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It’s Britain’s MoonLITE now
B’desh polls on Dec 29: CEC
Women MPs form caucus in Pak
Obama to tackle terror in ‘region’: Karzai
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Nepal seeks India’s support in peace process
Teen commits suicide in front of webcam
Annan, Carter barred from Zimbabwe
Palin has busy schedule till 2009
Abbas to call snap polls if reconciliation with Hamas fails
Gilani refutes reports
of Pak-US pact
Afghan opposition demands poll
in April
Attack
on Indians in US
A joint front proposed
by UN ambassador
Pak to adopt strategy
to counter US drone attacks
Japan PM seeks end to island dispute with Russia
E-mails ‘waste’ an hour a day
Montek Singh gets ‘Sikh of the Year’ award
Russia, US for stepping up fight against piracy
Musharraf leaves for London
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It’s Britain’s MoonLITE now
London, November 23 The 100-million-pound unmanned mission 'MoonLITE' would aim to understand the cause of mysterious quakes that vibrate through the lunar rock and put it into the satellite’s orbit before firing a series of probes into the moon’s surface, the daily Telegraph reported today. The report said the launch of Moon Lightweight Interior and Telecommunications Experiment or MoonLITE, will be announced by science minister Lord Drayson next month after which engineers would work on the technical designs with an aim to launch the satellite between 2012 and 2014. Backed by NASA, the spacecraft would also examine the chemical composition of the rocks and even search for water on the moon's surface. The existence of moonquakes has puzzled scientists as the moon does not have the tectonic plate activity that causes quakes on the earth. "The moon still holds an awful lot of secrets. Most of what we know about the moon is from a relatively small area on the nearside of the moon and we have no samples or data from the far side," the daily quoted Ian Crawford, from the school of Earth sciences at Birkbeck College, University of London. Crawford was one of the scientists which would fire four suitcase-sized penetrator probes into different points around the lunar surface.
— PTI
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B’desh polls on Dec 29: CEC
Bangladesh's army-backed government on Sunday set December 29 as the new date for the country's first elections in seven years after intense negotiations with the two major political parties over terms and
conditions.
The move is the latest in a string of compromises by the government to bring the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by ex-premier Khaleda Zia, to the elections to ensure the polls' credibility. The BNP-led centre-right coalition threatened a boycott last week unless elections were delayed, the state of emergency was lifted and the election commission was stripped of its power to cancel candidatures. Chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda said the new date, pushed back 10 days from the earlier announced date of December 18, would be enough to bring the two major parties to the elections. "We hope this new date will be accepted by the country's political parties. And they will start (their) election campaign in a festive mood from tomorrow," he said. Huda also said the election commission would recommend to the government that the withdrawal of the state of emergency after nominations have been filed. But the government refused to meet the BNP's other demand of stripping the election commission's power to cancel candidatures based on criminal convictions, fearing it would signal the death knell for the governments intensive anti-corruption driver over the last two years. The BNP's main rivals, the Awami League, said the new delay in elections demonstrates a conspiracy to 'foil' the polls but it would still take part in the national interest. A Nielsen poll last week showed the Awami League with a substantial lead in voter confidence.
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Women MPs form caucus in Pak
Women MPs from both sides of the political divide have formed the first ever women parliamentarians’ caucus to protect women’s rights and to ensure women empowerment. Almost all women MPs in the National Assembly attended a meeting chaired by speaker Dr Fahmida Mirza here last evening and unanimously launched the women’s parliamentary caucus,”. The speaker, while spelling out the objectives of the caucus, said the panel would aim at attaining a broad-based consensus among all women members of Parliament on an agreed agenda for women development, their empowerment and emancipation to enable them to work beyond and above party lines for women of Pakistan. She said the caucus would enhance the role of the women parliamentarians in proposing gender sensitive, legislation, reviewing and amending discriminatory laws and practices. “The caucus will ensure effective parliamentary oversight for the implementation of international and regional commitments, national policies and programmes related to women,” she said. The speaker said the caucus would facilitate exchange of views and information sharing on critical areas of concern, particularly social discriminatory practices at different levels, both national and international. She said the caucus would review rules and procedures in order to ensure women’s continued access to and participation in the National Assembly, besides providing a forum to jointly work for the achievements of social indicators.
