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Amnesty for Bhutto in graft cases faces resistance
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Interpol seeks update on Bhutto’s ‘wanted’ status
Musharraf to shed uniform by Nov 15 Musharraf wants to drop cases against Sharif Pleas against Mush’s candidature Lal Masjid re-opened
Myanmar junta
releases 229 monks, nuns
Time is right to address Kashmir issue, says Pak ‘Indo-US ties do not hinge on N-deal’
Pak voices concern over Indo-US nuke deal at UN
N- deal will be done: Burns
Anti-Sonia demonstration held near UN building
Media watchdog raps Nepal Maoists over violence
Pak security forces kill 10 militants
Obesity is a world problem, says study
Virtual walk for a cause
Queen was to abdicate, Diana told lawyer
British climber conquered Everest 30 yrs before Hillary
Chinese youth crazy about Ash
Photo exhibition on Gandhi
Indian's ear sliced by Kuwaiti employer
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Talks with Musharraf stalled, says Bhutto
London, October 3 Bhutto, who plans to return to Pakistan on October 18 after eight years of exile, accused the military leader of failing to deliver on promises of a return to democracy. She said her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the largest
opposition faction, would decide at talks in London whether to resign from Parliament and provincial assemblies which are expected on Saturday to re-elect Musharraf as President. "The People’s Party is not in the business of saving military dictatorships. We want to save democracy," Bhutto, 54, told reporters. "Either today or tomorrow we are taking the decision
whether, prior to the presidential elections, we should resign from the assemblies in protest at the inability of the Musharraf government to move towards the restoration of democracy in Pakistan." The PPP is not in a position to stop Musharraf's re-election but could damage the credibility of the election process if it boycotted the vote. More than 80 opposition members of Parliament have resigned in protest against his standing for re-election while being army chief. Musharraf has vowed to step down as head of the military before being sworn in for a new presidential term, and on Tuesday named a former intelligence chief to take the post. Musharraf's government said corruption charges against Bhutto relating to her two terms in power would be dropped. But Bhutto said her party had checked with the presidency and found this was not the case. "This is just a typical disinformation campaign by the
present regime," she said. Bhutto said extremism was growing. "The longer the military regime continues in this fashion, the more anarchic the situation becomes," she said. "I am afraid we are heading for a situation which could lead to street
agitation." She said that, despite pledges from Musharraf in the power-sharing talks to introduce democratic reforms, "on the ground, nothing has changed from nine months ago". Among the PPP's demands are a removal of the ban on anyone serving a third term as Prime Minister, which would disqualify Bhutto. A parliamentary election is due by mid-January. Bhutto said there had been no movement on this and other issues, despite promises from Musharraf. "He's not prepared to give a level playing-field," she said before entering the small, terraced London house where dozens of PPP members, most of them having flown in from Pakistan, had earlier gathered for the
talks. — Reuters
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Amnesty for Bhutto in graft cases faces resistance
President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday presided over a lengthy session with aides and coalition allies amid stiff resistance from within the coalition to the proposed amnesty law on corruption cases against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
The law, termed as "national reconciliation" bill, evoked wide outrage from both supporters and critics of Gen Musharraf, who regretted that every moral, political and constitutional norm is being flouted for securing election of an individual. Nearly 1,500 people were accused of looting tens of billions of rupees. Musharraf also had a separate meeting with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who later called an extended informal meeting of the cabinet and ruling party leaders to overcome internal disagreement. In London, Bhutto She said it is all disinformation, as no concrete step had been taken by Musharraf and warned that her party would also resign from assemblies if Musharraf did not take any tangible steps to pave the way for free and fair elections. Chief of ruling PML Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, talking to reporters, took umbrage at forgiving Bhutto of nearly 90 billion rupees. He demanded that if an amnesty has to be extended to Bhutto, it should also cover exiled premier Nawaz Sharif and others. Political observers were intrigued by reports that the law would contain provisions that would block any relief to him or his party leaders, including Javed Hashmi. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a key ally of President Musharraf, protested that it was not being consulted on the proposed amnesty and announced it would not support any law that is proposed without consultation. Dissident former minister Ishaq Khakwani, PML vice-presidents Lt-Gen Majid Malik and Syed Kabir Wasti, in a joint statement, said nobody has a right to pardon hundreds of corrupt officials and politicians for his personal ambition. It must be aimed at resolving national crises instead of serving individual interests, they said. Religious affairs minister Ejazul Haq, former president Farooq Leghari, lawmakers and ministers belonging to renegades from the PPP and several others openly opposed the move that now seems to run into snags. They refused to vote for a Benazir-specific amnesty law. Legal experts also debated fiercely whether the President has the authority to grant amnesty or indemnity through an ordinary law. The constitution allows him to pardon any convicted person, but there is no provision of amnesty. Musharraf may face serious problem of numbers if he tries to bring a constitutional amendment.
