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Islamist protest shuts down Egypt’s top court
Israel withholds Palestinian funds after UN vote
Karachi builder demolishes temple
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Sunita to Indians: Be part of space programmes
Japan tunnel collapses, charred bodies found
Mexico’s Nieto takes power
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Islamist protest shuts down Egypt’s top court
Cairo, December 2 The Supreme constitutional court said it would not convene until its judges could operate without "psychological and material pressure", saying protesters had stopped the judges from reaching the building. Several hundred Mursi supporters had protested outside the court through the night ahead of a session expected to examine the legality of parliament's upper house and the assembly that drafted a new constitution, both of them Islamist-controlled. The cases have cast a legal shadow over Mursi's efforts to chart a way out of a crisis ignited by a November 22 decree that temporarily expanded his powers and led to nationwide protests. The court's decision to suspend its activities appeared unlikely to have any immediate impact on Mursi's drive to get the new constitution passed in a national referendum on December 15. Three persons have been killed and hundreds wounded in protests and counter-demonstrations over Mursi's decree. At least 200,000 of Mursi's supporters attended a rally at Cairo University on Saturday. His opponents are staging an open-ended sit-in in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the cradle of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled him to power in a June election, hope to end the crisis by pushing through the new constitution hastily adopted by the drafting assembly on Friday. The next day the assembly handed the text to Mursi, who called the referendum and urged Egyptians to vote. "The Muslim Brotherhood is determined to go ahead with its own plans regardless of everybody else. There is no compromise on the horizon," said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University. Outside the Supreme Constitutional Court, Muslim Brotherhood supporters rallied behind the referendum date. "Yes to the constitution", declared a banner held aloft by one protester. Chants demanded the "purging of the judiciary". The interior minister told the head of the court that the building was accessible and the protests were peaceful, according a statement from the ministry. The protest reflected the deep suspicion harboured by Egypt’s Islamists towards a court they see as a vestige of the Mubarak era. The same court ruled in June to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood-led lower house of parliament. Since then, several legal cases have challenged the legitimacy of the upper house of Parliament and the 100-member constituent assembly that wrote the constitution. Those against the upper house have focused on the legality of the law by which it was elected, while the constitutional assembly has faced a raft of court cases alleging that the way it was picked was illegal.
— Reuters
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Israel withholds Palestinian funds after UN vote
Jerusalem, December 2 Under interim peace deals, which Israel says the Palestinians violated by unilaterally seeking an upgrade of their status at the United Nations, it collects about $100 million a month in duties on behalf of the authority. But, Israeli officials said, the authority owes about $200 million to the Israel Electric Corporation, and that money will now be deducted from the tax transfers. The cash-strapped authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, largely depends on the tax money to pay civil servants' salaries. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior Palestinian official, said Israel was guilty of "piracy and theft" by refusing to hand over the funds. Israel has previously frozen payments to the body during times of heightened security and diplomatic tensions, provoking strong international criticism, such as when the UN cultural body UNESCO granted the Palestinians full membership a year ago. "I do not intend this month to transfer the funds to the Palestinians. In the coming period I intend to use the money to deduct debts the Palestinian Authority owes to the Israel Electric Corporation and other bodies," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Israel Radio. The UN victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against upgrading the Palestinians' observer status at the UN to "non-member state", like the Vatican, from "entity". — Reuters
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Karachi builder demolishes temple
Karachi, December 2 Besides razing the pre-Partition Shri Rama Pir Mandir in Karachi's Soldier Bazar, the builder demolished several houses near it yesterday. Nearly 40 persons, a majority of them Hindus, became homeless as a result, The Express Tribune reported today. Following the demolition, the Pakistan Hindu Council organised a protest outside the Karachi Press Club this afternoon. They protested the demolition by the builder and the lack of action on the part of authorities. The Sindh High Court is hearing a petition seeking a stay on any move to demolish Shri Rama Pir Mandir. "They destroyed our 'mandir' and humiliated our gods," an angry man named Prakash was quoted as saying by the Tribune. The demolition team placed the statues of four Hindu deities to one side, but local residents accused them of taking away gold jewellery and crowns that had adorned the statues. Pointing to bruises on his arms, another man identified as Lakshman said: "They hit me with their guns when I tried to stop them. I told them to kill me instead of destroying our holy place." A woman named Banwri said the demolition team arrived at around 11 am while she was preparing breakfast. She rushed outside when she heard the sound of a bulldozer and was given instructions to move her bed, cupboard and other essential items outside her home. "I watched my house go down in just minutes and I couldn't do anything," she said. Banwri said that during the demolition, the area was cordoned off by the police and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers. Angered by the demolition, the Hindus demanded that the government should arrange tickets to India for them. "If you don't want us, we will go to India," screamed a woman. DSP
Pervaiz Iqbal said, "There was no temple there. There were just
Hindu gods present inside the houses and we made sure that they were
safe." The people were given plenty of time to remove their
belongings from their houses, he said.
