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Saddam hanging could have been Fiji coup leader sworn in interim PM
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Indians key to creating wealth, jobs in US
Guide to beating rude Parisians Suicide by Indian in Bahrain Barbs fly at Kabul meet Ershad told to surrender
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Saddam hanging could have been Washington, January 5 ''We expect there to be a full investigation of what took place,'' Bush said yesterday at a White House news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in his first public comments on an illicit video that showed Shi'ite officials taunting Saddam on the gallows. Controversy over last week's execution has coincided with Bush's final efforts to hammer out a revised strategy for the unpopular Iraq war, which has killed more than 3,000 American military personnel and tens of thousands of Iraqis. Bush promised to unveil his new Iraq policy next week. While expressing no regrets that Saddam had been put to death after an Iraqi court convicted him of crimes against humanity, Bush welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's pledge to investigate the way the execution was conducted. The mobile phone video of observers yelling ''Go to hell'' and chanting the name of a radical Shi'ite cleric before Saddam falls through the trap-door has drawn international criticism and further inflamed sectarian passions in Iraq. ''I wish, obviously, that the proceedings had been -- gone in a more dignified way. But nevertheless, he was given justice,'' Bush said. ''The thousands of people he killed were not.'' White House officials said earlier that Bush had not seen the execution video but had been briefed. The US military insisted it had no role in the hanging and would have handled it differently. Merkel made no mention of Saddam's execution after White House talks, in keeping with the softer approach she has taken compared to her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, an outspoken critic of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. But she and Bush discussed the situation in Iraq. ''Although Germany is not militarily present in Iraq, we have every interest in seeing Iraq taking a turn for a more peaceful development, where people no longer need to be in fear for their lives,'' she said. ''Politically, we shall do everything we can in order to give support to such a positive development.'' Bush said he was still in consultations but would be ready next week to ''outline a strategy that will help the Iraqis achieve the objective of a country that can govern, sustain and defend itself.'' Bush is considering a short-term increase in US troops mostly to Baghdad, where sectarian violence and insurgent attacks have made a mockery of US-led security efforts. He did not say whether he would announce plans to send more troops, but White House spokesman Tony Snow acknowledged that the president saw the need for ''sufficient force'' in Baghdad. Democrats, who won control of Congress from Bush's Republicans in November's elections largely propelled by public disapproval of the war, took command of both houses on Thursday promising to challenge Bush's war policies. — Reuters
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Fiji coup leader sworn
in interim PM
Suva, January 5 Commodore Frank Bainimarama promised to be "a true and faithful prime minister, so help me God," during a swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Fiji's capital, Suva, which was broadcast live on national radio. Bainimarama was sworn in by former President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, whom Bainimarama reinstated yesterday, and promised to act "for the good management of the public affairs of the state." The military chief's appointment as interim leader cements his control over Fiji, as he now has authority to nominate new ministers in Fiji's caretaker government, expected to be announced later this month. The military chief deposed the president and vice president during the December 5 coup in which he dissolved Cabinet, suspended Parliament and banished the elected Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to his home island 300 km north of Suva. Under Fiji's constitution, the president has largely ceremonial powers, including signing bills and appointing officials on the advice of the prime minister. As interim leader, Bainimarama has the power to select all key ministerial appointments in Fiji. Bainimarama has said his interim Cabinet will be selected from a short list of 31 people before the end of January as the first step on Fiji's road to democracy, but he has made not mention of a return to elections. —
AP
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Pak will not hand me to India: Hizb chief
Islamabad, January 5 "I am fully confident that the leadership of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan will not hand me over to India," Salahuddin, sporting a long, unruly black beard, said in an interview with Pakistan's Geo TV. In the interview, Salahuddin demanded that India recognize Kashmiris as a party to the dispute and settle it with "sincerity and seriousness." Asked whether he had ever had any concerns that Pakistan might, under pressure, hand him over to India, Salahuddin said he "never for a moment" feared it. —
AP
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Indians key to creating wealth, jobs in US Silicon Valley, January 5 Nationwide, 25.3 per cent of tech and engineering companies started between 1995 and 2005 had founders who come from overseas, according to "America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs," a report written by researchers from Duke University and the University of California, Berkeley. Interestingly, only 11.7 per cent of the US population is foreign-born, according to US Census data. Immigrant entrepreneurs' companies employed 4,50,000 workers and generated $52 billion in sales in 2005, according to the survey. Indian immigrants founded more tech startups than people from the four next biggest sources — United Kingdom, China, Taiwan and Japan — combined. — PTI
