 |
|
UN council seat: Pak to oppose India’s bid
India to monitor closely Pervez’s address to UNGA
|
|
|
Pak journalists grilled in USA
Iraqi, US forces free Jordanian hostage
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gunmen kill cleric of influential body
Iran rejects nuclear suspension demands
Haiti storm leaves 90 dead
Yudhoyono set to win in Indonesian poll
Yoga un-Islamic, says mufti
|
|
UN council seat: Pak to oppose India’s bid
Islamabad, September 20 “Pakistan will do everything possible to thwart India’s attempts to get a permanent seat in the UNSC,” Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN Munir Akram said ahead of the September 24 Manmohan-Musharraf meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “Pakistan will oppose the increase of the permanent members in the UNSC but will support Germany and Japan, if required,” Mr Akram said in New York yesterday according to media reports here. “But if we have to choose, we will support Germany and Japan against India,” he was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s “Daily Times”. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday said that the focus of his visit to the United Nations would be to garner support for India’s efforts to get a permanent seat in the Security Council. While Pakistan’s opposition to India getting the permanent seat was pronounced earlier, Mr Akram’s remarks, that if required Pakistan would support Germany and Japan, are significant as till now Islamabad had staunchly opposed any expansion to the list of five permanent members. Pakistan, which will be formally relinquishing as non-permanent member of the Security Council at the end of this year, has been under pressure from both Germany and Japan to relax its stand as they make a strong bid to gain entry into the UNSC permanent members’ list. German Foreign Minister Yoshka Fisher, who visited Islamabad recently, not only lobbied for support for his country’s bid but also asked Pakistan to relax its rigid stand against India in the interest of improving the functioning of the UN. The appeals from Germany and Japan have landed Pakistan in a piquant situation as while the former is an influential member of the European Union, the latter is major donor to the country. Pakistan has lobbied hard to get special access to the EU markets. Germany and Japan, along with Brazil and South Africa, have joined India to support each others’ bid to get permanent seats in the UNSC and have a coordinated strategy to garner support. India has supported Pakistan’s re-entry into the Commonwealth as well as the prestigious ASEAN regional strategic body. — PTI
|
|
India to monitor closely Pervez’s address to UNGA
London, September 20 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's first meeting with General Musharraf, which was to take place on September 22, will now take place on September 24, by when both leaders would have delivered their respective speeches at the UNGA. Asked if the meeting depended on what General Musharraf would say in his address, the sources said, "The meeting is fixed but we have to observe what he says." The sources said New Delhi was committed to the successful conclusion of the dialogue process with Pakistan on all eight outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir. "The dialogue between the two countries will continue and we should now be moving from modalities to substance in the talks," they added. The sources said they would not be surprised if General Musharraf refers to the Kashmir issue in his speech, but hoped he would avoid anti-India rhetoric, given the Prime Minister's commitment to deal sincerely with all outstanding issues with Pakistan. Talking to reporters yesterday, Dr Singh reiterated that India was committed to sincerely resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan to the mutual satisfaction of both countries. — UNI
|
|
Pak journalists grilled in USA
Islamabad, September 20 Pakistan newspaper ‘Daily Times’, whose reporter was one of the mediapersons who went through the grilling, reported that the US immigration officials did not spare even those journalists who were visiting the country for the first time. Some of the mediapersons who earlier visited the United States on the invitation of the US State Department were also not spared, the newspaper reported today. President Musharraf is in New York to address the UN General Assembly and to meet leaders of several countries including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the US President George W. Bush.
— PTI |
|
Iraqi, US forces free Jordanian hostage
Dubai, September 20 The Arabic station aired footage showing the released Jordanian and said Iraqi and US forces had arrested 16 persons suspected of kidnapping him and demanding a ransom of $ 2,50,000 for his release. “When they captured me they didn’t know I was Jordanian. They only wanted to steal the car. But when they searched us they found my Jordanian identification papers and ... took me so they could make some money,” said the tired-looking man, who did not give his name. Militants have seized scores of Western and Arab hostages in Iraq since April, escalating an insurgency against the US-backed interim government. Many of the hostages have been released, but more than 20 have been killed.
— Reuters |
|
Gunmen kill cleric of influential body
Baghdad, September 20 The cleric, Sheik Mohammed Jadoa Al-Janabi, was killed in Baghdad’s predominantly Shiite Al-Baye neighbourhood. He was unarmed and had no security guards. “It was a cleric coming to a mosque,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There was no need for a bodyguard.” Late yesterday, gunmen attacked the car of another cleric, Sheik Hazem Al-Zeidi, after he left a mosque in Baghdad’s eastern slum of the Sadr City, said Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abdul-Jabbar, a senior member of the group. “After performing the night prayers at al-Sajjad Mosque in Sadr City he left in his car with two bodyguards.” Abdul-Jabbar said. “A group of masked gunmen followed him in a private car and opened fire.” The two bodyguards were taken hostage, but released early today, he said. They were not harmed. Sadr City has a Shiite Muslim majority, but Sunni Muslims have at least 10 mosques in the neighbourhood. The organisation is a conservative group that has worked for the release of foreign hostages. It strongly opposes the US presence in Iraq. — AP
|
|
Iran rejects nuclear suspension demands
Iran has rejected UN demands that it suspend a uranium enrichment programme. The stage is now set for a November showdown, with Iran defying an effective deadline to cooperate set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday.
