21 March 2007
Kingston (Jamaica), March 21 (IANS) In the final posting on his website, late Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said that he was "disappointed" over reports in Pakistani media that tried to "disrupt team spirit" during the World Cup.
"We are also very disappointed by the articles trying to disrupt team spirit appearing in our press in Pakistan, and would ask those who read this to ignore the drivel!" wrote Woolmer in his final 'Diary' item Friday - less than two days before he died in his hotel room in mysterious circumstances here.
Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in the bathroom of his hotel room Sunday morning, a day after Pakistan shockingly lost to minnows Ireland in Group D and crashed out of the cricket World Cup. The former England player was declared dead upon reaching a local hospital.
It match was the 1992 World Cup winners' second defeat in two matches, having lost to the West Indies in the 16-nation tournament.
Woolmer begins his final 'diary' with the description of the team's final net practice at Kensington Oval followed by a fielding session at Sabina Park here.
"... then I had lunch with Danish (Kaneria, the leg-spinner) next to the pool and then went back to the room to catch up with the 'Diary' and a couple of articles and our final preparations for the team meeting this evening," he wrote.
"We are aware of the importance not just of this game (against Ireland) but both (the third one against Zimbabwe) and we are very determined to do well."
It was not to be, as Pakistan lost by three wickets and were ousted from the tournament, though they are scheduled to play the inconsequential match Zimbabwe Wednesday.
Woolmer, however, lauds Ireland's gritty performance in their earlier match against Zimbabwe, which ended in a thrilling tie. It gave qualifiers Ireland an unexpected point.
"Wow, what a game between Zimbabwe and Ireland. While we did not need reminding we saw a very committed Ireland side and Zimbabwe, who were gutted that they did not beat Ireland when they had the game by the throat," he wrote.
"All credit to Ireland for sticking to their task," said the man who had, ironically, groomed the Irish team as the International Cricket Council-appointed High Performance Manager before becoming Pakistan coach.
Woolmer further wrote: "In the evening, I went out for supper with the leader of the Drum ensemble who played at the opening ceremony. Very interesting! We went to Courtney Walsh's restaurant and bar just down the road. We had some great food and a pleasant evening."
Always philosophical, Woolmer penned this thought March 14: "The Word Cup is about performance and losing leads to retrospection."
Three days after Woolmer's death, Jamaica Police and medical officials were still unable to pinpoint the cause of his death after a post-mortem Tuesday proved "inconclusive".
"We will conduct an investigation until such time as we find we no longer have to conduct an investigation," Jamaica's deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said at a press conference here Tuesday.
Shields said arrangements had been put in place to allow Woolmer's body to leave Jamaica Saturday with the Pakistan team, but it would not be released until all the test results were returned.
Pakistan are scheduled to play their final, inconsequential, Group D match against Zimbabwe Wednesday.
By Prasun Sonwalkar,
London, March 21 (IANS) The British government has for the first time admitted that as many as 10,000 passports were issued based on false information last year, including to two people convicted of terror attacks.
The Home Office revealed the figures while announcing new procedures for those applying for their first British passports. Such individuals will now need to attend an interview during which they would be probed from a bank of nearly 200 questions.
The figure of 10,000 wrongly issued passports has come as yet another embarrassment to the Labour government that has recently galvanised its immigration system and put in place new rules. Many of the new rules have been criticised by skilled immigrants - including a large number of Indians - and have been the subject of much litigation.
The two terror convicts, who were wrongly issued British passports, were Dhiren Barot, a person of Indian origin who converted to Islam and is reported to be a senior Al Qaeda terrorist, and Moroccan national Salaheddine Benyaich, who is currently in a Moroccan jail for terrorist offences.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) said that Barot and Benyaich received two passports each. Benyaich had two British passports in the name of a British citizen born in Brighton.
Home Office Minister Joan Ryan said the IPS had 16,500 fraudulent applications during the 12-month period to September 2006 - 10,000 of which went undetected.
In a written ministerial statement, she said "almost half" the applications were stopped by existing safeguards, but the remainder had gone undetected.
She said: "Our current estimate is, therefore, that the level of undetected fraud is about 0.5 percent, equivalent to 10,000 applications against the planned 6.6 million passports issued per year.
"Although precise figures are difficult to obtain, it appears that the level of attempted fraud is increasing and getting more sophisticated. Analysis of the frauds shows that the main fraud threat is from first-time adult applications, followed by first-time child applications."
Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesperson said: "It isn't just a matter of saying there's 10,000 (fraudulently obtained passports) out there and doing nothing about them. Each and every one of these is being followed up to ensure that those responsible are caught."
The shadow home secretary, David Davis, described it as a "shocking admission" that betrayed "chaos at the heart of the passport system".
He said: "This is the latest in a long line of shambles afflicting the passport service. Given this dire record, they have no chance of running the ID card project, which will cost up to 20 billion pounds and involve billions of pieces of data, effectively," he said.
IPS executive director Bernard Herdan said Tuesday that during interviews, applicants would be expected to know answers from a pool of around 200 questions about their ancestry, financial history and previous addresses.
Speaking of Barot, Herdan said: "He had two passports in fraudulent identities which would have been stopped if he had been interviewed."
Recently two Indian nationals were apprehended at the Birmingham airport while trying to board flights on the Birmingham-Toronto sector using false British passports.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) At least 12 people were killed and over two dozen injured when fresh violence broke out in the southern Terai plains Wednesday even as much of Nepal stayed paralysed by an indefinite strike called by traders to protest Maoists' atrocities.
A team of UN officers that rushed to investigate the violence in Gaur town in Rautahat district confirmed the deaths of at least 12 people, including two women, as people from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with Maoists.
Quoting hospital sources, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that some victims died as a result of head injuries caused by beatings with bamboo sticks.
The toll could rise further with dozens of people being admitted to hospital.
The district authorities declared an indefinite curfew in the violence-hit town after the clash between the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state, and the Madhes Rastriya Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists.
Violence had been anticipated since the morning when both groups began preparations to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight recently with its Terai movement forcing the seven-party government to concede its demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking their mass meetings.
The state-run Nepal Television channel said Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that turned into a stampede as people started firing.
It confirmed five deaths, saying they included women and children. Over 20 people were admitted to hospital after being injured in baton attacks.
Fresh violence comes as the Maoists and the seven-party ruling alliance began yet another round of talks in the capital Wednesday to discuss formation of an interim government in which the former rebels will be included.
The Kathmandu valley and key towns have been reeling under an indefinite strike called since Monday by Nepal's business community to protest against incidents of extortion and attacks on its members by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concern with the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday meeting Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
The traders have threatened to continue their protest until the government makes a commitment that it will provide them security.
Meanwhile, the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
Manila, March 21 (NNN-PNA) court of Appeals Presiding Justice Ruben T. Reyes is one of the 14 candidates vying for the post to be vacated by Supreme Court Justice Romeo J. Callejo Jr. who is due to retire on April 28.
On the other hand, 64 applicants are racing for one opening as CA Associate Justice which has been vacant since February 18 with the death of Justice Roberto A. Barrios.
Among the CA applicants are current Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who was already Associate Justice of the CA before he was appointed to the Cabinet by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Despite his previous CA experience, Brion will still have to be interviewed, according to Atty. Annaliza Capacite of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
Another CA applicant is retired elections Commissioner Mehol K. Sadain, a Muslim lawyer and professor at the University of the Philippines. Of the 64 CA contenders, 17 are female.
The SC Judicial Bar Council (JBC) also announced that five senior applicants from the CA are already considered nominated to the position, including Reyes. The other four are Conrado Melchor A. Vasquez Jr., Portia Alino-Hormachuelos, Martin S. Villarama and Andres B. Reyes Jr.
Other candidates to the SC post include the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan Teresita de Castro and the present SC Court Administrator, Christopher Lock.
Lock’s immediate predecessor, Presbitero Velasco Jr., moved up to become Associate Justice.
While CA Justice Elvi John Asuncion was dismissed this week for gross ignorance of the law and professional neglect of duty, still, he is technically not out of the service. So, this month’s batch of candidates does not include his possible replacement, it was learned.
In October, SC Associate Justice Cancio Garcia will retire, but applications for his replacement are not yet being entertained.
Interviews for SC applicants will be held on March 28 and 29 at the Division Hearing Room of the new SC Building which is open to the public.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-Bernama) The average life expectancy for Malaysians has risen to 74 years now compared with 55 years during the country's independence, said Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon.
He said the government was satisfied with the achievement because it showed that the standard of health for Malaysians had improved.
"Generally, the government is satisfied with the present status and will continue to raise the standard of health in the country to ensure a longer life expectancy," he said at the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) sitting, here Wednesday.
He was responding to a question from Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh (BN-Gopeng) who wanted to know the life expectancy for Malaysians according to race and whether the government was satisfied with the existing average life expectancy.
Lee said that the average life expectancy for men was lower at 71.5 years compared with 76.2 years for women.
He said that the life expectancy for men among the Indian community was the lowest at 67.4 years, followed by the Bumiputeras (70.4) and Chinese (73.6).
As for the women, he said the Chinese community had the highest life expectancy at 78.8 years, followed by the Indians (75.4) and Bumiputeras (74.8).
Bhopal, March 21 (IANS) About 50 people were injured in a clash that occurred at Jabalpur town of Madhya Pradesh Wednesday between groups of lawyers and railway employees over imposition of fine on an advocate's son who was travelling without a ticket.
The injured include 19 lawyers, 22 railway employees and seven policemen.
"TTE (travelling ticket examiner) Kamal Patel had Tuesday imposed a fine for ticket-less travel on lawyer Suresh Mishra's five-year-old son who was travelling with him. Mishra in turn filed a complaint of loot with the GRP (government railway police) the same day," Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Makrand Deoskar told IANS by phone.
"On Wednesday afternoon, a group of lawyers reached the railway station to inquire about the action taken on Mishra's complaint. Though the GRP personnel told them that action will be taken as per the procedure, but the lawyers lost temper and ransacked the TTE's office," he added.
Seeing the situation going out of control, the GRP personnel used force and soon it was a free for all between the lawyers on one side and the GRP and the railway employees on the other.
Railway employees also stopped work to protest against the attack, leading to the delay of several trains including the Gondwana Express and the Mahanagari Express trains.
The Jabalpur Bar Association has called for a strike Thursday to protest the police action.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Seven espionage cases allegedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were detected in the Indian armed forces in 2005-06 for which 16 personnel have been arrested.
"A few cases of involvement of armed forces personnel in espionage activities have come to the notice of the government. The number of such cases reported in 2005 is two, in 2006 is five and nil this year," Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
"Pakistan's ISI is suspected to be involved in such espionage activities. Sixteen armed forces personnel have been arrested for involvement in these cases. Of these, 14 have been awarded stringent punishment," he added.
According to the minister, "comprehensive preventive measures based on modus operandi of hostile countries/organisations are being enforced and regular security review is carried out from time to time to sensitise the environment for making security apparatus foolproof.
