 |
|
|
Mandela turns 90
Former South African President Nelson Mandela leans on his wife Graca Machel at his house in Qunu, Eastern Cape, on Friday. — Reuters
photo
Rushdie in sign-speed war
Hangu Operation |
|
|
Faraz alive but critical
3,000 Indian workers freed from UAE jail, to rejoin work
Food crisis: Pak seeks US aid
Delhi cheapest place to park, London most expensive
All religions must unitedly end terrorism: Pope
Menon briefs IAEA board, NSG members
UN seeks farm aid for Myanmar
Nepal’s former princess leaves for Singapore
|
|
Mandela turns 90
Durban, July 18
In his special birthday message, Mandela said he knows that people would be expressing their best wishes “for a retired old man” but he want people to remember his three legacy organizations, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation, that are continuing his work. Mandela, who is celebrating his birthday with family and friends at his ancestral village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape province of the country, recorded the message in the backdrop of the messages of goodwill continuously pouring in from all over the world and South Africa. Calling on the nation to uphold moral values and discipline as demonstrated by Nelson Mandela throughout his struggle for South Africa’s liberation, President Thabo Mbeki in his message expressed gratitude to Mandela for steering the nation through its most turbulent times to a stable, free and a non-racial society. ANC president, Jacob Zuma described Mandela as an astute leader and the most charismatic President that their party has ever had. “He is a kind of man, who is not afraid to debate and very powerful to persuade. A father figure in the true sense, a leader who was not afraid to lead, one man who loved the ANC in a manner that we have never seen before. We owe a lot to Madiba,” said Zuma. F.W. de Klerk, last white president of South Africa, in his special message said that it was a great pleasure for him to congratulate Nelson Mandela on his 90th birthday. — PTI
|
|
Rushdie in sign-speed war
London, July 18 The Best of Booker winner is currently embroiled in a signature war with famous wine writer Malcolm Gluck - The Guardian's books section being the arena where it is being fought out. The latest in the series is Rushdie’s letter to the newspaper on Friday. Gluck set the ball rolling recently by claiming a record of sorts for having signed 1,001 copies of his book, set at a wine warehouse in London in 1998. Gluck achieved this with the help of a team of three men, one fetching the copies, one opening them at the blank page, and another whisking the signed copies away. Rushdie lost no time countering. He said he had signed 1,000 copies, on his most recent tour promoting the ‘Enchantress of Florence’, in a books warehouse in Nashville, USA, in 57 minutes. The wine specialist then launched the controversy, questioning whether Rushdie could possibly have signed as many books as he had claimed or whether he had just scribbled his initials. Rushdie insisted in the letter to Guardian books: “I did not initial the books, but signed my full name. I did have the support of experienced staff at Ingrams book distributors in Nashville, who will confirm that among the fastest present-day signers of books are President Jimmy Carter, the novelist Amy Tan, and myself.” “Well, if that’s true, I’m humbled,” Gluck said yesterday. “I’m delighted to learn of Salman’s achievement. I think it’s very funny actually; it’s like men boasting about the size of their sexual equipment, it’s got nothing to do with any other aspect of their personality.” Rushdie responded: “It’s always a delight to return to London from an arduous two-month book tour of North America to find myself being accused of “illusions” - that is, lying - in your letters columns.... I understand that Mr Gluck may be miffed that his own accomplishment has been equalled or bettered.” —
IANS
|
|
Hangu Operation
KOHAT, July 18 An offensive was launched late on Wednesday in the Hangu district after militants killed 15 soldiers in an ambush last weekend and threatened to kill some 49 troops and officials being held hostage. Early Friday morning the army helicopter spotted a vehicle filled with Islamist fighters in an area close to the Orakzai tribal region, previously one of the most peaceful of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal lands. "The helicopter fired at a vehicle in the Zargari area, killing five militants and wounding six," a government official in the region said. After the attack, militants managed to take away their wounded comrades, while the dead were shifted to Hangu, according to officials. A military official in the region confirmed the action. He said 13 militants had been killed in the past few days. On Thursday, troops cleared two militant strongholds in Hangu district. Residents and military officials said the security forces followed up by targeting militant positions in the surrounding hills with artillery and helicopter gunships. Hundreds of villagers fled the combat zone today, after officials relaxed a curfew on a main road leading to Kohat, a garrison town about 40 km northeast of Hangu. Afghan, US and NATO officials say the flow of Islamist guerrillas into Afghanistan has increased after Pakistan's new civilian government, sworn in three months ago, sought to quell violence inside Pakistan by engaging Taliban factions in talks. — Reuters
|
|
Faraz alive but critical
Pakistan’s best-known living Urdu poet Ahmed Faraz is in a critical condition at a hospital in Chicago, a doctor attending him told a news channel.
