W O R L D

Underhand deal between PPP, Mush: Reports
Bill to hinder Iftikhar’s reinstatement on cards
Deposed chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry returned here on Friday amid reports that the Presidency had worked out a draft bill in consultation with the ruling PPP to reinstate all deposed judges, minus Iftikhar.

Mush to visit China, several agreements in offing
President Pervez Musharraf will pay a five-day state visit to China from April 10, his first visit abroad since February 18 elections. Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also accompany Musharraf, while finance minister Ishaq Dar has declined keeping with his PML-N’s stance that Musharraf is not a legitimately elected President.

Indian wins UN’s top met prize
New York, April 4
Renowned Indian environmental scientist Jagdish Shukla has been awarded one of the world’s top prizes in meteorology and hydrological sciences by the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the agency said today.

Memorial in London school for Indian
London, April 4
A memorial is being planned for Indian teenager Zarine Rentia, who died after a public campaign to allow her to stay in the UK failed.

Underhand deal between PPP, Mush: Reports
Bill to hinder Iftikhar’s reinstatement on cards
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Mush to visit China, several agreements in offing
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

President Pervez Musharraf will pay a five-day state visit to China from April 10, his first visit abroad since February 18 elections. Foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also accompany Musharraf, while finance minister Ishaq Dar has declined keeping with his PML-N’s stance that Musharraf is not a legitimately elected President.

A number of important agreements and memorandum of understanding will be signed between Pakistan and China to increase cooperation in various sectors during the visit. The two countries were expected to sign agreements for Chinese investment in oil, gas, and power generation sectors, and boost economic activity in Pakistan.

The state visit to China from April 10 to 15 is taking place at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, and is part of regular high-level interaction between the two countries reflecting their close bilateral ties. The President is expected to meet President Hu, premier Wen Jiabao, and other Chinese state leaders. The meeting with Jintao will be held in Sanya, and a separate meeting in Beijing with Jiabao will follow. Musharraf will also visit Boao and address the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) as a keynote speaker. 

Indian wins UN’s top met prize

New York, April 4
Renowned Indian environmental scientist Jagdish Shukla has been awarded one of the world’s top prizes in meteorology and hydrological sciences by the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the agency said today.

The 52nd International Meteorological Organisation Prize was conferred upon Dr Shukla at an event in Washington DC, hosted by the United States’ National Academy of Sciences.

President of the Institute of Global Environment and Society since 1991, Dr Shukla is professor of earth sciences and global change and chairman of climate dynamics at George Mason University in the US.

“Professor Shukla has been a pillar of the weather and climate research community along a period during which revolutionary advances in atmospheric and oceanic observation, modelling and predictive capabilities have taken place,” WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud said.

Director-general of the UN Industrial Development Organisation Kandeh Yumkella bagged an award for exceptional alumni of the University of Illinois in the US.

The Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Award for exceptional achievement was in recognition of Dr Yumkella’s leadership in efforts to link sustained economic growth to poverty reduction, as well as his efforts to promote increased trade and more efficient use of resources, the university said. — UNI 

Memorial in London school for Indian

London, April 4
A memorial is being planned for Indian teenager Zarine Rentia, who died after a public campaign to allow her to stay in the UK failed.

Rentia (15), suffered from the rare disease Fanconi-Bickel Syndrome. She returned to India in February after a judge turned down her appeal to stay in the UK on the ground that she could be treated in India.

Rentia’s school has planned a memorial event for May 2, when two cherry trees will be planted outside the front entrance to the South Camden Community School in her memory.

