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Bush plans to visit India early next year: Officials WASHINGTON, June 19: With improvement in Indo-US relations, President George W Bush is planning to visit India early next year.. ....more India-US
want to WASHINGTON, June 19: Refuting the popular theory that United States was keen on building relations with India as a counter to China, US Under. ...more 36-hour Bangla strike evokes partial response DHAKA, June 19: A 36-hour nationwide general strike called by opposition alliance today evoked partial response in Dhaka and rest of the country ....more Increasing
role of PHITSANULOK, (THAILAND), June 19: The increasing role of women in Indian politics and governance was lauded today at the opening session of ....more |
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Summit will provide WASHINGTON, June 19: Pakistan has hoped that the forthcoming Indo-Pak Summit would provide "some salutary mechanism" for dealing with the .....more Spielberg
calls TOKYO, June 19: Film director Steven Spielberg took off his hat to Stanley Kubrick on Tuesday, describing his new movie, "AI Artificial Intelligence"..more Iraq mounts major diplomatic offensive on US-British plan BAGHDAD, June 19: Iraq is mounting a major diplomatic offensive to win support for its rejection of a UN Security Council..more Musharraf defends budget in face of severe criticism ISLAMABAD, June 19: In the face of severe criticism of the new budget by country’s political parties and economists, Pakistan military ruler General ....more |
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Bush plans to visit India early next year: Officials WASHINGTON, June 19: With improvement in Indo-US relations, President George W Bush is planning to visit India early next year. Bush is planning to undertake a visit to India early next year, Torkel Patterson, senior director on Asia in the National Security Council, said yesterday while speaking at a seminar entitled ‘new era in US-India relations’, which was organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). "There are many issues on which the two nations share commonality," he said, adding "I don’t see any obstacles in our relationship" that could prevent the ties from developing further in a positive fashion." Confirming Bush’s plan to visit India, Under Secretary of Defence Dov Zakheim said: "I was not in the least bit surprised that External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had such a good meeting with the President" recently at the White House. Indian Ambassador to the US Lalit Mansingh said that Washington and New Delhi are "beginning a new chapter and this time the partnership will be strong." "We are now looking at what is uniting us and not what is deviding us," he said. Zakheim, talking about his earlier stint in the mid-1980s dealing with India, said: "we (US and India) were then seeing the world from different ends of the telescope. This has changed now." Zakheim was a member of a close-knit foreign policy group called the ‘vulcans’ that used to advise Bush, when he was Governor of Texas, on global policy issues. "We had a number of discussions with Governor Bush," he recalled. "And all of us unanimously felt his vision had to include India. If we are going to discuss great powers of the future, then we have to discuss India," he said. "We are going to get beyond platitudes" which, Zakheim said, had marked the relations between the two countries in the past. "Our relationship has been marked by too much of patronising stuff. We need to get into real substance now." He said that President Bush’s strategic vision encompasses the national missile defence system "vibes with Indian thinking," so there was no real surprise in india giving its qualified support to the new approach. "What will be even more surprising to the world community in the future is our strategic views hold so much in common. In our relationship of today, many of the axioms of the past are no longer visible," Zakheim said. Paterson said: "When we think about South Asia, we always thought about it as a problem. This President wants to be different. He wants to think about it dynamically and when we have to think about South Asia, we have to think about the opportunity and growth." (PTI) |
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India-US want to compete with China WASHINGTON, June 19: Refuting the popular theory that United States was keen on building relations with India as a counter to China, US Under Secretary for Defence Dor Zakheim said both the democracies are not keen in becoming enemies of China but would like to compete with it. Addressing the Indo-American Forum for Political Education here today, Mr Zakheim outlined the areas of strategic co-operation between the two nations. He said both the countries have stakes in a stable Middle East, hinting that they look for cheap energy sources from that area as major consumers of crude and petroleum products. Even in combating terrorism the countries could coordinate their activities, he added. Making a reference to Pakistan, he said United States and India have a vested interest in ensuring that it does not become a failed state and religious extremism does not grow unabated there. While emphasizing the importance of political stability in Indonesia, rocked by ethnic violence, he added that US has noted India’s growing interest in partnership with ASEAN countries for trade and investment as part of the ‘look east