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McCain, Obama appear together for first time Pastor Rick Warren (centre) presides as US presidential candidates John McCain (left) and Barack Obama greet each other at the Civil Forum in Lake Forest, California, on Saturday. — Reuters
Rally marks Zia’s death anniversary
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US not considering asylum for Mush
Bangladesh involved in unlawful killings: HRW
An Ethiopian immigrant (right) holds up a photograph of a relative in front of Israeli police officers during a protest near the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Sunday. Around 1,000 Israelis of Ethiopian descent took part in a demonstration on Sunday calling on the Israeli government to grant permission for their relatives living in Ethiopia to immigrate. — Reuters
Russia to pull out troops from Georgia
Anwar Ibrahim to contest bypoll
US army finds out what’s on peoples’ mind
88 die in Afghan violence
Scottish teenager used as bride on rent
Blast at Nepal Vice-Prez's house, 1 hurt
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McCain, Obama appear together for first time
Lake Forest (California), August 17 Warren quizzed each of the candidates separately for an hour on election issues, with both Obama and McCain earning regular applause from a crowd of around 2,000 people at the church's auditorium. Though presented as a forum on faith, the question and answer sessions were dominated by the familiar campaign issues of the Iraq war, national security energy and finance policy. Asked by Warren to reveal the biggest moral failures of America and his life, Obama said he had been guilty of "fundamental selfishness" at times, also mentioning his experimental use of drugs in the past. "I had a difficult youth," Obama said. "There were times when I experimented with drugs. "Americans' greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don't abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me," Obama said. McCain later cited his unsuccessful first marriage as his biggest moral failure. "My greatest moral failing, and I have been a very imperfect person, is the failure of my first marriage," McCain said. "America's greatest moral failure has been throughout our existence, perhaps we have not devoted ourselves to causes greater than our self interest," he added. Both candidates were quizzed for their views on same-sex marriage and abortion, Obama sidestepping when asked directly to give his view on when a baby began to enjoy human rights. "I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade," Obama said. McCain, who is opposed to abortion, replied bluntly to the same question. "From the moment of conception," McCain said. "I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies." — AFP
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Rally marks Zia’s death anniversary
Hundreds of people today staged a public rally on the occasion of the 20th death anniversary of former military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. They marched from Rawalpindi to his grave near Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, and demanded that Islamic system be enforced in Pakistan as visualised by Zia.
His son Ejaz-ul-Haq led the rally that was attended by delegates from across Pakistan. He lauded Zia’s contribution in helping Afghan Mujahideen defeat the Soviet Union. Ejaz said the country was passing through a critical phase where its solidarity and integrity was under threat. He held the present ruling coalition responsible for the steep economic slide and anarchy in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. “The move to impeach President Musharraf is only a ruse to divert public disaffection from the misrule,” he alleged He said Musharraf made a big blunder by pardoning Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari of the corruption charges under the National Reconciliation Ordinance(NRO). Ejaz said there was no doubt in his mind that his father's death in a C-130 air crash in 1988 was not an accident but part of a deep-rooted conspiracy by domestic and foreign forces. He alleged that successive governments have failed to unveil the conspiracy. Meanwhile, British daily ‘The Times’ has said the plane crash in Bahawalpur desert 20 years ago that killed former president Gen Zia-ul-Haq, along with United States Ambassador Arnold Raphael, and spawned several conspiracies theories has now been blamed on a mechanical problem. According to the daily, American, Soviet, Indian and even Israeli intelligence agents were among those blamed for sabotaging the PAF C-130 Hercules plane. The Times has uncovered a far less complicated explanation. According to US investigators, a mechanical problem, known to be relatively common with the C-130 military transport aircraft, was to be blamed. “There were a lot of conspiracy theories and there still are in that part of the world,” Robert Oakley, who took over as US Ambassador to Pakistan after the crash and helped handle the politically fraught investigation, told The Times. Washington sent a team of the US air force officers to assist the Pakistanis in the investigation but the two sides reached sharply different conclusions. Nancy Ely-Raphel, the ambassador’s widow, and Brigadier General Wassom’s wife, Judy, were both told by US investigators that the crash was caused by a mechanical fault. Oakley identified it as a problem with the hydraulics in the tail assembly. Although US Air Force pilots had handled such emergencies, the Pakistani pilots were not well-equipped to do so.
