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PPP, MQM leaders act to save coalition
CO2 emission rate has tripled this decade
Drive to recover Baloch missing youth
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Fonseka jumps into fray, formally
Nepal army expresses concerns
UK, France against ‘double standards’
Manmohan Singh meets Brian Lara
Dubai bubbles up humour mills
‘Aliens exist on Earth’
Indian among 26 missing in Russia train accident
‘Voice Achievers Award’ for Lisa Ray
‘If elected, will forge best ties
with India’
Brown: Pak must do more to break
Al-Qaida
US forces missed chance to get
Osama: Report
Fears of Muslim backlash as Swiss vote to ban minarets
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PPP, MQM leaders act to save coalition
The top PPP and MQM leadership swung into action last night, to save their fragile coalition and pull the two parties from a perilous path of confrontation that could have spelled the fall of federal government, under Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
Media reports said, President Asif Zardari directed the group in Sindh government led by interior minister Zulfiqar Mirza from issuing abrasive statements against the MQM. In a reciprocal move, MQM chief Altaf Hussain instructed his party leaders, not to respond to Mirza's allegations. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, talking to reporters here on Eid day said the MQM was an integral part of his coalition that will continue to stay. He said there was no dispute between the two. Mirza had stunned the MQM in a speech to a huge gathering of PPP workers, on November 25, accusing the MQM of playing the game of the establishment, by opposing the introduction of the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and conspiring to destabilize the present democratic order. Mirza followed it up by another outburst against the MQM next day, in a news conference, alleging that it was the main beneficiary of the NRO and got nearly 8 thousand of its top leaders and activists pardoned from charges of heinous crimes including murder, kidnapping and extortion. He said Altaf Hussain alone faced 72 cases of murder and inciting violence. Mirza urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan, to take notice of the MQM cases, saying party activists were released by courts on the basis of fake documents. While President Zardari was main speaker of the PPP gathering, chief minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah flanked Mirza in the news conference next day, strengthening suspicions by MQM leaders that he enjoyed their blessings. Mirza also called for investigation into May 12 (2007) bloodbath in Karachi, holding the MQM responsible for it, in a bid to block the entry of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. MQM chief Altaf Hussain directed leaders of his party not to issue any statement against the PPP leadership as a “goodwill gesture”. “Demonstrate statesmanship in the prevailing tense situation and exercise great caution when issuing any statement,” he asked members of his party according to a press release issued from London. The MQM chief said that he had issued the directives after a similar statement had been issued by President Asif Zardari. But a spokesman for the Presidency said no such statement had been issued. The relationship between the two parties soured early this year, when the MQM opposed PPP’s plan to abolish the local government system, introduced by former military ruler, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf. The parties held a series of talks, and the last round was held in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month.
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CO2 emission rate has tripled this decade
Washington, November 29 The team comprises some 30 researchers from around the world, including Scott C. Doney, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Richard A. Houghton, senior scientist and acting director of the Woods Hole Research Centre (WHRC). Since 2000, the scientists documented an overall increase of 29 per cent in global carbon dioxide emissions. They attributed the rise to increasing production and trade of manufactured products, particularly from emerging economies, the gradual shift from oil to coal and the planet's waning capacity to absorb the gas that is the main cause of global warming. Doney led a team that developed ocean-model simulations for estimating the historical variations in air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes. “Over the last decade, CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions have continued to climb despite efforts to control emissions,” he said. “Preliminary evidence suggests that the land and ocean may be becoming less effective at removing CO2 from the atmosphere, which could accelerate future climate change.” A key element of the report, according to Doney, was the work of Houghton, acting director of WHRC. “He developed the estimates of carbon emissions from deforestation, a major source of human-driven carbon emissions,” Doney said, according to WHOI release. “Although the emissions of CO2 from deforestation accounted for only about 15 per cent of total CO2 emissions over the period 2000-2008, reducing deforestation is one of the activities that could contribute significantly to stabilising the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere,” Houghton said. These finding were published in the current issue of Nature Geoscience. —
IANS
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Drive to recover Baloch missing youth
The government has begun "recovering" most of the missing youth and other nationalists in Balochistan, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced here in a bid to address one of the trickiest issue that aggravated the near insurgency conditions in country's strategic province.
