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King denies seeking shelter in India
King’s Exit
Menon in Beijing for G-5 talks
Pope visits Ground Zero
Hate crime against Sikh |
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Punjabis foray into Norway MCs
‘Indian feel’ restaurants doing well in Norway
Indian restaurateurs in UK take to streets
Anti-French protests spread to new Chinese cities
Tibetans shave heads in protest
I will become PM if needed, says Zardari
Sacked judges to be reinstated in 30 days
A tragic story about Benazir
Issues like commerce should precede Kashmir: Advani
Pak Envoy’s Kidnapping
Titanic ticket sold for 33,000 pounds
Marigolds on moon soon
Yoga to replace judo in Kremlin gym
William lands chopper in girlfriend's garden
German executive
first man to give birth 10 years ago: Report
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King denies seeking shelter in India
Refuting recent reports by some Indian and Nepalese media about Nepal King Gyanendra’s possible voluntary exile in India, the Royal Palace today said these reports were totally “fabricated” and “unfounded”.
“The attention of this secretariat has been drawn to the malicious reports appearing in sections of the national and international media in recent days against the Royal Palace,” the press secretariat at the Narayanhity Royal Palace said issuing a statement. “This secretariat strongly refutes these reports as totally fabricated and unfounded,” it added. However, the secretariat has not clearly mentioned about which media carried out what sort of reports about the Royal Palace maliciously. Recently, as the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists got victory in the April 10 elections, some Indian newspapers had reported that King Gyanendra had requested the Indian government to provide shelter for him along with his family members in Rajasthan. But Indian minister for external affairs Pranab Mukharejee on Friday had refused the report and said India had not received such request from King Gyanendra yet. Similarly, some of the Nepalese media had reported that the King Gyanendra had started to renovate his private villa -- Nirmal Niwas -- to shift there from the Narayanhity Royal Palace. A few days ago, Maoists second-in-command Dr Baburam Bhattarai had given a four-week ultimatum to the King to vacate the Royal Palace showing respect to the mandate of the people. Likewise, Maoist chairman Prachanda on Thursday floated a concept of ‘graceful exit’ from the palace before the Constituent Assembly meeting declares Nepal a republic state, abolishing 240-year-old monarchy from Nepal. Meanwhile, another top leader of Maoists Ram Bahadur Thapa, alias Badal, who has a stronghold among the Maoists combatants, said today that the new government to be formed under the Maoist leadership shortly would use force to oust King Gyanendra from the Narayanhity Royal Palace if the latter refused to vacate it voluntarily. “If he does not do so, the government will treat him just like any common criminal and use the Nepalese army, to oust him from there.”
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King’s Exit
Kathmandu, April 20 During the meeting, Mukherjee assured India’s continued support to Nepal after the Maoists’ stunning victory in the April 10 polls, CPN-Maoist sources said. Mukherjee and Prachanda also discussed the issue of “King’s graceful exit for the implementation of republic declaration through the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly”, the Kantipur online reported quoting a source. CPN-Maoist sources said Prachanda discussed with the ambassador the emereging political situation in Nepal, including matters relating to government formation. The Maoists are also holding a crucial meeting of their group’s top organ in the party secretariat today to discuss government formation, party sources said.
— PTI
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Menon in Beijing for G-5 talks
Beijing, April 20 At the two-day meeting from tomorrow, the countries would discuss their approach at the upcoming annual summit of leaders of the G-8 grouping in Japan in July. India, along with China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, is a member of five “outreach countries’ of the G-8, the world’s richest and most industrialised nations. The G-8, comprising Germany, the US, Britain, France, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia will meet in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido Tayako. The G-5 is invited when the world’s richest nations meet. “The G-5 meeting will discuss economic and trade issues and climate change, among others, that major developing nations wish to take up with G-8,” official sources said. Suggestions had been made to expand the G-8 to embrace “major threshold nations” as full
members. here, Menon is expected to meet Chinese officials and discuss the whole gamut of bilateral, regional and global issues.
