W O R L D

Sidr claims 1,700 lives in B’desh
Bagerhat, November 17 The cyclone ‘Sidr’ which lashed Bangladesh coasts on Thursday devastating towns and villages have claimed more thousand lives. The army helicopters, navy ships and gunboats were pressed into rescue and relief operations in the country’s south-western coastal districts battered by the deadly hurricane.
A Bangladeshi cyclone-affected woman prepares a meal on the site of her devastated house in Moralganj, on the south coast of Bangladesh on Saturday. — AFP photo

Army will keep control of nukes, says Mush
London, November 17
President Pervez Musharraf, defending his decision to declare emergency rule, has said Pakistan’s nuclear weapons will not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands while the military is in control of them.

Sharif: Meeting Mush against my principles
Islamabad, November 17
Exiled former Premier Nawaz Sharif has rejected embattled President Pervez Musharraf’s proposal for a meeting in Saudi Arabia for discussions on ending the political crisis in Pakistan.

‘Poll announcement on Nov 21’
Islamabad, November 17
Pakistan’s Election Commission is likely to announce the date for general elections on November 21, the attorney-general and officials said today.

UK: Indians 2nd largest among foreign students
London, November 17
Indians are the second largest among the overseas students studying in Britain in 2005-06, with their numbers totalling 16,000.

Sidr claims 1,700 lives in B’desh

Bagerhat, November 17
The cyclone ‘Sidr’ which lashed Bangladesh coasts on Thursday devastating towns and villages have claimed more thousand lives. The army helicopters, navy ships and gunboats were pressed into rescue and relief operations in the country’s south-western coastal districts battered by the deadly hurricane.

Eyewitnesses in the worst hit Sarankhola of Bagerhat district said muddy roads were littered with bodies, the air has become heavy with stench and survivors were numbed by the destruction and scale of the cyclone.

Several bodies were found 2 to 3 km away from the houses as the ‘Sidr’ with a speed of 240kph had blown them off.

Alongside the storm, a tidal surge of 15-16 ft high washed away these offshore islands. Relief goods are too meagre to meet the demand perpetuated by the crisis.Life in the villages came to a standstill.

Fate of many people who were shifted from Dublarchar cyclone shelters to small channels in Sundarbans mangrove forest could not be known after 48 hours of the hurricane. They were shifted to the channels as the five cyclone centres could not accommodate them.

Abu Hanif, 60 who had also witnessed the 1970’s cyclone said Thursday night’s Sidr was more powerful than 70’s.

Helicopters were also pressed into relief operations in the cyclone-hit districts. The German government released 5 lakh Euro for the cyclone victims as an immediate assistance. — UNI

Army will keep control of nukes, says Mush

London, November 17
President Pervez Musharraf, defending his decision to declare emergency rule, has said Pakistan’s nuclear weapons will not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands while the military is in control of them.

The comments, in a BBC interview broadcast today, come as US envoy John Negroponte visited Pakistan to put pressure on Musharraf to revoke the two-week-old emergency, make peace with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and hold fair elections.

Musharraf said if elections were held in a “disturbed environment”, it could bring in dangerous elements who might endanger Pakistan’s “strategic assets”.

“They cannot fall into the wrong hands, if we manage ourselves politically. The military is there -- as long as the military is there, nothing happens to the strategic assets, we are in charge and nobody does anything with them,” he said.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said later that Musharraf had not meant there was any danger that the weapons could fall into wrong hands.

“He had argued that because the military organisation is responsible for their safety and security, our strategic assets are totally secure and in no danger of falling in wrong hands,” a statement from the foreign ministry said.

In the interview conducted yesterday, Musharraf dismissed opposition leader Bhutto's chances of winning elections.

He blamed Bhutto for ruining chances of a deal which would see her serving as prime minister under his presidency. — Reuters

Sharif: Meeting Mush against my principles

Islamabad, November 17
Exiled former Premier Nawaz Sharif has rejected embattled President Pervez Musharraf’s proposal for a meeting in Saudi Arabia for discussions on ending the political crisis in Pakistan.

Raja Zafrul Haq, the chairman of Sharif’s PML-N party, said the military regime had made “hectic” efforts to convene such a meeting over the past three days but the former Prime Minister had refused to meet Musharraf.

“There were hectic attempts made in the past three days for arranging such a meeting but Mian Nawaz Sharif was firm that he would not meet the General,” Haq said today.

“But this would have been against my principles and I said no. I refused to meet him (Musharraf),” said Sharif, who was deposed by the General in a bloodless coup in 1999. — PTI

‘Poll announcement on Nov 21’

Islamabad, November 17
Pakistan’s Election Commission is likely to announce the date for general elections on November 21, the attorney-general and officials said today.

President Pervez Musharraf has promised that the country will go to polls before January 9, but the opposition is mulling a boycott if the vote is held under the emergency rule.

“The provincial Assemblies are completing their terms on the 20th so hopefully the schedule will be announced the following day,” attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum said.

Pakistan’s national Assembly, or lower house of the Parliament, was dissolved on Thursday but the four provincial Assemblies are yet to follow suit. Elections must be held within 45-60 days of their dissolution. — AFP

UK: Indians 2nd largest among foreign students

London, November 17
Indians are the second largest among the overseas students studying in Britain in 2005-06, with their numbers totalling 16,000.

The number of Indian students studying in London alone was 4,320 in 2005 as against 2,190 five years ago.

Chinese, with more than 52,000 students are by far the largest group. — PTI