W O R L D

UN wins pledges to plant 1 billion trees
Nairobi, May 23
The United Nations has received pledges to plant more than a billion trees in a drive to help fight climate change and poverty, it said. Launched in November by a Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya at a major UN climate meeting in Kenya, the ‘Billion Tree’ campaign aims to roll back deforestation that is a top contributor to carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

Show of force: US warships enter Gulf
Aboard Uss John C. Stennis, May 23
Nine U.S. warships carrying 17,000 personnel entered the Gulf on Wednesday in a show of force off Iran's coast that navy officials said was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war.

US warships carrying 17,000 personnel enter the Gulf in a show of force off Iran's coast that navy officials said was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war. — Reuters photo

Pak poll: Plan on cards to manipulate win
A plan is on the cards to hold National Assembly elections in November after the President has been re-elected in uniform and can reasonably expect his supporters to win handsomely and deliver on certain strategic objectives, The Tribune learnt from reliable sources here.

New visa system in place soon
Pakistan will launch new Computerised Machine Readable Visa System from the start of fiscal year 2007-08. Directorate-General of Immigration and Passports has been assigned to ensure that the new system is in place July this year. All Pakistani missions abroad will introduce it simultaneously.

US tourist goes on walk naked
Berlin, May 23
A naked American tourist raised eyebrows when he went for a walk through a German city and told police he thought this was acceptable behaviour in Germany. "We have been having unusually hot weather here lately but, all the same, we can't have this," a spokesman for police in the southern city of Nuremberg said on Tuesday.

UN wins pledges to plant 1 billion trees

Nairobi, May 23
The United Nations has received pledges to plant more than a billion trees in a drive to help fight climate change and poverty, it said.

Launched in November by a Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya at a major UN climate meeting in Kenya, the ‘Billion Tree’ campaign aims to roll back deforestation that is a top contributor to carbon emissions blamed for global warming.

“The challenge now is to tell the world to go dig holes and plant seedlings. I've no doubt we will achieve our goal,” said Maathai.

The UN said it checks all pledges are credible to make sure they are carried out. Its website www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/ said 1.01 billion trees had been pledged, but only 13.95 million planted so far.

The pledges have come from companies and countries as well as individuals.

Maathai (66), in 2004 became the first African woman and first ‘green’ activist to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Nobel committee hailed the work of her Green Belt Movement -- which planted about 30 million trees in Africa -- as a step to help end poverty and avert conflicts over scarce’s of natural resources.

Some 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest are cut down every year, mostly in Africa and South America.

The boss of the UN Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, said the speed the billion pledges came in was a remarkable demonstration of people's willingness to act on climate change.

Ethiopia on Tuesday said it planned to plant 60 million trees this year at a cost of $8.1 million as part of its millennium celebration. — Reuters

Show of force: US warships enter Gulf

Aboard Uss John C. Stennis, May 23
Nine U.S. warships carrying 17,000 personnel entered the Gulf on Wednesday in a show of force off Iran's coast that navy officials said was the largest daytime assembly of ships since the 2003 Iraq war.

U.S. Navy officials said Iran had not been notified of plans to sail the ships, which include two aircraft carriers, through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in international waters off Iran's coast and a major artery for global oil shipments.

Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn, who is leading the group, said the ships would conduct exercises as part of a long-planned effort to reassure regional allies of U.S. commitment to Gulf security.

"There's always the threat of any state or non state actor that might decide to close one of the international straits, and the biggest one is the Straits of Hormuz," he told reporters on board the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier.

Most U.S. ships pass through the straits at night so as not to attract attention, and rarely move in such large numbers. Navy officials said the decision to send a second aircraft carrier was made at the last minute, without giving a reason.

The group of ships crossed at roughly 0355 GMT.

SHOW OF FORCE

On the way to the straits, a public announcement called on crew to witness "some of the most powerful ships in the world", whose tight formation against a backdrop of the setting sun created a dramatic image of American naval might.

The move comes less than two weeks after U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking aboard the Stennis during a tour of the Gulf, said the USA would stand with others to prevent Iran gaining nuclear weapons and "dominating the region".

On a visit to Abu Dhabi a few days later, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened "severe" retaliation if the United States attacked his country, which is locked in a standoff with the USA over its nuclear programme.

He also urged Gulf countries to "get rid of" foreign forces, blaming them for insecurity in the region. — Reuters

Pak poll: Plan on cards to manipulate win
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

A plan is on the cards to hold National Assembly elections in November after the President has been re-elected in uniform and can reasonably expect his supporters to win handsomely and deliver on certain strategic objectives, The Tribune learnt from reliable sources here.

Referring to Musharraf's recent remarks regarding 'extra-constitutional" options to “enhance his standing" in terms of legitimacy of his election through present assemblies, these sources said the election schedule would be so devised as to realise these objectives by cleverly manipulating the electoral process even within legal parameters.

According to the plan, the presidential election due between September 16 and October 15 would preferably be held in the second half of September or early October. The present National Assembly's term will expire on November 15. The election schedule would be announced soon after the presidential election while it is still in place. The polling date would follow immediately after the assembly dies its natural death.

The new assembly has to be elected "within" sixty days of the expiry of the previous one which could mean any day after it happens. In case of dissolution, however, the period for fresh election is 90 days. To avoid that it would thus be convenient to let the present assembly stay even after it performs its primary function of electing Gen. Musharraf for another term.

The plan would fit perfectly into a larger scheme of things for the pre and post election dispensation. This would:

(i) abridge the politically damaging period for electioneering,

(ii) allow little time to politicians for access to the electorate,

(iii) restrict the tenure of the interim government to the minimum and create a space in terms of time and opportunity for Gen. Musharraf, firstly to use the newly elected Assembly for legitimising in some form the highly dubious nature of election through the old one and secondly, to extend his life in uniform beyond the cut-off date of December 31, 2007, through another bill.

The government can spring a surprise to upstage the opposition and disrupt its various plans, including en bloc resignations and the declared pledge of exiled leaders to return (only?) after the schedule is announced.

Gen. Musharraf is President for last about eight years without ever going through the process of election.

New visa system in place soon
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Pakistan will launch new Computerised Machine Readable Visa System from the start of fiscal year 2007-08.

Directorate-General of Immigration and Passports has been assigned to ensure that the new system is in place July this year. All Pakistani missions abroad will introduce it simultaneously.

The directorate has started working on this project, which includes the development of software, procurement and deployment of hardware and preparation of new visa stickers as per the ICAO standards.

The system hardware has already been procured and the software developed.

The design of the new visa sticker has been finalised and the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (PSPC) is in the process of serial production of newly designed Machine Read- able visa stickers.

US tourist goes on walk naked

Berlin, May 23
A naked American tourist raised eyebrows when he went for a walk through a German city and told police he thought this was acceptable behaviour in Germany. "We have been having unusually hot weather here lately but, all the same, we can't have this," a spokesman for police in the southern city of Nuremberg said on Tuesday. "The man said he thought walking around naked was tolerated in Germany." The 41-year-old was carrying his clothes in a bag when police stopped him on Monday evening after complaints from pedestrians.

The tourist was not under the influence of drugs, said police. — Reuters