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N-deal may get push into Senate tomorrow
Fire in Chinese dance club kills 43
Bangladesh elections on December 18
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South African Prez Mbeki resigns
Three dead in Washington state shootings
Prince William shelves marriage plans
Iran vows to hit back if attacked
You might actually feel cold if you are cold shouldered
Israeli PM Olmert set to quit
45 killed in clashes
Boat carrying
83 Egyptians goes missing
Nepal Govt faces protest from Hindus
Zardari, Chinese PM may meet
in NY
Dubai hands over bodies of 2 Indians killed in fire
Two blasts kill six in Iraq
A green bride takes a bus ride
Now, an sms from the fridge
Brit man who lives cash-free life
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N-deal may get push into Senate tomorrow
Washington, September 21 The big question doing the rounds is whether the Bush Administration will be able to persuade the lawmakers to complete the process on time. But what could be seen as a positive development for India, there are indications that given the economic stabilisation package that is being worked on, the Congress may not formally adjourn on September 26 but extend for a week till October 3. No one in the administration or the Capital Hill is willing to speculate on when or how the civilian nuclear initiative resolution is going to get the Congressional nod. But one of the first substantive moves could come on Tuesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee mark-up when lawmakers on the panel could decide the push, the initiative to the Senate floor. Some legislative aides and experts are taking the position that the civilian nuclear agreement may be attached to an omnibus ‘continuing resolution’ on appropriations. One of the top items now meriting huge attention in the administration and in Congress is the massive financial bailout package to stabilise the markets. This package will be first hammered out between the House and the Senate and agreeable to the White House. Given the financial markets mess, indications are that Congress may extend the session to October 3. And still if lawmakers are unable to hammer out a comprehensive stabilisation package then Bush will ask Congress to come back for a ‘Lame Duck’ session after the November 4 election. Senior Congressional aides and staffers of the House of Representatives and the Senate are said be working on the civilian nuclear issue over the weekend not only among themselves but also with the administration trying to iron out some of the issues raised since President George W. Bush formally presented the ‘package’ to Congress on September 10. “...We are going to utilise every minute of every day... with the goal in mind of going through this process fairly, equitably and simultaneously,” Acting Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Christopher Dodd told reporters at the end of his panel’s hearing on last Thursday. “I am still very confident, in the final analysis, that we are going to end up with an agreement that is going to work to the satisfaction of both countries,” Dodd remarked. A lot of attention has been on the House Foreign Affairs Committee led by Chairman Howard Berman, the California Democrat who is a known sceptic of the agreement on non-proliferation grounds. The House panel is yet to schedule a formal hearing on the issue but senior staffers on both sides of the aisle have maintained that hearings are not mandatory but only optional. — PTI
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Fire in Chinese dance club kills 43
Shenzhen, September 21 The fire broke out last night at the packed King of the Dancers club, sparked by a pyrotechniques display on the third floor, said Xinhua, quoting local police as saying. The owner of the club, located in a blue collar area about an hour’s taxi ride from downtown Shenzhen, was being questioned by the police, but no charges had yet been filed, said Xinhua. The main hall quickly filled with deadly smoke after the roman candle-type display touched ceiling tiles, and the lights went off soon after plunging panicking revellers into darkness, said witnesses. Local media and witnesses said the club operated without a proper licence, but local officials could not confirm that. — Reuters
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Bangladesh elections on December 18
Bangladesh's army-backed interim government announced on Saturday that parliamentary elections will be held on December 18, which would restore democracy to the country after a two-year hiatus.
The country has been under a state of emergency after the army-backed government took over on January 11 last year. On the same day, President Iajuddin Ahmed postponed the General Election scheduled for January 22 that year. Meanwhile, the right-wing four-party coalition led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has threatened it would boycott the elections if the government overturned a wide number of election reforms that could prevent coalition partners Jamaat-e-Islami's participation in the December polls. Under the new electoral laws, religion-based political parties are barred from registration with the Election Commission. Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed announced the poll dates in a nationally televised addressed, but refused to say whether the state of emergency would be lifted before or during the elections, drawing criticism from main political parties. Zillur Rahman, acting head of the Awami League, one of the country's two major parties, said: "We are disappointed at the government's failure to say whether it would lift the emergency." "I believe, the (national) elections will be held in a healthy and festive atmosphere ... in this context, the issue of relaxing or even lifting the emergency is there. I would like to say in unequivocal terms that the government will not hesitate for a moment to do everything necessary to hold a transparent and fair election," Fakhruddin said. But, the chief adviser warned against any attempts to disrupt peace and said the government would surely come down hard on anyone trying to foil a fair election.
