Virginia , November 4 
Indian-Americans residing here are of the view that India can and will play an integral role in keeping the American economy competitive despite the ongoing meltdown on Wall Street and its impact on global economies. 

While agreeing with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's views on what ails the economy, they also know that it won’t be easy for him if he enters the White House on November 5.

"Obama, if he becomes the President, is going to face the reality of the competitiveness of the American economy. And, India plays an integral role to keep it competitive," said Sanjay Puri, chairman of the US India Political Action Committee.

Puri also felt that Obama, as president, might opt for a different approach to developments in South Asia as opposed to the Republican strategy of the past eight years. He suggested that the Democratic administration in Washington would pursue a proactive policy towards both New Delhi and Islamabad.

"Well, I think he (Obama) is going to have a very strong policy towards India from the conversation that I have had and from everything we have seen. The one difference is that he obviously has a very proactive approach towards Pakistan and that's something that's going to be different from what you see with other Democratic candidates as well as other Republicans like John McCain," Puri added.

Pradeep Ganguly, director, department of economic development, Montgomery County, Maryland, said most Indian- Americans and Americans were searching for answers and solutions to end the meltdown, as also answers to where their country was headed. He suggested that in this year's elections, the Americans were not being driven by political affiliations, but by issues, and that is why many of them were coming out to vote as opposed to trends in the previous two elections (2004 and 2000).

"American people want to rebuild the economy, which poses the biggest question mark in the minds of every voter," Ganguly said.

"The biggest issue in the minds of the many voters of the Indian- American origin, for example, is where their nation is going. In the last eight years or so, we have become more of a gun-toting, immigrant bashing country. And, that image needs to be changed," he added.

"And, I think, you can see the from the voting process, I think they are driven by these issues. I think, we need to be more caring, energetic, more technology-oriented, forward-oriented and a leader of the world," Ganguly added.

Voters have made it clear they want a change. Nearly half of the American population (49 per cent) says the economy will be the most important issue in deciding their vote for the 44th president. That is a large part of what makes this race an uphill battle for John McCain, as more voters trust Obama to handle the economy by an 11-point margin (52 per cent - 41 per cent).

Obama scores over McCain on which candidate people trust more to handle the domestic issues. Obama leads by 17 points on health care, by 11 points on energy independence, and by seven points on taxes. McCain is preferred on handling the war on terrorism by eight points and by a slim three-point margin on Iraq. Voters also think McCain would respond better than Obama to a "test" by foreign governments or terrorists in the first six months of his presidency. — ANI

Ban virtually rejected a Pakistani correspondent’s contention that the Kashmir issue could not be resolved without UN intervention.

When the correspondent persisted with the question that was Ban prepared to use his good offices, the UN chief replied that he would be prepared to do so if and when both parties asked for them.

“Good offices are available whenever there is some agreed request from both parties,” Ban, who was on a visit to India recently, said.

During his discussions with the Indian leaders, Ban said he had urged them to continue their composite dialogue with Pakistan.

“The recent summit meeting between President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York provided a very good opportunity in a breakthrough in their current relationship. Trade has been opened, and exchanges are continuing. 

Through gradual progress in this area, I am sure they will be able to resolve Kashmir issues through dialogue in a peaceful manner,” he said.

Asked whether he got any assurance from the Indian government for help in achieving democracy in Myanmar, Ban said he had extensive discussion on the issue during his meetings, including those with Prime Minister, in New Delhi.

The discussions, he said, included how they could work together to help bring democracy to Myanmar.

“This requires concerted, coordinated efforts from all countries in the region, particularly India and other neighbouring countries like China,” he added. — PTI

United Nations, Nov 4
India and Pakistan clashed in a key United Nations committee with New Delhi firmly telling Islamabad that its advocacy for “self-determination” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir is “unacceptable”and constitutes “clear interference” in the country’s internal affairs.

The people of the state, India emphasised, have already exercised the right by participating repeatedly in free and fair elections and raking up of the issue by Pakistan was “unwarranted”.

“The right to self-determination cannot become an instrument to promote subversion and erode political cohesion or territorial integrity of a state,” India’s delegate Rajeev Shukla told the UN General Assembly’s Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee yesterday.

Exercising the right to reply, he also rejected Pakistan’s UN ambassador Hussain Haroon’s allegations of “suppression” of the people of the state, saying Islamabad would have been better served by avoiding making comments about an integral part of India.

