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Canada stays deporation of paralysed Sikh
China, Pak hold N-talk to counter Indo-US pact
Musharraf for reconciliation,but after poll
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Bachchan recites father’s poems
Post Indo-US deal, Pak ups its nuke plan
Maldives votes for presidential system
Prince Harry proposes to girlfriend
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Canada stays deporation of paralysed Sikh
Toronto, August 19 Laibar Singh (48) is happy to remain in Canada for now, Harpreet Singh, a supporter, said. The Sikh community had asked people to e-mail the immigration minister as well as minister of public safety Stockwell Day, and thousands of e-mails were sent, he was quoted as saying by the Canadian Press. More than a dozen politicians and community leaders also urged the federal government to allow Laibar to stay in Canada. The federal government has granted a 60-day stay of a deportation order to Laibar, the report said. The community rallied behind Laibar, who suffered aneurysm last year after he was ordered deported in June. A day before his removal, set for July 8, Laibar took sanctuary in a gurdwara in Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, but left it on Monday to seek treatment at a hospital, where he was arrested. His lawyer, Zool Suleman, wants his client to be allowed to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds. Suleman said if his client is deported back to India, his health will be in danger. The lawyer says Laibar Singh has no one to care for him in India and doesn't have money to support himself there. Harpreet said Laibar will be returning to the gurdwara and that his health expenses will be borne by the local Sikh community. Laibar, a widower, has three daughters and a son in India. He entered Canada in November 2003 on a fake passport. Applications for refugee status, a judicial review of his failed claim and an exemption on humanitarian and compassionate grounds have all been refused since 2004. —
PTI
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China, Pak hold N-talk to counter Indo-US pact
Beijing, August 19 Even as the two old allies discuss a nuclear deal, China’s reservations over the Indo-US deal and the boundary issue may be clouding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s maiden visit to Beijing, which is likely to take place towards the end of the year, they said. Since Pakistan has pleaded with China at the highest level not to let it down in the nuclear balance with India, Beijing is apparently working out a nuclear deal with Islamabad, in case the Indo-US nuclear agreement is okayed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the sources told PTI here preferring anonymity. While China was apparently taken aback by the finalisation of the 123 Agreement, Beijing now hopes that the opposition within India itself will wreck the Indo-US nuclear deal, the sources said. At the same time, China is making active preparations for a counter-deal involving Pakistan, they said, while taking note of the recent spate of critical reports on the Indo-US nuclear agreement in the official Chinese media. The China-Pakistan defence ties and the implications of the Indo-US deal on Beijing and Islamabad came up for detailed discussions here this month when Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Ehsan Ul Haq, visited Beijing.
— PTI
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Musharraf for reconciliation,but after poll
President General Pervez Musharraf has said he is in favour of “national reconciliation”, but it would happen after the general election on the basis of political parties’ strength in the new assemblies.
“I am in favour of national reconciliation in view of internal and external situations, but this will be given serious thought after the general elections,” General Musharraf was quoted as saying by a participant of a meeting between the President and Pakistan Muslim League parliamentarians from southern Punjab. About 19 MPs belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League abstained, one of them Akhtar KhAN Kanju publicly declared he could not vote for a presidential candidate in uniform. Others, claiming anonymity, said nobody is indepensible. "President Musharraf has played his innings. Eight years of unbridled power is enough. He should quit honourably," one MP said. The president, who has held a series of meetings with PML parliamentarians as part of his election campaign, faced a number of questions regarding a deal between him and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but did not divulge details. “Your interests will not be harmed,” he was quoted as saying. Another participant said the President was confident that he would be re-elected. “But he did not drop a single hint as to what he would concede in case of a deal with the PPP.” A federal minister who attended the meeting said the President made it clear that he was not “indispensable”. “All of us do not matter. People come and go. What matters is the integrity of the country and to me Pakistan comes first,” General Musharraf was quoted as saying. The President said election would be held in the second fortnight of September. The schedule for the election is likely be announced in the first week of September, giving only a week for electioneering.
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Bachchan recites father’s poems New York, August 19 At the event organised by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA, to mark the birth centenary of the elder Bachchan, Amitabh recited five poems of his father ending with ‘Madhu Shala’. — PTI
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Thai PM declares victory in referendum
Bangkok, August 19 Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont claimed victory after exit polls showed that nearly 68 per cent of Thai voters had approved the charter, with at least two-thirds of the nation's 45 million eligible voters casting ballots. "We consider that this constitution has been approved by the people, and by the end of August the constitution will be submitted to the king for endorsement," Surayud said on national television. "Overall, the turnout was more than 50 per cent. I thank the Thai people for coming out to exercise their vote," he said. Today's vote was the first test at the ballot box for the ruling junta, which ousted elected premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup last September.
— AFP
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British youth jailed for racism
London, August 19 Aron Stoddard had racially abused Sahida Khan and Mohammed Imran, threatened to kill them and torch their home in Lancashire in north-west England. Stoddard admitted to racially aggravated fear of violence and damage in Haslingden in March. He also pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified. Judge Jonathan Woolman said the victims must have been very frightened and sentenced Stoddard to nine months in jail. “These offences are so serious that I ought to impose the proper sentence and let the good work continue in Lancaster young offender’s institution for the time being.” The judge added that it was clear Stoddard had had a very difficult life, including the tragic losses of his mother and brother and he had “run wild”. Stoddard was also banned from driving for 12 months, the Lancashire Telegraph reported today. Prosecutor Karl Berry told the court that Khan was in her kitchen when the youth verbally abused her. When her husband confronted Stoddard, he replied with abuse and started making monkey noises, the court was told. Berry said Stoddard then threatened to kill the victim and torch their home. Khan later called the police. Stoddard later smashed a window with an axe. Stoddard, who had 21 previous convictions, told Khan to go back to Pakistan in a mocking Asian accent. Defence lawyer Mark Stuart said Stoddard came from an “incredibly desperate background” and needed bereavement counselling. — PTI
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Post Indo-US deal, Pak ups its nuke plan
Pakistan has decided to accelerate the development of its nuclear programme following the finalisation of a nuclear agreement between India and the United States.
President Pervez Musharraf and the government authorities concerned have issued directions for this to nuclear scientists and engineers, Online news service reported Sunday. It quoted unnamed sources as saying that a meeting of the National Command and Control Authority discussed the disturbance of strategic balance in the region after the Indo-US deal and decided that Pakistan would continue developing its nuclear and missile programme. These sources said that work on the Khushab reactor would be expedited and five new nuclear reactors would be installed. They said that the government has rejected any US pressure on its nuclear programme and clarified that it would take all necessary steps to ensure Pakistan’s defence and sovereignty and maintain the strategic balance in the region.
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Maldives votes for presidential system
Colombo, August 19 Preliminary results showed Gayoom's Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) which favoured presidential system got 93,042 votes while only 57,109 voted for a parliamentary system advocated by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
— PTI
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Prince Harry proposes to girlfriend
London, August 19 The couple declared their love for each other on a recent safari break in Botswana. However, they do not intend to become officially engaged until Chelsy finishes her studies and Harry has seen active army service overseas. By then Harry (22), is likely to have a desk job in Britain, and his girlfriend (21), who is recovering well after an emergency appendix operation on Thursday will have finished her course in politics at Leeds University.
— PTI
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