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South African Prez Mbeki resigns Durban, September 21 In a nationally televised address, President Mbeki told the nation that he had decided to resign after he was asked to do so by the National Executive Committee of the ruling ANC yesterday. In an unemotional and measured tone, he “categorically” denied that he had interfered in the work of prosecutors. He said included “the painful matter” of his former deputy. Mbeki rejected firmly recent accusations by some members of the ruling ANC that he and the Cabinet had been responsible for the fraud and corruption prosecution of Zuma. “Fellow South Africans since the attainment of our freedom in 1994, we have acted consistently to respect and defend the independence of the judiciary. For this reason our successive governments have respected all judicial decisions, including those that went against the executive,” he said. The President said the “central approach we adopted has always been to defend the judiciary rather than act in a manner that would have had a negative impact on its work”. He said, “We have never done this and therefore never compromised the right of the NPA on whom it decides to prosecute or not to prosecute”. “This applies equally to the painful matter relating to the court proceedings of the President of the ANC, comrade Jacob Zuma. More generally I would like to assure the nation that our successive governments since 1994 have never acted in any manner intended to wilfully violate the constitution and the law,” he stressed. — PTI
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Three dead in Washington state shootings Seattle, September 21 The suspect died later in a shootout with sheriff's deputies. The FBI was investigating the shooting of officer Kristine Fairbanks, 51, a canine officer with 15 years in the forest service, state Trooper Krista D Hedstrom said early today. Shawn M. Roe, 36, the suspected shooter, had three handguns and fired at least one shot at the deputies, who confronted him at a convenience store, Hedstrom said. Roe was a convicted felon with “an active criminal history” and was supposed to be under the state Corrections Department supervision, she added. He was not being sought on any warrant, she said. The third shooting victim was described only as a man in his 60s. — AP
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Prince William shelves marriage plans
London, September 21 But the decision has stunned Kate, who only months ago was celebrating winning the second-in-line to the British throne, back following their split. “She was only told what his plans were for certain a short time before they were announced to the public. She’s putting a very brave face on things but it really couldn’t have worked out any worse for her. Prince Charles regretted the influence his own royal responsibilities had on cutting short his career as a Royal Navy officer. Another family friend said, “He was never happier than when he was in the Navy and he wholeheartedly supports Prince William’s decision. If the relationship with Kate is a strong one, it will wait.” In January, William will start an 18-month training course at the Royal Air Force Kinross in Scotland. And once he is qualified he’ll have to commit to at least three years in the RAF, meaning no possibility of a full-time relationship with Kate until 2013. Meanwhile, some reports said Kate was in no hurry to get married and would be happy to wait till the second-in-line to the British throne completed his military training and became a full-time pilot.Her friends said she was “only too happy to enjoy her unwedded bliss.” “Kate and William both know that as soon as they get married everything will change for them,” said one of the Prince's friends. — PTI
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Iran vows to hit back if attacked
Tehran, September 21 There has been persistent speculation Washington or Israel might launch strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, as neither country has ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the row. ''If anybody dares to breach the boundaries of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation's holy land and Iran's legal interests, our armed forces ... will break his hand before he can pull the trigger,'' Ahmadinejad said. He was speaking at a parade broadcast on the state television to mark the start of the Iran-Iraq war in September 1980. Hundreds of troops marched past the official podium, followed by military hardware, including the Shahab-3 missile, which television commentators said had a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles), putting Israel in range. Trucks drove past bearing large slogans reading "Down with Israel" and "Down with USA." Also on show were Ghadr and shorter range Shahab missiles, unmanned planes, artillery and rockets. Iran has dismissed reports of possible US or Israeli plans to strike Iran, but says it would respond by attacking US interests and Israel if any such assault was made. ''Today, Iran is not in a position to show even the smallest flexibility against the bullying of the enemies. History has shown that those who wish ill for Iran will gain nothing but regret,'' he said. ''The enemies of humanity ... had imagined that by military attack and economic and scientific sanctions they could break down our revolution and our nation,'' he said, adding that Iran's enemies had "lost hope". Analysts say the US could unleash vastly superior firepower in any attack on Iran, but that the Islamic state could hit back by striking at US interests in the oil-rich Gulf and neighbouring countries, including Iraq. Ahmadinejad said despite sanctions, Iran had nevertheless built up its ability to produce weapons. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, says it wants to master nuclear technology to make electricity so it can preserve more of its vast oil and gas reserves for export. — Reuters
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You might actually feel cold if you are cold shouldered
