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Boat with aid for Myanmar sinks
Kashmir Issue
Reinstatement of Judges |
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Pak ex-minister files nomination papers
Political unity must for progress: Zardari
Sherry for adjusting all judges
Bush’s daughter Jenna gets married
13 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
Man survives shark attack in Australia
Ease Schengen visa regime for Indians in UK: Panel
Nepal’s oldest monument faces threat
Obama overtakes Hillary in race for super-delegates
Sikh group donates books to US library
Indian envoy meets Prachanda
Ethnic Indian leader fears for his safety
Poverty-stricken UK soldiers need loans to eat
Nobel win a disaster, says Doris Lessing
Britons pay highest fuel tax in Europe
Overpopulation cause of
food crisis: Prince Philip
19 die in US tornadoes
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Boat with aid for Myanmar sinks
Bangkok, May 11 The boat, carrying relief supplies for more than 1,000 persons, was believed to have hit a submerged tree trunk in the Irrawaddy Delta and started taking on water, an IFRC official in Bangkok, Andy McElroy, said. The accident highlighted the enormous logistical difficulties of delivering aid to the estimated 1.5 million cyclone survivors in need of food, shelter and medicine, with roads washed away and much of the delta turned to a swampland. The reclusive military government has thrown up other obstacles on top of that, saying it will accept foreign aid but not the for eign logistics teams needed to transport the aid into the inundated delta. The crew steered the stricken Red Cross boat to an island but it sank rapidly, McElroy said. All crew members and the four Myanmar Red Cross personnel on the board, two men and two women, scrambled to safety. “This is a great loss for the Myanmar Red Cross and for the people who need aid urgently”, Aung Kyaw Htut, the Myanmar Red Cross aid distribution team leader, said in a statement. “This would have been our very first river shipment and it will delay aid for a further day.” The double-decker river boat was travelling from Yangon to Bogalay, when it sank near Myinka Gone village. It was carrying rice, drinking water, water purification tablets, jerry cans, stretchers, clothes, family utensil kits, soap, rubber gloves and surgical masks. The boat sank in the morning near Bogalay, a town extensively damaged by the cyclone. — Reuters |
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Kashmir Issue Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said various proposals suggested by President Musharraf for the resolution of Kashmir issue were not acceptable to the new government. “These were “half-baked things that didn’t have the mandate of Parliament”, Gilani said in an interview with Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN’s programme “Devil’s Advocate”. He said the four-point formula proposed by Musharraf that envisaged self-governance and joint management of Kashmir was "actually the President’s idea. This is not the idea of the newly elected government”. He added that the Kashmir issue had to be resolved “for stable relations”. He said the process to resolve the Kashmir issue must start from the UN resolutions and the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. The issue would be discussed when India’s external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee would visit Islamabad on May 21, Gilani said. “Yes there are a few core issues that we want to resolve. At the same time, we want to maintain excellent and extremely good relations with our neighbours,” the Prime Minister said. At the same time there should be a rethink about the Kashmir issue, he added. He said his government enjoyed the support of all political forces in the country and recalled that he received unanimous vote of confidence in the Parliament. “Therefore, I think that the Kashmir issue needs to be debated, there should be a rethink about it and may be Parliament thinks on the same grounds.” When asked that such an approach could disappoint India, as it amounted to turning the clock back, Gilani replied: “This is not exactly what you think about it. It is that the people of Pakistan, who have given the mandate to the new government. There is a tremendous feeling that we want to resolve the Kashmir issue. Maybe, the procedures and modalities are different.” The ruling coalition, led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Gilani said, would take the other political forces into confidence because it was a broad-based government. “It’s a coalition of several parties and we have to take everybody on board.” He made it clear that the way forward would be not to forget Kashmir, but to build trust and confidence to create an environment to resolve the issue. The Prime Minister said PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s contention was that trust and confidence could be built through people-to-people contacts and trade, commercial and cultural ties, as the two countries “share a lot of commonalities”. He pointed to trade in cement and food items as an area where the two sides could make a beginning. He also noted that they were cooperating in the energy sector through the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. When asked whether he agreed with Zardari’s stand that the Kashmir issue should not stop progress in other spheres of bilateral relations, Gilani replied: “To that extent, I agree. To that extent, if it (Kashmir issue) is not forgotten.” Replying to a question on Sarabjit Singh, who was sentenced to death by superior courts in Pakistan, the Prime Minister said he believed that Sarabjit should be pardoned and added that he had advised President Pervez Musharraf to review his case. “I have advised the President that he should stop (Sarabjit’s) execution and it should be reviewed by the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, law and justice and human rights.” This was the reason why Sarabjit’s execution was put off recently. |
