Kathmandu, August 30
Nepal's embattled Vice-President today boycotted an oath-taking ceremony, defying a week-long deadline set by the Supreme Court to take fresh oath of office in Nepali language, plunging the country into a constitutional crisis.

Parmananda Jha, who was asked to take fresh oath by this evening, did not attend a ceremony at the President's Office where Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Constituent Assembly chairman Subas Nemwang, among others had gathered.

Jha (65) failed to turn up even as the seven-day deadline set by the SC ended today. The dignitaries left after waiting for Jha for some time.

Jha, an ethnic Madhesi and a former judge from southern Terai region 
bordering India, had courted controversy last year after he took the oath of office in Hindi.

Jha's action leaves the vice-presidential office in limbo as though he would cease to function as the Vice-President, his post can be vacated only by a Parliamentary impeachment motion. A defiant Jha earlier challenged the apex court's directive calling it “unconstitutional” while one of his aides indicated he was going on leave for an indefinite period.

He told newsmen earlier in the day he would consider taking a fresh oath only if the government and the Parliament endorse an amendment Bill, under consideration in Parliament, granting recognition to all languages spoken in Nepal.

There was no immediate reaction from the government or the Supreme Court.

The SC verdict had left Jha with two options - either resign from his post or re-take oath in Nepali. Neither did Jha resign, nor is he likely to attend a fresh oath-taking ceremony.

Commenting on the development, senior Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Tripathi said though Jha had defied the court’s ruling, his position would not be vacated by the act.

“The Vice-President chose a political path to defy the court’s verdict and it has created awkward situation,” he observed.

While the court cannot vacate the elected post, but since he has not taken the oath as defined by the court, he cannot function as a Vice-President.

If the Parliament passes a motion for impeachment by two-third majority votes, only then can he be removed from the position, the lawyer said, pointing out that the VP's post is now in limbo. — PTI 

Washington, August 30
Veteran Senator Edward Kennedy was laid to rest alongside his slain brothers at a Virginia cemetery as the countrymen mourned the demise of the patriarch of the America's most famous political family, eulogised as the “greatest legislator of our time” by President Barack Obama.

Kennedy, who died at the age of 77, on Tuesday last after a long battle with brain cancer, was buried last night at the Arlington National Cemetery at a private ceremony.

Fondly called the ‘Lion of the Senate’, Kennedy, also known as Ted, was laid to rest next to his two brothers — former President John F Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy. With flags over the Capitol flying at half-mast, a squad of seven riflemen fired three volleys in a traditional military funeral ritual, and a bugler sounded taps.

At the burial attended by his family members and close friends, including Vice-President Joe Biden and Senator John Kerry, Cardinal Theodore E McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington read out selected contents of a letter which Kennedy had written to Pope Benedict XVI.

The letter was hand-delivered by Obama to the Pope during his recent visit to the Vatican.

“I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my health declines,” Cardinal McCarrick read from the letter. “I am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage of life,” Kennedy wrote. The US President read the eulogy for Kennedy at the funeral mass attended by three former Presidents -- Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W Bush — besides scores of eminent personalities, lawmakers and mourning supporters, who were fortunate to get a seat for the event. Obama eulogised him as a “champion for those who had none”.

“We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers’ rights or civil rights,” said Obama, who came from his vacation at Martha's Vineyard to attend the funeral mass. At the Capitol Hill, Kennedy's staff bid final farewell to the Senator. — PTI

Tokyo, August 30
Japanese voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in an election today, ousting the ruling conservative party and handing the untested Democrats the job of breathing life into a struggling economy.

The win by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ended a half-century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and breaks a deadlock in parliament, ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.

Democratic Party leader Hatoyama, grandson of a former prime minister, is expected to name a transition team tomorrow to prepare to take power.

The ruling party loss ended a three-way partnership between the LDP, big business and bureaucrats that turned Japan into an economic powerhouse after the country’s defeat in World War II.

That strategy foundered when Japan’s “bubble” economy burst in the late 1980s and growth has stagnated since.

The Democrats will have to move fast to keep support among voters worried about a record jobless rate and a rapidly ageing society that is inflating social security costs.

Media exit polls showed the Democratic Party had won around 320 lower house seats while the LDP slumped to just over 100 seats from 300.

Aso said he took responsibility for the defeat, adding an LDP leadership race to pick a successor should be held soon. The LDP’s performance was the party’s worst since its founding in 1955.

The Democrats have pledged to refocus spending on households with child allowances and aid for farmers while taking control of policy from bureaucrats.

The Democrats want to forge a diplomatic stance more independent of the United States, raising concerns about possible friction in the alliance. — Reuters

Tokyo, August 30
Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso conceded defeat in elections today as media exit polls indicated the opposition had won by a landslide, sending the conservatives out of power after 54 years of nearly unbroken rule amid widespread economic anxiety and desire for change.

“These results are very severe,” Aso said in a news conference at party headquarters, conceding his party was headed for a big loss. “There has been a deep dissatisfaction with our party." Aso said he would have to accept responsibility for the results, suggesting that he would resign as party president.

Other LDP leaders also said they would step down, though official results were not to be released until tomorrow morning.

The left-of-centre Democratic Party of Japan was set to win 300 or more of the 480 seats in the lower house of parliament, ousting the Liberal Democrats, who have governed Japan for all but 11 months since 1955, according to exit polls by all major Japanese TV networks.

The loss by the Liberal Democrats - traditionally a pro-business, conservative party - would open the way for the Democratic Party, headed by Yukio Hatoyama, to replace Aso and establish a new Cabinet, possibly within the next few weeks.

