15
15 September 2006
Arroyo seeks out Amnesty International
London, Sept 15 (NNN-PNA) It was not in her schedule and neither was it a must for her to do so. But Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, determined to put a closure to the alleged human rights abuses under her administration, particularly the spate of extra-judicial killings in recent months, sought out officials of London-based Amnesty International (IT) Thursday and was pleased with the results.
It was the first time a head of state had sought out Amnesty International and the human rights advocacy group responded positively, according to Presidential Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye in an impromptu pre-departure briefing Thursday afternoon on the chartered Philippine Airlines jetliner that would take President Arroyo to Havana, Cuba.
Bunye said the three-man AI panel appreciated the fact that President Arroyo had taken time to explain to them what is actually happening in the country. The President, he said, briefed AI officials on the creation of the Melo Commission to investigate the spate of extra-judicial killings and informed them of the impending approval of the law granting compensation to the victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime.
"They responded positively and appreciated the fact that the President is the first head of state that has dealt with Amnesty International head on," Bunye said.
As President Arroyo listened intently, Bunye said, AI officials made some recommendations on how to deal with the issue, foremost of which is that the Melo Commission should operate with transparency and independence which, according to Bunye, is what the President really wants to happen.
The President, however, is not limiting the assistance coming from AI in dealing with the issue. According to Bunye, the Chief Executive is also looking at the proposal of Spain, Finland and Brussels which have all indicated their desire to send monitors to the Philippines.
Bangle sellers take up cudgels against female foeticide
Boondi (Rajasthan), Sep 15 (IANS) A petite, pretty bangle seller deftly slips on brightly coloured bangles on the slim wrist of her customer. As she chats with her about family matters, she tells her to say 'no' to female foeticide.
Bangle sellers, popularly called maniharins, are the latest recruits to advise women in rural India against killing their to-be-born female children, says Grassroots Features.
In the process, they risk confronting the rich and powerful. But these frail, impoverished women seem determined to stop female foeticide in rural India.
These maniharins enjoy the confidence of mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Specialising in door-to door marketing of bangles their cosmetics advice makes them intimate with customers.
At a meeting July 2-3 in Bhajneri village, maniharins from nine states decided to work towards preventing sex determination tests and female foeticide.
Female foeticide is big business for unscrupulous doctors and health workers, especially in Haryana, Punjab, western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
"Women activists are now ranged against a powerful mafia of doctors and private nursing homes with an annual turnover of Rs.10 billion," community leader Rameshwar Dayal pointed out.
Manihars and maniharins are also called lakhera or lakshyakar.
Vishnu Prasad Bagadia, president of the All India Lakhera Samaj, demanded legal cover for the community to promote this campaign.
"I will approach the governments of Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, to officially involve the community. They should be allowed to report pregnancies and keep a vigil against female foeticide."
A major reason for the Lakhera Samaj to campaign against female foeticide is that the dwindling number of girls is now adversely affecting their business. They fear they may be forced to abandon their centuries-old bangles and cosmetics business if more daughters are not born.
At the Bhajneri meeting and their earlier all-India Mumbai session in January, community leaders cautioned campaigners to be careful as they could be implicated in false civil or criminal cases, or face personal violence. But none of them felt intimidated.
The bangle sellers, who number 1.2 million, are one of the most neglected social groups. They are educationally backward and ignorant about the advantages of modern banking facilities. Neither categorised as Scheduled Tribe nor Scheduled Caste, their demands for a better deal have gone largely ignored.
Senior Lakhera Samaj leader Radhey Shyam Bagadia told a Planning Commission meeting in New Delhi in March this year: "The entire healthcare system in the districts is pitted against the girl child. Even the anganwadi workers are involved in this crime."
Lakhera women are treated as equals by their men folk. They are independent, daring and travel hundreds of kilometres without male escorts. Some maniharins have even contested elections.
According to Kamla, a graduate from Jodhpur University, "Women volunteers should be permitted to approach the police. The government should also issue identity cards to activists."
She says scheduled castes and backward communities do not consider the birth of a daughter a burden.
"Female foeticide among them is rare. The problem is among the educated upper castes, who still consider daughters a huge financial liability."
Bush administration remains clueless about Iraq: Khaleej Times
Dubai, Sept 15 (NNN-WAM) -- A United Arab Emirates (UAE) newspaper has termed Iraq as indeed an epic tragedy not witnessed in the past many centuries and called on Washington to change strategy and Arab capitals to forge a common stance on Iraq.
''Even the great tragedy of Palestine cannot be compared to what is unfolding in Iraq. While the Arab and Muslim world clearly knew where it stood on the question of Palestine� Israel conflict and who the aggressor is, Iraq defies all such classification,� commented the Khaleej Times.
In its daily editorial today, the Dubai-based paper said: '' in the nightmare called new Iraq, loyalties are all mixed up. On the one hand, Shias and Sunnis are both fighting the occupation.
On the other hand, they are fighting amongst themselves. The US invasion has not only savaged one of the richest and oldest countries in the world, it has opened the Pandora’s box in the form of a bloody conflict between the Shia majority and Sunni minority,'' the paper remarked.
''By their incredibly inept handling of the post� Invasion situation, the occupying powers has unleashed a hideous monster of sectarian bigotry. They have managed to achieve what successive regimes of Mesopotamia failed to do: The division of Iraqi people on sectarian and ethnic lines,'' the paper said.
“In the view of the paper Iraq is an unholy mess is hardly a state secret. However, now the extent of the never-ending tragedy is such that neighboring countries are beginning to feel the heat.
“UN chief Annan got the message during his recent visits to the region. Middle Eastern leaders are increasingly perturbed over Iraq and the clear and present danger it poses to the security and stability of the region, says Annan pointing out that the US is in a position where it "can’t stay and it cannot leave."
“On the one hand, the paper went on to say, scores of innocent civilians get caught in the crossfire between the occupying forces and the insurgents every day. On the other, defenseless members from the minority community are hounded and killed like animals by the murderous militias loyal to the political parties that are part of the ruling Shia alliance. Even yesterday, more than 60 bodies were found as violence flared up across Iraq.
''Three years after the Operation Freedom, the Bush administration remains clueless about ending the bloodshed in Iraq. Except for the regulation rhetoric declaring Iraq as the “Main front� in the so-called war on terror from time to time, the administration appears to have no credible plan or strategy to end the suffering of Iraqi people, ‘the paper indicated.
''Unless there’s a dramatic change of strategy in Washington or change of heart in Iraq, peace will continue to elude the country. Iraq’s neighbors and other Arab countries too have to get their act together. This is no time to stand and stare. If Iraq is lost, they will not remain unaffected.�
CBI argues for death for Memons
Mumbai, Sep 15 (IANS) The special court hearing the 1993 blasts case devoted Friday to arguments for sentencing of the four members of the Memon family, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pressing for death penalty and the defence pleading for leniency.
CBI lawyer C. Sharma demanded that capital punishment be awarded to all four Memons - Essa, Yakub, Rubina and Yusuf - terming it as the "rarest of rare cases".
The four were held guilty Wednesday under various charges, including conspiracy, murder, waging war against the state as well as under sections of the Explosives Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The minimum sentence is five years and the maximum death.
Sharma told the special court of Judge P.D. Kode: "Undue sympathy of this court towards the accused will do harm to the justice system. It was an organised mass murder. The manner of committing the murder should also be noted and taken into consideration."
Earlier, defence counsel Harshad Ponda, who replaced Majeed Memon, pleaded for minimum sentence of five years and said Rubina Memon had already spent 32 months in jail so the court should be lenient.
In case of Yakub, he argued that he was not part of the conspiracy and should be released as he had already spent 12 years behind bars.
In his brother Essa's case, Ponda said the court should take into consideration that he was suffering from a brain tumour and was in urgent need of surgery. He had also spent considerable time behind bars.
The court also heard arguments in favour of Yusuf Memon, who has been in jail for five years and reportedly suffers from schizophrenia.
After the Memons, the court would take up the case Mohammed Shoaib Ghansar, the the main accused in the Zaveri Bazaar blasts that killed 17 people.
Ghansar, pronounced guilty Thursday, was charged with parking an RDX-laden scooter that exploded in the busy Zaveri Bazaar, the seventh blast in a string of gruesome attacks that rocked India's commercial capital over a space of two hours and 10 minutes on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring more than 700.
Data thefts lead to enhanced cyber security
By Murali Krishnan
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Theft of secured data and leakage of sensitive information from key defence establishments have spurred the Indian government to tighten cyber security.
To ensure that vital information stored in its computers does not fall into wrong hands, the government has directed all ministries and departments to submit a quarterly report on cyber security to the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
The theft of hard drives from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) offices of the Scientific Analyses Group (SAG) and the Institute for System Studies and Analyses (ISSA) as well as the leakage in the War Room of the Naval Headquarters has led to the exercise, official sources said.
According to senior officials, a detailed set of guidelines has been issued to make government data secure and a cyber security officer appointed in each ministry under the new security regime.
"We will also conduct checks at random to see if the storage of critical data in computers is carried out properly and, more important, if it is in safe custody. The move is also to ensure there is no theft of classified information," a senior official told IANS, not wanting to be identified.