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Obama to tackle terror in ‘region’: Karzai
Kabul, November 23 The phone call between Obama and Karzai yesterday is the first reported contact between the two leaders and comes more than two weeks after the November 4 US election. The United States has some 32,000 American forces in Afghanistan, a number that will be increased by thousands more next year. Fighting terrorism and the insurgency “in Afghanistan, the region and the world is a top priority,” Karzai's office quoted Obama as saying during the conversation. Afghanistan has long pressed the US to tackle what it calls the bases of terrorism in Pakistan. Obama’s reported pledge will likely please Karzai, who has accused Pakistan’s intelligence service of supporting the Taliban in plotting bombings and other attacks in Afghanistan. Obama, in the past, had expressed frustration with Pakistan’s efforts to go after militants in its territory. During the presidential campaign he had said: “If Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-level terrorist targets like Bin Laden if we have them in our sights.” — AP
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Nepal seeks India’s support in peace process
Kathmandu, November 23 “It would be difficult for Nepal to take the peace process to its logical conclusion without India’s support,” he said. “We also hope to receive India's help and cooperation in our development and reconstruction works,” he said, adding these issues will come up during talks with Mukherjee, apart from the matters relating to trade and transit. Replying to a question, the minister said Nepal had “good friendly relations” with both India and China. “But we have more interactions and dealings with India as we share an open border and have cultural and religious similarities.” “I hope the forthcoming visit by India’s external affairs minister to Nepal will help to further strengthen the bilateral relations and expand cooperation between the two sides,” Yadav said. — PTI
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Teen commits suicide in front of webcam
Miami, November 23 Abraham Biggs (19) was found in the bedroom of his home in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday and an autopsy showed he died of a toxic combination of opiates and benzodiazepine, a drug used to treat anxiety and insomnia, the Broward County medical examiner’s office said. “We have ruled it a suicide. Part of the terminal event was recorded on a website and there was streaming video,” said Steve Cina deputy chief medical examiner of Broward County. A police spokesman said detectives were investigating the case, but would not release any details. Biggs had written blogs about his intentions and some of the viewers who were watching the event live may have goaded him on, Cina said. “There is some indication of that, yes,” he said. In a purported suicide note posted by the Miami television station WPLG on its website, Biggs said: “I hate myself and I hate living.” The note said he had “thought about and attempted suicide many times in the past.” — Reuters
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Annan, Carter barred from Zimbabwe
Johannesburg, November 23 They were denied travel visas yesterday to Zimbabwe despite the intervention of former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating the political conflict between President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and the Opposition Movement for Democratic Change. “We had hoped to go to Zimbabwe this morning, but we had to cancel because the government has made it clear it will not cooperate,” Annan said. Annan, Carter and Nelson Mandela’s wife Graca Machel are part of a group of prominent figures and former statesmen called The Elders. “Our purpose in coming here was never to be involved in the political issues that have been so controversial in the establishment of a new government in Zimbabwe, but only to help with the humanitarian issue and we will continue to do that,” Carter said. A statement by The Elders said they would stay in South Africa to gather more information on the situation in Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries. They will also speak to humanitarian agency representatives, civil groups, businesspeople and officials from Zimbabwe. A September 15 power-sharing agreement facilitated by Mbeki had raised hopes that a new leadership would get on with the task of rescuing Zimbabwe’s ruined economy. But a stalemate over the allocation of key ministries in the new government has stalled a final agreement. Inflation is rampant, food and fuel in short supply, and the Zimbabwean dollar is virtually worthless in a country once seen as southern Africa’s breadbasket.