— PTI
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New York, April 20 During a 20-minute solemn ceremony on a chilly, overcast morning, the Pope kneeled at the site and prayed silently for about three minutes and then lighted a candle, pleading with God to bring “peace to our violent world.” On the last day of his six-day historic trip to the US, the Pope then met with fire fighters, rescue workers and family members of the victims, selected through a lottery. The Pope was driven in a bullet proof Popemobile to near the specially prepared site for prayer. At the Ground Zero, which relatives of the victims consider a hallowed ground, the Pope called for compassion and prayed for change of hearts and minds of those “who are consumed by hatred” into love. “God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred,” he said. The Pope then read a short prayer for those who died in the attacks at the Pentagon and in the crash of United Airlines Flight in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 persons were killed in the four crashes of the airliners hijacked by al-Qaida on September 11, 2001. The remains of more than 1000 persons who perished when the twin towers collapsed here were never found. Twenty-four persons representing survivors, relatives of victims and four rescue workers were invited to meet the Pope as he called for healing, including thousands, who because of their “presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness.” — PTI
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Hate crime against Sikh
Silicon Valley, April 20 Judge Monica Benton also handed down Luis Vazquez, 21, 240 hours of community service for November 24 drunken assault on Sukhvir Singh, hailing from India, in King county of Washington state. Deputy prosecutor Mike Hogan asked for a two-year jail term, though he pointed out that Singh “has been forgiving of the attack from the beginning.” Benton said that while racism is pernicious and hate crimes undermine society, forgiveness and remorse play a role in justice as well, Seattle Times reported. Vazquez pleaded guilty last month to reckless endangerment, second-degree assault and
malicious harassment. Vazquez told the court he did not remember the drunken assault but was ashamed and shocked when he woke up in jail and learned what he had done. “I’m really, really sorry for what I put you through,” Vazquez told Singh during the hearing that was packed with members of the Sikh community. “I’m sorry for making you have to look back over your shoulder when
you walk.” A drunken Vazquez was thrown out of a football game and put into a cab driven by Singh. While Singh was driving down, Vazquez punched him, bit him on the scalp and called him an “Iraqi terrorist.” Singh, who pulled to the side of the freeway, told police that he had been afraid for his life and that of others on the road.
— PTI
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Punjabis foray into Norway MCs
Oslo, April 20 For 53-year old Balwinder Kaur, an ethnic Indian Member of the Oslo Commune (municipality), the work has just begun and there is a lot to do for “my community and Norway”, as she puts it. “I came here with my family in 1980 after spending five years in UK since I left Jalandhar. Over the years, I saw more and more Indians coming here. Many of them faced various problems. So I decided to stand up for them,” Kaur, a schoolteacher by profession, told PTI. Elected in October last year, Kaur belongs to Socialist Left or ‘SV’ party. For the 3,000-odd ethnic Indians in the capital and over 6,000 across this country, most of whom immigrated in the last decade or so, the representation levels in local bodies have also gone up during the same period. “At least eight Indian-origin people have entered the local bodies in Norway’s different counties in the last few years. In all, seven of them are from Punjab and one is from Hyderabad.”
