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Humanitarian
aid must UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28: India has strongly warned against humanitarian assistance becoming hostage to the.......more Canada’s liberals win OTTAWA, Nov 28: Prime Minister Jean Chretien steamrolled yesterday to a larger....more Jackson urges Reno TALLAHASSEE,(FLA) Nov 28: Rev. Jesse Jackson joined a growing chorus of civil rights .......more
Pak strategic ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: Pakistan has placed all the country’s strategic organisations under the .........more 9 Thai police guards BANGKOK, Nov 28: Nine Thai police guards who were.....more |
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India flays Taliban, its ‘foreign mentors’ UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28: India has criticised the Taliban and its "foreign mentors" for forcing war on the afghan people which has led to "searing" .........more
Clinton not ready to recognize Bush’s election as President WASHINGTON, Nov 28: President Bill Clinton has made it clear that he is not yet ready to accept George W Bush as his successor in the White House. ...more
My fight is to protect integrity of democracy: Gore WASHINGTON, Nov 28: Democratic candidate for the presidency Vice President Albert Gore has said his challenge of the certification of....more |
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Humanitarian aid must not be dictated by big powers: India UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28: India has strongly warned against humanitarian assistance becoming hostage to the interests and concerns of major powers, influential Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), large media networks and corporations while ignoring the real needs of the victims. "Where humanitarian assistance goes depends on the needs of donors to soothe constituencies and conscience, the need of powerful international NGOs to have their need of large media networks to punctuate soaps (TV serials) with pictures of the great unwashed," Indian representative at the UN Atul Khare said. Stating that the UN must maintain a clear distinction between political, humanitarian and human rights components in providing such assistance, he firmly rejected the thesis that the Security Council should develop and apply an international humanitarian law. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, he also attacked the "rising interventionist impulse" based on the "implicit theory" that all would be well if developed countries and Non-Governmental Organisations were in charge and representative Governments were by-passed. "Under these circumstances, assistance cannot be divorced from economic or political Calculation of the giver and may revive the insecurity of a bygone era," Khare said. He said the deep concern at humanitarian crises should not obscure the reality that actions are prone to be viewed through a political prism and added that "the new century should not dawn upon the threat of a new north-south divide." (PTI) |
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Canada’s liberals win strong third majority OTTAWA, Nov 28: Prime Minister Jean Chretien steamrolled yesterday to a larger than expected majority, the first time since world war two that any Canadian leader has won three consecutive majorities in Parliament. Chretien boldly called an election only 3-1/2 years into his five-year mandate, defying his advisers and legislators, in order to capitalize on a lofty lead in the polls and to catch the young but surging small-Government Canadian alliance opposition off guard. Chretien had said during the campaign that he might decide to step down two or three years into his five-year mandate but, addressing supporters after receiving a strengthened majority, he spoke of serving his whole mandate. "I pledge to work hard every single day throughout the whole of this mandate to continue to earn your trust and your support," he told cheering supporters in his hometown of Shawinigan, where he has now been elected 11 times. "It’s an incredible opportunity to receive a mandate like this." "I want to congratulate the Prime Minister, a threepeat, three majority Governments in a row. This is indeed an historic event in our country," said Finance Minister Paul Martin, who would like to replace him but who campaigned loyally for him. Chretien’s younger brother Michel credited the Prime Minister’s long political career for making the right decision to call the election. "He had a certain vision, a certain intuition, that everything would go well. I think that tonight he was proved right," he told CBC television. Many analysts had looked for a minority Government or a thinner majority, but in the end the liberals won an even stronger majority. CBC television said the liberals were elected or leading in 171 seats. They went into the election campaign, one of the nastiest in recent Canadian history, with 161 seats and needed 151 to retain their majority. Despite opinion polls saying it would be a close race, the liberals held on to their huge power base in Ontario and made inroads in other parts of Eastern Canada. The alliance failed dismally in its bid to become more than just a Western