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EU President regrets French vote
Clinton in Indonesia on reconstruction mission
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Advani
reaches Lahore
India favours reforms in United Nations: Kalam
Yangon supports Security Council seat for India
Osama not key man in world terror, says Pervez
Indian-origin US citizen murdered
Indian-American 2nd in National Geographic Bee
Eat eggs, listen to classical music, become brainier
Swaziland’s king marries 11th wife
Cholesterol busters help prevent cancer
Two million homosexuals take part in gay parade
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EU President regrets French vote
Brussels, May 30 Predictably, the French vote led to accelerated activity here as frenetic consultations were held throughout the morning today to respond to this development which has dealt a definite blow to the European Constitution’s stated goal of closer integration between the EU’s member states. Like the result of the French referendum, the official reaction to the vote was also along predictable lines. Though unofficially EU officials and political leaders here accepted that the result had come as a setback, the EU leaders put up a brave face, saying “it shall overcome.” A joint statement by EU President Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Council Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Council Jose Manuel Barroso today regretted the French decision and admitted that, national and European leaders would have to do much more to explain the real issues at stake. The subtext here being that the French leaders had failed to explain to the serious ramifications of rejecting the European Constitution to its people. As attention now turns to the Dutch referendum on Wednesday, the European Union leaders also indicated that it will be business as usual and like in the past, it will deal
with this fresh challenge and find the means of moving ahead. “Europe has known difficult moments in the past and has each time succeeded in coming out stronger and better than before, ready to take on its challenges and responsibilities,” the joint statement added. However, it is still not clear how the EU leadership plans to respond to this fresh challenge. All these issues will figure prominently at the upcoming European Summit which has already been planned for June 16 and 17. The leaders will have to decide how they should move ahead if faced with further rejection and ,in case, it has to do without a European Constitution. The draft European Constitution has so far been ratified by nine member states while the others will vote upon it before the December 2006 deadline runs out. EU officials explained the agreement, so far, is to review the situation closer to this deadline. Despite the brave face being put by the EU leadership here, who believe that the French rejection was driven more by domestic reasons, analysts here said the Sunday vote had raised fundamental questions about the EU’s general direction towards enlarging its membership, lowering taxes, reducing governmental spending and moving towards a free market economy. |
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Clinton in Indonesia on reconstruction mission
Banda Aceh (Indonesia), May 30 The visit by Clinton, the special UN envoy for tsunami recovery, comes as frustration runs high over the slow pace of rebuilding in Aceh, especially western coastal villages that were wiped out by the killer waves that struck on December 26. Many people left homeless by the catastrophe were still waiting for the government and international aid agencies to begin building houses, schools and roads. Clinton, who is on a tour of four countries worst hit by the disaster, today met Indonesian government officials and UN workers helping the rebuilding in Aceh. The former President was also expected to visit a site in Aceh.— AP |
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Advani reaches Lahore
Lahore, May 30 The former Deputy Prime Minister, accompanied by his family members on his second visit to this country in 27 years, will be in Pakistan for a week and will travel to Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Mr Advani, first Leader of the Opposition to visit Pakistan officially, was received at the Lahore airport, by Director-General Protocol Colonel Hamdani and Deputy Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aman Rasheed. During his two-day stay in Islamabad, he is scheduled to meet President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri and others, including opposition leaders. His discussions are expected to focus on politics and the issue of terrorism. Apart from the political aspect, the visit by the Karachi-born leader connotes a return to the roots. He had last visited Pakistan in 1978 as Information and Broadcasting Minister.
— PTI
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India favours reforms in United Nations: Kalam
Reykjavik, May 30 Speaking at the banquet hosted in his honour by Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, Dr Kalam said: “India and Iceland share cherished values such as pluralistic democracy, human rights and freedom in a tolerant social environment.” “Both India and Iceland are committed to the UN charter. We believe that there is a dire need to reform the UN structure to make it more compatible with the contemporary realities and make it more democratic and transparent,” the President said. He appreciated Iceland’s principled stand and consistent support to India’s candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Referring to ties between India and Iceland, he said: “We deeply appreciate patronage of bilateral relations by Iceland since 2000 when Grimsson visited India for the first time.” “My government too shares your commitment to expand and deepen our ties for mutual advantage. We believe that my current visit to Iceland would give further fillip to our ties by providing visibility and fostering mutual awareness,” Dr Kalam said. He said the visit could benefit bilateral trade with greater focus on mutual comparative advantages, particularly in areas such as fisheries, textiles, food articles and consumer goods. “There are adequate possibilities to promote people-to-people contacts through tourism and cultural exchanges,” the President said. Highlighting the country’s performance, Dr Kalam said: “We have been working to uplift our country and are today world’s largest democracy and fourth largest economy. India’s spectacular success in agriculture, information and technology, pharmaceuticals, nuclear and space research are well known.” About Iceland, Dr Kalam said: “Your achievements in science and technology cover a wide spectrum from alternative sources of energy to genome mapping are excellent.”
— PTI |
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Yangon supports Security Council seat for India
Yangon, May 30 There is a need for complete synergy between India’s “Look East” Policy and Myanmar’s “Look Around” Policy (a special focus on strengthening ties with its neighbours), observe government and business circles here. “We are very friendly countries. Therefore, Myanmar wants India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,” Information Minister Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan told visiting journalists from India recently.
