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Dixit in China for border talks
US scramjet clocks 10 times speed of sound
Pearl murder accused shot
Aid
worker Hassan killed
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60 policemen feared kidnapped in Iraq US urging India, Pak towards conciliation, says Powell
Musharraf bound to shed uniform by Dec 31: MMA
Top Pak militant meets General?
Red Cross aid not reaching Fallujah residents
Shooting of wounded Iraqi angers Arabs
Probe clears UN official of corruption
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Dixit in China for border talks
Beijing, November 17 The fourth round of talks at the level of special representatives will be held between Dixit and Chinese Executive Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. The in-camera parleys would go on for at least two days, official sources said while being tight-lipped about the prospects of a breakthrough on the vexed issue. Tomorrow’s border talks between Dixit and Dai will be the second since the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government assumed power in May. Dai had two meetings with Dixit’s predecessor Brajesh Mishra. Dixit is also expected to call on Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who is likely to visit India early next year. Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the two sides would discuss the “guiding principles” to resolve the boundary issue. “We hope that the two representatives will, proceeding from the common understanding” reached by the leadership of the two countries “and also proceeding from the overall relations between our two countries, further explore the guiding principles regarding the solution to the border issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue said. Without hinting at the specifics, the two sides had noted at the end of the third round in New Delhi in July that the negotiations took place in a “friendly, constructive and cooperative
atmosphere.” — PTI |
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US scramjet clocks 10 times speed of sound
Edwards Air Force Base (California), November 17 It was the second record to be claimed in eight months. “Once again we have made aviation history,” said the X-43A programme manager.
— AFP |
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Pearl murder accused shot
Karachi, November 17 The 30-year-old Asim Ghafoor, who had an amount of $ 8,300 on his head, was killed when he tried to flee after the police raided his hide-out in Karachi. “He has been killed in the encounter,” Sindh province’s police chief Syed Kamal Shah told AFP. The police said Ghafoor was a close associate of British-born Islamic militant Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who was condemned to death last year for plotting the kidnapping and murder of Pearl. “Ghafoor was a close associates of Sheikh Omar and was involved in the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl,” police officer Farooq Awan said. Mr Awan said the militant was a member of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad group. The police barred photographers from taking pictures of Ghafoor’s body, but doctors at the government hospital said the suspect received four bullets.
— AFP |
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Aid worker Hassan killed Baghdad, November 17
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60 policemen feared kidnapped in Iraq
Baghdad, November 17 The policemen were seized on Sunday as they returned from training in Jordan, one of only two men who managed to escape the ambush, told AFP today. They were staying in a hotel near the Jordanian border in western Iraq when they were attacked by a group of up to 20 armed men, said a policeman from the southern town of Karbala. “We were around 65 policemen returning from training in Jordan when around 20 masked gunmen entered our hotel Sunday morning in Trebil,” he said. “They hooded all the policemen, tied their hands and took them away,” Leith Naama al-Kaabi said. Iraq’s security forces are the target of almost daily attacks by insurgents across the war-torn country. — AFP
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US urging India, Pak towards conciliation, says Powell
Washington, November 17 “India and Pakistan still dispute who should control Kashmir. During 2002, a major war between them — perhaps involving nuclear weapons — seemed distinctly possible. So, working with partners in Europe and Asia, we mobilised to help end the crisis. We have since been trying to turn our parallel improvement of relations with India and Pakistan into a triangle of conflict resolution,” Powell says in Jan-Feb issue of ‘Foreign Affairs’. “We do not impose ourselves as a mediator. But we try to use the trust we have established with both sides to urge them toward conciliation by peaceful means.” On Indo-US relations, Powell says whereas Russia is still developing its democracy, India’s democracy dates from its independence in 1947. With recent economic reforms setting institutional roots, India is developing into a mature market economy. “As Indians themselves are the first to admit their country still faces many challenges. Illiteracy, poverty, environmental degradation, and inadequate infrastructure all hamper progress. We want to help India overcome these challenges, and we want to help ourselves through a closer association with one of the world’s venerable cultures,” Powell says. “We have, therefore, worked to deepen our relationship with India. The two largest democracies on earth are no longer estranged. At the same time, we have also been able to advance our relations with Pakistan — a country with domestic challenges of its own.” — PTI
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Musharraf bound to shed uniform by Dec 31: MMA
KARACHI: MMA leaders at a press conference here on Tuesday stressed that Gen Pervez Musharraf was under the constitutional obligation to shed his uniform on December 31 this year and he must do so to fulfil his commitment.