— PTI
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‘Indian feel’ restaurants doing well in Norway
Oslo, April 20 The aroma of ‘dal makhani’, ‘shahi paneer’ and ‘chicken tikka’ with soothing instrumentals of legendary Indian composer S D Burman playing in the background set the right mood for a perfect dinner. Metallic idols of ‘Radha-Krishan’ and ‘Nataraj’ placed near the dining table add the Indian touch. “Many businessmen who are of Pakistani and Lankan-origin own ‘Indian’ restaurants here. They have even grabbed so many popular Indian names for them,” says one of the Indian restaurateurs Baljit Singh of ‘Bombay Darbar’ restaurant at Carl Johan Gate here. “They know it is the ‘Brand India’ which sells here. Not many people would be interested if they were to use names of people and places in their own country,” he says, adding, “Taj Mahal, Agra, Gate of India, Little India, Anarkali, and Shalimar are some of the prominent restaurants owned by our regional cousins.” At one point of time, another eating joint named ‘Gandhi’ was owned by a Pakistani-origin businessman Ali Hashmi. In 2005, however, a young Punjabi restaurateur from Jalandhar bought it from him. “This was one of the most popular restaurants in this city. I acquired it as it made a lot of business sense to me. Obviously, it feels good that the ‘Bapu’ has come back to his son,” says Sandeep Kumar, the owner of ‘Gandhi’. A large portrait of the ‘Father of the Nation’ hangs at the entrance, which the owner says, has been there since the restaurant first opened in 1970s. The other popular Indian food outlets owned by Indian-origin businessmen, include ‘Bollywood’, ‘Mr India’, ‘Jaipur Indian’, ‘Natraj’ and ‘Mother India’. Interestingly, despite the 3,000-strong Indian community and much larger Pakistani-origin and Lankan-origin populations, the main clientele of these ‘Indian’ restaurants remain to be Norwegians. That largely explains the mushrooming of Indian eateries, which have come up at every nook and the corner of the city in the last decade or so, and which enjoy some popularity with even the top government officials and influential section of society. “It takes just about 2,00,000 Norwegian kroners (approx Rs 10 lakh) to start up an Indian restaurant here, which is comparable to a ‘dhaba’ (eatery) back home, except that it looks much better,” says Paramjeet Singh, an Indian-origin employee at ‘Agra’ restaurant. “However, it’s the established ones like ours which are doing best business here due to the kind of ‘Indian feel’ we offer. It’s not that only an Indian-origin person can best run an Indian restaurant,” Singh, who has been working at ‘Agra’ for the past eight years, said.
— PTI
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Indian restaurateurs in UK take to streets
London, April 20 The new ‘restrictive’ immigration rules encouraged owners of the $ 3.5-billion Indian restaurant industry to employ Polish, Bulgarian or other migrants from the expanded European Union who do not need permits to work
in Britain. Leaders of these large migrant communities claim they can cook Indian dishes equally well, but the owners disagree, who insist that only chefs from the Indian sub-continent can do the job well. Connoisseurs of Indian cuisine believe that without years of experience and sensitivity, traditional foods cannot be performed by people outside the Indian cultural zone. They said that cooking food is a cultural process that needs the right material and cultural inputs. Blocked by the new rules of employment, owners of Indian restaurants are currently struggling to deliver orders due to severe staff
shortage. Today’s protest, organised by the newly formed Ethnic Catering Alliance, representing over 40,000 restaurants, was supported by Chinese and Turkish restaurant industries, which are also facing similar staff shortage problems. The alliance believes that nearly 30 per cent of its restaurants are under threat because of new the rules requiring non-European Union origin staff to meet strict criteria, including a demonstrable ability to speak
English. — PTI
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Anti-French protests spread to new Chinese cities
Beijing, April 20 A day after staging demonstrations calling for boycott of French goods, the protesters today gathered in northwestern city Xi’an, northeastern city Harbin and eastern city of Jinan and raised slogans against American TV network CNN and “Tibet independence” separatists. Yesterday protests were held in Beijing, Hefei in the eastern Anhui province, Wuhan of central Hubei province, Qingdao of eastern Shandong province and Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province, official Xinhua news
agency said. The protestors chanted “Oppose CNN’s anti-China statements” and “oppose Tibet independence” in front of outlets of the French supermarket chain Carrefour, which was targeted yesterday with calls for boycott of French goods in response to the disruption of the torch relay in Paris. Carrefour has more than 100 outlets across China. The police were monitoring the demonstrations that had no effect on the supermarket’s normal operations, official Xinhua news agency said. In Xi’an, more than 1,000 students and citizens gathered in front of Carrefour, holding banners, “strongly oppose CNN’s anti-China statements” and “Condemn Tibet secessionist in France tearing up the Five-Star Red Flag”. Meanwhile, a front-page editorial in the People’s Daily newspaper, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, appealed to people to cherish patriotism “while expressing it in rational way”.