"A substantial number will celebrate Eid ul Azha on Saturday," Gilani told reporters here. The government announced in a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday a package of political, administrative, constitutional and financial measures as a "starting point" in redressing the grievances of the largest but most backward province of the country that has suffered neglect for last six decades since independence. While Gilani offered apology to the people of Balochistan, nationalist leadership rejected the package as mere rhetoric and devoid of any concrete moves. They insisted that separatist tendencies would continue to grow unless government resolved the issue of missing persons, bring to justice the killers of Nawab Akbar Bugti and other nationalists leaders, grants full provincial autonomy and halts military operation. Apparently responding to criticism that the package was announced in haste without taking nationalist leadership into confidence, Gilani hinted that he is in contact with estranged Baloch leaders inside the country and living abroad. He said he wants to talks to them for the resolution of their problems in line with the constitution. “I want meaningful dialogue with the leaders living abroad," he said, adding: "I would like to tell them this is a golden opportunity. This is your own country. Come back and contribute to its progress. We are ready to discuss anything under the constitution." However, he said he did not want to disclose “prematurely” the names of the Baloch leaders he was in contact with. The Prime Minister dispelled the impression that the Balochistan package could be accepted or rejected by the Parliament. “This is not a package. It is a way forward. We have tabled it at the highest forum - a joint sitting of Parliament - to get more feedback from other parties to finetune it further ... [it has not been tabled] for approval or rejection,” he said. The two Houses will jointly meet against on Tuesday to debate the package. The Prime Minister said that he had formed a Cabinet committee to expedite the implementation and monitoring of recommendations in the package. “These recommendations have been prepared after taking all the stakeholders on board,” he said. He said he had appointed an establishment secretary for Balochistan and hoped that the recruitment of Baloch students would begin after Eid. Gilani said the situation in Afghanistan directly affected Pakistan, and “that’s why I asked the US to take Pakistan into confidence over its new Afghan policy”. “The proposed US troop surge in Helmand province of Afghanistan - which borders Balochistan - will certainly have an impact on Balochistan ... more US troops in Helmand can trigger an influx of refugees as well as militants into Balochistan,” he said. According to a private TV channel, Gilani said a reshuffle in the federal cabinet would be made after Eid.
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Fonseka jumps into fray, formally
Sri Lanka's former top Gen Sarath Fonseka, the architect of the military victory against LTTE, on Sunday announced he would run for presidency in January polls as the common candidate of the opposition, setting the stage for an electoral battle with incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa, another war hero.
"I am answering the question you have been repeatedly asking me for several weeks. Yes. I am entering politics. Yes. I am contesting for the post of President", General Fonseka told a packed press briefing held in Colombo. Fonseka said the reason he reluctantly entered politics was because he could not stand by and watch the deterioration of democracy, living standards, media freedom etc in the country while one family was thriving in the aftermath of the military victory over the LTTE. "We did not defeat the world's most dastardly terrorist to hand the country over to a dictator," Fonseka said. President Rajapakse has been under increasing criticism in the country for his failure to crackdown on corruption as well as growing nepotism. General Fonseka said: People can trust him to deliver on his promises because he had made two promises - one when he took over as Army commander to not leave the job of finishing off the LTTE to his successor and the other six months ago that the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran would not live to deliver another 'Hero's Day' speech. "I have achieved both of them," he said. The election campaign likely to turn bitter and personal in the days ahead as the once close friends have turned foes and are now in a contest to win the highest office in the land.