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Interpol seeks update on Bhutto’s ‘wanted’ status
Islamabad, October 3 The Interpol had issued red corner notice against the self-exiled Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson on a request from the government in January 2006, following which Bhutto was termed a ‘wanted person’. “The Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, has asked the government of Pakistan if Bhutto is still a wanted person as its database at the general secretariat indicated and if the red notice against the PPP leader was still valid,” the Dawn reported. According to the source, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has written to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson for advice. “It is the National Accountability Bureau that is to decide about the status of the red notice. Although, the red corner notice had been issued on its instruction, we have not received any directive from the NAB in this connection,” FIA director-general Tariq Pervez was quoted. Bhutto was charged by the NAB with illegally amassing properties and money in bank accounts overseas while in power. She had also been convicted of money laundering in Switzerland in 2003. It may be mentioned that Bhutto — who had served as Premier between 1988 and 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996, and has been living in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai since 1999 because of the charges pending against her — is due to return to Pakistan on October 18. — PTI
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Musharraf to shed uniform by Nov 15
Islamabad, October 3 He also admitted that Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party could play an important role in curbing extremism in the country, and did not deny the US playing a significant role in talks with her. The President, in a special interview to a private TV channel, said general elections in the country would be held after two months, from November 15, after the existing assemblies complete their term. Mellowing down on political opponents, he said he wanted to withdraw cases against Nawaz Sharif and leaders of other political parties, while commenting on the National Reconciliation Ordinance.
— UNI
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Musharraf wants to drop cases against Sharif Islamabad, October 3 Musharraf, who is seeking re-election for a five-year term in the October 6 Presidential ballot, said he wanted to withdraw cases against Sharif as well as leaders of other political parties under the National Reconciliation Ordinance. Musharraf’s comments in an interview to the private Geo TV came a day after another former Premier Benazir Bhutto, who lives in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai, was offered amnesty by the government over the corruption charges against her. Replying to a question, the Pakistan President said “I am expecting I will be elected on October 6. And I have the Constitutional right (to wear the uniform) till November 15. ” — PTI
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Pleas against Mush’s candidature The Supreme Court on Wednesday admitted for regular hearing two petitions challenging the acceptance of Gen Musharraf's nomination papers as candidate for the presidential election and issued notices to the President, the Federation and the Attorney-General to respond on Thursday. Judges of an eight-member bench, many of whom had earlier dismissed petitions regarding Musharraf's eligibility on technical grounds, acknowledged that the issues raised by two rival candidates as aggrieved parties were substantive and related to issues which were of public interest that needed deeper scrutiny. Retired Justice Waheeduddin Ahmed, candidate of lawyers, and Makhdoom Amin Fahim of the PPP have filed the petitions. Justice Javed Iqbal, who presided over the bench, summed up sense of the court that certain issues of vital national importance have been brought to the notice of the court; there is time constraint, as the presidential election is slated for October 6 and that the court will uphold the constitution. The court was adjourned till Thursday, when it will also take up request for staying the election till it rules on the petitions. Earlier the petitioners apparently suffered a major setback