"In addition, the existing counter intelligence setup in the armed forces is synergised on a regular basis to meet the new challenges," he added.
"Stringent action is being undertaken against the accused persons and exemplary punishment is being awarded," Antony said.
Rabat, March 21 (NNN-MAP) Seven investment agreements were signed here Tuesday by international companies for projects involving a total of 230 million USD and which will create some 5,786 job opportunities.
Five of the projects are in the tourism sector while the other two are in the metal-working industry and offshoring services.
A Spanish company, Iberostar Hotels and Resorts, will build a 3,000-bed residential complex in Marrakech, while United Arab Emirates (UAE) real estate giant EMAAR, through its local subsidiary EMAAR Morocco and Gilmaroc Seaside will establish two resorts in the province of Tangier-Tetuan in northern Morocco.
Leonard De Vinci International of Luxembourg will build a 585-bed capacity tourist resort in Marrakech, while the Moroccan group Addoha will build a resort in Plage des Nations close to Rabat.
In the metal working industry, Maghreb Steel will establish a metal rolling unit in Mohammedia, 25 km northern Casablanca.
The last agreement, signed with French computing company Logica CMG involves developing the company's activities in Morocco.
Morocco is keen on developing partnerships with foreign and offshore companies and mobilizing ways to implement the national plan to promote Moroccan industry in addition to its Vision 2010 to attract 10 million tourists by the year 2010.
Tehran, March 21 (DPA) Only a few days ahead of a key vote by the United Nations on sanctions against Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted again Wednesday that there would be no concessions in Iran's nuclear dispute.
"The Iranian nation decisively stands behind its (nuclear) rights and (the West) is eventually forced to acknowledge Iran's legitimate rights," Ahmadinejad said in a speech on the occasion of the new Persian year (1386), carried on all five channels of state television.
In his, Ahmadinejad accused the West of trying to deprive Iran of technological progress and national development but insisted that all these efforts have so far failed and would continue to fail in the future.
Referring to sanctions or probable military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites, Ahmadinejad said there would be no way the West could harm Iran and termed any such threats as "psychological war."
A New Year speech delivered by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not directly refer to the nuclear issue but called on the Iranian nation to stay united and not allow "enemies" to sow discord between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told state news agency IRNA during his visit Tuesday in South Africa that Iran would under no condition give up its right to access nuclear energy, but would welcome talks to find a solution for the nuclear dispute.
The UN Security Council plans to meet Wednesday for a formal discussion of sanctions that were agreed to last week by the five veto-wielding permanent members - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Germany.
Ahmadinejad and more than 30 other Iranian officials plan to attend the voting session in New York - scheduled for later this week but not yet fixed - where the president reportedly wants to defend Iran's nuclear rights in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to reassure the world of the peaceful nature of Iranian atomic projects.
Tehran, March 21, (IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a message, congratulated the Iranian nation on the occasion of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year saying today Iran and Iranians are renowned worldwide as symbols of morality, faith, piety, kindness, unity and firmness.
Referring to measures taken by certain big powers and the
psychological warfare waged by them to obtain their illegitimate interests including distortion of history, making films to mar the image of Iran and Iranians and other nations, he said, "They have been defeated in the face of the strong logic of the Iranian nation and have been ostracized by other nations, too.
"They intend to prevent progress of the Iranian nation and other nations by waging psychological warfare and through efforts to misuse organizations they have created themselves and are ruling over them by way of monopoly."
The president said that the problem of the world today is ''a handful of racist Zionists who intend to keep the world in a state of hardship , poverty and hostility by appropriation of power and media centers in order to stabilize their rule.''
"The Iranian nation is opposed to this process and is firmly sticking to its legitimate stance. They, however, are not aware that they have risen to challenge human values, human civilizations and nations, the Iranian nation in particular, with their defeated mechanisms," he said .
The president stressed that the enemies are well aware that they cannot hurt the Iranian nation but are ''trying to force us retreat through ballyhoo and in this way prevent human evolution.
"Surely they cannot attain their wishes and the best way for them is to attest to the rights of the Iranian nation and giving in to law and justice.''
Ruksh Chatterji,
Mumbai,March 21(CNN-IBN) On January 29 this year, Air Deccan failed to report the exact number of passengers on board its flight DN 763 from Bangalore to Mumbai.
"They reported 161 passengers, but then the number of passengers who checked in were 170," a Bangalore Air Traffic Controller (ATC) source told CNN-IBN.
So, how does an aircraft takes off from Bangalore with a 161 passengers but lands here in Mumbai with 180?
CNN-IBN: You counted a 180 passengers?
AAI officer: Yes and even this list showed 180 passengers.
Air Deccan clearly under-reported the number of passengers to the Bangalore ATC, to cover up the fact that it had over-booked.
Says an off-loaded passenger, Louie Mathew, "Even though the capacity is 180, they over book to about 200 people. They reported 161 to the ATC in Bangalore to basically account for the fact that 15 to 20 people were stranded at the counters."
To cover up one lie, Air Deccan committed an even greater sin.
An Airports Authority of India Official was caught on hidden camera saying, "In case of an accident, we have to count the number of people, and I had told them this was against the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) law."
The passenger list or the Manifest, now in the possession of CNN-IBN for Januray 29 is full of irregularities. The document clearly shows that the total number of passengers on paper is 170 while the actual passengers on board was 180.
What's more, on the list, passenger number 14 and passenger number 15 are the same person. Instead of the fictitious passenger number 15, there was another person sitting on the plane.
What is even more surprising is that the names of the people who were declared "no shows" are not on the list at all.
By doing so, the Airline defrauded the over-booked passengers of a seat and a refund and by under-reporting, it broke international safety norms and also cheated the Government of the Passenger Service Fee.
The only thing common with the entire set of complaints is that all of these irregularities are happening out of Bangalore, which is also Air Deccan's headquarters.
"We feel that some of the Airports Authority officials are hand in glove with Air Deccan," an Airports Authority of India official was caught saying on hidden camera.
Meanwhile, the MD of Air Deccan, Captain G R Gopinath defended himself saying, "This is all baloney. I don't bribe people. I am known for not bribing!"
But what is certain is that the airline has found ways to bend the rules and is clearly interested not just in cutting costs but cutting corners as well.
(With inputs from Priyanjana Dutta in Bangalore)
Algiers, March 21 (NNN-APS) The fifth conference of Al Quds Foundation will be held here from March 26 to 28, Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdallah Ghlamallah said.
It will be attended by more than 400 Muslim and Christian personalities known for their support for the liberation of Palestine, he told journalists here Monday.
"Algeria will host this conference after Lebanon and Yemen as a response to a request from the Foundation's head, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in view of Algeria's unfailing support for the Palestinian people," he told a news conference.
The meeting aims to extend the support for the Palestinian people worldwide and to seek ways likely to help back up their struggle against Zionist colonialism, he said.
Ghlamallah added that, in this regard, Algeria's participation would be confined to the provision of accommodation for participants and their plane tickets.
"The Al Quds (Jerusalem) Foundation is the only organizer of this conference, and remains then free to choose participants and the topics to be submitted for debate," he said.
Meanwhile, visiting Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa said here Monday that he hopes to see the next Arab summit in Riyadh reach outcomes which match up to the current challenges facing Arabs, "whether in Iraq, Palestine or Darfur".
He told journalists after a meeting with President Bouteflika that the issue of the Arab national security remained the fundamental point on which all Arabs needed to face several challenges.
He was convinced the Riyadh summit would provide a favourable climate for bilateral meetings between President Bouteflika and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and for their meetings with other Arab leaders.
Al-Sharaa said his meeting with President Bouteflika was “positive, constructive and comprehensive" and that he had delivered a message to the Algerian president concerning the situation in the Middle East in general.
Algiers, March 21 (NNN-APS) Algeria's foreign exchange reserves soared to 77.78 billion USD as at the end of December 2006 from 56.18 billion USD a year earlier, Bank of Algeria Governor Mohamed Laksaci disclosed here.
Laksaci disclosed this during a meeting held at the central bank with chief executives banks and financial establishments on the presentation of monetary and financial tendencies during the second quarter of 2006.
He added the level of foreign exchange reserves represented 68 per cent of Algeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006.
The governor indicated that this constant accumulation of foreign exchange reserves constituted, in addition to the weak outstanding foreign debt reached by late 2006, a ''very important element of security for the national economy against possible external shocks".
Chandigarh, March 21 (IANS) A district and sessions court here Wednesday framed charges against all the 14 accused, including two sitting legislators, a serving top bureaucrat and police officers, in the Srinagar sex scandal case.
While seven of the accused have been charged with rape, all of them have been charged under various sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The charges were framed in the court of district and sessions judge B.S. Mehndiratta.
The trial of the case, that gave rise to bitter public outcry, was shifted from Srinagar to the city last year following orders of the Supreme Court.
Several influential people in Srinagar were arrested by police after their involvement was made out in the sex scandal in which young Kashmiri girls were forced into prostitution after they were blackmailed.
Those accused of rape include former Jammu and Kashmir additional advocate general Anil Sethi, Border Security Force deputy inspector general of police K.C. Padhi and suspended Jammu and Kashmir police official Mohammed Ashraf Mir.
Two sitting legislators, Raman Mattoo (independent) and Ghulam Mohammed Mir (Congress), principal secretary Iqbal Khandey and Riyaz Ahmed Kawa have been charged under PITA.
The kingpin of the sex racket, Sabeena - who was accused of running a brothel in Srinagar and used to supply the girls to influential people after getting their pornographic video films made - and her husband Abdul Hamid Bullah have also been charged under PITA and criminal conspiracy.
The case would now be heard April 7 when the victims would be examined.
All the accused were earlier sent to jail after their arrest.
Since no lawyer in Jammu and Kashmir agreed to defend the 14 accused due to emotions of people involved in this sex scandal case, the Supreme Court had transferred the case to the Chandigarh court.
Defence lawyers of the accused said here Wednesday that they would appeal against the charges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here.
Monaco, March 21 (IANS) Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand lost in the blindfold category to Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the fourth round of the Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid chess tournament here Wednesday.
Kramnik kept his perfect record in blindfold and Anand with three points in rapid maintained his second position behind Armenian Lev Aronian, who has 3.5 out of four in the section.
After the fourth round the standings changed a little but the leader's consolidated their position.
Kramnik maintained the lead in the overall standings with 6.5 points ahead of Aronian, who had six points in his kitty.
The NIIT-sponsored Anand is second in rapid and tied for eighth spot in blindfold category and is fifth in the overall standings.
Kramnik's win also avenged the Russian's loss to Anand in the 2005 Amber Blindfold game.
Anand went on an all-out attack in rapid, which opened in the Ruy Lopez. He sacrificed a full rook and aimed as many pieces at the black king as possible. Kramnik survived the pressure and onslaught with some great defence and after 56 moves, the duo agreed to a draw with both attacker and defender playing superbly.
