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Nepalese parties reject Maoists’ offer
Two ‘options’ for India, Pak to join NPT
Sindh firm on independent
finance commission
Protests continue in Pakistan over desecration
UK firm fined for dumping waste in India
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US Bill to make things easy for illegal immigrants
Taiwan rejects China’s offer
Russia grounds MiG 29s
Gas blast kills one in China
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Nepalese parties reject Maoists’ offer
Kathmandu, May 13 “Our movement for restoration of complete democracy will be peaceful one and there is no possibility of having an alliance with the Maoists unless they denounce violent means,” Communist Party of Nepal (UML) spokesman Pradip Nepal said. Maoist leader Prachanda in a statement yesterday offered to support the seven political parties’ agitation against the royal takeover and help in the restoration of democracy. Pradip Nepal said the parties believe in the concept of a “ceremonial king but the Maoists want to abolish monarchy. Thus, our slogan and means both are different. So, we can’t respond positively to their offer for having an alliance to fight for democracy”. Nepali Congress (Democratic) spokesman Minendra Rijal said there was no possibility of having an alliance with the Maoists unless they abandon their armed struggle. “We don’t believe the Maoists’ philosophy can solve the current problem, nor do we want alliance with those political forces who believe in attaining power through violent means,” he added.
— PTI |
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Two ‘options’ for India, Pak to join NPT
New York, May 13 Asked about efforts being made to bring the three countries into the fold of the Treaty, Mr Sergio de Queiroz Duarte (Brazil), President of the conference conducting a five-year review of the Treaty, said there were only two ways through which they could join. He said they could be taken in either as non-nuclear states or the Treaty should be amended to give them the status of nuclear-weapons states, adding that he saw no movement on either of the two options. The NPT recognises only the USA, Britain, Russia, France and China as nuclear-weapon states who can keep atomic weapons, but move towards eliminating them by progressively reducing the number of warheads. India had not joined the Treaty as it considered the document discriminatory because it does not call for elimination of the arsenals of nuclear-weapon states in a time-bound framework and bars the rest from acquiring them. Pakistan did not join, saying it would do so only if India joins it. North Korea has withdrawn from the NPT, but the seat with its nameplate is reserved at the conference.
— PTI |
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Sindh firm on independent
finance commission
Islamabad, May 13 He said after the meeting, he would contact his counterparts in the NWFP and Punjab and convey Sindh’s principled stand on the issue. “We will not give up our principled stand,” he added. The provincial minister said the national finance commission should be independent and neutral body comprising former governors of the State Bank of Pakistan, retired judges of superior courts and other personalities of known integrity. The federal and provincial governments should present their cases to the independent commission to ensure a just and fair award, he said, adding that if a constitutional amendment to this effect was required it should be made without delay. “We are not committing any Kufr” in demanding inclusion of revenue collection in the formula for horizontal distribution of resources. He said revenue collection had been one of the indicators in the distribution of resources since 1964 and this indicator provided 30 per cent share to the provinces. Mr Ahmad explained that revenue collection was dropped from the formula after the creation of Bangladesh and there was nothing wrong in putting it back in place. He said it was Sindh’s principled stand that population should have maximum weightage in the horizontal distribution of net proceeds of the federal divisible pool, followed by backwardness and poverty and revenue collection. On the question of GDS, the minister said he had provided to Baluchistan facts and figures on the issue and added that Sindh was not getting something that was not fair because the province met its gas requirement mostly from its own resources. |
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Protests continue in Pakistan over desecration
Islamabad May 13 In demonstrations in major cities by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Alam (MMA), the protesters asked the USA to apologise for the incident and punish soldiers responsible for the alleged desecration. Some 200 persons took part in the demonstration in the capital chanting anti-US and anti-Musharraf slogans and were holding placards inscribed with slogans “Musharraf should change policy towards America”. They threatened to expand the agitation if the US did not apologise and punish the soldiers. Attacking President Musharraf, they asked the government to declare the USA ambassador as “persona non grata” and expel him unless Washington tendered an apology and punished the soldiers. They also demanded breaking diplomatic ties with the USA. |
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UK firm fined for dumping waste in India
London, May 13 Materials Recovery Limited committed a breach of international regulations by exporting waste plastic to India from its depot at Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton. The company was charged with shipping waste to India in circumstances deemed to be illegal traffic under an EU Council Regulation. It was fined £ 20,000 and ordered to pay £ 5,800 as costs during the hearing at the Taunton Magistrates Court. The firm, based in Kingswood, Buckinghamshire, admitted 12 offences and asked for 10 offences to be taken into consideration. The illegal shipments took place between June 11 and November 4, 2003. Environment Agency spokesman Andy King said yesterday: “All exports of plastic waste except a type known as PET can only be exported in line with Red List Controls.” “This basically means these non-PET exports were illegal. We don’t know what was happening to this plastic once it reached India but the export of waste for disposal is strictly prohibited outside the UK.” “This is to prevent us from dumping our waste on developing nations. Materials Recovery Limited breached UK, European and international legislation,” he added. |
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US Bill to make things easy for illegal immigrants
Washington, May 13 The new visa programme proposed by Senators John McCain, R-Ariz. and Edward Kennedy would allow immigrant workers to leave and enter the United States as they pleased over the three-year life of the temporary visa. McCain said the current immigration policy is ``unacceptable,'' in part because it forces Mexican nationals and others illegally seeking to enter the United States to rely on human smugglers or risk their lives crossing the desert alone. In addition, he said, "porous borders are leaving Americans vulnerable to terrorism." The bill almost certainly faces a fight from the Republicans who recently rejected amnesty proposals and this week helped win passage of the Real ID Act, which makes it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain federally recognized identification. Under the bill, millions of illegal workers and immigrants who want jobs in the United States could eventually gain citizenship. Illegal workers in the United States would pay $1,000 each to apply for H-5B visas that would require them to work for six years and before seeking permanent residency. Foreign nationals would pay $500 each and would have to prove that an employer had a job waiting for them. After working for three years, foreign national visa-holders could ask for three-year extensions and, in the meantime, apply for green cards. If the illegal immigrants continued working, paid an additional $1,000, studied English and broke no laws for six years, they could qualify for permanent residency. Ultimately, that could lead to full citizenship. In the meantime, visa-holders could leave and enter the United States legally. McCain said he asked the Bush administration to embrace the proposal. The senator said he did not get a firm answer, but was told that the bill was ``in accord with the president's principles.'' — By arrangement with the
Los Angeles Times-Washington Post |
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Taiwan rejects China’s offer
Taipei, May 13 Chinese President Hu Jintao made the offer yesterday during a visit by a Taiwan opposition leader but said it was conditional on acceptance of the “one China” principle under which China regards Taiwan as a part of its territory. “The two sides should shelve their disputes and extend mutual respect to lay foundations for the improvement of bilateral relations and the resumption of cross-strait talks,” said You Ying-lung, vice-chairman of Taiwan’s Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council.
— AP |
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Russia grounds MiG 29s
Moscow, May 13 "It's a normal practice to ground the fleet of similar planes or helicopters after a crash. The flight recorders of the ill-fated MiG-29 fighter have been recovered and their decoding could take 10-14 days. During this period rest of such planes with the air force would remain grounded," an air force officer was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS.
— PTI |
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Gas blast kills one in China
Beijing, May 13 The blast occurred near a crossroad in downtown Shenzhen, a city neighbouring Hong Kong.
— PTI |
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Nepal’s political parties today rejected an offer from the Maoists to jointly campaign for the restoration of democracy, saying the rebels must first abandon the path of violence before thinking of any possible alliance.
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