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Thursday,
January 30, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Bush
toughens stand on Iraq |
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Sharon humbles Left in Israeli poll
MTV
ridicules Gandhi
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‘Devdas’ nominated for best foreign film award
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Bush toughens stand on Iraq Washington, January 29 “The dictator of Iraq is not disarming; to the contrary he is deceiving,” Mr Bush said in his annual State
of the Union Address, his second after assuming office. He warned that Saddam Hussein was squandering away his “final chance” to avert war and told the Iraqis, “Your enemy is ruling you.” Referring to Iraq, North Korea and Iran he said, “Today the gravest danger in the war on terror...the gravest danger facing the USA and the world... is outlaw regimes that seek nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. These regimes could use such weapons for blackmail, terror and mass murder,” Mr Bush said adding that he would “liberate” people under such regimes as the USA had done so in Afghanistan. There is evidence that Iraq aided the terrorists including the Al-Qaida, blamed for the September 11 attacks, Mr Bush said adding that Baghdad still possessed thousands of litres of anthrax and nerve gas and thousands of munitions to deliver chemical weapons. Expressing the hope that other governments would help in ending the “terrible threats” to the civilized world, Mr Bush said the USA would provide fresh evidence in the UN on February 5 against Iraq. Baghdad, he said, had still not accounted for up to 25,000 litres of anthrax, 38,000 litres of botulism Toxin, 500 tonnes of sarin, mustard gas and VX nerve agent and more than 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical weapons. Naming Iran and North Korea among the other challenges, apart from Iraq, that now faced the world, he described Iran as hostage to a government that repressed its people, pursued weapons of mass destruction and supported terror.” On North Korea, he said Kim Jong II presided over an “oppressive regime” over a people living in fear and starvation.” Accusing Pyongyang of using its nuclear programme to incite fear and seek concessions, Mr Bush said the Americans would not be “blackmailed”. Mr Bush also announced a federal centre where terrorism intelligence, both foreign and domestic, would be analysed. A great part of the speech was also addressed to the domestic audience as it dwelt on the economic situation and the government’s plans and promises of jobs and recovery from recession. “After recession, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals and stock market declines, our economy is recovering — yet it is not growing fast enough, or strongly enough,” he said stressing that his first economic priority was to create jobs. Mr Bush also proposed to earmark $ 1.2 billion in research funding to spur development of clean, hydrogen-driven automobiles and to educate children of prison inmates. He also called for a $ 600-million drug treatment programme in which federal money could go to religious community service programmes. The President also pledged a $ 10 billion aid to the Africans suffering from HIV/AIDS and asked the Congressmen to pass a law banning all kinds of human cloning.
PTI |
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41 US Nobel
laureates oppose war Washington, January 29 “Military operations against Iraq may indeed lead to a relatively swift victory in the short term. But war is characterised by surprise, human loss, and unintended consequences,” the letter said. The signers, all men, were recipients of Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, economics and medicine. They include former US Defense Department advisers and scientists, such as Mr Norman Ramsey, former Director of Project Manhattan, which helped develop the first US atomic bomb.
AFP |
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Australia
backs USA on Iraq Canberra, January 29 “Iraq is not complying with the resolution (to disarm), Iraq is thumbing its nose at the rest of the world, and the Security Council must see that its own resolution is enforced,” Prime Minister John Howard told reporters after President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union address.
Reuters |
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Sharon humbles Left in Israeli poll Jerusalem, January 29 Greeted by
flag-waving supporters who burst into song, Mr Sharon claimed victory early today and urged parties to join him in a broad government to meet the twin challenges of what he called terrorism and a possible Gulf War. Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna conceded defeat in a telephone call to Mr Sharon soon after voting ended yesterday. Results showed Likud storming back into power, replacing Labour as the biggest party in Parliament. Labour endured its worst-ever defeat, falling to 19 seats from 25 in the 120-member Parliament, reflecting Israelis’ fury at the party’s having put its faith in Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to make peace. Hundreds of Israelis have been killed in scores of suicide bombings carried out by militants at the forefront of a 28-month-old Palestinian uprising. Labour’s former partner in peace moves, the leftist Meretz party, was shown winning six seats, down from 10, while Likud soared to 37, up from 19 in the current Knesset. Further underscoring divisions, the upstart Shinui party swept into third place, with 15 seats, up from six, on a pledge to deny ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties their historical role as political power brokers able to demand state cash and benefits. President Moshe Katzav was expected to ask Sharon to form a new government to tackle a deep economic crisis and the Palestinian revolt for an independent state. “This is a heavy blow to a peaceful settlement. The Israelis have committed a historical mistake which they and the Palestinians will regret,’’ Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said.
Reuters |
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MTV ridicules
Gandhi Washington, January 29 MTV has come out with a series of spoofs on Gandhi and other legends, raising tempers. An episode guide at the network’s website describes Gandhi as “stupid enough to take a swim in its piranha-infested moat.”
PTI |
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‘Devdas’ nominated for best foreign film award
London, January 29 Devdas will challenge Asif Kapadia’s ‘The Warrior’ in the Foreign Language Film Category. There are also three other films - ‘And Your Mother Too’, ‘City God’, and ‘Talk to Her’ in the fray. NRI Gurinder Chadha’s ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ was nominated for the ‘Outstanding British Film of the Year’ along with ‘The Warrior’ and three other films - ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, ‘The Hours’ and ‘The Magdalene Sisters’. The musical ‘Chicago’ and 19th century epic ‘Gangs of New York’ both have got a remarkable 12 nominations at this year’s BAFTA awards including in the best film and best director categories, Sir Ian
McKellen, chief of BAFTA announced on Monday. ‘The Hours’, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ and ‘The Pianist’ are the other features in the frame for best film in the awards, which will be held on February 23, a month before the more famous US equivalent, the Academy Awards. The shortlist for the Orange Film of the Year, for the 10 most popular films of 2002 is Monsters Inc, Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Spiderman, Ocean’s 11, Austin Powers in
Goldmember, Men in Black II, Scooby Doo, The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers and Die another Day.
PTI |
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Kathmandu, January 29 |
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Ceasefire in Nepal Kathmandu, January 29 |
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FOUR NRIs TO GET LEADERSHIP AWARDS PRIEST ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE BLAST IN CHINA KILLS 14 |
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Washington, January 29
