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Beginning of a dual rule?
US tells Pak to get tough with militants
Indian student murdered in UK
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Indian cabbies in Oz
Oil at $122
ISI political wing to be handed over to IB
Bugti sets conditions for talks with govt
BBC Urdu news bulletins back on air
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Beginning of a dual rule?
Moscow, May 7 Medvedev, a 42-year-old former corporate lawyer and youngest leader of the country in 114 years, was administered the oath of the office by the Chief Justice of the constitution at a glittering ceremony in Kremlin in the presence of over 2,400 guests. Putin, 55, who is barred by the constitution from seeking a third consecutive presidential term, last December named Medvedev, formerly a first Deputy Prime Minister, as his preferred successor. The two have worked together for over 17 years. The outgoing President has said he sees no problem working with Medvedev on the ground that he shares common views on several challenges facing Russia. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov today signed a decree under which the government resigned following the swearing in of Medvedev as President in accordance with the country’s constitution and the Federal Constitutional Law on the government. In a brief speech after assuming power, Medvedev, who practices yoga, promised to combat rampant corruption in the country and enhance civil and economic liberties to transform Russia into one of the most attractive countries of the world. A somewhat emotional Putin recalled that at the start of his eight years of presidency, he had vowed to work in an open and transparent manner and preserve Russia. “I have kept all the promises". — PTI
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US tells Pak to get tough with militants
President George W. Bush’s administration has warned ally Pakistan to live up to its commitments in the war on terror and immediately bring violent tribal regions under control. Deputy secretary of state John Negroponte, who on a recent visit to Pakistan was given an earful from the country’s new leadership over the manner in which Washington has dealt with terrorists along the Afghan border, said, “We will not be satisfied until all the violent extremism emanating from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is brought under control.” Negroponte was speaking at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington on Monday. The call comes amid concern in Washington over efforts by Pakistan’s new leadership, led by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, to negotiate with the militants. The US feels this strategy could undermine the nearly seven-year-old war on terror and allow the militants to regroup. Negroponte hinted that the US would scrutinise any kind of deal the Pakistani government strikes with the militants. “We don’t want to see the tribal area being used as a platform for plotting and executing international terrorist activity against the West. So any kind of agreement or understanding which might be negotiated, we would have to look at in the light of those imperatives for United States policies,” he said. The State Department official said Washington expects Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership “to be strong partners against violent extremists in Pakistan’s frontier areas.” He said Pakistan’s government recognises that bringing those areas under control is an urgent priority for Pakistan’s own sake. “It is unacceptable for extremists to use those areas to plan, train for, or execute attacks against Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the wider world. Their ongoing ability to do so is a barrier to lasting security, both regionally and internationally,” Negroponte said. “Pakistan’s government must bring the frontier area under its control as quickly as possible and we are certainly prepared to provide appropriate assistance to the Government of Pakistan in order to achieve that objective,” he added. Negroponte said Pakistan continued to remain a key ally and a front-line state in the battle against terrorism. “More than ever, our national security depends on the success, security, and stability of Pakistan,” he said. Since 2005, America has invested $300 million each year to strengthen Pakistani civil society and civilian institutions. Negroponte pointed out that his country had built schools and health clinics and supported political parties and rule of law. He said military cooperation would remain a key feature of the US-Pakistan relationship. “During the 1990s, the estrangement between America and Pakistan created a strategic disconnect between our two militaries. A generation of United States and Pakistan military officers did not cooperate with one another as closely as they could have. So we are exploring ways to increase military exchange and training programs to reengage with middle and senior ranking Pakistani officers, to give them experience working jointly with the United States,” he said.
