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4 held for
attack BANGKOK, Sept 20: Thai police has detained four persons including three Pakistani nationals in connection with last Friday’s infamous shooting.....more Liberal Democrat Friends LONDON, Sept 20: Liberal Democrats, one of the mainstream British political parties, has formally launched a new forum to promote Indo-British.....more
Jaswant calls for UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20: India today gave clarion call to the world community to support an Indian-sponsored convention on terrorism and.......more Nepal tightens security KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Nepal today tightened security across the Himalayan Kingdom ahead of a general strike called by several Left groups.......more |
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American-Indian
held WASHINGTON, Sept 20: An American Indian arrested last Saturday by US secret service at the Blair House where.....more India meets basic UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20: India today assured the world community that it would not obstruct the controversial CTBT from coming into force and it......more
Way cleared for grant of WASHINGTON, Sept 20: The US Congress has cleared the way for President Bill Clinton to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PMTR) ....more Pakistan economy NEW DELHI, Sept 20: Pakistan economy is increasingly getting starved of investment and no economist....more |
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4 held for attack on Chota Rajan BANGKOK, Sept 20: Thai police has detained four persons including three Pakistani nationals in connection with last Friday’s infamous shooting incident here in which Mumbai underworld don Chota Rajan was seriously injured, police sources said today. The detained persons, including a Thai national, were being interrogated, the sources said. An English daily ‘Bangkok Post’ identified two of the detained persons as Sher Khan and Mohammed Salim. According to the sources, one of the detained men had confessed that he was sent to Thailand to kill Chota Rajan. An Indian jeweller Rohit D’souza alias Michael was killed and his wife and the underworld don were seriously injured when a group of gunmen barged into the jeweller’s apartment and opened fire. Thai police also released sketches of four suspects but it was not immediately clear whether these were of the four persons detained by the police. Initial reports had said seven gunmen were involved in the shooting. According to the daily, Thai immigration records suggested that Chota Rajan had entered Thailand disguising himself as Vijay Daman. A Thai police official said if Chota Rajan had entered Thailand without valid documents then he could face charges of illegal entry into the country. Meanwhile, a tight security cover has been thrown around a local hospital where Chota Rajan is admitted in its Intensive Care Unit. (PTI) |
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Liberal Democrat Friends of India group formed LONDON, Sept 20: Liberal Democrats, one of the mainstream British political parties, has formally launched a new forum to promote Indo-British relations. Describing the launch as a "genuinely defining moment," Charles Kennedy, who led members of the House of Commons of Liberal Democrats, said the "Liberal Democrats Friends of India" would grow from strength to strength. The newly-elected president lord navnit dholakia alongwith Kennedy affixed signatures at Bournemouth, about 90 km away from here, yesterday where the party held its annual conference. Referring to the election of India-born Dholakia as president of the party, Kennedy said "this party is very fundamentally and sincerely friend of India." Speaking on the occasion, Indian High Commissioner to UK Nareshwar Dayal described the election of Dholakia and the launch of Liberal Democrats Friend of India a "wonderful occasion." He said it was "culmination of a journey" begun by his predecessor Lalit Mansingh during whose tenure, the Labour Friends of India group was formed last year. "Despite many problems it inherited, India is world’s largest functioning democracy," Dholakia said. Referring to his trip to India, Kennedy said, "we had a tremendous visit to India though all too brief." He said he was impressed with the functioning of democracy on a gigantic scale, despite the problems it faced. (PTI) |
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Jaswant calls for international solidarity against terrorism UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20: India today gave clarion call to the world community to support an Indian-sponsored convention on terrorism and reaffirmed its readiness to take on the "responsibilities" of a permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council. "We have proposed the draft of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. I urge all members of the United Nations to give their total support to this initiative," External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told a UN General Assembly’s ministerial debate. Taking New Delhi’s campaign for global support on the comprehensive anti-terrorism convention to the floor of the General Assembly, Singh, without naming Pakistan, said terrorism is the most flagrant human rights violation and threatens international peace and security "especially when terrorists are armed, financed and backed by Governments or their agencies." "Terrorism is the global menace of our age. For some, it tends to replace ideology and policy. India has been the object of State-sponsored, cross-border terrorism, in its most inhuman manifestations, for more than a decade. "Even as the international community works together to curb, control and stamp out illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, we need continually to focus our attention on the users of such