W O R L D

Obama, Romney trade playful jabs at dinner
New York, October 19
With two bitter debates behind and the countdown having begun to next month's presidential election, rival candidates, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, showed that American politicians were not without their sense of humour when both took a short break from the campaign trail to trade witty barbs at a charity dinner event here. Taking the podium first at the annual Al Smith Dinner on Thursday in midtown Manhattan, tuxedo-clad Romney joked about his wealth, saying it was nice to "finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house."

US President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney share a laugh at a charity dinner in New York. — Reuters

Obama, Romney trade playful jabs at dinner

New York, October 19
With two bitter debates behind and the countdown having begun to next month's presidential election, rival candidates, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, showed that American politicians were not without their sense of humour when both took a short break from the campaign trail to trade witty barbs at a charity dinner event here.

Taking the podium first at the annual Al Smith Dinner on Thursday in midtown Manhattan, tuxedo-clad Romney joked about his wealth, saying it was nice to "finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house."

He also quipped that he and the President chatted pleasantly at dinner, "as if Tuesday never happened", a reference to their lively, feisty exchanges during the second presidential debate in Hampstead, New York.

Taking another playful jab at Obama, Romney said both candidates have crucial people on whom they rely. As Romney put it, "I have my beautiful wife, Ann, he's got Bill Clinton."

When it was his turn, Obama said he was much more lively at Tuesday's second presidential debate "after the nice long nap I had at the first debate."

As for the next debate on Monday, the President reminded everyone that the topic would be foreign affairs. "Spoiler alert," Obama quipped. "We got bin Laden."

The white-tie affair raises millions for the Governor Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation and is organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children. Alfred E. Smith IV, great-grandson of the dinner's namesake, joked that he was the night's "referee" when introducing himself as master of ceremonies.

While in Manhattan, Obama also taped an episode of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" where host Jon Stewart joked that he was making a scrapbook. He then and pulled out a pair of photos of the two presidential debates, according to a CNN report. In one photo, Obama's wife, Michelle, is looking at the president angrily; in the other photo, she's smiling.

"Do you know which debate was which?" Stewart asked, poking fun at Obama's widely panned debate performance at the first debate on October 3. "Cute. Cute Jon," Obama said, smiling. — IANS

1990 poll was rigged to spoil PPP chances: Pak SC
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the 1990 elections were rigged and directed that action be taken against top army and intelligence officials and prominent politicians involved in manipulating the outcome.

A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry delivered the judgment on a long-standing petition filed by Air Marshal Asghar Khan in 1996 over the money distributed among politicians the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to block Benazir Bhutto and her PPP from regaining power. It was done at the behest of then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and army chief Mirza Aslam Beg.

The court directed the government to take action against Beg and the ISI's former director-general Lt-Gen Asad Durrani. In his statement before the court, General Durrani had revealed that he had distributed Rs 140 million among many politicians to create an anti-PPP alliance, the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), in order in order to stop Benazir Bhutto's PPP from coming to power.

The court in its short order ruled that there was ample evidence to suggest that the 1990 elections were rigged and that a political cell maintained by the then President supported the formation of the IJI to stop a victory of the PPP. The ruling said Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Beg and Durrani violated the Constitution.

Stating that corruption was carried out in the 1990 election, the ruling said that the President, the army chief and the ISI's director-general were not authorised to constitute an election cell. It added that the state should implement its authority through the elected representatives of the people.

The apex court, moreover, ruled that political cells of the ISI and the President House should be abolished and ordered the government to take legal action against the former retired generals who were involved in the corruption as well as against Younus Habib, former president of the now defunct Mehran Bank

The CJ observed that the office of the President must remain above politics as symbol of national unity. Beg in his statement made a startling revelation that he had no taken oath under the 1973 Constitution which forbade the army personnel not to take part in politics.

8 killed, 78 hurt in Lebanon blast

Beirut, October 19
A huge car bomb exploded in a street in central Beirut during rush hour on Friday, killing at least eight persons and wounding about 80, witnesses and officials said.

It was not immediately clear if the explosion targeted any political figure in Lebanon's divided community but it occurred at a time of heightened tension between Lebanese factions on opposite sides of the Syria conflict.

The bomb exploded in the street where the office of the anti-Damascus Christian Phalange Party is located near Sassine Square in Ashafriyeh, a mostly Christian area.

Phalange leader Sami al-Gemayel, a staunch opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and member of parliament, condemned the attack. "Let the state protect the citizens. We will not accept any procrastination in this matter, we cannot continue like that. We have been warning for a year. Enough," said Gemayel, whose brother was assassinated in November 2006.

The blast occurred during rush hour, when many parents were picking up children from school, and sent black smoke billowing into the sky.

Eight persons were killed and at least 78 were wounded, the state news agency said, quoting civil defence officials. — Reuters

BRIEFLY

US to invite Myanmar to world’s largest joint military exercise
BANGKOK: The United States will invite Myanmar to the world's largest multinational military field exercise, a powerful symbolic gesture toward a military with a grim human rights record and a milestone in its rapprochement with the West. Myanmar will be invited to observe Cobra Gold, which brings together thousands of American and Thai military personnel and participants from other Asian countries for joint annual manoeuvres, officials from countries participating in the exercises told Reuters. "This appears to be the first step on the part of the US to re-engage Myanmar militarily and to wean it away from its reliance on China," said an analyst. — Reuters

Striking a deal? Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt (L) chats with French President Francois Hollande during a European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels on Friday. — Reuters

Afghan bomb kills 19 wedding guests
Kabul: A huge roadside bomb ripped through a minibus carrying guests to a wedding party in Afghanistan today, killing 19 persons and wounding 16 others, officials said. Most of the victims were women and children in the attack that took place in the northern province of Balkh, in the district of Dawlat Abad around 40 km from the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif. "All the victims were civilians and mostly they were women and children," the police spokesman said. — AFP

Iraq hires Indian nurses to plug shortfall
Baghdad: Iraq has welcomed dozens of Indian nurses in recent days to plug a shortfall in its hospitals and healthcare facilities, which have suffered tremendous attrition in recent years, officials said. A total of 31 Indian nurses have arrived to work in the southern province of Diwaniyah, and 35 have been assigned to Baghdad's Medical City hospital, though information on hirings in other provinces was not immediately clear. — PTI