W O R L D

Hasina-led alliance to boycott poll

Dhaka, January 3 Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina said today that the mainstream political alliance she leads will boycott the January 22 elections because the interim government had failed to ensure it would be free and fair. Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina speaks during a news conference in Dhaka on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Lanka jets bomb Tiger positions
Colombo, January 3
Sri Lankan jets bombed Tamil Tiger rebel positions today, the military said, one day after a raid in the northwest of the island which the United Nations and rebels said killed 14 civilians.

Ban keeps distance from death penalty ban
United Nations, January 3
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon started his first day on the job by departing from the traditional UN opposition to the death penalty, saying nations can make their own decision.

Indian prisoners have no tickets to fly home
Dubai, January 3
Indian prisoners who have been pardoned in November by the UAE government, remained in jail because they do not have tickets to fly back home, community workers say.

Saddam's palaces live on after his death
Baghdad, January 3
Saddam Hussein is dead but memories of the grandiose excesses of his 24-year reign live on in his resplendent palaces, still used by the US forces which deposed him in 2003.

Japan to drop plan of female monarch
Tokyo, January 3
Japan will drop plans to change the law so that a woman could accede to the country's imperial throne, following the birth last year of a much-awaited male heir, a news report said today.

King penguins walk past visitors during an event at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Wednesday. — Reuters

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Most US women won’t re-do ‘I do’
Silicon Valley, January 3
More than a third of American wives would not marry their husbands if they had to do it all over again, according to a new poll. The poll by Woman's Day magazine and AOL.com found that 36 per cent would not marry their husbands, while another 20 per cent were not sure if they would re-do their "I Do".

Australians scale Antarctic peak
Sydney, January 3
Four Australian mountaineers have reached the peak of Antarctica’s highest mountain, the first time its 4,900 metres have been scaled from sea level. The group led by South Australian Duncan Chessell (36) made it to the top of Vinson Massif yesterday, more than a month after beginning their 300 km trek across the icy continent.

Couple burnt alive in Pak
Karachi, January 3
In an incident of honour killing, a couple was burnt alive at a village in Pakistan, police said today. Zahoor Ahmed and his wife Naseem were burnt alive in front of their four children in Chak Saboo village yesterday.

Nayar, Hurley to wed in March
London, January 3
British beauty Elizabeth Hurley has finally settled on a date for her wedding to Indian-born beau Arun Nayar. As for the date, well it seems that the first weekend of March will be the time when the 'bedazzled' star will say 'I do'.

Bicycles in vogue in China
Beijing, January 3
About half of Chinese urban residents choose bicycle for commuting despite fast development of public transport over recent years, a transport expert has said. The number of buses in Chinese cities has risen from 136,000 in 1994 to 287,000 in 2004, and the passenger volume has risen from 29.9 billion in 1994 to 42.72 billion in 2004, said Wei Qingchao from the Beijing Jiaotong University.

Heroin found in dead body

A panda plays in the China Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan province on Tuesday. — Reuters

 

 

 

Hasina-led alliance to boycott poll

Dhaka, January 3
Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina said today that the mainstream political alliance she leads will boycott the January 22 elections because the interim government had failed to ensure it would be free and fair.

The former Prime Minister’s move adds to uncertainty ahead of the parliamentary elections, which have already brought weeks of political violence and crippling strikes across the impoverished country.

“We have agreed not to participate in the election because the country’s interim government in charge of holding a free and fair election has failed to create a congenial election atmosphere,” said Ms Hasina, whose Awami League leads a powerful 14-party alliance.

“Besides the election boycott, we will now launch a bigger movement to oust Iajuddin from the post of caretaker chief,” she told a news conference.

The country has been run by a caretaker government since the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Begum Khaleda Zia ended her five-year term as Prime Minister in October.

Hasina accuses the country’s president and head of the interim authority, Iajuddin Ahmed, of favouring Khaleda to ensure she wins the election and has demanded the President step aside.

At least 45 persons have been killed and hundreds injured in political violence since the interim government took over to steer the country to the polls.

Hasina reiterated today that Iajuddin must resign as interim head of the country because he had failed to prove his neutrality and had acted under instructions of her rival, Zia.