when one of the judges, Saradar Raza Khan, excused himself from hearing the case on moral grounds. He maintained that he along with two other judges had already pronounced his views on eligibility and other issues in the 6-3 judgment last Friday in which they had upheld that Musharraf cannot contest as army chief. Supreme Court Chief Jutice Iftikhar Chaudhry first reconstituted the bench reducing it to eight by dropping Justice Khan. However, later in the afternoon, he ordered that the case be heard by full court adding two more judges, Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Tasadduq Jilani. Ramday had presided over the full court bench that delivered historic judgment on July 20, reinstating the CJ, while Jilani was its member. Justice Chaudhry ostensibly responded to a letter by eminent jurist Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim who called for hearing the case by all 17 judges of the Supreme Court and also four chief justices of provincial high courts in view of the importance of the case. He said its outcome will have far-reaching bearing on the future direction of the nation and decided once for all whether this country would be ruled by the army or the representatives of the people. Chaudhry had excluded himself on moral grounds because Musharraf had sacked him. Both advocates Hamed Khan and Latif Khosa, while arguing as counsels for Justice Ahmed and Fahim respectively, submitted that Musharraf is disqualified to contest as army chief and because of other grounds under seven articles of the constitution, all of which apply in his case. They further maintained that the president is part of parliament. He must be elected not by outgoing assemblies which will die after a month but the new assemblies drawing fresh mandate from the electorate in general elections.
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Islamabad, October 3 The mosque, in the heart of Islamabad, was reopened after remaining closed for three months in the wake of the military operation that had left more than 100 persons dead. Army commandos stormed the mosque and Jamia Hafsa, its affiliated girls’ seminary, on July 3 after the militants refused to surrender. The mosque had been closed since July 3. It was opened for Friday prayers on July 27 but was re-occupied by radical students, who forced the government-appointed imam to leave the mosque. The government then closed the mosque again but the Supreme Court, yesterday, ordered the government to re-open it today for morning prayers. A Supreme Court Bench of Justice Nawaz Abbasi and Justice M Javed Buttar also ordered the reconstruction of the Jamia Hafsa, which was demolished by the government after the military operation, at the same site. Around 4,000 students had been studying in the madrassa. Admitting that the reopening of the Lal Masjid was a “sensitive” issue, Musharraf said authorities were always in favour of allowing people to offer prayers at the shrine. — PTI
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Myanmar junta
releases 229 monks, nuns
Yangon, October 3 Five local journalists, one of whom works for Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, were also released. In the first sinister glimpses inside the detention machine, a relative of three released women said those being interrogated were divided into four categories: Passers-by, those who watched, those who clapped and those who joined in. A freed monk, in his mid-20’s but too nervous to give any more details of his identity, said he and 79 brethren were returned to their Mingala Yama monastery in Yangon after midnight. The remaining 16 of 96 arrested during a raid on the monastery -- among hundreds arrested in the similar swoops on at least 15 Buddhist centres in Yangon -- were expected to be freed soon, he said. The monk said they had been held at a former government technical institute in northern Yangon’s Insein district and subjected to verbal, but not physical, abuse. He did not know how many others were being held at the centre, about 1.5 km from the infamous Insein prison. “We were forced to change into civilian dress before they interrogated us,” the monk said. “They questioned us day and night but we were fed two meals a day”. On their return, they were allowed to wear their maroon monastic cloaks, suggesting they were not being disrobed.
