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Port-Au-Prince (Haiti), March 1 Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide flew into exile in Africa early today as a contingent of US Marines landed in Port-au-Prince to restore order in the nation wrecked by a rebel uprising. UN to send troops to Haiti
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Mikhail Fradkov named new Russian PM
Case filed against Sheikh Hasina
Flesh colour makes fashion splash at Oscars
Pak denies deal with US on
Laden hunt
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Pak army appears to be aiding Taliban: report
8 Maoists killed in Nepal
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Haiti President arrives in Africa
The initial contingent of fewer than 100 Marines that landed last night were the vanguard of a multinational force approved by the UN Security Council. Aristide, who resigned yesterday under pressure from rebels, opposition leaders and foreign leaders, arrived in Central African Republic with his wife and a small entourage under an asylum offer negotiated by France and the US, the government of the impoverished African nation said. “In overthrowing me, they cut down the tree of peace,” Aristide said in his first remarks since his ouster. “But it will grow again, because the roots are well-planted.” Aristide said nothing about his plans in his radio address on Central African Republic’s state radio that was less than a minute long. The state radio reported that Aristide would stay in the country for a few days and may later head to South Africa, but the report could not be confirmed. In Pretoria, South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said his country had received no formal request to host Aristide. In Haiti, a contingent US Marines arrived and more were expected later in the day. A French contingent of nearly 300 soldiers and police also was headed for Haiti to protect foreign citizens and join the United Nations international force.
— AP
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UN to send troops to Haiti
United Nations, March 1 The resolution gives a legal mandate for nations to send in troops for upto three months after which a UN stabilisation force is expected to take over. Authorising the force to “contribute to a secure and stable
environment” in the country, the 15-member council last night urged all sides to cease violence in the country. The first batch of American marines has reached Haiti from where large-scale violence and looting has been reported and French troops are expected to reach the Caribbean shortly as a part of the multinational force. Among others Canada and Brazil are expected to send their troops. Mr Annan, who was in the Security Council chamber for the vote, said the decision sent a signal to the Haitian people “that the international community has not forgotten them.”
— PTI, AP |
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Mikhail Fradkov named new Russian PM
Moscow, March 1 Mr Putin, who surprised the nation by dismissing Mikhail Kasyanov from the post of Prime Minister six days ago, named 54-year-old Fradkov, a former tax police chief, as the next Prime Minister during a meeting with his supporters from the Lower House of parliament, Duma. “We faced a difficult task — to present a new government,” Mr Putin said in his televised address. “This had to be a person of very high qualification, one who is decent, who has solid experience in various government structures. “This man is Fradkov, Mikhail Yefimovich, a minister who represents Russia at the EU in Brussels,” he said. In early 1980s Mr Fradkov had worked as Soviet trade representative in New Delhi and since then looked after trade and economic ties with India within the framework of inter-governmental joint commission in the Andropov, Gorbachev and Yeltsin governments till 1997. His nomination has to be approved by Duma, which is merely a formality as pro-Kremlin parties have an absolute majority in the Russian Lower House. By appointing Mr Fradkov Mr Putin has signalled that he wants to run the government like an efficient corporate office and does not need any conflict of views on the economic policies as has been the case with Kasyanov, who was mostly looking after the interests of a handful of rich Yeltsin-era oligarchs. The appointment is also a good signal for the Indo-Russian economic interaction and trade, which has sunk from $ 5 billion to $ 1.4 billion. Some of the ideas of President Putin such as investing Rupee debt in the hi-tech sector in India, which have been subtly scuttled by Kasyanov’s government, are likely to get a new lease of life under the new government.
— PTI |
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Case filed against Sheikh Hasina
Dhaka, March 1 The Awami League chief, against whom more than six cases, mostly related to corruption, are pending, has been charged with violating army rules and assaulting army personnel after she entered the Dhaka Cantonment area on Saturday night to visit eminent writer Professor Humayn Azad who is receiving treatment there. Azad, who was brutally stabbed in the city on Friday, is on life support system and is still not out of danger, doctors at the Combined Military Hospital said. At least three other lawmakers of AL and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Chief Awami Jubo league, the youth wing of AL, have also been booked along with Sheikh Hasina, a media report said. Meanwhile, the Editor of Dhaka’s newspaper ‘The Daily Star’ in a front page commentary published today criticised the government for its action. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s ruling party, led by Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, has won byelection in a western district of the country raising the party’s strength in parliament to 97.