She demanded that the voters’ list should be updated and corrected and new election schedules must be announced. — Reuters

Lanka jets bomb Tiger positions

Colombo, January 3
Sri Lankan jets bombed Tamil Tiger rebel positions today, the military said, one day after a raid in the northwest of the island which the United Nations and rebels said killed 14 civilians.

The military said the latest strikes were aimed at heavy weapons of the Tigers in Batticalao.

The bombing came as the UN urged the two sides to stop fighting and protect civilians after air strikes the previous day killed 14 people, including six children, the UN and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam said.

The military has denied hitting civilian settlements in the air raid yesterday in Mannar district which has become the latest flashpoint in the fighting between the military and the LTTE, despite a 2002 ceasefire.

“Sri Lankans continue to suffer deeply due to this conflict, and today’s loss of life is a source of deepest concern,” said Margareta Wahlstrom, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affair statement in New York yesterday.

“It is imperative that both sides to the conflict take all measures to fulfil their obligations under international law to protect civilians in this conflict, we have too often seen them fall short,” the statement on the UN Web site said.

More than 4,000 displaced from the fighting last year were sheltered in the LTTE-controlled coastal village of Illupaikadavai in Mannar district where the bombing was carried out, the UN said.

But the air force said no civilian settlement in the Mannar area had been bombed and accused the LTTE of spreading false information to discredit them and win international sympathy. — Reuters

Ban keeps distance from death penalty ban

United Nations, January 3
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon started his first day on the job by departing from the traditional UN opposition to the death penalty, saying nations can make their own decision.

Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister succeeding Kofi Annan of Ghana, was greeted by a UN honor guard, went to a UN meditation chapel to honor fallen peacekeepers, spoke to reporters and held a mass meeting with UN staff yesterday.

Asked about the weekend execution of Saddam Hussein, Ban said the former Iraqi leader committed ''heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities against the Iraqi people and we should never forget the victims of these crimes.'' But he said ''the issue of capital punishment is for each and every member state to decide'' and in conformity with international law.

South Korea is among 68 nations that retain the death penalty, although Seoul is considering abolishing it.

Groups such as Human Rights Watch have criticized the execution of Saddam, saying it was imposed after a ''deeply flawed trial'' with political interference. Annan and leading UN rights officials also have opposed capital punishment, as has the European Union.

The U.N. special representative in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, released a statement on Sunday saying the world body ''remains opposed to capital punishment, even in the case of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.'' — Reuters

Indian prisoners have no tickets to fly home

Dubai, January 3
Indian prisoners who have been pardoned in November by the UAE government, remained in jail because they do not have tickets to fly back home, community workers say.

A volunteer with such an organisation said at least 12 Indian prisoners, who have been released from Dubai jail, are unable to return home because they cannot afford tickets.

An Indian consulate official said the mission does not have funds to buy tickets for all the released prisoners.

Moreover, most prisoners are not registered with the Indian mission as required under the protectorate of Emigrants rules.

Indian officials want the prisoners to come to the consulate and give an undertaking that the money paid for their ticket will be returned once they arrive in India, the workers said.

The prisoners who are pardoned awaiting repatriation are: Govinder Singh from Delhi, Karri Ravisa Puraykkal from Mumbai. — UNI 

Saddam's palaces live on after his death

Baghdad, January 3
Saddam Hussein is dead but memories of the grandiose excesses of his 24-year reign live on in his resplendent palaces, still used by the US forces which deposed him in 2003.

The late dictator built eight ornate presidential palaces across Iraq that embodied absolute power, the last word in dictatorial chic that for many of his opponents were hated symbols of repression.

"Oh children of ancient Mesopotamia, do not believe what you may hear outside the homeland!" says an Arabic inscription at Saddam's Republican Palace in Baghdad. — AFP

Japan to drop plan of female monarch

Tokyo, January 3
Japan will drop plans to change the law so that a woman could accede to the country's imperial throne, following the birth last year of a much-awaited male heir, a news report said today.

Changing the law to allow a reining empress would have put Princess Aiko (5), the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Masako, second in line to the throne, which traces its roots back 1,500 years. - AP

Most US women won’t re-do ‘I do’

Silicon Valley, January 3
More than a third of American wives would not marry their husbands if they had to do it all over again, according to a new poll. The poll by Woman's Day magazine and AOL.com found that 36 per cent would not marry their husbands, while another 20 per cent were not sure if they would re-do their "I Do".