Canadian protest party, virtually shut out of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, but it became even stronger in the west. The alliance, which started with 58 seats, was elected or leading in 67 and cemented its position as the main party on the right, now clearly ahead of the conservative party, which has refused to end vote-splitting on the right. "With the increase in seats that we have achieved and the increase in support in every region of the country, we continue to be and now are in an increased way the federal alternative," alliance leader Stockwell Day said in a concession speech. "It is clear that even with our increased support across the country, the message to us is not yet. Not this time." The vote-splitting particularly hurt in Ontario, which accounts for a third of the 301-seat house of commons. The alliance had held just one seat in Ontario and, despite day having spent much of the five-week campaign in the province, the party was leading or elected in only two of the 103 seats and the liberals maintained their original 101. Many analysts had expected it to be the last election fought by Chretien, 66, who first entered politics in 1963. Accused of arrogance and a lack of vision, he had been under enormous pressure to make way for the more conservative and popular Finance Minister Martin. One of the surprises was in Quebec, where the separatist Bloc Quebecois had won the majority of the seats in the last two elections as the result of a federalist vote split between the liberals and the conservative party. But the conservative vote in quebec collapsed and the liberals appeared to have picked up seven more seats. Despite larger conservative troubles nationally, party leader Joe Clark scored an upset in winning a seat in the Albertan city of Calgary, where the alliance is headquartered. "You and I together, we did the impossible," Clark said to a roar of applause by a big crowd of conservative supporters. The leftist new democratic party had also fought to keep its 19 seats. They were leading or elected in 13 seats, and party leader Alexa McDonough managed to be reelected. In preliminary results, the liberals increased their vote tally slightly, to 41 per cent from 38 per cent, though 59 per cent of Canadians voted against him. The alliance rose to 25 per cent from 19 per cent. The conservatives dropped to 13 per cent from 19 per cent while the new democrats fell to 8 per cent from 11 per cent. Chretien had accused day of harboring "a hidden agenda" to destroy some of the country’s public health-care system and to hold referendums on issues such as restricting abortion. Day had asked the police to investigate whether Chretien had broken the law by lobbying a federal bank to grant a loan to one of the Prime Minister’s associates. "We are at the end of a hard-fought campaign, a campaign that frankly was often too negative and far too personal," Chretien said in his acceptance speech. Chretien, first elected Prime Minister in 1993, favors a strong federal Government that will actively help develop business and create jobs in Canada’s poorer provinces. The low-tax alliance wants to slash these programs and transfer many of Ottawa’s powers to the 10 provinces. Financial markets put their own tentative seal of approval on the liberal victory as the Canadian dollar climbed and bond prices edged modestly higher. (REUTERS) |
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Jackson urges Reno to probe Florida vote TALLAHASSEE,(FLA) Nov 28: Rev. Jesse Jackson joined a growing chorus of civil rights leaders urging Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate alleged voting irregularities in Florida, whose ballots will determine the next US President. "We are concerned about unfair treatment of thousands of would-be voters who came to the polls but were denied the right to vote," Jackson yesterday said in a statement issued in Florida’s capital, Tallahassee. "There appears to have been an intentional and systematic scheme of discrimination against these voters," he said. Jackson said such actions may be in violation of the voting rights act of 1965, which was passed to end racial discrimination at the ballot box, especially if they were part of a "standard practice or procedure" and if they had a disproportionate impact on minorities. Jackson was set to lead a demonstration at the Florida Supreme Court today to protest the alleged disenfranchisement. "I’ve talked with African Americans who were targeted by the Republican Party to suppress the vote on November 7," Jackson told about 250 mostly black students on Monday at Florida A M University in Tallahassee. Florida officials on Sunday certified that Republican George W Bush had won the state’s presidential ballot by just 537 votes, ensuring him the state’s critical 25 electoral votes — and consequently, the US presidency. Vice President Al Gore, who enjoyed strong backing by many blacks in Florida, is contesting the results. Gore yesterday said that thousands of votes have not been tallied, including a number in Miami-dade county where a hand count was stopped last week after what he called "organized intimidation" by an unruly crowd. