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Headway in talks with Benazir
Rivals in politics, neighbours in jail
Shock, praise follow Zia’s arrest
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Chaos rules as strike cripples Tube
First individual human genome decoded
Indian gets 9-yr jail
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Headway in talks with Benazir
President Musharraf’s emissaries on Tuesday held another round of talks with PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto with both sides reporting progress to break the impasse that had stalled the dialogue in London.
Federal minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed said a break-through had been achieved and another round within the next 24 hours was likely to resolve some divergences. It would pave the way for a meeting between Musharraf and Bhutto soon, he said. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the talks would continue and there was no forward movement on the issue of striking a balance between powers of Parliament and the President. Musharraf held a top-level meeting during which he was informed about the progress of the parleys. It was attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, ruling party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, chief ministers of Punjab and Sindh, some ruling party leaders, besides chiefs of intelligence agencies. The meeting was held against the backdrop of a decision by the religious grouping, the Muttahida Majlise Amal (MMA), not to support Musharraf's election with or without uniform. MMA supreme council which met on Monday night said it would also oppose any constitutional amendments being negotiated by Musharraf and Bhutto to neutralise the judiciary by removAing constitutional impediments in Musharraf's eligibility as a candidate. In return, Musharraf had agreed to support an amendment giving indemnity to Bhutto and others facing charges. Sources said the US and Britain had nudged both sides to tone down their positions in order to clinch a deal before the presidential election, ensuring another term to Musharraf. Bhutto-Sharif may be barred from poll
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif may be constitutionally barred from contesting the elections if they return from exile. According to Bloomberg, he said in an interview in Islamabad at the weekend, “There are legal complications and it will be up to them to decide what their future ought to be. It will be better for Pakistan that they come back after the elections so that the current environment doesn’t get destabilised.” In a crackdown against exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political party, the Pakistani police have arrested hundreds of PML-N activists in Lahore and Rawalpindi. A senior police officer said that several PML-Nawaz leaders and activists, who might disrupt law and order in the country by organising a reception for the deposed Premier on his return home next week, have been taken into custody. — PTI Sharif vows to oust Musharraf
London: Ruling out any compromise with Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf, exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to oust the military dictator from power in the next six weeks. "His tenure ends on October 15 and he has no constitutional right to remain. I hope to force him to step down by this date," 'The Times' quoted Sharif - who prepares to return to his home country from forced exile next week- here today. Family feud claims 10 lives
Armed men gunned down 10 persons and wounded 13 members of a family to avenge an old feud in Lodhran, 70 km from Multan, in South Punjab on Monday night, a reports here said. The gruesome murders stem from old blood feud between two families led by Sadiq Baloch and his relative Yousuf Baloch who had already claimed several lives, police chief Lodhran Manzoor Sarwar Chaudhry said. Siddique Baloch accompanied by 11 accomplices attacked a house of Nazar Ahmed, belonging to the Yousaf group. They shot dead four persons, including Nazar, his son Muhammad Yousuf, daughter-in-law Manzoor Bibi and her sister Shamoo Bai. The armed group then went to two nearby villages, Chah Sadal Wala and Chak 94, and butchered Muhammad Sarfaraz, Munir Ahmed, Shado Mai and Sajida Bibi. In both attacks, 13 were also wounded, all belonging to the same family. Two others died on way to hospital.
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Rivals in politics, neighbours in jail
Dhaka, September 4 While Awami League chief Hasina is lodged in the house allocated to the deputy speaker in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (Parliament) complex since July 16, Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia has been kept in the nearby seven-room building meant for the speaker since her arrest on Monday. Zia, in a manner of speaking, may thus be one up on her rival. But the government prosecuting them - and hundreds of others for corruption - is being even-handed or, officially, ‘neutral’. As of Monday evening, it was not certain if Hasina, who will be 60 on September 28, knew of the arrival of Zia, two years older to her, media reports said. Both have been given the same facilities, said New Age newspaper on Tuesday, quoting DIG, prisons (Dhaka division), Major Shamsul Haider Siddiqui. Declared sub-jail, or special jail under the prison law, this part of the complex has been vacant since Parliament was dissolved and ninth general election was stalled due to political turmoil in January. The seven-room building allocated to Zia was refurbished earlier with beds, a dressing table, sofa sets, ceiling fans, air conditioners, a fridge, a television set and utensils, Siddiqui said. Other facilities include seven newspapers. Security at the special jail has been tightened with the deployment of additional forces of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police and jail guards, 20 of them male and four women, under the jurisdiction of a deputy jailer. — IANS
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Shock, praise follow Zia’s arrest
Dhaka, September 4 Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister until October last year, was taken into detention from her home yesterday, while her rival Sheikh Hasina, another former Premier, was jailed in July. “It is shocking...but worth praise for the army-led caretaker government,” said Abdul Baset, a Dhaka resident. “The balance has been drawn,” he said, referring to the earlier arrest of Hasina. The women are the respective leaders of Bangladesh’s top political parties. Another Dhaka dweller said, “'It looked pretty odd while Hasina was in (jail) and Khaleda out, although they both were suspected of doing similar misdeeds,” he said.
— Reuters
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Chaos rules as strike cripples Tube
London, September 4 Many of the three million passengers who use the network each day were forced to travel in alternative routes to work, with many packing on to buses. ''We share the view that this disruption is intolerable, as it serves no purpose,'' a TFL spokesman said. About 2,300 staff at collapsed contractor Metronet walked out at 6 pm on Monday in a row over jobs and pensions. Even though the strike is due to end at 6 pm on Thursday, the chaos is expected to drag on into Friday. Trains ground to a halt on the following lines - Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, East London, Hammersmith and City,Metropolitan, Victoria and Waterloo and City. The central part of the Piccadilly line was also suspended. TFL said there was a good service on the Northern and Jubilee lines, which are maintained by a different company. The Docklands Light Railway, which links Canary Wharf and east London with the City, is operating normally. Metronet is responsible under a 30-year public-private partnership contract for the infrastructure of nine Tube lines. It went under in July after banks denied it access to funds amid a projected overspend of 2 billion pounds. The RMT rail union says it wants guarantees that the collapse will not lead to job losses or pension cuts. TFL and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone say they have already given such guarantees. A second 72-hour strike is due to start on September 10. — Reuters
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First individual human genome decoded
Paris, September 4 Published today in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, the 2.8 billion contiguous bits of genetic code will also hasten advances in preventative medicine, said Venter, who is both an author and the object of the study. Within five years, faster and cheaper sequencing techniques could produce complete genomes for 10,000 people, laying the foundation for an era of individualised genomics, he predicted. "Once we have those, we will basically be able to sort out every fundamental question about nature versus nurture, what is genetic and what is environment," he said by phone. The findings overturn what had in a few short years become genetic gospel - that all human beings are, genetically speaking, 99.9 identical. — AFP
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Indian gets 9-yr jail
Sydney, September 4 Rajbinder Singh Shahi (30) was found guilty by a Melbourne court jury of intentionally ramming Xavier Salmon (18) with his taxi. Shahi was slapped with manslaughter charges, The Age newspaper reported.
— IANS
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