Turning to pop culture, the survey also reveals that 31 per cent of married women find actors Ben Affleck and Will Smith to be the sexiest married male celebrities. When asked to play matchmaker for current single stars, 47 per cent voted Jennifer Aniston's perfect mate to be sexy, shirtless Matthew McConaughey - more than three times the percentage who believe her Mr Right is former Friends love interest, David Schwimmer. — PTI

Australians scale Antarctic peak

Sydney, January 3
Four Australian mountaineers have reached the peak of Antarctica’s highest mountain, the first time its 4,900 metres have been scaled from sea level. The group led by South Australian Duncan Chessell (36) made it to the top of Vinson Massif yesterday, more than a month after beginning their 300 km trek across the icy continent.

“It was great to finally get up on top of the peak and look back over the 300-odd km that we have trekked in from,” Chessell told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation upon his team’s return to base camp today.

Fellow Adelaide climber Peter Weeks (53), Melbourne doctor Robert North (31) and Robert Jackson (44), from New South Wales joined Chessell in the historic ascent. The frosty feat earns Mount Everest veteran Chessell an exclusive place among mountaineers who have scaled the highest peaks on each of the globe’s seven continents.

“We are all exhausted but exhilarated,” Chessell said by satellite phone after the climb.

“The view, standing alone on the tallest part of the Antarctic, was incredible — you could see almost to the south pole.”

After leaving its high base camp yesterday, the team, roped together for protection, embarked upon an arduous slog towards the summit, at one point negotiating a sheer 1200-metre climb.

The final push towards the peak, where temperatures plunged to -35 °C, took seven hours and involved 8 km of climbing up a long glacial slope. Mount Vinson has been scaled by others — including Australians — but never after a trek from sea level. — AFP

Couple burnt alive in Pak

Karachi, January 3
In an incident of honour killing, a couple was burnt alive at a village in Pakistan, police said today. Zahoor Ahmed and his wife Naseem were burnt alive in front of their four children in Chak Saboo village yesterday.

Ahmed had apparently kidnapped Naseem 10 years ago and married her, police said.

In another incident, the nose and ears of two persons were chopped off and their mother was injured by a group of people from a rival clan to avenge their family honour in Inayatpur Mahota near Multan yesterday.

Iqbal had married a girl, Shahnaz, in court about two years back who belonged to the Mahota clan who were unhappy with the marriage, the police said. — PTI 

Nayar, Hurley to wed in March

London, January 3
British beauty Elizabeth Hurley has finally settled on a date for her wedding to Indian-born beau Arun Nayar. As for the date, well it seems that the first weekend of March will be the time when the 'bedazzled' star will say 'I do'.

Hurley, who will be tying the knot with Nayar in ceremonies in the UK, as well as in India, has reportedly booked the posh Barnsley House hotel near her Gloucestershire home for the event, on pal Elton John's advice, reports The Sun.

As for the Indian venue, Nayar and Hurley were said to have their hearts set on the Devi Garh Palace in Rajasthan for their traditional wedding.

The actress recently revealed that she had decided to go on a "health regime". — ANI

Bicycles in vogue in China

Beijing, January 3
About half of Chinese urban residents choose bicycle for commuting despite fast development of public transport over recent years, a transport expert has said. The number of buses in Chinese cities has risen from 136,000 in 1994 to 287,000 in 2004, and the passenger volume has risen from 29.9 billion in 1994 to 42.72 billion in 2004, said Wei Qingchao from the Beijing Jiaotong University.

But when the urban residents go out, one third will walk, less than one fifth take bus, and one 10th choose other vehicles, and about a half ride bicycle, he said.

One reason is that the Chinese urban population usually concentrates on the downtown area of a city and the average distance for commuting is short, he said. — PTI

Heroin found in dead body

Jerusalem, January 3
An Israeli national, who died in China recently, had 22 packets of heroin in his stomach, a media report said. The drugs, 400 gm altogether, were discovered during an autopsy conducted after the police suspected that the November death was crime related, The Jerusalem Post reported. — PTI