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US aid not in conflict with our policies: Pak
Three Americans share physics Nobel
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Sarabhai to perform in Dubai
‘Myopic Afghan policy may backfire’
Pak court rejects bail plea of
26/11 suspect
Canada the best place for
immigrants: UNDP
India trip fruitful: Victorian
Premier
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US aid not in conflict with our policies: Pak
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad Putting up a stout defence against the Opposition’s onslaught, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the conditions in the Bill did not conflict with Pakistan’s policies. Besides, he pointed out that the conditions would apply only to still undetermined security assistance and not to $1.5 billion a year civilian aid. Kaira said the conditionality mentioned in the Bill for the security assistance - relating to nuclear non-proliferation, commitment to fight terrorists, strengthening anti-money laundering laws, non-subversion of judicial and political process by security forces, civilian control over the appointment of military leadership and parliamentary oversight of military budget - were national policies that every democratic government would follow even without a US aid. But he said Pakistan was not bound by these conditions and would continue to receive civilian aid even if the US Secretary of State did not certify that Islamabad complied with them. Meanwhile, President Asif Zardari has rejected criticism against the Bill and asked party leaders and ministers to vigorously rebut allegations by the Opposition. He was addressing senior party leadership during a brainstorming session on current political situation in the country. Briefing the media about the meeting, presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the President had termed the Bill only required certification by the US Secretary of State that Pakistan was moving along the path of democracy, nuclear non-proliferation and drug control. Who in Pakistan under the present democratic dispensation would disagree with these goals, he asked. He said the Bill acknowledges Pakistan as a critical friend and ally and also the profound sacrifices it has made in the war on terror. The language of the Bill relating to nuclear proliferation had also been toned down from “ensuring access of US investigators to individual suspected to receiving cooperation in efforts such as providing relevant information from or direct access to Pakistani nationals associated with such networks,” he said. The Bill authorises $1.5 billion per year primarily for economic assistance to Pakistan for five years extendable to 10 years. It supports Pakistan’s struggle against extremist elements and recognises it as a major non-Nato ally in the battle against Al-Qaida and the Taliban.
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Three Americans share physics Nobel
Stockholm, October 6 Charles K Kao was cited for his breakthrough involving the transmission of light in fibre optics while Willard S Boyle and George E Smith were honoured for inventing an imaging semiconductor circuit known as the CCD sensor. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said all three had American citizenship. Kao also holds British citizenship while Boyle is also Canadian. The award's $1.4 million purse will be split between the three with Kao taking half and Boyle and Smith each getting a fourth. The three also receive a diploma and an invitation to the prize ceremonies in Stockholm on December 10. Kao, who was born in Shanghai and lives in Britain, was cited for his 1966 discovery that showed how to transmit light over long distances via fibre-optic cables that became the backbone of modern communication networks that carry phone calls and high-speed Internet data around the world. Boyle and Smith worked together to invent the charged-coupled device, the eye of the digital camera found in everything from the cheapest point-and-shoot to high-speed, delicate surgical instruments. — AP
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Sarabhai to perform in Dubai
Dubai, October 6 To be organised in association with the Indian consulate here, the series of performances at various labour camps will include stage shows, traditional dances and other art forms designed to address some likely concerns among the workers. “The idea is to empower the workers. The impression I get is that the problems are more of a psychological nature. There is a sense of a loss of self-worth among these men,” Sarabhai said after visiting some camps here. Sarabhai plans to hold a total of six performances in various camps on November 19-20. “This is a pilot project and we are trying to reinforce what the government here is already doing," said Venu Rajamony, India's consul general in Dubai.
— PTI
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‘Myopic Afghan policy may backfire’
Washington, October 6 "A shortsighted view of the long-entrenched problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan risks plunging the region into deeper instability, thus reversing recent gains against al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban," scholar Lisa Curtis said. "President Obama must take the long view and avoid shortsighted policies that undermine US friends in Afghanistan and Pakistan while encouraging America's enemies," said Curtis, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, who is invited quite often at Capitol Hill to share her views on South Asia. "If the Obama administration chooses to deny its field commander's request for more troops and instead seeks to engage Taliban leaders in negotiations with the vain hope that these militants will break from their al-Qaeda allies, the results would likely be disastrous," she said. Curtis warned if the United States scales back the mission in Afghanistan at a time when the Taliban views itself as winning the war there, it is possible that the recent gains in Pakistan will be squandered. "Anti-extremist constituencies in Pakistan that are fighting for their lives and the future of Pakistan are begging the United States to ‘stay the course’ in Afghanistan, with full knowledge that a US retreat would embolden extremists region- wide. Washington should listen to these voices," Curtis said. She noted the success of increased drone strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan's tribal border areas over the last year has apparently led some US officials to mistakenly conclude that these types of operations alone can end the threat from al-Qaeda and its extremist allies. — PTI
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Pak court rejects bail plea of
26/11 suspect
Islamabad, October 6 Judge Baqir Ali Rana, who is conducting the trial of the seven suspects booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act, denied bail to Younas Anjum yesterday. The court noted that it had already declined bail to another suspect named Jamil Ahmed. Anjum, a resident of Khaniwal in the south of Punjab province, claimed in his bail application that he was implicated in the Mumbai attacks case. He also claimed he was a poor milkman with eight children and therefore did not have resources to finance the terrorists involved in the attacks.
— PTI
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Canada the best place for immigrants: UNDP Toronto, October 6 With a population of about 34 million, Canada accepts more than 2,50,000 immigrants each year. They come from more than 150 countries, with India and China topping as the two main sources for immigration. More than 30,000 Indians enter Canada as new immigrant each year, though it may take them up to six years to get their applications processed in New Delhi. The UNDP report, which rates Canada as the fourth best country to live in, says immigration has benefitted Canada and other wealthy countries as their populations age. “All Canadians can be proud of what the report says about Canada,” David Morrison, UNDP Executive Secretary, said here on Monday. He said: “There are one billion people on the move and that number is going to grow as we look into the future. So the report argues that migration is a process to be managed rather than problem to be solved. The report really singles out Canada as a model as a receiving country.” The UNDP official said: “Canada is historically a very open country. It is a country based on immigration to a very great extent. Today, Canada is one of the most open countries to migration in the world and accepts a large number of migrants each year, both on a permanent basis and as temporary workers. It also accepts a large number, per capita given Canada's population size, of asylum seekers.” Citing how many other countries make it difficult for new immigrants to enter, the 217-page report says the cost of moving from Vietnam to Japan is six times the annual income per capita in that country. “In one in 10 countries, the costs of a passport are about 10 per cent of the money you could expect to make on an annual basis,” the UNDP Executive Secretary said. — IANS
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India trip fruitful: Victorian Premier
Melbourne, October 6 Brumby said he was able to assure the Indian authorities that his government was doing all it could to curb attacks on the young Indians. “I visited a number of educational establishments, I spoke at a number of business gatherings and I think I certainly got the message out that we are taking concrete action in Victoria,” he said. “We have more police, a bigger police budget, stronger powers, plus a student support package to support the overseas students who study in our state,” he said. Brumby said, “Having spent eight days in India, there are certainly those in India whose concerns have been raised about events in Melbourne over the last few months.”
— PTI
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