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Rice asks Musharraf to lift emergency Pak Emergency
Bhutto doubts Mush’s ability to fight extremism
UN rights envoy in Myanmar
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Tackle global warming: UN
30 LTTE men among 34 killed 6 Afghan tribal elders shot Militants
destroy priceless Buddhist sculptures in Pak
Padma ‘missing’ Sir Salman
Workers’ strike hits Broadway theatres
Arnold undergoes surgery
Britons ‘can learn from Islamic culture’
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Rice asks Musharraf to lift emergency Washington, November 11 “We are encouraging that the state of emergency has got to be lifted, and lifted as soon as possible,” Rice said in an interview to the ABC’s “This Week” programme this morning. “..This is a country that’s going through extraordinarily difficult circumstances. But it is an ally, it is a friend. And we believe that at a time like this, our best role is to counsel and indeed persuade that Pakistan has got to get back on the democratic path,” Rice said. “But the key is to take this in steps. And the first step is to make certain that the state of emergency ends, to make sure that people can compete for free and fair elections for Parliament,” she said. She said the terrorism and extremism has hurt Pakistani people more than it’s hurt anyone else. When asked about Congressional reaction that it is time for Musharraf to go, the top administration official said “... it’s very easy to speculate and to make snap judgments in a difficult time like this. Let’s concentrate on the basics here and what really needs to be done. Pakistanis need to see that there is a re-establishment of a road to a democratic path. “The lifting of the emergency, the taking off of his (Musharraf) uniform, which signals a return to civilian rule, and then the holding of free and fair elections. That’s the path that we need to insist on from Pakistan,” Rice said. “This is not a personal matter about President Musharraf. This is about the Pakistani people, and the US has been dedicated to helping the Pakistani people come to a more democratic path,” Rice said. Rice acknowledged that Washington was indeed reviewing aid in terms of statutory requirements. “I don’t think anyone wants the president to do anything that would compromise the counter-terrorism mission, which in fact goes to the training of Pakistani forces to be able to deal with extremism. That’s extraordinarily important to American security interest,” Rice said. — PTI Bhutto: Polls not enough to defuse crisis Lahore: Former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto today said she will go ahead with her “long march” from here to Islamabad to oppose the emergency as President Pervez Musharraf’s announcement about holding polls in January 2008 is “not enough to defuse the country’s political crisis”. Bhutto flew to Lahore, the capital of Punjab province which is a stronghold of the ruling PML-Q, amidst tight security. She was received on her first visit to the city in eight years by hundreds of PPP workers who travelled along with her motorcade, waving her Pakistan People’s Party’s red, green and black flags. The two-time former premier, who was detained in her home in Islamabad on Friday by hundreds of policemen to prevent her from leading a rally in Rawalpindi, welcomed Musharraf’s decision to hold parliamentary elections by January 9 but said the General needed to do more. — PTI
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Pak Emergency
Washington, November 11 At the same time, Bush hoped that the Pakistani leadership will stick to its commitment to fight the Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Bush yesterday continued his administration’s approach to the crisis by refusing to pointedly criticise Musharraf. Bush dodged a question about whether Musharraf’s moves, seen by many as an attempt to cling to power, are distracting from the battle against Al-Qaida in Pakistan. “I vowed to the American people to keep the pressure on them (Al-Qaida). I fully understand we need cooperation to do so,” Bush said at Crawford (Texas) after two days of meetings at his ranch with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. “One country we need cooperation from is Pakistan.” Maintaining that he still trusts Musharraf, Bush said the Pakistani leader aligned himself with Washington after the September 11 2001, attacks and has not given Bush a reason for doubt since. In fact, Bush said, “Several Al-Qaida leaders have been brought to justice and that wouldn’t have happened without President Musharraf honouring his word. I take a person for his word until otherwise. He made a clear decision to be with us and he’s acted on that” Bush said.
— PTI
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Bhutto doubts Mush’s ability to fight extremism
Islamabad, November 11 “Gen Pervez Musharraf has certainly said he wanted to fight extremism but I am afraid the present system can’t address the problem,” she said in an interview to Dawn News. Pointing out that Musharraf was engaged with the US in a dialogue for transition to democracy, Bhutto said, “I am afraid when he suspended the constitution, it was a big shock to the US.” “You are talking to move towards democracy, we weren’t talking to move towards dictatorship, now we have suspended our negotiations,” she said. Noting that there has been a roadmap to democracy, Bhutto said some issues needed to be resolved. “We had been promised electoral reforms and suddenly this emergency was imposed and in fact I did not want to see it and obviously we talked about the importance of moderate forces getting together to defend Pakistan fromextremist threats.” “But the large crux of the negotiation remains on holding of free and fair elections to enable the people of Pakistan to elect leaders of their choice and determine policies of their choice," she said.
