New York, September 15
Relief workers launched the biggest- ever operation in parts of Texas which were devastated by Hurricane Ike, which left a trail of eight dead, rescuing by boat and helicopters about 2,000 persons who had decided to brave out the storm.

More than four million persons went without power and countless others are facing food, water and gasoline shortages, in the part of America, which has the highest oil reserves.

Of the eight persons dead, five were from Texas, two from Louisiana and one from Arkansas. At least, three bodies were found in Galveston, an island city, which was the first to be hit.

But several areas remained to be searched in the coastal towns of Texas which bore the brunt of the hurricane and the officials asked some two million, who had evacuated from the affected areas to stay put until the conditions are safe for return.

That, some officials fear, could be weeks before all are back in their towns or whatever is left of them. These people face long stays in crowded shelters. — PTI

Jakarta, September 15
Twentyone persons were killed and scores hurt when a crowd stampeded in Indonesia after about 10,000 persons queued for a charity handout to mark the Muslim fasting month, the state news agency said today.

The crush happened in East Java town of Pasuruan when poor people were waiting for a donation, known as zakat, of 30,000 rupiah ($ 3.18 ) each from a wealthy family, the agency said.

Some people collapsed due to lack of oxygen in the crush, while others were trampled, the report said, adding that the injured were being treated in a nearby hospital.

Zakat, or alms, is obligatory for wealthy Muslims and usually paid before the end of the fasting month of Ramzan. Many poor people in Muslim Indonesia depend on these funds for several months. — Reuters

Harare, September 15
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement with opposition rival Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday, relinquishing some of his powers for the first time in nearly three decades of iron rule.

The deal followed weeks of tense negotiations to end a deep political crisis compounded by the veteran leader's disputed and unopposed re-election in a widely condemned election in June. Under the agreement, Tsvangirai will become Prime Minister.

"This agreement sees the return of hope to all our lives. It is this hope that provides the foundation of this agreement that we sign today, that will provide us with the belief that we can achieve a new Zimbabwe," Tsvangirai said after the signing ceremony.

Zimbabweans hope the agreement will be a first step in helping to rescue the once prosperous nation from economic collapse. Inflation has rocketed and millions have fled to neighbouring southern African countries.

Cheers greeted the signing of the deal at a Harare hotel by Mugabe, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, who leads a breakaway faction of the main opposition party.

The three smiling Zimbabwean leaders exchanged copies of the agreement and shook hands in front of South African President Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the deal, and other African leaders.

Mugabe, 84, made clear he would not tone down his attacks on Western countries such as former colonial power Britain. He accuses them of supporting the opposition in a bid to drive him from power.

"African problems must be solved by Africans...the problem we have had is a problem that has been created by former colonial powers," Mugabe said after the signing ceremony as Tsvangirai looked uncomfortable. But Mugabe added, "We are committed to the deal. We will do our best."

Western countries are still keen to see how the deal works in practice but the European Union said on Monday it stood ready to bring aid to Zimbabwe if the new government took measures to restore democracy and the rule of law.

British foreign secretary David Miliband welcomed the agreement but said its details would be studied carefully.

Under the deal agreed last week, Tsvangirai will become Prime Minister and chair a council of ministers supervising the cabinet. Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, will remain President and head the cabinet.
— Reuters

Leader of the House in the Senate Raza Rabbani has trashed media reports that the PML-Q will soon join the federal government.

“I don't think the PML-Q will be a part of the coalition government”, he said while replying to a question in a private TV channel, (GEO) programme.

Raza Rabbani said news of negotiations with PML-Q are only limited to media. “No political dialogue with the PML-Q is underway,” he added. However, he said there is a dialogue going on with the PML-Q to run the House in a smooth way.

To a question he said the coalition government of the PPP is trying to work with all political parties so that democracy could be strengthened. He said it was also the effort of the PPP-led coalition government to hold dialogue with all political forces for developing a consensus on all national issues.

