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India, EU review strategic partnership Blind Irish completes Everest Marathon
NATO chopper shot down by Taliban
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Indian couple put under house detention
Musharraf warns media
13 killed in Pak
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India, EU review strategic partnership Berlin, May 31 The review was made during a meeting between external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and the EU Troika involving the past, present and future presidencies of the EU. The meeting was hosted by German foreign minister Franz-Walter Steinmeier in his capacity as the current president of the European council of ministers. It gave an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest such as the fight against terrorism, Afghanistan, Iran, energy and climate change. On the European side, the meeting held at the German foreign ministry was also attended by representatives of the European Commission and the Council Secretariat of the EU and Portuguese Foreign Minister M. Luis Amado, whose country takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency from Germany in July. Addressing a joint press conference with Steinmeier and Amado, Mukherjee said their meeting was a good opportunity to take stock of the progress made since the seventh India-EU summit held in Helsinki in October 2006. The major areas of cooperation agreed under the Joint Action Plan have made progress and the dialogue and consultation mechanisms have been strengthened, he said. The external affairs minister cited President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg last month, the first by an Indian President, as a significant event. At the Helsinki summit, both sides had agreed to launch negotiations on broad-based trade and investment agreement. The two sides noted with satisfaction that the European Council recently approved the mandate for European Commission to launch negotiations on the trade and investment agreement with India, Mukherjee said. "We look forward to an early launch of the negotiations," he said. Progress has been made also in other important areas of the strategic partnership between the two sides such as science and technology, research and energy,
Mukherjee said. — PTI
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Blind Irish completes Everest Marathon
Kathmandu, May 31 Mark Pollock, who hails from Dublin, finished the race which passes through world’s highest glaciers and moraines in 16 hrs, 27 mins and 39 seconds. His achievement was true testament to the book which he co-authored recently - “Making It Happen”. The Irish youth looked fresh after the arduous effort that ended midnight. The marathon was organised by Himalayan Expeditions, coinciding with May 29, the date when Tenzing and Hillary conquered Mt Everest 54 years ago. “The race was very slow and tough. The first 10 km took more than five hours and was I thought I was going to be late,” he said. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Mark initially could not see with his right eye. In 1998, he lost sight in both the eyes when his left retina became detached. With successful completion of Everest Marathon, Pollock achieved a rare feat of finishing marathons at earth’s both, the highest as well as at the lowest point. This April, he completed the ‘50-km Dead Sea Ultra Marathon’, 400 meters below sea level, in Jordan in 4 hrs and 42 mins. —
PTI
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NATO chopper shot down by Taliban
Kabul, May 31 Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said the death toll came from secret sources operating in the southern province of Helmand, scene of a series of bloody clashes in recent months between Taliban and Western forces. He said the twin-rotor Chinook was flying low ahead of a land vehicle convoy when it was shot down. ''Actually, Mujahideen (holy warriors) planned to ambush their convoy,'' Yousuf said by telephone from an undisclosed location. ''But the helicopter appeared before the arrival of the convoy. The mujahideen fired on it with what ever they had.'' NATO said seven soldiers, five of whom were Americans, were killed when a Chinook crashed late yesterday in Helmand. Alliance officials said it was premature to comment on how the helicopter went down, and would not say if the helicopter was directly involved in a battle with the Taliban. Chinook crashes in Afghanistan have killed at least 55 US soldiers in the last two years. Helmand has long been a Taliban stronghold and it is the leading drug-producing region of Afghanistan, the world's main heroin producer. The Kajaki region where the Chinook came down is where the Afghan government and foreign officials are hoping to eliminate guerrillas in order to rebuild a dam and hydro-electric project. When completed, the project is expected to vastly increase electric power in the province and spur development. Taliban leaders have threatened in recent weeks to step up attacks on foreign troops and said they have trained hundreds of suicide bombers to carry out attacks. Last year's fighting between Western forces and the militants was the bloodiest since the US-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001. The guerrillas are largely active in southern and eastern areas of Afghanistan, where more than 5,000 people have been killed in the past 16 months. The violence is rising despite the presence of nearly 50,000 foreign troops led by the NATO and the US military as well as about 100,000 Afghan security forces. —
Reuters
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Indian couple put under house detention
New York, May 31 A US Federal Judge, while allowing posting the couple's bail application, put strict conditions which would not permit them to leave the house except for visiting doctor, attorneys and temple. The movements of Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, will be electronically monitored and they will be under 24-hour surveillance. The bail amount includes 2.5 million for Varsha who was accused of actually torturing the Indonesian women and one million for Mahender who was accused of allowing the torture to take place. The prosecutors and defence attorneys will now work out the exact working details of the security arrangements and the US District Court Justice Thomas Platt had given them until Friday to do so. In agreeing to release Varsha and Mahender on bail, Justice Platt rejected the contention of the prosecution to keep them in jail. Under the conditions set, all expenses incurred by the state on the detention will be paid for by the couple. Besides, their children would not be allowed to bring and take any packages or messages for and from their parents. For all practical purposes, their home would be turned into a jail at their own expense, Platt observed. — PTI
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Musharraf warns media
In another outburst of anger of media coverage during the ongoing judicial and political crisis, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has warned independent media to behave responsibly instead of abusing the freedom they enjoy. He said the media should also be sensitive to the image of the armed forces. “It is the responsibility of every Pakistani to ensure that the sanctity and reverence of national institutions, such as the armed forces, is maintained,” Musharraf told army officers at Jehlum garrison yesterday. Musharraf flayed the anti- army slogans and speeches made by lawyers during Saturday’s national seminar organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) here. “There was an assault on the superior courts,” he said adding that the language used at the seminar “humiliated” the armed forces and the judiciary. The government is dealing with the issue in the Supreme Court where a two-judge panel began hearing in the complaint Thursday. SCBA president Munir Malik debunked government charges while contending that Musharraf was responsible for bringing the armed forces to disrepute and public scorn by deeply involving it in politics. He said the President oddly chose military officers to discuss judicial crisis and media’s role, which itself was evident as he continues to implicate the army in civilian affairs. President Musharraf denied that military was involved in the governance. “The armed forces are in the barracks and allegations to the contrary are unfounded and unfortunate, he said. He flayed the media, saying it must not politicise what was purely a judicial and legal matter and cautioned it to abide by the code of conduct approved by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). Reiterating that he had granted media unprecedented freedom, he said the government had no intention of curbing it. But he underlined the need for “responsible journalism” and avoiding exaggeration in reporting on the judicial crisis. He said most private TV channels were reporting responsibly, but some channels were airing talk shows with “unbalanced reporting and presentation” that were creating pressure on judges. A section of the media was also spreading “despondency, distortion and ambiguity” and “the achievements of the government are being “submerged by the propaganda of vested interests aimed at personal and political gain,” Musharraf said.
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