The vote was seen as a barometer of frustrations over Japan's worst economic slump since World War II and a loss of confidence in the ruling Liberal Democrats' ability to tackle tough problems such as the rising national debt and rapidly ageing population.

The Democrats have embraced a more populist platform, promising handouts for families with children and farmers and a higher minimum wage. The Democrats have also said they will seek a more independent relationship with Washington, while forging closer ties with Japan's Asian neighbours, including China. — AP

London, August 30
Michael Jackson's 18,000 pound (8,182 kg) gold-plated casket will be encased in solid concrete to keep it safe from robbers and fanatic fans, his brother Marlon has revealed.

The coffin will be encased in deep concrete to ward off grave robbers and ghouls when it is finally entered at the exclusive Holly Terrace Grand Mausoleum at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Thursday, alongside Hollywood legends like Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable.

Jackson's children - Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Blanket, 7 - have written "Daddy we love you, we miss you" on notes that will be placed in the coffin along with his trademark single white glove, Mirror reported online. "This will be Michael's final curtain call, the last show.

His shell will be gone but his spirit lives on," 52-year-old Marlon said.

The private 45-minute ceremony will be attended by family and close friends including soul legend Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Motown record label founder Berry Gordy.

Jackson would have turned 51 on August 29. — PTI 

London, August 30
British scientists have designed a spacecraft which they claim is capable of saving Earth from a catastrophic asteroid collision.

A team at British space company EADS Astrium has made the spacecraft, "gravity tractor", which will be deployed when an orbiting rock is detected on a collision course with Earth - in fact, it will intercept the asteroid and position itself to fly alongside it, just 160 feet from its surface.

And, from this position, the ten-tonne craft is able to exert a small gravitational force on the rock, pulling the asteroid towards it. By gradually modifying its course, over several years, the gravity tractor is able to slowly shift the asteroid's trajectory enough to ensure it misses the Earth.

According to the scientists, the spacecraft could divert asteroids that are up to 430 yards across - big enough to release 100,000 times more energy than the nuclear bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima in 1945.

Dr Ralph Cordey of Astrium was quoted by 'The Daily Telegraph' as saying: "Anything bigger than 30 metres across is a real threat to the Earth. Unfortunately it is a matter of when rather than if one of them hits us.

"The gravity tractor exploits the principals of very basic physics - every object with a mass has its own gravity that affects objects around it. It can move fairly large objects 300 metres to 400 metres across.

"These asteroids are hurtling around our solar system at 10 km per second, so when you scale that up, you just need a tiny nudge to send it off course."

The team has designed the gravity tractor and planned details of the mission. The craft can be built in a relatively short time, using existing technologies, if an asteroid was detected on a collision course. But, it's likely that it would require an international agreement to send a mission in space.

"We've designed the mission using the technology that we currently have available, so it could be put into practice at any time," Christian Trenkel, who has worked on the mission plans, said. — PTI 

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday accused India of dragging its feet on dialogue with Pakistan because of internal political expediencies.

“Let it be known that Pakistan is ready to engage with an open heart and discuss issues face to face with India, but it is India that is shying away from a dialogue that is the only way forward,” a visibly agitated Foreign Minister told media persons at the Foreign Office when asked to comment on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that atmospherics were not conducive for talks with Pakistan.

“What was Sharm El Sheikh? What was the agreement? If there is going to be no dialogue, then where are we going?” Qureshi wondered while referring to the joint statement issued after Manmohan Singh-Gilani meeting at the Red Sea Egyptian Resort where both leaders had agreed that dialogue was the only option and that action against terrorism should be de-linked from the talks process.

The Foreign Minister asked the Indian government to suggest a way out if the two countries were not to talk to each other.

“If the road forward is dialogue, then why are they shying away? They should come and sit and talk,” he said.

He emphasised that Pakistan was firmly holding on to its stance that normalisation would benefit both nations, but it was India that was wavering on its commitment to resolve the problem through talks.

About India’s double speak, he said: “They (India) hesitate on dialogue, but they want cooperation against terrorism and give us dossiers. They want progress and then shy away from talks. Both things cannot go together.”

Sydney, August 30
A recent research has determined that an ancient, indecipherable text from the Indus Valley civilisation is being decoded with the help of a computer program. According to a report by ABC News, though it has yet to decrypt this mysterious language, the program may help to decipher other ancient texts whose meanings have been long since forgotten.

“The computer program operates on sequences of symbols, so it can be used to learn a statistical model of any set of unknown or known texts," said Rajesh Rao, University of Washington professor of computer science and co-author of the research paper.

Roughly 5,000 seals, tablets and amulets, filled with about 500 different symbols, were created somewhere between 2600 and 1900 BC by a people living in the Indus Valley.

Despite numerous attempts to decipher the symbols, a full translation has long eluded scientists. In fact, one recent paper even cast doubt on whether the Indus Valley script was even a written text at all, but rather political or religious symbols.

To start the search for what meaning the text might hold, American and Indian scientists input the symbols into a computer program and ran a statistical analysis of the symbols and where they appear in the texts.

“We used the latter to show that the Indus texts that have been discovered in West Asia are statistically very different from the texts found in the Indus Valley, suggesting that the Indus people used their script to represent different content or language when living in a foreign land," said Rao.

For now, however, the Indus Valley script, along with many other ancient texts, remains indecipherable, but scientists are hopeful that computers will eventually decode the symbols on them. — ANI