"Iran will not accept any obligation regarding the suspension of uranium enrichment," the Islamic Republic's top security official, Mr Hassan Rohani, said on Sunday. "No international body can force Iran to do so." The resolution, drafted by European countries, said the IAEA board would decide at its next meeting on November 25 if it needed to take "further steps", interpreted as a referral to the Security Council. The IAEA board has grown increasingly frustrated with what it sees as Iranian obduracy towards nuclear inspectors. Several times undeclared facilities or actions have come to light that suggested Iran had misled the body by providing incomplete information. Mr Rohani said Iran would stop allowing short-notice nuclear inspections if its case was passed to the Security Council. Iran agreed to a more intrusive inspections regime last October, when it signed an additional protocol of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and accepted the voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment activities. In return, Britain, France and Germany promised to help with technology for a peaceful atomic energy plant. But even if the IAEA refers Iran to the Security Council, it is far from clear what action would ensue. America has hinted at economic sanctions, but some members, including France, have major commercial interests in the Islamic Republic. Uranium enrichment is at the heart of the issue. Iran says it needs the programme to supply its proposed nuclear power plant with fuel. And Iranian officials say the suspension of enrichment was not a legal requirement but a voluntary measure to boost goodwill. It accuses the Europeans of failing to come good on their promise of technical help. But the European countries say Iran reneged on the deal by continuing to manufacture parts that could be used in an enrichment programme. With electricity demand growth of about 10 per cent a year, Iran has sought access to the nuclear club since before the 1979 revolution. For many Iranian nationalists, the nuclear dream is an integral part of modernisation. Although the country has repeatedly said atomic weapons have no place in its strategic armoury, many Iranians would like to see the country match regional rivals Israel and Pakistan in the nuclear race. Both America and Israel remain suspicious and have said the country's massive reserves of oil and natural gas make even a peaceful programme unnecessary, a claim Iran refutes. European countries have accepted Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear programme with fewer reservations, but are also worried about the country developing the bomb.
— By arrangement with The Independent, London |
|
Haiti storm leaves 90 dead
Gonaives (Haiti), September 20 Floods tore through the northwestern coastal town of Gonaives and surrounding areas, covering crops and turning roads into rivers. US-backed interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and his interior minister toured the area in a UN truck yesterday, but were not able to reach many areas because of washed out roads. “We don’t know how many dead there are,” Latortue said, adding, has been a terrible year.” Catholic humanitarian agency Caritas Internationalis said its workers had picked up 62 bodies in trucks and counted another 18 at a morgue in Gonaives alone.
— AP |
|
HBO, ‘Sopranos’ win Emmy Awards
Los Angeles, September 20 As was widely expected, 'The Sopranos' finally claimed the long-elusive crown as US television's best drama, rubbing out competition from four-time winner and defending champion, NBC's political drama 'The West Wing'. 'Angels in America', an adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the AIDS epidemic, won the most Emmys in all last night, including the award for best miniseries, as it beat the record of nine Emmys set by ABC's seminal slavery drama 'Roots' in 1977. 'Angels' stars Al Pacino and Meryl Streep picked up the awards for the best lead actor and actress in a miniseries. 'Sopranos', about a conflicted New Jersey mob boss, earned four Emmys in all. Michael Imperioli was named best supporting actor in a drama series for his role as the hitman nephew and Drea de Matteo, who played his ill-fated girlfriend, won for best supporting actress in a drama series. The show also nabbed an award for writing. In one victory cheered by the critics, the prize for best comedy series went to Fox television's 'Arrested Development', about a dysfunctional family trying to stay together while the father is in jail. In another surprise of the evening, James Spader clinched the Emmy as best actor in a drama series for his role as a lawyer of dubious ethics on the final season of ABC legal hour 'The Practice'. HBO, which has grown from a movie channel to a powerhouse of original programming, finished the night with 32 Emmys, the most of any network. Its closest rival was Fox, with 10 prizes. HBO also claimed two marquee acting awards for its final season of 'Sex and the City', best actress in a comedy for Sarah Jessica Parker and best supporting actress in a comedy for Cynthia Nixon. — Reuters
|
|
Yudhoyono set to win in Indonesian poll
Jakarta, September 20 Yudhoyono was predicted to win 62 per cent of the votes against 38 per cent for incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri, said the Freedom Institute, an Indonesian partner of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI). Although the survey was only a partial result of a full study to be released later, Freedom Institute director Rizal Mallarangeng said the final outcome was unlikely to differ significantly. “But after we have a more representative results from central Java, we may see the result slightly change to around 61-60 per cent and Megawati to 39-40 per cent,” Mallarangeng said on Metro TV. Paul Rowland of the NDI said even though those figures only accounted for about half of the sampled votes, the final outcome would not change much. “Those proportions are probably very accurate,” Rowland said.
— AFP |
|
Yoga un-Islamic, says mufti
Jerusalem, September 20 The edict signed by mufti Ali Gomoa, considered the highest theological authority, says “yoga is an ascetic Hindu practice that is forbidden for use in any manner - neither for exercise or for worship”, local media reported, quoting an Al-Hayat report. “It is an aberration” whose practice in any form is “forbidden under the Islamic law”, the edict says. Yoga centres are said to have sprung up at all tourist resorts in Egypt and is said to be very popular among western tourists.
— PTI |
Madonna in
Israel Britney ties knot 2nd time 201-kg ‘laddoo’ offered to Ganesh Indian found dead in hotel |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
