 |
Thursday,
June 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
|
Surya Bahadur is Nepal PM Dominican Republic student Miss Universe
|
|
|
Sri Lanka peace bid suffers another blow |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
House panel to probe Blair’s war motives Valerie Martin
gets Orange prize Indian elected to ICAEW council Indian wins city-of-tomorrow contest Pervez removes
2 NWFP officials
|
|
Surya Bahadur is Nepal PM Kathmandu, June 4 Thapa (75) comes from the same party as his predecessor, Mr Lokendra Bahadur Chand, who stepped down last Friday after weeks of protests by opposition parties angry at his appointment. Mr Thapa assumes office of the prime minister for the fifth time. A royal palace statement said the King has appointed Mr Thapa Prime Minister and has “vested executive rights in him”. “The King has commanded to Prime Minister Thapa to recommend to the King to constitute a new council of ministers, representing all shades of political parties, as far as possible,” the statement said. Though Mr Thapa is a royalist, he had joined leaders of other main parties in criticising the King for his decision in October to sack elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, postpone elections and appoint Mr Chand premier. Talking to reporters minutes after his appointment, Mr Thapa asked opposition parties to withdraw their agitation. He hinted that he would include people from different political parties in his new ministry. Mr Thapa’s appointment came as a surprise to the five main opposition parties who had recommended the name of Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal for the top post. The announcement came after two meetings between Mr Thapa and the King today. The oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place tomorrow at the royal palace. Mr Thapa was Prime Minister during 1964-65, 1966-69 and 1981-83 during the panchayat regime when the King enjoyed absolute power. He also headed a coalition government in 1997-98 after the restoration of democracy in the country. Mr Thapa received his BA degree from Allahabad University in India. Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress (NC) said it would not join the proposed Nepali cabinet under the newly appointed Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa. “The King has neglected the voice of people by appointing Mr Thapa the new premier, NC spokesman Arjun Narasingh said. “The five parties will give a fresh impetus to their protest against King Gyanendra’s dismissal of the Deuba government on October 4 last year and assumption of all executive powers,’’ he said in a statement.
PTI, UNI |
|
Dominican Republic student Miss Universe Panama City, June 4 Miss Venezuela, Maria Angel Ruiz, 23, was the first runner-up, followed by Cyndy Nell, 21, from South Africa. Reigning Miss Universe Justine Pasek of Panama and pageant co-owner Donald Trump placed a $ 250,000 crown of diamonds and pearls on the new beauty queen. The 1.83 meter tall Amelia Vega, niece of popular Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, dedicated her triumph “to the Dominican people,” adding: “When you work hard, with exertion and sacrifice, you can reach it all.” Representatives from 71 countries took the stage earlier at the contest held at a brand new convention centre in
Amador, a former US military base at the Pacific Ocean entrance to the Panama Canal. Miss Antigua and Barbuda, Kai Davis, was voted Miss Congeniality, and Miss Puerto Rico, Carla
Tricoli, was voted Miss Photogenic. Amelia Vega, who before the contest told reporters she wanted to follow in her uncle’s footsteps and was recording her first CD, was also voted best dressed contestant for her shimmering gown that was reminiscent of the ocean’s waves. “I didn’t come here just for the crown, but also to make my country proud,” she said, adding that she wanted to become “the first Miss Universe from the Dominican
Repubic.” One contestant was forced to drop out: Miss Iceland, Nanuela Osk
Hardardottir, couldn’t handle the tropical heat and was hospitalised over the weekend for dehydration. Contestants’ every move has been shadowed by the tabloids, one of which reported that Miss Spain, Eva Maria Gonzalez, and her room mate Miss Colombia, Diana Lucia
Matilla, got into a fistfight over Gonza Iez’s smoking habit. The two girls were all smiles later when they publicly denied the report. The contest, jointly owned by property tycoon Trump and NBC Television, was broadcast to an estimated 600 million television viewers in 117 countries and hosted by Cuban-American model Daisy Fuentes and US comedian Billy Bush.