— Reuters
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Palin has busy schedule till 2009
Washington, November 23 Palin, Governor of oil-rich Alaska, was plucked out of relative obscurity in late August by Senator John McCain to be his running mate in the November 4 US presidential polls. ]Now, the 44-year-old former beauty queen has to decide how and where to spend her time, which could have implications for her political future and her bank account, with possible land mines of legal and ethical rules. Palin is considering about 800 requests for appearances from December through 2009, with 75 per cent coming from out of her state, Alaska. A year ago, just a sprinkle of requests came from beyond Alaska’s borders. Now, she has invitations to speak at the Chief Executives’ Club of Boston, Massachusetts, and to attend a 5-year-old’s birthday party, from a prayer breakfast in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a business conference in Britain. She has invitations to make appearances in 20 foreign countries, typically with all expenses paid, her spokesman, Bill McAllister said. She has more than 200 requests for media interviews, again from around the globe, CNN reported. In her two months on the national stage, Palin energised the Republican base but failed to capitalise on it. Flubbed answers in television interviews raised questions about her competence.
The right book or movie deal could help Palin reintroduce herself to the nation, on terms she could dictate.
— PTI
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Abbas to call snap polls if reconciliation with Hamas fails
Jerusalem, November 23 "If the dialogue does not succeed, then at the start of next year we will issue a Presidential decree calling parliamentary and presidential elections," Abbas told a meeting of the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Abbas today also hit out at US-backed regional peace talks on the eve of a key meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President George W. Bush. Abbas that none of the core issues related to the conflict have been resolved under US backed efforts which aimed at reaching a peace agreement between the two sides by the end of this year. "So far we have not reached agreement on a single
question. Every issue remains up for discussion," Abbas told the PLO Central Council. "Even if (US Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice or someone speaking in her name says, even if (Israeli Foreign Minister) Tzipi Livni or someone speaking in her name says that there are agreements being prepared, it's not true," the PA President stressed. Heblamed Israel for the current deadlock accusing it
off ailing to honour any of the commitments it made during last year's Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference. "Everyone knows that Israel has not for one moment halted the settlement construction, the building of the (separation) wall or the attacks, and nor has it allowed the opening of (Palestinian) institutions in (Arab east) Jerusalem," he asserted. In contrast, he argued that the Palestinians "had made efforts which had produced results and brought security and stability to towns across the West Bank."
— PTI
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Gilani refutes reports
of Pak-US pact
Islamabad, November 23 “As far as my government is concerned, certainly we have no agreement with the US to continue air attacks inside Pakistani,” Gilani said in an interview to the CNN. He also warned America that if it continued to interfere in the Pakistani territory by launching missile strikes, anti-US sentiments would get a fillip while the image of NATO and other western allies would also suffer. The Washington Post had last week reported that the US had struck a tacit agreement with Pakistan that allowed unmanned aircraft to attack suspected terrorist targets in the country’s restive western regions. The report quoted senior officials in both countries as saying that according to the deal worked out in September, Washington would publicly refuse to acknowledge the attacks by predator aircrafts while Islamabad would continue to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes. Gilani’s remarks came a day after a missile strike in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region killed five militants, including Al Qaeda operatives Abu Zubair Al Misri and Rashid Rauf, the alleged mastermind of a 2006 plot to bomb trans-Atlantic airlines. Asked if Pakistan would shoot down US drones, Gilani said, “That is not the case. But we have to form a strategy in future.” The government would decide on a strategy to stop the missile strikes, he said.
