Moscow, October 25
Russian President Vladimir Putin today said he was not going to contest for the top Kremlin post in 2008 in violation of the Constitution, but hoped to “influence” the country even after leaving office.

“I have already said that although I like my job, the Constitution gives me no right to run for a third term,” Mr Putin said answering questions from the nation in the course of his annual 2.55 hour long TV date with Russia.

According to the Russian statute one and the same person cannot hold the office of the President for more than two coridge the gap between “too rich and too poor” for the sustained growth and development of Russia.

“I think I will manage to maintain the most important thing for a politician — your trust. And, using this, even without the leverages of presidential powers, together we can influence the life in our country,” Mr Putin underscored.

Colombo, October 25
The Sri Lankan Government and Tamil Tigers hold peace talks in Geneva this week but there appears to be little hope of settling decades-old conflict that has flared again in recent months, killing hundreds.

Intense fighting since July, which effectively ended a 2002 ceasefire, has killed up to 1,000 combatants and civilians in army offensives, rebel attacks and naval warfare. But it has also led to donors and others in the international community to bring pressure on both sides to resume talks.

Just an agreement to talk further would be considered a success, officials said.

“Laying the ground in Geneva for continued dialogue would be considered by the whole world as positive,” Palitha Kohona, the head of the government’s peace agency, told Reuters.

“To us, the alternative (failure of talks) is unacceptable,” Kohona said, before leaving for Geneva as part of a 12-member government followed hours later by the rebel delegation.

Others are predicting that even an agreement to talk further may be difficult.

“It is a very uncertain climate that they are going to be negotiate in,” said Jehan Perera, executive director of the National Peace Council, an independent thinktank.

“The pressure on them from their own domestic constituencies is an important factor that may determine the ultimate outcome.”

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), considered one of the most ferocious guerrilla armies in the world, has been fighting since the early 1980s for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east, claiming discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

The government has said it is willing to give some autonomy but ruled out independence. At least 65,000 people died before the two sides agreed to the 2002 truce and opened negotiations.

The island’s ruling and main opposition parties signed a pact this week for a joint approach to talks with the Tigers, a move seen as strengthening the government’s hand in Geneva.

Analysts say both sides have suffered serious reverses on the battlefield—the rebels in September in the north and east—and the army this month where it lost around more than 150 soldiers in fighting in the Jaffna peninsula in the far north.

The government said it was committed to the talks despite the violence.

“We will not distance or excuse ourselves from the talks but we will respond to terrorist attacks as any government has to,” cabinet minister Keheliya Rambukwella told Reuters.

Tiger leaders were not available for comment ahead of the talks but a parliamentarian from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), seen as the rebels’ political front, said the government had to take several steps to gain the trust of Tamils.

N Raviraj called on Colombo to stop aerial bombardment of Tamil areas as well as end human rights abuses, and open a key highway to the Tamil-dominated Jaffa region in the north from central Sri Lanka to allow humanitarian assistance.

“Our experience is that the (southern) parties have cheated the Tamil people and denied them their rights,” Raviraj said.

The pro-rebel Web site, www.tamilnet.com, said people in the Jaffna peninsula were facing a “severe humanitarian crisis,” due to the closure of the highway connecting the region to the rest of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan military said it had airlifted 25,000 kg of essential items, including medicines, to Jaffna since yesterday.—Reuters 

London, October 25
The US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr Ronald Neumann, has expressed “unease” over the British military’s ceasefire with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal from a flashpoint town of Musa Qala.

British troops moved out of the town of Musa Qala in north Helmand last week after a truce negotiated by tribal elders acting as intermediaries with the military.

After months of heavy fighting in which eight British soldiers and hundreds of Taliban fighters died, they handed over to an Afghan militia raised from local men.

Both the original decision to send troops to outputs — “platoon houses” — and the deal proved highly controversial. It is understood another such arrangement is being negotiated in another hotspot, Sangeen.

“There is a lot of nervousness about who the truce was made with, who the arrangements was made with, and whether it will hold,” Neuman told The Daily Telegraph.

He said the “jury is out” over whether the deal can be seen as a positive move. He said repercussions of the takeover by local forces must be “rigorously tested” to ensure that Musa Qala had not simply morphaned into “a sanctuary for an area governed by the Taliban”.

The report said there is also a high degree of nervousness in the Afghan government about the Musa Qala deal, with ministers comparing it warily to truces with the Soviet Army in the 1980s which mujahideen commanders used to build up their forces and gain a tactical advantage.

Brigadier Ed Butler, the outgoing commander of British forces in Helmand, said after the initial truce was agreed last month: “I fully acknowledge that we could be being duped; that the Taliban may be buying time to reconstitute and regenerate.