A trained network administrator will strictly monitor the security of passwords, the use of flash drives and floppies for computer servers used for classified applications.
The implementation of this move will begin in October. The government already has in place a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) aimed at protecting from hackers the networks of defence forces, air and rail traffic and other vital security and economic establishments.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked government departments and the IT industry to work together to tighten cyber security laws. At a meeting to review the steps taken by the government and industry to tackle cyber crimes last year, he underlined the need to maintain high standards of quality, confidentiality and reliability in the business.
The theft of hard drives from the DRDO complex some years ago proved a major embarrassment for the scientific establishment. In the War Room leak, cases were filed against military officers including a former wing commander of the air force, two ex-naval commanders and a former naval captain in June this year.
Again in June, computer parts went missing from the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Services (IDS) here, forcing the government to order a court of inquiry into the incident.
The government action came after the theft of 13 computer printer cartridges worth Rs.17,000 from the store room of the well-protected military installation in the heart of the capital.
While these measures will indeed make it more difficult to pilfer information and raise the stakes for those attempting to subvert the system, they are by no means sufficient, say officials.
"There can be no let-up in vigilance as ultimately, in ensuring cyber and digital security, it is the human element that is the weak link," said the intelligence official.
Whether it is the written-down password lying around carelessly or a corrupt security guard, a small chink can have serious consequences, he said.
Eight army men wounded in Kashmir attack
Srinagar, Sep 15 (IANS) Eight Indian soldiers were injured, two of them critically, when separatist guerrillas ambushed a passing army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district Friday afternoon.
Heavily armed guerrillas sprayed bullets at a passing Indian Army convoy near Thokarpora village on the Srinagar-Kupwara highway, 80 km from here, in north Kashmir Friday afternoon, a senior police official told IANS.
"The convoy was on its way from Kupwara to Srinagar. Eight army men were injured in the heavy firing by militants," the official said.
Defence spokesman Col. Hemant Juneja said the two critically injured soldiers were airlifted to Srinagar base hospital for treatment.
"Troops have cordoned off the village and are conducting massive searches to trace the militants," Col Juneja said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility.
Entire opposition in Punjab Assembly suspended
Chandigarh, Sep 15 (IANS) The entire opposition in the Punjab Assembly was suspended Friday after it pressed for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into a multi-million scam in the sale of commercial space in the industrial city of Ludhiana.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and legislators from other parties and independents rushed to the well of the house demanding that a CBI probe be ordered into the scam.
They were particularly demanding action against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Local Bodies Minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh.
After three adjournments due to slogan shouting by the opposition, Speaker Kewal Krishan suspended the entire opposition for the current special assembly session.
The session will otherwise resume Tuesday (Sep 19) to take up a debate on development in the state.
The opposition gunning for the Amarinder Singh government on the scam in the sale of commercial space in the Ludhiana City Centre project was expected following a sting operation by a TV channel.
The channel had shown that a private builder involved in the construction of the state's biggest upcoming commercial complex was ready to sell space in the project with 30 percent payment in cheque and the remaining in cash.
This led to a major controversy as opposition members said commercial space was being sold in black causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.
They demanded dismissal of Amarinder Singh and his minister Jagjit Singh.
The Punjab government acted cautiously on the controversy and disbanded the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) Thursday as a face saving measure. The blame for the space selling controversy was passed on to LIT officials.
The role of Jagjit Singh has been under a scanner ever since the controversy broke.
Fidel Castro fails to turn up at NAM summit
By Tarun Basu
Havana, Sep 15 (IANS) Will he, won't he? Weeks of speculation, fuelled by a state-controlled media, was finally put to rest when ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro did not turn up at the inaugural of the 14th NAM summit held here after 27 years.
Malaysian Prime Minister Ahmed Badawi, in his capacity as previous chairman of the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), handed over the chairmanship to Fidel Castro, but it was announced that his brother, Raul, who has been the acting president, would officiate in his absence.
Castro, 80, has been recuperating from intestinal surgery in July and had not resumed his duties since.
There had been intense speculation whether he would make an appearance at the two-day summit. Selected release of his photographs and interviews in the run-up to the summit had led some to believe he might make a dramatic appearance - at least at the inaugural.
Havana had last held a NAM summit in 1979.
Foreign buyers to attend Delhi Book Fair
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Book lovers will get a chance to browse through millions of books from seven countries at the 12th Delhi Book Fair beginning Saturday. For the first time foreign buyers have been invited to attend.
The nine-day fair will have 600 stalls spread over six halls at the Pragati Maidan. It will see participation of nearly 300 publishers, including from Pakistan, Iran, Germany and Mauritius.
Organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) the fair will feature buyers from four countries - Britain, Mauritius, Malaysia and Uganda.
"This is the first time that foreign buyers are participating in the Delhi Book fair. We sent invitations to seven countries and we have received confirmation from four," said S. Raghavan, general manager of ITPO.
"Indian book publishing industry is doing good business and this initiative will help the cause of the industry further," Raghavan told IANS.
Shakti Mallik, president, FIP, said while Mauritius, Malaysia and Uganda will look out for textbooks and children's books, Britain will hunt for non-text books including art, culture and literature.
Mallik said a number of conferences, seminars, buyer-seller meets, book releases, book launches and cultural evenings will be organised at the fair.
"A children's painting workshop is also in the schedule to hone the creativity of kids," Mallik said.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will inaugurate the exhibition and noted poet Javed Akhtar will be the guest of honour.
Gold forecast to breach $700 per ounce by yearend
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Gold is expected to cross the $700 per troy ounce mark before the yearend due to significant investor demand despite the short-term weakness, a leading global precious metals consultancy has forecast.
"Gold price could well track higher, clearing $700 before yearend (1 troy ounce = 31.10 grams). The prime driver of this move was seen as the return of significant investor buying," the London-based Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS) said in its latest 'Gold Survey 2006'
Over the past 10 days, global gold price has witnessed a fall from levels above $630 per ounce to below $580 per ounce on Thursday. This trend is not expected to last, feels GFMS.
"All the conditions are still there for a big up-tick in investor interest. As ever these centre are on the dollar and we're still bearish on that given the huge US trade deficit," said Philip Klapwijk, executive chairman of GFMS.
Looking further into 2007, GFMS expects the prices of bullion to go yet higher, "particularly if we were to see a major 'event' such as US military action against Iran".
But Klapwijk warns "timing is everything". "Recent weakness hasn't surprised us that much as there's little around to drive the price up at the moment - certainly with the jewellery sector still looking shaky - until the investors come back in force. But we could be getting close to the start of a big move higher."
The consultancy has however cautioned that possibilities of gold prices remaining at high levels are by no means guaranteed. Conditional to any global economic slowdown like weakening in US economy or a fall in Chinese growth, GFMS expects the gold prices to get caught in the downdraft.
However it is more positive on the gold prices rising with no major threat on supply side.
On the demand for gold, the report highlights that jewellery demand is expected to remain sluggish particularly in price sensitive regions like India and the Middle East.
The decline in gold off take has not been restricted this year to just the price sensitive regions but also in western markets like Italy and the US.
In the short term, as during this week with prices dipping below $600 per ounce, the pent up demand is expected to drive sales of gold jewellery.
Overall GFMS has forecast that world jewellery fabrication would fall by 19 percent in 2006 to 2,205 tonnes, a figure nearly 1,100 tonnes below its peak in 1997.
Both 26-year high and volatile gold prices were the main drivers behind the fall in the global total. As well as the gold price briefly touching $725 in mid-May, the first-half average was over $160 higher year-on-year.
Analyses of jewellery fabrication during the first six months of this year revealed that India suffered the greatest loss, with the country's first half total effectively half the level of a year ago.
As well as facing persistent and high levels of price volatility, the Indian market had to contend with record high rupee gold prices (in contrast to dollar gold's 26-year high).
The Middle East also posted a large first half drop, with Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the region's largest fabricators, both recording losses of over one-third year-on-year.
Grand Slam title is not my goal: Sania
Hyderabad, Sep 15 (IANS) With her world ranking falling due to disappointing performance this season, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza Friday said her career might end without a Grand Slam title.
Stating that Grand Slam was not her goal and ranking was not her priority, the 19-year-old said she had matured as a player and was enjoying her game.
"I am enjoying the game and there is bound to be some ebb and flow. Two years back no one expected me to break into world top 50. I may or may not win a Grand Slam event but I still enjoy the game," she told newsmen at the launch of `Lotto Fall Winter '06 Signature collection' of Italian sports major Lotto.
Sania Mirza, whose ranking plummeted from an all-time high of 31 to 70 recently, did not agree that her form was as bad as being projected by the media.
"In the game there are going to be ups and downs. The rankings go up and come down. I am concerned about my game and I am enjoying playing it," she said.
Expressing confidence over her fitness levels, Sania hoped to have a good season ahead.
"My fitness levels are fine now. Only that I have some problem with my wrist as it hurts off and on", she said.
Sania, the only Indian to hold WTA title, claimed that she had improved on her serve and fitness and said she was working hard on some grey areas of her game.
"Earlier, I only had a good forehand. Now I have the entire game with me. The competition is also getting tougher. Previously, I was very offensive and that was my biggest weapon. Now I have added some tactical variations which did give some good results," she said.
