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EU urges unity on Kosovo, Spain dissents
India watchful of Kosovo independence |
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I’ll be a father figure: Pervez
Mush among world’s
10
‘worst dictators’ PPP leader ‘manhandled’ Fatima accuses PPP of rigging
Gulf nations to furnish bond before hiring Indian maids
Another suicide attack in Afghanistan, 37 killed
Nepal King still claims himself as ‘His Majesty’
Nepal imposes curfew to allow passage of goods
Rogue doc may have fled to India
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EU urges unity on Kosovo, Spain dissents
Brussels, February 18 EU president Slovenia said it expected many of the 27 member states to recognise yesterday's declaration of independence, although each country was free to do as it pleased. "The government of Spain will not recognise the unilateral act proclaimed yesterday by the assembly of Kosovo," Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told reporters on arrival for a meeting of EU foreign ministers. "We will not recognise because we consider ... this does not respect international law," he said, adding that to be legal, secession from Serbia required either an agreement between the parties or a UN Security Council resolution. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would not take a decision today, even as Kosovo's ethnic Albanian Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, a US-backed former guerrilla leader, said in Pristina he expected first recognitions "any minute". "Germany will not take a decision today," Merkel told reporters in Berlin. "The aim is to have a platform of unity within the EU, on which each member state can act." British foreign secretary David Miliband told reporters that the EU must show leadership in the Western Balkans but declined to say when Britain, among the strongest backers of Kosovo's independence bid, would formally recognise. Diplomats at the weekend said the main European powers involved in Balkan diplomacy, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, could announce recognition directly after the EU meeting, with the United States making the same move today. Yet aside from Spain, at least five others, Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, have indicated they would not do so now because of legal misgivings or concern about restive minorities in their own countries. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged restraint after some Serbian nationalist protesters stoned Western embassies in Belgrade in anger at Sunday's declaration of independence by Kosovo's Albanian majority and the prospect of recognition. "The EU has already decided to send a mission, a mission of stability, a mission of rule of law. It should contribute to the stability of the Balkans," Solana told reporters. People of Kosovo are independent, says Bush WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush acknowledged today that the people of Kosovo are independent though he stopped short of formal recognition of the territory's independence. "We'll watch to see how the events unfold today," Bush said in a live interview aired on NBC television from Arusha, Tanzania. "The Kosovoans are now independent. It's something I've advocated along with my government." The breakaway majority Albanian territory declared independence from Serbia yesterday. — Reuters
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India watchful of Kosovo independence
New Delhi, February 18 However, for record sake, India is holding its comments on the Kosovo developments. In response to questions on India’s reaction to developments regarding Kosovo, MEA spokesperson Navtej Sarna said, “We are watching the developments. The situation is still evolving.”—TNS
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I’ll be a father figure: Pervez
Islamabad, February 18 Warning that confrontation policies were damaging Pakistan, Musharraf (65) on Monday said “We have to come out of a confrontational approach and get into a conciliatory mode. I will remain committed to this policy of reconciliation.” The remarks by an apparently defensive Musharraf to newsmen came in the backdrop of recent opinion polls predicting that opposition PPP and
PML-N would sweep the elections with the PML-Q or the King’s party, which backs
Musharraf, trailing way behind. Musharraf — who faces impeachment if opposition parties get a two-thirds majority in parliament and unite against him — said he was willing to work with any prime minister and any party that forms the government. “We are willing to work with everyone,” he said in remarks seen as offering an olive branch to opposition parties as he cast his vote along with wife Sehba and mother Zarin at a polling station in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near in
Islambad. “The politics of confrontation must give way to a policy of reconciliation - not in anyone’s personal interests, but in Pakistan’s interest,” he said. The President on the eve of the elections told Jemima Khan in an interview published in the British daily The Independent “My role as a president is simply the checks and balances, the seatbelts... a sort of father figure to the prime minister, but I won’t have to see him for weeks.” Jemima is the ex-wife of Pakistani politician Imran Khan. Musharraf, whose fate will be decided by the outcome of the polls, told newsmen that the party securing a majority should form the government and in case of a hung parliament, a coalition government should be formed so that the democratic process continues to move ahead peacefully. Musharraf once again warned that the outcome of the polls should be “accepted with grace”. He said, “those winning should show humility and those losing should show grace.” He said it was important that no such thing is done that brings a bad name to Pakistan and that no one would be allowed to damage the reputation of the country. Last week, Musharraf had warned that there would be “zero tolerance” for any protests after the polls. It is vital that the next government stays in power for a full term of five years to ensure the sustainability of economic growth and continuation of the crucial fight against terrorism and extremism till the menace is eliminated, he said. During an interaction with a team from the Centre for Media and Democracy that is in the country to monitor the polls, Musharraf had also said political parties would have to decide on a prime ministerial candidate through mutual consultations in the event of a fractured verdict and insisted that he would play no role in this process. The President said he would not interfere in the process to select a prime minister if none of the parties secured a majority in the next Parliament. — Agencies
