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India, B’desh resolve to fight terror
‘Establishment’ has not opposed my candidature: Zardari
Swiss Funds
Zardari ‘purging’ PPP of Bhutto confidants
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Two withdraw nomination papers
China lays to rest Mao’s chosen successor
China quake damages 2.5 lakh homes
Hurricane Gustav slams Cuba
Prachanda expands cabinet
Prince Harry to shelve his plan to serve in Afghanistan?
6 killed in Pak missile strike
Taliban free 6 Pak troops ahead of Ramzan
Medvedev threatens to hit back if sanctions imposed
Two dead from chemical exposure at US plant
6 die in attack by Kurdish separatists
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India, B’desh resolve to fight terror
Dhaka, August 31 A two-day home secretary-level meeting that ended here agreed to take action against the insurgent outfits and their leaders on the basis of real time and actionable information to be exchanged between the nodal points. The meeting agreed to take steps against smuggling of arms, ammunitions, explosives and fake currency and bring the culprits to justice. A joint press release issued after the meeting said the Indian side led by home secretary Madhukar Gupta sought Bangladesh’s cooperation to trace the presence of Indian insurgent groups allegedly based in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh side led by home secretary Abdul Karim also sought India’s cooperation to take preventive measures against anti-Bangladesh outfits based in India. Both the sides agreed that the verification process of released prisoners of one country held in the prisons of the other country should be expedited and modalities in this respect would be worked out. Asked whether some ULFA leaders who are reportedly in Bangladesh jails would come under this process, both the home secretaries told a joint press briefing that they were not considering individuals but wanted to set up a mechanism to expedite the process of those prisoners who completed their jail terms. Bangladesh home secretary Abdul Karim said this would not be applicable to those who are in court custody. On the Indian proposal on construction of border fence, the Bangladesh side stated that the matter would be further examined including joint visits to vulnerable sections of the border by the BDR and the BSF. The meeting, however, did not make any precise progress on demarcation of 6.5 km of border between the two countries. The two sides agreed to convene a meeting of the Joint Boundary Working Group at an early date to discuss all outstanding boundary related issues. Both sides agreed that apart from sharing information between the two nodal-points and follow-up action, there was a strong need to identify the racketeers engaged in human trafficking, especially women and children, and bring the perpetrators to justice. The meeting agreed to enhance cooperation between the Narcotics Control Departments of the two countries and a meeting of the two departments would be held in October in New Delhi. Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation towards capacity building, including training of law enforcement agencies of the two countries. The meeting expressed satisfaction at the successful reactivation of the Joint Working Group at the level of Joint Secretaries and designation of nodal points to deal with the issues of security and human trafficking. — UNI
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‘Establishment’ has not opposed my candidature: Zardari
PPP co-chairman and front-runner in the presidential race, Asif Ali Zardari, has debunked a concerted media campaign that his candidature has caused unease in the "establishment", an apparent reference to the army.
He said the "establishment" had not opposed or expressed reservations over his election as the President of Pakistan and regretted that a "vicious" campaign was continuing in the domestic and international media to cast doubts on his credentials. He said a section of media was attacking him unjustifiably, out of all proportions. "The baseless propaganda was unleashed because some people don't want to see the PPP strong and strengthened by having its own President," he said, adding that they might have their own fears. "The establishment has its own sensitivities which we keep in view while taking decisions," he said in an interview at the Prime Minister's House annex, where he has shifted from the Zardari House for security reasons after becoming the presidential candidate. Zardari said if all state institutions worked within their specified domain, there was no need for a presidential contestant to consult the establishment on becoming or not becoming a candidate in the presidential race. The PPP co-chairman showed his determination to take on his detractors upfront. During the interview, he exuded confidence he would remove all obstacles in the way of his race to be the head of the state that is being termed as a dream come true for a much-maligned and reviled man who spent better part of his political career either in jail or self-imposed exile. He said after his election as President, the last of the three wishes of her slain spouse, Benazir Bhutto, would be fulfilled. The first two were occupying the Prime Minister House and installing a PPP woman MP as speaker. Zardari said he always felt under tremendous pressure when Pervez Musharraf was occupying the presidency. "Now, I am relieved and feel no pressure." One of his aides present during the chat said the army, the USA and the international community stood with Musharraf and opposed his ouster for many months. Finally, he said, they made Zardari to accept that there would be no prosecution whatsoever of the former President, who would not be dragged in courts for any of his actions. Zardari said his first major task was to get rid of Musharraf. He would not say how many votes he would ultimately get in the presidential contest, but appeared confident that he would win hands down. Asked what worried him most since coming into power, Zardari said: "Price hike. We will start finding solutions to nagging problems immediately after the presidential election."