— Reuters
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North Korea agrees to disable nuclear facilities by December 31
Beijing, October 3 The communist country will also provide a complete declaration of all its nuclear programmes and committed itself not to transfer nuclear materials, technology, or know-how, according to a joint document released here today by head of the Chinese delegation, Wu Dawei. The text was only finalised today after a two-day recess of the second phase of the sixth round of talks which started in 2003 involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea agreed to disable all existing nuclear facilities subject to abandonment under the September, 2005 Joint Statement and the February 13 agreement,” the statement said, using North Korea’s official name. The disablement of the 5 megawatt Experimental Reactor, the Reprocessing Plant (Radiochemical Laboratory) and the Nuclear Fuel Rod Fabrication Facility (all at Yongbyon) will be completed by 31 December, 2007, it said. Specific measures recommended by an expert group will be adopted by heads of delegation in line with the principles of being acceptable to all parties, scientific, safe, verifiable, and consistent with international standards, it said. The United States will lead disablement activities and provide the initial funding for the work. As a first step, Washington will lead the expert group to North Korea within the next two weeks to prepare for disablement, it
said. — PTI
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Time is right to address Kashmir issue, says Pak
United Nations, October 3 Stressing that both sides will have to demonstrate political will, courage and flexibility, he said, "we are pursuing a solution which is acceptable to India, Pakistan and above all people of Kashmir." "The two countries must now seize the opportunity provided by the conductive international and regional environment to address problems, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which is at the heart of conflict and tension in South Asia," he said addressing the UN General Assembly yesterday. In this context, Khan said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had offered ideas which he claimed have "resonated" with the people of Kashmir who must be involved in the process. But he did not mention any specific ideas in the address. On the issue of terrorism, he said at the heart of new threats of terrorism and violence is not a clash of civilisations. "It is the failure of the international community to address the festering disputes and collective inability to universalise opportunities and benefits by the phenomenal advances in technology and globalisation and for the betterment of all people". "Conflicts continue in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. In South Asia, the Kashmir dispute is yet to be resolved. Old disputes are compounded by new confrontations," he added. Rejecting the "irresponsible comments and insinuations especially in certain sections of the international media" casting aspersions on Pakistan intentions and efforts to fight terrorism, Khan said the challenge was enormous and required "sustained and protracted endeavour". No country stands to gain more than Pakistan from peace and stability in Afghanistan, Khan said adding Islamabad supports every initiative that could help Afghan people to achieve national reconciliation and to rebuild the country. — PTI
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‘Indo-US ties do not hinge on N-deal’
Washington, October 3 “I’m afraid that I do not pin hope only on this particular arrangement (nuclear deal). We have had good relationship with the USA from the very beginning. There have been sometimes, like in every relationship, things that do not work, but nonetheless, we have good relations from day one,” Mukherjee said. The USA, he said: “is the single largest country to us ... the single largest industrial and technical collaboration we had with one country, that is the USA. Therefore, this is not the only matter on which our entire relationship depends. Of course, it is an important milestone, but I do not feel that if this will collapse, or if this will fails ... we’ll go back to the negative situation.” Mukherjee brushed aside a notion that the nuclear deal is a complete capitulation to existing American laws that helps India reprocess fuel from a reactor to produce plutonium, which could be used in bombs, and it dilutes strict conditions that the Congress has placed. “We are fully aware of the US laws. But here, I would like to make one point quite clear: When we did not agree to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is not that we disagreed with the ultimate objective of non-proliferation.” Meanwhile, India today said it was confident that Pakistan would find a way out of the current problems, maintaining that Islamabad’s stability was equally important for it. Asked on the ‘Charlie Rose Show’ on PBS if he was concerned about the stability of Pakistan, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee said, “For the individuals concerned, I cannot give any guarantee that a certain individual A or B will continue.” “But what we want, what my desire, I can tell you, my desire with respect to Pakistan, is that there will be stability and prosperity in Pakistan. It’s helpful to me for my own stability, for my own development, for my own prosperity,” Mukherjee maintained. “And insofar as the current problems are concerned, I hope in the whole subcontinent which was part of larger India before 60 years, it has its own way of self-correcting the crisis that it is to face. And Pakistan is no exception. Therefore, if Pakistan finds its own way of correcting the present problem, I will not be surprised.” He said, “It may be possible, because at one point of time, it appeared that the judiciary is in “total confrontation position with — but it is not so.” In relationships between different organs, between different countries, sometimes it may appear that it’s going to be “insurmountable”, but in course of time, “it gets it corrected,” Mukherjee said. — PTI