RESULTS:
Round IV (Blindfold): Radjabov drew with Ivanchuk; Kramnik beat Anand 1-0; Van Wely beat Morozevich; Vallejo lost to Svidler 0-1; Aronian beat Carlsen; Leko drew with Gelfand
Rapid: Ivanchuk beat Radjabov; Anand drew with Kramnik; Morozevich beat Van Wely; Svidler beat Vallejo; Carlsen drew with Aronian; Gelfand drew with Leko
STANDINGS:
Blindfold: 1. Kramnik 4.0; 2. Svidler and Ivanchuk 3.0; 4. Gelfand and Aronian 2.5; 6. Leko 2.0; 7. Morozevich and Radjabov 1.5; 9. Carlsen, Anand, Van Wely and Vallejo Pons 1.0;
Rapid: 1. Aronian 3.5; 2. Anand 3.0; 3. Morozevich, Kramnik and Ivanchuk 2.5; 6. Carlsen, Leko and Svidler 2.0; 9. Gelfand 1.5; 10. Vallejo Pons and Van Wely 1.0; 12. Radjabov 0.5
Combined: 1. Kramnik 6.5; 2. Aronian 6.0; 3. Ivanchuk 5.5; 4. Svidler 5.0; 5. Gelfand, Morozevich, Leko and Anand 4.0; 9. Carlsen 3.0; 10. Radjabov, Vallejo Pons and Van Wely 2.0
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) The Apollo Gleneagles Hospital has opened their haemato-oncology (blood cancer) clinic in Kolkata to cope with the increasing number of cancer patients pouring in from different parts of eastern India.
This specialty unit, opened Tuesday, will have all the state-of-the-art facilities to provide treatment for different types of haemato oncological disorder, commonly termed as blood cancer, said Soumya Bhattacharya, consultant haemo oncologist, Apollo Gleneagles.
He said the number of new cancer patients in West Bengal is increasing every year. "We receive more than 2,000 new cases of Acute Myleloid Leukemia (AML) in Kolkata. This apart, over 3,000 get affected by Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia (CLL) every year and come to Kolkata for treatment," he noted.
Bhattacharya said Kolkata had also become a place where many patients come to get better treatment for oncological disorder.
"We have seen that patients from Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and the northeast prefer to come to Kolkata for getting medical facilities here." he added.
Apollo Gleneagles Hospital is Kolkata's 325-bed multi-speciality tertiary hospital with comprehensive oncology services covering medical oncology and surgical aspects.
Buenos Aires, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Argentina’s Economy Minister, Felisa Miceli, left for Ecuador Tuesday to discuss the creation of the proposed Bank of the South.
The Bank of the South (BS) is regarded by several South American countries as a fair chance for underdeveloped countries to achieve financial independence from international bodies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Bank, according to its promoters, will be able to assimilate part of its members' hard currency reserves now stored in the United States and Europe and finance infrastructure projects in the region.
The project, devised by Venezuela and Argentina, was joined later by Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil.
The Bank will begin operations with ten per cent of the international reserves of Argentina and Venezuela, some seven billion USD.
At the Inter-American Development Bank annual meeting in Guatemala recently, Miceli discussed the project with Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela and arranged a technical meeting on Friday in Buenos Aires.
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner recently called the Bank a significant step in the process of integration and instrument to finance strategic projects.
New Delhi, March 21 (NNN-Bernama) Asean and India with trade volume on the rise need to shift away from traditional products and explore new sectors to enhance future trade, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said.
FICCI senior director and head of the Southeast Asia and Pacific countries Dr Manju Kalra Prakash said there were other potential areas where Indian and businessmen from Asean countries could venture that could benefit both trading partners.
"Indian and Asean trade is in the upbeat and we feel our businesses have a lot of synergies and we complement each other. To strengthen further this synergy we need to look at other traditional areas," Dr Manju told Bernama.
Asean and India, a dialogue member of the 10-nation grouping, trade largely on goods such as machinery, edible vegetable oils, coal and coke, wood products and electronic goods.
But businessmen from both sides are yet to fully tap into other lucrative sectors such as pharmaceutical products, cotton yarn, gems and jewellery, she said.
"India produces cheap drugs and if we can export them (to Asean) or set up investments there it will be an advantage to both of us. Similarly with cotton yarn, fabrics and apparel. Right now if you see the figures there is hardly 2.7 percent of our textile exports to Asean," she pointed out.
However, Asean-India trade have been chalking healthy figures with two-way trade rising by over 21 percent, exceeding RM75.6 billion (US$21 billion) between 2005 and 2006.
Over the last five years, according to FICCI, Indian merchandise trade with Asean concentrated mainly in five member countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Dr Manju said gem and jewellery was another potential area that could be explored by Asean members.
"We have the expertise and certain Asean countries too have the expertise and we can do third country exports," she added.
India exported jewellery worth nearly RM48.6 billion (US$13.5 billion) to the international market this year while gem stones amounted to RM730 million (US$203 million), making it a leading player in the global industry.
Dr Manju said food production was another area where Asean and India could cooperate as both parties have resources and expertise in the agriculture sector.
"We produce lot of vegetables but we do not process them and 30 to 40 percent goes to waste in India.
"If we can process them it will be useful for our people and we will also gain from the technology from Asean countries. It will be a win-win situation," she added.
Guwahati, March 22 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Wednesday welcomed a peace conclave aimed at restoring the deadlocked talks between the rebel group and New Delhi.
The People's Committee for Peace Initiative (PCPI), a conglomerate of 27 influential organisations, including powerful student and rights groups, is holding a two-day meeting beginning Thursday in Guwahati to find ways to put the failed peace talks back on track.
"We hope the convention is able to help facilitate a political solution to the India-Assam conflict. We express our sincere wishes to all those participating in the meet," ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement.
The ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979, has in recent weeks offered to hold talks with New Delhi. There has been no response yet from the central government.
The peace process broke down in September after New Delhi called off a six-week ceasefire and resumed military operations, blaming the ULFA for stepping up violence and extortions.
There were three rounds of preliminary talks between the ULFA-chosen People's Consultative Group (PCG) and New Delhi, including one with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The talks failed after New Delhi sought a letter of commitment from the ULFA for holding talks if five of their jailed leaders were released. The ULFA refused to give the letter saying the group had already committed to direct talks.
"The idea of this conclave is to find ways and means to bring the deadlocked peace process back on the rails. We shall be adopting some resolutions and put them before the ULFA and the government for a positive response in the greater interest of Assam," PCPI chief convenor Dilip Patgiri told IANS.
"Everybody is seeking peace and an end to the conflict through political dialogue and it is our sincere attempt to break the impasse."
Among those participating in the conclave are rebel leaders of four separatist groups who are on a ceasefire mode with New Delhi now - the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the Dima Halim Daoga (DHD), the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Cobra Force.
"The suggestions of the leaders of these four groups would be crucial," Patgiri said. "We have invited leaders of all political parties to the meet."
Islamabad, March 21 (DPA) At least 37 people were presumed killed in a series of landslides triggered by torrential rain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a spokesman for military rescue units in the area said Wednesday.
A village in the area of Toba Syedan was buried late Tuesday under tonnes of mud, apparently killing 27 people, Major Farooq Nasir told DPA. Sixteen residents reportedly survived the accident.
Soldiers and locals recovered six bodies but further mudslides hampered rescue operations in the area, which was cut off by heavy rain and snowfall.
Meanwhile, doctors and paramedics arrived on foot with supplies of tents, blankets and food from the regional capital Muzaffarabad, located 60 km to the west.
"We are waiting for the weather to clear so a helicopter can be dispatched to airlift the injured, who are our top priority," Nasir said.
Some media cited almost twice the number of casualties but the spokesman said population data in the afflicted area was misleading or non-existent.
"People here exaggerate things a lot and declared a single room structure as a house and sometimes even a village," he added.
Meanwhile, 10 members of a family were killed and one was injured by another mudslide that engulfed their house in another district in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The region was badly hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 that left more than 73,000 people dead and rendered an estimated 3 million homeless. Most of the victims still live in makeshift structures.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) At least five people were killed in Nepal's Terai region Wednesday in fresh violence between Maoists and ethnic protesters, as the indefinite strike called by traders against atrocities by the guerrillas entered its third day.
People from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with the Maoists in Gaur town in Rautahat district in southern Nepal, and state-run Nepal Television channel said the toll could be as high as eight.
The area had been simmering with tension since morning with both the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state in the south, and the Madhes Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists, expressing their determination to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight with their Terai movement, forcing the seven-party government to concede their demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking mass meetings.
With the Forum fighting back, both sides have sustained casualties in the new movement in Nepal.
According to preliminary reports in the state-run channel, Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that saw both sides firing bullets.
The channel confirmed five deaths, saying they included a woman and a 15-year-old boy.
It also said three more people were feared to have been killed in the clashes, taking the toll to eight.
The fresh violence comes even as both the Maoists and Terai protesters have been accusing the government of being busy in squabbling over the division of ministries and paying no heed to the Terai impasse that has affected life in the plains for nearly three months.
Kathmandu valley and key towns have been paralysed by the double blow by Nepal's business community, who announced an indefinite strike from Monday to protest against growing extortion and attacks on traders by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concerns - chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday met Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
While the business strike entered its third day today with protesters saying they would keep it up till the government showed true power and commitment to provide security, the Maoist trade union responsible for the hotelier's abduction hit out.
The All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
Addis Ababa, March 21 (NNN-ENA) The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has appealed to the international community, including AU member states, to urgently provide financial and logistical support to the commission and to AU member states that have pledged troops to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The council has also decided to fully endorse the Ouagadougou political Accord between Cote d’Ivoire political parties, it said in a statement received by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) following its meeting here Monday.
The council reiterated its appeal to member states, the United Nations and partners of the AU in a bid to facilitate the full deployment of AMISOM and to ensure its sustenance.
The council commended Algeria and other partners for their support for the deployment of AMISOM and it also applauded Uganda for its efforts and commitment to the promotion of lasting peace and reconciliation in Somalia
It commended the people of Somalia for having welcomed AMISOM and condemned isolated elements who carried out attacks against the mission.
The council welcomed resolution 1744 (2007) of Feb 20, 2007, by which the UN Security Council decided to authorize member states of AU to establish for a period of six months a mission in Somalia.
The council reiterated that AMISOM’s objective is to support the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and other federal institutions to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the council in its 73rd meeting held last Friday adopted a decision on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire, welcoming the signing of the Ouagadougou political accord between President Laurent Gbagbo and Guillaume Kigafori, the secretary general of the Forces Nouvelles, on March 4, 2007.
The Council recommended to the UN Security Council for the gradual drawdown of the impartial forces deployed in Cote d’Ivoire in line with the provisions for the implementation of the accord and the restoration of peace and normalcy in the country.
Melbourne, March 21 (NNN-BERNAMA) Australia may again call off a ministerial forum with Papua New Guinea (PNG) unless Port Morseby prosecutes those who helped fugitive Australian Julian Moti escape.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has used a business forum involving the two countries to issue the warning, the Australian Associated Press news agency said.