“But every day that there is no fighting the power moves to the hands of the tribal elders who are turning to the government of Afghanistan for security and development.”

According to the report British commanders have denied that the Taliban were directly involved in the truce negotiations, which they say were conducted alongside the Governor of Helmand with local tribal elders. Nato officials have briefed journalists that local tribal elders in Musa Qala forced the Taliban to stop fighting.

The summer saw intense fighting across Helmand, where 4,300 troops are based as part of a Nato campaign to end the insurgency and begin reconstruction.

British forces have fired close to half a million rounds. More than 1,000 Taliban fighters have died in the fighting, which has seen 17 British soldiers killed and more than 70 injured.

Neumann said the US and Nato analysis earlier in the summer indicated that in areas of the south such as Helmand, local tribes were siding with the Taliban because of grievances over local bad governance. “If you just say anyone who is sympathetic to the fight on the other side is forever out side the pale of negotiation you rather shoot yourself in foot,” he said.

“But at the same time if you have an area that is under the Afghan government flag but is not under the actual authority of the Afghan government then you are losing in a very big way. It (the truce) certainly shouldn’t be replicated until those questions have been answered.”

Neumann also criticized the continued refusal of several European nations with troops serving in quiet parts of Afghanistan to commit their troops in the fighting in the south.

“There was a Nato decision to go to Afghanistan,” he said." I think it is appropriate to ask all nations to respect the decision that they participated in making. Not everyone has respected that decision.”

Neumann’s comments were echoed by Nato’s supreme commander, Gen James Jones, who said that those countries that had placed caveats on the use of their soldiers - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and turkey - were still at risk of attack.

Gen Jones said the mission to subdue the insurgency in Afghanistan was at a “turning point” following recent fighting. He predicted that insurgents would now shy from confronting coalition troops in pitched battles and would instead resort to the car bombs and indirect tactics that have proved so devastating in Iraq. — PTI

Islamabad, October 25
Pressing for its demand for an inquiry commission to go into the Kargil debacle, the opposition Pakistan’s Peoples Party has said the issue cannot be allowed to die down as it has raised questions about the breakdown of communication between the civil and military leadership.

Questioning President Musharraf’s assertions that there was no need to form an commission on Kargil because it was a thing of the past, a spokesman of former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s party said the “issue would not, indeed should not, die down because it had brought to the fore some very serious questions about war and peace.”

“When the sitting Prime Minister and the serving Army chief disagree so fundamentally on who said what, it raises questions about the breakdown of communication between the civil and military leadership,” Farhatullah Babar said.

“Such a communication breakdown can be disastrous when the issue at stake is that of war and peace and the countries involved are nuclear armed. Who takes the ultimate decision of taking the country to war and who decides the ceasefire is a question that can be ignored at grave peril in the future,” he said.

The opposition leader said President Musharraf’s refusal to form an commission to probe the Kargil debacle was self serving and untenable.

Babar said President Musharraf had insisted that Kargil plan was a marvel of a military strategy. “This raises the question whether a nation should be taken to war merely on the basis of optimism about field tactics or war and peace must be decided on consideration of wider issues of international diplomacy and politics,” he said.

“It was most regrettable that General Musharraf speaks on Kargil as if he had the last word of truth and wisdom on it,” he said adding former chief of general staff Lt-Gen Ali Quli Khan Khattak had publicly said Kargil was an “unprofessional decision” and that “critical questions had to be answered for sacrificing so many soldiers.”

“In view of the conflicting assessments given by both the political leadership as well as sections of the military leadership, it is imperative that an inquiry commission is set up to probe Kargil,” he said. — PTI 

Seoul, October 25
South Korea said today it formed a task force to implement UN sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea for its nuclear test.

South Korea’s participation in sanctioning the North is important because it is one of the main aid providers to the impoverished communist state, along with China. However, Seoul has been reluctant to change course on its policy of engaging the North in reconciliation efforts.

All UN-member countries are required to draw up a plan to carry out the UN Security Council resolution unanimously adopted October 14 to punish the North for its first-ever nuclear test.

A report should be submitted to the UN sanctions committee no later than 30 days after the resolution’s passage.

Seoul has formed an interagency task force to draw up a report and the team held its first meeting yesterday, Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung told a regular news briefing.

“The meeting reviewed domestic laws and regulations necessary to implement sanctions called for by the resolution,” Lee said. “The government will sincerely implement the Security Council resolution based on close cooperation with related countries.”

However, South Korea has said two key inter-Korean projects that provide North Korea with foreign cash-a-tourism venture and joint economic zone, both in North Korea, won’t be affected by the sanctions. — AP

Washington, October 25
Asian-Americans are growing in political clout in the United States and could be crucial to the outcome of upcoming legislative elections.

They are flexing their muscle in traditional strongholds like California as well as in big ticket races such as in Illinois.