Asked about playing doubles and mixed doubles, Sania said: "I'm nineteen and it is not time to think about playing doubles. I will be playing in the singles circuit for some more time."
She said she had no objection to playing with anyone for the doubles at Doha Asian Games.
Asked about playing alongside Leander Paes, she said: "I had played with him earlier and I have no objection playing with anyone."
India seeks Algerian gas supplies
New Delhi, Sept 15 (NNN-PTI) -- After seeking more crude oil and gas from Nigeria and Qatar in recent years, India is now seeking liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Algeria and has also evinced interest in upstream activities in that country, the world’s second biggest exporter of LNG behind Indonesia.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who was in Vienna for the third OPEC conference, met Algerian Minister for Energy and Mines Chakib Khelil on the sidelines of the meeting on Wednesday.
"During the meeting, the Minister expressed interest for purchasing LNG from ALgeria," a petroleum ministry official said.
Algeria, an OPEC member, is in the process of developing its LNG capacity, which is currently 26.5 Bcm/year. India on the other hand has been scouting for new gas sources to satisfy its power plant requirements.
India and Algeria have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study the possibility for joint exploration and development of oil and gas block 242 in the Illizi Basin in the southeast of Algeria. India is also trying to corner some LNG that may be available from Sonatrach in the 2007-09 period.
Deora also said ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas arm of ONGC, in partnership with state-owned Sonatrach will bid in the proposed offering of exploration blocks in Algeria. OVL had teamed up with Sonatrach for exploring oil blocks in Algeria as well as third world countries.
Algeria is to launch its seventh round of bidding for 15 prospective blocks in the fourth quarter of 2006. Taking advantage of the MoU, OVL is likely to ask Sonatrach to team up with it to bid for the blocks.
India seizes papers with pope's Islam criticism
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Police in Indian Kashmir seized newspapers carrying Pope Benedict XVI's strong criticisms of Islam and jihad, fearing a Muslim backlash in the flashpoint area.
"We've seized copies of (Indian) newspapers carrying the pope's remarks. It has been done to prevent any tension here," a police officer said.
Copies of the Indian dailies were impounded at Srinagar's high-security airport when they arrived from New Delhi, he said on Thursday.
The pontiff hit out at Islam and the concept of holy war or jihad in a speech in Germany on Tuesday, citing a 14th-century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed had brought the world "evil and inhuman" things.
The Muslim league, a Kashmiri separatist group, called for a protest Friday over the pope's comments.
"Whatever has been said against our Prophet is unbearable," the group's chief Masarat Alam said. "It should be condemned by all."
Kashmir witnessed a wave of protests after a newspaper in Denmark published cartoons of Mohammed in September 2005 that were also reproduced elsewhere, mainly in Europe, triggering widespread demonstrations around the world.
Indian Kashmir is in the grip of a Muslim insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 44,000 people dead since 1989.
India wants developed world to open door wide to migrants
New York, Sep 15 (IANS) India wants developed countries to show greater openness in allowing movement of people across national frontiers as a rise in migration from developing countries also raises incomes of their own citizens, said Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed here.
The developed world should also show greater political will and determination for a successful conclusion of negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in four key areas, Ahamed said at a United Nations conference here Thursday.
In the context of globalisation there is need to recognise the inevitability of international migration. This presents challenges and opportunities, including the increased demand for specialists in developed countries to strengthen their international competitiveness, he said.
High income countries must address the legitimate needs of migrants, including receiving back their pension benefits and social security contributions, especially in cases of migration of shorter durations.
The lack of appropriate or matching structures in the country of origin should not be made an excuse for the denial of a migrant's legitimate pension benefits. Efforts, especially in the case of short duration migrants, also need to be made to reduce the cost of remittances, Ahamed said.
There is no restriction in India on migrating overseas. New Delhi favoured a regular, non-discriminatory and orderly process, whether for permanent or shorter-term migration.
Artificial barriers to migration by high-income countries should not be created. The receiving as well as sending countries act to reinforce the positives from migration and work together in a cooperative atmosphere while being sensitive to each other's concerns.
India also believes that countries of origin benefit from the return of migrants with skills or capital that they would not have acquired at home. 'Brain drain' as a result of migration of skilled and highly trained people can also be translated into an overall gain, he said.
In the context of international migration today, the problematic facet of irregular migration, which is a cause of concern for our collective well-being, also needed to be noted.
There are serious security implications, including the use of irregular migrants as an instrument for cross-border terrorism and for creating social tension in the host country. This needs to be tackled with a firm resolve.
A similar firm resolve is required to tackle the scourge of people smuggling and trafficking, especially of women and children, Ahamed said.
India recognises that international migration solutions and approaches relevant for a particular country or region may not be appropriate for others. Thus efforts should focus on promoting teamwork amongst nations, to maximize the benefits of international migration while reducing its negative effects.
India also believes that regular interaction among countries, including at the UN, could result in a win-win situation for all, Ahamed said.
India is a major country of origin, destination and transit of migrants, with a long history of attracting and sending people to other lands, he said in an address to the world body's first-ever high level gathering on migration and development, he said.
It is estimated that around 20 million people of Indian origin live in other countries while another 20 million migrants, including a large number of irregular migrants, are in India today.
Overseas Indians, through sheer dint of effort, very often in trying circumstances, have significantly contributed to the countries of their destination while, at the same time, playing a positive role in building a bridge with India.
Recognising this, every year India celebrates their achievement with a 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas' or Day of the Indian Migrant and has taken several innovative investment and policy initiatives including the 'Overseas Citizenship of India', Ahamed said.
In his address to the opening of the conference, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan said the landmark meeting is taking place at a time when the world increasingly appreciates that migrants can transform their adopted and native countries for the better.
General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa told the gathering that, "if harnessed constructively, migration can have a profound effect on development", with migrants' remittances to their native countries particularly helpful in reducing poverty.
More than 140 speakers - comprising individual States, regional bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - are scheduled to discuss the issues over the next two days. In addition to the plenary debate, the meeting will bring delegates together in informal round-table discussions.
India working on migration policy
By Sanu George
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 15 (IANS) India is working on its first migration policy aimed to protect Indians who go abroad in search of employment.
The research unit funded by the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) attached to the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) here is working on the migration policy.
The research unit, which does work related to migration by Indians and on the Indian diaspora, is readying a draft document of the proposed migration policy.
Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi had in June inaugurated the unit and announced a grant of Rs.14.70 million.
S. Irudayarajan, who heads the unit and is the one who prepared the draft policy, told IANS: "The draft is ready and it has now got to go through several federal ministries before it is ready. It looks into the qualification requirements that a person should possess before he leaves for a job outside the country. Today anyone and everyone leaves the moment the visa arrives and lands into trouble."
The draft policy also looks at providing adequate incentives for all non-resident Indians who park their hard earned money in the country.
"The policy suggests special interest rates for such funds and also measures to promote investments by NRIs in the country," said Irudayarajan.
The unit has entered into tie-ups with select institutes in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra to conduct studies on migration in these states, similar to what was done by Irudayarajan in Kerala.
"For each state we envisage a budget of half a million for the elaborate study. One NRI organisation has come forward to sponsor the study. We expect agencies like banks and private financial institutions to support our study," he added.
Kerala today accounts for 55 percent of the total outflow of migrants from India to the Middle East. More than two million Keralites currently work outside the country, close to 90 percent of them in the Gulf.
Annual remittances from non-resident Keralites have reached Rs.200 billion ($4.3 billion) - close to 25 percent of the net domestic product of the state.
India-Bangladesh efforts to solve water disputes
Agartala, Sep 15 (IANS) The water resources ministers of India and Bangladesh have visited disputed water projects and land strips along major rivers on their border.
"The India-Bangladesh Joint River Commission (JRC), headed by the water resources ministers of the two countries, conducted an on-the-spot study of disputed water projects and other riverside land in south Tripura before the two-day JRC in Dhaka on Thursday," G.K. Malakar, Tripura's water resources department chief engineer, told IANS.
The 12-member Bangladeshi delegation headed by Hafizuddin Ahmed and the 15-member Indian delegation led by Saifuddin Soz visited two bordering sub-divisions - Sabroom and Belonia - in south Tripura. The JRC delegation will also inspect Ichamati river in the North 24-Parganas district in West Bengal on Tuesday before they conduct a similar spot verification of the disputed water-based projects on the Bangladeshi side Wednesday.
"We will try to solve the dispute through discussion in a congenial atmosphere and I am hopeful Bangladesh will appreciate our genuine problems," India's minister Soz told journalists before leaving for south Tripura's bordering town Sabroom, 135 km from here.
"At least 21 river embankments, 14 lift irrigation projects, one water treatment project and several town protection schemes along the Indo-Bangla border in south Tripura have either remained incomplete or could not start following the Bangladesh government's uninterrupted protests during the past three years," Malakar, a member of the Indian delegation, said.
Bangladesh shares 54 rivers with India, including 10 with Tripura, besides a large number of rivulets. Dhaka is opposing any move to share water on the ground that it would deprive Bangladesh of its fair share of river water in the future.
