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Go soft on Mush, US to Pak leaders
Iran, India can fill power vacuum in region: Ahmadinejad
Four killed, 45 injured in Jerusalem
Benazir Assassination |
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Indian’s artwork fetches record price
Nepal govt extends UNMIN tenure by six months
4-day emergency in Mongolia
Racial Slur
Indian domestic helps in UK face abuse: Report
US has Mush ‘nod’ to hit Osama hideouts in Pak
China closes Everest for clean-up operation
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Go soft on Mush, US to Pak leaders
US assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher has said President Musharraf is no more an issue and advised Pakistani politicians to move on and tackle more serious problems confronting the country. Boucher said militancy and extremism, food and energy crisis need be addressed through comprehensive strategy for peace and progress. He welcomed the ongoing operation in Khyber Agnecy and said the US would support peace deals with tribal people but not militants and terrorists like Baitullah Mehsud. He said the Bush administration would continue to work with President Musharraf in combating terrorism but added that the US was keen to support the new democratic dispensation in Pakistan and work with its leadership to consolidate democracy and stability of the country. Bouncher was addressing a news conference after a flurry of meetings with the President, Prime Minister, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and top brass of the army. Boucher’s five-day trip came against the backdrop of US pressure on Pakistan's new government to continue military operation against pro-Taliban tribal militants along Afghanistan border instead of entering into peace deals with them. Boucher also expressed concern over increasing tensions within the ruling coalition that threaten the stability of the new democratic government. He also vigorously lobbied against possible impeachment of President Musharraf and urged Sharif on Tuesday to soften his hostile rhetoric against Musharraf. In his meeting with Musharraf on Wednesday, Boucher conveyed the sentiments of both coalition partners, the PPP and the PML-N. Musharraf denied accusations that he was engaged in intrigues against the Sharifs and said he wanted the new democratic experiment work successfully. Richard Boucher in the meeting said Pakistan was a key ally in the war against terrorism, which had brought several victories. He said the US supported lasting and multi-dimensional ties with Pakistan for which cooperation would be continued with the new government also. He said Afghanistan and the coalition forces should coordinate with the Pakistani troops to curb militancy and eliminate terrorism.
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Iran, India can fill power vacuum in region: Ahmadinejad
Dubai, July 2 “Iran and India should bolster mutual ties, making themselves prepared for major developments worldwide and filling up the power vacuum in the region,” Ahmadinejad said yesterday during a meeting with the Indian national security advisor M.K. Narayanan, who is currently visiting Tehran. Iran and India can have helpful and constructive cooperation in fighting drugs and terrorism, establishing the north-south corridor and maintaining regional security, he said, adding, “there is no limit for promoting Tehran-New Delhi ties on bilateral, regional and global levels.” He insisted on Iran-Pakistan-India cooperation on gas transfer, saying: “The Islamic Republic of Iran insists the gas pipeline be laid among the three countries as this will be to the benefit of whole regional nations.” “Iran’s approach to relations with India is a long-term one and due to this reason we are eager to expand cooperation,” the Iranian leader said. To promote regional relations and help regional security and fraternal cooperation, Iran considers implementation of the ‘Peace Pipeline’ project as an effective and helpful step, which should be finalised and made operational as soon as possible, he said. Narayanan expressed India’s desire for expansion of “historic and strategic” ties with Iran in different fields. Calling the IPI pipeline important for better regional cooperation, he urged speeding up efforts to implement the project to serve the interests of regional nations. Narayanan said Iran and India have had constructive role in building great civilizations while ensuring peaceful coexistence among followers of different religions. Meanwhile, Iranian and Indian officials have drawn up an action plan for security cooperation as well as creating new opportunities for expansion of mutual and international exchanges. The Indian official also met secretary of Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili and told him that the Indian Prime Minister and the government are keen to follow up all agreements reached before during official talks, particularly in the field of Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. — PTI
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Four killed, 45 injured in Jerusalem
Jerusalem, July 2 The attack carried out by an Arab resident of East Jerusalem left a trail of destruction in the downtown city, halting traffic and creating panic among people. A state of emergency was declared in the city. Police have described the incident as a “terrorist” attack while a little-known outfit calling itself the Imad Mughnieh unit of the Brigades of the Liberators of the Galilee has claimed the responsibility. Eyewitnesses said the man, who was working at a construction site alongside the busy road, suddenly went on a rampage flattening and overturning at least seven cars and two buses. An eyewitness, Zion Sheetrit, told ‘Ynet’ news that the, “Tractor turned into the road suddenly and started trampling over cars standing at the red-light. I started yelling for people to shoot him. I saw some security guards running out of a nearby building and they were aiming Uzis (guns) at him.” A TV camera captured the earth-mover crushing a vehicle and an off-duty soldier killing the man by shooting him in the head. An official of the Magen David Adom emergency services told PTI that seven of the injured were in a serious condition. — PTI
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Benazir Assassination Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is likely to lobby the United Nations for Benazir Bhutto assassination probe during his three-day visit to New York starting July 9. The PPP-led government sent a formal letter to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon last month requesting for help in the investigation. Earlier, all four provincial assemblies and the National Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution calling for a UN probe. However, most former diplomats and several prominent lawyers have opposed UN intervention saying it would be too intrusive and lengthy. The foreign minister would meet the Secretary General and ambassadors of various countries to solicit their support for Pakistan government’s request to the UN to form an independent commission to probe the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. But Pakistan is yet to find an encouraging response to its request. Important countries at the UN, including the United States, have not clarified their position regarding the issue.