— PTI |
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Osama not key man in world terror, says Pervez
Islamabad, May 30 Suggesting that Pakistan was not shielding Osama, the Pakistani President said there might still be people harbouring the Al Qaida chief for other reasons than money and not telling. "However, I think we are better off and better placed now," the Daily Times quoted Musharraf as saying in an interview with German weekly Der Spiegel Denying the US forces' presence in Pakistan, Musharraf said American intelligence personnel were in the area but no soldiers. He said Pakistan would not be affected by the anti-US wave generated in the Muslim world following the incidents of Quran desecration at Guantanamo Bay. "Anti-Americanism had a certain time limit, but Pakistan had a strategic direction, which would not be affected by it," he reportedly told the German paper. He, however, added that the revelations of abuse of the Holy Book did create problems and would create more in case further disclosures were made.
—ANI |
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Indian-origin US citizen murdered
Birmingham (US), May 30 He was found unconscious on Wednesday evening at Banga Auto Sales on Pinson Valley Parkway in the Birmingham suburb. A native of India, Banga was a US citizen who had lived in Birmingham for about 10 years. Relatives say he is survived by his wife, and two sons aged four and five months. “How do you tell a four-year-old that his daddy won’t be coming home?” asked Banga’s sister, Manpreet Manda, of London, England, who arrived on Friday to be with Banga’s wife, Karamjit. Ms Manda said a customer discovered the injured Banga and called the police. The police used phone numbers listed in Banga’s cell phone to locate a friend, who helped them contact Banga’s wife. Ms Manda said her brother never regained consciousness, and the family decided on Friday to have him taken off life-support. Two vehicles stolen from the car lot were later recovered.
— AP |
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Indian-American 2nd in National Geographic Bee
Houston, May 30 Takhar, a 14-year-old eighth grader in East Providence, lost to a home schooler from Minnesota, Nathan Cornelius, in an 11-question championship round in the competition held in Washington DC. The son of Amrita and Gurpartap Takhar, originally from India, he won a $ 15,000 college scholarship for being the runner-up. Takhar reached the national competition by winning the geography bee at the Gordon School and by taking an hour-long written test graded by National Geographic that won him a place in the state competition. Cornelius won a $ 25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. The annual competition began with nearly five million fourth through eighth graders in nearly 15,000 schools across the USA. Takhar defeated nine other finalists during the last round, which included two other Indian American students, Bonny Jain and Tejas Raje. The top 10 finalists are eligible to be chosen for the three-member US team at the National Geographic World Championship, held in July in Budapest, Hungary.
— PTI |
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Eat eggs, listen to classical music, become brainier
London, May 30 Scientists were asked to come up with 11 methods to boost brain power that did not involve traditional education. Among the recommendations were high protein food, a good night's sleep and physical and mental workouts, as well as music, medicine and even puzzles such as Sudoku. But the stimuli have to be the correct sort according to the geneticists, mathematicians and other experts consulted by the journal New Scientist, reports Scottish daily Scotsman. Fizzy drinks should be avoided but high protein food such as baked beans for breakfast or eggs at lunchtime are good for the brain. Having breakfast of some sort rather than skipping it altogether enhances mental performance. Listening to Mozart in particular has been proved to improve the mind's mathematical capabilities but even having music lessons can boost a child's IQ by two to three points, the scientists said. Another simple trick is to get a good night's sleep after trying to learn something for a couple of hours, because that is when the brain stores memories for the long term. Alternatively some drugs can be beneficial. "It doesn't matter how brainy you are or how much education you've had, there are still ways to boost your mental faculties. This is New Scientist's guide to getting smarter," a spokesman said. The 11 steps to getting smarter included bionic brains— using electrodes to send small currents to boost the brain and neurofeedback — a type of thought control. Card games such as rain man memory —where a whole pack of 52 playing cards are individually associated with a character and a story is devised including all the characters in order — and even walking sedately for half an hour three times a week can improve learning, concentration and reasoning by up to 15 percent, particularly for older people.— IANS |
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Swaziland’s king marries 11th wife
Mbabane (Swaziland), May 30 Ntentesa, who was forced to drop out of high school when she was selected by the King at the age of 18, was smeared with traditional red ochre and married in a secret wedding service held last week at the Queen Mother’s royal residence, the Ludzidzini.
— AP |
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Cholesterol busters help prevent cancer
Washington, May 30 Scientists from the University of Michiqan Comprehensive Cancer Center indicated that the
possibilities of maliqnancies even declined among the genetically prone. Research conducted by Dr Stephen Gruber, involved 1,953 cholo-rectal cancer patients and 2,015 healthy persons, but was still not able to determine exactly why statins help fight cancer. Nevertheless, medicines containing statins should not be taken arbitrarily to fight colorectal cancer, confirmed Dr Gruber.
— Prensa-Latina |
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Two million homosexuals take part in gay parade
Sao Paulo (Brazil), May 30 With more than 20 sound trucks blasting electronic and pop music, go-go boys and drag queens packed the skyscraper-lined Avenida Paulista — one of the city’s main avenues — for the Ninth Annual Sao Paulo Gay Parade. Organisers and the police said the hundreds of thousands of people who turned out for the parade made it one of the world’s largest gay pride events ever. Last year, the police said about 1.5 million people participated.
— AP |
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