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Mush among world’s 10 ‘worst dictators’
New York, February 18 “In recent months, Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s Constitution, shut down the courts, arrested several thousand dissidents and passed a law removing challenges to his continuation as President,” the Parade magazine said. “He allowed Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan but barred Sharif from running in elections. Bhutto was assassinated, an act that some observers tie to Musharraf’s government,” it said. At the same time, it noted that the US considers Pakistan a “valuable economic and political ally”. “Americans bought almost $ 3 billion worth of Pakistani cotton clothing and fabrics in 2007. Even after Musharraf suspended the Constitution, President George W. Bush said Musharraf had ‘advanced democracy in Pakistan’. The US has given him more than $7 billion in military aid in the last six years, which critics say has largely been spent on arms to fight India, not terrorists,” the magazine noted. While Musharraf was listed No. 8 in the ranking, the No. 1 slot as the worst dictator was given to North Korea’s reclusive leader, Kim
Jong. —
PTI
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Karachi, February 18 Nisar Khuro, who is the party’s chief whip in the Sindh assembly, is said to have been slapped and pushed around by supporters of the ‘Shaheed Bhutto’ party formed by late Murtaza Bhutto, the brother of Benazir. “Some miscreants who have been arrested took advantage of an argument between Khuro and Ghinwa Bhutto, the widow of Murtaza, to try to manhandle Khuro,” a police official from Larkana said. Television channels repeatedly flashed Khuro being slapped by some people as he tried to calm down Ghinwa, who was alleging bogus voting. But apart from the Khuro-Ghinwa incident, elections in the southern province of Sindh remained relatively peaceful with clashes between supporters of contesting parties reported from some polling stations. There were also reports of some armed men trying to cast bogus votes being arrested by police. The PPP is predicted to sweep the elections from the rural areas of the province but in urban cities like Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur they are locked in a bitter battle with Mutthaida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which is likely to take majority seats in Karachi, the country’s biggest city. — PTI
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Fatima accuses PPP of rigging
Karachi, February 18 Fatima, the daughter of late Mir Murtaza
Bhutto, Benazir’s brother, forced the closure of voting for around two hours at a polling station in Larkana over the alleged rigging by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Waving the voters’ list, Fatima claimed that most of the names did not have their national identity card numbers on the list and this was nothing but “plain rigging” Sindh province is a stronghold of the PPP, which is expected to sweep the polls. Fatima claimed the PPP was trying to ride on a wave of sympathy following the killing of Benazir and was not following election rules. —
PTI
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Gulf nations to furnish bond before hiring Indian maids
Dubai, February 18 However, the fresh move will not apply to maids recruited by agencies registered with the Indian government. The Indian missions are also planning an increase in the minimum advisory wages from the current $163-177 (Dhs 600-650) for housemaids. The revised amount, to be finalised soon, will take into account the rising cost of living and inflation in the Gulf region, Gulf Today said today. The Indian missions in the region would soon decide on how and when to implement the revised norms, the paper added. In order to prevent exploitation of women workers, New Delhi had, in September 2007, stopped recruitment of Indian women for overseas jobs if they are below 30 years of age and does not possess a minimum educational qualification of secondary school certificate. The condition would continue to be strictly implemented under the set of revised norms to come into force soon. While Pakistan and Bangladesh do not allow recruitment of women for Gulf countries, Sri Lanka and Philippines have issued stringent regulations to ensure the welfare of their nationals working as domestic helps. —
PTI
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Another suicide attack in Afghanistan, 37 killed
Kandahar, February 18 The attack, a day after more than 100 persons were killed in the deadliest suicide raid since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, comes as some Western politicians call for a stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back into anarchy. “Thirty-five people have been killed and 27 wounded,” Kandahar’s governor Assadullah Kahlid told a news conference, adding that the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops. Four Canadians were wounded, he said. The attack happened on a road in the border town of Spin Boldak in Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers. Most of the dead were Afghan civilians, but another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died. Several fuel shops were on fire in Spin Boldak after the bombing, witnesses said. Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign soldiers led by NATO and the US military, as well as some 140,000 Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed in violence. Yesterday’s attack happened as a crowd of people were watching dog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandahar city. Dozens of victims were buried side-by-side in a mourning ceremony today. Provincial governor Khalid has accused the Taliban of the attack, but the insurgents denied responsibility. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she saw no need to change parliamentary mandates that set limits on the number of troops her government can send to Afghanistan despite mounting pressure from NATO allies. “We are not changing the mandates as they are at the moment,” Merkel told reporters. “I see no need for a change at the moment.” Germany, which has roughly 3,300 troops in Afghanistan, is under pressure from allies, particularly the United States, to send additional soldiers and shift them from the north to the more-dangerous south to help battle Taliban insurgents. The main mandate, due to expire in October, allows Germany to send a maximum of 3,500 soldiers to Afghanistan. German media have reported Merkel’s government seeks to increase the number of troops.—