Reinstatement of Judges London/Islamabad, May 11 US assistant secretary of state for South Asia Richard Boucher met PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in London separately to discuss the political situation in Pakistan ahead of tomorrow’s deadline as a breakthrough to reinstate the judges eluded after several rounds of negotiations. Sharif’s secretary told reporters that the meeting between the PML-N chief and Boucher, which lasted for two hours, was arranged at the request of US officials. Boucher also held parleys with Zardari, who went to London last week for talks with Sharif to discuss reinstatement of judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf during the emergency last year, PPP sources said. There were also reports that another round of talks would be held in London by senior leaders of the two parties, including Khwaja Asif of the PML-N and Rehman Malik of the PPP. Boucher, who was on his way back home from Dhaka, made a brief stopover to meet the PML-N leader to apprise himself on the latest situation in Pakistan. While the PML-N has been pushing for the judges to be restored by tomorrow by passing a resolution in the parliament, the PPP has not committed itself to this deadline. The two parties also have serious differences over retaining judges who were installed during the emergency after swearing an oath of allegiance to Musharraf. The PPP wants these judges to continue in their positions while the PML-N has said they could be retained on an ad hoc basis and the deposed judges, including former Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, should be allowed to decide their future. Sharif is expected to leave later this evening for Islamabad to preside over a joint meeting of the party’s central working committee and parliamentary party meeting tomorrow morning. After the meeting PML-N leadership is expected to announce the party’s policy over the deposed judges issue and the future of the coalition government. Sharif said his party remained committed to the restoration of the judges sacked by Musharraf by May 12. “Zardari has sought more time from me to consider various aspects of the issue,” he said adding the talks have ended inconclusively. Sharif said the talks have ended inconclusively. He said the judges who were sacked by Musharraf last year should be restored with dignity and without any conditions so that they could discharge their responsibilities without any hindrance. The judges who were sworn in during last year’s emergency could be retained only on an ad-hoc basis and their fate could be decided by the deposed judges following their reinstatement, Sharif said. —
PTI |
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Pak ex-minister files nomination papers
Former federal minister Rashid has submitted his nomination papers to contest the byelections from NA-55 (Rawalpindi).
Rashid would face president of Supreme Court Bar Association Aitzaz Ahsan, who filed his papers on May 5. Aitzaz has been assured of the support by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, whose party leader Javed Hashmi had vacated the constituency while retaining his Multan seat. He had applied for PPP ticket and said he would not contest, if the party denied him the ticket. Meanwhile, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar had denied media reports that the PPP had awarded ticket to Aitzaz. He said no decision was yet been made, but the party had allowed its members to file papers before the final decision was announced. In another development, the Pakistan People’s Movement chief M. Ashfaq has obtained the nomination papers for renowned nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer for constituency of the NA-55. Explaining his purpose, Ashfaq said it was his desire that the detained scientist contested the polls. The entire nation also wanted to see Qadeer free, he said. |
Political unity must for progress: Zardari
Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said a clash between political forces and the institutions would destabilise the country. “A consensus and reconciliation among all political parties is imperative to confront huge problems facing the country,” Zardari said in an interview with a private TV channel from London. Talks between Zardari and Nawaz Sharif continue to be deadlocked. He said he stands for the restoration of judges but it was linked with constitutional and legal steps. “We cannot undo an illegal act with another illegal measure.” He expressed the confidence that the PML-N would not quit the coalition on judges’ issue. Meanwhile, US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher reportedly dashed to London to to mediate between leaders of both major parties, the PPP and the PML-N, and met both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari according to media reports. Boucher played a crucial role in brokering a deal between slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and President Pervez Musharaf last year. Zardari dismissed concerns that American mediation amounts to interference and dictation on country's political affairs. He said he favoured greater interaction and improved relations with the US for mutual benefits. He said some people have viewed the Murree accord in a narrow sense of the restoration of the judiciary. He said Pakistan's biggest problem remained poverty and illiteracy which was main focus of the new government. Earlier, Zardari and MQM leader Altaf Hussein discussed at length the prevailing political situation in the country, the judiciary and economic issues, and maintenance of peace and harmony in Karachi during their meeting. Both parties have underscored the importance of unity among all political forces. Zardari said his party was committed to the charter of democracy, which carried the signature of late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. He said even if his party won two-third majority in Parliament, he would endeavour to carry all political parties with him in the greater national interest. |
Sherry for adjusting all judges
The restoration of the sacked judges through an executive order, as suggested by Pakistan Muslim League chief Nawaz Sharif, could lead the country to political and constitutional crisis, information minister Sherry Rehman has said.