— PTI |
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Flesh colour makes fashion splash at Oscars
Hollywood, March 1 Flesh-tone gowns that shimmered in the sun with the help of beaded crystals or gold and silver ornaments, were worn by many of the celebrities attending the gala, including best actress nominee Charlize Theron, who looked stunningly beautiful in a gown designed by Gucci. Supporting actress nominee Naomi Watts’ skin-toned Versace sparkled with crystals while designer Vera Wang’s own gown was punctuated by a big gold-metal leaf broach. Best supporting actress nominee Patricia Clarkson also wore the flesh-tone shimmering look and singer Alison Krauss’ skin-toned gown was accessorized with $ 2 million Stuart Weitzman stiletto sandals with over 500 Kwiat diamonds. From pastels to bold shades of the rainbow, colour came back with a vengeance at the Oscars, Hollywood’s ultimate black-tie and often black dress affair. It was in vivid contrast to the past two years, when war in Iraq and the September 11 attacks darkened the mood of the country and the “red carpet” procession. Catherine Zeta-Jones wore red, as did supporting actress nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, who proudly explained that her beautifully fitted gown was designed by an Iranian designer. “I wanted to be in something a little dark but royal,” said pregnant best supporting actress nominee Marcia Gay Harden, sporting a royal blue gown. This year’s red carpet — one of the world’s most watched fashion events, and the official start to the Oscars — provided glimpses of award show regulars like Nicole Kidman, sporting a pale green Chanel gown with a ruffled neckline and train, and “Lost in Translation” star Scarlett Johansson in a bright green couture gown. Many of the actresses wore their hair pinned up in glamorous “up-dos” or softly curled, reminiscent of the golden era of Hollywood, punctuated by shaded, dangling diamonds. “The key words in fashion this year is light, airy, feminine. It’s the same thing with the jewellry,” said Carol Brodie, a spokeswoman for jeweller Harry Winston. Winston’s long stiletto diamond earrings were a big favourite with the stars, as were his bracelets, wore in stacks by several stars. While black is usually always a safe bet for some award attendees, actress Liv Tyler’s stunning black Givenchy seemed to stand out in sharp contrast to the colours. Lucrecia Perez, who did the music for the nominated documentary “Balseros,” wore a head full of neon multi-coloured dreadlocks, while Katja Esson, director and producer of a “Ferry Tales,” nominated for best documentary on a short subject, wore an orange top accompanied by a brightly tie-died skirt. Classic white was also worn by some luminaries like best supporting actress winner Renee Zellweger, who wore a Carolina Herrera strapless gown and Cartier jewellry. Many of the men appeared to duck the traditional black tuxedo yesterday, sporting dark blue or black suits with conventional ties rather than bow-ties, or no ties at all.
— Reuters |
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NZ gambler wins on Jackson’s Oscar
SYDNEY: A New Zealand gambler was so confident that fellow Kiwi Peter Jackson would win the best Director Oscar for his film “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”, that he bet $ 1,05,000 (Australian) with a bookmaker. But the unnamed gambler only won $5,250 (Australian) on Monday as Jackson was the odds-on favourite to grab the best director award, with Australian online bookmaker Centrebet paying out $1.00 (Australian) for every $ 20 Australian waged on Jackson. But he also gets back the sum he originally put down.
— Reuters
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Pak denies deal with US on
Laden hunt
Islamabad, March 1 “This report has no truth in it and there is no such deal,’’ military spokesman Major-Gen Shaukat Sultan said. The latest issue of the New Yorker weekly said thousands of US troops would be deployed in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan in return for Washington’s support for Islamabad’s pardon last month of Abdul Qadeer Khan, a scientist who admitted leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. The article quoted a former senior intelligence official as saying that it was “a quid pro quo“ deal with Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf. “We’re going to get our troops inside Pakistan in return for not forcing General Musharraf to deal with Khan.” Sultan rejected this, saying: “There are no quid pro quos on issues of national sovereignty. We totally deny it.” He said he could not comment on reports that the United States planned to shift an elite commando unit that took part in the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq to hunt for Bin Laden. “If the US is shifting a special unit from Iraq into Afghanistan, I have no comment on that, but there is none coming in to Pakistan,” he said. US forces hunting Al-Qaida and Taliban suspects in Afghanistan have expressed frustration about the ability of militants to elude them by slipping across the Pakistani side of the rugged border region and urged Pakistan to do more to help. Pakistan says it has deployed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Afghanistan to prevent such movements.
— Reuters |
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Pak army appears to be aiding Taliban: report
New York, March 1 American intelligence officials possess
satellite photos that “purportedly” show Pakistani army trucks picking up Taliban troops fleeing back across the border after a failed attack. After the US confronted Pakistani officials with the photographs, signs of visible Pakistani aid to the rebels ceased, the Time magazine said. It quoted US and Afghan
officials as saying that the US has also provided Islamabad with specific locations of 12 suspected Taliban hideouts in the tribal area.
— PTI |
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8 Maoists killed in Nepal Kathmandu, March 1 Four Maoists were killed in skirmishes with security forces at Parruwha VDC-9 in Rupandehi district last night, the state-run radio reported here today. Security forces also seized weapons and explosives from the site of the encounter.
— UNI |
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Port-Au-Prince (Haiti), March 1