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Swiss Funds
Repudiating reports that the Swiss authorities have released $60 million from his frozen funds, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has challenged his critics to prove the charge.
"A malicious campaign is continuing against me ever since I have become a candidate in the presidential race," Zardari told a TV anchor and promised he would pay half the money to anybody who may locate the money and prove that it is his.
Zardari said the previous regime had failed to prove anything against him for eight years and tried to blackmail the PPP through the Swiss cases. When told about the recent comments of a Swiss magistrate that investigations should have continued, Zardari claimed that this magistrate had retired four years ago and had penned down a “biased” decision against him a few days before his retirement after taking bribe from the previous regime. "That was the reason the Swiss public prosecutor dropped charges against me because there was no substance in the charges," he added.
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Zardari ‘purging’ PPP of Bhutto confidants
London, August 31 Party stalwarts, whom Bhutto had relied upon are angry at the way her closest aides have been humiliated and alarmed that her political legacy is being betrayed, The Sunday Times said in a report. They are also outraged that some of Zardari's aides have blamed Bhutto's most trusted advisers for her death, accusing them of failing to protect her from the assassins who killed her in a sniper and suicide bomb
attack. Naheed Khan, Bhutto's devoted political secretary and inseparable friend for more than 20 years, has been the target of such accusations. Khan, who has been sidelined since the assassination, was sitting next to Bhutto in a bullet-proof Land Cruiser when the leader was shot while waving at supporters through the sun-roof. Khan cradled Bhutto's head on her lap before realising she was dead. Only four or five members of Bhutto's team have made the transition to Zardari's camp, said former agriculture minister and Bhutto adviser Nawab Yusuf
Talpur. "Most of the people trusted by Bibi are not trusted by him. Benazir had a vision and the capacity to hold this party together... Her legacy is not being handled in the way we expected," Talpur
said. Bhutto was killed by an assassin's bullet at an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27 last, two months after her return to Pakistan following an eight-year
exile. Zardari, who has been nominated as the PPP's presidential candidate for the September 6 poll has an edge over other candidates. —
PTI
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Two withdraw nomination papers
Two of the five candidates on Saturday withdrew their nomination papers, leaving the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui of the Pakistan Muslim League-N and PML-Q candidate Mushahid Hussain Syed in the contest for the president.
Faryal Talpur, younger sister of Zardari and his cover candidate, withdrew papers as did Roaedad Khan, a retired bureaucrat, who was standing in for PML-N nominee Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui. The polling will be held on September 6. Zardari is the front-runner and is likely to poll over 425 of the 702 votes in the electoral college, while the winner is required to get 352 votes. A spokesman for the Election Commission told reporters here that work on printing of ballot papers for the election would be taken in hand immediately. A PPP leader Babar Awan, talking to reporters after withdrawal of Talpur, said the mist is now clear and all speculation and disinformation about Zardari pulling out of the contest had been quashed.
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China lays to rest Mao’s chosen successor
Beijing, August 31 Hua Guofeng, who died on August 20 aged 87, helped ease the country out of the chaotic Cultural Revolution, but was later toppled by reformist leader Deng Xiaoping. Hua was cremated at Babaoshan, the cemetery for the Communist Party's elite in a western suburb of Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said. Hu was ''an outstanding CPC member, a long-tested and loyal Communist fighter and a proletarian revolutionary who once held important leading posts in the CPC and the government'', Xinhua said. A source close to the family said both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited Hua in hospital before he died, in a sign of respect to the former leader. Hua, once fondly referred to by the state media as the ''Wise Leader'', became Communist Party chairman in September 1976 after Mao was quoted as saying at his deathbed: ''With you in charge my heart is at ease.'' Weeks later, Hua approved a military plot to arrest Mao's widow, Jiang Qing, and other members of her reviled Gang of Four who were blamed for Mao's excesses during the tumultuous, decade-long Cultural Revolution. 'His decision to arrest the Gang of Four changed China's destiny, and the Communist Party's destiny,'' the source said. ''If the Gang of Four had not been arrested, there would have been more chaos.'' But after the arrest of Mao's widow, Hua floundered. He embraced the ''two whatevers'' policy, imploring China to uphold whatever policies Mao had adopted and abide by whatever instructions the late
chairman had given. His remarks were eclipsed by the more pragmatic and savvy Deng, who famously admonished ''it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice'', a slogan that epitomised China's shift away from Maoism toward capitalist-style reforms. Hua
was forced to step down as Premier in 1980 and party chairman the next
year as reformist Deng took the helm. —
Reuters
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China quake damages 2.5 lakh homes
Beijing, August 31
The epicentre of yesterday's quake, which struck around 4.30 pm local time (1300 hours IST) was about 30 km southeast of Panzhihua, near Sichuan's border with Yunnan, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake was about 10 km deep.