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Indian student murdered in UK
London, May 7 Jyotirmayee
Nagasaibabu, a student of the University of Wolverhampton, was found dead in her hostel, they said. According to official sources, Nagasaibabu was in the hostel along with four other Telugu speaking students shortly before her death. A man was also found at the scene with serious injuries when the police were called last evening. He is said to be in a stable condition in the hospital. The cause of the Nagasaibabu’s death or injuries to the man has not been revealed, but the police has initiated house-to-house inquiries at the scene. Another beaten up in Oz
Melbourne: A 21-year-old Indian university student has been badly injured after he was beaten up by group of people apparently in a latest racially motivated attack. The student, who wanted to be known only as David, has been knocked out in a vicious attack, The Age reported today. David, who has been in Australia for just two-and-a-half months, was walking home from a railway station at night when four men stopped him and asked for a cigarette. “The four persons surrounded me from the four corners and went behind me. They smashed a bottle on my head and I became unconscious,” David said.
— PTI
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Indian cabbies in Oz ‘frequently assaulted’
Melbourne, May 7 Gul Dhillon (22) from Melbourne's north-west said he believed the attacks on the city's cabbies were racially motivated. "They think, 'he is from another country and they can do whatever they want'. The police don't do nothing," Dhillon said. Most of the cabbies in Australia's Victoria state are young men from India studying at university and driving taxis on a Friday and Saturday night to earn a living, the Melbourne Leader said. The taxi drivers came out in protest demanding more security after 23-year-old Jalvinder Singh was stabbed and left to bleed on the roadside on Apr 29 allegedly by a passenger who claimed he was under medication and had no memory of the incident. Sony Malhotre (29) who has been driving cabs for over two years, says he had been set upon three times by passengers but stopped contacting the police after the first incident in North Melbourne. "The police showed after one hour," he was quoted as saying by the Leader. "I went home and didn't work for a week. "I don't do night shift any more. it's not worth the risk, I have a child," Malhotre said. J. Singh (23) said he had been involved in numerous such incidents in the past year but never reported them to police because he felt "they don't care". "I've had rocks thrown at me and people running away without paying their fees," Singh was quoted as saying by the Leader. He said it "was typical for police to show late". John Collins, a driver of 15 years from Caulfield, also believed the attacks on cab drivers were racially motivated. — PTI
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Singapore, May 7 New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, was 21 cents lower at $121.63 in afternoon Asian trade. The contract closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday at a record high of $121.84. It had leaping to $122.73, an all-time intra-day high. Brent North Sea crude for June fell 15 cents to $120.16 per barrel. — AFP
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ISI political wing to be handed over to IB
The political wing of country's main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), will be handed over to the Intelligence Bureau (IB), a civilian intelligence agency, in a major reshuffle of the country's intelligence apparatus. According informed sources, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani decided to make major changes in the intelligence machinery after consultations with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in an attempt to tighten the new government's grip on the country's affairs. The government has decided to end the political role of the ISI and hand over its political wing to the IB, which is now being headed by Wing Commander Tariq Lodhi (retd), a close friend of Zardari. The latest reshuffle denies Musharraf of his stranglehold on intelligence apparatus. Though the ISI is supposed to be under the Prime Minister, President Pervez Musharraf continues to exercise full control over the agency that is headed by a serving lieutenant-general Nadeem Taj who replaced Gen Ashfaque Pervez Kiyani after his promotion as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in November last year. Taj is also related to Musharraf. The other major intelligence agency, the Military Intelligence (MI) which has also been invoplved in political engineering was also headed by another relative of Musharraf, Maj-Gen Nadeem Ejaz till last month. The MI come under direct command of the army chief. Kiyani shuffled MI at first opportunity to appoint his own loyalist, Maj-Gen Asif. IB chief Tariq Lodhi also was appointed last month replacing Musharraf's longtime pal and college mate Brig Ejaz Shah (retd) who was given several extensions after attaining age of retirement. Citing unidentified sources in the presidency, the Dawn News TV channel said President Pervez Musharraf is not receiving fortnightly intelligence reports from the ISI and the Military Intelligence (MI) any longer. The president was now relying only on the reports from the IB, which also shares information with the prime minister, the channel said. It said the ISI would now send intelligence reports to the prime minister and the MI to the army chief and the corps commanders. All civilian intelligence agencies would report to the prime minister, the channel added. The ISI was first assigned political role in late seventies and was used by General Zia and Musharraf for political manipulations. Slain former premier Benazir Bhutto had tried to control the ISI by her own nominee, a retired General Kallu in 1989. However, the then army chief Gen Aslam Baig transferred the political role to the MI. A commission set up by Bhutto recommended that the political role of military intelligence agencies should be terminated. However, her government was dismissed within a year and the army chief again called the shots in MI and ISI. In 2002, Musharraf used the ISI to create a "king's party", the PML-Q, by fostering defections in the PML-N and the PPP. It also played a major role in manipulating October 2002 elections and subsequent local government polls. The corps commanders, who have their own small intelligence outfits besides exercising local control of the ISI openly interference in both elections. However, in 2008 General Kiyani strictly prohibited corps commanders from indulging any political activity or meeting any politician, including Musharraf. This action is cited as one major reason that Musharraf was unable to manipulate the February 18 polls that threw up a stunning outcome routing his allies and propelling the PPP and the PML-N to an absolute majority.