India: Impunity Fuels Conflict in Jammu and Kashmir
Abuses by Indian Army and Militants Continue, With Perpetrators Unpunished
By Human Rights Watch
The Indian government's failure to end widespread impunity for human rights abuses committed both by its security forces and militants is fueling the cycle of violence in Jammu and Kashmir, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 156-page report, "‘Everyone Lives in Fear': Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir," documents recent abuses by the Indian army and paramilitaries, as well as by militants, many of whom are backed by Pakistan. Indian security forces have committed torture, "disappearances" and arbitrary detentions, and they continue to execute Kashmiris in faked "encounter killings," claiming that these killings take place during armed clashes with militants. Militants have carried out bombings and grenade attacks against civilians, targeted killings, torture and attacks upon religious and ethnic minorities.
These abuses have taken place against the backdrop of almost two decades of the failure of the political and legal systems in India and Pakistan to end abuses or punish the perpetrators. Since 1989, the armed secessionist struggle against Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir has claimed more than 50,000 lives. Kashmir remains a potential flashpoint between the nuclear- armed neighbors India and Pakistan.
"Human rights abuses have been a cause as well as a consequence of the insurgency in Kashmir," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Kashmiris continue to live in constant fear because perpetrators of abuses are not punished. Unless the Indian authorities address the human rights crisis in Jammu and Kashmir, a political settlement of the conflict will remain illusory."
The new report, based on research from 2004 to 2006, documented abuses that have occurred since the election in 2002 of a Jammu and Kashmir state government with an avowed human rights agenda and the resumption of peace talks between India and Pakistan that same year (after the countries nearly went to war in 2002).
Indian security forces claim they are fighting to protect Kashmiris from militants and Islamic extremists, while militants claim they are fighting for Kashmiri independence and to defend Muslim Kashmiris from an abusive Indian army. In reality, both sides have committed widespread and numerous human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law (or the laws of war).
Extrajudicial executions by Indian security forces are common. Police and army officials have told Human Rights Watch that security forces often execute alleged militants instead of bringing them to trial in the belief that keeping hardcore militants in detention is a security risk. Most of those summarily executed are falsely reported to have died during armed clashes between the army and militants in "encounter killings."
The Indian government has effectively given its forces free rein, while Pakistan and armed militant groups have failed to hold militants accountable for the atrocities they have committed. Through documentation of the failure to prosecute in recent cases and some older, key cases, the report shows how impunity has fueled the insurgency. If the Indian authorities had addressed these abuses seriously when they took place, public confidence in the authorities would have increased and future abuses may have been substantially reduced. Instead, India failed to prosecute or discipline the perpetrators.
Impunity has been enabled by Indian law. The report documents cases where Indian security forces have shot civilians under the authority of laws such as the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act and the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act. These laws, enacted near the beginning of the conflict, allow lethal force to be used "against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area." Other laws offer state agents effective immunity from criminal prosecution. For example, Article 197 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure only allows the prosecution of state actors with the permission of the relevant ministry. This is rarely provided. Prosecutions of security force personnel, even where the facts are well established, are therefore rare.
Human Rights Watch also stated that the work of both the National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission in Jammu and Kashmir is severely hampered by laws that prohibit them from directly investigating abuses carried out by the army or other federal forces. Although government officials claim that disciplinary measures have been taken against some security personnel, it is unclear this happens, as details are almost never made public.
"It's absurd that the world's largest democracy, with a well-developed legal system and internationally recognized judiciary, has laws on its books that prevent members of its security forces from being prosecuted for human rights abuses," said Adams. "It's time for the Indian government to repeal these laws and recommit itself to justice for victims of all abuses, whoever the perpetrator may be."
The report also documents serious abuses by militants, many of whom continue to receive backing from Pakistan. Numerous massacres, bombings, killings and attacks on schools attributed to the militants are often intentionally downplayed by supporters of Kashmiri independence or its accession to Pakistan. Militant groups have targeted civilians, including women and children, whom they consider to be "traitors to the cause" or for expressing views contrary to those of one or another armed group. Alleged militants have murdered nearly 600 Kashmiri politicians since the conflict began, usually as retribution for joining in the electoral process. Officials conducting the polls have been killed or tortured, some with their noses or ears chopped off.
Militants have also been responsible for bomb attacks that targeted civilians. They have attacked religious minorities in Kashmir such as Hindus and Sikhs, as well as ethnic minorities such as the Gujjars, whom the militants target because they believe them to be government informers. Although many of the militant groups currently operating in Jammu and Kashmir have become increasingly unpopular, Kashmiris are afraid to speak out against them. A conflict over Kashmiri identity and independence has slowly but visibly mutated into a fight under the banner of religion, pitting Islam against Hinduism and drawing religious radicals into its heart.
There is considerable evidence that over many years Pakistan has provided Kashmiri militants with training, weapons, funding and sanctuary. Officially, Pakistan denies ever arming and training militants. Under pressure from the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Pakistan banned several militant groups in January 2002, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Toiba. But these groups have continued to operate after changing their names. India blames these groups for many armed attacks. Pakistan appears to be keeping its options open should peace talks collapse by continuing to support these groups. Pakistan remains accountable for abuses committed by militants that it has armed and trained.
"The militants and their backers must end the bombings and the targeting of civilians," said Adams. "Continued abuses ensure that the cycle of violence will continue. And these abuses only add to the suffering of the people in whose name the militants are ostensibly fighting."
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To read the report, "‘Everyone Lives in Fear': Patterns of Impunity in Jammu and Kashmir," please visit:
http://hrw.org/reports/2006/india0906/
International Festival on "Peace and Justice"
International Festival on "Peace and Justice"
1st – 3rd December 2006
Dear Friends,
The quest for peace is an eternal pursuit for human fulfilment. Human beings can become human and humane only in conditions of peace. Creativity, spirituality, individual and collective achievements attain grandeur and glory only when there is amity. Qualities of compassion, forgiveness, love, sharing and universal solidarity become cherished and sought after virtuous attributes only when a community, society or nation is at peace – within and without. War on the other hand, internal or external, civil or military, declared or undeclared valorises bravery – the capacity to kill or be killed – the destruction of human life and accomplishments; it mocks compassion and conscience. Economic, social and cultural rights are necessary pre-conditions for the realisation of an effective, egalitarian and non-discriminatory civil and political order.
Peace Festival on the theme "Peace and Justice" aims to address the importance of justice and peace issues and raise public awareness using innovative and alternative means of communication– video films, street theatre, poster exhibitions, literature, etc. The thrust of the Festival will be based on perspectives and worldviews of rural and urban communities – Dalits, Adivasis, Women and minorities. At the close of the Festival there will an attempt to formulate a perspective and establish linkages with various groups working towards strengthening peace and justice.
Mumbai based organisations* under the banner of "Forum for Peace and Justice" in collaboration with Peace for Life – a Philippines based global solidarity network have taken the initiative to organise a International Festival on the theme ‘Peace and Justice’. The significance of this theme is very relevant especially in the context of war, conflict and crime against humanity. In this context there is an urgent need to uphold the desirability and principle of peace that can only be realised through the actualisation of justice with democracy, equality and strengthening the principles of secularism.
We invite you on behalf of "Forum for Peace and Justice" to participate in the Peace Festival and you are welcome to present any cultural items giving expression to Peace and Justice. Please confirm your participation at the earliest to the addresses given below:
Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (VAK)
D-1, Shivdham,
62 Link Road,
Malad (West)
Mumbai 400 064
Email: vak@bom3.vsnl.net.in
Tel: 2882 2850
* Center for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS), Vikas Adhyayan Kendra (VAK), Federation of Center for Community Organizations (FCCO) Mumbai, Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ), Focus of the Global South, Pakistan India Forum for Peace and Democracy, Peoples India Initiative, CNDP, Muslim Intellectual Forum, EKTA.
Iraq now slipping into civil war: Qatar Tribune
Doha, Sept 15 (NNN-QNA) “The spiral of violence just does not seem to stop in Iraq. Virtually every day there are killings as various sectarian organizations and other militants go on the rampage. The latest in the series is the recovery of 69 mutilated bodies in Baghdad on Wednesday,� said the English language daily Qatar Tribune.
In an editorial published here Friday, the newspaper said, “As if that was not enough for a country caught in the vortex of violence, two car bombs also exploded, killing 28 people and wounding scores of others.
“One bomb blew up outside Baghdad’s traffic police headquarters, killing 14 people while the other targeted guards at the electricity station in the eastern part of the city .
“With Shiites and Sunnis gunning for each other and targeting attacks on each other’s localities, Iraq seems to be in the midst of a civil war. The governing regime installed by the US and the presence of US and Iraqi security forces seems incapable of putting a stop to the cycle of death.
“The possibilities of a civil war breaking out are all the stronger, as the issue of federalism is not working out.
“The Shiite want the oil-rich southern provinces dominated by them to enjoy as much autonomy as the northern provinces populated by the Kurds while the Sunnis want the constitution amended to bolster the Baghdad government. in the midst of all this, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki has met Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
in Tehran to forge closer ties between the two countries.
“Closer ties between Iraq and Iran do not augur well for US interests as the US, European Union as well as Russia and China are already at loggerheads with Iran on the issue of Tehran’s programme for uranium enrichment.