At present, there are six Asian-American legislators in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and two in the Senate, also dominated by President George W. Bush’s Republican Party.

Two Asian-Americans have a good shot at winning House seats in the November 7 elections and they could help tip the balance to the Democratic Party, which needs to pick up 15 seats to gain control of the chamber.

The two Democratic hopefuls are Maizie Hirono, a Japanese-American former lieutenant governor contesting against a state senator n Hawaii, and Tammy Duckworth, a Thai-American US Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in Iraq, battling for a traditionally Republican seat in the suburbs of Chicago.

Numbering 14 million, Asian-Americans make up only about 4 per cent of the 300-million US population but their votes are critical in about 100 of the 435 congressional districts, said William Marumoto, president of the Asian-Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.

“This time, we expect to win two more seats in the House and also increase the number of representatives at the local levels,” said Marumoto, whose non-partisan group seeks to build a politically empowered Asian  community. — AFP

London, October 25
An ethics panel today approved a London hospital’s plan to carry out what could be the world’s first full-face transplant, but no candidates for the surgery have yet been selected, a spokesman said.

The Special Ethics Committee of the Royal Free Hospital approved a proposal for a series of four transplant operations, said Neil Huband, spokesman for The Face Trust.

“What happens next is that we continue going through the details of patients and looking to potential patients and continue research,” Huband said.

He said a list of candidates for the operations could be completed within six months or a year.

French surgeons carried out the first partial face transplant last year. The Cleveland Clinic in the USA is also working on plans for full-face transplants.

Since receiving permission last year to identify potential patients, the transplant team headed by Dr Peter Butler has identified 34 possible candidates but has not yet begun formally evaluating their suitability for surgery, the trust said.

Frenchwoman Isabell Dnoire became the world’s first partial face transplant patient in Amiens, northern France, last November.

During 15 hours of surgery, a team of doctors replaced a gaping hole left after she was mauled by a dog with a partial face that include a new nose, mouth and chin.

Butler said his team had been contacted by 34 persons from across the world but would welcome more applications. — AP

London, October 25
Versatile actress and social activist Shabana Azmi will receive the prestigious International Gandhi Peace Prize at a special function at Britain’s House of Commons here tomorrow for her work amongst the disadvantaged women of India, particularly in Mumbai slums.

British actress Vanessa Redgrave will present the award in the presence of a distinguished gathering including Professor Lord Bhikhu Parekh, Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and the Indian High Commissioner Kamalesh Sharma.

Azmi, who was described by Satyajit Ray, as the finest dramatic actress of India, told PTI “I am honoured at being chosen for such an outstanding award, whose previous recipients included the Dalai Lama.”

She said she was happy that her involvement for rehabilitation of slum dwellers had borne fruit. At least 13,000 slum dwellers have been rehabilitated owing to her effort.

Azmi has starred in some of the greatest Indian films like Ankur, Mandi, Arth, Khandar, Paar, Sparsh, Godmother and Tehzeeb.

Born to noted Urdu progressive poet Kaifi Azmi and theatre actress Shaukat Kaifi, Shabana has acted in films by virtually all of India’s most famous art house directors including Shyam Benegal, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Aparna Sen and others as well as in commercial and middle-of-the-road Hindi films, besides some international films where she has essayed several strong female characters. — PTI 

New York, October 25
A non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving endangered architectural sites worldwide has decided to honour Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur for his contribution to preserving cultural heritage.

The World Monuments Fund (WMF) has decided to confer the prestigious Hadrian Award on the Maharaja.

The award is given annually for foremost contribution to the preservation of cultural and architectural heritage. The award will be presented at a special ceremony.

The WMF works with local organisations to identify the endangered sites and publishes the list of 100 most endangered sites every two years.

Moscow, October 25
Among the foreigners, Indians make the best husbands for Russian women as they are "more open" and share an emotional relationship with family, says country's leading feminist intellectual Maria Arbatova.

"In my view, out of all foreigners, Indian men are the best husbands for Russian women since they are brought up in a different way," famous Russian playwright and poetess Arbatova said.

"The western culture worships the superman and for an Indian male it is not a shame to cry. They are more emotional and have a more open and emotional relationship with the family," she said in an interview to Russian Agrarian Gazeta.

Arbatova, a living symbol of feminist movement of the post-Communist Russia, had married twice and is presently living with an Indian. Recently she has published a book 'The Taste of India'.

"They are as open, lazy and dreamy as we. Russia and India have a lot in common in the economic sphere. We were destroyed by socialism and India by colonialism," she added. — PTI 

Los Angeles, October 25
After a whirlwind courtship and the birth of a baby, Hollywood’s most famous unmarried couple, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, has set a date for their wedding.

