New Delhi, October 18
Americans lolling about without confidence has pushed the US into a recession, but things could become normal if “cool” Democrat nominee Barack Obama wins the presidential election, feels Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

“It (US) certainly is in a recession already. There is no question about that. The question is how deep a recession it is,” he told NDTV on his assessment of the US economy.

The 1998 Nobel laureate in economics said that economies are pushed towards depression when people suddenly lose confidence and that is what has happened in the US.

“It is that suddenly people have lost confidence. And, that’s how depression has traditionally been. You lose confidence, you cut down your activities. That leads to the cut down of other activities,” the economist said.

He was, however, of the view that Obama could play a major role in infusing confidence, although he would not be in office until January.

“His (Obama’s) coolness is a real advantage in a financial crisis. And, when that happens, I think you might see the confidence turn around very quickly,” said Sen, who was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal.

According to him, “the positive side (to any depression) is that just as it can decline by lack of confidence, when confidence comes in, it can also dramatically improve.”

He also concluded that the current crisis in the US has not been caused by external factors and the problems were internal and more to do with lack of confidence. — PTI

London, October 18
Days after enforcing stricter rules for grant of business travel visa, Britain plans to further tighten immigration rules by drastically reducing the number of migrants. The proposed tougher immigration laws was announced by new immigration minister Phil Woolas and may come amid fears that the economic downturn could raise risk of unemployment.

Indicating a shift in the government policy, Woolas said: “If people are being made unemployed, the question of immigration becomes extremely thorny. It’s been too easy to get into this country in the past and it’s going to get harder.” In an interview to The Times, Woolas noted that economic backdrop changed everything and said he wanted to see “dramatic reduction” in the number of migrants coming to Britain. “This government isn’t going to allow the population to go up to 70 m. There has to be a balance between the number of people coming in and the number of people leaving,” he said. —PTI 

Islamabad, October 18
Leading Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney, who played a key role in the campaign to commute the death sentence of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, will visit India this month to take up the problems of Pakistanis being held in the neighbouring country’s jails.

Burney will leave for India on October 25 to meet human rights groups and senior Indian officials to discuss the problems of prisoners. In a statement issued today, Burney said he hoped that dozens of Indian prisoners would soon be released from Pakistani jails and reunited with their family members.

Burney said he was also making efforts for the release of all Indian and Pakistani fishermen being held in jails in both countries so that they could be sent home without further delay.

India and Pakistan arrest hundreds of fishermen every year for crossing the maritime boundary.

The rights activist said he would make efforts during his stay in India to secure the release of all Pakistanis who had completed their prison terms but had not been freed. There are over 50 such prisoners in Amritsar jail alone and one of them, Mohammad Asif, had died of medical complications on October 11, he said.

Burney said he would meet senior Indian officials, including the ministers for home affairs and external affairs, and rights activists in an effort to secure the release of all Pakistani prisoners. — PTI

Brussels, October 18
The Belgian police say that after a series of raids on an alleged smuggling ring here today they discovered 150 illegal immigrants, including 50 Indians. The 50 Indian nationals were hiding themselves inside a Sikh temple in the suburb of Vilvorde.

The police said they were questioning 19 persons on suspicion of involvement in funneling illegal immigrants to Britain. They say the gang was preparing to smuggle them into Britain. — AP

BRIEFLY

IFJ decries attack on The Hindu offices
NEW YORK: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the attempts by political activists to storm the offices of The Hindu in Coimbatore and the burning of copies of the newspaper in the nearby city of Erode in Tamil Nadu. “The IFJ joins the Indian Journalists’ Union and other Indian affiliates in condemning this fresh outbreak of political vigilantism and the attempt to intimidate a widely read and well-respected newspaper,” said the journalist organisation.— PTI

Indian sent to jail in Pak
Islamabad: A Pakistani court has sent an Indian national to jail after he was convicted for illegally entering the country. The man, identified as Riazuddin, was given a prison term of eight months and 22 days and fined Rs 1,000 by a judicial magistrate’s court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday, the Daily Times newspaper reported. Riazuddin was later sent to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.— PTI

Suicide attack in Herat
Herat: A suicide car bomber struck international troops near the western Afghan city of Herat on Saturday, wounding five soldiers, officials said. Bomb attacks are relatively rare in or near Herat, one of the most peaceful and prosperous cities in Afghanistan and the main hub for booming trade with nearby Iran. The bomber struck as a convoy of foreign troops was driving from the airport on the outskirts of Herat, regional police chief Rahmataullah Safai said. — Reuters

China claims responsibility for tainted milk incident
BEIJING: Under fire over handling the tainted milk scandal, Chinese Premier Wen Jibao said his government was responsible for the scam that killed four infants and sickened thousands in the country. While assuring tough legislation and monitoring, the Chinese Premier said his government was to blame concerning industry regulation. Wen said his government would handle the incident seriously and make sure lessons are learnt from it. The government shall also strengthen legislation to regulate every phase of food production is put under strict supervising according to the law, said the premier. — PTI

Indian sent to jail in Pak
Islamabad: A Pakistani court has sent an Indian national to jail after he was convicted for illegally entering the country. The man, identified as Riazuddin, was given a prison term of eight months and 22 days and fined Rs 1,000 by a judicial magistrate’s court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday, the Daily Times newspaper reported. Riazuddin was later sent to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. — PTI