“Although there were signs on Thursday that Iran would be more accommodating in its approach to the issue of halting uranium enrichment, a clear agreement on its nuclear programme has not been arrived at yet.
“Be that as it may, the emerging scenario is that violence-ridden Iraq and potential nuclear power Iran are trying to overcome there past differences to forge a friendship with each other.
“If the two Shiite countries Iraq and Iran indeed form a closer relationship, it will come as a major embarrassment for the US, which is controlling Iraq. Besides, countries of various regions forging closer links with each other and international forums excluding the rich nations such as the Non-Aligned Movement becoming stronger, will affect the interests of the industrialized nations in their bid to retain control of the global economy and the way it affects lives in the poorer parts of the world,�
Iraqi scam: Supreme Court against releasing Natwar kin's passport
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) The Supreme Court Friday turned down a plea by a close relative of former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh to release his passport that has been impounded due to his alleged involvement in Iraq's oil-for-food scam.
"Having considered the facts and circumstances of the case, it is not considered appropriate to make any interim order to permit the petitioner (Vipin Khanna) to leave the country," a bench of Chief Justice Y. K. Sabharwal and judge C.K. Thakker ruled.
"The petitioner will render full cooperation in the investigation and the ED (Enforcement Directorate) shall complete the investigation by October end," the bench directed.
"In case there is any threat to the NRI status of the petitioner, government of India shall extend its full cooperation," it added.
The ED had seized Khanna's passport as part of its probe into the involvement of Natwar Singh, his son Jagat Singh, and others in the Iraqi scam. Natwar Singh had resigned in November after a UN report referred to his involvement in the scam.
Appearing for Khanna, counsel Soli Sorabjee submitted he would cooperate with the investigation and was prepared to give an undertaking that he would return to India and would furnish security if he were allowed to leave the country.
Sorabjee argued that the petitioner's NRI status was under threat if he didn't return to Britain within 182 days. The ED had impounded Khanna's passport on May 5.
Sorabjee also said that the investigating agency, which was investigating allegations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, was not competent to impound the passport under Section 10 (3) of the Passport Act.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam submitted that the petitioner was not cooperating in the investigation and his activities were of grave concern as they were prejudicial to national security.
He said the passport could not be released at this stage as the state apprehended the petitioner would tamper with the evidence in Britain if he were allowed to leave.
Karunakaran ready to dabble with like-minded parties
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 15 (IANS) Deserted by several of his party men, veteran Kerala leader K. Karunakaran said Friday he would join forces with like-minded parties to "strengthen" India's prestige.
Talking to reporters here, the former chief minister said: "During the time of (former prime minister) Indira Gandhi, even the US president broke protocol and came to receive her. But now the situation is different and India 's prestige is a lot lower than ever before. India has to be strengthened."
Referring to media speculation last week that his Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran (DIC-K) would merge with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, he said: "Nothing of what you media people wrote about happened. All that took place was a discussion to see if like-minded parties can have a common platform."
When asked about party colleagues who left earlier this week, he replied: "Those who want to go, can go. They are all destined to go to hell."
"On the 20th of this month our party's general body would be held, and by that time the national executive of NCP would be over. Whatever is decided in the general body would happen," said Karunakaran, who formed his party after breaking away from the Congress in May 2005.
Elaborating on his collaboration with like-minded parties in Delhi he said it was Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who took the lead and came to discuss matters with him here.
"There are quite a few parties willing to work together and I am a party to that. The 'political climate' is good in Delhi but since the climate is not good for me, I will remain here only," he said.
Meanwhile, the top DIC-K leaders who left him early this week like former minister P. Sankaran, former legislators D. Sugathan, M.A. Chandrasekharan, V. Balaram and N.D. Appachen met in Trissur along with their supporters and decided to hold talks with the Congress for their return.
Lucknow Shias demand apology from Pope
Lucknow, Sep 15 (IANS) Condemning the Pope's remarks against the Prophet, Shia Muslims in this Uttar Pradesh capital have demanded an apology from him.
Saying the statement against the Prophet was blasphemous, they raised slogans "Down with the Pope" after the Friday prayers at Asafi Imambara here.
The Pope must tender an apology for hurting the sentiments and feelings of billions of Muslims, they said.
Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawaad, who led the prayers, told media persons: "When the US unleashes terror on Muslims, the Pope turns a blind eye. He chooses to remain silent when Muslims are slaughtered in Bosnia or in Iraq or Lebanon.
"There is no reason for him to run a vilification campaign against our revered Prophet."
He said the Pope's remarks were least expected from someone of his stature.
Earlier in the day, about 30,000 students of City Montessori Schools - which holds a record in the Guinness Book for being the largest chain of schools in a city - expressed displeasure at the Pope's remarks.
Jagdish Gandhi, the founder, told reporters: "The Pope's remark that Islam has been spread with a sword is too sweeping to be coming from the spiritual head of the world's largest and peace loving community of Christians."
He said, "Even Jesus Christ would not approve of such a statement. Christ always talks of peace."
Malegaon Blasts Impact Mostly Muslims
Still no arrests made in deadly attacks
Rajen Nair
The culprits behind the Malegaon bomb blasts are still at large. The police have made little headway, except to come up with rough stretches of three suspects, who, according to local eyewitnesses, behaved suspiciously just before the blasts took place. The police have been unearthing a huge cache of explosives from Malegaon and neighboring towns in Nashik.
Laboratory tests have revealed that the materials used in the Malegaon blast were a deadly mixture of RDX, ammonia nitrate, and fuel, similar to those used in the Mumbai blast. The police, however, have ruled out any connection between the blasts, however, thus weakening the theory that the same terrorist group was involved.
In the Mumbai blast, the attack was directed at Hindus traveling in suburban trains. The police and the government jumped to the conclusion that the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba, a powerful terror group, was responsible. In the case of the Malegaon blasts, Muslims for the first time were at the receiving end of a terrorist attack. From past experience, the government has learned not to hazard a guess in naming any particular terror group.
The three blasts that took place last Friday outside the mosque in Malegaon took the lives of at least 37 Muslims and left over 125 injured.
After the blasts, Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi visited the blast site to placate and assuage the feelings of angry Muslims grieving over their dead. She had to make a hasty retreat in the face of agitated locals. The Muslims directed their ire toward her and Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra state, who was present with her.
They bore a grudge against the ruling government for the alleged apathy shown the people of Malegaon. In the past, Desmukh had promised them a hospital, which is yet to see the light of day. There has hardly been any development work worth its name carried out in Malegaon. The area lacks basic civic amenities, like drainage and public toilets.
After the blasts, owing to a lack of healthcare facilities, the victims and injured had to be rushed to far-flung towns.
Such was the frustration of the Muslim victims' kin that they refused to accept the meager compensation of Rs 1 lakh (US$2,165) doled out to each family of the dead and Rs 50,000 (US$1,083) to the injured. They pointed out the discrimination against Muslims in paying compensation compared to the Mumbai blast, in which each Hindu victim's kin received Rs 5 lakh (US$10,823).
It must be noted here that in the Mumbai blast the victims died on the premises of the railway, so they were entitled to compensation from the railway as well.
Malegaon is well known for its power loom industry. Seventy five percent of its population are Muslims, and the rest are Hindus. Malegaon is riot prone and designated as a communally-sensitive area by the government. Ironically, both Muslims and Hindus are interdependent in the trading of power loom wares. The majority of the Muslims are into weaving and sell their wares to the Hindus, who run the power loom units. Past riots between these two communities have seen their businesses severely impacted, incurring heavy losses.
The formation of peace committees, consisting of members from both communities, has also helped to maintain a fragile peace during heightened communal tension. In fact, just after the blasts, the much-feared communal riots did not take place, and the credit for this should go to the peace committee.
Indian Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, in a recent statement, has not ruled out the possible role of a Hindu fundamentalist group in the Malegaon investigation. Some time back, the Hindu fundamentalist organization Bajrang Dal had planned to bomb a mosque in Parbhani, Maharashtra.
Bajrang Dal is an offshoot of the RSS (Rashtriya Seva Sangh) organization that has strong links with the former ruling right wing BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party).
The Bajrang Dal, a known Muslim baiter, spares no effort in fomenting communal tension around the country. They had a free run during the past BJP rule at the center, and its leaders failed to rein in the fanatic elements present in Bajrang Dal. During BJP rule the Bajrang Dal was in the forefront of attacks on Christian missionaries located in the country, e.g., the infamous case of the Australian missionary, Graham Stains, in Orissa, eastern India, who was burnt alive by the main suspect, Dara Singh, supposedly linked to Bajrang Dal.
In the past, whenever a blast took place in the country, the burden of suspicion automatically fell on Muslims. It is time the Hindus, too, acknowledge that there are terror elements in their community. They have to be equally vociferous in condemning the Hindu fundamentalist, who is out to bring disgrace and shame on the Hindu majority.
©2006 OhmyNews
Source:
http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&no=...
Manmohan Singh meets Ahmadinejad
Havana, Sep 15 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his first bilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the NAM summit.
