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Global disarmament a mirage, says Sonia
Michael Jackson acquitted in child abuse case
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Brain cells grown in laboratory
Decision on gas pipeline in two weeks
Baltistan issue
8 securitymen killed in Nepal
Indian soldier killed in Congo
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Global disarmament a mirage, says Sonia
Moscow, June 14 “There are forces of divisiveness and hatred in the world, forces that don’t want people and nations to live in peace and harmony with one another. Violence and conflagrations are widespread, in which women and children in particular are hapless victims,” she said at a function organised by the World Public Forum here as part of its series on “Dialogue of Civilisations.” Observing that both India and Russia faced the scourge of “extremism, separatism and terrorism,” Ms Gandhi, who is on a five-day visit, said the two countries were in agreement that terrorism must be fought collectively, resolutely and consistently “without any double standards”. Ms Gandhi, who will meet President Vladimir Putin tomorrow in St Petersburg, said with so much in common between Russia and India, society and the intellectual community in both countries are natural partners in this “dialogue of civilisations”, which would “illuminate the way out of the dark tunnels of animosities and antagonisms, of conflicts and conflagrations.” India’s experience as a nation over the last five and a half decades, she said, demonstrated unity in diversity and it was a living embodiment of not just the dialogue but also the confluence of civilisations. On the need for global disarmament, Ms Gandhi recalled that her husband and late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had unveiled a detailed plan to achieve the objective in 1988 at the United Nations. “That plan remains relevant even today,” she said, she said India and Russia spoke in one voice on the need to strengthen the forces of multilateralism in the conduct of world affairs and were working together to make the United Nations truly representative so as to enhance its political credibility and moral authority. Recalling the traditional bonds between the two countries, she mentioned that the three Indians who had shaped the country’s vision of nationalism were deeply influenced by the Russian culture. “The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, derived inspiration from Leo Tolstoy. India’s first Nobel Laureate, the great poet Rabindranath Tagore, often expressed his admiration for Alexander Pushkin. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, maintained a life-long fascination with your achievements,” she said. She said the Indo-Russian relationship had been one of “unusual resilience, stability and continuity despite great changes in the international and domestic environments.” Ms Gandhi is accompanied on the Russian trip by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh. — PTI
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Michael Jackson acquitted in child abuse case
California, June 14 The 12-member jury found the “Thriller” star not guilty of 10 charges, including conspiracy, plying a minor with alcohol, attempted child molestation and molesting the cancer patient from Los Angeles. Judge Rodney S. Melville turned to Jackson and said: “Your bail is exonerated and you are released.” Conviction could have left Jackson facing almost 20 years in prison. The 46-year-old best-selling recording artiste gripped his lawyer Tom Mesereau’s hand and dabbed his eyes after his defence team won a clean sweep of all charges. Hundreds of fans who kept vigil outside the courtroom greeted the verdict with joy, shouts and honking of horns. The pop star did not speak to the fans gathered outside the court in Santa Maria, California, but his lawyer said: “Justice was served. Michael Jackson is innocent.” After the verdict, the judge read a statement from the jury. “We the jury feel the weight of the world's eyes upon us.“ They asked to be allowed to return to "our private lives as anonymously as we can.” Jackson walked out the court a free man, flanked by his parents, Katherine and Joe, sisters and brothers. His father helped the singer, who had been looking increasingly frail, into one of the waiting vehicles. Jackson later returned to his Neverland ranch where a teenaged boy Gavin Arvizo had claimed the singer molested him after nights of heavy drinking. The verdict, reached after more than 32 hours of work in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, was brought to a close after a nearly four month trial and featured 140 witnesses, including defence testimony from 'Home Alone' child star Macaulay Culkin. The case against the singer was made following a February, 2003, television documentary in which Jackson was shown holding hands with his accuser and defending his practice of sharing a bed with young boys. An unnamed member of the jury later said at a press conference that “one of the first things we decided was that we had to look at him just like any other individual. Not just as a celebrity. And once we got that established, we were able to deal with it just as fairly as we could with anybody else.” Another juror said: “We expected some better evidence, something more convincing but it just wasn't there.” — PTI
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Brain cells grown in laboratory
Scientists have grown fully mature brain cells in a laboratory for the first regeneration.