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Koirala-Prachanda Deal Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu Despite the Maoists refusal about the media report that their party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala had reached a secret deal to oust President Ram Baran Yadav and topple Madhav Kumar Nepal-led coalition, the Nepal Army has taken it seriously. Just a day after the Nepali media carried out a sensational report that the two former Prime Ministers Koirala and Prachanda had reached a secret deal in Singapore recently, chief of army staff Chhatraman Singh Gurung conferred with the President Yadav, Prime Minister Nepal and defence minister Bidhya Bhandari on Saturday and raised serious concerns over the issue. According to a highly placed government source, though Saturday was public holiday army chief Gurung met President Yadav, PM Nepal and defence minsiter Bhandari separately and expressed firm commitment that the army would never support “a political deal” reached between Koirala and Prachanda in Singapore. Gurung also reportedly said the Nepal army has obtained substantial evidence about the highly controversial media report that Koirala and Prachanda hatched a plot to oust both President and Prime Minister and wear their caps, respectively. Nepali media and high-level political leaders claimed that they have got a tape containing secret deal between the two leaders, which was copied through the CCTV and brought in Kathmandu from Singapore with the help of some secret agents. However, Maoists leader and chief of the Foreign Affairs Department Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who had also accompanied Prachanda to Singapore and met Koiriala in hospital bed where the latter was admitted for medical treatment, had refused the media report saying that it was a plot to sabotage his party and tarnish its image. Just a day after Koirala was taken to Singapore for medical treatment, Prachanda on November 17 had rushed there mysteriously and held a 25-minute long conversation. While staying in Singapore, Prachanda had met with Indian Prof SD Mooni as well. Later while talking to the media after returning from Singapore, Prachanda said he was optimistic to end the political deadlock after holding dialogue with Koirala abroad. He had also claimed that the present government would be replaced by the new one that the Maoists have been calling for national unity government to be led by the Maoists. Thereafter, the Maoists lawmakers, who were disrupting the parliament session and barring the government to pass its fiscal budget, had cleared the deck by opening the parliament session for three days to pass the Budget.
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Fight against terror
Port of Spain, November 29 The three countries also highlighted the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of Mumbai attacks and "vigorous efforts" to deal with terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and Pakistan, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held separate meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Premier Gordon Brown here. During the meetings on the sidelines of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the situation in Afghanistan-Pakistan region was also discussed. "There was convergence of views that there should be no double standards in fighting terrorism," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash told reporters while briefing on Singh's meetings. He did not elaborate but the view is an endorsement of India's stand that Pakistan should not be selective while fighting terrorism. India says that while Pakistan has gone all out in its fight against Taliban, it is turning a blind eye to groups like Lashkar-e Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which continue to target India. During the course of discussions, the leaders agreed on the need for international community to stay the course in Afghanistan for the security and stability of that country and peace elsewhere. — PTI
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Manmohan Singh meets Brian Lara
Port-of-Spain, November 29 Lara and Manmohan chatted for several minutes on cricket and a possible visit by Lara to India, informed sources said. His meeting with Lara was hurriedly arranged before his departure. Manmohan Singh was here to attend the Commonwealth summit. —
IANS
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Dubai bubbles up humour mills