The details of the meeting were not immediately known. The meeting was held at the International Convention Center shortly before the inauguration of the 14th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
Speaking to accompanying Indian media persons when he flew into Havana Thursday evening, Manmohan Singh reiterated that since Iran is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), it "must have all the rights that go with being a member of the NPT and it must also fulfil all obligations.
"And if there are doubts about Iran's nuclear programme those doubts should be resolved through dialogue, through discussion rather than exercise of coercive action."
MP CM trying to emulate Narendra Modi: Cong
By Pervez Bari
Bhopal, Sept. 15 (IndianMuslims.info): The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), spokesman and general secretary Manak Agrawal has charged that Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), ruled State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is directly associated with the Sangh Parivar, by opening the doors for government employees to join Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, (RSS), activities, has shown the temerity to follow in the footsteps of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a Press conference here today, following the lifting of ban, Agrawal protested the move and threatened to launch a state-wide agitation unless the decision is withdrawn.
Agrawal said the country has seen the death dance following communal violence in Gujarat in 2002 under the chief ministership of Modi which was condemned by the whole world. "Are the people of Madhya Pradesh ready to endanger the peaceful atmosphere in the state"?, he questioned.
He accused RSS of "disturbing communal harmony". The Sangh is also politically active as several of its leaders work for BJP, he alleged.
He said:"The government employees are forbidden by law to take part in any activity of political parties". He alleged that the decision to lift the ban was taken by the BJP government "on the directions of RSS headquarters in Nagpur."
Meanwhile, it may be pointed here that the order lifting the ban by the BJP Government, issued three weeks back on August 21 last, was made public today when the State Chief Minister Chouhan, while describing RSS as a socio-cultural organisation, informed media persons here saying "We have lifted the ban on government employees from taking part in RSS activities," .
Chouhan said that RSS is not a political organisation, but a socio-cultural organisation and it has been associated with various cultural and social events.
According to official sources the required amendments have been made in the Madhya Pradesh State Civil Services Conduct Rules to revoke the ban imposed during the Digvijay Singh regime. Circulars in this regard were issued on August 21 last to all heads of the departments, commissioners and collectors, they added.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislature Assembly Ms Jamuna Devi has described the BJP regime's decision as lethal for Madhya Pradesh. She charged the Chief Minister Chouhan has surrendered to the Sangh and pro-Hindu organisations. The decision will vitiate communal harmony and anarchy will prevail due to deterioration of the law and order situation, she expressed apprehensions.
Charging that the BJP regime has violated the Indian Constitution's secular tenets, Ms Devi alleged that the RSS was globally viewed as a ''terrorist'' organisation. "The weapons display and armed members were examples of such ''militancy'', she added.
She demanded that the government reconsider the decision. She termed the Chief Minister's contention as wrong wherein he has said the Sangh is a socio-cultural organisation.
Meanwhile, MPCC president Subhash Yadav in a statement said that the RSS has a mask covering its political face.
Mukhtar Ansari acquitted in riots case
Lucknow, Sep 15 (IANS) Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Abbas Ansari was Friday acquitted in a case of inciting communal violence in an eastern Uttar Pradesh town due to lack of substantial evidence.
The acquittal was granted by a sessions' court of judge Dinesh Gupta in Mau district, about 350 km from here. Thirty-one others accused in the case were also acquitted.
Ansari was accused of opening fire at a Dussehra procession, killing a local trader Vijay Prakash and igniting a riot-like scene that left seven people dead and several injured.
Muslims in Britain condemn Pope's comments on Islam
London, Sep 15 (DPA) British Muslim organisations Friday joined in the fierce criticism of remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI about Islam.
Britain's Ramadhan Foundation, a youth organisation, reacted angrily to the comments, comparing the pope unfavourably to his predecessor John Paul II.
In a statement it said: "If the pope wanted to attack Islam and Prophet Mohammed's teachings he could have been brave enough to say it personally without quoting a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor."
It added that the late Pope John Paul II spent over 25 years building bridges and links with the Muslim community.
"The Ramadhan Foundation is disappointed that the current pope has not followed the example of his predecessor. It is essential in today's world that we link together and encourage a wider understanding of our different faiths, celebrating our religious differences is essential in an ever expanding world."
Mohammed Umar, chairman of the foundation, said: "This attack on Islam and Prophet Mohammed by Pope Benedict is recognition that he has fallen into the trap of the bigots and racists when it comes to judging Islam on the actions of a small number of extreme elements."
Muslims political groups clash near Jama Masjid
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) At least four people were injured near the Jama Masjid here after supporters of Shahi Imam Ahmad Bukhari and Delhi Assembly Deputy Speaker Shoaib Iqbal fought over the mode of protest to be adopted against Pope's anti-Islam remarks.
According to police, the tussle broke out after the Friday prayers between the two groups outside the historic mosque in the old quarters of the capital and soon after, they resorted to stone pelting.
Both the groups, however, asked Pope Benedict XVI to withdraw his remarks and apologise.
Addressing the University of Regensburg in his home country, the Bavaria-born pontiff quoted 14th-century Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus who had said: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
"We deployed some force including Rapid Action Force personnel. The situation is tense but under control," said a police official.
Bukhari and Iqbal are not in each other's good books after the religious leader had issued a fatwa against the politician during the last assembly elections.
Myanmar continues using child soldiers: Rights group
Bangkok, Sep 15 (DPA) Myanmar's military regime continues to recruit a large number of children into its army despite having set up a high-level committee to end the practice, Human Rights Watch said Friday.
In 2004, the Myanmar government established a high-level committee to prevent the recruitment of child soldiers, which adopted a plan of action on the issue.
"Unfortunately, the government's high-level committee to end child soldier recruitment has had no real impact on the problem," said Jo Becker, advocacy director for the Children's Rights Division of the New York-based rights group.
"Until the government takes genuine steps to implement its laws, children will continue to be snatched off the streets and forced into military service."
According to research conducted by Human Rights Watch in 2002, an estimated 20 percent of Myanmar's soldiers were minors, some of them as young as 11.
An updated report conducted by the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) has found that child recruitment rates remained essentially unchanged from four years ago, Human Rights Watch said.
"The new report by HREIB found that recruiters for the army frequently use coercion and deception to recruit children in order to fulfil recruitment quotas issued by the government," Human Rights Watch said in a statement made available in Bangkok.
Based on interviews with about 50 former child soldiers, the institute's report found that many children had been deployed to fight against armed ethnic minority groups.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reported in 2003 and 2005 to the UN Security Council that Myanmar violated international law by recruiting children in its ongoing wars against the minority groups.
Human Rights Watch, in its 2002 report, found that children were also being used as soldiers by Myanmar's ethnic groups.
Since 2000, 108 governments worldwide have ratified new international standards that prohibit all forced recruitment of children under 18 or their use in armed conflicts.
Myanmar's own national laws prohibit any recruitment of children under 18 into the armed forces although this law is apparently being ignored.
"The vast majority of the world's governments have rejected the use of children as soldiers," Becker said. "Burma (now Myanmar) should too."
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.
Over 1,200 suicides every year in Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Over 1,200 people commit suicide in Delhi every year, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Friday, urging parents not to pressurise their children.
She said scoring poorly in examinations, tensions due to pressure of studies and other family reasons mainly force people to commit suicide.
"They are found to be in the grip of fear because of high expectations of their parents," the chief minister said at a conference organised by an NGO Sumaitri on "Suicide-A Cry for Help".
At least 1,257 and 1,236 suicide cases were reported in 2004 and 2005 respectively, of which female suicides were 468 and 422 respectively.
Dikshit said public awareness was very important for prevention of suicides.
Pakistan software export target at $108 mn
Islamabad, Sep 15 (IANS) Pakistan registered a 50 percent growth in software exports in 2005-06 at $72 million as more Western firms turned to it for IT-enabled services. Its target for fiscal 2006-07 is $108 million.
Its planners want the revenue from the IT sector to cross $9 billion in the next four years, The News International said.
The growth in business from Western companies has inspired local investors to explore new opportunities. Though Pakistan remains far behind India in telecommunications, operators believe they are "on the right path now".
"The good thing is that Western companies are looking at Pakistan to outsource services," said Jehan Ara, president, Pakistan Software Houses Association.
"It's an important development as after 9/11 local companies faced a tough time in terms of winning business from these companies."
Officials and industry players say the rising interest of Western firms in outsourcing towards Pakistan indicates the country is fast catching up with others in software development.
"We have set $108 million software export target for 2006-07," said Yousuf Hussain, managing director of the Pakistan Software Export Board, a federal body set up to promote outsourcing and software exports.
According to parameters defined by the WTO (World Trade Organisation) regime, software exports were estimated at more than $100 million during 2005-06, but the figures registered by the State Bank put the exports at $72.6 million.
The country's software exports crossed $70 million during 2005-06 for the first time, registering a 50 percent growth, as Western firms started turning more towards Pakistan to cut costs and raise profits.
The country's IT industry has emerged as the fastest growing sector, mainly supported by a phenomenal jump in call centre operations during the last two years.
More than 140 such centres are currently operational, mainly in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, offering employment to around 5,000 people.
Defined as a unit, the call centres have adequate telecom facilities, trained manpower and access to database providing information to customers. The advancement in telecom technology has made it possible that the person handling a call could be anywhere provided that communication and interaction are properly handled.