weapons — the terrorists", Singh said. Stating that "today’s Security Council is a hangover from the colonial era", Singh reaffirmed India’s readiness to take on "the responsibilities" of permanent membership in an expanded Security Council. "Terrorism is an assault on human decency, a violation of the basic principles of democracy, and the very antithesis of what the United Nations represents and stands for. "Because its principal targets are the innocent, it is indeed the most flagrant violation of human rights. It constitutes a crime against humanity. It is also a threat to international peace and security, especially when terrorists are armed, financed and backed by Governments and their agencies", Singh said. Singh urged all members to work together to strengthen the international consensus and legal regimes against terrorism. The External Affairs Minister pointed out that even as the spreading sweep of democracy casts aside dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, there have been some instances of regression too. Referring to the ouster of democratically elected Government headed by Mahendra Chaudhry in Fiji, Singh urged member states to uncompromisingly support and strengthen democracy. He hoped that the international community will exercise its collective authority and influence to bring Fiji back to the road of democracy and the rule of law. This, he said, is in Fiji’s own long-term interest. On Afghanistan, Singh called for a comprehensive settlement of the crisis in the war-ravaged country. "It appears that, sadly, the world has forgotten that country. The fratricidal conflict in that country continues on account of the Taliban’s pursuit of the mirage of military success. (PTI) |
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Nepal tightens security ahead of Communist strike KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Nepal today tightened security across the Himalayan Kingdom ahead of a general strike called by several Left groups against the Government’s alleged failure to deliver on its promises. "Tight and adequate security measures have been taken," Home (Interior) Ministry spokesman Gopendra Bahadur Pandey told Reuters. Nine Left parties have called for a general closure across Nepal tomorrow alleging that the six-month-old Centrist Government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had failed to control inflation, fight corruption and improve law and order. Mr Pandey said torchlight processions had been banned in densely populated areas to ensure that these areas did not catch fire, which could result in violence. But the organisers have vowed to defy the ban. "This is against the democratic rights of the people. We will organise the torchlight procession despite the ban," said Devi Prasad Ojha, a member of the Communist Marxist-Leninist (ML) Party, the biggest of the nine groups. Mr Ojha claimed the protest would be peaceful but cautioned the Government against provocation. (REUTERS) |
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American-Indian held at
PM’s guest house WASHINGTON, Sept 20: An American Indian arrested last Saturday by US secret service at the Blair House where Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee stayed during his visit to Washington has been granted bail by a court. Dipal Pandya was charged with unlawful entry and appeared in US district court on Monday, said Channing Phillips, spokesman for the US attorney’s office in district of Colombia. Pandya, 27, was released on his own recognisance, and a trial is scheduled for October 31. There is no indication in court documents that Pandya was armed. Vajpayee was not present in the guest house when the incident took place, secret service spokesman Marc Connelly said adding the Prime Minister was never in any danger. "I wasn’t anywhere close to any bedroom, or any house for that matter," Pandya said in a telephone interview from his home in Mattawan, New Jersey. Pandya, who said he works in the computer software industry, would not say why he came to Blair House, the historic home across Pennsylvania avenue from the White House where official guests are lodged. (AP) |
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India meets basic obligations of CTBT: Jaswant UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20: India today assured the world community that it would not obstruct the controversial CTBT from coming into force and it would continue to observe a moratorium on further nuclear tests. "India volunteered and continues to observe a moratorium on further explosive nuclear testing. This meets the basic obligation of the CTBT," Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh said participating in a UN General Assembly ministerial debate. Singh declared that stability and development are the essential building blocks for the maintenance of international peace and security. "Threat to peace can and does arise from different sources. It is not just weapons of mass destruction or an arms race that endanger peace but also dehumanising poverty and lack of development," he said. He said "India also remains ready to engage in meaningful negotiations in the conference on disarmament, including on a global treaty to ban the future production of fissile materials for weapons purposes." He welcomed the initiative of the UN chief Kofi Annan to convene an international conference on eliminating nuclear danger. He urged commencement of negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention to bring about a nuclear-free world. India, he said, remains ready to participate in agreed and irreversible steps such as de-alerting of nuclear forces, thus lowering nuclear danger through accidental use or otherwise; also, a global agreement on no-first use and on non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states. He urged rich nations to devote 0.7 percent of their GNP for official development aid under a time-bound plan. Singh reminded them: "Developing countries and their people cannot thrive on a diet of advice and goodwill alone." Among other things, he urged the developing countries not to seek to restrict market access to goods and servics and free movement of "natural persons," especially at a time when developing countries are being asked to openup their economies and compete in the international economic domain. (PTI) |