Pointing out that the people of Kashmir have repeatedly participated in free and fair elections, he told Pakistan that in contrast, Islamabad denied even semblance of such rights to the people in the part of Kashmir occupied by it.

Clashes over Kashmir were once a regular feature of debates in the United Nations but had almost ceased during the later part of former President Pervez Musharraf’s regime. — PTI

Beijing, November 4
Chinese President Hu Jintao will join leaders of the world’s biggest economies, including India, at the G-20 summit in Washington on November 15 to discuss an action plan to overcome the global financial meltdown, the foreign ministry said today.

“At the invitation of US President George Bush, President Hu Jintao will attend the G-20 summit on financial markets and the world economy on November 15,” the ministry said.

China’s growth slowed to nine per cent in the third quarter of this year, the lowest quarterly figure due to a slowdown in exports linked to a slowing world economy.

Beijing has nearly $2 trillion in foreign reserves but is yet to announce what proposals it will bring to the one-day G-20 summit.

Top officials of major financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund along with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon have also been invited to participate in the one-day Summit.

The G-20 comprises seven major industrialised nations - Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and the United States - plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. — PTI 

Taipei, November 4
Top officials from Taiwan and China today signed deals on daily direct flights, new cargo routes and food safety during Beijing’s highest-level visit to its political rival in 60 years.

China negotiator Chen Yunlin also said he aimed to normalise financial ties with Taiwan amid the global financial crisis. Chen and his Taiwan counterpart, P.K. Chiang, signed 13 agreements, putting aside old security and sovereignty concerns.

“I think history will remember that this event happened,” Chen told a Taiwan’s official after the signings. “Although there are a lot of difficulties for peaceful development between the two sides, we’re making a lot of efforts.” Their deals triple the number of direct China-Taiwan charter flights, let planes cross between the two sides daily, add Chinese airports to the destination list and shorten routes.

Demonstrators led by Taiwan's main opposition party kicked off an evening rally and second all-night campout today after police forced isolated protesters away from meeting venues. — Reuters 

Prescott (Arizona), November 4
Republican presidential candidate John McCain may be 72 years old, but he’s not ready for the rocking chair. Working on three hours of sleep, McCain hit seven states in 22 hours yesterday and today in a final cross-country sprint before the election, a grueling schedule for a man who would be the oldest person to ever take office as the President.

Up at 5:30 am, McCain raced through his stump speech and confidently predicted victory at morning stops in Tampa, Florida, and Blountville. By the third stop outside Pittsburgh, he appeared positively ebullient. He sounded a little hoarse at the next stop in Indianapolis. But a three-hour flight to Roswell, New Mexico gave McCain a chance to rally. He campaigned energetically at several stops in New Mexico and Nevada. “It’s been a long journey, a long, long journey till we get the nomination and we’ve got one more day,” he said, more than 21 hours after he started his day in Florida.— Reuters

Los Angeles, November 4
Jurors have begun deliberations in the rape trial of celebrated Indian-born fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander, who faces a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The 34-year-old designer is accused of having sexually abused numerous girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 21 from 2002 to 2007.

Arrested on March 6, 2007, Alexander faces 27 separate felony counts, including forcible rape, sexual battery by restraint and lewd acts upon a child. Nine of the alleged victims testified during trial.

Prosecutors said Alexander set up a fashion design studio in Beverly Hills to lure models and sexually assault them. “These girls trusted the man seated at that table,” said the prosecutor in the case, deputy district attorney Frances Young.

He took advantage of them. He humiliated, degraded and took what he wanted from them. He was a predator who took advantage of the weak people around him. “He has no criminal sexual borders. If he didn’t use force, he laced their drinks,” Young told the jury of six men and six women yesterday.

But Alexander’s lawyers said the charges against him were brought by models he had turned down for jobs after having consensual sexual relations with them. Defence attorney Leonard Levine told the jury that, in short, his client was set up.

“If the girls said it, it must be so - that’s what they want you to believe,” Levine said. Alexander is reported to have dressed celebrities such as Hilton hotel heiresses Paris and Nicky Hilton, Mary J. Blige and Norah Jones. — AFP

New York, November 4
The authorities have issued a three-count arrest warrant against an unemployed Indian-American computer programmer who allegedly killed his wife and two children brutally in their home in Novi in Detroit  in the US.

