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Washington, October 11 The US today removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist in a bid to revive faltering de-nuclearisation talks in the final months of the Bush administration. The decision was made after North Korea agreed to a series of verification measures of its nuclear facilities, state department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Palin guilty of power abuse
Zardari, Gilani to visit China
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Hindu girl wins fight to wear nose pin
Your DNA could reveal your surname
Financial crisis could aid US military recruitment
Actor Badar Munir dead
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US removes N Korea from terrorism blacklist Washington, October 11 The decision was made after North Korea agreed to a series of verification measures of its nuclear facilities, state department spokesman Sean McCormack said. “The secretary of state has rescinded the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism, effective immediately” McCormack told mediapersons. North Korea would also resume disablement of its nuclear facilities as part of the deal, he said. The Conservative Republicans immediately slammed the move, with former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, calling the verification measures agreed on “pathetic.” “I think it is a real shame. North Korea has won about a 95 per cent victory here and achieved an enormous political objective in exchange for which the US has got nothing,” Bolton said. Under the deal, which still has to formalised by the six parties dealing with North Korea, experts would have access to all declared nuclear sites and “based on mutual consent” to sites not declared by the North, said McCormack. In addition, McCormack said the United Nations atomic watchdog body, the IAEA, would play an important role in verifying Pyongyang’s atomic activities. Senior state department official Paula DeSutter conceded verification could take years and would be difficult, but she said North Korea had agreed to “everything we want” before the decision was taken to remove it from the list. “I know the secretary (Rice) felt very strongly there would be no decision until that was done,” DeSutter said. While being taken off the list, McCormack made clear North Korea would still be subject to numerous sanctions as a result of its 2006 nuclear test and there was still a long way to go. “The United States will continue to work toward the verifiable end of all North Korean nuclear programs and activities. We will not stop until this work is done,” he said. The United States' drive to revive a deal came as secretive North Korea had stepped up efforts to rebuild its nuclear facility at Yongbyon and banned UN monitors from the Soviet-era plant - moves Washington say will now be reversed. With three months until the Bush administration's term ends in January, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice had hoped to notch up a foreign policy success with North Korea, which president George W. Bush branded as part of an “axis of evil.” Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said agreement on the verification measures was a “modest step” in dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons programs and showed the need for aggressive and sustained diplomacy.
— Reuters
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Washington, October 11 Fortyfour-year-old Palin “knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda...: To get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," the 263-page state legislative investigative report said last night. The investigation looked into Palin's sacking of public safety commissioner Walter Monegan, who claimed that he was dismissed because he refused to bow to pressure to fire Wooten, who was involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the Governor's sister. Palin insists the firing was over a budget dispute. The legislative panel, which authorised the investigation, released the report, but did not immediately vote whether to endorse its findings, The Boston Globe reported. However, the report, which found that Palin violated the state's ethics law banning public officials from using their offices for personal gain, did not say whether Palin should be censured by the Legislature or whether the matter should be referred for criminal investigation, the paper reported. As the November 4 presidential race narrows, the report thrusts a new issue into the campaign when Palin's reputation as a reform-minded candidate is already being subjected to scrutiny. The Republicans may also face Democrats' attacks on the matter. The report's findings were revealed as Obama scored a double-digit 11-point lead over McCain for the first time in a Newsweek poll amid deep concerns about economy. In the latest poll, Obama leads McCain by 52 per cent to 41 per cent among registered voters compared to a Newsweek survey carried out a month ago, which had the two tied at 46 per cent. The investigation into the "Troopergate" case also found that Palin "knowingly" let her husband, Todd, use the resources of the Governor's office "to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired." Much to the displeasure of the probe panel, Palin had refused to testify before it. Meanwhile, flatly denying the charges, Palin today told CNN television: “If you read the report you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about it. You have to read the report.” — Agencies
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Zardari, Gilani to visit China
President Asif Ali Zardari will pay his first state visit to China from October 14-17 to hold talks with Chinese leadership, icluding his counterpart Hu Jintao, on bilateral and regional issues. The President would be accompanied by the foreign minister, defence minister, finance minister, minister for environment and deputy chairman planning commission. Foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq, in his weekly briefing, said Pakistan enjoyed high degree of understanding, trust and goodwill with China and added the visit would demonstrate Pakistan's resolve to take this "time tested" relationship to new heights. The President's other engagements include interactions with heads of Chinese financial institutions and corporate sector as well as media. These interactions would be aimed at enhancing commercial, industrial, banking and financial sector cooperation, the spokesman said. He said the two countries had developed an overarching architecture for sustained development of economic and trade relations which included Pakistan-China Five Year Economic Plan signed in November 2006 and the Free Trade Agreement operational since past one year. He said bilateral trade between the two sides was over $7 billion and they were committed to achieve a trade target of $15 billion by 2011. The spokesman said an Investment Protocol of the FTA would be signed during the visit, hoping it would contribute significantly to induce Chinese investors into Pakistan. Several projects of national significance were being executed with the Chinese assistance. He said the President's visit would mark yet another important step towards reinforcing the friendship between the two countries and open new avenues for bilateral cooperation. The spokesman said Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani would also be visiting China on October 23 to attend the Asia Europe Summit (ASEM). Pakistan joined the ASEM in 2006 and will be attending this apex gathering for the first time.