Washington, September 21 For the study, the research team divided the volunteers into two groups. One group recalled a personal experience in which they had been socially excluded-rejection from a club, for example. This was meant to tap into their feelings of isolation and loneliness. The other group was asked to recall an experience in which they had been accepted into a group. Then, the researchers had all the volunteers estimate the temperature in the room. The estimates ranged widely, from about 54 degrees F to a whopping 104 degrees F. The researchers found that those who were told to think about a socially isolating experience gave lower estimates of the temperature. In other words, the recalled memories of being disliked actually made people experience the ambient temperature as colder. “We found that the experience of social exclusion literally feels cold,” said Zhong. This may be why people use temperature-related metaphors to describe social inclusion and exclusion,” Zhong added. In another experiment, the researchers triggered feelings of exclusion by having the volunteers play a computer-simulated ball tossing game. The game was designed so that some of the volunteers had the ball tossed to them many times, but others were left out. The volunteers were then rated the desirability of certain foods and beverages: hot coffee, crackers, an ice-cold Coke, an apple, and hot soup. They found that the “unpopular” volunteers who had been isolated during the computer game were much more likely than the others to want either hot soup or hot coffee. The team suggests that their preference for warm food and drinks presumably resulted from physically feeling cold as a result of being excluded. “It's striking that people preferred hot coffee and soup more when socially excluded,” Leonardelli said. “Our research suggests that warm chicken soup may be a literal coping mechanism for social isolation,” he added. The findings are reported in the September issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. — ANI
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Israeli PM Olmert set to quit
Jerusalem, September 21 Olmert will submit his resignation to President Shimon Peres at the latter’s official residence in Jerusalem this evening, hours after announcing his decision to step down, cabinet secretary Ovad Yehezkel said. “I have decided to resign as Prime Minister of Israel,” the beleaguered premier, crippled by a series of corruption charges, told his ministers at a weekly cabinet meeting today. “This was not an easy decision, or a simple one. This was a difficult decision with serious misgivings but I think I am acting in an appropriate manner, as I have promised the people of Israel,” Olmert added. The 63-year-old leader also pledged support to the newly elected leader of his ruling Kadima party, foreign minister Tzipi Livni, offering to help her and ‘stand by her during the process” of coalition formation. Elections were necessitated in the Kadima party following a series of investigations against Olmert on graft charges, which led to a dip in his popularity to single figures and uneasiness among his coalition partners, who threatened to withdraw support if he did not step down. Olmert’s almost three-year rule is marked by Israel’s inconclusive 2006 war against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, a war on its northern frontier that exposed the Jewish state’s vulnerability to rocket attacks, strengthening of Islamist Hamas faction that has taken control of Gaza and dwindling hopes of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. — PTI
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45 killed in clashes
Colombo, September 21 Sri Lanka Air Force carried out four air raids targeting an LTTE gathering in the forward area on the Wanni battlefront during last few hours today. The first of the air raids was launched by fighter jets at 11 am (local time) targeting a rebel gathering five km north of Nachchikudha in Kilinochchi, Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. The attack was launched in support of Task Force 1 soldiers operating on the western half of the Kilinochchi front, he added. The second air strike was launched by jets around 12 noon targeting a rebel location identified three km north of Akkarayankulam area in the region, said the spokesperson. The other raids were part of the close air support missions in support of Army 57 division troops operating in eastern half of Kilinochchi front. Nanayakkara said MI 24 helicopters attacked two LTTE resistance points, one located 1.5 km southwest of Akkarayankulam and the other located two km northeast of Akkarayankulam. According to the battlefield reports, troops of 57 division are currently engaged in a fierce battle against the tiger in the Kokavil area. “Available information revealed at least 12 LTTE cadres have been killed so far during these clashes,” the defence ministry said. — PTI
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Boat carrying 83 Egyptians goes missing Cairo, September 21 “The foreign ministry has learned that the boat left Damietta (on the northern coast) three days ago and that communication was cut off, and there has been nothing to suggest it reached the Greek shore,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said it was alerted to the disappearance by the Egypt embassy in Athens, and that Egypt was coordinating with the Greek rescue authorities to locate the vessel. In Athens, a Greek Merchant Marine Ministry official, who declined to be named, said: “We are searching for the vessel, but haven’t located it yet.” The Egyptian authorities have warned citizens of the dangers of trying to cross the Mediterranean illegally, saying many of the boats are overcrowded and not seaworthy. At least 21 Egyptians drowned in two incidents off the Italian coast in October 2007. But people are willing to pay around $ 2,000 for the chance of a new life, and the authorities in Egypt and other Mediterranean countries have had to rescue survivors or locate the bodies of illegal migrants after several failed attempts. — Reuters
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Nepal Govt faces protest from Hindus
Just a day after the Maoist-led coalition government decided to stop providing government funds to carry out cultural festivals, the local Newar community from the heart of the capital city Kathmandu has taken to the streets strongly protesting against the
government.