Pakistani lawmakers ask Pope to retract remarks on Islam
Islamabad, Sep 15 (DPA) Both houses of Pakistan's parliament Friday passed unanimous resolutions calling on Pope Benedict XVI to retract his recent remarks regarding the Prophet and the Quaranic philosophy of jihad, Radio Pakistan said.
In its resolution, the National Assembly said the pope's remarks had hurt the feelings of Muslims all over the world and had created a gulf between religions.
It demanded that the pope withdraw his remarks immediately "to promote inter-religion harmony".
The Senate also passed a resolution unanimously condemning the pope for his remarks, the radio said.
Mosque leaders are also expected to make similar denunciations and demands at Friday congregations in the country.
The pope's controversial remarks came Tuesday when he quoted a conversation that took place between Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and a Persian scholar in 1391 in Ankara on Christianity and Islam.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached," the pope quoted Manuel as saying.
Protests in Kashmir against papal remarks
Srinagar, Sep 15 (IANS) Hundreds of people, including lawyers, held angry protests in Jammu and Kashmir Friday against alleged anti-Islamic remarks by Pope Benedict XVI even as police placed two senior separatist leaders under house arrest.
Chairman of the hard line Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Geelani and Shabir Ahmed Shah, chairman of the Democratic Freedom Party, were placed under house arrest here Friday morning in the wake of tension in the city over the pontiff's remarks.
Hundreds of local lawyers marched through Srinagar city centre Lal Chowk carrying placards against the Pope and in favour of Islam. The marchers, led by Mian Qayoom, president of the Kashmir Bar Association, shouted "Down with the Pope. Long live Islam".
The protesting lawyers, who were joined by many locals, termed the remarks of the pope as "highly irresponsible" and as "reflecting the hatred against Islam and Muslims".
"Such statements coming from the Pope are highly condemnable. Islam's message of peace and brotherhood is universal," said a lawyer.
Locals gathered outside mosques in downtown Srinagar after the Friday prayers and held protests. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in the Valley so far.
On Thursday, the authorities had seized copies of many national dailies that carried the text of the Pope's speech made in the University of Regensburg (Germany) on Tuesday.
"These copies were seized to prevent their circulation among the locals as that could trigger anger and widespread protests in the Muslim majority Valley," a police official said.
The pope in his remarks on jihad had cited historic Christian commentary on holy war and forced conversion. He had quoted from a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos.
Islamic leaders worldwide have protested the remarks. The Vatican on Thursday clarified that the pontiff's remarks were not meant to offend Muslims with references to the holy war.
Raped Dalit girl battles for life
By Arun Anand
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) A six-year-old Dalit girl from Uttar Pradesh continues to battle for life nearly a year after she was brutally raped, resulting in her uterus getting damaged.
On Oct 4 last year, the victim was kidnapped while she was sleeping in her home in a village in Hamirpur district. A man from a dominant caste assaulted her near a temple.
She was later found in a pool of blood. Her medical examination revealed that her genitals and uterus were severely damaged.
Although she was operated upon immediately, doctors at a district hospital had advised more operations over the next few months, to be followed by plastic surgery.
The victim's parents, however, do not have the necessary funds and the girl continues to suffer from physical pain and mental trauma.
"She belongs to a very poor Dalit family. Her father is a landless labourer. Her family has spent more than Rs.50,000 which they had raised by taking loans from a village moneylender," said Santosh Kumar Samal, executive director of the Dalit Foundation that is trying to raise funds for the girl's rehabilitation.
While the family received a paltry sum of Rs.25,000 as compensation from the district administration, the amount was spent in repaying the debt taken for her treatment.
"Apart from the financial burden, the family is also suffering from social ostracising. No one in the village is willing to help them out except a few Dalit activists," Samal told IANS here.
"Now the doctors have advised her to undergo two more operations as soon as possible. The surgery will cost her family more than Rs.30,000. The expenditure on her medical treatment is estimated to be around Rs.100,000," he said.
Samal said the Dalit Foundation was trying to raise sufficient funds and get all that is required to take care of not only the medical treatment but for her complete rehabilitation.
"The child is not able to go to school or lead a normal life because of her present condition," he added.
Link : Dalit Foundation
Sanjay Dutt too tense to go for shoots
By Arpana
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) Sanjay Dutt, whose "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" is doing great at the box office, is too tense to go for shoots because of the impending judicial verdict over his alleged linkage with the 1993 Mumbai bombings.
The actor has refused to go for shoots or sign new projects till the TADA court gives its ruling. Sanjay is accused number 117 in the serial blasts case and his future rests on the judgment.
The special court, under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, has exempted Sanjay from personal appearance and has permitted him to fulfil his professional commitments.
But Sanjay is too tense to work.
"Sanjay has informed his producers that he can't shoot till the verdict is out. He is not in the right frame of mind. He has also decided not to sign any new films," said a source close to Sanjay.
If Sanjay is in a dilemma, his producers are in a fix - especially those whose shooting is midway.
According to sources, more than Rs.1 billion has been invested in movies featuring Sanjay. The minimum budget for a Sanjay starrer is said to be Rs.150 million.
"The films which are ready for release or are nearing completion will not lose much money. But films partly completed will definitely be affected," Komal Nahta, editor, Film Information, was quoted as saying.
The films in the lurch include Ajay Chandok's "Nehle Pe Dehla", Astavinayak's "Mr. Fraud", Indra Kumar's "Dhamaal", and Sanjay Gupta's "Shootout At Lokhandwala".
"If the court's verdict goes against Sanjay, it will definitely hit producers - except those whose films are insured," said sources.
Sanjay has completed work on Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Eklavya" and Raman Kumar's "Sarhad Paar".
Shashi Tharoor gets extra 'no' in second straw poll
By Arun Kumar
United Nations, Sep 15 (IANS) India's Shashi Tharoor came in second again to South Korea's Ban Ki Moon in another informal straw poll for the United Nations top job, but with an additional negative vote this time.
Tharoor, currently UN undersecretary-general for public affairs, got 10 positive votes in Thursday's informal poll in the race to choose the secretary general at the Security Council. This time he got three negative votes with two expressing no opinion.
He had got 10 positive votes, two negative votes and three with no opinion in the last straw poll on July 24.
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, on the other hand, picked up two more votes to win support from 14 of the 15 Security Council members in the process to choose a successor to Kofi Annan at the end of the year.
The lead of the South Korean candidate is now thought by many diplomats to be unassailable unless the lone "no" vote in the secret ballot came from one of the council's five veto powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.
Even then, it would be hard for the hold out not to bow to the groundswell of support among other council members.
A "no" vote from one of the five veto-wielding permanent Security Council members sinks a candidacy. Candidates can come forward until the last minute, and the final vote is not expected until October.
In third place was Surakiart Sathirathai, the Thai deputy prime minister, who received nine votes in favour and three against.
He was followed by the only new entry, Jordan's UN ambassador, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein, who got six votes with four against.
In last place was Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka, the former head of the UN's disarmament department, who received three votes with five against.
In Thursday's poll, the 15 council members checked one of three boxes for each candidate: "Encourage", "discourage" and "no opinion".
Under a prior agreement, a further straw poll is to be held Sep 28 under different rules that will make clear if a "no" vote comes from a veto power.
Once a consensus is reached, the Security Council will hold a formal vote and forward its candidate to be endorsed by the 192-member UN General Assembly.
According to UN convention, the next Secretary-General should come from Asia. Zeid, the only Muslim in the race, had received a favourable response from many diplomats when he announced his candidacy last week.
Still, there had been questions about whether Jordan can be considered a part of Asia, even though it is a member of the United Nations' Asian Group.
Annan is the seventh secretary general in the 61-year-history of the United Nations. A secretary general is selected for a five-year term but can be re-elected. The Security Council selects a secretary general, who then has to be confirmed by the 192-member General Assembly.
Singapore deports Indian activist
New Delhi, Sep 15 (IANS) The Singapore government has deported an Indian activist who had come here in connection with the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Wilfred D'Costa, the general secretary of the Ahmedabad-based Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) that works primarily to 'resist' globalisation, was detained at the airport for over five hours and later deported by the Singapore immigration authorities, according to a press release.
Immigration authorities also took D'Costa's photo and fingerprints, cancelled his visa and issued him a 'refusal of entry', citing that he was ineligible to enter the country under the present immigration rules. Later, he was made to wait for hours at the airport lockup. Further, he was not allowed to use either the phone or the Internet.
"I was questioned by over 15 Singapore airport police, my baggage rummaged through five times and several documents I had were photocopied. Publications on water privatisation that I was carrying to distribute at meetings were confiscated," D'Costa said after landing in Mumbai.
D'Costa had a two-year multiple entry visa to Singapore. He was among 23 people who were deported.
More than 16,000 delegates are expected to attend the weeklong World Bank meeting in the island state.
Spare SIMI : enough is enough
BJP leader L. K. Advani and ex-Shiv Sena rabble-rouser Chagan Bhujbal, both together as erstwhile home ministers at the Centre and in Maharashtra State respectively, joined heads together to fashion a far-reaching and almost diabolic political decision to identify and demonize one exemplary Muslim organization that could be offered as scapegoat and/or a punching bag for extremist Hindutva forces.
