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Wednesday,
August 13, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Delegates
vow to spur India-Pak dialogue
Americans
resent training Indians to
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Couple
of Indian origin murdered Pak
tightens security
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Delegates vow to spur India-Pak dialogue
Islamabad, August 12 At the conclusion of the two-day South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) conference here, delegates from both countries found a ‘’serious fault’’ in the general practice of attempting conflict resolution through summit-level talks. They agreed to expedite the dialogue process at the state level and among people and approach all requisites for confidence building, conflict management and conflict resolution through an ‘’integrated, uninterruptible, result-oriented and structured process’’. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri, who was presiding over the concluding session, welcomed the declaration. The conference noted, ‘’Conscious of the demands of realism and in consideration of the concerns of the two sides, the participants have taken note of the outstanding issues between India and Pakistan.’’ The delegates said while these issues needed to be addressed on a priority basis, no purpose would be served by ignoring possibilities of cooperation in various fields. The conference also agreed on the need for creating maximum space for people of the two countries to recognise and respect each other and strive jointly for guaranteeing a better future for the coming generations. The delegates called for the removal of all unreasonable restrictions on travel between the two countries and urged politicians to give priority to mobilise their ranks for peace and good neighbourly relations. The conference took note of the SAFMA protocol: free movement of mediapersons and media products across the South Asian region. ‘’All overt and covert restrictions on the free flow of information and ideas should be removed and the indefensible practice of blocking audio-visual channels and subjecting mediapersons to restrictions regarding visas and freedom of travel should be abandoned,’’ the conference resolved.
— UNI |
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Americans resent training Indians to replace them
Washington, August 12 Scott Kirwin clung to his computer programming job, but it was tough for him to relish his final assignment: training a group of workers from India who would replace him within a year. “They called it ‘knowledge acquisition’,” he said. “We got paid our normal salaries to train people to do our jobs. The market was so bad we couldn’t really do anything about it, so we taught our replacements.” Laid off from a large investment bank in April, Kirwin, 36, sent out 225 resumes before landing a temporary position without benefits at a smaller bank and swallowing a 20 per cent pay cut. Kirwin is among a growing number of American technology workers training their foreign replacements in an assignment many say they assume unwittingly or reluctantly, simply to stay on the job longer or secure a meagre severance package, the Washington Times reports from San Jose California. Their plight can be seen as an unintended consequence of the nation’s non-immigrant visa programme — particularly the L-1 classification. The L-1 allows companies to transfer workers from overseas offices to the USA for up to seven years, ostensibly to familiarise them with corporate culture, or to import workers with “specialised knowledge.” Kevin Sherman, 47, held on to his $ 62,000-per-year contract job while he taught several dozen Indian workers how to build and maintain computer databases in 1999 and 2000. He quit rather than take on his next assignment: repairing the newly trained foreigners’ personal computers. He has been unemployed for two years, the Washington Times article said. However, Nancy Matijasich, Manifest president and chief executive, said she no longer employs L-1 workers like those Sherman has trained, because the threat of the year 2000 bug has passed and the company has less need for programmers. The State Department issued 28,098 L-1 visas from October to March, the first half of fiscal 2003. That is an increase of nearly 7 per cent from the same period in 2002. But the number of L-1 workers in the USA is likely much higher, said Charlie Oppenheim, the State Department’s chief of immigrant visa control. Each L-1 lets a worker enter the USA multiple times over several years. There is no limit on the number of L-1 workers companies may import each year. Legislation introduced last month by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut Democrat, would set an annual limit of 35,000 L-1 workers nationwide. By contrast, tight controls govern the H-1B visa, which requires companies to pay workers the prevailing American wage.
— PTI |
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Two Israelis killed in suicide attacks Jerusalem, August 12 A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up in a grocery store in central Israel killing at least one person and injuring several others in the morning. In another attack an hour later, at least one Israeli was killed and two injured in the West Bank town of Ariel. Hamas had vowed to take revenge for the death of its two militants during the weekend in Israeli operations. Israel has asserted that it would carry out operations to prevent the ‘’tickling bombs’’ despite the declaration of ceasefire by Palestinian factions. It has also accused the Palestinian factions of regrouping and replenishing their strength misusing the ceasefire.
— UNI |
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Malik’s wife refuses to pay his defence bills
Vancouver, August 12 Ripudaman, a millionaire businessman, who has received an undisclosed amount from the Attorney-General’s Ministry to fund his defence team, is seeking more financial aid. Ms Malik said she’s worked six days a week since she and her husband came to Canada in 1974. The couple then established what would become a multimillion-dollar joint real estate and business empire whose net worth dwindled to # 11.6 million by December, 2002, she told the court yesterday. “I believe it is my right to protect what I’ve got for my old age and my children who are underage still,” she was quoted as saying in the Vancouver Sun daily. “I’m not charged with anything. I love my husband still, but that doesn’t mean I have to pay for all his defence.” The court is currently conducting a hearing to determine whether taxpayers should continue to foot the bill for Malik’s Ripudaman’s team of six lawyers in one of Canada’s most expensive trials that began in April and resumed on September 8 after a summer recess. While Ms Malik said she could not afford to pay her husband’s defence from the home she has title to, she agreed with government lawyer John Waddell that she would share in any joint business losses and in her husband’s good fortune if he had won a lottery. “Fortunes are usually shared,” she said. She said she decided in 1990 that the family home in Vancouver’s upscale Shaughnessy neighbourhood should be in her name after her husband started spending money on charitable donations. However, her husband’s donations were a benefit to his wife because she received the tax benefits, the court heard. She did 75 per cent of the work dealing with contractors and interior designers as the house was being constructed in 1989, she added.
— PTI |
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Couple of Indian origin murdered
Durban, August 12 Sunny Moodley, 55, and his wife Janaki, 50, were confronted in the driveway of their home, in Inanda, by armed men and shot dead. “The Moodleys are the latest victims of violent crime in the area over the past few years,” said Ravi Govender, a neighbour and chairman of the local Farm Watch Committee. “Several other farmers have also been killed. Hijackings and robberies are rife. Recently, 11 families were attacked and robbed in one single day”, he added. The Moodleys died at the scene, he said adding the killers had not taken anything from the house and the motive behind the murder was not known. “The Moodleys had been pioneer market gardeners like many other Indian families here and they had lived in Inanda all their lives”, Govender said. Till early 1990s, Inanda was a thriving farming community but matters began to deteriorate after the democratic elections of 1994.
— PTI |
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Pak tightens security Peshawar, August 12 Fresh Pakistani troops arrived at the Imal Khel post in the tribal border district of North Waziristan, while Pakistani army helicopters were seen circling overhead, witnesses said.
— AFP |
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