— PTI
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UN rights envoy in Myanmar
Yangon, November 11 Pinheiro, an outspoken critic of the former Burma's military junta, did not speak to reporters in Yangon on his arrival. UN officials in Geneva,where the Brazilian law professor is based, said Pinheiro had submitted a list of prisons and detention centres he wants to visit during his five-day trip, although his precise itinerary was still being thrashed out. One aide said the Myanmar authorities, who responded to international outrage at the crackdown by granting Pinheiro a rare visa, had shown ''cooperative engagement''. He is due to report back to the UN Human Rights Council at its next session on December 10-14, but is expected to hold a news conference in Bangkok on November 16 immediately after his trip. Myanmar media says 10 persons were killed when soldiers were sent in to end the biggest protests in 20 years, although Western governments say the real total is almost certainly far higher. Pinheiro's visit comes two days after the departure of the UN's pointman on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, whose second visit since the crackdown sparked hopes the military might be willing to talk about political reform with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel laureate's political party, which won a 1990 election landslide only to be denied power by the army, quoted her as being ''optimistic'' during a meeting with party chiefs. Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, said the generals were ''serious and really willing to work for national reconciliation'', party spokesman Nyan Win
said. — Reuters
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Tackle global warming: UN
Eduardo Frei Base, Antarctica, November 11 The Antarctic Peninsula has warmed faster than anywhere else on earth in the past 50 years, making the continent a fitting destination for Ban, who has made climate change a priority since he took office earlier this year. “I need a political answer. This is an emergency and for emergency situations we need emergency action,” he said during Friday’s visit to three scientific bases on the barren continent, where
temperatures are highest in about 1,800 years. Antarctica’s ice sheets are nearly 1.5 miles (2.5 km) thick on average, five times the height of the Taipei 101 tower, the world’s tallest building. But scientists say they are already showing signs of climate change. Satellite images show the West Antarctic ice sheet is thinning and may even collapse in the future, causing sea levels to rise. Amid occasional flurries of snow, Ban flew over melting ice fields in a light plane, where vast chunks of ice the size of six-story buildings could be seen floating off the coast after breaking away from ice shelves. “All we’ve seen has been very impressive and beautiful, extraordinarily beautiful,” he told reporters. “But at the same time it’s disturbing. We’ve seen... the melting of glaciers.” It was the first visit by a UN chief to Antarctica. Ban is preparing for a UN climate change conference in Bali in December, which is expected to kick off talks on a new accord to curb carbon emissions after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. — Reuters
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Colombo, November 11 “Troops in Wanni confronted Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants in several locations yesterday and killed at least 30 Tigers while inflicting heavy damages on their other cadres,” the defence ministry said. Troops deployed in Veddayamurippu in Mannar yesterday morning killed a LTTE militant while he tried to infiltrate into security lines, the ministry said. Meanwhile, a fierce gun battle that erupted between the troops and infiltrating Tiger guerrillas at Thampanai area in Wanni border villages in the edges of Vavniya and Mannar districts claimed the life of a solider yesterday. In Umayarathuwankulam in Northern Vavuniya, troops yesterday morning attacked a group of Tiger militants and killed at least two of them, the ministry said. A claymore attack suspected by the Tiger cadres on a crew cab carrying project workers in the Yala sanctuary in south-east of the country led to the death of one member, the military said. — PTI
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Herat, November 11 The gunmen opened fire on the elders as they were travelling to a mosque in Herat province, Juma Khan Adil said. The police commander was unable to say who might have been behind the killing but similar such incidents have in the past been blamed on Taliban insurgents. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi, however, denied his group was involved in the killing. Two men were detained at the site of the shooting in Gozara district on suspected links to the murder, Adil said. In a similar attack on Tuesday, armed motorcyclists killed a provincial legislator in southern Helmand province. A massive suicide blast in the north on Tuesday killed about 80 persons, but the rebel movement also denied its involvement as it has done previously in incidents that have taken a high civilian toll. — AFP
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Militants destroy priceless Buddhist sculptures in Pak
Islamabad, November 11 Despite repeated requests by Pakistani archaeologists to the local authorities to protect the seated Buddha and other sites, especially after the first attack, no action was taken. “In fact, militants were able to carry out their work in broad daylight,” said president of the Asia Society, Vishakha N Desai in an article in a Lebanese newspaper. Dating from around the beginning of the Christian era, and carved into a 130-foot-high rock, the seated image of the Buddha was second in importance in South Asia only to the Bamiyan Buddhas, Desai said, adding that the attack was the second one in less than a month. “In fact, militants were able to carry out their work, drilling holes in the rock, filling them with explosives, and detonating them in broad daylight,” she said. “They did this not once, but twice. The first time, the image escaped heavy damage because of the militants’ incompetence. The second time, they were more successful, destroying not only the sculpture’s face, but also its shoulders and feet. As if that were not enough, there are now reports of a third attack,” she said. Desai, who had earlier visited the Swat valley in 1995 to study the area’s Buddhist treasures, noted that the Buddhist relics were carved in the cliff side or protected in small beautiful museums. “These remarkable objects were the pride and joy of local