W O R L D

Narayanhity Palace turned into national museum
The Narayanhity Palace, which was once seen as a key power centre to rule the whole country under the directives of the former Kings of the Shah Dynasty, was on Sunday transformed into a national museum.

Nepalese soldiers stand during the inaugural flag-hoisting ceremony at former King Gyanendra's palace in Kathmandu on Sunday. — AFP

PML-N plans to impeach Musharraf
The Nawaz Sharif faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has decided to formally move an impeachment resolution in Parliament, a senior MP of the party told the National Assembly on Sunday. 

Abandon N-programme or face action, Bush tells Iran
London, June 15
Describing Iran’s nuclear programme as the single greatest international threat, US President George W. Bush warned “all options are open” if diplomacy fails to get Tehran abandon its uranium-enrichment programme.

Japan rattled by 270 aftershocks
Tokyo, June 15
Over 270 aftershocks rattled temblor-hit northern Japan hampering rescue work as three more bodies were pulled out from hotel debris today, taking the death toll to nine and those injured to 233.

Disney sued by Sikh over dress code
Houston, June 15
A turban-wearing Sikh, who was allegedly sacked by Walt Disney World for lacking the “Disney look”, has sued the company for one million US dollars claiming that he was discriminated on the basis of his religion.

Advanced N-warhead design possibly sold: Report
Washington, June 15
Rogue nations and groups may have gained access to an advanced nuclear weapon design through an international smuggling ring, linked to disgraced Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, a former UN arms inspector said.

‘World wants Obama to be next US prez’
Silicon Valley, June 15
If the international community was allowed to vote, Democratic candidate Barack Obama would more likely to be the next US President, according to a latest Pew Global Attitudes survey.

Indian among 2 killed in Nepal bomb blast
Kathmandu, June 15
Two persons, including an Indian, were killed and 18 others injured in a roadside bomb blast in southern Nepal, the police said today. The bomb, wrapped in a bag, exploded last night as passengers were waiting for the bus in Chandranigahapur town of Rautahat district.

Narayanhity Palace turned into national museum
Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu

PML-N plans to impeach Musharraf
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Abandon N-programme or face action, Bush tells Iran

Japan rattled by 270 aftershocks

Tokyo, June 15
Over 270 aftershocks rattled temblor-hit northern Japan hampering rescue work as three more bodies were pulled out from hotel debris today, taking the death toll to nine and those injured to 233.

At the Komanoyu hotel in Miyagi prefecture soldiers pulled out the bodies of three victims, including two women. The earthquake of 7.2 magnitude, the strongest to hit inland Japan in eight years, triggered landslides in Miyagi prefecture, around 350 km north from here, and Iwate prefecture.

“It’s more difficult than expected to deal with this mud,” said Masahiro Ishiba, a soldier heading a team of 300 soldiers looking for seven others buried in the mud.

“Right now we're finding it tough to make much progress. But all of us are doing all we can,” he told state broadcaster NHK.

The search for survivors and efforts to recover the dead were hampered by a series of powerful aftershocks that continued to rock the region. The Meteorological Agency has called for caution against possible secondary disasters as more than 270 aftershocks followed yesterday’s quake.

Aftershocks of magnitude 4 or higher have been more numerous this time compared to previous inland quakes, the agency was quoted as saying by Kyodo news. People evacuated from their homes spent a restless night at temporary shelters, parking lots or other places. The military helicopters roared across the rice fields and rolling hills of the region, plucking to safety more than 330 persons who were cut off from the world as the tremor snapped bridges and buried roads with landslides. — PTI

Disney sued by Sikh over dress code

Houston, June 15
A turban-wearing Sikh, who was allegedly sacked by Walt Disney World for lacking the “Disney look”, has sued the company for one million US dollars claiming that he was discriminated on the basis of his religion.

Sukhbir Channa (24) filed the suit through his attorney Matt Sarelson in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Florida. In his suit, Channa has said that as a student of University of South Florida he was hired in October 2005 as a seasonal college musician, which requires parade and atmospheric performances, the Orlando Business Journal reported. During his performances, he wore a toy soldier hat to cover his head. In the atmospheric performances, he was initially allowed to wear a red turban in place of the red beret the other musicians wore.