The press conference, held at Idara Noor-i-Haq, was addressed by the MMA Vice-President and JUP chief, Prof Shah Faridul Haq, JI leader Syed Munawwar Hassan, JUI-F leader Qari Sher Afzal and JAH leader Maulana Mohammad Yusuf Qasuri. Shah Faridul Haq said: “If Gen Musharraf remained adamant, then we will decide whether he remains or the country.” He highlighted the need for dissolving assemblies and holding of fresh elections under an independent election commission. Prof Haq was of the view that the government’s policies had led to rampant corruption whereas injustice was pushing the country into anarchy. He said Pakistan was passing through the most crucial period of its history. He pointed out that no constitution, or presidential/ parliamentary form of government allowed a president to keep the office of the army chief. He warned that if the president did not honour his commitment, the MMA would launch a vigorous but peaceful movement against him. Syed Munawwar Hasan contested the government’s claim that the country’s economy was gaining strength. He pointed out that poverty graph was rising as the ratio of those living below the poverty line had increased from 13 per cent in 1989 to 37 per cent this year. He said people were now fed up with the military rule due to the rising inflation and unemployment as well as the soaring prices of essential commodities which had been causing a fast deterioration in people’s standard of living. He said the MMA was striving for a halt to army’s intervention in politics once and for all. The army, he added, would be restricted to its constitutional role of defending the country’s borders. He severely criticised Gen Musharraf for, what he called, unprecedented miseries brought to the people in the form of unemployment, inflation, soaring prices and sense of insecurity during his tenure. He explained that the MMA had agreed to let the government introduce the 17th amendment because the alliance wanted to bring the country back under the constitutional rule. For the purpose, the MMA had also forced Gen Musharraf to make the commitment that he would quit as army chief by December 31. However, the JI leader regretted that Gen Musharraf was not bent upon bulldozing the constitution by overruling the whole deal through the Parliament. Referring to the Sindh chief minister’s statement on the MMA’s November 28 public meeting in Karachi, he said whatever Arbab uttered was “his master’s voice”. “However, it is our right to hold public meeting where we will chargesheet the government for its misdeeds... and U-turn on the issues of national importance, including Kashmir and Afghanistan. We are not going to surrender our right.” Syed Munawwar Hussain criticised MQM chief Altaf Hussain for “delivering speeches against the very existence of Pakistan” from India. He condemned the government for not taking notice of such speeches. Qari Sher Afzal said that every segment of the society had now been hating military rule. “From ulema to lawyers, and from journalists to workers, everyone is fed up,’ he said. Maulana Mohammad Yusuf Qasuri of Jamiat Ahl-i-Hadith said a society could achieve progress only through the rule of law. “The states where use of force is considered law of the land, society gets degenerated,” he added.
— By arrangement with The Dawn, Karachi |
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Top Pak militant meets General?
Islamabad, November 17 Mehsud, who rejoined the militancy after the USA released him from Guantanamo Bay a few months ago, told Pakistan daily ‘Dawn’ that the Pakistan Army’s Peshawar Corps Commander, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain met him at Jandola Fort on November 8. General Hussain has already denied meeting Mehsud. Mehsud said the peace agreement he had reached with the General Hussain failed to take off after the army attacked his village Nano in the tribal region. “Two days after the talks, the army launched an operation in my native Nano village. I was also trapped in the siege around Nano but I was able to break the siege and escaped along with my Mujahideen.” “The army has betrayed me and my people... Now they are demanding that I surrender... I will rather die than give myself up,” he said. The one-legged self-styled ‘commander’ came to prominence when he recently abducted two Chinese engineers working in a dam in the province.
— PTI |
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Red Cross aid not reaching Fallujah residents
HUMANITARIAN officials are increasingly concerned about civilians still trapped inside Fallujah as well as thousands of refugees who fled from their homes in view of the US decision to take the city by force.
