 |
|
|
Pentagon official predicts Afghan turmoil by spring $154 m WB credit for Punjab
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ban Ki-moon sworn in UN chief
Army has destroyed Pak: Nawaz Sharif
LTTE confers posthumously title on Balasingham
|
|
Pentagon official predicts Afghan turmoil by spring
Washington, December 15 “Sooner or later the government will have to reckon with it,” John Negroponte, the Director of National Intelligence has said in a meeting with the reporters and editors of The Washington Post. The Post said Negroponte has also made the point that with the Pakistan elections due next year, the United States understands that President Pervez Musharraf “has a domestic political balancing act to perform”. This September, Islamabad and the tribal leaders of Northern Waziristan entered into an agreement that said among other things that border crossings will not be permitted “for any kind of militancy”. Negroponte has told The Post that the “tribal authorities are not living up to the deal,” and that travel back and forth by Taliban members and others “causes serious problems.” The top intelligence official under the newly revamped scheme of things has argued that the growing insurgency in Afghanistan is not a threat to the Kabul government but was not sure if the current force levels of the NATO are enough to handle the expected Spring offensives. The Afghan insurgency grew because of financial and military aid from a near-sanctuary in Pakistan, while Kabul has not received enough military and economic aid from the US and NATO, a Pentagon official Cordesman said. “No one can return from visiting the front in Afghanistan without realising there is a very real risk that the US and NATO will lose their war with Al-Qaida, the Taliban and the other Islamist movements fighting the Afghan government,” Cordesman, currently with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote recently. “Declassified intelligence made available during my recent trip there showed that major Al-Qaida, Taliban, Haqqani Network and Hezb-i-Islami sanctuaries exist in Pakistan, and that the areas they operate in within Afghanistan have increased fourfold over the last year,” he wrote. The military analyst has called for increased commitment on the part of the US and NATO that will extend to 2013 or beyond. “We cannot afford to lose two wars — in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Cordesman has been cited in the media report. Meanwhile, the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said even after 75 years of warfare the country has no infrastructure and no basis for an economy other than poppy production financed by the drug trade.
— PTI
|
|
|
$154 m WB credit for Punjab
Washington, December 15 The money, which will be used for implementing the Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, will assist the state in achieving full coverage for water supply with at least basic service level of 40 litres per capita per day in some 3000 villages. “It will improve operational performance of the existing water supply schemes in another 1600 villages and implement environmental sanitation schemes in some 1100 villages,” the Bank said in a statement. Some 30 per cent of villages in Punjab do not have access to basic drinking water service. The remaining 70 per cent have piped water systems, but many of these are suffering from extremely low customer base and poor operational performance. “As a result, about 60 per cent households in Punjab are re-dependent on unsafe private drinking water sources,” the Bank said. “About 50 per cent of households have toilets. However, septic-tanks-effluent flowing in open drains has degraded the environmental conditions in the villages and poses a serious health hazard,” it said. "Punjab needs significant improvements in the quality of rural water and sanitation service delivery, which requires both additional investments and reforms," Fayez Omar, Senior Manager, India Programme and Acting World Bank Country Director for India said. It is said that the programme will be implemented in all 19 districts of Punjab, and is expected to directly benefit about 7.4 million rural people. The programme particularly targets people belonging to scheduled caste, and those living in difficult terrain. "Women would be the primary beneficiaries through time savings in collecting water, better health from more and cleaner water, improved sanitation and better hygiene practices," the Bank has said. The total cost of the project is put at $261.4 million with the remaining funding contributed by the government of Punjab ($ 49.6 million), Central government ($ 42.1million), and local government communities ($ 15.7 million). The $154 million equivalent interest-free credit is provided by the International Development Association (IDA) and has 35 years to maturity and a 10-year grace period.