Reuters
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Nepal King still claims himself as ‘His Majesty’
King Gyanendra of Nepal, whose all political, cultural and executive powers were stripped off following the April Uprising in 2006, on Monday said that national integrity, nationalism and independence should remain intact. Issuing a message on the eve of 58th National Democracy Day on Tuesday, King Gyanendra said, “While safeguarding Nepal’s integrity, independence and nationalism, may we Nepalis achieve success in ensuring an environment wherein all can enjoy just and equitable share of the dividends of democracy as well as in building a prosperous and robust nation through the consolidation of the time-honoured harmony existing amongst the Nepali people.” This is the first ever public message delivered by the King still claiming himself as “His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev” and “beloved countrymen” to the people despite the interim parliamentary session scrapped all his powers by amending the interim constitution. He had also paid tributes to his grandfather, late King Tribhuvan, “the architect of democracy in Nepal”, the revered brave martyrs and all Nepalese who laid down their lives for the cause of democracy in 1950 AD to oust the then 104-year-old Rana Oligarchy. Last year, as King Gyanendra made similar address to the nation on the occasion of 57th National Democracy Day, the then parliamentary session had passed a resolution denouncing his message, dubbing it as unconstitutional move against the spirit of April Uprising 2006.
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Nepal imposes curfew to allow passage of goods
Following the severe scarcity of petroleum products, cooking gas and other daily commodities in the capital and other parts of the country due to indefinite strikes called by major Madhes-based political parties, the Nepal government on Monday opted for extreme measures to ease the crisis. As per the government decision, Parsa and Bara district administration offices in central Tarai, restive southern plains in the bordering area, clamped curfew in Birgunj sub-municipality and Pathlaiya for 13 hours from 3 pm so that the local administration would be able to pass fuel tankers and foodstuff from the Indian border to the capital and other parts of the country during the curfew. Similarly, Bara district administration has ordered a 13-hour curfew in Birgunj-Pathlaiyaa section of the East-West Highway. Normal life across the country, mainly in southern region and the capital, have been seriously affected as the agitating United Madhesi Democratic Front formed by three different Madhes-centred political parties - Tarai-Madhes Democratic Party, Madhesi People's Rights Forum and Sadbhavana Party - continued their indefinite strike in Tarai floating six-point demands including Tarai to be declared an autonomous Madhes state along with right to self-determination. As the authorities failed to supply petroleum products and other essential commodities from across the border, most public and private transportation services have come to a grinding halt in Kathmandu and scores of private schools remained closed on Monday. Meanwhile, the local administration office in Banke in mid-western Nepal continued with the curfew order for an indefinite period to avoid any possible untoward incident. The administration had clamped curfew in Nepalgunj since Sunday afternoon as the frequent scuffles between the demonstrators and security personnel had turned nasty. At least one protester was killed and several others sustained injuries in Nepalgunj on Sunday. Election Commission may miss deadline
Amid looming political uncertainty, Nepal's Election Commission is likely to miss its deadline set for collecting closed lists of candidates from political parties to contest 335 seats allocated for the proportional representation system for the upcoming Constituent Assembly (CA) election slated for April 10 due to the current political deadlock. As the agitating three major political parties in Madhes decided not to hold dialogue with the government even after announcing their three-member talks team, the chances of collecting closed lists of candidates on February 20 has become more unlikely. In order to conduct the CA election on April 10, the Election Commission had published its election schedule in which all political parties have to submit closed list of candidates under the proportional electoral system by February 20 and name of candidates contesting for 240 seats by first-past-the-post by February 25. Madhesi political parties, who had expressed willingness to hold dialogue with the government on Saturday, changed their mind on Sunday saying that the government should stop security action against their party cadres in Tarai immediately. Similarly, Rajendra Mahato, leader of Sadbhavana Party said that they were not going to submit the closed list of candidates for proportional electoral system at the Election Commission on February 20. "We have not focused our mind toward election at present. Rather we have concentrated our mind toward making the ongoing movement a success for the sake of our rights," he added.
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Rogue doc may have fled to India
London, February 18 Prem Kumar Chhetri, who was based in Nuneaton in Warwickshire, allegedly committed blunders during several operations and was eventually barred by the General Medical Council (GMC) from practising in 2007. He later tried to find work in neighbouring Ireland. Short-sighted with cataracts, Chhetri was the subject of inquiries during 2006 and 2007 while working in the Midlands. Chhetri’s neighbour in Nuneaton told the local media that he had moved to India from Ireland where he registered with the Irish Medical Council but did not find work. — PTI
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Brussels, February 18