— PTI
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Tibetans shave heads in protest
Sydney, April 20 About 50 persons rallied outside the consulate, calling for the Chinese government to improve human rights in the Tibetan region. The protesters chanted and shaved their heads to express solidarity with the Tibetans, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Dalai Lama's Australian representative Atisha Tenzin said, ''What they are doing in Tibet is not acceptable to the world.'' Sandup Tsering, one of the protesters, said, ''The protest is to show our deep sorrow and sadness for the recent killings in Tibet.''
— UNI
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I will become PM if needed, says Zardari
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the “establishment” that brought President Pervez Musharraf to power was now involved in “palace intrigues” against the new democratic government.
“The same forces” had asked Benazir Bhutto to boycott the 2007 elections, he said. “When she refused to do so, they threatened to restrict her to the province of Sindh,” Zardari said in an interview with BBC Urdu. He said he would contest the June 3 by-elections and might assume the office of Prime Minister “if needed”. Zardari was persistently questioned if he could guarantee that he would not become the Prime Minister. He refused and said he would assume the office if it were needed. He said people had voted for the new government so that it would change the system and the coalition was committed to this. Zadari said the government would restore all judges sacked on November 3. He said a constitutional judicial reforms package was also likely. He said he wanted to strengthen the judiciary so that it would not succumb to the executive’s pressure. Zardari said the foreign minister would formally write to the United Nations within two weeks to ask for a UN-led probe into Benazir’s killing. He also said his sister Faryal Talpur and he would file nomination papers for the by-elections from the National Assembly seat Benazir contested from. He said Benazir Bhutto had not nominated him, but his sister Faryal Talpur, as the guardian of her children in her will.
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Sacked judges to be reinstated in 30 days
The parliamentary resolution promised by top leaders of the PPP and the PML-N in the Murree Declaration is likely to be adopted this week, reliable sources here said.
The resolution would be moved in the National Assembly, which is currently in session. It was due to be prorogued last Friday but was extended till April 25. The resolution would be moved before the session concludes, a PPP source here said. PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif met in Islamabad last week amid growing doubts and confusion about the restoration of sacked judges, particularly Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. There were speculations that the PPP is dragging its feet on the issue under pressure from the USA and a desire to avoid direct confrontation with Musharraf at this stage. Media reports said he might invoke the Article 52 (b) of the Constitution to dissolve the National Assembly. But the two leaders reaffirmed their pledge to implement the Murree Declaration that promises restoration of judges within 30 days after the formation of the federal government. PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar later said the judges would be reinstated “whatever the consequences”. Law minister Farooq Naek in the meantime has said in a brief chat with newsmen that the coalition government is committed to restore deposed judges according to the Murree Declaration. “There should be no confusion about it,” he said, adding, the restoration process had begun with the release of judges ordered by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in his first speech after assuming office. Responding to a question, the minister said the government was working for the supremacy of the Constitution and law in the country by strengthening democracy and national institutions.
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A tragic story about Benazir
There is a relatively obscure monthly publication, The Wag (www.thewagonline.com), emanating from New Rochelle, New York. Its April issue carries a story by Seema Boesky about a Manhattan apartment which she sold either at the end of 2006 or early in 2007.