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Indian’s artwork fetches record price
London, July 2 It embodies the pioneering manipulation of space and material that characterises the very best of the renowned sculptor. Untitled is one of the largest of Kapoor’s alabaster works and the first double-concave piece to come to auction. Other significant prices were achieved included Subodh Gupta’s Untitled from 2005 for 201,25 pounds and Bharti Kher’s Misdemeanours which was sold for 75,650 pounds. Gupta’s Untitled canvas, depicting a vessel stall glistening in the pink dawn of sunrise is one of the most important and powerful photo-realistic paintings of the artist to ever come to the market. —
PTI
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Nepal govt extends UNMIN tenure by six months
Kathmandu, July 2 The decision to extend the tenure, with effect from July 24, was taken at a cabinet meeting held at Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s official residence in Baluwatar on late Tuesday evening. According to Giriraj Mani Pokharel, minister for health, the government has also decided to reduce the size of the UNMIN. However, the government needs to formally request the United Nations for extension of its tenure and the UN Security Council needs to approve it.
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4-day emergency in Mongolia
Ulan Bator, July 2 "From 11:30 pm yesterday, there will be a four-day state of emergency," said a presidential decree read out on state television. The decree warned that anyone caught on the streets after the 10:00 pm curfew without documentation would be arrested. Public gatherings and independent media broadcasts were also banned. The action came after thousands of people took to the streets of the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator yesterday to voice their outrage at weekend elections they claim were rigged. The headquarters of the former communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) in the centre of Ulan Bator was set alight and looted, according to an AFP reporter and other witnesses at the scene. Approximately 6,000 protesters from the rival Democratic Party - which claims the MPRP bought votes and used other tactics to win Sunday's election - threw rocks at firefighters arriving to put out the blaze. The police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas but the clashes continued and the violence later spread to other parts of the capital. A police station was attacked when the protesters attempted to free rioters imprisoned earlier in the day. Part of the Cultural Palace, which contains an art gallery, a museum and a theatre, was on fire early today as violence continued despite the emergency decree. TV images showed the riot police around the Cultural Palace apparently arresting people and firing rubber bullets in an attempt to secure the area. Later images appeared to show the situation was calmer. — AFP
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Racial Slur
Kuala Lumpur, July 2 Hamida Osman at a meeting last week reportedly asked the state assembly speaker V Sivakumar if he agreed to disagree with the well-known fable of whether “a snake or an Indian should be killed first”. She later retracted her statement and apologised. In a statement faxed to the New Straits Times daily’s office, an official of Perak UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), whose main body UMNO is the majority component of the ruling Barisan Nasional, said he was instructed by state liaison chairman Tajol Rosli Ghazali to issue a statement on the matter. He said Tajol Rosli wanted the matter dealt with quickly for fear it would affect relations since the issue had drawn flak from the public. Rosli said Perak Umno and the state Barisan Nasional regretted “the slip of tongue” by Hamidah Osman and “apologised to all quarters who are unhappy with the remark, especially the Indian community”. Various Indian-based groups, including Malaysian Indian Congress president S Samy Vellu, and other Malaysians have criticised Hamidah for her insensitive remark. — PTI
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Indian domestic helps in UK face abuse: Report
