Islamabad, May 16
Officials from India and Pakistan would hold two-day talks from tomorrow in nearby Rawalpindi in yet another attempt to resolve the dispute over Sir Creek, the 65 mile marshy strip off the Gujarat coast, amid optimism generated by finalisation of maps.

Officials said during the talks the two sides would exchange maps, based on a joint survey, depicting the maritime boundary as each country sees it.

The Indian delegation headed by Surveyor General M. Gopal Rao will hold parleys with the Pakistan team to iron out differences and work out some level of convergence on a possible solution to the dispute.

After the failure to make any headway on the issue of demilitarisation of Siachen glacier at the last month’s talks, Indian officials are hopeful of thrashing out a solution based on the maps worked out during a month-long joint survey in January this year.

There is a great deal of disappointment after the failure of talks on Siachen. “There is, however, a positive streak to Sir Creek talks because we believe it is doable,” an Indian official here told PTI.

The joint survey has given a semblance of hope and both sides have already exchanged the survey maps.

Officials on both sides believe that a positive outcome on Sir Creek talks, a part of the fourth round of the composite dialogue process would enable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to finalise his much awaited visit to Pakistan.

The determination of the coastline was essential for both countries to notify the maritime economic zone to the UN Convention on Law of the sea of which both Pakistan and India are signatories.

The convention requires that all maritime boundary disputes be resolved by 2009 failing which UN may declare them as international waters.

Sir Creek is one of the issues being discussed under the composite dialogue process between the two countries which has completed three rounds.

The Indian delegation for tomorrow’s talks included Chief Naval Hydrographer Rear Admiral B.R. Rao.

The joint survey of Sir Creek has been conducted on land as well off the coast to verify the outermost points of coastlines in the disputed area on the principle of equidistance method. This was the second survey of the strip.

The first survey conducted last year covered the horizontal section of the creek.

India says the boundary should be in the middle of the estuary, while Pakistan wants the border form the south-east bank. The joint survey verified the outermost points and prepare maps based on which a solution could be hammered out. — PTI

Paris, May 16
French President Nicolas Sarkozy took office today, starting a five-year term in which he promises to reform France and restore national pride. Sarkozy, 52, a law and order hardliner who mixes pro-market economic views and state intervention, officially became the President at a ceremony at Elysee Palace.

His predecessor Jacques Chirac, 74, handed over the secret codes to France’s nuclear strike force during a private meeting between them, before leaving the palace after 12 years as President to loud applause.

New President’s wife Cecilia Sarkozy, wearing a shimmering gold dress, and their young son Louis looked on as Sarkozy was proclaimed the President.

The children from their previous marriages also attended.

Within hours of formally assuming office, Sarkozy was to fly to Berlin to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in a trip aimed at underscoring the importance of Franco-German ties.

Sarkozy, who defeated Socialist Segolene Royal in a May 6 run-off ballot, says he will take a more hands-on approach than his predecessor. He wants to be judged on his record in trying to restore full employment and boost living standards. — Reuters

President Musharraf yesterday prorogued the national assembly session amid ruckus in the House during which his staunch ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and opposition members traded charges of responsibility for the Karachi carnage and raised slogans against each other.

The opposition demanded immediate resignation of General Musharraf and dismissal of the Sindh government accusing them of carrying out a preplanned operation during which the police and the Rangers were deliberately immobilised while the MQM armed bands massacred opposition workers who were going towards the airport to accord a warm welcome to suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

The MQM found itself completely alienated when no member from the treasury benches stood up to defend it. Senior opposition leaders, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Imran Khan and Raja Ashraf Pervez, said that the government had prorogued the session to avoid debate on the Karachi killings that claimed more than 40 dead and 150 wounded in one of the worst-ever violence on Saturday and Sunday in the country’s commercial capital.

Silicon Valley, May 16
A California-based news website, which created quite a stir when it hired two reporters in India to cover the local government and politics, failed to publish the first batch of outsourced stories because of the overwhelming reaction to the plan.

