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India, Pak agree to expand
Mauritius PM ousted in poll
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Internet breakdown costs Pak dear
Lahore, July 5 The Internet breakdown in Pakistan, which has been continuing for almost one week now, has rendered a loss of millions of rupees to the country even as most of the computerised work is being done manually. 
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India, Pak agree to expand economic ties
Astana, July 5 During the meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh lasting 45 minutes here today, it was agreed that the two sides should move ahead from the concept of a gas pipeline between Iran and India via Pakistan to concretisation of the project by preparing reports on its costing, financial viability, implementation and security aspects, a senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs said briefing mediapersons. When the Indo-Pak Joint Economic Commission meeting takes place, the two sides are going to take up the gas pipeline project so that progress could be achieved on this vital project. Incidentally, the Joint Economic Commission has not had a single meeting in the past 20 years. Expressing satisfaction over the progress in the composite dialogue, the Pakistan Prime Minister said the step-by-step approach during the last 18 months has led to improvement in relations between the two countries. “It is moving in the right direction”, he said and added that the “peace process is irreversible”. When Mr Natwar Singh drew Mr Aziz’s attention to the existing structures of terrorism in Pakistan, the Pak Premier said, “institutionally, we are against cross-border terrorism”, a senior official said. He disclosed that Mr Singh offered to give concrete evidence of continuing structures of terrorism inside Pakistan. On the issue of UNSC reforms, Mr Aziz said Pakistan’s position on this was not “India-centric” but it was a principled stand. “We have excellent relations with Japan and Germany also,” but our stand on the issue was “principled”. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who was present at the meeting, said the two sides discussed all issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and the talks were held in a friendly atmosphere. Earlier, Mr Singh had a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergai Larov and the two leaders discussed bilateral, regional and international issues. |
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Shanghai summit opposes G-4 proposal on UN reforms
Astana, July 5 The SCO stressed “it is essential to follow the principle of the broadest possible agreement rather than try to set a deadline for the UN reforms or to impose voting on the draft proposals on which major differences exist”. The opposition enshrined in the declaration signed by the six SCO heads of the Member states is a setback to India, Japan, Germany and Brazil known as the G-4. It has been declared that the issue of a UN reforms including the expansion of the Security Council, should be put to vote in the General Assembly and is a sort of victory for Pakistan. While extending lip service to necessary efficient reforms of the UN aimed at improving the world body’s efficiency and prestige, the SCO said that in implementing the reforms, it was essential to follow the principle of “broadest possible agreement” rather than going for a vote on the draft proposals on which major
differences exist. Islamabad has been opposed to India’s entry into the UNSC but has been maintaining that its stand on the issue was “principled” and not “India-centric”. The seven-page declaration, which welcomed the granting of observer status to India, Iran and Pakistan in the SCO, also came out against the US dominated international order saying that “any efficient and just world order should be based on strengthening of mutual trust and good-neighbourliness and on the establishment of a genuine partnership free from any claims to monopoly or dominance in international affairs.” “Such a world order will be more stable and secure if it is firmly based on the supremacy of principles and norms of international law, first of all those enshrined in the UN charter. In the field of human rights historical traditions and national distinctive features of any people and sovereign equality of all states should be fully and invariably respected” the declaration said in response to the developed world’s stress on human rights violations in Asian countries in general and in SCO member states in particular. “The right of all peoples to their own path of development
should be fully respected”, the declaration maintained. The SCO also decided to strengthen existing mechanism and to set up new institutions to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism. It was also agreed to take
effective steps against money laundering and the SCO gave a call for uniform approaches and standards to monitor money transfers and the movement of funds of persons and organisation suspected of affiliation with terrorism. Fight against illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors will be carried out, the declaration stressed. |
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Mauritius PM ousted in poll
Port Louis, July 5 ‘’It is a democracy and I accept the verdict of the electorate,’’ outgoing Prime Minister Paul Berenger said as counting showed the opposition Social Alliance heading for a majority in the 62-seat parliament. Mr Ramgoolam, 57, a doctor and lawyer who is the son of the first post-Independence Prime Minister and a former leader himself between 1995 and 2000, inherits a tough portfolio. Rising inflation and unemployment have fuelled discontent among the poor, while there are big threats to sugar and textile industries that have been the mainstay of the island’s relative prosperity compared with the rest of Africa. ‘’We think we’ve won with about 40 seats,’’ Xavier-Luc Duval, leader of one of the parties making up Ramgoolam’s Social Alliance, told Reuters. ‘’The social situation has deteriorated so much due to the government’s incompetence. So the people have clearly chosen someone else to lead them.’’ An Election Board official said final results from Sunday’s vote for the 62-seat parliament were still not ready. But it seemed the opposition was heading for victory in 35 seats, versus 25 for the ruling Militant Socialist Movement-Mauritian Militant Movement (MSM-MMM) alliance, he added. State TV said the opposition had definitely won 18 seats and the government 12. The Social Alliance was ahead in a further 19 seats, and the MSM-MMM in 11.
— Reuters |
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Internet breakdown costs Pak dear
Lahore, July 5 Due to the breakdown, major broadband operators, Internet service providers (ISPs) and net cafes in Lahore, a city with around 300,000 Internet users, are running into heavy loses, the Daily Times reported. According to it, major banking and aviation houses, especially those whose servers are abroad, are struggling to manage customer services. "Since our system is not working properly, our international communication operations have been hit. But our IT staff has managed to create a back-up from Dubai and Singapore and now the situation has improved," said Imran Ahmed, a supervisor at Standard Chartered Bank. Meanwhile, engineers have begun repairing a faulty undersea fibre-optic cable that has virtually crippled Pakistan’s Internet access for more than a week but repairs could entail more work than expected, an official said on Tuesday. Officials at Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd., which operates Pakistan’s sole international cable link for data and the Internet, had said they hoped the cable, which developed a fault on June 27, would be fixed early this week. But the PTCL president Junaid Khan declined to estimate on Tuesday how long the work might take, saying the cable might have more than one fault. ‘’We can’t give any definite time for the repair,’’ Khan told Reuters. The problem has disrupted business across the country though the PTCL has installed satellite back-up links that have restored some
Internet access. Telephones and fax services have also been disrupted.
— ANI and Reuters |
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