Dubai, November 29 The humour mills go a step further saying ‘Dubai is offering one celebrity free with each apartment purchased in its posh real estate properties’. Various realty projects like The Palm and The World, being developed on man-made islands have shot to fame with many celebrity purchasers, whose names have been extensively used to lure non-celeb buyers. These include stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and sports. However, these celebrities are also said to be sitting on huge losses as the value of these properties plunged sharply, first due to the global financial crisis and now with this latest crisis. Another joke goes something like this - ‘How do you define optimism? It is a realtor building luxury apartments in Dubai and expecting it would be sold.’ The next talks about how the US was saved from the carnage when markets, in almost all other countries witnessed tremors of Dubai crisis. “There is a new reason to celebrate Thanksgiving day-- that is to thank Dubai for disclosing its crisis on this day when markets were closed in the US. PS Dubai and other West Asian markets were also saved as they were also closed for Eid.’ Another joke says: ‘Dubai was building high-rise buildings in the middle of sea (referring to projects like The Palm and The World). As recession made cement expensive and those working on projects were corrupt contractors from India, the bricks were put together only with sand and without cement. The result: All collapsed and even sand dunes were washed away.’ The humourists are also seeing cash-strapped airlines rushing to start flights on long-neglected Kerala sector as a host of Malayalis could return to India soon. There is also a new definition for Dubai: It’s a place visited by those with money to meet those with experience. At the end of the visit they exchange their assets. Another SMS asks: How may Arabs does it take for a deal? The answer is two --- first to make the drawing of a building on sand and another to sell it before wind blows it away. One about a person just back from Dubai asks the difference between a Dubai-return and a large pizza. The answer: A large pizza can feed a family of four. And making you laugh at the cost of yet another Dubai- return quotes him as saying: “This crisis is worst than a divorce. I’ve lost half my net worth and I still have a wife.” —
PTI
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‘Aliens exist on Earth’
London, November 29 "Aliens are currently all around us and are watching us all the time," said Lachezar Filipov, deputy director of the Space Research Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. "They are not hostile towards us, rather, they want to help us but we have not grown enough in order to establish direct contact with them," Filipov said. "The human race is certainly going to have direct contact with the aliens in the next 10 to 15 years" but through the power of thought and not through radiowaves, he said. Even the seat of the Catholic church, the Vatican, had agreed that aliens existed. —
PTI
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Indian among 26 missing in Russia train accident
Moscow, November 29 “As of today 25 persons have died and 26 are missing,” Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the meeting of high-level commission headed by Vice-premier Viktor Zubkov. According to list of passengers of the Neva Express train the Indian national, Rajesh R, holder of passport 33 E 1906224 was travelling in bogey number 10 from which last three bogies, number 11, 12 and 13 detached on derailing. With high probability of Rajesh’s survival his name is not in the list of injured and hospitalised people. “The names of 26 people missing are neither in the casualty list nor in the list of people evacuated from the accident site,” Shoigu said in a televised statement. Meanwhile, Health and Social Development Minister Tatiana Golikova said there were six foreigners on board the train, did not mention the Indian, whose name and passport number was in the list posted on the railway website. She said two of them, an Italian and a Belgian, injured in the crash. The data on the other four — an Azerbaijani, two Ukrainians and a Belarusian — were being specified. Forensic experts have recovered fragments of an improvised explosive device (IED) at the site of Neva Express accident, substantiating the official claim of “terror strike”. “The derailment was caused by the explosion of an IED. According to forensic experts the force of the blast was equivalent to 7 kilo of TNT,” FSB security chief Alexander Bortnikov said at an urgent meeting called by President Dmitry Medvedev at his countryside residence outside Moscow. Medvedev had opened the high-level meeting observing a minute silence in memory of terror victims. Three bogies of the Neva Express went off the tracks near the town of Bologoye on the border between Tver and Novgorod regions. Earlier, Emergency Situations minister Sergei Shoigu said 39 people were dead as the last three bogies of the luxury train, which is popular with business executives and government officials, derailed. Shoigu did not rule out that they might have left the accident scene on their own or could be in the nearby houses. Earlier, the prosecutor-general had launched a case under the articles “terror act” and ‘illegal possession and use of arms and explosives. —
PTI
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‘Voice Achievers Award’ for Lisa Ray