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights group, held a public hearing on alleged irregularities in Florida right after the Nov. 7 election, and then handed the US Justice Department a report suggesting that blacks and others were denied their constitutional right to vote. US lawmakers in the congressional black caucus have also echoed those concerns. "We urge janet reno and the Justice Department to undertake a prompt and thorough investigation of these possible violations of federal law, and to restore the right to vote that has been stripped from legitimate voters in Florida," Jackson said in the statement. Jackson said some voters were denied the right to vote even though they had voter registration cards and identification showing their names and addresses many of the denied voters were even refused an affidavit to prove that they had attempted to vote —also in violation of the law. The civil rights leader cited cases involving first-time voters originally from Haiti who were not provided needed translation assistance, and people who were denied handicapped access in African-American precincts. "Farm workers and students were also denied their right to vote, among the thousands of voters who were systematically disenfranchised," Jackson said in the statement. Other problems included election officials’ failure to notify voters of a change in their polling place, failure to process applications received in a timely manner improper staffing of precincts long lines and voters’ inability to get through on the phones, Jackson said. (REUTERS) |
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Pak strategic organisations put under nuclear command authority ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: Pakistan has placed all the country’s strategic organisations under the control of the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), press reports said today. Headed by the military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, the NCA in its second meeting took the decision to conform to international nuclear and strategic arms conventions that require a central authority for strategic arms, official sources were quoted as saying late yesterday. The NCA, aimed at creating command and control mechanisms for Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and missile systems, was established in February and is responsible for policy formulation, employment and development control over all strategic nuclear forces and strategic organizations. Musharraf announced the establishment of the NCA weeks after deposing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October last year, saying it had become necessary after the six nuclear tests that Pakistan conducted in May 1998 in response to the five by India. The creation of the NCA has helped in allaying fears that if pressed by India, a military Government may resort to a reckless use of nuclear weapons, according to Dr. Qadeer Khan, who is considered the mastermind of Pakistan’s nuclear programme. The authority will now guard the work of organisations such as the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) headed by Dr. Khan, the National Development Complex (NDC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). General Musharraf has also established a Strategic Force Command (SFC) led by a serving Army General responsible for deployment of strategic missiles. Pakistan possess two versions of a medium range missile called Gahuri. Shaheen-1, and Shaheen-11 also belong to the same class of missiles. Besides the Chief Executive at its head, the NCA comprises the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, and Representatives of all the three armed forces. Heads of the KRL, NDC and PAEC are also part of the command authority. Ever since it went overtly nuclear in May 1998 in competition with India, Pakistan was being pressed by the United States and major western countries to create a command and control system for its nuclear weapons system. Musharraf, who continues to resist international pressures including those from the US, the European Union and Japan for signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), said Pakistan will retain the nuclear option as a minimum deterrent to ward off any foreign aggression. (DPA) |
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9 Thai police guards sacked
for allowing BANGKOK, Nov 28: Nine Thai police guards who were on duty last Friday when suspected Bombay mafia boss Chhota Rajan escaped from a Bangkok hospital have been sacked, news reports said today. The nine guards, all of them non-commissioned officers, were sacked yesterday but may be reinstated if a police investigation into the case fails to find them responsible for Rajan’s escape, said the Bangkok Post newspaper. Rajan, who recovered from gunshot wounds at Samitivej Hospital, has reportedly fled the country already. On November 17 the Indian Government submitted a letter to the Thai Foreign Ministry requesting Rajan’s extradition to India, where he faces charges of murder and other serious crimes. Rajan’s former Thai lawyer Sirichai Piyapichetkul said Rajan told him he paid a 25-million-baht (575,000-dollar) bribe to a police major general to secure his escape from Samitivej Hospital, where he was under immigration police custody pending extradition proceedings. According to the Bangkok Post, Police Major General Kreukpong Pookprayoon, chief of the Immigration Bureau’s General Staff Division, approved Rajan’s request to continue receiving medical treatment at Posh Samitivej Hospital, overruling a Bangkok Police Department suggestion that the suspected gangster be transferred to the police general hospital, where security was tighter. Rajan was reportedly scheduled to be transferred to the police hospital at the end of this month. Rajan was shot in a Bangkok apartment on September 15 by Pakistani hit-men allegedly hired by his Gangland rival, Dawood Ibrahim, another notorious Bombay mafia figure who is currently residing in Pakistan. (DPA) |