In a statement here, Rehman said if the sacked judges were restored through an executive order, post-November 3, 2007 judges, who have taken the oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), would immediately rule against the restored judges. This would lead to a political and constitutional crisis at a time when Pakistan is already beset with conflicts. “There is a need to avoid unnecessary confrontations”, she added. “As Pakistan is facing some economic and social pressures, we need to be more responsible,” she said. The minister said all new and old judges could be accommodated through an act of parliament. |
Bush’s daughter Jenna gets married
Crawford(Texas), May 11 Far from the pomp and publicity of past White House nuptials, Jenna(26), wed fiance Henry Hager(30), less than a year after he proposed at dawn atop Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park on Maine's coast. "Today is my daughter Jenna's wedding day. This is a joyous occasion for our family, as we celebrate the happy life ahead of her and her husband, Henry," the President said in his weekly radio address. "It's also a special time for Laura, who this Mother's Day weekend will watch a young woman we raised together walk down the aisle," he said, hours before the ceremony on the 1,600-acre estate. With twin sister Barbara as her maid of honour and Hager's brother Jack as the best man, 14 young women attendants and 14 male ushers, Jenna and Henry married at 7.30 pm (6.00IST Sunday) before a cream-colored Texas limestone cross that the President ordered erected near a lake on the ranch. — AFP |
13 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
Islamabad, May 11 The bodies of the Pakistani Taliban militants were brought back to Wana, the main town of South Waziristan, for burial, local Taliban sources told journalists. The dead Taliban belonged to the Wazir tribe and were members of a group led by Pakistani Taliban Mullah Nazir, who operates in the South Waziristan tribal region. Among the dead were Maulana Muhammad Iqbal, deputy chief of Mullah Nazir's group, and Khan Mohammed Wazir, another key Taliban commander. Three of the dead Taliban were aged between 15 and 20 , local tribesmen said. The bodies were repatriated to Wana from Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province early today, the Taliban sources said. The skirmish in Paktika left 13 Taliban militants and eight NATO and Afghan troops, including a colonel, dead. Witnesses said the bodies of the Pakistani Taliban were badly burnt, making it difficult to identify them. Sources said Maulana Iqbal had led a group of around 30 militants to Afghanistan late last month to join the Taliban there. The Pakistani Taliban launched an attack on coalition forces in Paktika and were killed in air raids by coalition fighter planes, the sources said. Besides the nine men from South Waziristan, two militants from the Punjab province and one from Hyderabad in Sindh province were also killed. The bodies of Pakistani militants killed in Afghanistan have been repatriated to the tribal region in the past too. The US and Afghan forces believe Taliban militants are still crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan's tribal regions. — PTI |
Man survives shark attack in Australia
Sydney, May 11 The shark, believed to be a great white, seized Jason Cull by the left leg as he was swimming at Middleton Beach in southwestern Australia yesterday. Cull (37) survived after grappling with the beast and after a lifeguard at the beach came to his aid. Officials closed the beach after the attack. Cull told reporters, “It was much bigger than a dolphin when it came up. It banged straight into me and I realised what it was, it was a shark.” “I sort of punched it and it grabbed me by the leg and dragged me under the water,” he said. “I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it, and that’s when it let go.” —
AP |
Ease Schengen visa regime for Indians in UK: Panel
London, May 11 "We urge the government to explore with Schengen countries how the visa regime for Indians resident in the UK and those needing to travel to other European Union countries could be eased, or periods of the EU visa validity extended considerably," the House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee said in its fifth report of 2007-08. The committee also urged the government "to keep under review the possible improvements in visa and other related arrangements that could be made to the mutual benefit of the British and Indian economies. The UKIBC should be well positioned to give advice on this important issue." Headed by Conservative MP Peter Luff, the 11-member committee also asked the government to end the anomaly in the period allowed to Indian students to remain in the UK after completing their studies. Noting that Indian students are attracted more to Australia and the USA than the UK, it asked the government to undertake a comprehensive examination of the ways of making the UK a more attractive place to study for them, including overcoming visa issues and increasing the length of time the students can remain in the UK after graduation. — PTI |
Nepal’s oldest monument faces threat