Their representative, Arnold Robinson, said yesterday that the couple would get married on November 18 in Italy, with Giorgio Armani designing Holmes’s wedding dress.

Robinson declined to give other details.

The couple became engaged in June 2005 after a very public courtship.

Holmes (27) gave birth in April to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Suri.

Good Housekeeping magazine quoted Cruise (44) the star of the “Mission Impossible” series, as saying in June that he and Holmes would delay getting married until Suri could attend the wedding.

“In many ways,” he added, “we feel like we already are married. I know I’m with the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. So the wedding, that’s just the party,” he told the magazine.

People magazine said that Holmes recently flew to Italy, “perhaps to scope out wedding destinations” after a shopping trip to Paris.” She told People she’d already crossed one thing off her list—her wedding gown—saying: “I already have my dress.” — Reuters

London, October 25
Support for Britain’s ruling Labour party has crashed to its lowest level in almost 20 years, with the opposition Conservatives opening up a potentially election-winning 10-point lead, according to a new poll.

According to the Guardian/ICM poll, Labour has the backing of only 29 per cent of voters, equal to its lowest-ever level of support recorded in May 1987, a month before Margaret Thatcher won a third term.

The party’s support has fallen 3 points since last month, despite Labour’s successful annual conference at Manchester and a lack of public conflict over the succession to Tony Blair. The Conservatives have climbed three points, to 39 per cent, with the Liberal Democrats unchanged on 22 per cent.

Support for minor parties, growing in recent months, has dropped back 1 point to 9 per cent. The Green party and the UK Independence party score 2 per cent each.

The collapse in Labour support suggested that the ongoing row over allegations that peerages have been traded for cash and uncertainty over the party’s leadership have severely dented its standing.

The findings will heighten mounting unease among Labour MPs that Blair’s ‘long goodbye’ from Down Street is damaging the party. — PTI 

Manila, October 25
The Philippines Supreme Court ruled today against holding a referendum on shifting the country to a parliamentary form of government in a major blow for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The 15 justices voted eight to seven to strike down a petition for a plebiscite, blasting the non-government organisation behind it for supporting Arroyo’s agenda.

The court also criticised the petitioner Sigaw ng Bayan (Call of the People) for failing to show that the 6.3 million signatories to the petition knew what they were signing.

“To allow this constitutionally infirm initiative, propelled by deceptively gathered signatures, to alter basic principles in the constitution is to allow a desecration of the constitution,” the eight judges wrote.

Analysts said the ruling was likely to reduce the political temperature in the Philippines, where constitutional change would have polarised the nation.

Arroyo has championed the switch to a parliamentary set-up and her executive secretary said it was now up to congressional allies to convene both houses of the legislature into a constituent assembly to try and re-write the constitution.

“The president has not lost her resolve for a major political change, such as the charter change,” Eduardo Ermita said.

But analysts said a constituent assembly was unlikely to succeed because senators, who face extinction if a parliamentary system is created, are fiercely opposed to an amendment. Lawmakers are also starting to focus on elections next year.

The Supreme Court, which has demonstrated its independence in several decisions this year, also said the public can only apply for amendments to the constitution, not revisions.

The non-government group Sigaw ng Bayan said it would appeal the ruling, which echoed a 1997 decision. Analysts doubted their chances.

“It’s the end of the road for the proponents of charter change,” said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms.

Supporters of charter change, or “cha cha” as it is known, say it would end deadlock between the legislature and the executive and between both houses of congress, allowing faster policy-making and fostering economic growth.

But critics say Arroyo, who has survived two impeachment bids and at least one attempted coup, was promoting the shift to stay in power after 2010, when she finishes her last term as president.—Reuters 

Islamabad, October 25
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formally vacated a palace allotted to him by the Saudi royal family in Jeddah in 2000 to spend his years of exile.

Mr Sharif moved to London nine months ago claiming that his five year period of exile was over.

Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N said the ‘Saroor Palace’ allotted to Mr Sharif has been vacated on the wishes of the former premier himself.

A PML-N spokesman in London refuted a report that the Saudi Government had evicted him out of the palace.

“Sharif would not return to Saudi Arabia but to his own country Pakistan while the rest of his family including his mother would remain in Madinah with his brother Abbas Sharif, the spokesman has been quoted as saying in the media.

Mr Sharif, who was living in exile in Saudi Arabia for the past seven years under a deal, had applied for a British visa for taking his son Hasan to London for treatment.

President Pervez Musharraf in a recent interview said he permitted Mr Sharif to move to London and accused the former Prime Minister of misusing his permission to conduct a campaign against him.

According to the Pakistan government, Mr Sharif left the country in 2000 after he signed an agreement to stay in exile for 10 years. However, Mr Sharif has denied signing any deal. — PTI