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Hindu girl wins fight to wear nose pin
London, October 11 Shannon Connolly, whose mother is a Hindu, was barred from wearing the nose stud since last September as it was against the school’s policy. Connolly argued that the stud is a symbol of Hindu religion and she should be allowed to wear it in the school. The school revised its decision and allowed Connolly to wear the stud inside its premises after intervention from the Racial Equality Council. However, she has been asked to carry a permission card at school informing teachers that she can wear it. The college’s jewellery policy stated students could only wear a watch and earring studs, but no facial jewellery. The UK Hindu Council, which supported Connolly, said: “It is an integral part of the Hindu wedding ceremony as the giving of a wedding ring is within a Christian marriage.” Her father Brenden said the school refused to allow Shannon to wear the stud even after its religious importance was explained. Last year, a catering company serving Heathrow airport in London had to reinstate an Indian-origin worker who had been sacked for wearing a nose stud to work, which the company bars on health grounds. Amrit Lalji, 40, who worked in the VIP Lounge of Terminal One, told her employers that her nose stud was a religious symbol and signified her married status. — PTI
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Your DNA could reveal your surname
London, October 11 The techniques are being developed at the University of Leicester, where Sir Alec Jeffreys invented the revolutionary technique of genetic fingerprinting. Doctoral research by Turi King has shown that men with the same British surname are highly likely to be genetically linked. The results of her research have implications in the fields of forensics, genealogy, epidemiology and the history of surnames. King recruited over 2,500 men bearing over 500 different surnames to take part in the study carried out in Professor Mark Jobling’s lab with the research exploring the potential link between surname and Y chromosome type. “A piece of our DNA, the Y chromosome, is one part of our genetic material that confers maleness and is passed, like surnames, from father to son,” King said. Therefore, a link could exist between a man’s surname and the type of Y chromosome he carries. However, in reality the link may not be so clear-cut. Hereditary surnames in Britain are many hundreds of years old and each name may have several founders. Events such as adoptions, name-changes and non-paternities would confuse any simple genetic link. “These days, using genetic techniques, it is possible to tell Y chromosomes apart from one another so we wondered if you might find that a particular surname was associated with a particular Y chromosome type,” King said. King said there were a number of factors which could break the link between surnames and Y chromosome type: for example, there could have been more than one person, known as a surname founder, who took on a surname at the time of surname formation around 700 years ago. “On the other hand, for rarer names, there may have been just one founder for the name and potentially all men who bear that surname today would be descended from him and could be connected into one large family tree,” she said. The research showed that between two men who share the same surname, there is a 24 per cent chance of sharing a common ancestor through that name but this increases to nearly 50 per cent if the surname they have is rare. — PTI
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Financial crisis could aid US military recruitment
Washington, October 11 “We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society,” said David Chu, under secretary of defence for personnel and readiness yesterday. “That is a situation where more people are willing to give us a chance. I think that’s the big difference, people are willing to listen to us.” Chu was speaking to Pentagon reporters after announcing that all four branches of the US armed forces-the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force- met their respective recruiting goals for the federal fiscal year that ended on September 30. All told, 1,85,000 men and women entered active-duty military service, the highest number since 2003, according to Pentagon statistics. Another 1,40,000 signed up for duty in the national guard and reserve. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon in recent years has been under pressure to expand recruitment to alleviate strains on the military structure and increase the size of the Army and Marines. The military has come under fire from critics who say it had met its more ambitious goals by relaxing quality standards, a charge that officials deny. — Reuters
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Actor Badar Munir dead
Islamabad, October 11 Munir suffered a stroke four years ago. He developed some complications on Thursday and was brought to a private hospital with complaint of cardiac arrest where he breathed his last today. Munir was born in Swat and belonged to Miankhel tribe. The Swat-born actor started his professional life as a rickshaw driver in Karachi. Later, he was employed by chocolate hero Wahid Murad in his office from where he started his filmi career. He made his debut in Pushto film “Yosuf Khan Sher Bano” which proved a big hit. His first film in lead role, “Dulhan Ek Rat Ki” also set several new records. Munir then acted in 416 Pushto and Urdu films.
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Golden Gate Bridge to get net World’s tiniest walking robot Drug hitmen kill 11 in bar 
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Washington, October 11