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Impeachment would be over next week, says Pak minister
Ruling coalition’s draft committee met on Sunday and finalised the chargesheet against President Pervez Musharraf for the impeachment process which would be introduced in the Parliament during the next couple of days, information minister Sherry Rehman told reporters after the meeting.
Sherry said the panel went through the draft that has been given legal form and would forward it to the coalition leadership for approval. He refuted the suggestion that the coalition is delaying the matter and said the draft has been prepared in less than a week. “Once the Parliament initiates the process some time this week, the resolution would be adopted before the end of next week,” she said. Sherry said President Musharraf could resign according to Article 44 of the constitution before the introduction of the resolution. Leader of the House in the Senate Raza Rabbani on said the committee has sifted huge material against Musharraf that was enough to “flood River Ravi”. He said all four provincial assemblies that constitute the electoral college for presidential elections have expressed no confidence with a huge majority. Under the circumstances he has no moral, political and legal right to continue as president who has to be symbol of the federation, he added.
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US not considering asylum for Mush
Washington, August 17 "This is an issue that is not on the table," secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said, refusing to take sides in the stand-off and insisting that Washington had a "broad" Pakistan policy. The top Bush administration official was asked if the US was considering giving asylum to Musharraf as a way to help settle the crisis stemming from the PPP-led coalition government’s move to impeach him. Rice underscored that Musharraf was a "good" ally and "was just to his word" but at the same time pointed that the Bush administration had been supportive of the democratic government and was more focused on the war on terror. "President Musharraf has been a good ally and everyone knows that we disagreed with his decision in terms of the state of emergency that he had declared. But he was just to his word, he took off his uniform. It is now a democratic government in Pakistan," she said on Fox News Sunday programme. "I want to keep our focus on what we must do with the democratic government of Pakistan," she said while answering a question on the political crisis in Pakistan. "... We have been supportive of their new democratic government as witnessed by the President's meetings with Prime Minister Gilani. So this is a matter for Pakistan to determine", she said.
— PTI
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Bangladesh involved in unlawful killings: HRW
New York, August 17 “Despite overwhelming evidence of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police in the unlawful killings, the interim government seems unwilling to address the problem,” said HRW director Brad Adams. “Instead, the Bangla forces continue to get away with murder.” The killings decreased in 2007 and early 2008, after strong national and international criticism. But, the number of killings has surged in recent months, the HRW added. Established in 2004, the RAB, immediately became known for its involvement in what authorities often refer to as “crossfire killings.” Over the past four years, the RAB has killed more than 540 people. Researches proved that many of these “crossfire killings” were in fact poorly disguised extra-judicial executions, often preceded by torture, the HRW said. “Tragically, the Bangladeshi police has copied the RAB's actions, killing several hundred people over the past few years. Since a state of emergency was declared on January 11, 2007, the RAB and the police have often operated together,” it added. The interim government, in power for 19 months, has stated its commitment to establishing a “healthy and stable democratic system” based on the rule of law but, the HRW said, its failure to address impunity was undermining its own reform efforts. “The rule of law can't become a reality in Bangladesh unless the forces tasked with upholding the law are also bound by it,” Adams said.
— PTI Militant groups crushed Dhaka: The Islamic militant groups operating in Bangladesh have effectively been “crushed”, a top security official said on Sunday as the country marked the third anniversary of nationwide blasts carried out by an extremist outfit. “From the law and order point of view, we have crushed the religious extremist groups though they often tried to regroup in a sporadic manner,” chief of the country's elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said. — PTI
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Israel to free 200 Palestinian prisoners
Jerusalem, August 17 Nabil Abu Rdainah, an Abbas aide, called the move “a step in the right direction” as Israel and the Palestinians pursue a statehood deal by January in US-sponsored talks, but said “thousands, not hundreds” of prisoners should be set free. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the cabinet voted to release about 200 Palestinian prisoners as a confidence-building measure aimed at bolstering Israeli-Palestinian dialogue and strengthening moderates. A government official said the release would be carried out around August 25. A release list had not been finalised but would include long-serving inmates, women and children, and two prisoners involved in attacks on Israelis before the 1993 Oslo peace deal, the official added. Dogged by a corruption scandal, Olmert had pledged to use his remaining time in office to pursue efforts to reach a peace deal with Abbas. Olmert said he would resign once his Kadima party chooses a new leader in September. Palestinian officials said Abbas had requested that the group include Said Atabeh, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine jailed in 1977 and the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israel. Israel released 429 Palestinians as a gesture to Abbas after the resumption of peace negotiations in November at a conference in Annapolis,
