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Climate Change
Pak Army kills 106 militants in NWFP
Top LeT man held in Bangladesh
Kasab’s confession not credible: Pak
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Suu Kyi honoured
US Congmen appeal for Sikh rights
Gilani: No differences with Zardari
A hole as big as Earth in Jupiter
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G8 didn’t take concrete steps: Pachauri
United Nations, July 21 “The certainty with which we can make projections is getting higher and we think it’s time for the global community to take action,” Pachauri told reporters at a press conference held at the UN headquarters here. “We can’t put stability and peace at risk by ignoring the impact of climate change,” he warned. Just back from a meeting in Venice where the panel had begun outlining key developments and proposals for its Fifth Assessment Report, to be released in 2014, Pachauri called for unprecedented global cooperation to come up with the right policy mix to comprehensively tackle the “progressively serious” impacts of climate change. Pachauri said the outcome of the recently held G8 talks had been “mixed, (...) a bit of a dichotomy”. He said the world’s wealthiest countries “clearly ignored what the IPCC came up with” to reach that goal. On one hand, the leaders had agreed to a so-called “aspirational” goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent up to 2050, and to seeing that temperature increase did not exceed 2º C. “But on the other hand, they haven’t taken into account the IPCC’s formula that if we want to limit the increase to 2º C, we have to ensure that emissions peak no later than 2015,” Pachauri said. “They pledged deep cuts (in emissions), but they were not specific about what those cuts will be,” he said, stressing that he saw “glaring gaps” that needed to be filled between such pronouncements and policy action in the immediate term, and to limit temperature rise by the end of the century, to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at or near current levels. As things stood, all countries, rich and poor, would have to adopt measures to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, he said. “We must look at the effects on sustainable development — that should be the ultimate goal,” he added. Asked about persistent differences between the US and China and other large developing countries over emissions targets, Pachauri said he was hopeful that those could be ironed out in an accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, at the upcoming United Nations climate change conference, set to take place in December in Copenhagen. If nations did not reach “a good agreement” in Copenhagen, then clearly, the humanitarian and economic costs would be great, especially for the world’s poorest countries and people, Pachauri said. He said, “Signs might not look all that bright, but I’m confident that in the end, things will come together (...) at least I hope so.” — PTI
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Pak Army kills 106 militants in NWFP
Islamabad, July 21 The Army had to launch a "massive military operation" yesterday in five villages in the Maidan area of Lower Dir district as the security forces apprehended that most of the Taliban militants who had fled from the Swat valley were taking shelter in the area. In the fierce fighting which went on for more than 48 hours, the army used tanks, heavy artillery and big mortars to smoke out Taliban fighters entrenched in the concrete hideouts in the Maidan area and lost six soldiers, including a JCO, in heavy exchanges. While 100 Taliban militiamen were killed in the Maidan area in confrontation with paramilitary Frontier Corps, while six others were killed in fresh fighting in the Swat valley, which Army earlier had claimed was clear of armed Taliban terrorists, a spokesman of the Frontier Corps was quoted as saying by TV channels. Renewed clashes in picturesque Swat came even as thousands of displaced persons were returning to their homes after assurances by top Army commanders that the district was now free of Taliban. The new fighting in the provinces could hamper Army's major operations to break into the Taliban and Al-Qaida stronghold in south Waziristan. Thousands of troops backed by tanks and armour are poised to launch Pakistan Army's largest ever operations in more than three decades. — PTI
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Top LeT man held in Bangladesh
Dhaka, July 21 Maulana Mohammed Mansur Ali, alias Maulana Habibullah, an Indian national, was active in Kashmir and has been the main organiser of LeT in Bangladesh, Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch Monirul Islam told reporters. He was arrested from the Dakkhin Khan area in Dhaka yesterday after an intensive manhunt engaging police spies, Islam said. The officer said in line with confessions of Mufti Obaidullah, a LeT-linked militant arrested last week and now in custody on a seven-day remand, the police launched the manhunt and arrested Ali, who was working at a madrasa. Both Obaidullah and Ali told the police that they were residents of West Bengal and entered Bangladesh in 1995 to evade arrest by the Indian security forces. Islam said like Obaidullah, Ali too was being chased by Indian security forces for their militant activities in Kashmir with the support of Pakistan-based LeT, which is also blamed for the Mumbai attacks. In initial interrogation, he said one of his brothers was killed in an encounter with the Indian border guards.
— PTI
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Kasab’s confession not credible: Pak
The surprise confession of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman of the November 26 Mumbai carnage, on Monday has evoked a mixed response in Pakistan with legal opinion divided on whether it would help expedite the trial of his collaborators detained by Pakistan.
Officials said Pakistan could not take any action based on the confessions of a person who was “under pressure”. They also dismissed Kasab’s confession, saying it was an attempt by him to save his skin and held no credibility. Reacting to the statements made by Kasab in a Special Sessions Court in Mumbai, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar told an Indian news channel: “The statements are one-sided and they were made by a person who is under the custody of the Indian jail authorities. If he has stood up and given this statement, I don’t know under what pressure he was.” The minister said India should hand over all evidence it had in connection with the attacks to Pakistan as Islamabad was committed to punish all those involved. Mukhtar said there could be no credibility to the statement of a person who has repeatedly changed them in the court. He, however, added that if a crime was committed in any country then that country had a right to act as per the law of land. The minister said on the same ground it was inappropriate to take action against the terrorists named by Kasab.
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Suu Kyi honoured
Terming Suu Kyi as a devoted follower of Gandhi’s principles and moral values, Win said India and South Africa should support Myanmar’s struggle for freedom. Win made these comments as he received the award on behalf of jailed Suu Kyi from South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ebrahim Ismail at a function at the Durban City Hall last night. The award has been instituted by the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation. “We will work with UN Secretary-General and UN to ensure that the elections in Myanmar next year are credible,” he said. The foundation also presented the Satyagraha awards to former activists involved in the anti-apartheid struggles.
— PTI
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US Congmen appeal for Sikh rights
Washington, July 21 Two lawmakers have written “dear colleague” letters asking other Congressmen to write to the Defence Secretary to allow Sikh youths to serve in the military with their
turban. Frelinghuysen and Maloney said two commissioned army officers, Capt Kamaljeet S Kalsi and Capt Tejdeep S Rattan — from New Jersey and New York, respectively - were not being permitted to continue their service while wearing a turban and keeping an unshorn beard, both required tenets of the Sikh religion. The Congressmen have joined a nationwide campaign launched by Sikh Coalition urging Pentagon to change its current law, which prohibits a Sikh from joining the US army with his turban. The Pentagon has said it is reviewing its current policy.
— PTI
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Gilani: No differences with Zardari
Islamabad, July 21 "I meet the President regularly and have frequent telephonic talks with him on all issues," he told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to a medical facility here. Gilani rejected the notion that there was a lack of "mutual understanding" between him and Zardari. He said he "enjoyed complete harmony" with the
President. — PTI
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A hole as big as Earth in Jupiter
London, July 21 Anthony Wesley said he spotted the dark "scar" which had suddenly appeared on Jupiter through a homemade telescope, from the yard of his rural home near Canberra on Sunday night, 'The Times' reported. "About 11 pm, I went inside to have a break and watch the British Open golf on TV, and by the time I came back out at about 1 am the impact point had rotated around into view. Wesley immediately set about alerting the global space community to his find, e-mailing photographs and footage to various amateur and professional Jupiter experts around the world. Even NASA confirmed Wesley's discovery yesterday and released their own images.
— PTI
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Durban, July 21