The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, while China's official Xinhua news agency said it measured 6.1.
Xinhua said 656 schools had also been damaged and that heavy rain and difficult terrain were hampering rescue efforts, with mobile telephone communications patchy.
Parts of Sichuan province were devastated by a quake that killed about 70,000 people in May. The province, known for its pandas and fiery cuisine, has struggled to rebuild after the disaster, which left 10 million people homeless. — Reuters
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Hurricane Gustav slams Cuba
Havana, August 31 Forecasters said Gustav was just short of becoming a top-scale category-5 hurricane when it hit Cuba’s mainland after passing over its Isla de la Juventud province. At least 300,000 people were evacuated from the storm’s path in Cuba. On the Isla de la Juventud, an island of 87,000 people south of mainland Cuba also known as the Isle of Youth, Gustav’s screaming 220 kph winds toppled telephone poles, mango and almond trees and peeled back the tin roofs of homes. Civil defence chief Ana Isla said there were “many people injured” on the Isla de la Juventud, but no reports of deaths. She said nearly all of the island’s roads were washed out and that some regions were heavily flooded. “It’s been very difficult here,” she said on state television. By late last night, Gustav’s eye had crossed over Cuba into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The US National Hurricane Center said Gustav had weakened slightly, but was expected to regain strength on Sunday, possibly becoming a Category-5 hurricane with winds above 249 kph as it spins toward the US coast, where it was expected to make landfall on tomorrow. A hurricane watch was issued from Texas east to the Florida-Alabama border. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the mandatory evacuation of the city, turning informal advice to flee from the approaching Gustav into an official order to get out. —
AP
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Prachanda expands cabinet
Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, today expanded his 10-day-old cabinet by inducting 15 more ministers representing Maoists, the UML and other fringe parties.
As per the latest agreement reached between and the coalition partners yesterday, Prachanda appointed Bamadev Gautam, a senior leader of the CPN-UML, as Deputy Prime Minister and home minister holding the second topmost position after the Prime Minister. Prachanda administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed ministers at the Rastrapati Bhawan in Sital Newas at the presence of President Dr Ram Baran Yadav. With the swearing-in of 15 ministers, the number of cabinet members has reached 23, including the Prime Minister in the 25-member cabinet. The ministry of women, child and social welfare has remained vacant as CP Mainali, general secretary of the CPN (ML), decided to stay in the Opposition in the last minute. Among those ministers who were sworn-in at the official residence of the President are six from the Maoist, six from the UML, one each from the People’s Front Nepal (PFN), the Sadbhawana Party and the CPN (United). Although the three major parties — Maoist, UML and the Madhesi Peoples’ Rights Forum (MPRF) — had earlier decided to create three posts of Deputy Prime Ministers, the parties in the last minute changed the previous decision and agreed to provide the post to UML’s Bam Dev Gautam, who is also home minister. Maoist source said Prachanda convinced senior leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai to give up his claim for Deputy Prime Minister by nominating his wife Hisila Yami for minister. Other ministers so far nominated by the Maoist are Pampha Bhushal, Lekharaj Bhatta, Matrika Yadav, Gopal Kiranti and Janardan Sharma. Similarly, the UML’s nominated ministers are Bishnu Poudel, Asthlaxmi Shakya, Gopal Shakya, Kiran Gurung and Ram Chandra Jha, including Gautam. PFN leader Girirajmani Pokharel, who was health minister in the previous government, will continue with the same portfolio while Rajendra Mahato of the Sadbhawana Party has been nominated for commerce and supply minister and Ganesh Sah of the CPN-United has taken the charge of science, environment and technology. Earlier today, a cabinet meeting decided to create three new ministries by splitting existing ministries. The new ministries are youth and sports, industry and culture and state restructuring.
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Prince Harry to shelve his plan to serve in Afghanistan?
