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Sunday,
December 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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MMA comes to power in NWFP Arms inspections resume in Iraq Ex-Beatles remember George Harrison
Indian scholarships for Nepalese students Cases against Benazir, Zardari may be reviewed |
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Jack Straw meets Vedanti
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MMA comes to power in NWFP Islamabad, November 30
“We cannot allow VCRs and tape recorders in passenger vehicles in our province,” Mr Akram Durrani of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) said after he was elected Chief Minister of the province yesterday. Mr Durrani said he would order a ban on the playing of tape recorders, VCRs and music in buses, coaches and passenger vehicles. “Pubs and gambling dens will be closed soon,” the 42-year- old Durrani told the Assembly amid assertions by the opposition benches that there were no pubs and gambling outlets in Pakistan. Mr Durrani, who hit the headlines before his election for his threats to stop US and Pakistani crackdown on Taliban and Al-Qaida leaders reportedly hiding in the border areas, also said drivers of buses should stop their vehicles at mosques during prayer time, if passengers made specific requests. Mr Durrani said it would be a legal offence if any driver turned down such a request. He also promised to set up separate mosques for women at bus stands in the province, saying that the facility was needed since there was no separate place for women to offer prayers. Replying to felicitations on his victory in the election for chief ministership yesterday, Mr Durrani said, “The enforcement of the Islamic system was the MMA manifesto. We will endeavour for the enforcement of the system in the province and the country and take guidance from the central MMA leadership and strictly follow that.” “We will sacrifice everything to bring in the system to the province and ensure that the NWFP gets all its rights,” he said adding that his government would bring concrete changes in the law and order situation, education, health and the industrial sector. He said poverty and unemployment were the most pressing areas where they would seek the federal government’s assistance. The MMA is also poised to share power in the neighbouring Baluchistan province as Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Kahn Jamali has said that his party, the PML(Q), has reached an agreement with it to form a coalition government. Under the deal, the PML(Q) would get the Chief Minister’s slot while the MMA would some of the prominent ministries, Mr Jamali said.
PTI |
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Arms inspections resume in Iraq
Baghdad, November 30 A group of inspectors drove from their headquarters in Baghdad to the complex run by the Public Company of the Mother of All Battles in Yusoufiyyah area, 15 km south of the capital. The company, whose title incorporates the name used by Iraq to describe the 1991 Gulf War, is an arm of the state’s Military Industrialisation Commission in charge of developing weapons. Another group of inspectors drove to a suspected missile site at Balad, 75 km north of Baghdad. The town is almost halfway between Baghdad and Tikrit, the birthplace of President Saddam Hussein. Both groups were accompanied by Iraqi officials. Iraqi guards barred journalists from entering the large complex south of Baghdad where portraits of the Iraqi leader were displayed. Later, the guards barred a government four-wheel drive from entering the facility while inspectors were inside in line with a policy of “freeze” on sites under inspection. The inspectors, who carry out unannounced visits, did not work on Friday, the Muslim holy day. They had visited five sites on the first two days back at work and reported that inspections had gone smoothly. Iraq has pledged full cooperation with the inspectors, who returned to Iraq this week after a four-year gap to search for chemical, biological and nuclear arms under a tough UN resolution that gives Baghdad one last chance to disarm. But an Iraqi official newspaper today denounced UN demands that Baghdad produce a full account of its arms programme by December 8. “It is quite clear that this paragraph explicitly accuses Iraq of possessing weapons of mass destruction,” al-Jumhouriya said in a front-page editorial. “It also casts doubts about Iraq’s sincere cooperation with UN Security Council resolutions,” it added. With the December 8 deadline approaching, Washington announced that one of its top diplomats would visit eight European countries and Turkey next week to consult on Iraq. Under Secretary of State Marc Grossman will visit NATO offices in Brussels, the UK and Turkey between December 1 and 3 as part of a delegation led by Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, the US State Department said in a statement yesterday. In Paris, Iraqi Kurdish leaders appealed to world leaders to let Iraqi opposition groups piece together a pluralist, democratic government that could replace Saddam’s government if he was removed from power. In Sydney, Australia, several thousand people marched peacefully today as part of a nationwide protest against any pre-emptive strike on Iraq by the USA and its allies. Smaller protests were also held in other cities, including the capital, Canberra.
Reuters |
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Ex-Beatles remember George Harrison
London, November 30 With Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and Harrison’s son Dhani, the surviving Beatles yesterday shared a night of musical memories with an audience of 5,000 devoted fans at the “Concert For George” at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Sitar star Ravi Shankar, Harrison’s musical guru in his Beatles days, told the audience, “I strongly feel that George is here tonight. I mean how can he not be here when all of us who loved him so much have assembled all together to sing for him and play music for him.” Clapton kicked off the Beatles hits with “I want to tell you,” before Cocker and Dhani Harrison joined him for “Here Comes The Sun.” Clapton had the crowd on its feet for a standing ovation with the words: “Ladies and gentlemen, Ringo Starr!” The former Beatle ran on stage to tumultuous applause. He saluted the crowd and said: “What a night! I loved George and George loved me.” He then sang “Photograph”, which he co-wrote with Harrison, as Clapton, Jeff Lynne and Dhani played the guitar. By the time they got to “Honey Hon”, many of the audience were dancing along. Starr grabbed the mike and introduced McCartney, bringing the audience to its feet again. The two former Beatles then played the Beatles’ hit, “I love you”, then were joined by Clapton and Dhani for the love song, “Something”. After another standing ovation, McCartney then played the piano and Clapton sang to “While my guitar gently weeps”, before ending with a two-minute guitar solo.
AP |
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Indian scholarships for Nepalese students Kathmandu, November 30 Launching the “Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme” here yesterday, the India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Mr Shayam Sharan, said under the scheme, 50 scholarships would be given every year to Nepalese students for under-graduate studies within Nepal. Mr Sharan was speaking at a gathering of Nepalese Alumni of Indian academic institutions to mark the birth anniversary of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. The new scholarship is the first such scheme of the Government of India for Nepalese students. Speaking on the occasion, the Nepalese Prime Minister, Mr Lokendra Bahadur Chand, said Nepal-India ties had always been very cordial and the Nepalese people had benefitted a great deal by maintaining technical and educational cooperation with India. He also lauded the contributions made by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad in promoting education in India and other developing countries. The two countries are celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Indo-Nepal Economic Cooperation which commenced in 1951-52.
PTI |
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Cases against Benazir, Zardari may be reviewed Islamabad, November 30 However, Prime Minister Jamali said in Lahore yesterday that while Ms Bhutto was welcome to return home anytime, she would have to face trial in these cases. Sources said Mr Hayat and Mr Sikandar were trying to mediate between the Jamali government and Benazir Bhutto. The sources said the Interior Minister had expressed his desire to go through all details of cases against Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari to see if an agreeable solution could be worked out. They said Mr Hayat was trying to convince the government that the cases were filed during the tenure of the Nawaz Sharif government and were politically motivated and had little value in the eyes of the public.
UNI |
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Jack Straw meets Vedanti London, November 30 Their Thursday’s meeting is the first in recent times between British ministers and the highest decision-maker at the seat of Sikh temporal authority. “The Foreign Minister and I were pleased to welcome the Jathedar of Akal Takht on his visit to the UK. There are around 5,00,000 Sikhs in the UK, and they and the rest of the British-Indian community make a major contribution to the UK’s economy and culture and are an established part of our multi-racial multi-faith society,” remarked the Foreign Office Minister after the meeting. The Jathedar was in the UK to meet leading members of the Sikh community and lay the foundation stone of a gurdwara in Hounslow.
UNI |
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