— PTI
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Afghan opposition demands poll
in April
Kabul, November 23 The Taliban insurgency has now spread from traditional militant strongholds in the south and east to areas just outside the capital, Kabul. “The National Front wants the upcoming election to be held on time and we don't want an illegitimate president,” former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, leader of the main opposition block, told a news conference. “Any other dates will be against the constitution. We are against any changes conflicting with the Afghan constitution.” The Afghan constitution says the elections are to be held between 30 to 60 days before the presidential term is up, meaning they should take place around April next year. But Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission says an agreement was reached between the government and opposition parties, including the National Front, to hold the polls later in the year because of the difficulty of organising elections during the harsh Afghan winter. The National Front is a coalition made up mostly of parties led by former warlords that led the Northern Alliance that helped US-led forces topple the Taliban government in 2001. Although Karzai has not said for sure that he will run for a second term in office, he has strongly hinted that he will. No other prominent candidate has come forward either and the National Front is unlikely to garner enough support to win the presidency as it is mostly made up of parties representing Afghanistan's ethnic Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara minorities from the north rather than traditionally dominant Pashtun majority from the south and east.
— Reuters
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Attack
on Indians in US
New York, November 23 In interviews, they said it is always tragic when a young person is killed in the prime of life but they do not see any pattern that suggests that students from either India or Andhra Pradesh are being targeted. Indian-American leader Sant Singh Chatwal said he sees no pattern in the killings and hence they are acts of random crime. “It would be wrong to scare the potential students from coming to the US by raising the bogey of hate crime.” Chairman of the US India Political Action Committee Sanjay Puri also discounted reports that Indian students were being targeted and said these appeared to be random cases of crime. He also made the point that Indians constitute the largest proportion of students and as their number increases, chances of their being victims of such crimes increases “Even one death of a young student who has come to study to make good in life is too many but it would be wrong to think that there is any bias against them,” he said. He agreed there is need to educate students on safety and said that they should acquaint themselves with the area in which they are living. Such incidents can happen anywhere and should not deter Indians who want to come to the United States for higher or specialised studies. While the major incidents get reported, they agreed that the students could also be victims of robberies, which they never report, other community leaders say. India sends the largest number of students followed by China. Currently, some 80,000 students are studying in various American universities and as their number rises, there could be some increase in crimes against them.
— PTI
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A joint front proposed
by UN ambassador
Pakistan's UN ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon has proposed that a joint Pakistani, NATO and US military force under the command of Gen Ashfaq Kayani should be set up to increase co-ordination and "curb terrorists across the Pak-Afghan border".
Haroon said in a speech at the US Army War College that he was making the proposal to “end complaints of mistrust among coalition partners and provide much needed local experience, essential for success in Afghanistan”. He also said that there was a better understanding between the leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan today than in the past, and called on the incoming Obama administration to increase economic assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan so that economic activity can be generated and the basic needs of the people are addressed, adding that this “will not cost much”. The United States as a matter of policy does not permit US military personnel to serve under any non-US command. He said the “amalgam of diverse interests under the nomenclature of Taliban has taken upon us, it is now Pakistan 's war. If the Taliban are not defeated history is a witness that whenever Khyber (pass) has been breached, the battle has been fought in Panipat (India) close to New Delhi.” He said the void left by the United States after the Soviets were defeated was filled by the Taliban, who challenged the status quo and “provided the people of Afghanistan religious education and their brand of justice”. Haroon caused a bit of a surprise when he told his audience that Pakistan has spent $150 billion on the upkeep of three million Afghan refugees since their arrival in Pakistan more than 30 years ago that is equal to one year of Pakistan's GDP and one percent of the savings where total savings rate is two percent". If the ancillary costs of United States were three trillion on the war on Iraq where it spent $600 billion, the ancillary costs incurred by Pakistan can be well imagined."
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Pak to adopt strategy
to counter US drone attacks
Islamabad, November 23 Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the presidential palace this afternoon to discuss the security situation in Pakistan and "frequent drones attacks on the border areas", an official statement said. "They agreed that the government would adopt a strategy on frequent drone attacks on the border areas in the light of recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security" which would be briefed by the defence and foreign ministers and the chiefs of the interior ministry and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency shortly, the statement said. Zardari and Gilani "agreed that no compromise on national sovereignty and integrity would be made
at any cost". Referring to a report in the Washington Post, they dispelled the notion that Pakistan had signed any kind of deal with the US
on drone attacks, the statement said. The two leaders also discussed steps being taken by the government for reviving the economy. Gilani briefed the President on ongoing parliamentary proceedings. Earlier in the day, Gilani said Pakistan has no agreement with the US that allows the latter to carry out incursions and aerial attacks within Pakistani territory. "As far as my government is concerned, certainly we have no agreement with the US to continue air attacks inside Pakistani area," he said.