Muslims, followers of the faith for more than a millennium,” she said. “As a non-Muslim, Indian woman, I was able to travel through the region without any fear and received warm support from local residents. People of all stripes welcomed me, and were often willing to take me to important Buddhist sites,” she said. Today, little over a decade later, the atmosphere is so poisoned that neither local community leaders nor the local police came forward to protect these monuments or claim them as their own, she said. “Even sadder is that while Pakistani newspapers widely condemned these attacks and criticised the local officials’ indifference, there has been almost no coverage in the international press,” she lamented. There are a number of important Buddhist sites in Swat and other areas of north-west Pakistan, she noted, stressing that the international community must not only register its outrage against such destruction of cultural treasures, but also join those Pakistanis who are desperately trying to pressure their government to preserve the pre-Islamic cultural heritage. — PTI
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Padma ‘missing’ Sir Salman
London, November 11 “I really miss him. I miss his counsel. I miss the sound of his voice,” Lakshmi said about her ongoing divorce from the writer who was recently awarded a knighthood by Britain. Rushdie, who met Padma in 1999, asked her to move out of the family’s home after she requested the split. “It was really hard to pack up and leave. I was just in pieces, I couldn't function. The only things I wanted were the gifts he gave me during the marriage and some artwork -- and this was fine.” “Now I am staying in a hotel with all my stuff in storage. Some days I think I am going to be fine and then I have a day where I feel exiled from my life because I had to move out,” said the former model. In fact, Rushdie had announced the split in July in a statement. “It was filled with too much information and he didn’t need to do that. I had thought we would eventually say we wish each other well, we love each other, and we are separating amicably” she said. In fact, rumours circulated that it was Lakshmi’s involvement with a mysterious billionaire that led to the break-up and that she did not get on with Rushdie’s children from previous relationships. However, Lakshmi denied this. “What I can say is that Salman is the greatest love of my life. We really tried to work it out. There was no ‘that’s it’ moment. It was just getting very hard. There was no third party. I wasn't mean to his kids," she said.
— PTI
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Workers’ strike hits Broadway theatres
New York, November 11 The strike began yesterday morning after talks on service conditions between the workers union and the League of American Theatres and Producers failed. Disagreement involving work rules and staffing requirements have been going on for the past three months. Producers want flexibility on part of the workers. The workers union has nearly 3,000 members and around 300 to 350 people are employed by theatres at a time. “Their members can find jobs in television and films during the strike period,” union leaders said. “Our goal is simple to pay for workers we need and for work that is actually performed,” said St Martin, executive director of the League Charlotte. But the workers do not want to give up their benefits, he added. Those who bought tickets weeks ago were disappointed and it is estimated that the strike could cost around $17 million daily. However, eight theatres having separate contracts with the stagehands were doing roaring business. — PTI
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Arnold undergoes surgery
Los Angeles, November 11 The hardware was to heal his upper thigh bone after he broke it while skiing last December. Dr Kevin Ehrhart, who performed the 20-minute surgery at a Los Angeles hospital yesterday, said there were no complications. “The governor is in excellent health,” Ehrhart said. He said removing the hardware was a standard practice after the leg healed. Ehrhart said the second-term Republican governor would use a crutch for several days. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor turned over the power to Lt- Governor John Garamendi for 90 minutes during what he described as a "minor surgery." Schwarzenegger was under general anesthesia for an hour during the procedure, McLear said. He left the hospital yesterday, McLear
said. — AP
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Britons ‘can learn from Islamic culture’
London, November 11 “Instead of emphasising the threat from Al-Qaida, politicians should adopt positive aspects of the Muslim faith such as restrictions on alcohol, tighter abortion laws, stricter parenting, charity and discouraging debt,” Muhammad Abdul Bari, chief of Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said. Bari, 52, trained as a pilot in Bangladesh, before moving to Britain and switching to academia, told The Daily Telegraph that “British foreign policy has driven Muslims into the arms of extremists.” He said Salman Rushdie should never have been knighted. “He (Rushdie) caused a huge amount of distress and discordance with his book, it should have been pulped,” said Bari, who did his Ph.D in Physics from King’s College, London and worked as science teacher in Haringey and is currently working as a special needs educator for Tower Hamlets. Critics say the MCB, an umbrella organisation with 500 affiliates, has itself contributed to the growing sense of unease in Britain. The government has cut funding to the council following claims that it had links with extremists. A Tory report this year accused it of promoting segregation. The MCB was criticized for boycotting Holocaust Day but Bari said he did not mean to offend Jewish people: “It should be inclusive, commemorating all massacres.” According to a recent report by the policy exchange think tank, the bookshop at the east London Mosque, which Bari chairs, stocks extremist literature. Replying to the charges, Bari said: “The bookshops are independent businesses. We can’t just go in and tell them what to sell. I will see what books they keep. If they have book which looks like it is inciting hatred, do they have counter books on the same shelf?” In Bari’s view, suicide bombers are victims as well as aggressors. “I deal with emotionally damaged children,” he explained. “Children come to hate when they don’t get enough care and love. They are probably bullied, it makes a young person angry and vulnerable.
— PTI
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