It promises to open the door to new ways of treating and possibly curing debilitating brain diseases such as Parkinson's, epilepsy and Alzheimer's. The scientists said they were able to produce virtually unlimited quantities of brains cells, which could revolutionise transplant medicine as well as leading to new drugs to stimulate the regrowth of damaged nerves. Bjorn Scheffler, a neuroscientist at Florida University who made the breakthrough, said the procedure involved mimicking the natural process through which key stem cells in the brain orchestrate partial regeneration of the brain. ‘‘Our study shows for the first time the entire process that goes on in our brain for life. We can, in a dish, recapture the process in front of our eyes,’’ Dr Scheffler said. It was not the first time that scientists had shown stem cells can be manipulated in the lab to produce mature brain cells, he added. ‘‘But nobody has been capable of replicating the process from the very first step to the very last step - it's unique to get the whole process happening before your eyes.’’ The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was done with mice but the scientists believe it is only a matter to time before they are able to reproduce the same process of development with human brain cells. — By arrangement with The Independent |
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Decision on gas pipeline in two weeks
Kuala Lumpur, June 14 “We will make an announcement in two weeks,” Reza Amrollahi, Iran’s senior Deputy Energy Minister told reporters on the sidelines of the two-day Asia Oil and Gas conference. Pakistani Minister for Petroleum Amanullah Khan Jadoon had invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Islamabad from June 20 to 21, a Pakistani spokesman said. The 2,600-km overland gas pipeline project, with an estimated cost of about 4.5 billion dollars, has been opposed by the USA because of its concerns about Teheran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s Amrollahi said his country was willing to sell gas to India and Pakistan and that talks were progressing. “We are in the pit field of decision-making,” he said. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the bilateral meetings with Iran would “translate into trilateral meetings in order to work out an agreement between the three countries for the pipeline project”, he said. India’s Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar was in Pakistan last week and his visit concluded with the setting up of a joint working group to thrash out the details of the proposed pipeline project. Mr Aiyar also held talks with Iran’s Energy Minister Bijan Namdar Zanghaneh in Teheran on Saturday to discussed the deal. Negotiations for the pipeline began in 1994 but made little headway because of tensions between Pakistan and India. However, since January 2004, the two energy-starved countries have been engaged in a peace process and relations are at their best for years. The pipeline will supply gas from the massive South Pars offshore fields in the Gulf.
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Baltistan issue Islamabad, June 14 The Prime Minister had stated that a “big part of Ladakh, Aksai Chin, was under foreign occupation. He added:” The same way Gilgit and Baltistan (in the northern areas) were under the control of foreign troops.” The statement of the Prime Minister on Siachen and solving the border demarcation with China as well as Pakistan came up for comments at the weekly briefing by the Foreign Office Spokesman Jali Abbas Jilani. Most of the papers concentrated on his statement on Siachen and the tone was sharp. Under the headline “Get out of Siachen”, The Nation today reported that Pakistan had asked India to accept the disputed nature of Kashmir while expressing its surprise over the Indian Prime Minister’s remarks that “Baltistan” was a controversial area. The paper quoted Mr Jilani as demanding unconditional withdrawal of Indian troops from the Siachen glacier. This was vital for the resolution of row over the world highest battlefield and regional peace, he added. On Dr Manmohan’s statement over
Baltistan, Mr Jilani expressed his shock and surprise by saying: “We have got the impression that India is following the policy of heads I win, tails you loose.” The News carried the headline: “India asked to unconditionally withdraw from Siachen; FO says Delhi must recognise disputed status of Kashmir”. According to the paper, while reacting to Dr Manmohan’s statement there that India wanted to make Siachen a mountain of peace, Mr Jilani said: “We hope that the statement reflects change in Indian position.” But, commenting on the Indian Prime Minister’s remark on the status of
Baltistan, the paper quoted the spokesman as saying: “We have got the impression that India was following the policy of heads I win, tails you lose. India has to accept the disputed nature of occupied Kashmir and accord the right to self-determination to the Kashmiri people, rather than talking of areas, which have already sought freedom from India and the Maharajahs.” — ANI |
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8 securitymen killed in Nepal
Kathmandu, June 14 Army sources today said eight security personnel and six Maoist rebels were killed in a clash at Ghartichhap village in
Kavrepalanchowk district, 75 km east of here, yesterday. Six army personnel and two policemen were among those killed, they said. Two teenaged girls were killed in a blast triggered by suspected Maoists in Siddhartha village of Arghakhachi district in Western Nepal. Sumitra Rajali (17) and Basanti Rajali (13) were grazing cattle in a field when a bomb planted there exploded, killing them instantly. Three others, including two children aged 9 and 12, were injured in the blast, The Kathmandu Post daily said today.
— PTI |
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Indian soldier killed in Congo
Kinshasha, June 14 UN officials were quoted as saying that the incident took place in the village of Sake, about 30 km from Goma city, which lies on the border with Rwanda. Three Indian soldiers were critically wounded after Congolese soldiers chased their vehicle. One of them was killed by a stray bullet.
— ANI  |
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