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Way cleared for grant of PNTR status to China WASHINGTON, Sept 20: The US Congress has cleared the way for President Bill Clinton to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PMTR) status to China, with the Senate yesterday passing convincingly the bill, a move hailed as "historic" by Clinton and described as "conducive" by Beijing. China however opposed the clauses which establish a monitoring mechanism of the communist country’s human rights policies. The bill which was supposed to be highly controversial because of China’s alleged human rights violations was passed by the US Upper House by 83-15 votes. The House of Representatives has already adopted the measure by 237-197 votes. The bill, which will become law when the US President signs it, also opens the way for China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation. Clinton termed the passage of the bill "historic" and said that "in return for normal trade relations, China will open its markets to American products ... And we will be far more able to sell goods in China without moving our factories there." In separate comments in Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry as well as the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) welcomed the passage of the bill. "We appreciate the great efforts made by the American people of the vision from the Democratic Party and the Republican Party as well as people of all circles concerned," MOFTEC spokesman Hu Chusheng said. "China hopes that the Chinese and US sides will regard the solution of China’s PNTR with the US as a new starting point to further the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and the development of the Sino-US relations in the new century," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi said. Hu, however, opposed the clauses for monitoring mechanism of China’s human rights policies. ".. We note that the bill passed by the US Senate still contains certain clauses that are irrelevant to trade and are intended for interfering in the internal affairs of China and harming China’s interests, which is resolutely opposed by the Chinese Government," Hu was quoted by China’s official Xinhua news agency as saying. (PTI) |
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Pakistan economy starving as investors refuse to chip in NEW DELHI, Sept 20: Pakistan economy is increasingly getting starved of investment and no economist in the country has courage to tell Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf that the thesis of "Jehad" (armed crusade) was killing investment, according to a Pakistani weekly. The weekly "The Friday Times" in its latest edition quoted Governor of State Bank Ishrat Hussain as saying that "(Pakistani) exporters have not repatriated 700 million dollar they earned abroad." "Hussain will not tell General Musharraf the real reason because he knows that the General vehemently opposes the thesis that it is Jehad which is killing the investment," the weekly commented. This means that an amount larger than Pakistan’s current level of foreign exchange reserves is being kept out of the country, the paper commented in its article "Why aren’t people investing in Pakistan". The paper said "far from investing, Pakistanis don’t want to keep their earning in the country." It said Pakistani people were not in favour of signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty because that is supposed to destroy Pakistan’s nuclear cabability, yet they are leaving for the very countries who are asking Pakistan to sign it. "The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lahore recommended forcefully to then Premier Nawaz Sharif that he should explode the bomb in 1998, but failed after that to respond to his appeal to invest," it said. "Instead the chamber resented the fact that he (Sharif) had frozen their dollar account," the weekly said. The weekly said nuclear blast in Chaghai hills had its impact on the Karachi’s stock exchange, which had not stopped wobbling since then." "The Friday Times" said the "Pakistani investors were encouraging the Government to intensify the warlike environment at home but are busy taking their money out." The weekly said Pakistani people just wanted to vanish from the country and did not mind shelling out 1,50,000 US dollars for securing a bussiness visa for countries like the United States, Canada and other Western countries and approximately nearly 1,20,00 Pakistani had left the country. The weekly quoted an economist as saying that "domestic extremism, overpopulation, environmental degradation, drug trafficking, an illegal trade in arms, a substantial refugee presence, the absence of democratic framework, strategies based on coercion and manipulation and a deteriorating economy combined to erode the State’s ability to assert effective control over its territory and population. Meanwhile, International Monetary Fund has expressed concern over the flight of capital from Pakistan and has asked the authorities to restore investors’ confidence, Pakistani daily "Frontier Post" said. Pakistan’s economic condition badly needs assistance from the international financial institutions but "The Friday Times" commented that "it appears, however, that Pakistan’s decision-makers either are underestimating the urgency of these threats or believe that their present strategies can contain them." (PTI) |
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