The story is entitled 'The Cursed Apartment' and opens up, "I wrote an article last year about the complications of selling my New York City apartment." The apartment in question was a penthouse which was "pristine, beautifully furnished, with panoramic views overlooking the East River. " Why 'cursed'? Because, "my first buyer dropped dead at the closing. The second, with contract in hand, bolted down 47 flights of stairs never to be heard from again. Why? My building is the one New York Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle flew an airplane into, tragically crashing it five floors below my apartment - where my buyer was signing our contract." Boesky's real estate broker felt that the two tragedies in a short period of time indicated that the apartment's 'karma' was questionable and suggested that efforts be made to get rid of it pronto. "Within a couple of months came some more potential buyers who wished to remain anonymous. For the early meetings the husband came alone. He was charming, attractive, in his 50s, and extremely chatty. He mentioned that this was their first home in New York, and that his wife was a workaholic who travelled constantly." "On the fourth meeting, came time to meet the wife, the one who made the decisions and who wanted to also explore the possibility of purchasing some of the apartment's 18th century antique furnishings. "A stunning woman with an engaging smile rang my doorbell. She took a full tour, including closets, and was very complimentary." Seeing photographs of Boesky's children she remarked that her children were in school elsewhere so would not be living in the apartment. One of her observations was that the 'feng shui', most important to her, was not quite right and that she would be changing the location of the entry doors. "A few days later, an acceptable offer was made by the couple, the expensive antique furniture not included as the wife said that reproductions would suit her fine. The closing was quick and easy, and Boesky went off to her home in Westchester happily thinking how silly the broker was to believe that the apartment was jinxed. “One year later, newspaper headlines proved her right after all, and the sale has left me feeling sad ever since. My buyer? Benazir Bhutto”, writes Boesky.
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Issues like commerce should precede Kashmir: Advani
Islamabad, April 20 “I conceive that there will be a time when both countries feel that partition has not solved matters. Why not come together and form some form of confederation or something like that,” he said in an interview aired tonight by Pakistan’s Dawn News channel. Asked if he believed this was a possibility, he replied, “A day will come, I think so. But it would be a confederation of two sovereign countries by mutual agreement.” Pakistan’s insistence on describing the Kashmir dispute as the core issue in bilateral ties “will not solve issues” and other matters like trade, commerce and cultural ties should precede Kashmir, he said. Advani, the leader of Opposition in Parliament, said he had never subscribed to the “normal logic that unless Kashmir is solved, India-Pakistan relations cannot be cordial.” Asked what he would do to resolve Kashmir if the BJP won the next election and he became Prime Minister, Advani said he would take steps to ensure “that the infrastructure for terrorism that is there in Pakistan would be dismantled.” “Even the foreign countries have consistently pressed on Pakistan to dismantle that infrastructure. Unfortunately that has not happened. I would like that to happen and I would like the dialogue to be really substantial, in which trade, commerce, culture, information, all these issues are tackled in a manner as to make the two countries come closer to each other,” he said. “Jammu and Kashmir also should be sorted out but it would take time,” he said. “My bottom-line on Kashmir is that let other issues come first and Kashmir later.” — PTI
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Pak Envoy’s Kidnapping
Islamabad, April 20 The militants holding Azizuddin, his driver and bodyguard had demanded the release of Taliban leader Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, widely considered to have been the military chief of the Taliban and who once carried a reward of $1 million on his head. They have also demanded the release of five or six other Pakistani and Afghan militants held by Pakistani authorities, the Dawn today quoted a highly placed source as saying. Akhund, the deputy to elusive Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, was captured by Pakistani security forces in Quetta on March 1 last year, coinciding with US vice-President Dick Cheney’s visit to Islamabad. The three were abducted while driving from Azizuddin’s home in the North West Frontier Province capital of Peshawar to Kabul on February 11. “It’s a mixed bag of people they want exchanged for the release of the ambassador and two other hostages,” the source said. Azizuddin had spoken to his family twice before the release of the relatively old video, which was recorded in early March, and authorities knew who his captors were but withheld the information to ensure that he remained unharmed, the source said.