Downer said he was "personally hurt, and indeed the Australian Government and people were hurt" that some PNG officials had been involved in helping Moti escape from PNG to the Solomon Islands last October.
Moti was able to flee aboard a clandestine PNG military flight, despite Australia's efforts at the time to extradite him on child sex charges.
"That's not the sort of thing you expect from friends," Downer was quoted as saying at an Australia-PNG Business Council meeting in Cairns on Monday.
Downer said the Australia-PNG ministerial forum -- an annual review of bilateral relations and programs -- could again be called off if PNG does not move to prosecute those involved in Moti's escape.
Canberra has already called the summit off once. It had been due to go ahead in November, but Australia was so incensed at the way in which Moti fled that it pulled the plug.
Australia also cancelled planned visits by PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare and his then Defence Minister Martin Aini, who was sacked last month when he publicly stated that Somare had pressured him into signing documents to disband a PNG Defence Force inquiry into Moti's escape.
Downer said Canberra was keen to see the recommendations from the inquiry. Australia "expected some people to be brought to justice" because PNG's laws were broken, he added.
Somare took over the defence portfolio after he sacked Aini, and has since received the inquiry's final report, AAP said.
Moti's escape also damaged Australia's relations with the Solomon Islands, where Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare wants Moti, a lawyer, as his attorney-general. Moti's appointment to the post was suspended by the country's Public Service Commission because of the gravity of the Australian charges against him.
Australian police want him to face charges of repeatedly raping a child in Vanuatu in 1997.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Bahrain Wednesday opened a new chapter in its relations with India by inaugurating its embassy here and sought Indian cooperation in developing the technology sector in the Gulf country.
"This visit marks the opening of Bahrain's embassy in India. It's truly a valuable opportunity to reach out to people and businessmen here," Bahrain's Crown Prince Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad al Khalifa said in his address at the Indian Council for World Relations - India's premier think tank.
"I am surprised why we didn't have a full-fledged embassy in India all these years," Shaikh Salman said after opening Bahrain's embassy in the upscale Vasant Vihar area here that houses many other embassies.
"We can learn a great deal from India when it comes to the transfer of technology. The technology sector is a significant opportunity for cooperation between the two countries," he said.
Tracing ancient ties between India and Bahrain, Shaikh Salman said the two countries have exchanged goods and services for generations. He lauded the 260,000-strong Indian diaspora for its "substantial and much recognised contribution" to the growth and development of Bahrain.
Describing his country as "a pioneer and outward looking nation" with a business-friendly culture, Shaikh Salman sought intensification of trade and investment with India. "Bahrain is ready for rolling out the red carpet and cutting down on red tape," he said.
Enunciating his country's perspective on major regional issues and the Middle East peace process, Shaikh Salman called for "an equitable solution" to the Palestinian issue, which he described as the most "emotive issue" in the region.
"The way forward is through dialogue and discussions," he stressed as he called for the development of a "more integrated, productive and prosperous Middle East".
The crown prince, who began his four-day visit to India Monday, spoke of the "intense change" his country is undergoing and ongoing efforts to implement democratic reforms as he conjured the picture of a vibrant nation confident of playing its due role in the region.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world," he quoted Mahatma Gandhi to illustrate Bahrain's approach to domestic and regional issues.
The crown prince and his delegation left for Agra in the afternoon to see the Taj Mahal. He will fly to Mumbai in the evening where he will have meetings with the city's business elite.
On Thursday morning, Shaikh Salman will visit aircraft carrier INS Virat at the Naval Dockyard. He will also visit the Bombay Stock Exchange and IT major Tata Consultancy Services' office before returning to Bahrain Thursday evening.
India and Bahrain Tuesday signed two pacts in the area of media and cultural cooperation. The crown prince held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his senior ministers and discussed with them a wide array of bilateral and regional issues.
United Nations, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the establishment of the new Palestinian government but warned that he will be monitoring its actions to see whether it will abide by the Quartet principles, his spokesperson said.
"The Secretary-General views the establishment of a new Palestinian Government as an important and positive step forward and he wants to encourage that process," spokesperson Michele Montas told the daily press briefing Tuesday.
At the same time, she added, he expressed "disappointment because he would like to see the programme of National Unity Government fully reflect Quartet principles." They are recognition of Israel and previous signed agreements and rejection of violence.
Montas said Ban "would be watching very carefully the new government action and hope to see further positive movement in that direction."
Ban is leaving New York later this week to visit Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, where he will attend the Arab Summit, and Lebanon.
New Delhi,March 21 (Ibnlive.com) Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar asked Sri Lanka to bat first on winning the toss in a Group B match at Queen's Park Oval at Port of Spain, Trinidad on Wednesday.
Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya took first guard with Upul Tharanga, while Bangladesh’s pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza took the new ball in the battle of the teams from the sub-continent.
Sri Lanka survived an early scare in the fourth over as Bangladeshi bowler Syed Rasel couldn’t hit the stumps to get Tharanga out, who was backing up a fair distance for a sharp single.
From then on, the Sri Lankans raced away during the field restrictions, with Jayasuriya coming into his own and Tharanga holding fort.
Jayasuriya got stuck into the Bangladeshi bowlers, hitting five fours and four sixes to bring up his 50 from 43 balls, but left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique’s introduction got the first breakthrough with the score on 98, Tharanga getting out for 26.
Captain Mahela Jayawardene joined Jayasuriya in the middle only to keep the scoring ways going. But heavy showers intervened after 24 overs with Sri Lanka on 136 for one in what has been the best start so far in the tournament.
Though play resumed, Jayasuriya’s surge was halted once again as he left the field in great discomfort after twisting his knee while taking a run in the 25th over. He was on 83. But fielding lapses from the Bangladeshis were abundant, letting the Lankans loose thereafter.
Jayawardene was out trying to go for a heave one too many for a laborious 46, Chamara Silva, along with Kumar Sangakkara, upped the tempo with a flurry of boundaries. But some tight bowling by the Bangladeshis towards the end of the innings pegged them back as Sangakkara went back for 56 from 55 balls.
Bangladesh are coming from the back of an upset win over the more fancied Indians, while Sri Lanka trounced opponents Bermuda by 243 runs.
After India's shock five-wicket loss to Bangladesh, the results of other matches hold as much interest for India as those featuring their own teams.
Teams:
Bangladesh: Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel.
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, M Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga.
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Daryl Harper (Australia).
TV umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa); Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand); Reserve umpire: Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), March 21 (IANS) Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar won the toss and decided to bowl against the 1996 champions Sri Lanka in a crucial Group B match of the World Cup here Wednesday.
Both teams have played one match each, and have won both. But Sri Lanka are ahead on net run rate.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan
Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Moahmmed Ashraful, Mohammed Rafique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak and Syed Rasel
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Daryl Harper
Third umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa)
Match referee: Jeffrey Crowe
New Delhi, March 21 (Hindustan Times)Observing that terrorists primarily use hawala channels to route their funds, Government on Wednesday said even the banking channels were a 'significant route' for movement of money by these elements.
"As per available reports, terrorists and terrorist organisations active in India are using different channels to fund their operations. They route their funds mainly through hawala and other informal means.
"Banking channels are also a significant route for movement of funds by such elements," Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said in reply to questions in the Rajya Sabha.
He said the government was pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to deal with terrorist operations and supporting states to neutralise their activities.
To a question on the recent observations of National Security Advisor MK Narayanan on the matter, Jaiswal said the NSA had recently recounted the methods adopted by terror outfits to generate funds and had pointed towards the reported 'misuse' of the formal financial system by them.
He said the revenue, security and law enforcement agencies were regularly sensitized to pursue an inter-agency approach to detect these channels the use of funds received by the terror groups.
"There is continuous coordination between Home, Defence, Finance and other Ministries, which are the administrative ministries of security sensitive sectors," he said, adding that proposals relating to such sectors were referred to the Home and Defence Ministries for vetting from the security angle.
London, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has welcomed the formation of a Government of National Unity in Palestine.
Beckett told the House of Commons Tuesday she hoped to "see it move clearly" in complying with the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel and accepting previous agreements.
The Foreign Secretary also welcomed the latest round of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
She told MPs: "The peace process will only move forward through constructive dialogue".
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said the Israeli policy of "illegal settlements" and the controversial construction of the West Bank wall was a "major cause" of the problems between the two communities.
The Foreign Secretary said: "We do continue to have dialogue with the Israeli government to press them on the issue of settlements, which of course we opposed, and also on the wall".
She said she believed the measures were "counter-productive" to the peace process.
Meanwhile, Beckett said the British Government was "using every channel and opportunity" to secure the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston.
Johnston, 44, disappeared last week, reportedly snatched by four masked gunmen in Gaza City.
The Foreign Secretary said she had raised the issue with the Palestinian President.
"Im assured by President Abbas that it is very much a goal of the Palestinian government and authorities.
"It is extremely important that we try to secure this and I think it is particularly sad when someone who has been a long-standing friend of the people of Palestine suffers in this way and it does nothing to help," Beckett added.
Bhopal, March 21 (IANS) The representatives of the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, who ended a 14-day hunger strike Monday, plan a "public action" if the Madhya Pradesh government fails to keep its promises.
"Public actions have been planned in India and abroad in April and May if the state government fails to honour its commitments. This would include indefinite fasts by supporters at the Indian embassy in Washington," Rachna Dhingra, a member of the Bhopal Group of Information and Action (BGIA), told IANS.
The agitation, which many gas-survivors' organisations had joined, ended Monday only when the state government gave a written assurance that their demands would be met soon.
The survivors are demanding healthcare and economic rehabilitation for those affected by the toxic fumes that leaked from the now-defunct Union Carbide pesticide plant 22 years ago on Dec 2, 1984. Over 3,000 people died instantly and more than 15,000 affected people died later.
"The decision to end the fast and the 27-day sit-in was taken after the state government accepted key demands and district collector S.K. Mishra, authorised by the chief minister to look into our problems, handed over a written response to each of the demands raised by us," said Rachna, who participated in the strike with five others.
The other participants in the strike were Rashida Bee, who had lost six family members to cancer after they inhaled the noxious fumes, Guddi Bee, Jabbar Khan, Shehazadi Bee, all of who were exposed to the toxic gases in 1984, and BGIA activist Satinath Sarangi.
The strike was part of a 'Jeene Ka Haq' (right to live) campaign, which began Feb 20 to demand social support for the survivors and their families, safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the plant site.
The leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations, including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz (BKA), want the state government to ensure that toxic waste is not allowed to contaminate surrounding areas and the survivors are provided safe drinking water, as directed by the Supreme Court.
As per the agreement reached with the state government, immediate steps will be taken to fill vacant posts in hospitals meant for the affected and to improve the quality of medicines and facilities for investigations there.
The government has also agreed that the doctors and specialists at the gas relief hospitals will now be contracted for five years and an office of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal would be constituted. Besides, sub-groups on medical care, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation with the participation of survivors' organisations, too, would be formed.
