place PC-to-phone and PC-to-PC calls with a standard analogue 56k modem, but the quality of your calls will improve dramatically if you have a cable, ISDN, or digital subscriber line (DSL) hook-up. You may also want to experiment with free “voice chats” over the Internet. Excite has one of the most popular free voice chat services, at www.excite.com/communities/chat/voicechat. You can set up a voice chat between two persons or more — providing you with a conference call capability that would, for instance, permit you to chat with several of your friends or relatives at the same time. All you need for a voice chat is an Internet connection, a sound card, and a headset microphone. With voice chatting, you agree on a time with the chat participants. Everyone logs on to the site, enters the private chat area, and begins talking. It’s that simple. |
|
Maldives for ‘affluent tourists only’ MALE, Nov 19 (UNI) — The picturesque island resorts of the Maldives nestling in the Indian Ocean on India’s southern tip are “products marketed for Europeans” and have over the years managed to draw hordes of them. Italians top the list of visitors followed by tourists from Germany, England, Japan and France, Maldives Minister of Tourism Hassan Sobir told UNI in an interview. Europe has traditionally been the major generator of tourism to the country and till October this year contributing 77.3 per cent of the visitors. Italy had overtaken Germany with 23 per cent arrivals. He said 87 island resorts had been developed exclusively for an affluent clinetelle and to keep it exclusive was a conscious decision as “we do not want to go for cheap markets.” Asked why packages were not being drawn to attract people from neighbouring India to the breathtaking
resorts, he said packages were aimed at creating mass markets “but we do not want to become a mass market as then the identity of resorts is lost.” |
|
Gets twins 5 days after first baby BEIJING, Nov 19 (AFP) — A Chinese woman gave birth to a set of twins five days after having a baby girl, a report said today. The 29-year-old mother gave birth to the first baby, who weighed 1.5 kg, on November 9 at her home in Chongging City, southwestern China, Beijing Morning Post reported. She did not realise she was carrying triplets, but felt movement in her stomach and went to hospital for a check-up two days later. On November 14, she gave
birth to the twins, who were born five minutes apart. It is unusual for one or more babies in triplets to be born so far apart, the report said. |
|
Seven killed in ’copter crash RIYADH, Nov 19 (DPA) — Seven Saudi military personnel were killed today when a military helicopter crashed in northern Saudi Arabia, Saudi sources said. The sources said the crash happened minutes after the helicopter had taken off from a base in the al Qassim area.
The helicopter caught fire and all those on board, including three officers, were killed instantly, the sources added. Mori in trouble as 2 ministers quit TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s chances of remaining in power diminished today when two vice-ministers resigned on the eve of a no-confidence vote that threatens to split his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Gen Nakatani, Senior Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Home Affairs Ministry and Kisaburo Tokai, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Science and Technology Agency, also submitted resignations, Kyodo said. Both tendered their resignations so that they could vote for the no-confidence motion due to be put forward tomorrow evening. 
Afghan’s ex-king
seeks to return home LONDON, Nov 19 (PTI) — The former king of Afghanistan, Zaheer Shah, who lives in exile in Italy, wants to return to his homeland as head of a supreme council of tribal elders to guide the war-torn country to peace. The plan, which is supported by the European Union, is being hailed by Western diplomats working in the region as the only likely means of bringing stability to the warring country, the Sunday Telegraph reported today. According to the report, in the past two months Zahir Shah’s emissaries have visited Russia, Iran, Pakistan and neighbouring Central Asian republics. A delegation also visited commanders from Afghanistan’s Opposition, where they received guarded promises of support. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