London, July 2 The two charity organisations found that 10 per cent of 312 people surveyed had reported sexual abuse, 26 per cent physical and 72 per cent psychological abuse from employers. Many such Indian domestic workers face considerable hardships during and after losing their jobs after they arrive in Britain. Following a campaign by Kalayaan, the government has committed to maintaining the existing rights and protections for migrant domestic workers, which were introduced with the domestic worker visa, for at least another two years. Kate Wareing, a spokesperson of Oxfam, said migrant domestic workers were among “the most vulnerable and exploited people in the UK”. The report, titled The New Bonded Labour?, argues that the workers, mostly poor women from developing countries brought into the UK by employers, are routinely ill-treated. Of the staff registered in 2006 with Kalayaan, 43 per cent of workers said they had not been given their own bed. As many as 41 per cent reported that they had not been provided with regular meals, 70 per cent said they were given no time off and 61 per cent said they were not allowed out of the house without their employer’s permission. Some of the people interviewed for the study told researchers that they were paid as little as 50 pence an hour, and that they had to work up to 16 hours a day and were on constant call to their bosses. A migrant domestic worker was blinded in one eye after her employer threw hot tea at her, and ran away after her employer’s husband attempted to rape her. Another one, who was regularly beaten for three years, told researchers that staff like her were “treated like slaves”. —
PTI
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US has Mush ‘nod’ to hit Osama hideouts in Pak
Washington, July 2 CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Laden’s hideout without taking permission beforehand from Islamabad if the US locates him in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas, a source close to the arrangement told the The Washington Times. The right to launch attacks to the US was granted by Musharraf when the Pakistan had joined the war against terrorism, the source said. The US has options for sending special operations teams into Pakistan if Laden's exact location is determined, but military officials said it would be the Predator, not boots on the ground, that would be dispatched to kill the Al-Qaida leader. This is because a Predator could be airborne or redirected in flight in a matter of minutes. In contrast, special operations forces in Afghanistan would have to be assembled, briefed on the mission and then dispatched by helicopter, a time-consuming and risky process. By not requesting Pakistan's approval first, the US would avoid the risk of breaching operational security. Washington still harbours suspicions about Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), which helped establish pro-Al-Qaida Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the daily said. Nadeem Kiani, Pakistani Embassy spokesperson in Washington, declined to comment on the purported Laden deal, but said Pakistan stood ready to move against the Osama if he was inside the country. Pakistan allowed the CIA to secretly launch missile-equipped Predators from its soil into Afghanistan during the war to oust the Taliban, the report said. It has continued to let the agency fly the unmanned surveillance planes over Pakistan. But earlier this year, Musharraf rejected a Bush administration request to allow more CIA personnel into his country. — PTI
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China closes Everest for clean-up operation
London, July 2 Earlier in May, the Communist leadership limited the climbing season, convincing the Nepali government to shut down the southern approach to the 29,035 feet peak so that the anti-Chinese protestors did not disrupt the Beijing Olympic torch relay. Now weeks after the Olympic torch relay across the world’s highest peak, called Mount Qomolangma by the Chinese, Beijing plans to send special teams to clear the mounds of discarded tins, cans, bottles, oxygen canisters, rucksacks and even the occasional corpse of a climber. “We have a responsibility to ensure the water source of the river flowing from the Everest to the sea is clean,” Zhang Yongze, the leader of the Tibetan environmental protection agency was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. “Our target is to keep away people from abusing Mount Everest,” he stressed. The campaign planned in the first half of 2009 is to protect the fragile ecology of the Himalayan plateau. It is also aimed at preserving the melting Rongbuk glacier, which has retreated 490 feet at the base of the Everest in the past decade, Zhang said. Thousands of climbers have visited the area since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first scaled the world’s highest peak. In 2007, 40,000 persons visited the Everest’s Chinese northern side, leaving 120 tonnes of rubbish, The Independent newspaper of Britain said. The London-based daily said a team of 24 volunteers removed eight tonnes of junk in 2004. In 2006, another cleaning expedition retrieved 1.3 tonnes of rubbish. — PTI
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18 killed in China coal mine blast 39 US missionaries robbed at gunpoint Israel reopens Gaza
crossing points Heathrow worst performing airport: Report Working under fatigue involves health risks: Study 
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