Fate intervenes and both of the conspirators of this wily scheme now are effectively sidelined and counting their days and praying they do not get caught in the clutches of law that they were supposed to uphold.
However, SIMI remains summarily banned all over the country and its old membership list has become a convenient instrument for the home department and police, to systematically haul up innocent Muslim boys ---- merely to fill in the quotas to show that the police is on the job, while all around bombers of all hues are roaming the state free.
SIMI is filling the same role for the anti-Muslims in India, as the mythical Al Qaida, for Bush and his neocon. If SIMI was not there, they would have to invent it, to articulate and focus their hatred against their countryman from a different religion.
Besides the glaring injustice of the whole devious planning to target innocent Muslim students, who are now being criminalised even for possessing Islamic literature and for using their democratic right to plaster wall posters protesting against organized crimes against their community, State is seriously neglecting the more important job of tracking and hauling criminals who are with political parties and care a hoot about carrying out their criminal activities, under the very nose of law and order authorities and even in full cooperation with them, if acts of omission and commission are taken into account.
While the innocent masses are being fed the communal poison day in and day out, demonizing old SIMI members with media splashing their bearded visage as de facto sign of 'terrorism', government authorities are oblivious to the deepening of the divide in the polity, that may assume more menacing proportion and give open invitations to outside elements to exploits divisions among us, to impose their own self-serving solutions, that may not be in the best interests of the country and its future generations. This short-sighted and politically motivated manhandling of the Muslims should stop forthwith. And SIMI should be freed all over the country to take part in the rebuilding of the nation as an honorable entity that infused morals and discipline in Muslim society in the past, and will be in vanguard of a new beginning to bring about reconciliation and integration in the society. It is time a season of healing is officially inaugurated and celebrated by the administration. It is the need of the hour.
GHULAM MUHAMMED, MUMBAI
Srinagar sex scandal case reaches Chandigarh court
Chandigarh, Sep 15 (IANS) All files pertaining to the infamous Srinagar sex scandal case involving politicians and bureaucrats have reached the district and sessions court here for trial.
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer from Jammu brought the entire material pertaining to the case here Thursday. All the accused are also likely to be brought here by Saturday.
The sex scandal exposed the bureaucrat-politician-criminal nexus in the strife-torn state where young girls were forced into prostitution by a well-organised network after making porn films on them.
Those arrested include the main accused Sabeena, former state ministers Ghulam Hassan Mir and Raman Mattoo, suspended Border Security Force (BSF) officer K.C. Pandhi, suspended police officer Mohammed Ashraf Mir and hotel owner Riyaz Ahmed.
The trial here is likely to be conducted by an additional district and sessions judge, whose name is yet to be assigned by the district court.
The case was transferred to the Chandigarh court last week after the bar association in Jammu and Kashmir expressed its unwillingness to defend the accused.
There was a public outcry against the sexual exploitation of young girls by politicians, officials, policemen and pimps.
The Supreme Court expressed its displeasure to the Jammu and Kashmir Bar association saying that even if the accused were at fault they had every right to be defended.
The bar association refused to budge from its stand, forcing the apex court to transfer the case to Chandigarh for a fair trial. Local lawyers here said they had no problem in defending the accused.
Police and prison authorities here were also making arrangements for the lodging of over a dozen accused in the case. They are likely to be put up in the high-security Burail prison here.
The other accused who will be brought here are Sabeena's husband Abdul Hamid Shabir, Shabir Kala, a middleman, and bureaucrat Iqbal Khandey, who was recently granted bail on health grounds.
The trial in this case could begin Saturday or early next week, district court sources said.
UAE'S Lebanon school rehabilitation initiative kicks off
Beirut, Sept 15 (NNN-WAM) An initiative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to rehabilitate Southern Lebanon schools damaged in the latest Israeli attacks kicked off Thursday when a team led by UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammed Sultan Al Rumaithi, and the Lebanese Education Minister, inspected the damaged schools in the Southern and Nabatiyah Provinces.
Ambassador Al Rumaithi said a UAE supervisory team had already arrived to supervise the rehabilitation work. "UAE engineers are already managing the day to day activities to ensure timely delivery", he said.
The UAE solidarity gesture was initiated by President H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai.
UN Enviorenment Agency partners with Google Earth to spotlight crisis zones
New York, Sept 15 (UN news) Touring a virtual planet earth, zooming in on environmental hotspots and comparing today’s crisis zones with yesterday's areas of natural beauty have all become possible thanks to a partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Google Earth.
Google Earth – Google’s 3D virtual world browser now provides the option to use “UNEP: Atlas of our Changing Environment,� which offers satellite images of 100 environmental hotspots from around the world. The project builds on the success of UNEP’s popular hardcover release One Planet, Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment.
“These satellite pictures are a wake-up call to all of us to look at the sometimes devastating changes we are wreaking on our planet,� said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “Through spectacular imagery, Google Earth and UNEP offer a new way of visualizing the dangers facing our planet today. By tapping into the global Google community, we are able to reach out to millions of people who can mobilize and make a difference.�
The printed Atlas One Planet, Many People: Atlas of our Changing Environment was produced in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States Geological Survey and the University of Maryland.
UNEP: Atlas of our Changing Environment uses images from the 2005 publication together with satellite depictions of changes to African lakes (based on the 2006 Africa’s Lakes: Atlas of our Changing Environment), along with several new images and updates, and brings them into the virtual world of Google Earth. Each location features multiple satellite images which are overlaid directly on Google Earth.
“Google Earth technology already allows a more informative and accessible means of delivering information about our changing environment,� said the project coordinator, Ashbindu Singh, of UNEP's Division of Early Warning and Assessment. “By keeping pace with the changing world of technology and media, UNEP helps the environmental community keep pace with the real changes in our real world.�
UN food agency calls for "green revolution" to feed world
New York, Sept 15 (UN news) The Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has called for a second ‘Green Revolution’ to feed the world’s growing population while preserving natural resources and the environment.
“In the next few decades, a major international effort is needed to feed the world when the population soars from six to nine billion,� Jacques Diouf told a meeting of the World Affairs Council of Northern California in San Francisco. “We might call it a second Green Revolution.�
The original Green Revolution of the 1950s and 60s doubled world food production by bringing the power of science to agriculture, but “relied on the lavish use of inputs such as water, fertilizer and pesticides,� Mr. Diouf said.
“The task ahead may well prove harder,� he cautioned. “We not only need to grow an extra 1 billion tonnes of cereals a year by 2050 – within the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren – but do so from a diminishing resource base of land and water in many of the world’s regions, and in an environment increasingly threatened by global warming and climate change.�
He noted that 100 million people faced forced migration as a consequence of advancing desertification and soil degradation while water reserves had started to run low in key grain production areas such as India and China.
“The new Green Revolution will be less about introducing new, high-performance varieties of wheat or rice, important as they are, and much more about making wiser and more efficient use of the natural resources available to us,� Mr. Diouf said.
The San Francisco-based World Affairs Council of Northern California, which has 10,000 members, is considered a leading United States forum for discussion and debate of international affairs.
UN stat show migration as a dynamic force in global development
New York, Sept 15 (IndianMuslims.info) As preparations for the upcoming first-ever session of the General Assembly on migration and development take shape, national, regional and global statistics made available by the United Nations draw a complex picture of the movement of people between countries in the twenty-first century.
Conceived and scheduled more than two years ago by the General Assembly, the 14–15 September High-level Dialogue follows a period of intense public attention to the cross-border movement of people, and a quickening pace of multilateral talks on international migration.
Three per cent of the world’s population – or 191 million people – lived in a country other than the one in which they were born in 2005, with one third having moved from a developing country to one that is developed, one third moving from one developing nation to another, and another third originating in the developed world, according to an analysis of migration and development prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (ESA).
A greater share of workers moving to developed countries are college educated, and without migration the size of the labour force in the developed world will begin shrinking drastically beginning in 2010, the analysis said.
A UN compilation of migration statistics from 228 countries and areas indicates that the United States leads the world as a host country, with 38 million migrants in 2005 constituting almost 13 per cent of its population. But the share of the population who are migrants is larger still in Australia (19.6 per cent in 2005) and Canada (18.9 per cent).
In regional terms, however, Europe’s migrant population of 64 million in 2005 is almost 50 per cent greater than the 45 million in Northern America. Western Asia, with its oil producing nations, also hosts a considerable share of the world’s migrants, totaling 22 million in 2005.
Nearly half of the world’s migrants now are women, the UN reports, and they outnumber male migrants in the developed countries.
Remittances, even when used for consumption, stimulate demand and support local enterprises. As a result, the UN estimates that overall, remittances could have an impact equivalent to about half a trillion US dollars.
Despite tensions in many receiving countries, more than 50 per cent of governments surveyed by the UN in 2005 expressed an intention to maintain incoming migrant flows at roughly the same level. Just about 20 per cent had as objective the reduction of incoming flows, but that share was down from 40 per cent in 1996. Six per cent of governments favoured higher levels of immigration in 2005.
This week’s High-level Dialogue will focus on ways to maximize the development benefits of international migration and reduce difficulties.