— PTI
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Sunita to Indians: Be part of space programmes
Washington, December 2 Stressing that India has a great resource of people and talent, Williams, who is just back from her 127 days mission to the International Space Mission, said she can’t imagine India taking a backseat in space programmes. “I haven’t really been in the know about all the Indian space programme and what it has been doing,” Williams, 47, said when asked if India stands a chance in front of US and Russia to emerge as a leader in space research. “India has a great resource of people and talent out there that I can’t imagine Indians taking a back seat. So, I am really hoping they will jump out there and be part of the space programme and be flying people in space before too long,” Williams told PTI in an interview. Asked what would be her message to fans in India, she said: “I think the message that I would like to give to folks in India about the International Space Station is get involved”. She added, “We have experiments up there from all over the world, not only the international partners that participated in building the space station, but all over the world... universities, schools, we talk to kids all over the place. “Get involved, try to be part of it, open up new doors and new opportunities”. Williams has spent a total of 322 days in space during her two long-duration missions. That makes her the second most experienced female astronaut in history, behind NASA’s Peggy Whitson (who spent 377 days in space during two station flights). Williams now also holds the record for spacewalking time for female astronauts. She said she is hoping to visit India “may be this spring and may be next fall”.
— PTI
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Japan tunnel collapses, charred bodies found
Koshu, December 2 At least seven persons were missing inside the nearly 5 km-long tunnel. Witnesses spoke of terrifying scenes as one vehicle burst into flames, sending out clouds of blinding, acrid smoke. Rescuers were forced to suspend for several hours their efforts to reach those believed trapped under thick concrete ceiling panels that crashed from the roof of the tunnel, as engineers warned more debris could fall. Emergency crews who rushed to the Sasago tunnel on the Chuo Expressway, 80 km west of the capital, were hampered by thick smoke billowing from the entrance. Dozens of people abandoned their vehicles on the Tokyo-bound section of carriageway, and ran for one of the emergency exits or for the mouth, where they huddled in bitter winter weather. Emergency crews equipped with breathing apparatus battled around a third of the way into the tunnel, where they found up to 70 metres of concrete panels had come crashing down, crushing at least two vehicles. Hours after the collapse, engineers warned the structure could be unstable, forcing resucers to suspend their work as a team of experts assessed the danger. It was during this inspection that accompanying police officers confirmed the first deaths. "What we found resembled bodies inside a vehicle, they were blackened. We have visually confirmed them but have yet to take them out for closer examination," an official said. At least three people were taken to hospital, including a woman who emerged from the smoke-darkened tunnel by herself.
— Reuters
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Mexico’s Nieto takes power
Mexico City, December 2 The 46-year-old Pena Nieto said the people had been let down since his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, fell from power in 2000, and pledged a raft of changes to boost growth, create jobs and fight poverty. "The state has lost ground in important areas. Lawlessness and violence have robbed various parts of the country of peace and freedom," Pena Nieto said in his inaugural speech at a ceremonial palace in the old center of Mexico City. Married to a popular actress, Pena Nieto won the July 1 election with about 38 per cent of the vote, more than six points ahead of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who refused to accept the result.
— Reuters
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4 Pak Army officers sacked for kickbacks in arms inspection
Three killed in Japan tunnel collapse 4,000 kg of explosives seized in Pak North Korea plans new rocket launch Napoleon’s letter sold for $243,500 Rare letter of Napoleon to be auctioned Desk job can pose health risks
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"Get involved, try to be a part of it” is the message of record-breaking Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams to millions of Indians students and space enthusiasts.
Stressing that India has a great resource of people and talent, Williams, who is just back from her 127 days mission to the International Space Mission, said she can’t imagine India taking a backseat in space programmes.
