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Pak, Beijing ink 6 pacts
Terror camps still running in Pak: US
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Uproar over opening of Jhelum link canal
Brain chip may give mobility to paralysed patients
India an important partner: Dodd
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Pak, Beijing ink 6 pacts
Pakistan and China have reiterated their resolve to further strengthen strategic relationship between the two countries, increase the level of economic cooperation and take concrete measures to further bring their people closer. Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardi, who is on visit to China, met Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday and President Hu Jintao on Wednesday. The two countries pledged to make joint efforts to fight terrorism, and signed six deals of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, healthcare, justice, media, economy and technology. Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Asif Ali Zardari witnessed the signing of the deals. During the two-hour talks before the signing ceremony, Jintao and Zardari also vowed to fight the “three forces” of extremism, separatism and terrorism jointly. “China and Pakistan are both victims of terrorism and cooperation between the two countries in fighting the ‘three forces’ complies with the interests of people of both countries and is conducive to peace, stability and security in the region,” Jintao added. “China is a friend and a strategic partner, committed to the promotion of stability and economic progress of Pakistan” is how Jintao summed up the strategic relations. Zardari responded by saying: “It is our belief that Pakistan can act as a force multiplier for China and we will continue to work towards this end.” The President’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said the two leaders discussed a host of issues relating to strategic partnership, reviewing the steps taken thus far and also charting a future course of action. On trade cooperation, Jintao said China would explore new ways to cooperate as well as cement cooperation between the two countries in areas such as energy, transportation, telecommunication, infrastructure and agriculture.
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Terror camps still running in Pak: US
Washington, July 8 The Justice Department pointed to this while stating that the plot to bomb New York's subway system, uncovered in September 2009, was directed by a senior Al-Qaida leadership in Pakistan. It also said the leadership plotted to use western operatives to attack targets in the Britain. The eleven-page chargesheet, which was filed in a New York federal court, said five of the accused had received training from the Al-Qaida in Waziristan in 2008 and early 2009. US prosecutors had accused the Al-Qaida leadership of directing the accused to attack the New York subway system last year. The Department of Justice unsealed charges against the five alleged members of the Al-Qaida, including Adnan Shukrijumah whose name is on the FBI's list of most-wanted terrorists, for plotting attacks on the US and the UK. The charges revealed that the plot against New York's subway system uncovered in September 2009 involving Colorado resident Najibullah Zazi was directed by a senior Al-Qaida leadership in Pakistan, and was also directly related to a scheme by the Al-Qaida plotters in Pakistan to use Western operatives to attack a target in the UK. — PTI
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Uproar over opening of Jhelum link canal
The row over distribution of river water among provinces in Pakistan has erupted into a major crisis with the announcement by acting chairman of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) for opening the Chashma-Jhelum link canal releasing 10,000 cusecs of water to Punjab.
IRSA members representing three smaller provinces, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, have objected to the decision to open the canal. Sindh's Mohammed Khan Memon and federal member Bashir Ahmed Dahr, on Thursday submitted their resignations in protest against the decision. The latest twist in the water issue has once again threatened to create acrimony among the provinces. Sindh and Balochistan are of the view that Chashma-Jhelum is a flood canal and not for perennial use. The Punjab government says lessened flows in the canal will adversely affect agriculture in the south of the province. The Punjab government had recently written to IRSA and asked for the release of 15,000 cusecs. But both federal government and the Sindh government have opposed the move. IRSA says water flow from Indus has registered increase in recent days that has provided enough opportunity to meet Punjab's demand. The stalemate over the Chashma-Jhelum canal has persisted for the past several months. It has resulted in boycotts of meetings, protests and resignations by IRAS members when things have not gone their way.
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Brain chip may give mobility to paralysed patients
London, July 8 The scientists hope that within five years, they will be able to offer patients with damaged spinal cords, robotic devices that will enable them to move their arms or legs at will. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, heading a University of Leicester team working on the project, says such patients retain the ability to "think" commands from the brain, reports telegraph.co.uk. "The guy can see the object he wants to reach, the guy can have the intention to reach to the object, the brain can send a command to the arm - 'reach for this cup of tea' - but the signal gets broken at the level of the spinal cord," he said. "If we can get the signals from these neurons and interpret them with what is called decoding algorithms, then we can move a robot device placed on the paralysed arm," he added. The more ambitious idea is not to use robotic devices but to replace the broken connection to the limb with an artificial link. The brain chip would then send signals to an implanted stimulator in the spinal cord. This would generate electrical impulses to make muscles contract and move paralysed limbs.
— IANS
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India an important partner: Dodd
Washington, July 8 “India is an important friend and economic ally to the US, and I look forward to work to bring India and the US closer as two nations that share common values and aspirations,” Dodd said. Dodd is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of its subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and the Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus. “The meeting with Prime Minister Singh was productive and positive, and I am grateful to him for welcoming me to his wonderful country,” said Dodd, who is currently on a visit to India.
— PTI
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Resolve
to strengthen ties as Zardari meets Jiabao
