Washington, May 27
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has come out strongly in favour of India’s candidature for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council, but the US appeared to be lukewarm to the idea “at this point”.

“A Security Council which has France as a permanent member, but not Germany; Britain, but not Japan; China, but not India — to say nothing about of absence of proper representation from Latin America or Africa — cannot be legitimate in the modern world,” Mr Blair told students of Georgetown University here yesterday.

“I used to think that this problem was intractable. The competing interests are so strong. But I am now sure that we need reform. If necessary, let us agree to some form of interim change that can be a bridge to a future settlement. But we need to get it done”, the British prime Minister said in response to a question.

Asked to comment specifically on Mr Blair’s call for India to be a part of the permanent membership of the Security Council, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said while discussions were on a number of aspects related to the United Nations, there was no change in the current American policy — of pushing only for Japan at the present time.

“... there are a number of different plans out there for Security Council reform. This was a hot topic just toward the end of last year. It’s still a topic about which we have conversations with India, with Japan, with other countries that are interested in gaining a seat on the Security Council”, he said.

“At this point, the only country for which we have come out in favour of a Security Council seat is Japan. And there’s, at this point, no change to that” he added. 
— PTI 

Islamabad, May 27
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Kashmiri leaders was a “movement forward” in resolving the Kashmir issue.

“There is a desire and realisation on part of the Indian leadership to resolve the Kashmir issue,” he said referring to the recent talks between the Prime Minister and Kashmiri leaders in Srinagar.

“This is a movement forward,” he was quoted as saying by official APP news agency while addressing the 18th award ceremony of the All-Pakistan Newspapers Society here last night.

“Let us hope for the best that good sense prevails and we come out with a solution which is acceptable to the people of Kashmir, to Pakistan and India,” he said.

The Pakistan President said the confidence-building measures (CBMs) were moving forward but Pakistan wanted the parties to move towards conflict resolution.

Mr Singh, who chaired the Round Table on Kashmir on Thursday, suggested that Kashmiri leaders representing different shades of opinion should focus on five areas, including strengthening security of the people, human rights, working on economic future of the state and firming up institutional arrangement to bring people from both sides of the Line of Control closer to each other. — PTI

Putrajaya, May 27
Iran today urged the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of mostly developing countries, to support its uranium enrichment programme, while the Palestinian authorities sought help to ease a worsening cash crisis caused by the US and European sanctions.

Concerns over tensions in the Middle East took centrestage as senior officials of NAM members in Asia, Africa and Latin America began preparations for a ministerial meeting on Monday and Tuesday in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital.

“In a world dominated by one superpower, the existence of the Non-Aligned Movement is vitally important in our efforts to further promote and strengthen multilateralism, while keeping in check unilateralism which is encroaching more and more on the international scene,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in a speech to the delegates.

Developing countries are often sidelined in key international decisions, he said, adding that the United Nations needed to be reformed so that “we all have a stake as members ... rather than empowering an already powerful Security Council.”

The 114-member Non-Aligned Movement comprises countries that tried to act as a buffer between East and West during the Cold War. — AP

Washington, May 27
The US Senate has passed a resolution to award the Congressional Gold Medal — the country’s highest civilian honour — to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, in recognition of his “enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, non-violence and human rights”.

The Senate passed the resolution prior to adjourning for a week-long recess. A similar legislation has been enacted by the House of Representatives. The Senate legislation introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein of California had the backing of 75 Democrats and Republicans as co-sponsors.

“The Dalai Lama has struggled for half a century to better the lives of the Tibetan people — armed only with his compassion, courage and conviction. In doing so, he has been a shining light to all those fighting for freedom around the world,” Senator Feinstein remarked as the Senate Banking Committee recently approved the Gold Medal Act.

“I cannot say how much it means to me that three quarters of the Senate have put the daily battles aside to come together to say that this man deserves our nation’s highest civilian honour — the Congressional Gold Medal,” he added.

Past recipients of the Gold Medal include Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and Nobel Peace Laureates Elie Wiesel and Nelson Mandela. — PTI

Berlin, May 27
A knife-wielding teenager went on a rampage and attacked at random pedestrians streaming away from a sound-and-light show in the heart of the capital, wounding 25 persons, four of them seriously, the police said today.

The 17-year-old suspected attacker, a German native of Berlin's working-class Neukoelln district, was arrested, police spokesman Bernhard Schodrowski told The Associated Press. None of the victims had life-threatening injuries, Mr Schodrowski said.

The teenager, whose identity was not released, had mingled with crowds a couple of hours after a sound-and-light show inaugurating Berlin's new central rail station in the heart of the capital before he began to randomly attack people, Mr Schodrowski said.

The attack comes amid a rash of racially motivated crimes, including several in Berlin, that have raised concern about security two weeks before Germany hosts the football World Cup.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known, Mr Schodrowski said, although the suspect was known to the police for previous acts of violence. It was not clear if the attacker was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident, Mr Schodrowski said. — AP