The two-year-old website was to carry the first lot of stories from the Indian journalists yesterday.

However, editor and publisher of the pasadenanow.com James Macpherson said the website had been prevented from carrying out the stories of the two reporters because of the attention that they received.

The website made national and international news last week, when it had hired the two reporters to cover the Pasadena City Council. One lives in Mumbai and will be paid $12,000 a year. The other will work in Bangalore for $7,200.

The publisher said it made sense, since the council meetings were available on the web.

From nearly 9,000 miles away, the outsourced journalists will watch, then write their stories, while their boss sleeps. In addition, the correspondents will be able to e-mail anybody they want for an interview. — PTI

Washington, May 16
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers negotiating a broad immigration overhaul are close to a deal that would legalize the status of millions of illegal immigrants and put them on a path to citizenship, lawmakers and congressional aides said.

Two leading Senators, Democrat Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said substantial progress had been made.

Kennedy spokeswoman Laura Capps said a deal was not in hand last evening and negotiations would resume today.

Senators said the talks had made progress and negotiators hoped to strike a deal before a crucial Senate vote on immigration that is likely on Monday.

“It looks like there is a good chance (of an agreement) but it is not there yet,” said Sen Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

Aides said the group had agreed on major portions of the bill including provisions that would legalize the status of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and put them on a path to citizenship after paying a fine and meeting other requirements. But lawmakers cautioned that a number of important details, such as the ability to bring family into the country, remain unsettled.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said negotiators had made “some accomplishments” but were ‘’a day or two short’’ of a final agreement.

Lawmakers are working on the details of a guest worker programme that is likely to raise opposition from labour unions worried that an influx of temporary foreign workers would depress wages.

The guest worker programme would go forward after border security and other enforcement measures have gone into effect, according to one aide. The bill also would include a special programme for agriculture workers.

Lawmakers are also discussing a merit-based system that would apply to some future immigrants. Potential immigrants would earn points for skills, language and families ties.

The talks, which include Kennedy, Republican Sen Jon Kyl of Arizona and at least two high-ranking Bush administration officials, are reaching a crucial point as the Senate prepares to vote today whether to take up last year’s legislation. — Reuters

Washington, May 16
Shifting its stance, the White House said that “all options are on the table” about who should lead the World Bank, even as it defended embattled President Paul Wolfowitz.

Wolfowitz, who is accused by a special bank panel of breaking conflict-of-interest rules, maintains that he acted in good faith in arranging a generous pay package for his girlfriend. He waged a vigorous fight to keep running the institution, defending himself before the board in an appearance late yesterday.

The board, which met behind closed doors, ultimately will decide what actions to take against him. The board said it will meet again today to continue its deliberations. “We have faith in Paul Wolfowitz,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said. He insisted that the charges against Wolfowitz are not “a firing offence.”

Only after the charges against Wolfowitz are resolved, he said, would it then be appropriate to consider the bank’s leadership going forward. “Separately, at some point in the future there are going to be conversations about the proper stewardship of the World Bank,” Snow said. It was the first time that the White House indicated that it might be open to Wolfowitz’s departure. — AP

Kathmandu, May 16
Veteran Nepalese mountaineer Appa Sherpa broke his own world record today by scaling the world's highest peak Mt Everest for a record 17th time.

Appa scaled the 29,035 ft summit at 8:30 am (local time) from the South-East side with seven other sherpas.

Appa was leading a team called the "Super Sherpas Expedition" to raise funds for the education of children of Nepalese mountain guides.

Five other Sherpa guides also reached the Everest summit from the same team today. Among them was Lhakpa Ghelu Sherpa, who scaled the peak for the 13th time today.

Both of them also released a travel book, "From the Base Camp of the Everest", by Pratik Dhakal on the mountain top.

Appa ( 46) is one of the most respected climbers in the mountaineering community. His closest competitor - fellow Sherpa guide Chewang Nima(41) - scaled the peak for the 14th time last year. — PTI