AFP |
|
Bush wins peace pledges
Aqaba, Jordan, June 4 The promises made by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli leader Ariel Sharon put into motion a US-backed “road map” for peace and Palestinian statehood, cementing Mr Bush’s new role as chief mediator in the conflict. “Great hope and change is coming to the Middle East,” Mr Bush said before the two Prime Ministers shook hands for the first time in public at the three-way summit in the Jordanian Red Sea port city of Aqaba. “All sides have made important commitments and the United States will strive to see these commitments fulfilled,” Mr Bush said after meeting Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas. In closing speeches at a palace overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, Mr Sharon and Mr Abbas said they both envisioned a time when Israeli and Palestinian states would live side by side in peace. But key questions remained over whether Mr Abbas would be able to make good on his vows to persuade militants to stop attacking Israelis in a 32-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood. The Palestinians have also raised doubts about Mr Sharon’s commitment to a two-state solution and taking the politically risky move of dismantling settlements whose establishment he has long championed. GAZA: Hamas today vowed that it would not lay down its arms despite an appeal by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas issued at a US-led peace summit in Jordan.
AP, Reuters |
|
Sri Lanka peace bid suffers another blow Colombo, June 4 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they were ready to negotiate, but on the question of an “interim administrative structure” that would give them greater political and financial powers in embattled regions. Earlier, the government offered financial authority to the Tigers as a compromise and invited the rebels to enter talks on the subject. “We regret to say that your suggestions are unsatisfactory and, therefore, unacceptable,” the LTTE’s London-based chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham said in a letter to the Prime Minister. “We are prepared to resume negotiations if you reconsider our position and offer us, for our consideration, a draft framework for an interim administrative structure along the lines proposed by our leadership”, he said. “We hope that you will consider our suggestion favourably,” Balasingham said. The government’s chief negotiator, G.L. Peiris, said it was not averse to the setting up of an interim administration, but the elements of such an arrangement must be discussed by both the parties.
PTI |
|
House panel to probe Blair’s war motives London, June 4 The announcement was made yesterday after all efforts by the Downing Street to block demands for an independent inquiry failed and signs of an open revolt by Labour MPs became clear. Soon after the inquiry was announced, some pro-Blair MPs claimed that some rogue elements along with rebel MPs were pursuing a hidden agenda to undermine the government. The Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, the most secretive committee of Parliament, will conduct the inquiry. It will examine the government’s intelligence reports of Saddam Hussain’s WMDs. It has access to highly classified documents.
UNI |
|
Valerie Martin gets Orange prize London, June 4 An online poll conducted on the competition’s website had placed ‘Property’ fifth of the six books on the shortlist, with 10 per cent of votes. ‘The Little Friend’ had come first, with 28 per cent. The judges took nearly five hours last night to decide on ‘Property’.
PTI |
|
Indian elected to ICAEW council London, June 4 According to the institute, this is the first time an Indian has been elected to the council in its 123-year-old history. Kaul won for a four-year term defeating veteran senior council member Douglas Llambias from London constituency. Kaul said: “I feel it is not only a great privilege for me personally, but also for the Institute of Chartered Accounts in India, of which I am the chairman of the UK chapter.”
PTI |
|
Indian wins city of tomorrow contest Tokyo, June 4 Vancouver edged a joint entry from San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, that described a city of computer-navigated cars and recycled sewage. The runner-up winner from India presented a vision for Panjim, that had future residents living on recycled rainwater and vegetarian diets. A total of eight groups — fielding proposals for Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Changshu, China, among others — squared off in the contest.
AP |
|
Pervez removes
2 NWFP officials Islamabad, June 4 “The Chief Secretary and the Inspector-General of the NWFP police have been asked to report to Islamabad,” Mr Daniyal Aziz, Chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau, told reporters.
AFP |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Kathmandu, June 4
In video (
IN GRAPHIC: 