The state government, according to the survivor organisations, has also agreed to provide all information on soil and ground water contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory and to build a wall around the factory to protect children and cattle from the hazardous materials therein.
The state has also promised that 50 additional tanks will be provided in a month's time for provision of safe water around the abandoned factory.
Jammu, March 21(IANS) Warning against demilitarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for governor's rule in the state even as Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Sayeed and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were due to discuss troop reduction Thursday.
"We will take to the streets if troops are reduced in the state," BJP vice president Hari Om told reporters here Wednesday after submitting a memorandum to Governor S.K. Sinha, who himself voiced his opposition Tuesday to demilitarisation, as demanded by the PDP.
Om said the party has demanded governor's rule in the state under article 92 of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of political turmoil in the state, arising out of a confrontation between the two ruling coalition partners - Congress and PDP.
The BJP, which has been supportive of the governor and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in their stand against demilitarisation, also demanded dismissal of the coalition government in which PDP is a major partner.
"The current government has no locus standi to continue, as there was too much contradiction between the coalition partners who had turned their internal bickering into a street fight," Om added.
BJP members have ridiculed the PDP for voicing an "anti-national" demand that runs against the interests of the state and the people.
Almost all Jammu-centric parties, including the Jammu State Morcha, the Jammu Mukti Morcha and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers' Party (JKNPP), have voiced their strong opposition to demilitarisation demand.
"PDP is voicing Pakistan's demand. It has become Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's mouthpiece and the party should be thrown out of the coalition government," JKNPP chairman Bhim Singh said. JKNPP is also a constituent of the multi-party coalition government in the state.
Patna, March 21 (IANS) It can happen possibly only in Bihar. The names of more than 100 dead figure in the below poverty line (BPL) list in the state, exposing the irregularities in the official list of the poorest of the poor.
After the inclusion of names of a minister, legislators, rich contractors and officials in the BPL list prepared by the Nitish Kumar government, the dead are now turning up on the list.
At the same time, hundreds of landless poor, who live below the poverty line, do not figure in the list, leading to widespread protests across the state.
The names of 101 dead people are in the BPL list under the Charpokhri block in Bhojpur district, about 60 km from here. "We will look into it," said a district official.
According to official sources, the names of dead included even those who passed away a decade ago.
However, officials at the Charpokhri block development office downplayed the issue by saying it was a clerical error.
"Some names of dead people figured in the BPL list due to errors in the computer. The officials concerned have been directed to remove the names and correct the list," an official said.
In November, state Rural Development Minister Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, who owns a house in West Champaran district, land as well as a jeep, found his name in the BPL list. The list was being prepared under Mahto's supervision.
Last month it was reported that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia and a former legislator from Nokha in Rohtas district also figure in the BPL list.
Two people were killed and nearly six injured in the Matihani block of Begusarai district three days ago when the police fired to quell a mob that attacked the block office there alleging irregularities in the distribution of food stamps for those in the BPL list.
This gave the opposition an issue to attack the government.
The government has decided to prepare a fresh BPL list by deleting the names of undeserving beneficiaries and adding names that had been left out.
London, March 21 (DPA) Britain's chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown Wednesday laid the foundations for taking over the government by presenting a tax-cutting budget that focused on increased social spending and environmental perks.
Brown, 56, is expected to take over the Labour Party leadership to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair later this year.
While Blair has not named an exact date for his departure, it is widely expected that he will do so in early May in order to clear the path for a handover of power by the end of June.
In his 11th budget, a visibly relaxed Brown gave an upbeat assessment of his record 10-year tenure at the treasury, saying that the British economy was now growing faster than all other economies in the G8 group of industrial nations.
Brown predicted that the UK economy would grow by between 2.5 and 3 percent in 2008 and 2009, and that inflation would fall "under 2 percent this year."
Inflation stood at 2.8 percent in February, well above the government's 2 percent upper limit.
Brown's stewardship at the treasury won praise from Blair Wednesday who said the chancellor had delivered the "longest period of economic growth in our history."
"We should be proud of that," said Blair.
A buoyant Brown, who earlier this week was accused of portraying a "Stalinist ruthlessness" in his leadership style, laughed off the suggestion saying that he welcomed the "forthright advice" he received from civil servants - "or should I say comrades."
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Butterflies and vegetable colours dominated the ramp as designer duo of Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna and Ritu Kumar showcased their collections at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) Wednesday evening.
Inspired from the 1970s' stylised wallpapers and fashion diva Maggie of the 1960s, Rohit-Rahul's collection marked butterfly prints and retro look.
"The butterfly prints are inspired by the wallpapers of 70s and the collection is inspired by what the fashion diva of the 60s Maggie wore today. There is simplicity and use of non-colour," the designer duo told IANS.
Experiments rule the collection where frosted canvases, linen wool, lurex, Banarasi silk, cotton and fabrics with metallic lacquer find a home. The palette possessed all shades of gray, charcoal and black.
The line offers boxy jackets, peg skirts, kimono sleeves, skinny trousers, wallpaper stockings, knee skimming dresses, embroidery veiled with tulle and sheeted fastenings emphasising very high waist.
Meanwhile, with a concern for the ecology, Ritu Kumar's collection "Urban Roots" splashed vegetable colours on the ramp.
Traditional Kangra paintings lending foliage and colour to camouflage prints resulted in fusion of distinct styles.
The colour palette includes earthy shades of browns, forest greens and rich ochres. The drama of these pieces is epitomised in fluid skirts and jersey tops.
Cotton and wring spun denims infused with various bleaching techniques and embroidery to create the dramatic look.
"Through the collection we are looking at our roots and our ecology. Keeping in mind the ecology I have only used vegetable colours and natural fabrics like cotton in my collection. I think the girls were looking really great in them," said Ritu.
By Chie Matsumoto
Tokyo, March 21 (DPA) Cherry blossoms are serious business in Japan. They signal the onset of spring and provide important social opportunities. The entire nation takes sakura cherry blossoms seriously and all eyes are fixed on the blossoming predictions that the Japanese Meteorological Agency releases in March.
Japan's weather office doesn't limit its forecasts to the rain and sun but extends them in spring to reports of the so-called sakura front, which monitors the buds' development starting from a warmer region of southern Japan and onto the northern area.
So much expectation centres on the dates when flowers blossom in full that the agency was recently under attack for giving a forecast a few days off.
The head of forecast department bowed and apologized at a press conference, which was broadcast on a national television last week, saying that the agency betrayed Japanese people. The season starts this week.
"The responsibility was enormous," Keiichi Kashiwagi said. "We would like to send our wholehearted apology to the people who rely on our forecast."
The agency also posted a written apology on its website: "We deeply apologize for having caused inconveniences by releasing wrong information. We will revise our computer system and try our best to prevent any further mishaps from happening again in the future."
Inconveniences would have caused problems for businesses, party organizers and partygoers alike.
Millions of Japanese people flock to parks and gardens nationwide and get together with their co-workers and neighbours at picnics under cherry trees when the flowers are in full bloom.
Newspapers run front-page stories on how and where cherry blossoms are blooming, televised news programms show buds that are about to burst, and mobile phone users coordinate to conduct the Sakura Project to report on the development of flowers in their region.
Magazines, meanwhile, print special features on the best places to view the flowers for readers planning parties and picnics.
Weekend daytime hours bring millions of Japanese out with their sake Japanese rice-wine bottles, feasts of sushi and barbecue chickens and even portable karaoke machines to enjoy sitting under the cherry trees.
Freshmen employees are usually given the responsibility to pick the best spot in nearby parks and secure prime viewing space for the after-work parties. The day of the party might be the only chance employees are allowed to get out of work earlier than their bosses, so as to set up their picnic sites.
Food and alcohol sales also blossom during the season.
Alcohol sometimes takes attention away from cherry blossoms, when the priority shifts and public drunkenness becomes more acceptable than usual.
Aside from the busy singing and dancing drunks, food-delivery scooters are also witnessed weaving through patches of blue tarpaulin sheets handing over pizzas, fried chicken and Bento boxed lunches.
The young delivery staff can manage to spot their clients out of hundreds of people, thanks to mobile phones.
The cherry blossom period lasts for only about two weeks, but for the Japanese, the lure of this season lies exactly in its short-lived nature.
During the Middle Ages, Japan's samurai warriors particularly identified themselves with the fleeting beauty and fragility of the sakura as a symbol of their own lives.
Kamikaze pilots during World War II adorned themselves with sakura flowers before they plunged their bomb-laden planes onto Allied warships in suicide attacks.
The lives of the cherry blossoms are likewise brief. But the Japanese find beauty in the fragile pink petals blown by the wind, delicately landing on plates of food or in sake cups, to delicately proclaim the arrival of spring.
Mexico City, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The visit here by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as part of a regional tour is seen as cementing a Latin American strategic society as platform to approach international scenarios.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon admitted that he shares views on the challenges and tasks ahead so both countries agreed to boost integration with new development opportunities for the region.
Both heads of state signed several co-operation agreements on government purchases, forestry and phyto-sanitary and founded the Council of the Agreement for Bilateral Strategic Association (CABSA).
The CABSA, in force since Dec 20, will supervise enforcement of economic, commercial, political and co-operation accords, and will monitor bilateral ties via special commissions.
Over three billion USD in bilateral trade has turned Chile into Mexico's second most important business partner in the region.
After Mexico, Bachelet will head to Panama to complete a tour, which started in Guatemala.
Chennai, March 21 (IANS) India's leading IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Wednesday announced an IT contract with New York-based publishing major Simon & Schuster Inc (S&S) for providing technology support from three locations in the US.
Simon & Schuster, which is a part of US media giant CBS Corp, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing and is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and non-fiction across all print, electronic, and audio formats. It has decided to have an Indian publishing arm this year.
Cognizant will provide S&S with end-to-end information technology infrastructure management services including, helpdesk, network management, server management, application infrastructure support and desktop support.
It will provide delivery of services to the publishing major from New York, Parsippany and Riverside (both in New Jersey), as well as from its Bangalore facility in India.
The agreement for end-to-end infrastructure management and data centre operations services will include the management of 200 servers, 1,400 desktops, as well as the management of Simon & Schuster's mission critical applications.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 21 (IANS) A Commonwealth Study Conference team visited the Technopark campus here to study the impact of industry on people and their living environment in the area of IT, tourism and healthcare.
The 15-member delegation Tuesday held discussions on Technopark's development plans, the modus-operandi adopted in issues related to its developmental activities and also reviewed various policies related to the development of the park vis-à-vis competition.
The 10th Commonwealth Study Conference 2007 theme - 'Working together for inclusive growth and development' - hopes to bring together young achievers and future decision makers in industry and government from different parts of the world.
The project include visits to leading global business institutions, top ranking government and educational institutions, social entrepreneurs, healthcare facilities, giving a wide perspective of the changing and growing times in India.