— PTI
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Titanic ticket sold for 33,000 pounds
London, April 20 The ticket was sold by auction house of Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire. Also in the collection, a pocket watch that stopped at the exact moment the Titanic sank sold for 31,000 pounds. It was bought by a Swedish collector, the auctioneers said. “There were bidders from China, America, Sweden, Ireland and the UK calling in. The room itself was so packed we had to fetch more chairs,” Andrew Aldridge, who runs the family auction business, said. — PTI
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Marigolds on moon soon
London, April 20 The research was presented at the European geosciences union meeting in Vienna by ESA's Dr Bernard Foing, the director of the international lunar exploration working group and father of the SMART-1 moon probe. Dr Foing said it was an important milestone because it does away with the need to bring nutrients and soil from earth. His team added different types of bacteria which made the marigolds thrive. The bacteria appeared to leach elements like potassium from the rock that the plants needed, were able to withstand extremely tough conditions, and so would be an ideal way to fertilise lunar crops. Dr Foing was pinning his hopes on an ESA proposal for a mission called Moon Next, which would probably deploy a roving vehicle in about 2015 or on a subsequent lunar logistics lander scheduled for 2016-17, the Daily Telegraph reported. He said tulips, cabbages and
Arabidopsis, a weed could also be grown on the moon.
— UNI
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Yoga to replace judo in Kremlin gym
Moscow, April 20 Prodded by his wife Svetlana, President-elect Medvedev had joined thousands of Russians eager to learn the Indian art of yoga. He now takes pride in his ability to perform 'shirshasana', a headstand pose. Former President Boris Yeltsin's tennis revolution had resulted in the birth of a whole constellation of Russian superstars like Kurnikova and Sharapova. His successor, a judo black belt holder and mountain skier Vladimir Putin gave boost to oriental martial arts and mountain skiing in the country and if the trend continues, Russia will soon be standing on its head, Centre TV (CTV) said in its weekend analytical programme 'Post Scriptum'.
— PTI
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William lands chopper in girlfriend's garden
London, April 20 The 25-year-old second-in-line to the British throne sparked fury on Saturday night after he landed his £ 15,000 royal air force chopper in the paddock of girlfriend Kate Middleton's home at Bucklebury. "At a time when there is a lack of kit in Afghanistan and Iraq this is a total waste of money," an unnamed military source was quoted by the leading British tabloid, News of the World, as saying. Middleton and her parents Michael and Carole watched from their million-pound home as the Prince practised a series of landings and take-offs in the £ ten million chopper during a two-hour military training exercise. "William has been in the RAF for quite a few months and obviously wanted to show off his skills to his girlfriend. There's nothing more macho than landing a helicopter in your girlfriend's back yard. — PTI
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German executive first man to give birth 10 years ago: Report London, April 20 Forty-year-old Dylan and his 10-year-old daughter Joanna (names changed) explained how a woman turned into a man had a baby and became a dad, the Sunday Express reported. The report comes after American transsexual Thomas Beatie recently gained worldwide attention after posing for a magazine showing his pregnant belly and his bearded face. However, the paper says Beatie is merely following a trail blazed more than a decade ago by Dylan. According to the tabloid, it is an extraordinary story Dylan never sought to publicise and those he did confide in, found it difficult to believe. “I was studying for my PhD when I became pregnant. When I told my professor I was going to have a baby, he said he didn’t need to know the details of my girlfriend’s condition,” Dylan was quoted as saying by the paper. “When I told him it was me who was pregnant, it left him speechless. Being pregnant was weird. I didn’t have a male role model who had done it before”, he added. Born into a conservative family as the eldest of three sisters, Dylan recalled how he hated being forced into girls’ clothes and would have a tantrum if he was made to wear one. “I told my friends I was a boy but my parents said I was a girl. When I was 15, I started wearing my father’s clothes,” he said. “The pregnancy was not a problem. I knew it was only going to be for a little while. There were lots of hormones in my system and they actually affirmed my feeling of being a man,” he further said. — PTI
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