 |
|
|
Now, Typhoon Ketsana claims 31 lives in Vietnam
Gilani: Resolve Kashmir to improve bilateral ties
|
|
|
‘World should probe Kashmir rights abuses’
I allowed Bhutto to return: Mush
US probes Obama murder poll on Facebook
Three women paraded naked
Quake generates tsunami in Pacific
|
|
Now, Typhoon Ketsana claims 31 lives in Vietnam
Manila/Hanoi, September 29 Many areas were inundated, including parts of the port city of Danang, state-run Vietnam Television footage showed. The typhoon was heading southwest towards Laos. Meanwhile, forecasters said a new storm forming in the Pacific Ocean was likely to enter Philippine waters on Thursday and make landfall later on the northern island of Luzon. Ketsana dumped more than a month’s worth of average rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas in one 24-hour period. About 80 percent of the city of 15 million was flooded. The Philippine government has come in for scathing criticism for its response, with many calling it inadequate and delayed. In Vietnam around 170,000 people were evacuated before the typhoon made landfall. A government statement told authorities to keep moving people out of areas threatened by flash floods from related torrential rain that began late on Monday. — Reuters— Reuters
|
|
Gilani: Resolve Kashmir to improve bilateral ties
Islamabad, September 29 “We want to foster better relations with all our neighbours but I think the basic issue for better relations (with India) is the Kashmir issue,” Gilani told a public gathering at Gilgit in the Northern Areas. “As long as they (India) do not resolve the Kashmir issue, relations cannot be improved. As long as this issue is not resolved, peace cannot be established in this region,” he told hundreds of people who attended the meeting at which he announced an autonomy package for the region. “I want to assure you that we want better relations with all our neighbours, including China, Afghanistan, India and Iran, but on the basis of equality because we are a sovereign country and an atomic power. We also have a responsible government,” Gilani said. Pakistan is making efforts to improve relations with India, Gilani said. “We want to have the composite dialogue with them. We want to have peaceful negotiations with them to find a peaceful solution that is accepted by our Kashmiri brothers,” he said. Gilani announced the implementation of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order of 2009, which was recently approved by the government and ratified by President Asif Ali Zardari. Under the order, the Northern Areas have been renamed Gilgit-Baltistan and the region has been virtually given the status of a province. India, which claims the Northern Areas as part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, has protested against the move. Pakistan has rejected India’s objections as well as its contention that Jammu and Kashmir is an “integral part” of its territory. Gilani also unveiled a slew of welfare measures for the Northern Areas, including grants and financial aid for diverse sectors including healthcare, education and research. He also urged the people of the Northern Areas to shun sectarian differences and to live in harmony. The Northern Areas has a sizeable Shia population and Gilgit was recently rocked by sectarian violence and protests that claimed four lives. — PTI
|
|
‘World should probe Kashmir rights abuses’
New York, September 29 Talking to the media in New York, he said the dialogue process between India and Pakistan should re-start and Pakistan welcomes the confidence building measures taken by Indian authorities. However, he said they were not a substitute for settlement of the Kashmir
dispute. Qureshi said Kashmiris have been subjected to prolonged economic blockade and their lives and properties have been attacked. He said the recent incidents in Kashmir are a reflection of an indigenous struggle of the Kashmiri people for independence. By arrangement with the Dawn
|
|
|
I allowed Bhutto to return: Mush
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said he allowed Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan, as no corruption charges were proved against her, a private TV channel reported on Monday. “We had a deal under which corruption cases against Bhutto and others were withdrawn under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in October 2007 because these cases could not be proved in courts despite several years of proceedings” Musharraf told Pakistan journalists in Virginia. Bhutto facilitated Musharraf’s election a day after promulgation of the NRO by breaking away from the rest of the opposition that resigned from the assemblies to deny Musharraf’s election credibility and legitimacy. Lawmakers of her Pakistan People’s Party abstained from voting. Musharraf said Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007, ignoring his advice that she ran the risk of threats to her life from terrorists. He said Sharif brothers tried to pressurise the government at the time through Saudi Arabia to facilitate their return to Pakistan. He, however, denied that he struck any deal with President Asif Zardari for a safe exit on promise of immunity against any prosecution including a treason case. He said he is not criticising the Zardari government because he was busy trying to improve Pakistan’s image internationally. Musharraf said it was his constitutional responsibility to send a reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He said he had planned to hold elections in 2007, but could not do so due to the judicial crisis. Mush summoned in Bhutto’s murder case
Ex-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was served another notice to appear before a court for his alleged role in the killing of former premier Benazir Bhutto. The Lahore HC issued the notices asking Musharraf and others to respond by the second week of November. —
PTI
|
|
US probes Obama murder poll on Facebook
Washington, September 29 The member’s poll, titled “Should Obama be killed?” was taken down Monday, ABC television network reported. Possible answers to the question were “yes, maybe, if he cuts my health care, no.” The Secret Service started an investigation as threatening the US president is a crime. A Facebook spokesman said the company did not know who posted the poll or who responded to it, the Los Angeles Times newspaper said. Until its removal, it had received 730 replies. The outcome of the poll was not available. — DPA
|
|
Three women paraded naked
An angry mob tortured and forced three women to walk naked on the Multan Road in Kasur accusing them of indulging in prostitution.
The mob allegedly attacked a house in a suburban village, beat three women accusing them of running a brothel in the village. However, the victims said all accusations against them were baseless. They made a counter charge that they had a property dispute with Union Council Nazim Ilyas Khanzada who wanted to occupy their home illegally.
|
|
Quake generates tsunami in Pacific
Washington, September 29 Sea level readings indicated a tsunami was generated in the Pacific, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, a branch of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said. The agency earlier issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand, American Samoa and other small Pacific islands. The epicenter of the quake was located 120 miles (190 km) southwest of American Samoa, a remote Pacific island, the US Geological Survey. It struck at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km). In 2004, a quake in the Indian Ocean generated a powerful tsunami that killed tens of thousands people in Asia. —
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 | |
Philippine authorities braced for another storm today as the toll from Typhoon Ketsana rose to 246 killed and the cost of the damage wreaked climbed near $100 million, while Vietnam reported 31 dead.