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India flays Taliban, its ‘foreign mentors’ UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28: India has criticised the Taliban and its "foreign mentors" for forcing war on the afghan people which has led to "searing" poverty, profound underdevelopment and denial of human rights to the people. Without naming the mentors, Indian representative at the UN Atul Khare yesterday said they country was providing weapons, training and men of its armed forces to Taliban. Expressing concern over continuing discrimination against women and religious minorities in Afghanistan, he demanded that Taliban revoke "discriminatory" practices against minorities, especially the regulation that they carry around on their person signs of identification. "Forced displacement of civilian population by the Taliban, torching of residential houses, burning of crops, deliberate destruction of infrastructure... Indiscriminate aerial bombing and denial of access (to the international aid agencies) not only impede the provision of relief material to thousands of internally displaced but are proving to be one of the greatest misfortunes," he said. India has been contributing to alleviating the suffering of the Afghan people as best it can by sending humanitarian assistance, he told the general assembly. "Over the last decade alone, we have provided, both bilaterally and through the UN, assistance valued at Rs 185.5 million," he said. (PTI) |
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Clinton not ready to recognize Bush’s election as President WASHINGTON, Nov 28: President Bill Clinton has made it clear that he is not yet ready to accept George W Bush as his successor in the White House. He urged the nation to be patient until it learns the outcome of the court cases now going on. "It will be over soon," he told reporters at the White House after a cabinet meeting. As for the certification of bush by Florida state as the winner, Clinton said "it is not up to me to accept or reject." "There is a legal process here," said Clinton."Let’s just watch this happen. It’ll be over soon, and we’ll be ready for the transition. In all this interplay, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important, which is the integrity of the voter, every single vote. They have to sort that out in Florida." Clinton signed an executive order creating a coordinating council to oversee the transition to the next presidency. Gore, who normally attends cabinet meetings, was absent. Clinton said he spoke with Gore on thanksgiving day to wish him and his family a happy holiday. Meanwhile, an opinion poll showed that six out of 10 Americans would like gore to call it quits and accept defeat. President Clinton said that he will visit the UK and Ireland from December 12 to 14. He hoped that his visit will help the parties and Governments to overcome their current difficulties on the path to lasting peace in Northern Ireland. (PTI) |
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My fight is to protect integrity of democracy: Gore WASHINGTON, Nov 28: Democratic candidate for the presidency Vice President Albert Gore has said his challenge of the certification of Republican rival George W Bush as the winner is a fight to protect the integrity of democracy to ensure that all votes are counted and rule of law prevails. "Bush has been trying to frustrate these goals," he said in an address to the nation 24 hours after Florida’s Secretary of State left declared Bush the winner of states 25 electoral college votes. "If the people do not in the end choose me," he said, "so be it. The outcome will have been fair and the people will have spoken. If they choose me, so be it. I would then commit, and do commit, to bringing this country together. But whatever the outcome, let the people have their say and let us listen. Ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself." He claimed that the proper counting of votes had been frustrated in Florida by "organised intimidation." In a number of counties, said Gore, votes that had been fairly counted were simply set aside and many thousands of votes cast in the election have not yet been counted at all, "not once." "This is America," said Gore. "When votes are cast, we count them. We do not arbitrarily set them aside because it is too difficult to count them." People’s will, said Gore, should be heard and heeded, "and then, together, let’s find what is best in ourselves and seek what is best for America." (PTI) |
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