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Trouble Down Under-III |
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Women voter turnout poor
Taliban group declares 40-day truce
Pak to examine fresh Indian dossier
Oath-taking Issue
S Korea bids farewell to Kim Dae-Jung
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Greeks battle to contain raging fire
Athens, August 23 Strong gale-force winds were causing the blaze to head towards the heavily populated northern suburbs of Kalithea, Pendelis and Drafi, filling the skies over the capital with thick black smoke. A state of emergency was declared in Greater Athens in the worst destruction the country has seen since fires struck the island of Evia and the Peloponnese in 2007, killing more than 80 persons. Twelve water-carrying planes and seven helicopters were attempting to extinguish the blaze despite blinding smoke and the strong winds. The head of the firefighting brigade, Giannis Kapakis, said two water-carrying planes from Italy, two from France and a helicopter from Cyprus were on their way to offer assistance. As a precautionary measure, officials evacuated two hospitals in the area of Pendelis and transferred patients, the majority of them children, to other hospitals around the city. Fire brigade officials said no casualties had been reported by early Sunday despite mass overnight evacuations of children campsites and villages on the outskirts of the city. The fire broke out late Friday and quickly spread, fanned by the winds to an area more than 40 km wide, damaging homes and burning thousands of acres of forest and olive groves. Residents could be seen fleeing the fire on foot, by motorbike and cars while blackouts and water supply cuts were reported throughout the area. Many Athenians, who ignored calls by firefighting authorities to evacuate their neighbourhoods, could be seen fighting the flames outside their homes with water hoses. Others, armed with shovels and buckets, worked side by side with firefighters and soldiers throughout the night to battle the fires. Firefighters said the constantly changing winds were making their work more difficult. More than 80 forest fires were reported to have broken out across the country in less than 24 hours, fuelled by high temperatures and winds, officials said. Blazes were also reported to be burning out of control on the Ionian island of Zakynthos, scorching nearly 2,000 acres of forest. Other fires were reported on the eastern Greek islands of Evia, and Skyros. Forest fires have become more frequent in Greece in recent summers, triggered by high temperatures, drought and also arson.
— DPA
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Trouble Down Under-III
Melbourne/Canberra, August 23 Instead of finding faults with them or the ill-equipped private colleges that have been fleecing the students in connivance with unscrupulous agents, the gurdwaras have been embracing students in distress and reeling out all possible help to them. Master Darshan Singh, president of Blackburn gurdwara, who has been named national coordinator of a national helpline to help students in distress, international, including Indians, says that more than 500 calls have been made to the helpline till yesterday and several steps initiated to provide counselling, accommodation, food, financial assistance and training both in up gradation of their English as well as job seeking skills have been taken since the beginning of problem in May this year. “Some of us know how hard and difficult it is to come to an alien land and settle down there,” recall some of the members of the Victorian Sikh Welfare Association which besides organising temporary accommodation for students in distress has decided to allow Indian students to hold their meeting on the gurdwara premises besides organising for them some of the daily use items, including toasters, microwaves, heaters and dresses have also started holding classes for them in English. Harvin Dhillon, a councillor from Blackburn, says that all five gurdwaras and the Victorian Sikh Welfare Association, has been trying to help Indian students come out of the trauma of the incidents of violence directed against them for the past some months. “There may be some element of racism in few of these attacks but most of these incidents were a reflection of growing crime of snatching, robberies and thefts from highly vulnerable new international students,” says Harvin Dhillon. Members of the Victorian Sikh Welfare Association say that it is no time for finding faults. Rather focus has to be in restoring their confidence and help them achieve the purpose for which they have come here. Gurdwaras and the Victorian Sikh Welfare Association have also been providing meal coupons to new students so that they can have their food at places close to their place of work or studies. “When the next batch of students arrives in September this year, we will have in place most of our proposals in place. Besides starting orientation courses for new comers to help them understand local culture and lifestyle, we will train them to adjust to Australian lifestyle. We have two teachers to conduct regular classes in English to upgrade their skills. Besides, we will conduct classes for them to help them in writing cover letter, their resume and train them on appearing in interviews. In case they need suits, shoes so as to appear as effective and job bagging candidates, we will provide them all these things also,” says Inderjit Singh who heads the welfare section of the Victorian Sikh Association. On weekends, gurdwara has about 10,000 visitors, 50 per cent of whom are international students. Equipped with an ultramodern kitchen and a big dinning hall, the gurdwara organises food for all visitors on all seven days a week. It has a library and also an accredited school. The Victorian premier is expected to visit the gurdwara in the coming days to appreciate the work it has done during the current crisis. “We are hopeful of substantial help from the Victorian government to strengthen our infrastructure to help anyone in distress,” adds Kerpal Singh, secretary of the gurdwara. Master Darshan Singh says that even parents of students have been calling the helpline to ascertain welfare of their wards. He has appealed to pe4ople in i9ndia to maintain calm and peace than resort to any confrontation. Any co0nfrontational attitude may aggravate the problem. HSPhoolka, Senior advocate in New Delhi and Gyan Sewa Trust, he said, have he4lped in setting up of the helpline (0061-398-941800). The gurdwara also has a website where latest information is posted (www.gurudwarablackburn.com.au). They all felt that problem has aggravated because blind has led the blind. We have to change this and help them to adjust to the Australian lifestyle and teach them what they should look forward to, adds Harvin Dhillon.