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Bugti sets conditions for talks with govt Central leader of slain Baloch Nationalist Akbar Bugti’s Jamhori Watan Party (Brahmdagh) Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, has set conditions for joining the dialogue with the government. Bugti demanded arrest and trial of those involved in Balochistan operation, rehabilitation of internally displaced people and immediate release of thousands of detained Baloch youths as preconditions “if the rulers want to make the reconciliation process result-oriented.” He told reporters in Quetta that the incumbent government’s talks with the new government would be futile because it was utterly powerless and not in a position to implement decisions it made. He said despite the orders issued by PM Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, BNP-M chief and former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal was still in jail. He said the leader of reconciliatory committee Senator Babar Awan had contacted him and other Baloch leaders. He thought that in present circumstances, no Baloch leader would entertain the reconciliation process adding that they had a bitter experience of surrendering arms in 1970s. To a question Jamil Bugti said operation was still continuing in Dera Bugti and other parts of the province. He said the provincial government was not in a position to play an effective role in defusing situation adding that the withdrawal of cases against few leaders would not make any difference.
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BBC Urdu news bulletins back on air
The BBC Urdu on Tuesday resumed its live five-minute news bulletins on local Pakistan FM partner stations after a gap of about six months.
Two private radio stations, Mast FM and Radio Awaz FM, began re-telecasting BBC broadcasts from Tuesday. “This follows their disruption by Pakistani regulators following the imposition of emergency rule on 3 November last year,” A BBC statement said here. Information minister Sherry Rehman told the BBC that in keeping with the new government’s media policy, there were now no restrictions on the BBC bulletins being broadcast on local channels in Pakistan. “As far as I know, there should be no restrictions on the BBC that PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) had imposed,” she said in an interview with the BBC. “I will encourage you to think that it is not just PEMRA that I am talking about but the Ministry of Information as a facilitator as opposed to a regulator”, Rehman said. The BBC Pakistan started airing five-minute news bulletins on local FM partner stations last year after protracted negotiations with PEMRA resulted in written permission to the BBC for airing their broadcasts through the local FM partner stations. However, within days of launching the BBC bulletins, its partner stations came under pressure from the regulators to block the BBC bulletins. The matter was taken to Sindh High Court, which immediately granted the BBC and its partner stations a stay. The court ordered that the status quo be maintained, whereby, the BBC and its partner stations were to continue airing the BBC bulletins till the case was decided. Following the imposition of emergency on November 3 last year, the regulators forcibly altered the status quo and the bulletins were taken off air. The BBC news bulletins will now resume on May 6 after a break of six months. BBC Urdu head Mohammed Hanif said, “We welcome the Pakistan Government’s commitment to allowing the free flow of information. We know our partner stations and listeners have valued BBC’s impartial and editorially independent news and information. This will encourage us to put more journalistic resources into Pakistan - one of South Asia’s most important countries - to serve audiences better in the future”.
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US executes murderer after moratorium Plants improve office
workers’ health Expat workers to submit
fingerprints in Saudi Arabia Chargesheet filed agaist Khaleda Zia’s son Irish PM Ahern quits 
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