 |
|
|
Maoists swarm Kathmandu streets against govt
|
|
|
Another Indian attacked in Oz
Blasts at Somali mosque kill 39
Pak gets surveillance aircraft
Thimphu talks a step in right direction: Qureshi
|
|
Maoists swarm Kathmandu streets against govt
Kathmandu, May 1 Around 15,000 police personnel in riot gear guarded the city to check any violence. Former rebels want to lead a national unity government as their party is the single largest group in the Constituent Assembly. The protesters raised slogans like “Scrap Indo-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950”, “Topple the puppet government, and form Maoist-led national government” etc. The demonstration was attended by senior Maoist leaders Prachanda, Babnuram Bhattarai, Mohan Vaidya, Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal. Even as the Maoists were preparing for their muscle show and indefinite general strike, talks were being held among the Maoists, the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML in a five-star hotel to find a way out. After the meeting held in the morning, Maoist vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai said he was optimistic that some sort of understanding would be reached before their general strike that would start from tomorrow.— Agencies Nepal urged not to resign
The Nepal ruling coalition government today pressed Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal not to resign and bow down to the mass demonstration by the Maoists. The joint meeting of the parties, held at PM’s residence in Baluwatar, concluded that the democracy in the country would be in threat if the Prime Minister tabled his resignation. Security of Indian firms
India has raised the issue of growing anti-New Delhi rhetoric by the Maoists and targeting of Indian joint ventures in Nepal with Maoist leader Prachanda. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood, who met Prachanda on Thursday, said he had raised the issue of anti-India rhetoric by the Maoist party. “The Maoists have prevented some Indian companies from doing their work and I have taken up the issue with Prachanda and Nepal government,” the envoy said. Nepalese PM refuses to step down Himalayan republic Nepal is likely to head for a showdown from Sunday if major political parties CPN-UML and Nepal Congress fail to strike a deal with main Opposition party UCPN-M, and narrow down their differences in the next couple of hours. But chances to forge political understanding among them, to avoid untoward political confrontation and clashes between the security forces and Maoists cadres, seem very slim due to the rigid stances demonstrated by both ruling alliance and Maoists. Just few minutes after Maoists chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, asked Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to step down and clear the deck for the formation of national unity government under his leadership to resume stalled peace and constitution drafting process, the latter refused to do so.
|
|
Melbourne, May 1 The violent attack on the Indian student took place on the night of April 28, the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ reported without identifying the victim. He was repeatedly hit and kicked by unidentified assailants but the local police said the attack was not racially motivated, according to the report. The police said the student was walking along Amos Street, Westmead, in Sydney’s west just after 7.30 pm local time when he was hit from behind. He fell to the ground and was kicked by three men who stopped only when a passing taxi halted to help the victim. The police crime manager Adam Phillips said there was no evidence the attack was racially motivated. The offenders said “nothing racial” to the victim and the attack followed a number of robberies surrounding train stations in the area, Phillips said. “There have been a number of problems with people being robbed and the attackers are simply belting them and taking their phone and wallet and they’re off,” he said adding there had been “a handful” of attacks on Indian students because they were “making themselves easy victims”. The police are now carrying out a number of operations in the area and had already made 13 arrests for street robberies in the past three weeks, Phillips said. “Again, it’s because a lot of victims do shift work and are walking home to their units and they are making themselves easy victims,” he said. “What we are doing is running operations at the moment trying to prevent these types of attacks and, on Monday, we are going to hand out safety flyers so they are aware of what is going on around them.” The latest attack follows a series of assaults against Indian students in Australia. 21-year-old Nitin Garg, who was stabbed to death here on January 2, was the first victim of such assaults this year. More that 100 attacks have been reported against Indian students in Australia since June last year. — PTI
|
|
Blasts at Somali mosque kill 39 Mogadishu, May 1 He had earlier put the death toll at at least six, but explained that many bodies were removed by family members before he arrived there. The explosions, whose cause is still unknown, went off in the Bakara market area, an Islamist stronghold, while people were assembled in the mosque for midday prayers. "Many people were inside the mosque when the huge explosions went off. I was not far away and I saw people being brought out of the mosque, everyone was bleeding and some were already dead," witness Shukri Yahye said."These were the heaviest explosions ever inside Bakara. It was near the mosque and it was hard to distinguish between the dead and the wounded," Abdulahi Mohamed Hersi, a grocer, said, adding that around 40 people died. "I was planning to leave the area when the first explosion hit near one of the gates of the mosque and there was smoke and flames everywhere around, it was terrible," said Adan Weli, who was slightly injured in the attack.A member with the Al Qaida-inspired Shebab Islamist group, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, had no precise death toll figure but confirmed "scores of people were killed and wounded". — AFP
|
|
Pak gets surveillance aircraft
The United States has handed over two upgraded P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft to Pakistan to help boost maritime security capability. Pakistan received the surveillance maritime aircraft in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday at a ceremony, attended by Vice Admiral Shahid Iqbal HI (M), chief of staff Pakistan Navy.
Being a critical anti-terrorism partner of the international community, Pakistan is currently commanding the Combined Task Force 150, having already fulfilled the responsibility three times. The area of responsibility of the CTF-150, which operates under the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan, stretches from Strait of Hormuz to Red Sea, covering 2.4 million sq miles and bordering 14 nations along the Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Horn of Africa and Red Sea. Pakistan is due to get in phases a total of 7 P-3 C Orion aircraft that are being upgraded by global security company Lockheed Martin.
|
|
Thimphu talks a step in right direction: Qureshi
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan is not shying away from holding a composite dialogue with India and was ready to discuss all bilateral issues. He said that SAARC members have proposed for the SAARC Charter of Democracy. He said that terrorism would be defeated jointly.
Foreign Minister Shah Mamhood Qureshi has repudiated suggestions that India is stealing Pakistan's water from rivers flowing from its part of Kashmir into Pakistani plains. “India ïs not blocking river water or stealing Pakistan's share from rivers allocated to it under the 1960 Indus Basin Water Treaty,” Qureshi said while answering questions of reporters on arrival from Bhutan where he attended the SAARC summit. He said much of the water is being wasted due to mismanagement. The Foreign Minister described the outcome of the latest Indo-Pak bilateral meeting in Thimphu as very positive beyond expectations and a step in the right direction. He said both countries have pledged to make efforts to build on the progress achieved during meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries. “Both leaders recognised that most of the problems result from the trust deficit that exists between them and decided to bridge that gap,” he said. Qureshi said he intends to establish contact with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna as soon as the Indian Parliament's budgetary session concludes on May 7. He said there was no need to accord any nomenclature like 'composite dialogue' to the talks that would be held shortly, but the intent is to discuss all outstanding issues like Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and water sharing.
|
|
|
| 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 | |
Kathmandu, May 1
Talking to media persons after arriving back in Islamabad post the SAARC conference in Bhutan, Qureshi said that the region is confronted with several challenges and said the presence of a trust deficit between the two countries. Qureshi said, “We have Kashmir, Sir Creek, Siachen, water dispute, trade relations and terrorism as the major issues and that can only be addressed through the resumption of dialogue.”