The visit was under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and comprised Juliet Kabonesa, MP from Uganda, Anthony Segako, from the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority, and Tanzania Education Authority IT manager Elizabeth Mkoba, besides trade union, industry and NGO representatives from Canada, Australia and Britain.
The delegation, headed by CII executive officer Lakshmi Sampath, later visited the premises of Infosys and US Technology in the campus. The delegation will also visit Munnar and Kochi.
The Commonwealth Study Conference was initiated by the Duke of Edinburgh at Oxford University in Britain in 1956 as a means of examining the human aspects of industrial issues in Commonwealth nations.
It aims at balancing short-term and long-term goals of nations by analysing the role of the corporate sector and NGOs in creating sustainable models of development and addressing issues of cultural diversity.
Over the years, the conference has been held in Canada in 1962, 1980 and 1998, Britain in 1974 and 1992 and Australia in 1968, jointly between Australia and India in 1986, Australia and New Zealand in 2003 and now the 10th conference jointly between India, Singapore and Malaysia.
Dhaka, March 21 (Xinhua) Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon Wednesday said the state of emergency and suppression of political activity in Bangladesh should be lifted without unnecessary delay.
He also called for a road map leading up to inclusive and credible elections as soon as possible for a new parliament, with time-lines attached.
McKinnon told at a press conference here that at the moment there is no parliament in Bangladesh where the voice of the people can be heard.
"No people should be deprived of such a forum any longer than absolutely necessary. This is a fundamental right," he said.
The state of emergency and ban on political activities was imposed on Jan 11 by the military-backed transitional government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed to quell political turmoil over the general elections and the scheduled Jan 22 general elections were indefinitely postponed.
McKinnon had a series of discussions with the chief advisor, political party leaders and the election commission of Bangladesh.
He urged all political parties to work together with the Election Commission to enable the production of the new voters' list.
McKinnon said the Commonwealth will remain engaged with the Bangladeshi government and do all it can to assist in creating a genuine and sustainable democracy in the country.
Hyderabad, March 21 (IANS) Peeved by the denial of ticket for legislative council polls, ruling Congress party leader and former legislator D. Nagender Wednesday resigned from the party and also announced retirement from politics.
"I am unhappy with the present day politics," said Nagender, the general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh state unit of the party.
Nagender, who represented Asifnagar constituency for two terms, sent his resignation both from the post of general secretary and party membership to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and president of the state unit of the party K. Keshava Rao.
Nagender had quit Congress before the 2004 elections in protest against the party's decision to field him from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency. He then joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party to contest from Asifnagar assembly constituency. Though he won the seat, TDP lost to Congress. He rejoined Congress but was defeated in by-elections to the Asifnagar seat.
Considered close to the chief minister, Nagender was hoping that he would be fielded for the legislative council, which is being revived after two decades. However, his name did not figure in the list of ruling party candidates.
Nagender, however, said he was retiring from politics as vested interests dominated politics. He denied that his decision had anything to do with not being fielded for council polls.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court, hearing a public suit by an NGO Wednesday, took strong note of an allegation made by a tobacco firm that the petition was aimed at promoting business interests of another tobacco firm.
"This court could not be utilised by somebody for furthering its business and personal interest. The court would take it to its logical end," it said.
It was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Tobacco Control Foundation of India (TCFI), an NGO, seeking directions to the government to impose tax on cigarettes in accordance with the tobacco contents in each product.
Appearing before a bench of Chief Justice M.K. Sarma and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, tobacco major ITC's counsel Arun Jaitley submitted that the PIL should be dismissed, as there was a nexus between TCFI and Golden Tobacco Company (GTC) Ltd.
By filing the public suit, TCFI and its president Sajeela Maini were promoting 'low tobacco cigarette' of GTC, he alleged.
He said Maini had also addressed a press conference jointly with the president of Mumbai-based GTC to promote that firm's tobacco product.
The court said: "If the allegations were found to be correct, serious action would be initiated against the Foundation.
"There appears to be a nexus between the petitioner and the company."
Adjourning the matter till April 25, the court asked ITC to file an affidavit detailing its allegation with photographs so that the court can examine the facts.
It also asked the government to give its opinion in a week on implementing Section 5 of the 2003 act which prohibits all surrogate advertisements promoting tobacco and its products.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed a subordinate court to take note of the additional evidence submitted by the government against Indian-born Maninder Singh Kohli to face trial in Britain for alleged rape and murder of teenager Hannah Foster in 2003.
With the additional direction to expedite the trial, Justice Reva Khetrapal said the trial court was at liberty to take cognisance of the logbook of a van reportedly driven by Kohli on the night of March 14, 2003 - when Foster was murdered in Southampton - as supporting evidence for his extradition to Britain.
The parents of the murdered teenager were in India for the third time last month to expedite Kohli's extradition.
Kohli is currently lodged in Tihar jail here.
As Britain's prosecuting agency, the Crown Prosecution, submitted to the trial court the logbook, Kohli's counsel Charanjit Singh contested that the photocopy of the page of the logbook did not show the date. He contended that his client did not drive the van on the day.
The Crown Prosecutor of England had subsequently sent a photocopy of the logbook with the date visible on it, but the lower court again did not take cognisance of it. This prompted the government to approach the high court for a suitable direction to the lower court.
Kohli had allegedly fled England on March 16, 2003, two days after the 17-year-old's body was found. He was brought here from Chandigarh where he was lodged after his arrest on July 15, 2004 from Kalimpong in West Bengal.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Travelling 5,084 km in 26 days across deserts and mountains, a group of National Cadet Corps (NCC) students undertook a cross-country motorbike expedition to spread awareness about issues like AIDS, road safety and solar energy among the masses.
Starting Feb 26 from Bangalore, Karnataka, the group of 11 completed their educational journey in New Delhi Tuesday.
Said Lt Shyamala R, one of the two girls in the expedition: "I have participated in other such expeditions before but they have been within my state Karnataka. This is the first time that an expedition has been undertaken at a such a big scale and I am proud to be part of it."
The states they journeyed through included Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. They rode right till the Wagah border with Pakistan.
With 10 states to cover, the trip was a challenge that these youngsters, all in the age group of 19-21, took up with confidence. They travelled 300 km every day and enjoyed it thoroughly, not letting the climatic barriers dampen their spirits.
"I remember when we were travelling through Himachal Pradesh there was a heavy downpour. We slowed down but didn't stop in order to keep up with the time," Shyamala said.
They were especially thrilled by the fact that people, no matter which part of the country they were in, recognised the fraternity they belonged to.
"Wherever we went people came to us saying that they knew we belonged to the NCC. That helped us bond easily with them and spread our message," said a cadet.
Organising street plays, distributing pamphlets and giving talks on varied issues of concern were the tools the cadets used to hit home the message.
Narrating one incident, Shyamala said that while delivering a talk on AIDS awareness among a group of young married women in Rajasthan, some said that they would like their daughters to grow up to be like her.
"I was touched, at the same time glad that they realised the importance of education," said Shyamala.
The group is scheduled to head back home March 23.
Lt General Prakash Chaudhury who was here to receive the students in Delhi said: "At NCC we encourage students to undertake such expeditions, which not only helps build their confidence but also helps them grow as socially conscious individuals".
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday gave its approval of the Delhi government's suggestions to take over all municipality-run schools in a move to bring about qualitative improvement in teaching in those schools.
A division bench of Chief Justice M.K. Sarma and Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the government to take a formal decision in this regard and submit a plan-of-action by March 28.
"Taking over all the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) schools would not be enough. In order to provide quality education to the children, it would be necessary for the state government to run all these schools on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalaya," the judges said.
MCD director (education) Indira Yadav in an affidavit last week had said the authorities were initiating steps to improve the conditions in the schools.
The MCD has 1,810 primary schools and 519 of them are operating in double shifts. There are also 33 independent nursery schools in the city.
The total number of students studying in these schools are 9,55,391 in 2006, Yadav said the affidavit.
The bench had earlier banned opening any government school without providing basic amenities such as concrete buildings, urinals, potable water and hygienic atmosphere.
While hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction for better education for children in schools, the court had observed: "Why make a mockery of the education without providing basic amenities to the children?"
Education Department officials should be sensitised for providing congenial atmosphere in the schools where hundreds of thousands of students were getting education, the court said.
The court had observed earlier that it was a pity that even after 59 years of independence, the government could not provide basic amenities and facilities to the students in the state-run schools in the capital.
There were about 4,254 vacancies of primary teachers in the MCD schools, lack of drinking water facilities in 30 schools, no blackboard, power and toilet in many schools, claimed the petition.
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) A Delhi-Bangkok flight of Indian Airlines made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport Wednesday afternoon after a passenger reportedly claimed to be carrying explosives.
The passenger, a foreign national, was arrested and handed over to the police after the flight landed here, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport director V.K. Monga told IANS.
The plane was being checked for any explosives, said the official, adding that all passengers were safe.
Ottawa, March 21 (Xinhua) Canadian researchers have found a key protein to treat metastatic breast and ovarian cancers, making "smart" therapies possible for these diseases.
A protein called podocalyxin, which hides on the surface of tumour cells, may be an accurate predictor of metastatic cancer, researchers from University of British Columbia (UBC) said.
Metastatic cancer is invasive cancer that spreads from the original site to other sites in the body.
"Since it lies on the surface of cells we can target the antibodies to, or find a way to prevent its action," said Dr. Kelly McNagny, a stem cell expert with the UBC Biomedical Research Centre.
McNagny said the finding is a "small but important step" to develop so-called "smart" molecules in blocking the protein's function.
The researchers said information from this discovery might speed up the development of new therapies within 10 years.
"The ultimate goal is to generate new targeted, non-toxic treatments, different from the standard slash and burn chemotherapy," said Calvin Roskelley, an associate professor of cellular and physiological science.
The Public Library of Science has published the findings online.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that approximately 2,300 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed and about 1,600 women died of the disease last year.
Pretoria, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) Regional economic integration is one of the issues on the agenda of the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Council of Ministers meeting in Lesotho later this week.
South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad departs for Maseru, Lesotho, on Wednesday, to join Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, as part of a senior South African government delegation to the meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
"Although the March session of the Council of Ministers is customarily of a predominantly administrative and financial nature, foreign ministers are expected to deliberate on the review of operations of the Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM) as well as progress made in the regional economic integration process following a report from the Ministerial Task Force on this issue," the Department of Foreign Affairs here said in a statement Tuesday.
Pahad will participate in this meeting within the context of South Africa's commitment to consolidate the African developmental agenda by promoting the integration and development of SADC, the department added.
The ministers will consider, among other things, progress in the establishment of the new SADC headquarters including its design, financing and construction. They are also to discuss financing SADC projects, including the HIV and AIDS project, the Hashim Mbita project, and the food security training programme.
Outcomes of the SADC-European Union Joint Ministerial meeting are also on the agenda, as is the proposed SADC Conference on Poverty and Development and the proposed membership of the Seychelles in the regional body.