London, August 31 Prince William fears that Harry is putting himself at risk in order to prove that he’s just like any other soldier, and he wants his brother to take on more royal duties and have a “more realistic” view of his military career. “The plain fact is, though, Harry isn’t like any other soldier and doesn’t have any right to expect to be treated as one,” the Daily Star quoted a family friend as saying. Prince Harry, who’s a Lieutenant in the Household Cavalry’s Blues and Royals, spent 10 weeks on the front line fighting the Taliban insurgents earlier this year before being flown home in February after his deployment was made public. And, two days back he had expressed his willingness to the top brass in the British Army to return to the frontline in Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban insurgents. However, a Royal aide said: “Harry’s shown great courage on his previous posting to Afghanistan but he has to realise it can’t all be non-stop action. He’s a serving officer and he has to accept that he goes where the Army sends him. He doesn’t get to choose.” Even the Clarence House has said that there are no plans to deploy the 23-year-old Prince in Afghanistan again but confirmed he’s a committed soldier who is always ready to do his duty if requested. But those close to Prince Harry have said that he will not allow anyone to interfere in his military service. “If others don’t like the fact that he thinks being a soldier means being ready to fight, they can lump it. They can go their own way because he’s not giving up,” said an unnamed source.
— PTI
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6 killed in Pak missile strike
Miranshah , August 31 The attack took place in Tappi village, located about 10 km southeast of Miranshah, the main town in volatile north Waziristan on the Afghan border. “At least six persons were killed and four others were injured after a missile struck a house,” a security official said. “Most of the dead are foreign militants, including Arabs and Uzbeks,”
he added. Residents said the missile was fired from a pilotless aircraft and that the house belonged to a local tribesman, who had rented it out to the militants. There has been a series of missile strikes on militants in Pakistan in recent weeks attributed to US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan. — AFP
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Taliban free 6 Pak troops ahead of Ramzan
Khar (Pakistan), August 31 The rebels, who have been holding 30 paramilitary troops for a month in the Bajaur tribal district which has seen heavy fighting with government forces in recent weeks, drew lots to free six of them, a spokesman said. "We have released them respecting the holy month of Ramzan and welcome a ceasefire offer by the government during the fasting month," Maulvi Omar, the spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP. The freed soldiers have been handed over to tribal elders, Omar said by telephone. Islamabad insists, however, that it is not a ceasefire and that the army will reserve the right to retaliate if it is attacked. Omar said the TTP would not target government forces during Ramzan. "We will not do anything if the government stops operations against us. We will not attack them, if they do not fire at us," he said. —
AFP
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Medvedev threatens to hit back if sanctions imposed
Moscow, August 31 In an interview to Russian television, Medvedev said he considered sanctions to be a last resort and argued that such measures need to be encoded in law. “If needed, we also can adopt such special laws,” he said. The president spoke on the eve of a European Union summit that is to decide on a response to Russia’s military surge in Georgia this month and decision to recognise two Georgian separatist regions as independent states. Medvedev served notice that he would not reverse his decision to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia, despite such calls from the United States. “I have taken this decision and there is no turning back,” he said. Russian troops entered Georgia on August 8 to push back a Georgian offensive to retake the rebel enclave of South Ossetia, which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s with Moscow’s backing. — AFP
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Two dead from chemical exposure at US plant
East St. Louis, August 31 At least eight people were sickened by exposure to the chemical yesterday, and emergency rooms were quarantined at two St. Louis hospitals where those people sought treatment. In a statement issued early today, East St. Louis City Manager Robert Betts said two people had died. The chemical was released when a barrel was dropped at the Ro-Corp. plant. The lid popped off the barrel and a white powder came out, said Fire Chief Jim Silvernail from Mehlville, Missouri. “It’s like what would happen if you drop flour it got all over them,” Silvernail said. The eight men who were at the plant sought treatment at several hospitals in the area, with some of them driving themselves, officials said. Betts told KSDK-TV in St. Louis that the FBI would investigate because of the nature of the exposure. He said it was not certain that the employees had permission to be at the company on a Saturday. Authorities were “99 per cent” certain the chemical was nitroaniline, a highly toxic material. Nitroaniline is commonly used in the synthesis of dyes, antioxidants, pharmaceuticals, gasoline, poultry medicines, and as a corrosion inhibitor. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Web site says it can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, respiratory arrest and other symptoms and ailments. There was no immediate comment from Ro-Corp. Calls to its office in East St. Louis went unanswered Sunday. A company Web site says Ro-Corp is a packaging/repackaging facility for dry materials. —
AP
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6 die in attack by Kurdish separatists
Ankara, August 31 Using long-range weapons, Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) militants opened fire on the station in the province of Bingol. Four gendarmes — military police responsible for security in rural areas — were killed in the initial attack and as many wounded, Dogan reported. Operations were launched to capture those responsible. Ankara blames the separatist group for the deaths of more than 32,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast of Turkey. The PKK is considered by the US and the European Union as a terrorist group. —
IANS
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Asian cop fears for his life Genetic breakthrough 
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Beijing, August 31
