Toronto, June 23
Twenty-two years after the bombing of Air India's Kanishka flight that killed 329 people, a memorial dedicated to the victims of the tragedy will be unveiled in Toronto by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

An official dedication ceremony will be held today for the waterfront memorial, which comes one year to the day that ground was broken for the project.

The memorial features a sundial, gardens and a granite wall, which is inscribed with the names of the 329 people who were aboard the plane when it blew up on June 23, 1985, and the names of the two baggage handlers who were killed by a terrorist bomb at Narita airport in Japan on the same day in a related attack.

About two-thirds of the Air India bombing victims live in Toronto.

Susheel Gupta, who is now a federal Crown prosecutor in Ottawa but who was just 12 when his mother Ramwati Gupta died on Flight 182, said the memorial is a long time coming.

"I think it's been 22 years that we've waited for something like this," said Gupta, in a phone interview last night.

"It's certainly a symbolic gesture but I hope the memorial serves as a reminder to all Canadians to remember that terrorism is a real threat in this country," said Gupta.

Peter Klambauer, who co-ordinated the project for the City of Toronto, said the memorial is truly a national creation and the craftsmanship is exquisite.

"The sundial is supported by a wall that is made in part from stones from all of the provinces and territories in Canada, said Klambauer. — PTI

Debunking persistent speculations that President Pervez Musharraf might dissolve assemblies next month and announced general elections, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said the assemblies would complete their full term till November.

“Some people are asking questions about the fate of the assemblies against the backdrop of rumours of their dissolution after the budget session, but I want to take the House into confidence that the assembly would complete its constitutionally mandated term,” he said, while speaking in the House after the passage of the budget.

Aziz’s disclaimer came amid confusing signals from government leaders and the opposition that the President is weighing his options against the backdrop of possible adverse judgement from the Supreme Court in the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom he sacked on March 9 and the upcoming all-party conference (APC) in London on July 7.

Ruling party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain further fuelled the speculations during an informal chat last night with a group of women MPs belonging to the Treasury Benches that early dissolution of the assemblies could not be ruled out if the opposition decide to resign from assemblies and chief minister NWFP advised the governor to dissolve provincial assembly in order to undercut Musharraf’s plan to get himself re-elected through present assemblies. Even otherwise, his re-election plan was beset with substantial legal and constitutional problems.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazlur Rehman whose MMA rules the NWFP government told The Tribune that the APC would react strongly if Musharraf pre-empted its decisions by advancing the dissolution of the assemblies. Similarly his obsession to get elected through present assemblies would be resisted collectively, he said.

Additionally, there is an air of uncertainty about possible move by the opposition, which is converging in London on July 7 to devise a common strategy for launching an anti-Musharraf campaign.

Kuala Lumpur, June 23
The Malaysian Government has banned fast-food companies from sponsoring or advertising on television shows for children, so as to encourage healthy eating habits, media reported here today.

Malaysia's health minister Chua Soi Lek said the Cabinet has also made it compulsory for all fast-food companies to disclose on their product labels the cholesterol, fat and sugar content of the food that they sell.

The television ban would affect all companies that prepared food in a standardised form, served it in large quantities in restaurants and advertised their products on television, Chua was quoted as saying by the Star daily.

He said the decision was based on the fact that television advertisements had a higher influence on children aged 12 and below compared with other media.

The government realised that the decision would affect multinational fast-food companies and millions of ringgit in revenue for television stations, the minister said.
"But the government feels it has a greater responsibility to protect the health of the people." Chua said the content ruling was in line with the government's efforts to reduce chronic health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

He said a reasonable amount of time would be allowed before enforcing the ban because companies might have existing advertising contracts and also needed to prepare the labels.

The government wanted to create a better-informed society that practised healthy eating habits, Chua said. — PTI