Ministers will also receive reports from the Executive Secretary, the SADC Troika and the organization's Finance Committee.
The ministerial meeting will be preceded by meetings of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials and the Finance Committee.
Pahad is scheduled to return to South Africa on Saturday.
New Delhi, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) United Arab Emirates Vice President Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid AL-Maktum will embark on an official two-day visit to India on Sunday to bolster bilateral relations with India.
An official spokesman for the Indian government said Sheikh Mohammad, also Premier and Dubai Governor, will visit India accompanied by a delegation of senior officials and businessmen.
He will meet with Indian President Abdul Kalam, Premier Manmohan Singh, and other senior officials in the Indian government, the spokesman said.
Sheikh Mohammad will discuss means to bolster cooperation on all levels, especially on economy and trade, while the Indian government is keen on discussing financing of terrorism that passes through Dubai.
Addis Ababa, March 21 (NNN-ENA) A senior Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi lesves here Thursday for Algeria to participate on New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) extraordinary summit.
During the meeting, African leaders are expected to review the implementation of NEPAD since it’s launching in 2001 and discuss ways of strengthening it on a firm and cohesive African position.
Meles, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other African leaders as well as NEPAD executives are expected to participate in the meeting.
It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Meles has been elected NEPAD chairman during the 6th regular session and peer review mechanism meeting of NEPAD held in Addis Ababa recently.
Meles will be assuming the chairmanship of NEPAD as of May 29 this year.
Brussels, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) A spokesperson for EU Commissioner for External Relations Beneta Ferrero-Waldner has said the EU has not taken a final position on the new Palestinian government up till now.
Emma Udwin told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) by phone here Tuesday that the EU was still assessing the situation, so it needed enough time to take a final decision on the new Palestinian national unity government.
During her recent visit to the Middle East region, the EU commissioner for external relations met the new Palestinian foreign, finance and information ministers, vowing that they would meet the Quartet's conditions and terms, she said.
During an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers to be held in Germany in late April, they would mull over a European uniform position on the new Palestinian government, she said.
The EU is now split over the new Palestinian national unity government. Some countries call for restoring political and economic ties with the Palestinian government, while others are opposed to dealing with Hamas ministers.
Brussels, March 21 (IANS) The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) Wednesday adopted a report on Kashmir in a move seen by observers as a victory for Indian diplomacy.
Sixty members of the AFET voted in favour of the report following 28 compromise proposals, only one voted against and 11 abstained. The amended report will now go before the plenary of the European Parliament (EP) for approval in May.
"I am very pleased indeed that we succeeded in having the vote,'' rapporteur of the report 'Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects', Baroness Emma Nicholson, told INEP in an interview.
She noted that that some British Members of European Parliament (MEPs) were against a vote.
"They had declared the vote will not happen, it will not happen in two months or three years and that the report will be crushed completely and I will be dismissed," said Nicholson, herself a British Liberal MEP.
"Today's vote is a triumph and exactly correct. Now we look forward to the plenary session," she said.
"The report has been battered but I think it has emerged stronger.
It had a fantastic majority,'' said Nicholson.
She noted that the draft report has been modified by a number of amendments but the substance of the report remains unchanged.
The most controversial clause in the report on plebiscite in Kashmir, however, appears to have been diluted.
"I am checking now what exactly has happened. We have put in that the conditions for the plebiscite have not been met," said Nicholson.
Pakistan and Pakistani-backed Kashmiri groups had been intensely lobbying to amend the report that criticized the democracy-deficit in Pakistan and the human rights situation in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir.
Islamabad was particularly irked over the report's dismissal of calls for plebiscite to resolve the Kashmir issue.
The original draft report had said that "continuing calls for a plebiscite on the final status of Jammu and Kashmir are wholly out of step with the needs of the local people and thus damaging to their interests."
"We support the peace process, we are against the plebiscite in principle but we believe in the right of self-determination," said Nicholson.
Charles Tannock, spokesperson for the British Conservative party and shadow rapporteur of the Kashmir report, said he has been in "favour of changing the tone of the report to get rid of the more offensive and insulting part, but I see the essential substance of the report is in tact."
The report, he said, condemns cross-border terrorism and says that conditions for plebiscite have not been met so there cannot be a plebiscite on this issue.
"I am absolutely sure that those who lost today, particularly lobbies and people who feel strongly about the report tried to kill the report. It was a disgrace that in the Pakistani press it was reported that there will not be a vote today and that they are going to kill the report," Tannock told INEP.
He noted that till the last moment there were moves to postpone the voting.
Tannock, who described himself as a friend of India said, "I am 75% satisfied, not 100 percent" with the adopted report.
According to EP sources, British MEP Richard Howitt of the Socialist Group had done intense lobbying in the last two days to postpone the voting and kill the report.
Most of the MEPs interested in the Kashmir report are British who have large Pakistani, Indian and Kashmiri communities in their constituencies back home.
Sajjad Karim , Liberal British MEP, said there has "been some movement in the right direction".
"We have the plenary to vote yet to take place in May. I think there is a need to bring further amendments. It is for that reason that I abstained from voting in support of the report," said Karim who is of Pakistani origin.
He said that his amendment proposal to include plebiscite is the main ambition of the people of Kashmir was rejected.
Karim said he will try to include this amendment during the plenary vote in the EP in May.
Barrister Majid Tramboo, who heads the Brussels-based Kashmir Centre, said there "is some improvement and some grey areas which we will clean up during the plenary period."
The text has been improved dramatically so our right of self-determination has been mentioned, said Tramboo who has been leading the campaign to get the report changed.
Sunil Prasad, president of the Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin in Belgium (GOPIO) and Europe India Chamber of Commerce general secretary, said, "the passing of the report itself is a big achievement for India."
"It is a victory for the people of Kashmir and their aspirations. It is a victory for Indian diplomacy," he told INEP.
The report was to be adopted by AFET in January but following a record 450 amendment proposals the vote was postponed.
The Pakistan Observer newspaper in a news item published on Jan 16 reported that a vast majority of the amendments received were from Pakistan-backed Kashmiri groups.
"The EU report on Kashmir triggered an immediate response from Pakistan, which set up a high-profile team to tackle the situation... the job of lobbying to seek amendments in the EU draft report was handed over to ISI "(Pakistan's intelligence service), said the paper.
Majid Tramboo was assigned the task of lobbying by Pakistan, wrote the paper.
By Lavinia Mahlangu
Zurich, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) In its first meeting of 2007 later this week, the Executive Committee of world football governing body, FIFA, will discuss a variety of issues including the 2010 FIFA World Cup IN South Africa.
The meeting, to be chaired by President Joseph Blatter, will take place on Thursday and Friday and will be discussing the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in addition to other FIFA competitions.
Time is running out for national football associations who have not enrolled for the 2010 World Cup preliminary round as yet, because they had been given until mid-March to do so.
The preliminary draw is due to take place in Durban, South Africa, on Nov 23, 2007.
South Africa will host 2010 FIFA World Cup games at ten stadia in nine cities, in what is billed to be a truly African World Cup, and the best FIFA World Cup ever.
There will be five new stadia, and five existing stadia will be refurbished and upgraded for the world's most popular sport.
Three existing stadia in South Africa's major metropolis, Gauteng, will be upgraded. These are FNB stadium, Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld.
The Royal Bafokeng stadium in North West province will be upgraded, as will the Vodacom Park in Mangaung (Bloemfontein) in Free State province.
Five new stadia will be built or rebuilt.
In Limpopo, the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane will host 2010 games while a new stadium will be built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga, as well as in the Nelson Mandela Metro (encompassing Port Elizabeth) in Eastern Cape.
Kings Park stadium in the eThekwini Metro (encompassing Durban) will be rebuilt for the event, becoming also a multi-sports facility.
In the Western Cape, Cape Town's Green Point stadium will be rebuilt, becoming a "totally new" multi-purpose sports facility complete with a dome, which will be able to open and close as a precaution against the city's unpredictable weather.
FIFA said that the most important issues under discussion would be the upcoming World Cup as well as the 57th FIFA Congress and the final financial accounts for the 2003-2006 period.
Other topics for discussion will be sports political and legal issues and FIFA's development initiatives such as Win in Africa with Africa and Football for Hope as well as a project in India.
"As already announced, this year's FIFA Congress will be held in the Hallenstadion, Zurich, on Wednesday, 30 May and Thursday, 31 May," FIFA said in a statement.
The first day's opening ceremony will be dedicated to welcome addresses, award presentations and a programme of entertainment. The second day will deal with the items on agenda in accordance with the statutes and the election of the president.
With regard to the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA executive committee will be required to deal with various proposals for amendments and approve the Congress agenda. Furthermore, the new Home of FIFA is due to be officially opened on May 29.
Regarding the 2003-2006 financial period ended on 31 December 2006, the governing body said after closing the accounts for this period, its administration submitted them for approval to the bodies responsible for examining them.
"As the final such body before the Congress, the Executive Committee will be informed of the detailed Financial Report. The salient figures and further financial information will also be made known during the media conference held immediately after the Executive Committee."
In addition to discussions of issues at hand, FIFA's Executive will be welcoming a new member to the "football family" as the governing body often refers to its members and affiliates. Marios N. Lefkaritis of Cyprus will be taking his place on the committee for the first time as a UEFA representative.
Lefkaritis will be replacing Michel Platini, who, as the newly elected President of the European confederation, UEFA, will automatically assume the position of FIFA vice-president.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The Latin American diplomatic community in this city is making final preparations for the first Latin American Festival in Malaysia, to be held this Sunday, it was revealed here Tuesday.
The embassies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela are sponsoring the event, hoping this first annual party will grow in the future.
Cuban Ambassador Pedro Monzon Barata noted that the one-day event, which includes music, dances, food, and handicraft typical of these Latin American peoples, would be a great opportunity for all Latin American residents in Malaysia to come together and celebrate.
Profits from the festival would be donated to social welfare programmes, it was revealed.
Havana, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Challenges of horizontal and far-reaching perforation are among issues of the First Congress on Oil and Gas, Petrogas 2007, which began in this capital on Tuesday.
According to organizers, this meeting will be run due to the importance of both resources for the country's economy.
Among issues to be analyzed are exploration in deep waters, production of heavy crude oil in fields with carbonated reserves, and treatment, transport and refining heavy crude oil.
The expansion of the Cuban oil industry has among its fundamental bases the contributions of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, an integrationist project that places social aims first and assume true economic complementation.
Being held in parallel to the congress is the Second Earth Sciences Convention, Geociencias 2007, with forums on geology, geophysics and the mining industry and attended by 20 nations, among them Canada, Venezuela, Chile, Spain, China, Italy and Mexico.