policy’. As one who had worked with President Bush during the presidential campaign days Mr Zakheim said he was keen on forging closer ties with India. Detailing the steps taken by the Bush administration to increase the importance of India, Mr Torkel Patterson, Senior Director for Asia in the National Security Council said the first step taken was to group India with Asian countries like Japan and South Korea in the National Security Council, that advises the president on security matters. Further, South Asia which was clubbed with the near east in the NSC during the Clinton era has been brought to the Asia region so that there could be more focus by the US policy planners. He said South Asia has been treated as a problem area by successive US administrations and nuclear proliferation and Kashmir are the only areas of concern for United States in the region so far. Mr Patterson said that US would remain focussed to Asia. The thinking of the Bush administration is that it is the only region where there could be sustainable economic growth in the next ten years both in terms of market and trade, he added. Mr Dennis Kux a senior scholar in Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars said United States should bring India into the nuclear club without upsetting the existing members. Both the countries should avoid exaggerated expectations, considering that the relations have not been smooth for several decades. The ending of cold war and lesser interest in Pakistan would however give a filip to the relations, he said. (UNI) |
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36-hour Bangla strike evokes partial response DHAKA, June 19: A 36-hour nationwide general strike called by opposition alliance today evoked partial response in Dhaka and rest of the country. Shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed but rickshaws, the main mode of transportation in capital Dhaka, were plying on the streets in presence of large number of police and paramilitary personnel. The strike was called by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party opposition alliance to protest an alleged attack on a convoy carrying her on Sunday. The strike, first since the 72-hour bandh which ended on April 25, saw ruling Awami League party suppoters occupying the streets, who were parading the central Dhaka. Inclement weather has dampened the whole exercise to some extent and the opposition is conspicuously absent in the city centre. Police said the processionists were looking for shelter and heavy downpour scattered the gathering. Zia charged the ruling party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed for carrying out the attack on her motorcade saying it was an attempt on her life and claimed around 100 shots were fired at her motorcade. The Awami League has denied any involvement in the attack and termed it as an "arranged drama." Police today refuted the allegations as "not true" saying "security personnel of Zia first opened fire on agitating people" and added not a single bullet mark was found on any of the vehicles in the motorcade. Several Government ministers described BNP allegations as a cover-up for Sunday’s Narayanganj carnage where 22 persons, mainly Awami League supporters, were killed in an explosion. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is visiting Narayanganj where three day mourning is in progress. Meanwhile, press reports said that 27 people against whom cases have been filed regarding the explosion are mostly workers and leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. (PTI) |
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Increasing role of women in Indian politics lauded PHITSANULOK, (THAILAND), June 19: The increasing role of women in Indian politics and governance was lauded today at the opening session of the Asia Pacific summit of women mayors and councillors. At the session, former Mayor of Allahabad, Rita Bhauguna Joshi bagged the United Nation’s ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Award of recognition for outstanding service and breaking barriers against participation in local Government. She was among the seven recipients who were given commendation certificates. Executive Director of United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS)-habitat Anna Kajumuo Tibaljuka observed that the massive influx of 80,000 women in local politics in India, in both urban and local areas, was coupled with a period of grassroot mobilisation. However, despite the new-found presence of women in planning and management processes, there was little immediate impact on policy. While women were officially represented in decision making structuers, they were not concomitantly empowered to participate actively, she said. "Newer initiatives on capacity building in India are already beginning to address this. However, what has been learned is that although increasing women’s representation is an important step, it needs to be accompanied by the active training and capacity building of the new representatives," she added. Some social activists from India also echoed similar sentiments and said more active participation of women was needed. Dr Krasae Chanawongse, minister to the Thailand Prime Minister’s office inaugurated the meeting and observed that women mayors and councillors were excellent role models for women of the next generation seeking more success in the political area. Executive Secretary of ESCAP Kim Hak-Su said as economies globalise and