Dr. Murtaza Arain stated that next the 24 hours would be crucial and the doctors were trying their best to ensure that Faraz’s condition stabilised. He said Faraz’s kidneys were badly affected and he was on dialysis. Some Pakistani TV channels on Thursday had reported that Faraz has died. But his son denied the news and said his father was responding to the treatment.
|
|
3,000 Indian workers freed from UAE jail, to rejoin work
Dubai, July 18 However, eight detainees -- seven Indians and a Bangladeshi -- will remain in custody for their role in protests over the "poor" quality of food being served to workers in the camp,the sources said. The process of release of the workers started last evening from the jails in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, they told PTI today. Around 50 buses of the Ras Al Khaimah-based construction company were waiting outside jails to take the workers back to their work place, the sources added. The incident occurred on July 4 when workers of Al- Hamra Construction in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah went on the rampage while protesting against the poor quality of food at their camp and allegedly thrashed the camp-in-charge and damaged two vehicles of the company. Later, the riot police was called in which detained all the workers and took them to various jails in the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah) in 60 vehicles, officials said. The company officials had told the Indian diplomats they were willing to take back all the workers and also added an overwhelming number of workers were not involved in the incident and had no dispute over working conditions. — PTI
|
|
Food crisis: Pak seeks US aid
The US has agreed in principle to meet Pakistan's request for 500,000 tonnes of wheat to deal with the food crisis that is threatening to get out of control, The Dawn has reported from Washington.
Pakistan is facing shortage of 2.5-3 million tonnes of wheat this year and is seeking help from the US . It is also buying wheat from the market.The Trading Corporation of Pakistan has so far awarded contracts for the supply of 656,000 metric tonnes of wheat to eight firms. Pakistan formally appealed for food assistance early last month when special envoy M. B. Abbasi and additional secretary of the ministry of food and agriculture Shahid Raja visited Washington. They discussed the possibility of seeking US assistance for dealing with the food crisis when they met members of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture. They also discussed concessionary credit facility with the committee's chairman Senator Tom Harkin. The delegation brought a letter from PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for Senator Harkin, requesting 500,000 tonnes of wheat. Since this was not the appropriate forum, Pakistan later submitted a formal request for assistance under the PL-480 programme to the US. Sources in Washington told The Dawn that the administration was now looking at various options to meet Pakistan's request. The US Congress has placed certain restrictions on the PL-480 programme, forbidding general appropriations, so the administration has to look for other options. Although the US President has a special programme for providing food assistance for 22 vulnerable countries, Pakistan is not among them. Last week, when foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice in Washington. She had assured him that the US wanted to help Pakistan deal with the food crisis.
|
|
Delhi cheapest place to park, London most expensive
London, July 18 In Delhi, it costs less than a £ (Rs 86.4) to park a car per day. The monthly rate for a space in London tops the list at £ 586 - exactly double of midtown New York, according to the first global study of parking charges. Close behind is the West End, where monthly rates for the motorists are £ 568 . Daily parking follows a similar pattern, with the city costing £ 34 followed by Amsterdam, the West End, Moscow and The Hague. Australia has some of the most expensive cities in the world for parking as a result of its strong economy and surging currency. Sydney is the third most expensive city on a monthly basis at £ 387 , while Brisbane and Perth make the top 10.