— PTI
|
|
|
Ban Ki-moon sworn in UN chief
United Nations, December 15 Mr Ban will take over his new responsibility on January 1. Meanwhile, both Mr Annan (68) from Ghana, and Mr Ban, a former South Korean Foreign Minister, described security, development and human rights as the three pillars of the United Nations. Escorted by the UN chief of protocol, Mr Ban left the well of the Assembly to mount the podium. He then took the oath of office as the UN world body’s Secretary-General. The oath was administered by Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa. Earlier, by acclamation the Assembly adopted a resolution of tribute for Mr Annan who, in the words of Sheikha Haya, has devoted his life to the world organisation. “His career has been unique,” she said, adding, “He has risen through the ranks of the United Nations and devoted his life’s service to the organisation. So, today we are not only bidding farewell to the current Secretary-General, but also to one of the longest serving officials of the United Nations.” Mr Annan cited UN reforms and said that despite many difficulties and some setbacks in the past decade “we have achieved much that I am proud of.” Swearing in Mr Ban, Sheikha Haya underscored his commitment to ensure that the United Nations lives up to its universal values and principles. Later, Mr Ban (62) pledging to seek the highest ethical standards set by his predecessor’s leadership in guiding the UN through challenging times said, “It is an honour to follow in your revered footsteps as I am succeeding in what you have described as ‘the world’s most exalting job’.” Mr Ban, who will oversee the UN’s $ 5 billion budget and 92,000 peacekeepers, is the first Asian to lead the world body in 35 years after Mr U. Thant of
Myanmar. — UNI
|
|
United Nations, December 15 Addressing a press conference shortly after being sworn in as the eighth Secretary General yesterday, Mr Ban firmly supported the expansion of the Security Council in view of “dramatic changes” in international politics, but did not back any particular model. “As the Secretary-General, I will try to facilitate consultations among member states so that the broadest possible consensus formula could be drawn out among them” on the issue, he said. But he did not say whether he would support the addition of two countries each from Africa and Asia as permanent members of the council, merely noting that member states had been unable to agree on the formula for past ten years. India and Japan are strong contenders for permanent membership in an expanded council. Though most member states support expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories, a group led by Pakistan only wants expansion in the non-permanent category with creation of a new category of non-permanent members who would have a much longer term than the current two-year term. — PTI
|
|
Army has destroyed Pak: Nawaz Sharif
London, December 15 He said the Indian Army did not harm Pakistan as much as the Pakistani generals, “and that is why we have to continuously face the ignominy of being called a failed state”. He was speaking at the PML-N election strategy meeting at the party’s international secretariat here. According to a statement issued by the secretariat, the PML-N chief, comparing the armies of India and Pakistan, said while the Indian Army and its intelligence arms remained focused on defending their country, the Pakistani army was undermining its professionalism by wasting its time and energy playing political games. Mr Sharif said India proudly claimed to be the ‘world’s largest democracy’ and the world accepted it as such because it certainly was a functioning democracy whereas in Pakistan, it was a one-man show “and nobody knows where this gentleman is taking our country”. He said in Pakistan one individual has taken upon himself to offer all kinds of options on Kashmir without consulting Parliament or any political party whereas in India the entire Parliament is briefed and consulted on the subject all the time. Mr Sharif said that the generals had used the Pakistan Army in the province of NWFP for killing innocent people at the behest of US President Bush and asked “Where is Pakistan’s interest in this?” He said Musharraf has been carrying out the commands and orders of President Bush without any regard to national interests and “the tragedies of Bajaur and Dargai had become wounds on the national conscience and would not heal quickly.” — By arrangement with the Dawn
|
|
|
Musharraf to get another 5-year term
Islamabad, December 15 "We are left with no option but to fix a date for the presidential election between September 13 and October 12," The News quoted an unnamed official it described as "one of the most trusted confidantes of the president" as saying. The aide justified General Musharraf's re-election by the same assemblies on the ground that his current term would end on November 12, 2007, whereas the terms of the National Assembly and provincial assemblies that elected him in 2002 ended on November 16, 2007. He did not explain how the terms of assemblies that elected General Musharraf ended well before his.
— PTI
|
|
LTTE confers posthumously title on Balasingham
Colombo, December 15 Heart, diabetic and kidney-transplanted Balasingham (68), who had been living in London with his Australian-born wife Adale Anne passed away last evening in London after suffering from bile duct cancer, a rare and aggressive malignancy of the biliary system since mid-November. ''Saluting the immeasurable service he rendered to our nation in the political and diplomatic arenas and the efforts by which he put our national freedom movement on the world stage, allowing our nation to stand with dignity, I am proud to bestow the title of the “Voice of the Nation” on Bala Annai,'' said a heart-broken LTTE leader, Prabhakaran. In a statement released by the LTTE, Prabhakaran said Balasingham’s death had come at a time when he was most needed, as the freedom struggle has intensified. Balasingham had led LTTE delegations for political negotiations with several Sri Lankan governments over the past 20 years, which began with the Thimpu talks in 1985. — UNI
|
Astronauts rewire system Alert over online marriages Paedophile jailed 
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Video