Irate protesters carried out protest rallies in the Basantapur area, closed all markerts, blocked traffic movement and clashed frequently with the riot police throughout the day. While unveiling the government's budget on Friday, Finance Minister and Maoist second- in- command Dr Baburam Bhattarai had decided not to provide funds to the Kaushitoshakhana (the state coffer that arranges funds
for sacrificing animals at the temples of goddesses during the upcoming Dashain "Nepalis Hindu's national
festival'). Kaushitoshakhana provides financial support to the priests concerned to worship "Durga Ma" on Durgasthami (on October 7 this year) during the Dashain festival by offering at least 108 he-goats, water-buffaloes and ducks in major temples in Kathmandu valley. The agitators said the government had cut off the regular budget for Bali Puja (animals' sacrifice) of Indra Jatra, a procession of Lord Indra that has been carrying on in these days. According to the police, at least seven protesters and two police personnel have been injured in a scuffle.
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Zardari, Chinese PM may meet
in NY
Army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani will leave for a five-day visit to China on Monday. He will meet Chinese military leaders and discuss issues relating to current regional security situation and bilateral defence cooperation. He will also visit some military installations, it was officially announced here.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao are likely to meet in New York during their upcoming visit to the United Nations, Chinese vice foreign minister He Yafei told mediapersons in Beijing. The meeting will be determined by the schedule of the two leaders, Yafei said, adding that Pakistan and China had good relations.
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Dubai hands over bodies of 2 Indians killed in fire
Dubai, September 21 Meanwhile, the process of identification for the remaining eight, through DNA tests is still under way. Ten Indians, most of them believed to be from Andhra Pradesh, and a Bangladeshi were killed after a massive fire that gutted their accommodation in Deira locality in the heart of Dubai on August 26. Earlier reports said up to 1,000 labourers were crammed in the 30-room building just behind a police station. International rights organisations have long criticised appalling conditions and safety standards for foreign labourers, mostly Asians, who work in the oil-rich Gulf. — PTI
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Two blasts kill six in Iraq
Baghdad, September 21 A suicide truck bomb killed three people and wounded 23 when it exploded at a police checkpoint in the northern city of Kirkuk, Brigadier-General Sarhat Qader, a local police chief, told Reuters. Kirkuk is 250 km north of Baghdad. Further south, a roadside bomb struck a minibus, killing three occupants and wounding six others on a road near the town of Jalawla in volatile the Diyala province, the police said. Violence in Iraq has been hovering at four-year lows. But insurgents have shown they are still capable of launching deadly attacks, especially in northern Iraq where Al-Qaida militants regrouped after being pushed out of other parts of the country. — Reuters
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A green bride takes a bus ride
Wellington, September 21 Moreover, the 19-year-old Christchurch bride prefers her daily ride in the bus since it allows her to unwind during travelling while she enjoys the company of the amiable bus drivers. “Using the bus is a nice part of my day. I get to relax while travelling to where I need to go, so why not make it part of my wedding?" the NZPA quoted her as saying. “Also, the bus route runs straight past the wedding venue, so it just made sense,” she added. The Red Bus company itself is pleased to be a part Chisnell's D-day. “Red Bus does undertake wedding charters, but this is the first time that any staff can remember that a public bus has been used as an alterative to the bride's wedding car,” the Red Bus spokeswoman, Nicky Halligan, said. — ANI
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Now, an sms from the fridge
London, September 21 Project head Dr Bruce Grieve said: “Food wastage costs in the UK are massive.” UK boffins have created a battery-free label which can pick up when food is on the turn, reports the Sun. The disposable 5p gadget-like a security label on a CD-measures the temperature of food and the time it is stored. It will be used by stores next year for bulk foods. — ANI
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Brit man who lives cash-free life
London, September 21 A web content editor by profession, Allan said that he wanted to see if it was possible to live a cash-free life, although he admitted that he thought his friend was the subject of the bet and not himself. He only used credit and debit cards to buy goods and services. "It was all right at first because I had a very supportive girlfriend who bailed me out, but when the relationship went awry in January, I realised how difficult it was going to be," the Telegraph quoted Allan, as saying. The 25-year-old Briton did face some low points, including not being able to use supermarket trolleys because they require a 1 pound coin to unlock them, and having to walk past a 50 pounds note he found lying in the street. He was also forced to walk 10 miles across London one night because he could not find anywhere to top up his Oyster card, while he has often had to make extra purchases in corner shops to meet the minimum 5 pound-spend needed to pay by card. Another problem arose when he needed to put down 800 pound cash deposit on his accommodation, and he had to get his mother to come down from Oxford to handle the transaction for him. Allan said he was likely to continue to live without cash when the year comes to an end. "I keep changing my mind but I find money unbelievably vulgar now. It is filthy and dirty and I have really gone off it," he said. — ANI
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Ranjit Singh’s bust for $50,000 Plane hit by turbulence, 30 hurt UK minister slams Palin Blast near Basque Country 
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Jerusalem, September 21