international trade increases, the importance of cities in Asia and the pacific in promoting and sustaining economic growth is increasing and the challenge should be met with better governance. "Well functioning cities are therefore crucial for economic, social and environmentally sustainable growth", she added. Women in decision making positions in Governments and legislative bodies provide "transformative leadership" by redefining political priorities, placing new items on the agenda and providing new perspectives on mainstream issues, she said. The conference, being organised by UNESCAP in collaboration with some other UN bodies, is aimed at increasing awareness about the transformative role women play in local Government and the challenges and constraints they face in the field. A total of 150-200 participants from countries of Asia and Pacific including Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand are discussing various issues being confronted by women mayors and councillors. In the first ever such summit of women mayors and councillors of the region, delegates will also discuss follow up regional strategies and actions to promote women’s participation and representation in local Governments. Besides Mrs Rita Bahuguna, others who received the ESCAP awards were Ms. Premurudee Charmpooned (Mayor-Phitsanulok), Ms Frana Cardno (Mayor, Southland District, New Zealand), Ms Katherine Gordon (Mayor, Olongapo, Philippines), Ms Dra (Mayor, Central Java, Indonesia), Ms Hu Juping (Deputy Mayor, Hubei Province, China) and Ms.Gool Noor Bugtti (Councillor, Quetta, Pakistan). Ms Bahuguna, who is the member of the All India Council of Mayors and the UNDP International Advisory Board of Mayors, soon after getting the award told a visiting UNI correspondent that increasing the number of women representatives and officials in urban self Government would have a direct effect on the status of women. They will feel more confident and useful to the society. Ms Bahuguna, daughter of former Union Minister late Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna felt that after 33 per cent reservation in the Parliament and State Assemblies, the whole scenario of development would undergo a dramatic change. (UNI) |
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Summit will provide ‘salutary mechanism’ for Kashmir issue: Pak WASHINGTON, June 19: Pakistan has hoped that the forthcoming Indo-Pak Summit would provide "some salutary mechanism" for dealing with the "core issue" of Kashmir even as the United States said it looked forward to the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar had an hour-long meeting with U S National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice here yesterday during which the Indo-Pak relations and the Summit meeting were among the issues discussed by the two leaders. A Pakistan Embassy release quoted Rice as having told Sattar that U S looked forward to the outcome of the Summit. Rice’s spokesman refused to give any details of the meeting but said the parleys were held only between the National Security Advisor and Sattar and there was no "drop in" by President George Bush. It may be recalled that Bush had dropped in when External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was holding talks at the White House recently with his U S counterpart Colin Powell. Before meeting Sattar, Rice met Japan’s Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka during which Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney stopped by briefly. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said "the United States fully supported" the Indo-Pak Summit. After his meeting with Rice, Sattar said he hoped that the Musharraf-Vajpayee Summit "would address Kashmir issue which is the root cause of tension between India and Pakistan." Earlier, Sattar told the 2001 Carnegia International Non-Proliferation conference "we hope that the two leaders will address the core issue and embark upon some salutary mechanism for dealing with this issue." The Summit "will have to deal with the core issue of Kashmir," he said adding "we hope this meeting will be able to chart new direction for relations between the two countries and address in the first instance the root cause of tension between Pakistan and India and that is the issue of Kashmir." Recalling that President Clinton called South Asia, after the Indian and Pakistani nuclear explosions, as "the most dangerous" place in the world, he said "the real wonder" is that Washington did not recognise the danger in 1974 (when India carried out a nuclear test)." "We in Pakistan," he said, "could not afford to take such a benign view. Pakistan decided to follow it and embarked on efforts for acquisition of deterrence capability." Noting that Pakistan voted in favour of the CTBT, Sattar said that on the Fissile Materials Convention Treaty too "we shall bring a positive predisposition to negotiations in the conference on disarmament." Situation in Afghanistan and U S concern regarding the Taliban and terrorism also came up for disucssion during the Rice-Sattar meeting, the Pakistan Embassy release said.(PTI) |
