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Fresh US sanctions on North Korea
India not positive on restarting talks: Pak
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US will break Taliban momentum, says Obama
7 Pak Hindus die in clash
Black box inventor David Warren dead
Japan plans Mercury space mission
Two killed in attack on Russian power plant
Obama signs historic finance reform Bill Iraq car bomb kills 18
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Fresh US sanctions on North Korea
Seoul, July 21 Clinton, speaking at a joint news conference in Seoul after holding unprecedented security talks with the US and South Korean defence and military officials, said the sanctions were part of measures designed to rein in the regime's nuclear activities by stamping out illegal moneymaking ventures used to fund the programme. “These measures are not directed at the people of North Korea, who have suffered too long due to the misguided priorities of their government,” Clinton said. “They are directed at the destabilising, illicit, and provocative policies pursued by that government.” The UN Security Council has imposed stiff sanctions on North Korea in recent years to punish the regime for defying the world body by testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, and illegally selling arms and weapons. With few allies and diminishing sources of aid, the impoverished North Korea is believed to be turning to illicit ventures to raise the much-needed cash. Pyongyang also walked away last year from a disarmament-for-aid pact with five other nations that had provided the country with fuel oil and other concessions. Clinton, making a high-profile trip to South Korea with Defence Secretary Robert Gates just four months after the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship, urged North Korea to turn away from its path towards continued isolation. — AP
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India not positive on restarting talks: Pak
Islamabad, July 21
“It goes without saying that neither peace nor stability can be achieved in isolation. They need strong partnerships and willingness to build bridges and walk the talk on the high road to peace and equal security,” he said at a seminar here. Qureshi, who was speaking on the topic “India’s cold start military doctrine”, said the subject of discussion was “ironic” as he had recently hosted Krishna for talks “as part of efforts to recommence the stalled dialogue in pursuit of our endeavours for durable peace in the region, albeit without a corresponding positive response”. Pakistan, on its part, was prepared to go the “extra mile” if India took steps to resume the peace process, he insisted. Qureshi’s talks with Krishna here on July 15 ended on an acrimonious note with sharp differences coming out in the open at their joint press conference. Pakistan wanted to discuss Kashmir issue, but India was not ready as it insisted on visible action against terrorism, specifically in the Mumbai attacks case, before other topics could be talked about. Qureshi said Pakistan wanted to discuss all outstanding issues, including the “core issue” of Kashmir so that they could be resolved peacefully. “Pakistan remains firmly committed to the objective of peace and stability in South Asia,” he said. — PTI
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US will break Taliban momentum, says Obama
Washington, July 21 He said although the fight in Afghanistan was not easy, it was "a necessary one" and expressed confidence that they had the right strategy, "We have the right strategy. We are going to break the Taliban's momentum. We are going to build Afghan capacity, so Afghans can take responsibility for their future. We are going to deepen regional cooperation, including with Pakistan," Obama said at a joint news conference yesterday with British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is is on his first White House visit after assuming office in May. He said a wider insurgency in Afghanistan would mean an even larger safe haven for al Qaeda and its terrorist affiliates to plan their next attack. “And we are not going to let that happen.” The president also said he would begin to transfer some of the American troops from the war torn Afghanistan in July 2011.
— PTI
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7 Pak Hindus die in clash
Afzal Khan in Islamabad The clash occurred between two groups of Odho family of the local Hindu community over a dispute related to the construction of a wall. Both the groups used sophisticated weapons in the clash, killing seven persons, including two children, and injuring 11 others. The injured were shifted to Quetta after providing them emergency medical treatment at the Civil Hospital in Dera Allahyar and Suhbatpur.
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Black box inventor David Warren dead
Melbourne, July 21 Warren, who died on Monday at a Melbourne nursing home, was involved in investigating the mystery crash in 1953 of the world's first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, as it was en route to Australia. The challenge of determining the causes of the accident led him to the idea of a recording device that could withstand a crash where there were no survivors and no witnesses, Australian Associated Press reported. While working at Melbourne's Aeronautical Research Laboratory, he advocated voice recorders be used in the cockpit, and designed and constructed the world's first black box prototype - the ARL - in 1956. Black boxes, a crucial instrument in aviation safety, are now installed in passenger airlines and other forms of transport around the world. — PTI
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Japan plans Mercury space mission
London, July 21 According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the mirrors will help the probe to survive temperatures on the surface of the planet. Seiichi Sakamoto, who is heading the JAXA team, has calculated that by reflecting the intense heat of the sun, the temperature of the mirrors can be kept at about 160 degree Celsius, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported. Inside the body of the spacecraft, where the observation equipment will be housed, temperatures should be below 60 degree Celsius. The craft stands around six feet high and is powered partly by solar energy collected by panels that are wrapped around its body. It is designed to constantly rotate to prevent one side becoming too hot. Further tests are scheduled in Europe but JAXA scientists say they hope to be ready to launch the probe, which is at present unnamed, in June 2014. — PTI
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Two killed in attack on Russian power plant
Moscow, July 21 In the pre-dawn strike, the attackers killed the guards at the Baksan hydro-electrical power and carried out two blasts damaging two of three generators, reports said. “Around 5.20 am, a group of unknown people barged into the Baksan hydropower plant in Islamei village and shot two security guards. Then, the assailants made two explosions in the territory of the plant,” RIA Novosti reported. — PTI
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Obama signs historic finance reform Bill
Washington, July 21 The legislation, which some Republicans have pledged to repeal, introduces new consumer protections, checks the power of big banks and cracks down on deceptive practices by credit card firms. “Because of this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street's mistakes. There will be no more tax-funded bailouts," Obama promised. Seeking to restore public confidence in his economic leadership as unemployment flirts with double digits, Obama said the bill would repair the fractures and abuses of which the financial meltdown was born. “It was a crisis born of a failure of responsibility from certain corners of Wall Street to the halls of power in Washington,” said Obama, before adding the legacy-boosting law to his huge health care reform passed earlier this year.
— AFP
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Baquba, July 21 The police have imposed a curfew in the Abu Sayeeda area as they suspect that there may be more bombs in the area, the official said. Diyala province, of which Baquba is the capital, is confessionally and ethnically mixed and has been a persistent target for attack by Al-Qaida militants seeking to exploit its communal tensions. — AFP
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US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced today that Washington would impose new sanctions on communist North Korea in a bid to stem the regime's illicit atomic ambitions.
Melbourne, July 21
A week after his talks with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna ended in sharp differences, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the two countries should not become “hostage to history” and should take “bold decisions” for ushering in peace in the region.