They said residents who were too old, sick or poor to leave the city had been left without access to food, water, electricity or medical treatment and that the situation was particularly precarious for children. In a statement, Ms Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “There have been a number of reports during the confrontation alleging violations of the norms made to protect civilians and combatants. Those responsible for breaches, including deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, the killing of injured persons and the use of human shields, must be brought to justice.” She added: “I am particularly worried about the civilians’ poor access to humanitarian aid and the lack of information regarding the number of civilian casualties.” The number of civilians killed during the eight-day battle for the city remains unclear. One report yesterday quoted an unnamed Red Cross official in Baghdad as saying up to 800 civilians were feared dead. In Geneva, Ms Anatonella Notari, the chief spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the agency had been unable to make an independent examination of most of the city. Officials from its sister organisation, the Red Crescent, had spent three days in areas controlled by the US and Iraqi troops, but had been prevented from crossing the Euphrates river into the centre of Fallujah. The Red Crescent aid convoy returned to Baghdad on Monday after being refused access by the US military, who cited security concerns. “It is very difficult (to make accurate estimates) because the information we’re getting is only partial,” she said. Ms Notari said there was a problem with the thousands of civilians living in tent cities around Fallujah. She said in recent days the ICRC had helped an estimated 40,000 persons at three locations close to Fallujah. She said it was known that at least 5,000 persons had left for Baghdad before the battle for the city commenced. A report from the Inter Press Service quoted an unnamed official with the Red Cross who estimated that while 800 civilians had been killed, up to 50,000 civilians had remained in the city. Most estimates have put the figure much lower than this but there is no way of accurately telling how many may remain. “Several Red Cross workers have returned from Fallujah as the Americans won’t let them into the city,” said the official. “They said the people they are tending to in the refugee camps outside the city are telling horrible stories of suffering and death inside Fallujah.” Reporters inside the city have described streets strewn with charred bodies. In line with Muslim burial rites, Iraqis yesterday continued collecting bodies for burial, finding 14 in total. “We’re Iraqis and they’re Iraqis and we want to get them,” Mohammed Ali, a 32-year-old farmer helping to remove bodies, told an journalist in the shattered city. “It’s in our religion. The rules say that relatives or families or Arabs should help them.” The US military has said that 38 Americans, six Iraqi soldiers and an estimated 1,200 insurgents were killed in the offensive. “This exemplifies the horrors of war,” said US Marine Capt PJ Batty of the Body Pick-Up. “We don’t wish this upon anyone, but everyone needs to understand there are consequences for not following the Iraqi
government.” — By arrangement with The Independent, London |
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Shooting of wounded Iraqi angers Arabs
Dubai, November 17 Arab televisions aired repeatedly images of a Marine killing a severely injured Iraqi, fuelled growing hatred against the USA and helped create more ‘’terrorists’’. ‘’I am not a jihadist, I am just a normal Muslim but such scenes are pushing me to jihad,’’ said Dubai-based Abdallah.
— Reuters |
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Probe clears UN official of corruption
United Nations, November 17 An elaborate probe, ordered after the UN Staff Council apprised Secretary-General Kofi Annan in April about the allegations against Nair, found no credible information to support the corruption and other charges against him, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said. The charges related to the violations of appointments and promotions rules in OIOS, as well as the charges of corrupt practices at OIOS and ‘’other misconduct’’ by Nair, a Singaporean. Eckhard yesterday said: ‘’A thorough review conducted by Undersecretary-General for Management Catherine Bertini found that no staff regulations or staff rules were violated in the appointment and promotion of staff in OIOS, and that the relevant personnel procedures were followed.’’ With regard to other allegations, the spokesman said the probe panel had not received ‘’credible information on which to follow-up and, therefore, recommended that no further action was necessary in the matter.’’ Eckhard added that Annan had accepted the investigation’s findings and recommendations. According to the spokesman, the UN chief told Nair that he had confidence that the good work of the Office of Internal Oversight Services under his leadership would continue. — UNI
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UNICEF award for Indian doctor
New York, November 17 As a paediatrician, Dr Kothari witnessed the devastating effects of malnutrition and the lack of education on children living in urban slums. She realised that unless there was significant improvement in the health and living conditions in the slums, those children faced a grim future, and thousands would not live past the age of six. Determined to fight the appalling conditions, in 1982, Dr Kothari created Child Eye Care Charitable Trust, which included family health, nutrition, treatment and education programs for the families. Her programs provide free medical examinations to all children under five years old, monthly weight and head- measurement monitoring for infants, immunisations for children under six, vitamin A supplements and de-worming medicine to prevent malnourishment and blindness, nutritional education for slum residents, medical follow-up for malnourished children, and much more.
— Asianet |
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Edwards Air Force Base (California), November 17
In video