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Abdullah cries mass rigging in Afghan poll
Kabul, August 23 Western allies hailed the elections as a successful vote for democracy, but a litany of flaws and evidence that the vote was not totally free have mounted since Thursday’s poll and fuelled speculation about a possible run-off. “There are widespread irregularities, fraud and efforts for rigging,” said ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai’s closest challenger and who, like the incumbent, claims to be leading the vote. He said his team received “constant reports” that turnout, which observers say was the lowest for an election since the 2001 US-led invasion, was in some areas inflated by four times the real figure, with all votes for Karzai. “Since this is a sign of widespread rigging, I thought the people of Afghanistan deserve to know what is going on and the international community deserves to know about our concerns,” he said. Abdullah ran an energetic campaign and his claims of success, coupled with reports of a miserable turnout in Karzai’s southern power base, have boosted speculation about a run-off, which would take place in early October. To avoid a second round, one candidate would need to win an outright majority of 50 per cent plus one vote. With definitive results not due until next month, Afghan and Western officials are calling for calm. Abdullah’s power base in the north means he has the widespread support of Tajiks, whereas Karzai’s strong influence in the Pashtun-dominated south means the two largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan are potentially divided. Abdullah said the allegations of rigging had been directed to Afghanistan’s independent Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) for investigation. “As of close of business yesterday, the ECC had received approximately 225 complaints. And these are complaints on and since election day,” ECC chairman Grant Kippen told reporters earlier. The charges include tampering with ballot boxes, intimidation of voters, violence, failures of supposedly indelible ink meant to prevent people from voting twice and interference in polling, he said. “Thirty-five have been assigned a high priority and these are ones that we had to deem to be material to the outcome of the election results,” he said. The election authority is expected to release turnout numbers this week but observers have reported low figures, including just 10 per cent in some areas. Insurgents from the Taliban, which was in government between 1996 and 2001 and is strong in the south, threatened to attack polling stations to disrupt the vote. “We are aware of significant complaints of voting irregularities in provinces that were affected by violence on polling day,” Kippen said, adding that these included the southern province of Kandahar.
— AFP
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Women voter turnout poor
Kandahar: Threatened with death, restricted by relatives or alienated by politics, turnout among women voters in Afghanistan was poor generally and close to zero in some parts of the south. “We were very willing to vote but then Taliban provocation started. We heard that they would kill people, cut off people's fingers and cut off their heads,” said Naseema Naseri, who works for an aid group in the southern city of Kandahar. “We were happy and interested at the last election. I voted for a special candidate President Hamid Karzai however, he did not bring quality of life,” said Fatima, who works in a Kandahar school.
— AFP
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Taliban group declares 40-day truce
Islamabad, August 23 The truce was announced by the North Waziristan-based militant faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur yesterday. Ahmadullah Ahmadi, a spokesman for Gul Bahadur, told reporters on phone that the group's had decided on a complete ceasefire in the volatile region during Ramzan, which began today. — PTI
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Pak to examine fresh Indian dossier
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan would examine the fresh Indian dossier as and when it reached the country.
Our legal experts would examine the new Indian dossier to see whether it was legally tenable, he told newsmen at a press conference at the Multan airport when was asked to comment on the fresh Indian dossier handed over to the Pakistan high commissioner in India reportedly containing evidence linking Jamaat-ud-Daawa chief Hafiz Saeed to the Mumbai attacks. The foreign minister said the dossiers received earlier from India had no significant evidence, but if there was evidence in the fresh dossier, Pakistan would examine it. He termed the second presidential elections in Afghanistan a big step forward and lauded the courage of the Afghan people, who cast their votes despite a troubled situation. He said Pakistan hoped to enhance friendly ties with new Afghan government and suggested exploring ways to enhance trade, adding that the landlocked country should avail trade-related facilities of Pakistan.
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Oath-taking Issue
The Supreme Court of Nepal on Sunday issued an ultimatum asking Vice-President Paramananda Jha to retake oath of office and secrecy within a week in accordance with the constitutional provision in Nepali language.
As Jha, who had taken the oath of office and secrecy in Hindi language last year, defied the apex court’s repeated verdicts twice issued a few weeks ago, the full bench of apex court today asserted that Jha should retake the oath in Nepali to continue his office as Vice-President of the Himalayan nation. According to court officials, if Jha fails to adhere to the order, then his post would be automatically nullified. However, Jha and some Madhesi-based political parties, mainly the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum led by Upendra Jha and ruling Sadbhavana Party leaders have been opposing the court’s verdict. Meanwhile, Jha is reportedly awaiting the President office’s response. The government had already requested Jha to retake the oath in Nepal expressing its commitment that it would amend the interim constitution so that the newly elected President and Vice-President would be able to take the oath of offices in accordance with their choices.
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S Korea bids farewell to Kim Dae-Jung
Kim Seoul, August 23 Kim, who died on Tuesday aged 85, was “a great leader of modern history” who won worldwide respect, Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo said at the state funeral for the Nobel prize winner. More than 20,000 politicians, foreign dignitaries and ordinary people attended the ceremony, staged outside parliament to signify Kim's contribution to democracy. Kim Dae-Jung survived assassination attempts and a death sentence in his struggle against military-backed rulers, who had presided over dramatic economic growth but trampled human rights. Ex-president Chun Doo-Hwan, whose government sentenced Kim to death in 1980, attended the ceremony as did ex-president Kim Young-Sam - who led the drive for democracy along with his namesake but later became estranged from him.
— AFP
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