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Taiwan gets high-speed bullet train Taipei, January 5 The $15 billion bullet train, which experienced fund-raising problems before the launch, aims to cut travel time between the capital of Taipei and Kaohsiung city 345 km away in the south, to 90 minutes from four to five hours by car. At 7 a.m. on Friday, a sold-out train with 989 seats and a black, white and orange engine resembling the nose of jetliner quietly and smoothly headed south. “It’s something brand new for us,” said Taipei passenger Luo Pei-yi as she prepared to board the first train with three relatives. “I’m not nervous-very relaxed. So many people have ridden this before,” Luo said, referring to trial runs. Many passengers took children and cameras on board at the Banciao station in Taipei county heading to Taichung in the middle of the island or Tsoying in the southern county of Kaohsiung. The line will eventually extend to central Taipei and the heart of urban Kaohsiung. The bullet trains are capable of travelling at speeds of up to 315 km per hour and will ferry 150,000 passengers per day initially. Much of the pressure came from a day and a half of ticket sales glitches. About 18,000 of the 87,000 tickets sold on Thursday were duplicates, following more than three hours of standing in line for some passengers. — Reuters
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Guide to beating rude Parisians Paris, January 5 ''Blend in by using them the next time you're in Paris. People will start mistaking you for a native in no time,'' says the online guide issued by the Ile-de-France regional committee of tourism at www.cestsoparis.com. The city's famously rude inhabitants have long been a headache for tourism authorities who have made repeated attempts to persuade Parisians to be more friendly to foreign visitors. The latest campaign appears to cede to the notion that if you can't beat them, join them. Its part English-language website promises to show people ''How to Cop the Parisian Attitude'' with games to help them learn commonly employed gestures. These range from the quintessential ''Bof'', a non-committal shrug used to deny knowledge or agreement, to ''Camembert'', when the thumb and forefinger are brought together into a circle to tell someone to shut up. ''You don't need to speak French to understand Parisians or to blend into the crowd,'' the website says. ''Stick out your lower lip. Raise your eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously.'' The guide is linked to an advertising campaign in London that hopes ''to show that Paris isn't a stuffy museum city.'' And just in case it is taken too literally, it also includes a cautionary note suggesting that visitors may see some even ruder Parisian expressions if they use the gestures too freely. — Reuters
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Suicide by Indian in Bahrain
Dubai, January 5 Ashok Kumar (59) from Cochin was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his apartment by his family on Wednesday. The body of Kumar, who was working as a financial controller of a company that runs supermarkets and other businesses, was flown home last night. Father of two, Kumar had been in Bahrain for 11 years and lived with his wife Padmavathi, while one of his married daughters Lakshmi lived nearby with her husband. —
UNI
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Barbs fly at Kabul meet Kabul, January 5 In what was seen by many as a disagreeable departure from diplomatic norms, President Karzai, beside himself with anger, told Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at a joint press conference that top-level visits bore little fruit if Afghanistan remained bedevilled by what he described as cross-border terrorism. “If our children continue to be killed, our teachers continue to get killed, and students get discouraged, there would be no use of such high-profile visits by the leaders,” he said. Analysts recalled that Mr Karzai, believed to be under tremendous pressure from dissenting members of his cabinet, started his rhetorical barrage against Pakistan in a tearful speech last month when he said terrorists from Pakistan were killing Afghan children. He ratcheted up his criticism two days later and directly charged Islamabad with supporting the Taliban. He again accused Pakistan of trying to enslave the Afghan people. “And that, unfortunately, the gap in ties is increasing between Afghanistan and Pakistan...It is with a lot of regret that relations face a lack of trust,” President Karzai said at the joint press conference. Having received such a wintry welcome in the windswept capital of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who seemed to exercise considerable restraint, said Islamabad had increased financial aid to the strife-torn country by $ 50 million to $ 300 million. He said the two sides, which had a tense round of talks for three hours, agreed to start the stalled repatriation process of three million Afghan refugees. Underling the need for honest soul-searching, he said: “Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have their own internal problems for which no other country can be blamed. Afghan authorities should find out why the insurgency grew to such an extent that it is now threatening the Karzai government.” President Karzai poured scorn on Pakistan’s proposal of fencing and mining sections of the 2,640-km-long border between the two countries, saying that they would unfairly split ethnic Pashtun communities that straddled both sides of the frontier. “Our people are convinced that mining or fencing of borders will only divide their families living across the borders and will in no way prevent terrorism or end the root cause of terrorism which needs to be addressed through other measures,” he said. Sticking to his guns, Prime Minister Aziz said mining of selected parts of the border, fencing and enhanced border surveillance were some options Pakistan had been weighing for some time. He assured the Afghan president that while implementing these measures, Islamabad would ensure that normal crossing of borders was not disrupted and traditional routes were not disturbed.
— By arrangement with the Dawn
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First female Speaker of
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In video: Pro-Saddam rally
in Tikrit. (
