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Congressional hearing this month
Serbia rules out State funeral for Milosevic
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Kalam promises help to Mauritius
Nepal braces up for possible Holi violence
23 die in coalmine blasts in China
Execute 4 foreign hostages, orders Omar
First case of bird flu in Myanmar
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Congressional hearing this month The Chairman of the House International Relations Committee on Monday announced that Congressional hearings on the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement will begin later this month. ‘‘This is a complex agreement with profound implications for the US and global interests. Congress will need to take a close look at its many provisions in order to come to an informed decision,’’ Chairman Henry Hyde, Illinois Republican, said. Mr Hyde on Thursday met Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the proposal. Mr Hyde and the House International Relations Committee’s senior Democrat, Tom Lantos of California, agreed to introduce the agreement’s enabling legislation at the request of the Bush Administration, but Mr Hyde suggested that the US Congress may seek conditions for its approval. ‘‘The issues involved are complicated and technical, and it will take some time for Congress to absorb them as we move the agreement to fruition," Mr Lantos said. ‘‘I view the new strategic alliance between the world’s oldest and largest democracies as a breakthrough, but all members of Congress will undoubtedly wish to see the details of the agreement before deciding how to vote.’’ Legislation amending the Atomic Energy Act is necessary to authorise US-Indian nuclear cooperation because India has never adopted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and, therefore, cannot meet the prerequisites set out in current US law. Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Central Asian affairs, said the legislation would go through ‘‘the normal legislative process of discussion and possibly hearings, and we’ll try to move it as quickly as we can along with some friends on the Hill.’’ ‘‘There will be a debate and discussion. That’s what we do in democracies,’’ he said, adding, President George W. Bush and Miss Rice ‘‘will do everything possible to see that this agreement passes the Congress and that we get it through the international groups that we want to work with as well.’’ While more than a handful of members of the US Congress are concerned about the implications of the deal, Mr Boucher said Bush Administration officials had been discussing the deal with lawmakers. ‘‘They understand that this agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation is an important part of working with India across the board on — let’s call it a 21st century relationship,’’ he said.
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Rice seeks Cong support for N-deal
Washington, March 13 "We are consulting extensively with Congress as we seek to amend the laws needed to implement the agreement. This is an opportunity that should not be missed," Rice said in an article in 'The Washington Post'. "Looking back decades from now, we will recognize this moment as the time when America invested the strategic capital needed to recast its relationship with India," she said. Asserting that a thriving, democratic India will be a pillar of Asia's progress, shaping its development for decades, she said, "This is a future that America wants to share with India, and there is not a moment to lose." Our civilian nuclear agreement is an essential step towards our goal of transforming America's partnership with India. "For too long during the past century, differences over domestic policies and international purposes kept India and the United States estranged," she said. "India's civilian government functions transparently and accountably. It is fighting terrorism and extremism, and it has a 30-year record of responsible behaviour on non-proliferation matters," the Rice said. On protests on the nuclear deal with India from other countries, she said aspiring proliferators such as North Korea or Iran may seek to draw connections between themselves and India, but their rhetoric rings hollow. "North Korea, the least transparent country in the world, threatens its neighbors and proliferates weapons. There is simply no comparison between the Iranian or North Korean regimes and India," Rice said. "Our agreement with India will make our future more secure, by expanding the reach of the international nonproliferation regime. The International Atomic Energy Agency would gain access to India's civilian nuclear programme that it currently does not have," she said. Our agreement is also good for energy security. India, a nation of a billion people, has a massive appetite for energy to meet its growing development needs. Civilian nuclear energy will make it less reliant on unstable sources of oil and gas. The deal will allow India to contribute to and share in the advanced technology that is needed for the future development of nuclear energy. And because nuclear energy is cleaner than fossil fuels, our agreement will also benefit the environment, she said. Our agreement is good for American jobs, because it opens the door to civilian nuclear trade and cooperation between our nations.