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Pak voices concern over Indo-US nuke deal at UN
United Nations, October 3 Addressing the United Nations General Assembly here, Pakistan's foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan said, "the incipient the US-India civilian nuclear deal will inject a new element in the region". Apparently referring to the agreement that India is seeking with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in the context of the nuclear accord, he said: "In the coming months, the NSG states have a heavy responsibility as any endorsement of a selective or discriminatory approach could fatefully damage the existing consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation". India has to get a waiver for international nuclear trade from the 45-member NSG to operationalise the atomic deal. But while opposing the deal, Khan said Islamabad had a strong interest in developing civil nuclear power generation under international safeguards. "We have concerns over strategic stability which we will maintain despite our firm opposition to an arms race in South Asia," he said adding Pakistan would maintain "minimum credible deterrence." Khan said there was an "obvious need" for a new and universal consensus on non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful nuclear cooperation which eliminates dangers and risks and establishes cooperation on an equitable basis. Maintaining that global consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation had been "seriously eroded," Khan said the disavowal of nuclear disarmament by the NPT nuclear weapon states, the emergence of de-facto nuclear weapons state not parties to the NPT, the failure to address the security concerns of non-nuclear weapon states were among the reasons. Pakistan, Khan said, would not be the first to test another nuclear weapon. "We will never use our nuclear capability against non-nuclear weapon states," he added, stressing that Pakistan remained fully committed to the objective of general and complete disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. Blaming India for Pakistan exercising the nuclear option, Khan said his country started pursuing the nuclear option only after 1974 when the "strategic balance was disrupted by the first Indian nuclear test". "In 1998, again Pakistan was faced with a dilemma and had to respond to the Indian tests to establish deterrence," he said, adding, "our failure to do so would have created a dangerous ambiguity about our capability with the risk of miscalculation." — PTI
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Washington, October 3 "The nuclear deal is done. We hope that will happen. I think Americans might be able to say 20 years from now, India is one of our most two or three most important partners in the world," under secretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns said in an interview with PBS. "That will be a tremendous strategic change for us from the relationship we've had with India since 1947, 60 years now, and a great benefit to us, and I think it will be to the Indians as well. "India is a global country. It's a democracy. It tends to see the world the way we do. It has an interest in stability in South and East Asia the way we do," he said. Burns argued that the USA’s evolving strategic relationship with India went beyond the fact that the country is growing economically. "I think well beyond that. We live in a globalised world, where many of the problems confronting us do not lend themselves to the actions of even the most powerful state, the USA. "You need friends. You need allies. You need countries to help you build democracies overseas, to resolve conflicts like the one in Burma which we're witnessing so dramatically this week, to overcome global climate change and international drug and criminal cartels," Burns remarked. — PTI
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Anti-Sonia demonstration held near UN building
New York, October 3 The demonstrators were protesting against Ms Gandhi representing India at a function to mark International Day of Non-Violence on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. ''We’ve people coming from Florida, Illinois, Georgia and Arizona, besides neighbouring states of New Jersey and Connecticut,” Narain Kataria, one of the organisers told UNI. Kataria is head of the Indian-American Intellectuals Forum, which helped stage the demonstration. The protest held yesterday near the UN building, drew about 250 persons. The protest was on the other hand condemned by Dr Surinder S. Malhotra, president of the Indian National Overseas Congress (USA). ''She is the most fitting person to represent India’s more than 1 billion people,” he told UNI. A demonstration was also held to protest Ms Gandhi’s speech at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Union Square at Manhattan. — UNI