A three-count arrest warrant for the first-degree murder was issued yesterday for Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu (42) in the October 27 murder of his wife and two  children.

The bodies of Rao’s 37-year-old wife Jayalakshmi and children, 14-year-old Tejasvi and 12-year-old Siva Kumar, were found in a pool of blood with massive head and neck injuries on the first floor of the family’s two-storyed apartment.

The three had defensive wounds on their arms and hands as if they attempted to fend off blows, the  police said.

Rao’s whereabouts remain unknown, but investigators have confirmed he left the US shortly after the incident. The Novi police is working with several national and international law enforcement agencies to find him, The Detroit News reported. Conviction in the case carries an automatic penalty of life in prison without parole.

Novi police chief David Molloy said an international manhunt had been launched to nab him. — PTI

Foreign students who want to study in the UK from March onwards will have to be ‘sponsored’ by colleges and universities that have acquired a licence from the UK Border Agency.

These new rules, announced by the Home Office in London, will clamp down on bogus students and ensure entry only to those who can benefit Britain.

“International students contribute £2.5 billion to the UK economy in tuition fees alone. The student tier of the points system means Britain can continue to recruit good students from outside Europe,” said border and immigration minister Phil Woolas in a press release issued by the UK Border Agency. “Those who come to Britain must play by the rules and benefit the country. This new route for students will ensure we know exactly who is coming here to study and stamp out bogus colleges which facilitate the lawbreakers,” added Phil.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, a total of 15,560 Asians or Asian British Pakistanis are studying at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the UK. The overall number of students is 880,030.

Under the new system, colleges and universities who want to teach non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals must have a licence issued by the agency. The licenced institutions can then sponsor non-EEA students to come to study in the UK.

Before they can study there, foreign students must be sponsored by a UK Border Agency-licenced education institution, supply their fingerprints and meet the new criteria. These rules will be applicable from March next year.

Bangladesh will withdraw thousands of troops from emergency duties and allow political rallies starting on Thursday, in the lead up to elections on December 18.

The country’s interim government removed two provisions in its emergency power rules on Monday, which barred political parties from holding rallies and outdoor events.

Over 60,000 troops were deployed as a part of the state of emergency, which has been in place since January last year when the current military-backed government took over and postponed elections after months of political turmoil.

The government has promised to lift all political restrictions ahead of the December polls, after easing restrictions early this year to allow parties to hold rallies indoors. 

Commerce minister Hossain Zillur Rahman had earlier said the restrictions on political activities were being lifted to fulfil key demands by major political parties.

BRIEFLY

Carla Bruni is ‘world’s coolest celebrity’
LONDON: Carla Bruni might be the hottest blonde for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, but Britons have voted her as the coolest celebrity in the world. The 40-year-old former Italian supermodel-turned singer rocketed to the top of the ‘Alternative Cool List’ with almost a quarter of those questioned in the nationwide survey naming her as their favourite celebrity personality. In fact, 22 per cent of the respondents placed Bruni, who is reported to have had flings with celebrities like Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, on the top of the chart, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported. — PTI

Osama’s publicist gets life term
MIAMI: A US military tribunal at Guantanamo sentenced Osama bin Laden’s media secretary to life in prison after convicting him of conspiring with Al-Qaida, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism. Yemeni prisoner Ali Hamza al Bahlul was the second man to be convicted by a jury in the war crimes court at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The jury of nine US military officers reached its verdict on Friday after a weeklong trial in which the defendant and his lawyer refused to participate. — Reuters

Swraj Paul opens school
LONDON: A new academy school, sponsored by NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul’s charitable trust, was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, at Tipton in the West Midlands on Tuesday. The school, named The Ambika Paul Learning Resource Centre, contains a library, IT equipment, a meeting room and video conferencing facilities. Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Lord Paul’s son Akash Paul and daughter Anjli Paul attended the function, along with other dignitaries. — PTI

39 die as ferry sinks
MANILA: Thirty-nine people were killed on Tuesday when a ferry capsized in the central Philippines, the local police chief said. The ferry was overturned by a freak wind off the island of Masbate with 119 people on board, senior superintendent Ruben Sindac said. In all, 76 people had been rescued and the bodies of 39 were recovered, he said. “We are still looking for 14 people,” he added. The ferry had just left Masbate for Sorsogon port on the southern tip of Luzon island when the disaster occurred. — AFP