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China, US settle row over blind dissident
Bomber targets Pak forces, 24 killed
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Location of Osama’s body bag identified?
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China, US settle row over blind dissident
Beijing, May 4 The Chinese government, which earlier demanded an apology from the US for allowing human rights activist Chen Guangcheng to take shelter in its embassy, gave in today and said he could apply to obtain necessary travel documents to go abroad. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a press release that Chen may apply to study abroad according to China’s laws. Answering a host of questions, Liu later told a media briefing that Chen could get a passport. His “criminal record” of the past may not come in the way as he has already served sentence in a previous case, he said. The blind activist, who is convalescing in a hospital here appealed to US leaders yesterday for political asylum for him and his family. Appreciating China’s softening of stand on Chen, whose week-long stay in the US embassy virtually overshadowed the two-day high level US-China strategic and economic dialogue here, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would provide all necessary assistance. Talking to the media after the conclusion of the two-day dialogue, Clinton told the media here that Chen has confirmed to the US Ambassador to China Garry Locke today, that he wants to go the US along with his wife and two children to pursue studies there. “In that regard we are also encouraged by the official statement issued by the Chinese government confirming that he can apply to travel abroad to pursue his studies,” she said. China had earlier declined to release well known human rights activist Liu Xiaobo even after he was awarded Nobel Prize last year. Though activists like Liu and Chen are famous abroad, they are hardly known here as their activities are blacked out by the official media and they become less important once they move out of the country. The two-day strategic and economic dialogue which was rocked by Chen’s affair, however, ended on a positive note. The dialogue focusing on bilateral, global, trade and economic issues yielded positive results, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in his meeting with Clinton and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner here today. Hu said he appreciated the “excellent work” of the teams from the two sides and the relationship is stronger than it has ever been. During the meeting with Hu, Clinton said the US-China relationship is stronger than it has ever been. “There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we find more and more opportunities for cooperation,” Chinese state run Xinhua news agency quoted Clinton as saying. Hu inaugurated the two day dialogue yesterday calling on the two countries to work a “new type of relationship” to break the traditional belief that big powers only have conflicts. While meeting Clinton and Geithner, Premier Wen Jiabao called for long term plan of cooperation. Both sides should map out a long-term plan for bilateral cooperation, focusing on the economic, trade, finance and investment sectors, he said. A joint statement issued at the end of the talks said the dialogue served as a unique platform for the two countries to promote understanding, expand consensus, manage differences, improve mutual trust, and increase cooperation. The two sides reviewed the progress of the past three years of bilateral ties. The United States and China recognise that the breadth and depth of their nations’ interests and cooperation prove that they have a stake in each other’s success, it said. “The two sides decided to strengthen bilateral relations, including through increased cooperation and coordination on a range of pressing global and regional issues, to build a new model of bilateral relations in the 21st century,” it said. — PTI
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Bomber targets Pak forces, 24 killed
A teenage suicide bomber targeted security personnel in a bustling market in the restive Bajaur tribal region of northwest Pakistan today, killing 24 persons and injuring nearly 60 others. The security personnel had gathered at a shop at the bazar in Khar, the main town of Bajaur Agency near the Afghan border, after conducting a patrol when the teenage attacker approached them and detonated his suicide vest, witnesses said. Four personnel of the Levies militia, including the local chief of the force, and a government official were among the dead. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying it wanted to kill the local chief and deputy of the Levies force as they were fighting militants in the region. Witnesses said the suicide bomber was aged between 14 and 17 years.
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Twin blasts kill 15 in Russia’s Dagestan Moscow, May 4 “At least 15 persons have been killed, including 12 police officers and three rescue workers from Russia’s emergency services ministry,” a spokeswoman told AFP, adding that the dead in yesterday’s blasts included civilians. And while early reports had said more than 20 people had been wounded that figure could rise, she added. The first blast went off at 10.30 pm near a traffic police post in Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala: a car exploded as police tried to stop it for an identity check, said the spokeswoman. — AFP
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Mid-term verdict goes against UK coalition London, May 4 As results trickled in from last night, smiles among the opposition Labour ranks grew wider, while the Conservative and Liberal Democrats camp reflected the gloomy weather that has gripped Britain for the last week. Conservatives candidates lost to Labour even in Prime Minister Cameron’s constituency in Oxfordshire. Voting projections showed that if the pattern of voting yesterday were replicated in a General Election, the Labour party would easily regain the keys of 10, Downing Street. — PTI
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Socialist Hollande on track as French campaign closes Paris, May 4 Boosted by an endorsement from centrist Francois Bayrou, Hollande urged voters to hand him an “ample victory” on Sunday so he would have a strong mandate to implement his left-wing programme and fight EU-driven austerity. Polls showed Sarkozy, who insisted the race was still close, narrowing the gap slightly but still five to seven points behind the frontrunner. “I want an ample victory,” Hollande told RTL radio. — AFP
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Location of Osama’s body bag identified?
London, May 4 “I’ve located where they threw him away,” Daily Mail quoted him as telling Spanish newspaper El Mundo. “I’m the only one with this information.” With the help of recent photos released by the US Navy showing the Laden’s final resting place, Warren claims to have pinpointed the location of the body bag, and now wants $200,000 to recover it from the sea.
— PTI
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A suicide attack targeting security forces on Friday killed at least twenty persons, including four policemen, and wounded over 42 in the restive Bajaur tribal region of northwest
Pakistan.