To a question he said, the PPP and the PML-N relations went way back and they jointly struggled against dictatorship and both parties were committed to the “Charter of Democracy”. He hoped that relations with the PML-N would further improve with the passage of time and the party would return to the coalition government in near future.

Meanwhile, top PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has also refuted speculations that he or any other member of the party would soon join the federal government. But, he acknowledged, that talks were continuing with the PPP and the PML-N in the context of possible changes in the Punjab government.

Elahi told reporters that the PML-Q held the balance in the government formation in the province as neither the PPP nor the PML-N could muster enough majority to form or sustain a government without the PML-Q help. His party would exercise utmost restraint and try not to destabilise the provincial government of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Appearing on a TV programme last night, Shahbaz said he enjoyed comfortable majority in the assembly even without the PPP support. However, the PML-N was committed to maintain the present coalition with the PPP “for the time being” in larger interests of democracy.

London, September 15
Passages from Bhagvad Gita, yoga and teaching harmonium, 'mridanga' and tabla are some of the highlights of the curriculum of Britain's first state-funded Hindu school that opened here today.

Welcoming its first batch of 23 pupils, Naina Parmar, headteacher of the Krishna Avanti Primary School, said, "We have happy pupils in the Reception class who will be taught the basics of Hindu culture and values. This is a huge step forward for Britain's 1.5 million Hindus," Parmar told PTI.

The first class in the Harrow-based school was taught by local teacher Sandra Clark.

The school promises to merge the best of British education with Hindu religious and cultural values, Parmar said and added that most of the pupils were from the borough of Harrow, which has the highest Hindu concentration in the UK.

Similar schools for other faiths have been functioning in Britain, but this is the first time that a Hindu school funded by the British government has been set up. The government had approved the school in November 2005.

The school project, implemented by the Hindu charity organisation I-Foundation, will cost 10 million pounds.

Beginning with its first batch of 23 pupils, it hopes to gradually increase its intake every year. By 2014, it aims to provide places for 236 pupils. — PTI

BRIEFLY

LONDON
Shariat courts given powers in UK: Report: Five Shariat courts have been set up in different cities of Britain with powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for Shariat judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence, according to a report in The Sunday Times. — PTI

Dungeon dad to rent out flats in ‘House of Horror’: Josef Fritzl, the Austrian dad accused of incarcerating his daughter and fathering her seven children, is planning to rent out flats in the dungeon cellar house, where he imprisoned her as a sex slave for 24 years. Fritzl has hired a lawyer to deal with his property and rent out some flats in his three-storeyed “House of Horrors” in Amstetten town, according to a report published in Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung. — PTI

Agatha Christie modelled sleuth on grandma: British author Agatha Christie, whose works gave her the ‘Queen of Crime’ title and made her one of the most innovative writers in the development of the genre, modelled her famous detective character Miss Marple on her grandmother, new audio tapes have revealed. — PTI

KARACHI
20 Pak Hindus on India trip: A group of 20 Pakistani Hindus has set off for India to participate in a festival in Rajasthan and visit sacred places in the neighbouring country. “I am very happy as my wish has finally been fulfilled,” said 60-year-old Dhaili, who said she had been waiting to undertake this pilgrimage for several years. — PTI

ISLAMABAD
Indian worker dies in Bahrain: An Indian worker was killed and two others injured when a wall collapsed at a construction site in Bahrain. M. Devendra (27), along with two other men, was laying water pipes in a deep trench in the Salmabad locality on Saturday when the incident took place, local media has reported. — PTI

Stop supplies to allied forces: Imran: Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan has called for cutting logistic support to the USA and the allied forces in Afghanistan, if they do not stop border violations and killing innocents. "The best way to compel the allied forces halt border violations in the so-called hot pursuit of the Al-Qaida and the Taliban is to stop logistic support," Imran told reporters in Peshawar. — TNS