 |
|
|
Afghan Elections
Karzai widens lead
Autonomy for Pak northern areas
|
|
|
71 pc want Mush to be tried
WHO warns of severe H1N1(A)
Japan goes to the polls today
|
|
Afghan Elections
London, August 29 “If the democratic process does not survive, then Afghanistan won’t survive,” former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said, as allegations of vote frauds gathered momentum with only days left for announcement of the outcome. Abdullah’s warnings come as the US and its western allies who initially had welcomed the elections as movement towards normalisation in Afghanistan through the ballot, have raised concerns about the legitimacy of the outcome, as early results point to a dismal 30-35 per cent turnout. In an interview to the ‘Daily Telegraph’, he said he would examine all legal avenues against ‘state engineered election frauds’. “If that was unsuccessful” Abdullah Abdullah said he would refuse to recognise the outcome. Election officials in the backdrop of such warnings by him and other presidential aspirants have said they have contingency plans to deal with any “Iran-style” protests. With 17 per cent of the results released, Karzai has a narrow lead over Abdullah by 42.3 per cent to 33.1 per cent. The winner needs 50 per cent plus one vote to sail through in the first count, otherwise the polls go to the second round. The French foreign ministry has called a meeting of envoys of France, UK, Germany and US to meet in Paris on Wednesday to discuss the Afghan election. The White House has also condemned any acts of fraud in the elections as its Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke had a verbal duel on the issue with President Karzai. — PTI
|
|
Karzai widens lead
Kabul, August 29 Total results released so far come from 35 per cent of polling stations used in only Afghanistan's second direct presidential election, which was held on August 20 and has been overshadowed by claims of massive fraud. Out of 2.03 million valid votes counted, Karzai won 940,558 and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah 638,924, Daud Najafi, Chief Electoral Officer at the Independent Election Commission (IEC), told a news conference. Those results handed Karzai 46.3 per cent of votes announced and Abdullah 31.4 per cent, widening the incumbent's previous lead of around nine per cent.
— AFP
|
|
Autonomy for Pak northern areas
The federal cabinet on Saturday approved a self-rule package for Pakistan's Northern Areas but stopped short of a merger into mainland Pakistan the region that was part of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. The cabinet decided to rename the The Northern Areas as 'Gilgit- Baltistan' and allow it a province like status with full autonomy on the model of Azad Kashmir, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced at a news conference after a special meeting of the cabinet. The reforms package provides for a legislative assembly with a total of 24 members with special seats for women. There will be a governor, chief minister and six other ministers of Gilgit-Baltistan. The region is strategically located sharing borders with China and houses the famous Silk Route and 10 of the world's highest mountains, including K-2 next only to Mount Everest. It was freed from Dogra rule of Kashmir by local volunteers in 1947. Unlike India, Pakistan has not merged Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas on premise that these are part of the disputed state whose final status has to be determined by the Kashmiri people.
Hearing adjourned in 26/11 case
ISLAMABAD: A single judge special anti-terrorist court on Saturday again adjourned the hearing against five suspects accused of involvement in last year's Mumbai terrorist attacks to September 5.
The court was expected to indict the five suspects but deferred it till September 5 when the counsel of one of the accused complained that the prosecution had failed to provide him copy of the charge against his client. Judge Baqar Ali Rana had earlier delayed the hearing last month on July 24 after recording some statements. India expressed disappointment over the long adjournment. 'Once the copies are provided and the court is satisfied that the prosecution has completed the chargesheet, only then will the suspects be charged,' defence lawyers Shahbaz Rajput, who is also representing one of the suspects, told reporters outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the trial is being held in-camera. Media is not allowed to cover the proceedings. The five accused include Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who is being charged as the mastermind and Zarar Shah, alias Abdul Wajid, believed to be a facilitator.
|
|
71 pc want Mush to be tried
Around 71 per cent Pakistanis want former President Gen Pervez Musharraf (retired) to be tried and punished for his unconstitutional steps on November 3, 2007, says a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan. “About 52 per cent favour harsh while 19 per cent support mild punishment to the former President. As many as 15 per cent favour no punishment and the remaining 14 per cent did not give their views,” says the survey launched by the Gilani Research Foundation. The survey findings also showed that while there were no significant differences in views on punishing Musharraf across gender and age, there were notable differences across political affiliations.
|
|
Washington, August 29 Some countries are reporting that as many as 15 per cent of patients hospitalised with the new H1N1 pandemic virus need intensive care, further straining already overburdened healthcare systems, WHO said in an update on the pandemic. “During the winter season, several countries have viewed the need for intensive care as the greatest burden on health services,” it said. Minority groups and indigenous populations may have a higher risk of being severely ill with H1N1. “The risk in these groups is four to five times higher than in the general population,” WHO said. “Possible explanations include lower standards of living and poor overall health status, including a high prevalence of conditions such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension,” it added. WHO advised countries in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread. “Countries with tropical climates, where the pandemic virus arrived later than elsewhere, also need to prepare for an increasing number of cases,” it said. — Reuters
|
|
Japan goes to the polls today
Tokyo, August 29 Media surveys have shown the Democratic Party of Japan is on track for a huge victory over Prime Minister Taro
Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled the country for all but 10 months since its founding in 1955. “At last, it is the election tomorrow, one that we will be able to tell the next generation changed Japanese history,” Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama told a crowd in the city of
Sakai. — Reuters
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