Kathmandu, May 11 The Changu Narayan temple, which is located in Kathmandu valley, is on the agenda of a team of researchers from Kiel University, who are conducting research into the deteriorating environmental condition of the area. “The surrounding area of the hill, where Temple Changu Narayan is situated, will collapse if the landslide and soil erosion are allowed to continue,” warned German archaeologist and professor at the Kiel University of Germany Hans R Bork. The team includes researchers Gvonne Schweikhard and Prajal Pradhan, besides Prof Bork. “The monumental area, spreading in 36 hectares of land, is facing soil erosion, landslide, deforestation and other man made environmental problems,” said Pradhan. Planting of more trees, construction of scientific pavements and a curb on animal gazing, besides creating awareness about the importance of the monument were the immediate steps needed to save the World Heritage site, he suggested. — PTI |
Obama overtakes Hillary in race for super-delegates Washington, May 11 During the weekend, four super-delegates pledged to support Obama, including two who previously supported Clinton, the former first lady. Obama (47) has 275 super-delegates to Clinton’s 271. Clinton (60) enjoyed a massive lead in super-delegate support before the party’s first primary in Iowa in January. But a string of wins for Obama has convinced many of them to come out in his favour. Obama already has 1,864 delegates from the party conventions and Clinton has 1,697. He is just 160 delegates short of the 2,025 and needed to secure the Democratic Party nomination. Obama won convincingly in the May 6 North Carolina primary; while Clinton narrowly won in Indiana. Six more states hold primaries before the Democratic Party declares at its nominating convention in August, who will take on presumptive Republican candidate John McCain. Meanwhile, West Virginians will head to the polls on May 13 for the state’s Democratic primary, where Clinton and Obama will again lock horns. West Virginia is expected to go for Clinton and pre-polls show that she has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 per cent to 23 per cent. —
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Sikh group donates books to US library
New York, May 11 "We greatly appreciate United Sikhs for bringing these valuable materials to our libraries," Elliot Warren,senior community library manager, said while receiving the books."It will help bring communities together." SATL, as part of the United Sikhs' Education and Empowerment Initiative, aims to improve the availability of information on Sikh culture, history and religion via multimedia resources — books, DVDs, CDs and microfilms. Under the project, donors order books on the list of recommended books and resources. These are then donated to libraries of the donor's choice, including those in schools, universities and other educational institutions, throughout the world. The objective, the organisation says, is to reach out to various demographics through multiple media to provide global access to reliable and complete information on Sikhs. —
PTI |
Kathmandu, May 11 The discussions, during the hour-long meeting, centred around the latest political developments, formation of the new government and the bilateral relations between the two countries, CPN-Maoist sources said. Prachanda’s deputy Baburam Bhattarai was also present in the meeting. The meeting is regarded here as “significant”. Hectic consultations among the major political parties are on in Nepal on formation of a new government. Sood had held talks with Prachanda, whose party is expected to lead a coalition government in the Himalayan nation, on last Thursday also. Maoist number two leader Bhattarai, talking to businessmen in Kathmandu, called for regulating the 1,700 km border with India. — PTI |
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Ethnic Indian leader fears for his safety
Kuala Lumpur, May 11 Karpal Singh, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party said he feared for his safety following Badawi’s statement to the country’s Attorney-General to decide the punishment for him. “His statement urging the Attorney-General (AG) to act quickly because a lot of people were interested to know what the appropriate punishment should be, clearly amounted to him directing the AG to punish me even before I have been charged in court,” Singh told reporters. He said Abdullah’s statement carried a lot of weight and had serious implications and consequences, which made him worried about his safety. “The statement gave the public a pre-conceived idea that I had committed an offence and should be punished,” he was quoted as saying by the media. Singh had questioned the Sultan’s action of stalling the transfer of a senior official, who remains in charge of the Islamic religious department. The police has since recorded a statement by Singh. Singh (68) reportedly said the Sultan had no jurisdiction over the transfer of the official. Singh said the Attorney-General must not be influenced by Abdullah’s call and should act without fear and favour. He is likely to raise the issue in Parliament tomorrow. — PTI |
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Poverty-stricken UK soldiers need loans to eat