Toronto, November 29 Lisa Ray, who is undergoing surgery for blood cancer, has been honoured in abstentia, for her performance in Deepa Mehta's film "Water". The Award, which carries a plaque and a citation, was presented at a function yesterday organised by Voice, an ethnic weekly, at its annual gala dinner here. The other award winners were: Dr Gopal Bhatnagar (cardiac surgery); M G Vassanji (arts); Meenu Sikand (social work); Raja Panjwani (sports); Kuldip Rai Sahi (business) and Asha Luthra (business). Mrs Asha Luthra, President of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) — who received the award for promoting bilateral trade and investment between India and Canada — thanked Indo-Canadian community for the honour. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister for Foreign Affairs and several members of parliament, also spoke on the occasion and commended contributions made by ethnic media in promoting Indian heritage and culture. —
PTI
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‘If elected, will forge best ties
with India’
Colombo, November 29 "They (India) are the closest neighbour and powerful neighbour in the region. So we have to obviously have 100 per cent best relationship with India," he told his maiden press conference. "If somebody says okay I worked in China or Pakistan, that was only for the purpose of getting approved .... the military equipment to fight the war (against the LTTE)," he said. "The relationship with India has always been at the highest (level). Even in future I (would) like to maintain the best of relationship," Fonseka said. —
PTI
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Brown: Pak must do more to break
Al-Qaida
London, November 29 Brown told the BBC that eight years after the 2001 attacks on the US, nobody had been able "to spot or detain or get close to" the al-Qaida leader. Pakistan's security services must join the "major effort" to isolate the terrorist group, he warned. He said more progress was needed "in taking out" Bin Laden and his number two Ayman Zawahiri. Brown said progress had been made against the Taliban in south Waziristan by Pakistan's government, but added: "We've got to ask ourselves why, eight years after September the 11th, nobody has been able to spot or detain or get close to Osama bin Laden, nobody's been able to get close to [Ayman] Zawahiri, the number two in al-Qaida". Brown said: "And we've got to ask the Pakistan authorities, security services, army and politicians to join us in the major effort that the world is committing resources to, and that is not only to isolate al-Qaida, but to break them in Pakistan." —
PTI
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US forces missed chance to get
Osama: Report
Washington, November 29 The report, written by staff working for the Democratic majority on the committee, said the Al-Qaida leader’s escape was a lost opportunity that altered the course of war and paved the way for insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “Removing the Al-Qaida leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat,” the report said.“But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed him to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide,” it said. US soldiers and Afghan militia forces launched a large-scale assault on Tora Bora mountains in 2001 in pursuit of Osama, believed to be hiding in the region with supporters after the Taliban government were removed from power. US military leaders allowed Afghan militiamen to spearhead the assault and Osama managed to escape. The report said US commanders rejected requests for more troops to launch a rapid assault in the area, relying instead on air strikes and the Afghan militia to lead the attack and Pakistan’s Frontier Corps to seal off escape routes. The report was especially critical of military leaders under former President George W Bush —
Reuters
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Fears of Muslim backlash as Swiss vote to ban minarets
London, November 29 The government may have to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland after a majority of the voters backed the move in a referendum supported by a right-wing initiative. The move by the People’s Party, the country’s largest party in terms of popular support and membership in the Parliament, is part of a broader European backlash against a growing Muslim immigration. “The initiative would appear to be accepted. There is a positive trend. It’s a huge surprise,” Swiss television reported after the referendum finished. According to the a survey, an estimated 59 per cent of voters backed the ban. A majority of cantons were also in support of the initiative, meaning it will become a constitutional amendment, a news report said. “A majority have voted for a nationwide ban on the construction of minarets,” institute’s director Claude Longchamp was quoted as saying by the Sunday Telegraph on Swiss Radio DRS today. Both the government and the Parliament had rejected the initiative as an earlier survey that showed 53 per cent against the move, the report said. It has stirred fears of violent reactions in Muslim countries and an economically disastrous boycott by wealthy Muslims who bank, shop and vacation in Switzerland.—
PTI
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Sri Lanka's former top Gen Sarath Fonseka, the architect of the military victory against LTTE, on Sunday announced he would run for presidency in January polls as the common candidate of the opposition, setting the stage for an electoral battle with incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa, another war hero.