However, even after rehearsing for both jobs, the lawsuit claimed that Channa was removed from the atmospheric position because he lacked the “Disney look” and was singled out to perform menial tasks for his supervisor. When Channa complained to the human resource department, he was told that he was never hired for the atmospheric position and no corrective action was ever taken.

Channa was terminated in early 2006 and when he re-applied in October 2006, he was denied the job again. All of Channa’s former co-workers who wanted to be re-hired got the job. The suit alleged that Disney violated the Florida Civil Rights Act and requested damages of at least one million USD. It asked the court to enjoin Disney from discriminating against Sikh employees and job-seekers. A Disney spokeswoman said the company was reviewing the lawsuit, the Journal reported. — PTI

Advanced N-warhead design possibly sold: Report

Washington, June 15
Rogue nations and groups may have gained access to an advanced nuclear weapon design through an international smuggling ring, linked to disgraced Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, a former UN arms inspector said.

A copy of the inspector's draft report said the drawings of the blueprints included essential details for building a compact nuclear device and could be fitted on a type of ballistic missile used by Iran and more than a dozen developing countries, the Washington Post said.

The soon-to-be published report suggested the designs could have been sold to "rogue" nations and groups.

Drawings for the device were discovered in 2006 on computers owned by Swiss businessmen. The contents, among more than 1,000 gigabytes of data, were recently destroyed by Swiss authorities under the supervision of the UN's nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the newspaper said. IAEA is investigating the now-defunct smuggling ring previously led by Khan for its involvement in the new discovery. The smuggling ring had supplied bomb-related parts to Libya, Iran and North Korea.

UN officials could not rule out the possibility of the new blueprints being shared with others before their discovery, said the author of the report, David Albright, who had spent four years researching the international smuggling network. "These advanced nuclear weapons designs may have long ago been sold off to some of the most treacherous regimes in the world," Albright said in the draft report about the blueprint's discovery.

According to what has been published, the A.Q. Khan smuggling ring was previously known to have provided Libya with design information for a nuclear bomb. "But the blueprints found in 2006 are far more troubling," Albright has said in his report.

While Libya was given plans for an older and relatively unsophisticated weapon that was bulky and difficult to deliver, the newly discovered blueprints offered instructions for building a compact device, the report said.

"The lethality of such a bomb would be little enhanced, but its smaller size might allow for delivery by ballistic missiles.”

"To many of these countries, it's all about size and weight," according to Albright. "They need to be able to fit the device on the missiles they have."

The Pakistani government did not rebut the findings in the report but said it had cooperated extensively with UN investigators. "The government of Pakistan has adequately investigated allegations of nuclear proliferation by A.Q. Khan and shared the information with the IAEA," Nadeem Kiani, a spokesman for the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, has told the Post. — PTI

‘World wants Obama to be next US prez’

Silicon Valley, June 15
If the international community was allowed to vote, Democratic candidate Barack Obama would more likely to be the next US President, according to a latest Pew Global Attitudes survey.

The survey of more than 24,000 persons in 24 countries, including India, conducted between March 17 and April 21, found there was considerable interest in the US presidential campaign in the surveyed nations. A large majority of Japanese say they are following the election very closely (24 per cent) or somewhat closely (59 per cent). As a point of comparison, a third of the Americans are following the election very closely, with another 47 per cent saying they are tracking the campaign somewhat closely.

At least half or more of the respondents in such countries as Germany, Australia, the UK and Jordan are closely following the election. In India, 46 per cent are focusing on the campaign. — PTI

Indian among 2 killed in Nepal bomb blast

Kathmandu, June 15
Two persons, including an Indian, were killed and 18 others injured in a roadside bomb blast in southern Nepal, the police said today. The bomb, wrapped in a bag, exploded last night as passengers were waiting for the bus in Chandranigahapur town of Rautahat district.

The Indian has been identified as Lila Devi Kayastha of Jaynagara Rajauli, whereas the identity of another person was not ascertained yet.

A little known group calling itself Terai Army has claimed the responsibility for the blast. The group has called a five-day strike 
along the Mahendra highway in the district starting from today. — PTI