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Spielberg calls new movie a Kubrick collaboration TOKYO, June 19: Film director Steven Spielberg took off his hat to Stanley Kubrick on Tuesday, describing his new movie, "AI Artificial Intelligence", a collaboration with the late legendary director. Speaking to reporters in Tokyo via satellite, Spielberg gave few hints about the film that has been shrouded in secrecy, stressing his debt to Kubrick. He had "worked hard to achieve a cinematic collaboration by bringing a vision of Stanley Kubrick’s to the screen", Spielberg said. The filmmaker rarely speaks to the media and organisers said it was the first time in 19 years he had given a news conference to reporters in Japan — the world’s second-biggest movie market. AI, to be released simultaneously in Japan and the United States on June 30, was an idea conceived by Kubrick more than 20 years ago and picked up by Spielberg after Kubrick died in 1999. "I would speculate that Stanley would have made and told much the same story I told because I based my screenplay on a 90-page treatment (concept) Stanley had prepared from all of his own ideas," the 53-year-old filmmaker said when asked what he thought Kubrick would have done differently. Kubrick made classics such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Arange" during his career. "If Mr Kubrick were alive today, I’d be sending him a fax about how much I loved the movie he just directed called ‘AI’ and that I felt lucky to be in the audience experiencing his movie," Spielberg said. Throughout the movie’s production the set was closed. About the only thing moviegoers know about the Warner brothers/dreamworks production is that Haley Joel Osment portrays a young robot who longs to be human. Spielberg sounded a note of caution on man’s technological progress as he spoke about a film whose intrigue has already prompted thousands of cybersurfers to take part in a game inspired by the movie. "On one hand we are making tremendous leaps forward in science, medicine and technology, but at the same time it is possible that technology could sometimes be the masters of the humans that created it," Spielberg added. "We have to be very careful what we dream about and what we create because we are so powerful in our creating and we should be very careful not to attempt to compete with god all the time," Spielberg said. But the maker of blockbusters such as "ET" and "Saving Private Ryan" said he felt good would win in the end — as it does in most of his Hollywood films. "Based on the films I’ve made and the films that you know I’ve made, I believe in my heart we do more good than evil. And that we will ultimately succeed and the goodness will win over the evil," Spielberg said. Spielberg was in Virginia, where he is shooting his next film, "Minority Report", starring Tom Cruise. (REUTERS) |
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Iraq mounts
major diplomatic offensive on BAGHDAD, June 19: Iraq is mounting a major diplomatic offensive to win support for its rejection of a UN Security Council draft resolution proposed by Britain and backed by the United States. President Saddam Hussein has sent senior officials to world capitals to make the case for rejecting the draft aimed at revamping the 11-year-old sanctions on Iraq. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hikmat Mezban Ibrahim handed a message from Saddam to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday, the Iraqi news agency INA reported. INA said the message dealt with "Iraq’s rejection of the Anglo-American proposal and its bad consequences on Iraq and the Arab nation." The British-drafted resolution would ease sanctions on civilian imports to Iraq, ban military materials and draw up a lengthy list of goods for review of items that could have both military and civilian uses. The resolution also seeks to stop smuggling estimated at about 1 billion a year and then ensure that earnings from the trade which currently goes directly to Baghdad is paid into a UN-controlled account. Iraq fears the proposals would solidify rather than ease the sanctions. It cut oil exports on June 4 in protest and threatened to stop supplies to neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Turkey if they cooperate with the new plan. Iraq supplies the three countries outside the oil-for-food deal with the United Nations, earning funds directly for Baghdad. Sales under the oil-for-food pact go to a UN escrow account to pay for food, medicine and other humanitarian needs. Baghdad media said last week that Ibrahim met Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa Mero in Damascus before travelling to Cairo and urged Syria not to cooperate with the new resolution. Next day the Iraqi press reported that Syria had expressed its concern over the plan to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Jordan appealed on June 14, in a letter to Annan, for the Security Council to drop plans to overhaul sanctions, saying its economy would be devastated if trade was halted. Iraq told Turkey last week that Ankara would suffer severe consequences if it implemented the resolution. Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz wrote to Annan urging him not to link the draft resolution with the oil-for-food deal, Baghdad newspapers reported on Tuesday. The Security Council extended the pact on June 1 for one month instead of the usual six. Baghdad rejected the short extension and suspended oil sales. Aziz said in his letter to Annan that the new resolution would "impose an international mandate on Iraq for many years to come and deprive the country of its resources and aggravate the humanitarian situation." Baghdad newspapers said Trade Minister Mohammed Mehdi Saleh met last week with United Arab Emirate crown prince and Defence Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum in Dubai on the new plan. "Saleh briefed Sheikh Mohammad on Iraq’s rejection of the new Anglo-American conspiracy and said Iraq would reject any resolution which does not lead to a comprehensive lifting of sanctions," the papers said. INA said Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar Hamdoon met in Brussels on Tuesday with Belgian Foreign Minister Luee Mishael? (desk plse check name) and briefed him on the US-British proposal. Hamdoon, Iraq’s former ambassador to the United Nations, has already discussed the plan with Danish officials, it said. The Security Council is working towards a self-imposed deadline of July 3 to adopt the new resolution. Russia, Iraq’s closest ally in the Council, has signalled its objections. (REUTERS) |