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Media watchdog raps Nepal Maoists over violence
Kathmandu, October 3 Pro-Maoist workers of the Kantipur Publications, demanding better conditions attacked the printing press, forced the company to stop the publication of the popular Nepali daily, Kantipur, and the English newspaper, Kathmandu Post. They also disrupted the distribution of the dailies printed outside the capital. “It is clear that dispute is not just about wage demands,” a Paris based watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement received on Wednesday. “The Maoist unions are displaying a high level of intolerance and their actions are a complete violation of the undertakings, the Maoist leaders gave to support press freedom,” it said. On Tuesday, hundreds of Nepali journalists and human rights activists marched in protest against the attack on the media. The Maoists, who began fighting the monarchy in 1996, signed a peace deal with the government, ending their decade long civil war and joining the political mainstream. But last month, they quit the government demanding an immediate abolition of the monarchy and declaration of a republic ahead of the November elections, meant to map the nation's political future. The Kantipur Publications, is a private media house, which has a number of publications, a television channel and a radio-station. — Reuters
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Pak security forces kill 10 militants Miranshah, October 3 Militant attacks on Pakistan’s security forces have surged since July, following the collapse of a pact and the storming of a radical mosque in Islamabad by commandos. Two paramilitary soldiers were also killed in the pre-dawn attack on the check post in Spinwarm area, 35-km northeast from here. “The fighting started early and ended at around 4 a.m.,” said military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad. “The militants took away their dead”, he said. The attack came two days after militants killed two paramilitary soldiers and captured 22 in an attack on a check post near the northwestern town of Bannu, a gateway to North Waziristan. — Reuters
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Obesity is a world problem, says study
New York, October 3 “We may think we’re a lazy, gluttonous people. But you begin to see that there are some things in common that make so many people overweight,” according to lead researcher Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina. The team came to the conclusion after documenting alarming weight gains in Asian countries, Africa, Europe and Latin American nations in recent years, particularly in children and women. The reasons for obesity: Well, junk food and less exercises, according to the researchers. According to World Health Organisation figures, the obesity rate in America is 35 per cent for women and 20 for men; in Europe, it has tripled in recent years; in China it’s over 20 per cent for both men and women; and in Mexico, an astounding 71 per cent of women are overweight. The researchers also attribute this partly to an increased consumption of sweetened soft drinks. “In virtually all of Latin America and much of the Middle East and North Africa, at least one of four adults is overweight,” Popkin wrote in the latest edition of the ‘Scientific American’ journal. Even “desperately poor countries such as Nigeria and Uganda are wrestling with the dilemma of obesity”. According to WHO, 1.6 billion of the world’s adults were overweight in 2005, and over 400 million were obese. By 2015, those numbers are expected to nearly double. — PTI
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Los Angeles, October 3 Some 1,500 women began a 31-city virtual walk across the US on Monday to benefit breast cancer courtesy of a computer, an avatar and a $3 donation. Participants included home design guru Martha Stewart, British actress Lynn Redgrave, actress Mena Suvari and Jorja Fox of the CSI television show in what organisers said was the world’s first interactive virtual walk. The “Gal to Gal Virtual Walk”(www.galtogalwalk.org) is the brainchild of Oregon entrepreneur Jeanne Fitzmaurice who created a foundation in 2005 to raise money for patients in the final stage of breast cancer after two close friends died of the disease. Supporters design their own Gal avatar, or Internet representation, for a $3 donation, add clothes and accessories and a personal story and then watch themselves walk from Boston to San Francisco against a changing daily landscape. Fitzmaurice said the idea was to help busy women lend their help in a fun, creative way during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She hopes that one million walkers will sign up. — Reuters
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Queen was to abdicate, Diana told lawyer