Maryland. — Reuters
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Russia to pull out troops from Georgia
Moscow, August 17 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made this announcement during his telephonic conversation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “The heads of the states discussed the practical implementation of six principles of resolving Georgian-South Ossetian conflict jointly evolved by the presidents of France and Russia after all the involved parties signed the legally formulated document,” a Kremlin release said. Medvedev, currently in his Black Sea coastal retreat in Sochi, yesterday signed the French-brokered peace deal, which requires an immediate withdrawal of troops. He assured Sarkozy that Russia will begin withdrawal of its military contingent which was sent into Georgia to reinforce its “peacekeepers” after Tbilisi launched a massive offensive to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia on August 8. Deputy Chief of General Staff Col-Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn said work is underway to begin the withdrawal of ‘redundant’ troops after ‘enforcing’ peace on Georgia and destruction of its military infrastructure close to the conflict zone. According to Interfax, elite airborne troops and regular units of the 58th Army based in the Russian Caucasus will be gradually withdrawn, while Moscow will increase the strength of its peacekeeping contingent to man the borders and security zone around South Ossetia. In a related development, the Russian troops have established control over the Inguri hydro-electric station on the Georgian border which is said to be done to rule out sabotage and ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to thousands of households in Georgia and Abkhazia. — PTI
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Anwar Ibrahim to contest bypoll
Kuala Lumpur, August 17 Anwar filed his papers for contesting the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat which was vacated by his wife Wan Aziza last month to enable her husband to win back the seat he had held from 1982 to 1999. Aziza, president of the People's Justice party, won the seat in the March 8 general elections. Anwar will face the ruling Barisan Nasional candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah, who also filed his papers this morning, in the bypolls scheduled to be held on August 26. "It is no longer just a byelection. It is a lot more than that," Anwar told his supporters gathered at the venue. Supporters shouted "reformasi," or "reform" in the Malay language. They gathered in an open field, where they were separated by metal barriers from supporters of the government candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah. Sixtyone-year-old Anwar was forced to vacate the Permatang pauh seat in 1999 after he was thrown out of the government by former premier Mahathir Mohammad and put on trial for corruption and allegedly sodomising his family driver. He was convicted and imprisoned on both charges for 15 years, but was freed in 2004 after Malaysia's federal court quashed the sodomy conviction. The corruption conviction, however, stayed barring Anwar from holding political office until April 2008. Anwar has consistently denied the charges. — PTI
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US army finds out what’s on peoples’ mind
Los Angels, August 17 Armed with a $ 4-million grant from the army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message. The project is a collaboration among the researchers at the University of California, Irvine; Carnegie Mellon University; and the University of Maryland. The scientists use brain wave-reading technology known as electroencephalography, which measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp. It works like this: volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyse the brain activity. In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a computer to speak or type out a person's thought.
— AP
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Kabul, August 17 Officials said several clashes in Afghanistan’s south and east killed 73 Taliban fighters and five private security guards, while a roadside blast killed 10 policemen. The interior ministry said the beefed-up police force in the capital would search buildings as well as cars to “create an environment of trust and prevent any disruptive actions by the enemy”. The security increase comes a day before the country celebrates the 89th anniversary of its independence from Britain. Any breach of security during the celebration would be an embarrassment for President Hamid Karzai’s government. In April, gunmen fired on Karzai at a military parade in Kabul, killing three people, including a lawmaker. Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said more than 5,000 extra police had been drafted for what he described as the biggest operation of its kind in Kabul since 2001. — AP
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Scottish teenager used as bride on rent
London, August 17 Before being deported, Shafiq Chaudhry proposed 17-year-old Claire Given, who worked at his family kabab shop in
Catrine, Ayrshire, The Sunday Mail reported. The report said Claire accepted his proposal despite having known him for only about few weeks and agreed to marry him in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) town of Mirpur. “I don’t know why I went ahead with it. I didn’t love Shafiq and I didn’t really want him. I was just stupid and naive,” Claire admitted.
— PTI
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Lankan troops capture rebel base Brazilian music legend dies Orange that peels in 35 secs UK to recruit gay spies Ex-prez barred from leaving Taiwan Tribute to bombing victims 6 killed in landslide 
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Presidential election rivals Barack Obama and John McCain met on the campaign trail for the first time at a mega church forum to examine their religious credentials.
