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Arabs to discuss situation DUBAI, Oct 7: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has announced that Arab leaders......more
NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Princess Diana was neither a "fairy-tale figure" nor a "disturbed......more Poll campaign ends amid COLOMBO, Oct 7: The bitterly fought campaigning for the October 10 Parliamentary....more India calls for multilateral talks for nuclear free world UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7: Reaffirming its commitment to work for non-discriminatory....more |
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Indian leaders
vying for pvt investment from Japan TOKYO, Oct 7: Encouraged by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India during which he stressed on Japan-India partnership in information technology, a host of leaders are queuing up to visit Japan in quest of investment......more Ex-Pak minister jailed ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: An accountability court in Pakistan has sentenced a former federal minister to......more
Musharraf for ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: Pakistan’s military ruler General Pervez Musharraf today asked New Delhi to ...more US threatens Veto in UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7: The United States threatened yesterday to use its Veto power against a .....more |
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Arabs to discuss situation in Palestinian territories DUBAI, Oct 7: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has announced that Arab leaders would hold a summit in Cairo on October 21 and 22 to discuss the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories. The announcement came yesterday as clashes continued unabated between Israeli forces and the Palestinians in the Palestine occupied areas, triggering a wave of protests against the Jewish nation across the Arab world. Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdel Meguid was quoted as saying by regional news agencies that all Arab States would take part in the summit, the first since 1996. Mr Abdel Meguid said the summit would work for "taking an explicit and firm Arab stance to put an end to the dangerous Israeli practices that threaten the West Asia peace process and etablish a unified Arab front to face these practices". Prior to the summit, Arab Foreign Ministers would hold their meeting on October 19 and 20 to discuss setting up of a mechanism to hold regular summits. Almost all Arab nations have welcomed the call for the summit but Libyan leader Muammar Gathafi said he was opposed to an Arab summit unless it would lead to a declaration of war on Israel or an economic boycott of the Jewish nation. "A summit must declare a war or an economic boycott against the enemy (Israel) but the Arabs are not capable of fighting or boycotting the enemy", Col Gathafi was quoted as saying in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Though there was no official word on whether Iraq would be invited to attend the summit, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz was quoted as saying that his country would take part in it."Iraq will take part in every Arab meeting because it is a member of the Arab League. If there is an Arab summit, Iraq will take part", he said. In his television remarke yesterday, the Egyptian President said "the conditions(for holding the summit) were not best but, following the latest events, I found it was necessary to bring together Arab leaders to examine the issue" of the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories. He criticised Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for failing to attend a meeting with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Egyptian sea resort of Sharm Al-Sheikh. Meanwhile, demonstrations continued across the Arab world against the Israeli action in Palestinian territories. People took out long marches in various countries in support of the Palestinian people and called for "Jihad" or holy war against the Jewish nation. (UNI) |
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NEW DELHI, Oct 7: Princess Diana was neither a "fairy-tale figure" nor a "disturbed, damaged, unfortunate, put-upon creature," says Patrick Jephson, the former private secretary to the Princess of Wales for eight years. That was why he decided to break the confidentiality agreement he signed near the end of his time with the Princess, Jephson said in an interview to ABC television. "She was a real person, and as I saw the two false impressions being left in her memory, I thought it was imperative that a truthful impression should also be left," said Jephson whose book "Shadows of a Princess: an intimate account by her private secretary" will be released Monday. According to ABC, in his book the former private secretary reveals a woman with an overpowering need for attention and sympathy, difficulty sustaining romantic relationships, and a sense of paranoia and vindictiveness that ultimately forced him to resign. Jephson, a former Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, started as Diana’s bag carrier and ultimately became her private secretary which is comparable to being her chief of staff. He arranged all of Princess Diana’s public engagements, travelled with her and was so trusted by the princess that she made him the executor of her will. But once Diana died, he told ABC that he no longer felt bound by the confidentiality agreement he had signed. "It was a very, very difficult decision and I agonized over it but eventually it was quite plain to me that it was more important to write the book and take the risk." While his decision to betray her confidence caused a furore in London and prompted international headlines, Jephson said "I don’t think the truth can ever be treason." When he began to work for the prince and princess, they each had separate bedrooms, he said, adding though he was not qualified to talk about why their marriage failed, their "competition for the spotlight" made things difficult. While the princess was "a tactile, expressive, visibly loving person," the prince "came from a different tradition where emotions are not so readily expressed," Jephson said. "She was a complex character under a lot of strain and that sometimes produced need for affection and reassurance and attention that was all-consuming, and that very few people were able to produce in the quantities required," Jephson said. After Charles’ 1994 announcement that he had been unfaithful to his wife, Jephson said Diana became "almost reckless in her disregard for herself. There was a desire for victimhood sometimes, or at least a desire for sympathy." For example, she dispensed with her police bodyguards except at public engagements. "Everything that she had built, she seemed intent on dismantling," he said. Had she kept her bodyguards, said Jephson, she might not have died three years ago because they would not have let her get in the car with a driver who had been drinking. (PTI) |