London, May 11 A highly- sensitive internal report into the state of the British Army revealed that many soldiers were living in poverty, with some being forced to rely on emergency food voucher schemes set up by the ministry of defence (MoD). The findings outlined in the briefing report written for Sir Richard Dannatt, the British Chief of the General Staff, included an admission that many junior officers were being forced to leave the army because they simply could not afford to stay on, The Independent revealed today. "More and more single-income soldiers in the UK are now close to the UK government’s definition of poverty," said the report, which has been described by General Dannatt as "a comprehensive and accurate portrayal of the views and concerns of the army at large". It revealed that "a number of soldiers were not eating properly because they had run out of money by the end of the month", forcing commanders to tackle the problem through "hungry soldier" schemes, under which destitute soldiers are given loans to enable them to eat. The cost is deducted from their future wages, adding to the problems of soldiers on low pay. The internal army report was based on interviews with thousands of soldiers and their families between July, 2007, and January, 2008. — PTI |
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Nobel win a disaster, says Doris Lessing
London, May 11 “All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed,” Lessing said during a BBC radio interview to be broadcast tomorrow. Lessing (88) said she has been constantly in demand since her win last October and that her writing had stopped, as she didn’t “have any energy anymore”. Her latest book is a memoir entitled “Alfred and Emily” which is partly fiction. She warned younger writers to use their talents while they still had time. Lessing’s best-known works include “The Golden Notebook” and “The Good Terrorist”. She was born in Iran and moved to what was then Rhodesia — now Zimbabwe — as a child. She settled in Britain in 1949. — IANS |
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Britons pay highest fuel tax in Europe
London, May 11 According to the study, the average Briton pays almost 900 pounds in petrol taxes annually, higher than in America, Canada and Australia. The study, by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers, showed that Britain had the highest fuel taxes of 27 European countries surveyed. Edmund King, the president of the automobile association said, "We may be pleased that we have two English teams in the Uefa Champions League final, but it is more worrying that we are top of the European fuel taxation league in terms of unleaded petrol and diesel." A Treasury spokesman said yesterday, "The government understands that families are feeling the pressure from high fuel prices. To respond to short-term pressures, we announced in the budget that the two pence per litre increase, scheduled for April 1, will be deferred until October 1." "Our immediate priority, however, is to encourage international pressure on the oil-producing countries in OPEC to bring down high oil prices," The Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying. — UNI |
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Overpopulation cause of
food crisis: Prince Philip
London, May 11 “The food prices are going up. Everyone thinks it’s to do with not enough food, but it’s really that demand is too great, too many people,” the 86-year-old outspoken Royal said in an interview for a documentary on him. “It’s a little embarrassing for everybody, no one quite knows how to handle it,” he said in the interview. “The Duke: A Portrait of Prince Philip” is a two-part documentary to be aired on TV in the UK tomorrow and Tuesday, which has been given unparalleled access to the prince, who rarely steps out of the Queen’s shadow and into the spotlight alone. According to The Mail, the programme will portray Prince Philip as a maverick environmental campaigner, speaking out on issues, including conservation, overpopulation and animal welfare. The prince reflects on bringing together conservationists and religious leaders, including the Pope, to help spread his environmental The film paints an intimate portrait of the Duke and his dedication to conservation.
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PTI |
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19 die in US tornadoes
Picher (Oklahoma), May 11 Oklahoma highway patrol Lt George Brown said Picher’s victims included an infant at least three persons were confirmed missing. “We’ve seen homes that were completely levelled to the foundation,” Brown said. “In a few of these homes, you would have had to be subterranean to survive.” Ottawa County emergency manager Frank Geasland said dozens of persons were injured. “There are cars thrown everywhere. It looks like a bomb went off.” Many families have moved away to escape the lead pollution left by mining operations. The town’s population has dwindled from a peak of roughly 20,000 to about 800 persons. Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry issued a statement, saying major emergency response was under way. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Picher and all of other Oklahoma communities that have been impacted by the latest wave of severe weather,” Henry said. At least 12 persons were killed after severe storms spawned tornadoes and high winds across sections of southwestern Missouri, the state emergency management agency said. —
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Indian women walk the ramp in saris in Pak Alert in Rawalpindi as 3 held with bomb material Medical aid for detained leader sought
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