London, October 3 The startling revelation was made yesterday when a note containing Diana’s statement was read out at the inquest into the death of the Princess of Wales who was killed alongside her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed in a car crash in Paris 10 years back, the Daily Mail reported. The statement was recorded by the Princess’ solicitor Lord Mishcon who died aged 90 last year after a long illness. He wrote that “HRH” told him “the Queen would be abdicating in April and the Prince of Wales would then assume the throne”. In the note, Lord Mishcon said that Diana “was convinced that there was a conspiracy that she and Camilla would be put aside” and nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who at that time underwent an abortion, would tie the knot with Charles. “Reliable sources” had informed Diana about the plan, according to the statement. The Princess of Wales also told her solicitor that “the ideal solution would be for Charles to abdicate and allow Prince William to become King”. The Harrods owner insists that both Diana and Dodi were murdered in a plot by British secret service on the orders of Prince Philip because the Princess of Wales was expecting his son’s baby.“I’m certain of what happened. I know they been murdered,” Al-Fayed said at the inquest.The inquest, expected to last at least six months, will examine the embalming of Diana’s body, her post-mortem, the hours before the crash, suggestions she was engaged to Fayed, the alleged purchase of a ring, claims she was pregnant and bodyguards’ evidence. The total cost of the inquest will cost around 10 million pounds. — PTI
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British climber conquered Everest 30 yrs before Hillary
London, October 3 Graham Hoyland has spent years researching a story he was told as a boy — that Mallory, who took part in the first three British expeditions and who is widely accepted as having just failed to reach the sumit, did, in fact, succeed and was on his way down when he died. Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, both went missing somewhere high on the north-east ridge during the final stage of their attempt to make the first ascent of the world’s highest mountain in June, 1924. The pair’s last known sighting was only 800 feet from the summit and Mallory’s body lay undiscovered for 75 years. It has never been proved whether they were on their way up, or had completed the climb and were on their way down. As a 12-year-old, Hoyland was told about the climber’s disappearance by his cousin Howard Somervell, a retired missionary doctor and mountaineer, who had been one of the last men to see Mallory alive. After eight expeditions to Everest and decades of research, Hoyland believes Sir Edmund Hillary was not the first to conquer the peak when he reached the summit in 1953. — PTI
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Chinese youth crazy about Ash
Shenzhen (China), October 3 Just opposite the majestic hotel Pavilion on the Huaqiang Road is a huge L’Oreal hoarding
featuring Rai. “She’s beautiful. I pass through this road every day and never fail to have a look at the hoarding,” says Zu Shan, who works as a marketing executive in an advertising company. Aishwarya is the brand ambassador of L’Oreal’s cosmetic products. “Aishwarya is a good actress. I have seen most of her movies,” he says. Zu’s favourite male star is Abhishek Bachchan. “The two make a great couple,” he says. Zeng Fangjun, a manager with an IT firm, adores Aishwarya’s beauty as well as her acting. She says: “She is quite talented. I got to watch some of her films on the local cable network.” Local channels like CCTV feature Indian movies with Chinese subtitles. Zeng said she watched “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam”, “Devdas” and “Aur Pyar Ho Gaya” among others on cable TV. Zeng’s Indian friends also provide her with their stock of the actress’ films. “For the new lot, I depend on my Indian friends. I watched ‘Guru’ and really liked it,” she says. Aishwarya and Abhishek’s marriage was also widely followed by the Chinese youth. “We were glued to the Internet and some channels to know the latest about the marriage,” says Gabriel Chan. Gabriel has a dream of meeting Aishwarya. “I want to take her autograph,” he says.
— PTI
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Photo exhibition on Gandhi
United Nations, October 3 Congress President Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the exhibition yesterday at the headquarters’ lobby visited by hundreds of people everyday. Ms Gandhi went round the exhibition titled “Gandhi and Global Non-violent Awakening”. Speaking on the occasion, president of Indian council for cultural relations (ICCR) Karan Singh explained the purpose of the exhibition as a part of International Day of Non-Violence observed by the UN yesterday. Each photo carries at the bottom a message from Mahatma’s philosophy of non-violence and the views of leaders who were influenced by his philosophy, including South African leader Nelson Mandela. A movie “Mahatma, the Great Soul” was screened at the Dag Hammarskjold auditorium here. The UN postal service is issuing a special postal cancellation to honour Mahatma Gandhi.
— PTI
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Indian's ear sliced by Kuwaiti employer
Dubai, October 3 "The victim was taken to a hospital by a Kuwaiti man working for the National Guard," the paper said. The Indian Embassy has called for a thorough investigation into the incident. — PTI
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