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Poll campaign ends amid LTTE bomb threats COLOMBO, Oct 7: The bitterly fought campaigning for the October 10 Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka came to an end today amid threats of more LTTE bomb attacks even as President Chandrika Kumartunga said the tigers were trying to emerge as an "insidious political force" by sabotaging the poll process with a series of attacks. Media reports here said that the police has asked the leaders of the Peoples Alliance (PA) to cancel all its poll rallies before the closure of the election campaign formally tonight due to threats of more rebel bomb attacks. However, campaigning has ended all over the island. Meanwhile, addressing newspersons here last night Chandrika said that the "LTTE was attempting to take part in the eizarre bombing campaign to emerge as a fourth force in addition to the ruling Peoples Alliance, (PA), United National Party, (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna, (JVP)". Chandrika said "over 100 people" along with two candidates of her alliance were killed in the run up to the elections, while two Ministers managed to escape assassination attempts. Alleging that the opposition UNP and the LTTE formed a "dubious" alliance to obstruct her Government’s efforts to restore peace, she said that the LTTE’s bombing campaign against the PA was in sharp contrast to the rebel groups permission to let the UNP conduct a poll campaign without any hindrance. Continuing her tirade against the LTTE, Chandrika said that the rebel group was attempting to sabotage the PA. "Therefore there was more at stake in the Parliament polls than I thought at stake, she said, adding that a large number of foreign independent monitors should take serious note of poll violence perpetrated by the LTTE. However, Chandrika’s allegations that there was a pact between UNP and LTTE were staunchly denied by UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, who yesterday said that there was no truth in the allegations that his party had a secret pact with the rebel group. Over 12.07 million voters were expected to cast their votes for the 225 member Parliament on October 10. A record number of 5500 candidates were taking part in the polls. (PTI) |
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India calls for multilateral talks for nuclear free world UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7: Reaffirming its commitment to work for non-discriminatory, universal and verifiable nuclear disarmament, India has called for multilateral negotiations aimed at creating a world free of atomic weapons. Regretting that its efforts for nuclear disarmament over the past five decades have been disregarded by nuclear weapon states, Indian delegate at the UN Saleem Shervani, said New Delhi stands ready to strengthen its commitment of no-first-use of nuclear weapons by entering into bilateral or multilateral agreements. Addressing the UN General Assembly’s disarmament and international security committee yesterday, he rejected the arguments by major powers in favour of retention of nuclear weapons and questioned need for keeping thousands of atomic weapons on "hair-trigger alert" in the post cold war era. "New doctrines and justifications for continued retention of nuclear weapons have been developed and nuclear sharing arrangements maintained. Such an approach is contrary to the principle of equal and legitimate security for all," he said. India, he said, plans to reintroduce a resolution on the subject this year too hoping that steps would be taken in this direction. He also stressed the need to tackle the issue of missile proliferation through "genuine multilateralism", and said selective approaches through alliances or missile defence system is not the answer. (PTI) |
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Indian leaders vying for pvt investment from Japan TOKYO, Oct 7: Encouraged by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India during which he stressed on Japan-India partnership in information technology, a host of leaders are queuing up to visit Japan in quest of investment. The common purpose of the visit of both Union and State Ministers, keen to beat the economic sanctions imposed on India after its May 1998 nuclear tests, is to establish contact with private sources of investment which is not affected by the sanction, a Government source here said. Those due to arrive here in the third week of this month are Union Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and Tamil Nadu Governor M Fatima Beevi. Japanese businessmen were also upbeat about these visits, the source said. (PTI) |
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Ex-Pak minister jailed in corruption case ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: An accountability court in Pakistan has sentenced a former federal minister to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment and disqualified him from holding any public office for 21 years after finding him guilty in a corruption case. Azam Hoti, Communications Minister in Nawaz Sharif Government, was also directed by judge Farrukh Latif yesterday to pay a penalty of Rs 20 million rupees failing which he would have to undergo three years’ additional sentence. Hoti, a leader of Awami National Party, has been found guilty of receiving commission in awarding a contract for installation of an emergency telephone on the Islamabad-Lahore motorway. A co-accused in the case Shah Mir was also awarded 14-year imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 50 million. The court also barred him from holding any public office for 21 years. Shah will have to serve 18 months in jail if he fails to pay the penalty. (PTI) |
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Musharraf for talks with India ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: Pakistan’s military ruler General Pervez Musharraf today asked New Delhi to agree to talks with Islamabad to find a solution to the Kashmir issue. India should refrain from "provocative" actions and accept Pakistan’s offer for dialogue, an official report quoted him as saying. Musharraf, addressing an official meeting here, accused India of trying to impose a military solution on Kashmir. "India wants to impose a military solution (in Kashmir) on the basis of the status quo consolidating its occupation in defiance of the charter, principles and resolutions of the UN Security Council," Musharraf said. Reaffirming support to the Kashmiri people, Musharraf said India was trying to create differences between Pakistan and Kashmiri leadership "Pakistan is party to the Kashmir dispute and a durable solution to the festering dispute could only be achieved with full participation of Pakistan in any dialogue in future," he said. Musharraf said both India and Pakistan had committed to the implementation of the 1948-49 UN Security Council resolutions envisaging a referendum in Kashmir. "Their (Kashmiris’) right to decide their own future has not lapsed with the passage of time," he said.(AFP) |
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US threatens Veto in UN Middle East vote UNITED NATIONS, Oct 7: The United States threatened yesterday to use its Veto power against a draft resolution condemning Israeli "provocation" and "excessive use of force" against Palestinian civilians. US Ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, told the UN Security Council he rejected the draft resolution negotiated for several hours with the Palestinians, after consulting with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "I think I will be instructed to Veto this text," diplomats quoted holbrooke as saying. The resolution sets out that the Security Council "condemns these acts of violence, especially the excessive use of force" but does not specifically cite Israel in the Middle East conflict which has escalated in the past eight days. The 15 members of the UN Security Council had been close to an agreement on the text, which already has been toned down from the original proposal submitted by the Palestinians before holbrooke’s consultation with Washington. Holbrooke said he could not accept the word "provocation" to denounce right-wing israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon’s high-profile visit to the disputed mosque compound in East Jerusalem on September 28. Violence sparked by the visit has left 86 people dead, most of them Palestinians. (AFP) |
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