— PTI |
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Serbia rules out State funeral for Milosevic
Belgrde, March 13 A statement from Serbia’s top military body, the Supreme Defence Council, said the council would not allow the use of Serbia-Montenegro army units in Milosevic’s funeral. The proposal to rule out a honour guard was made by Serbian President Boris Tadic, the council said. Mr Tadic said yesterday a State funeral would be “absolutely inappropriate, considering the role Milosevic played in Sebia’s recent
history”. Milosevic’s Socialist Party and the ultranationalist Radical Party initially insisted on a State funeral and burial in the ‘Avenue of Heroes’ section of Belgrade’s main cemetery. But Belgrade Mayor Nenad Bogdanovic said he would not authorise burial in that section, which was reserved for distinguished citizens, including assassinated Prime Minister Zonran Djindjic, who extradited Milosevic to The Hague in 2001. “Only people who left a positive, noble and humane mark on this city and in our country are buried in Heroes’ Alley”, Mr Bogdanovic said in a statement. Milosevic was on trial at The Hague war crimes tribunal on 66 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes involving conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s. — Reuters |
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Tests show Milosevic took wrong drugs
The Hague, March 13 A preliminary autopsy report yesterday showed the 64-year-old Milosevic died of a heart attack, but toxicology tests were still on to establish its cause. Mr Uges said the tests he conducted two weeks ago on Milosevic's blood showed traces of rifampicin — a drug against leprosy and tuberculosis that would have made other medicines ineffective. ''I don't think he took his medicines for suicide -- only for his trip to Moscow ... that is where his friends and family are. I think that was his last possibility to escape The Hague,'' he said. ''I am so sure there is no murder.'' Last month, the tribunal rejected a request by Milosevic — branded the ''Butcher of the Balkans'' over the conflicts in the 1990s -- to go to Moscow for specialist medical care. His widow, brother and son all live in Russia. A verdict was expected in months. Milosevic's lawyer said the funeral was to be held in Belgrade and that Milosevic's son Marko would pick up the body. Milosevic's widow faces arrest if she returns to Serbia. The autopsy on the body of Milosevic, who suffered from a heart condition and high blood pressure, was conducted by Dutch scientists and attended by Serbian pathologists. Serbia said the autopsy was very professional. The whole procedure was filmed. — Reuters
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Kalam promises help to Mauritius
Port Louis, March 13 A high point of his visit was India’s offer to its “close relative” to cooperate in the key sugar and textile sectors which are facing difficulties in the post-WTO regime. “We are firmly committed to helping Mauritius overcome this temporary phase and India can be a partner and can fully share its experiences, particularly in the areas of sugar and textile with you,” said Dr Kalam, who had separate meetings with President Aneerood Jugnauth and Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam. — PTI
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Nepal braces up for possible Holi violence
Kathmandu, March 13 Fresh violence is anticipated with the communist insurgents announcing a blockade of Kathmandu Valley and key administrative cities and towns as well as a transport shutdown on the highways linking them. The disruptions were announced last month by the rebels, who called these their ‘‘final onslaught’’ on the government of King Gyanendra. The two rebel organisations coordinating the protests — the underground guerrilla ‘‘army’’ and the ‘‘Unified Revolutionary People's Council’’ — have also announced an indefinite nationwide shutdown from April 3 to push their battle to abolish monarchy and establish a republic. Caught between the two disruptions, Kathmandu Valley received a third blow with a Maoist outfit, the Newa Rastriya Mukti Morcha, said to be based in the capital, calling yet another closedown of transport, educational institutions, shops, markets, offices and industries in the valley on March 29. As people began panic buying of essential goods and fuel, the government tried to assure citizens the blockade would have no effect but the assurance inspired little confidence. Home Minister Kamal Thapa told the media during his tour of western cities on Sunday that the government had beefed up security measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of goods and foil the blockade. In a mixture of persuasion and threats, the hardliner minister urged transporters and businessmen to defy the blockade call, saying action would be taken against those giving in to the Maoist threat. Thapa also issued a warning to journalists, saying action would be taken against those writing about Maoist activities since the government has declared the rebels as terrorists. Besides the Maoist threat, Nepal has also been simmering with political turmoil that escalated last year when Gyanendra seized absolute power through a bloodless coup. Seven major political parties, whose top leaders were arrested by the new regime, have since then formed a pact with the Maoists to oppose the King. The blockade has put the parties in a spot with the government accusing them of abetting the guerrillas. The seven-party front has been issuing appeals to the rebels, asking them to withdraw the blockade on the ground that it would cause untold hardship for the common people. They have also announced their plan to step up ‘‘peaceful protests’’ in the valley.
— IANS |
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23 die in coalmine blasts in China
Beijing, March 13 Rescuers have saved four miners trapped in a colliery gas blast early this morning in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region by noon, bringing the total number of rescued miners to 12. Nine others remain trapped underground. Meanwhile, rescuers recovered 23 bodies at Rongsheng Colliery in Jiudonggou village of Otog Banner in Inner Mongolia following the gas blast that went off early today. A total of 33 miners were working in the pit when the blast occurred, the police said. — PTI
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Execute 4 foreign hostages, orders Omar
Spin Boldak (Afghanistan), March 13 Omar’s order was read by telephone late yesterday to a Reuters reporter at the border town of Spin Boldak in the Kandahar province. “These people had come to Afghanistan at America’s behest, therefore, they should be sentenced to death,” Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf quoted the order as saying. Earlier yesterday, Yousuf had said four Albanians and four Afghans were being held. But he later said the four Afghans, two of them drivers, had been released, and identified the foreigners as three Albanians and a German. The Afghan authorities could not say what the kidnap victims had been doing in the Kandahar province. A Taliban court would try the men as spies for the USA, Yousuf said.
— Reuters |
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First case of bird flu in Myanmar
Bangkok, March 13 The virus was detected after 112 chickens died in the Mandalay region earlier this month, but there was no evidence of human infection, said Laurence Gleeson, a senior FAO official in Bangkok, citing a report by the Yangon government.
— Reuters |
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