Algiers,March 21 (Islamic Voice) In an effort to promote Islam among the sizable Berber community, Algerian authorities have released a new translation of the Qur’an in the Berber language, Tamazight. The Algerian Religious Affairs Ministry funded the printing of 6,000 copies of a full translation carried out by its experts, while Saudi Arabia financed the printing of 5,000 more copies. All copies were distributed for free and the ministry plans to print more. Berbers form around 20% of Algeria’s 33 million population. Most live in the northern region of Kabylie. Berbers were the original inhabitants of North Africa before the arrival of Arabs in the seventh century. There are around 20 million speakers of Tamazight across North Africa. Algiers says the move came in response to the increasing need of the Berber community to fully understand the meanings of the Quran.
Baghdad, March 21 (Xinhua) Two roadside bombs targeting police patrols went off in quick succession in eastern Baghdad Wednesday, wounding two policemen and three civilians, an Interior Ministry source said.
The blasts, detonated at about 7.40 a.m. (local time) near the Beirut Square, also damaged a police vehicle and several nearby civilian cars.
Source said that the police patrols found 31 unidentified bodies in different parts of Baghdad on Tuesday, adding that some of the bullet-riddled bodies were found blindfolded, showing signs of torture.
Two US soldiers were killed and a third wounded in a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad Tuesday, military sources said Wednesday.
Violence persists in Baghdad despite the presence of tens of thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers across the capital in a major security crackdown aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.
Sydney,March 21 (Islamic Voice) Senior Muslim leaders have called for the Australian flag to be flown outside the nation’s mosques as an expression of the Muslim community’s “loyalty� and commitment to the country. Muslim clerics urged Australia’s 300,000 Muslims to back the idea as a symbol of “integration� and pride. “Even in Muslim countries in the mosque, they fly the national flag, such as in Pakistan. If that can be done in a Muslim country, why not in Australia?�, said former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Muslim reference group, Dr. Ameer Ali. “We are Australian Muslims,� he said. “And it (the flag) is a symbol of our national identity.� Muslim leader Keysar Trad said some community members would consider the idea of displaying the flag as “politicising a place of worship�. “I have no problem with the flag being at Muslim schools, but a place of worship is for all people to be equal and as such I believe places of worship should maintain the tradition of not raising the national flag,� he said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) India has vegetation cover of only 23.68 percent of land as against a required 33 percent and there is a need to plant trees in additional 31.5 million hectares, Minister of State for Environment and Forest N.N. Meena said Wednesday.
While celebrating the World Forestry Day here Wednesday, Meena said: "We are aware, the national goal as per the national forest policy is to bring one-third of the country's land area under forest and tree cover. There is a need for bringing additional 31.5 million hectares under forest and tree cover."
"It's a herculean task. Since there is a limited scope for increase in forest cover within recorded forest area, it's imperative to involve the public in tree planting outside these areas," the minister said.
He asserted that the joint forest management scheme of his ministry would help in this endeavour, as community participation is the key to the initiative.
"Communities at the village, block and district levels have been roped in to both safeguard the existing forest cover and expand it by planting trees," Meena said.
Highlighting the pressure on forest, the minister said that it (pressure) would continue to increase vis-à-vis the rising population.
"Increasing population and economic growth means more people will be demanding more things from a fewer forests. It seems certain that plantation and trees outside forest will take on an increasing role in meeting these demands," he added.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Environment and Forests A. Raja said empowering people, particularly assigning the ownership of minor forest produce for the purpose of access, processing and trade would definitely enhance their livelihood.
"It would be a milestone in reducing the poverty of the people living in and around forests," the senior minister added.
Guatemala City, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Guatemalan security forces apprehended four people, three men and a woman, on Tuesday for possible links to the Feb 19 murder of three Salvadoran deputies and their driver.
The arrests were part of operations in Jutiapa Department (province) near El Salvador, and in the capital itself, Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann told reporters.
Vielmann said Mario Javier Lemus, Obdulio Waldemar de Leon, Carlos Orellana and Linda Castillo Orellana were active participants in the deaths of the Salvadoran deputies, allegedly purchasing the fuel, and they are believed to have disarmed the deputies car in a search for money or drugs.
The minister said the investigators have verified that the four suspects are involved in drug trafficking.
On March 26, representatives of the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador will meet to analyze the course of the investigation into the crime and the subsequent execution of four police officers arrested for being presumably responsible for the murders.
Paris, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) -- Despite European Union reservations about the new Hamas-Fatah national union government, France has said it was in favour of resuming aid to the new Palestinian executive authority, a position that contradicts that of Israel and also differes from that of the United States.
"France is prepared to resume political contacts with those members of the Palestinian government who are not drawn from Hamas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said at a press briefing Tuesday.
He said that France considered "direct financial aid to the new government should be resumed" and France is "currently defending that position with our European counterparts".
Discussions among the 27 EU nations are ongoing on the subject of aid, which was suspended after the surprise election of Hamas in January 2005.
Already France last week said it would resume contacts between Foreign Ministers and invited the Palestinian Foreign Minister to visit Paris. Failing that, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy vowed to visit his counterpart, Ziad Abu Amro, in Palestine.
Abu Amro is an independent and not from either Fatah or Hamas, which France and its EU partners have been boycotting because Hamas refuses to renounce violence, recognise Israel and adhere to agreements signed by the PLO in 1993.
Hamas argues it cannot renounce violence unless Israel stops attacking it and forcing it to resist and it says it cannot recognise the Israel that is developing as this is not the Israel that is supposed to exist within the 1967 borders in line with earlier accords.
As for the 1993 accords, Hamas says that Israel is constantly violating these accords through its settlement policy, the construction of the separation wall, the ongoing economic stranglehold on the Palestinian economy and the policy of targeted assassination against alleged militants and the destruction of Palestinian property.
Israel's policy towards Jerusalem is also a flagrant violation of the accords signed between the two sides, Hamas maintains, noting that Israel's policy in this area has been internationally condemned.
France on Tuesday adopted a median line with the new Palestinian government, saying it would cooperate with ministers who were not part of Hamas.
Despite the boycott of Hamas for direct aid, the EU says it has tried to maintain indirect humanitarian aid since the Hamas election and sought innovative ways to get aid to the Palestinians, but the EU action, along with a US aid freeze and Israel's refusal to hand over tax duties to the Palestinians, paralysed the government and caused major disruptions to the economy and to the civil service, in particular.
The European aid, estimated at close to one billion euros annually, is vital to the Palestinian executive and it is unlikely the new national union government can survive without a fast influx of fresh cash from the Europeans.
By Nozipho Dlamini
Durban, South Africa, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) The eThekwini Metropolitann Municipality, in conjunction with several stakeholders, have set up a Disaster Management Joint Operations Committee (DM-Joc) after freak massive waves that caused damage along the beach in the early hours of Monday morning.
The establishment of the committee follows damage to infrastructure along the coastline and national warnings from the South African Weather Services that high seas with wave heights in excess of seven metres were expected along the southern KwaZulu-Natal province coastline.
The committee consists of Metro Police, South African Police Services, Emergency Services, Electricity, Water, Roads, Engineering and Parks and Recreation.
According to eThekwini Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo, the situation had prompted the municipality to closed off all entrances to local beaches until further notice. "The city's emergency services are on standby for further wave activity along the eThekwini coastline,� he said.
He said there was no need for panic as a plan was in place to anticipate further storm impact.
Due to extreme weather conditions, a culmination of the highest astronomical tide as a result of the alignment of the sun, moon and earth and a cyclone around the coast of Madagascar, Durban has been experiencing unusually high tides and damage has been experienced all along the coastline, with Umdloti being the worst hit.
On Monday, a huge tidal wave of up to six metres in height hit the Durban beachfront, causing immense infrastructural damage along the coast and Naidoo warned people to stop parking their vehicles and walking onto the beaches to witness the wave damage.
Lyon,March 21 (Islamic Voice)A French court in Lyon has overturned a decision by the city’s top educational authority to close a Muslim secondary school. “Justice is served,� the school’s principal Nazir Hakim said. The school’s administration had decried the closure decision as indicative of rising Islamophobia in France. The school is to open three classes by March 2007 and will mainly teach state curricula in addition to Quran, jurisprudence, Islamic civilization and history. Private Muslim schools are an urgent demand by many Muslim families in France, especially after the state banned hijab and religious symbols at public schools. In July 2003, the French government approved the establishment of Ibn Rushd school in Lille, which became the first secondary Muslim school in France. France is home to some six to seven million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.
New Delhi,March 21 (ibnlive.com) The filing of nominations has begun for only 120 of the 403 seats in the UP Assembly polls, and there are already over two dozen people with criminal backgrounds trying to enter the 15th UP Assembly as Independents.
Leading the pack is Mumbai blasts accused Abu Salem, who was in fact the first one to announce his candidature from Mubarakpur Assembly seat in Azamgarh district even though his name does not figure in the voter's list.
And then there is another don, Om Prakash Srivastava alias Babloo Srivastava, who has joined the fray in the Lucknow (central) seat.
Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, too, is back in the poll field as is Seema Parihar, the female accomplice of slain dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar; Mukhtar Ansari and Dhananjay Singh.
The filing of nominations for 62 Assembly seats concluded on Tuesday while the process is on full flow for 58 seats, which go to polls in the second phase. The poll notification for the second phase was announced on Saturday.
But the number of criminals that have entered the fray has already raised many an eyebrow among political observers.
Salem’s candidature is still in doubt. The don is currently lodged in the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai. While he can contest the elections under the prevalent law, the district authorities of Azamgarh and the Chief Electoral Officer have rejected his appeal to include his name in the voter's list.
The mafia gangster has now moved the Allahabad High Court, challenging the non-inclusion of his name in the voter's list in his own home district. The status of his candidature will be clear only after the high court gives its verdict on the same.
His lawyers are hopeful of a favourable verdict. Azamgarh goes to polls only in the seventh and last phase on May 8. Salem's lawyer says the gangster actually wanted to contest Assembly elections from Sarai Meer, but his name was not included in the voter's list there too. Also, the constituency has been declared a reserved seat this time.
Babloo Srivastava had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Sitapur seat in 1995. Now he is back to try his luck in the Assembly polls from the Kayasthya-dominated Lucknow (central) seat. He is lodged in the Barielly Central Jail at present and is fighting several criminal cases in the Lucknow court.
Mukhtar Ansari, the don of Mau who is charged with crimes like murder and dacoity, was an Independent MLA in the outgoing UP Assembly.
He is back in the same seat as an Independent candidate. Ansari is also planning to field a few candidates in various other constituencies. "If some of his candidates win, it would push him into a bargaining position," PTI quoted a senior police officer as saying.
So are Dhananjay Singh (Rari, Jaunpur) and Raja Bhaiyya (Kunda, Pratapgarh), who have already crossed over to politics. There are strong chances that they will may it to the next Assembly as well.
Mohammad Ashraf, the main accused in the murder of Raju Pal, the BSP MLA from Allahabad (West), will be contesting from the same constituency. His elder brother Atiq Ahmed is a Samajwadi Party MP from Phoolpur. Ashraf, who has several criminal cases against him, was defeated by Raju Pal in the last Assembly elections.