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Musharraf defends budget in face of severe criticism ISLAMABAD, June 19: In the face of severe criticism of the new budget by country’s political parties and economists, Pakistan military ruler General Pervez Musharraf today defended it saying his Government would continue to take all measures for the revival of the economy. Speaking to a group of foreign investors here today, he said his Government has accorded highest priority to the revival of the economy. Pakistan yesterday for the first time slashed the defence budget by about 6.5 per cent and allocated about 27.4 per cent of the revenue for development projects to regenerate money to clear staggering 37 billion foreign debt. The budget, presented by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, however came under severe criticism from mainstream political parties and economists who described it as "anti-people" and "unbalanced". They said the budget would not trigger sustained economic growth needed to come out of the foreign debt trap. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said the so-called no-tax budgets of the Government led to five increases in petroleum prices during the past two years. Last year, the military regime promised huge revenue increases and deficit reductions which were reversed downwards four times in the last one year. The regime’s incompetence produced the lowest growth rate in 18 years of Pakistan’s history, PPP said in a statement. "PPP rejects the budgetary figures announced by the military regime. The budget is a manipulation of figures where real military expenditure has been hidden by transferring military pensions under the head of the civil expenditure," PPP said. "The civil expenditure is a small and pitiable amount. The civil expenditure, in addition to the military pensions, has to meet civil pensions and salaries as well as outlays for water and irrigation, power, health and education. These heads, once the military pensions are taken out, are left with about half the military budget," it said. "PPP calls this budget a fraud with the people of Pakistan whose miseries will increase as a consequence," the party said. In his reaction, senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Ghafoor Ahmad said the salaries of the Government employees were only raised by 18 per cent while the prices of daily commodities had increased by 80 per cent of late. Describing the budget as a "fraud", he said the rulers only played with the figures to befool the masses. Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said the budget was prepared on the dictates of IMF, World Bank and Citibank. "It would cause the closure of local industries, giving rise to unemployment in the country." Chairman of Mohajir Qaumi Movement Afaq Ahmad said the budget was prepared for the military, not for the people. He said the rulers broke all previous records of anti-people budgetary measures. "Had it been prepared by the elected representatives, it would have definitely provided some relief to the people," he said. President of 16-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan said the annual budget has lost importance with the Government announcing mini-budgets throughout the year. He said the military Government had already announced its budget by raising petroleum prices a day ahead of the budget. Karachi-based economist Javed Akbar Ansari told ‘The Dawn’ that the budget seeks to buy stabilisation at the cost of growth. "It is an anti-growth budget, particularly an anti-industrialisation budget because for the seventh consecutive year it has cut back defence expenditure." He said cutting back defence expenditure hampers growth of capital goods sector and makes technological development impossible. He said India’s technological development and rapid growth is based upon its very rapid growth in defence expenditure since 1991. "Our defence expenditure is one quarter of India’s defence expenditure and our capital goods sector is less than 10 per cent of India’s," he said. Shahida Wizarat, former Director of Applied Economic Reserarch Centre, said, "stabilisation programme and structural adjustments are always conflicting in nature. So I cannot believe that the policy mix of the two can lead to economic growth." She said since Pakistan is supposed to follow a tight monetary policy as part of IMF-sponsored stabilisation programme, it is unlikely to see a real growth in investment. Referring to allocations to developmental programmes, she said, "the public sector development plan of Rs 130 billion is insufficient and even this insufficient amount may be slashed afterwards." (PTI) |
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