— PTI
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Japan PM seeks end to island dispute with Russia
Lima, November 23 For over 60 years, Moscow has been reluctant even to discuss Japan’s demands that Russia return four tiny disputed Pacific Ocean islands seized by the Red Army in the final days of the war. The dispute over the territories, known as the Southern Kuriles in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, has prevented the two states from signing a formal peace treaty since the war ended. “The problem remains an element which destabilises the situation in the region,” Aso told Medvedev yesterday at the start of their meeting on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in the Peruvian capital, Lima. Aso also tried to woo Medvedev by giving him a toy of the famed Japanese cartoon cat Doraemon. Medvedev’s wife suggested earlier this year that a joint Russian/Japanese film be made with Doraemon and Russian folklore cat Dorofei. — Reuters
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E-mails ‘waste’ an hour a day
London, November 23 Researchers in Britain have carried out the study and found that office workers actually waste an hour a day sending and receiving e-mails - the obsession has led to a culture in which many process them without even thinking. They have based their findings on a survey of 4,000 employees from 150 business houses in Britain. The poll found that an average worker wastes one hour every day through inefficient use of e-mail; most do not filter or organise their e-mails correctly; and many of the e-mails sent do not help people do their jobs, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported. According to a spokesman for communications consultants Expert Messaging, which commissioned the research, this could be because workers had not been given appropriate training for the proper use of e-mails. “As a communications tool that we have all grown up with, but seldom if ever given any formal training on or provided any corporate guidelines for, it’s no wonder that e-mail is a significant sources of stress, miscommunication and inefficiency for companies and individuals,” he said. Agreed Nigel Shadbolt, a professor of artificial intelligence at Southampton University: “I think we are still working out what is acceptable and unacceptable e-mail use.
— PTI
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Montek Singh gets ‘Sikh of the Year’ award
London, November 23 Ahluwalia, one of the pioneers of the country's economic renaissance, received the award from Viscount Slim, a pro-India cross bench peer, at a gala dinner organised by the ‘Sikh Forum International’ at the glittering Great Hall in Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn here. Recognising his achievements and various impressive positions he held at the World Bank and later with the government of India, the citation recalled that in August this year, India honoured him with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Puraskar in recognition of his contribution towards the economic growth of the country. “Sixty-years after independence, India is delivering on it’s promise and it is the likes of Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia that are now allowing us to say ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’ — My India is Great,” the citation stated.
— PTI
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Russia, US for stepping up fight against piracy
Lima, November 23 “It’s necessary to do everything to fight this evil not only in open waters, but also try to bring order on the coast of Somalia, in coordination with the legitimate government of that country,” he added. “We agreed to think about what steps could be worked out in this regard,” Lavrov said on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru, where he met Rice. His comments came as Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and US president George W Bush were to meet in a possibly tense last encounter before Bush steps down. On Thursday, Moscow announced it was sending more naval ships to the region in addition to the frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless), which has engaged pirates in the area in coordination with other navies.
— AFP
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Musharraf leaves for London
Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf quietly left Sunday for Britain amid tight security. This is his first visit abroad after stepping down as president on August 18 and it may mark the beginning of his public statements after a long spell of silence. According to the sources, besides London Musharraf is expected to also go to Cambridge where he may address certain groups. Some political meetings are also on the cards. He may also travel to the United States on lecture trip. Reportedly, Musharraf was at the British High Commission on Thursday to formally apply for a visit visa as he no longer holds a diplomatic passport. He had to go through the usual finger printing for the visa application.
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Protest against Bush Vatican forgives Lennon Custom-made bones 11 whales rescued 
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