Regions such as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East are relatively inexpensive but are showing signs of car park inflation, which is becoming more structured. However, global financial centres dominate the list, compiled by Colliers International, a property consultancy. — PTI
|
|
All religions must unitedly end terrorism: Pope
Sydney, July 18 “In a world threatened by sinister and indiscriminate forms of violence, the unified voice of religious people urges nations and the communities to resolve conflict through peaceful means and with full regard for human dignity,” Benedict told an meeting with Muslims, Jews and members of other non-Christian faiths. The pope, in Australia for the Church’s World Youth Day, also said the Catholic Church was open to learn from other religions, a comment seen in the context of moves to improve relations with other religions, particularly Islam.
“The church eagerly seeks opportunities to listen to the spiritual experience of other religions,” he said. Catholic-Muslim relations nosedived in 2006, after Benedict delivered a lecture in Regensburg, Germany, that was taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational. Muslims around the world protested and the pope sought to make amends when he visited Turkey’s Blue Mosque and prayed towards Mecca with its Imam. Sheikh Mohamadu Saleem, executive member of the Australian National Imams Council, told the pope: “Muslims should become more inclusive and universal in their understanding of their religions.” “If Muslims, Christians and other faith communities reach out to one another and build bridges rather than erect barriers, the whole of humanity will rejoice forever.”
Relations between Australia’s small Muslim community and the largely Christian population have been strained since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US and the Iraq war, with Australia only recently withdrawing its troops from Iraq.
Race riots erupted at Sydney’s Cronulla Beach in December 2005, as locals attacked anyone of Middle East appearance, believing they were Muslims intent on “taking over” their beach.
|
|
Menon briefs IAEA board, NSG members
Vienna, July 18 Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon briefed the representatives of the 54 countries about the importance of the initiative of Indo-US nuclear deal while citing the country’s impeccable track record on non-proliferation front despite not being a signatory to NPT. The briefing of the IAEA board and NSG members by Menon along with department of atomic energy secretary R.B. Grover is crucial as the board will meet on August 1 to consider approval of the India-specific safeguards agreement initialled on July 7. Approval of the India-specific safeguards agreement by the IAEA board is a crucial step in the implementation of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Among the 35 members of the IAEA Board of Governors, 26 are also part of the NSG. Rest of the NSG countries were invited for the special briefing. After firming up of the safeguards agreement, India has to get a waiver from the 45-nation NSG to allow it to have trade in the field with international community. Earlier in the day, Menon met IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and discussed issues related to the safeguards agreement. Other members of the Indian delegation are the country’s envoy to IAEA Saurabh Kumar and joint secretary in the department of atomic energy Gitesh Sarma. — PTI
|
|
UN seeks farm aid for Myanmar
New York, July 18 "Urgent aid is needed to help small farmers in the country's rice bowl, which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis," UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said, warning that the production is expected to plummet by nearly a third. The FAO has asked for aid up to $33.5 million revising its original call for $10 million to help households rebuild livelihoods and boost food production in the country, where farmers are without seeds. —
PTI
|
|
Nepal’s former princess leaves for Singapore
Kathmandu, July 18 Himani reached the Tribhuvan International Airport on Thursday afternoon along with her three children and boarded a Silk Air flight to join her husband. She was escorted by the police to the airport. Thirty-three days after the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a republic state by abolishing monarchy from the country on May 28, former crown prince Paras left for Singapore in order to find a good school for his children and safe home for his wife.
|
Man gets 41-yr term for cyber fraud Arroyo tops unpopularity chart Indian art boosts Christie’s sales Drug charges on Aussie journo
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Durban, July 18
London, July 18