Rentia died in India in March, leaving a pall of gloom over her school here. Her teachers, local MP and several others had campaigned publicly, including in the House of Commons, for her to stay in the UK, but did not succeed. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Suicide bomber kills 9 in Iraq
BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber killed nine persons and wounded 30 others at a funeral in Diyala province north of Baghdad on Friday, a senior Iraqi security official said. The bomber struck as people gathered at a cemetery in the city of Baquba for the funeral of a policemen who had been killed on Thursday, said Abdul Kareem al-Rubaie, commander of Diyala security operations. Diyala has been one of the main battlegrounds between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda militants and US and Iraqi forces. — Reuters

US ready for a black Prez: Poll
NEW YORK: In more good news for Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, the number of Americans who believe that the country is ready for a black president has risen to 76 per cent, up 14 percentage points since December last year. However, only 63 per cent believe that the country is ready for a woman president in the poll, which comes at a crucial time when Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in an intense fight for the Democratic presidential nomination .— PTI

Handshake ‘safer’ than kissing
LONDON: Workers in Britain are “safer” to greet colleagues of the opposite sex with a handshake than a kiss, a common greeting in other parts of Europe, a study released on Friday said. A survey of 1,200 workers by recruitment firm Office Angels said some became because so anxious while deciding whether to kiss or shake hands that one in eight forgot the name of the person they were greeting. One fifth had an embarrassing clash of faces as they tried to kiss, and one in 10 became so flustered they resorted to waving instead. And in the worst-case scenario, a red-faced few ended up accidentally groping a colleague after opting for a kiss while the opposite party attempted to shake hands. David Clubb, MD of Office Angels, said, “if in any doubt, go for a handshake. A handshake is always considered professional and courteous, and being on the safe side of formal is never a bad thing in a workplace situation.” — AFP

21 blacklisted for violating 1-child law
BEIJING: China has barred 21 persons from taking up positions as lawmakers or political advisors in northeast Liaoning province for breaking the strictly-enforced one-child law. With more than 1.3 billion population, China has been implementing the one-child norm for the last two decades, which, it says, has helped it to check demographic growth. Liaoning is facing gender imbalance as in 13 of its 14 cities. Gender imbalance has been attributed to the traditional preference for boys with some Chinese women choosing abortion after learning through ultrasound that they were carrying girls. China says that its one-child norm has averted about 400 million births but it is facing demands for recasting the policy to tackle problems such as widening gender imbalance and fast-ageing society.— PTI

Horses good at counting
LONDON: Researchers at the Essex University in Britain have carried out a study that found that horses can count and they have the ability to do it just as ten-month-old infants. “The study absolutely proves that horses are more intelligent than people think. It’s a very basic, rudimentary capacity,” the British media quoted lead researcher Claudia Uller as saying. According to her, the ability may have an evolutionary origin, with the option of going for more food possibly being a trait hardwired into the brains of all animals. In one of their series of experiments, the researchers allowed 57 horses to watch plastic apples being placed out of sight in buckets. The horses were then found to opt for the bucket holding the most apples. — PTI

Naomi Campbell released on bail
LONDON: Supermodel Naomi Campbell (37) was released on bail pending investigation into reports of a disturbance on a plane at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, police sources said on Friday. The fiery model was escorted off a US-bound flight on Thursday after the police was called. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and later released to return on bail in late May. Campbell was on a BA flight due to depart for Los Angeles when the disturbance occurred. Media reports said a row flared up over lost luggage.— Reuters

Pak women cops take to roads on bikes
LAHORE: For the first time in Pakistan’s history, eight women police wardens have taken to the roads of this city on heavy-duty motorbikes to enforce traffic laws. Riding 250cc motorcycles, the policewomen, who began patrolling the cultural capital of the country yesterday, were the cynosure of all eyes. They were among 84 wardens given motorcycles by Lahore’s police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal to patrol the city. There are currently 134 women traffic wardens in Lahore though most of them do office work. — PTI

Mbeki urges parties to accept poll outcome
DURBAN: South African President, Thabo Mbeki, has urged all parties in Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the elections in that country. Mbeki was speaking in Pretoria after bi-national talks between officials of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa. He spoke for the first time since the elections last Saturday and since the Zimbabwean Election Commission began releasing the parliamentary results in stages. So far the opposition, MDC, has won 98 seats out of the 210 parliamentary seats. Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF has won 96 seats and a faction of the MDC has won 10 seats. Another three seats will be decided in by-elections.— PTI