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Afghanistan’s Taliban ISLAMABAD, Mar 17: Afghanistan’s radical Taliban rulers have ordered beauty parlours in the country’s ...more
Bush
invites 9 Indian WASHINGTON, Mar 17: President George W Bush invited nine Indian American businessmen....more LTTE
releases 4 farmers COLOMBO, Mar 17: The LTTE has freed four Sinhalese farmers it had been holding captive since....more Foot-and-mouth
disease COLOMBO, Mar 17: An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which has crippled the dairy and meat......more |
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Population of New York WASHINGTON, Mar 17: The population of United States’ largest city New York has touched a record eight million as per the latest census, an increase attributed to large-scale influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin American countries.....more Exhibition targeting HONG KONG, Mar 17: A three-day exhibition aimed at portraying the Falun Gong spiritual movement as an evil cult opened today in Hong Kong, where the movement is legal though outlawed in mainland China.......more ILAMABAD, Mar 17: Pakistan has successfully upgraded old Mirage aircraft fleet by installing state of the .......more Lankan Govt says COLOMBO, Mar 17: The Government said a Norwegian peace initiative to end Sri.........more |
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Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers shut down beauty parlours ISLAMABAD, Mar 17: Afghanistan’s radical Taliban rulers have ordered beauty parlours in the country’s western herat city to close down for violating Islamic Sharia laws, reports today said. Also, the Taliban Department of eliminating vice and promoting virtue arrested five people for giving non-Sharia hair cuts to women, Pakistan’s widely-read Urdu newspaper Jang (War) reported. Bath houses for women are already closed in the town on the Iranian border. In January, 25 barbers were thrown into jail in the Afghani capital of Kabul for violating a two-month-old ban on western hairstyles, deemed "un-Islamic". The religious police hauled up the barbers for acceding to requests for the hairdo sported by the hero in the film "titanic". The hairstyle was fashionable among youths. Since seizing power in 1996, the Taliban militia has required men to grow beards and women to be fully veiled outside their homes, in a puritanical interpretation of Islamic laws. (DPA) |
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Bush invites 9 Indian American businessmen WASHINGTON, Mar 17: President George W Bush invited nine Indian American businessmen for a meeting at the White House today to discuss his tax plans in a first indication of the clout enjoyed by the immigrant community in a Republican administration. The audience at the Rose Garden of the White House comprised 200 small businessmen majority of them whites and a few from the black and hispanic communities. Labour Secretary Elwin Chao, an immigrant from Taiwan who introduced the businessmen to President Bush said America has been a land of opportunities for immigrant businesspersons. Mr Bush, after elaborating on his tax plans in his 20 minute address met businessmen individually before leaving the meeting venue. The Indian Americans who were invited by Mr Bush include Dr Joy Cherian, Mr Gopal Khanna, Mr Joseph Melookaran, Dr George Thomas, Dr Piyush C Agrawal, Dr Sid Gautam, Mr R Ganesan, Mr George Verghese and Dr Shambu Baunik. Talking to UNI after the meeting with President Bush Mr Gopal Khanna and Mr Agrawal said they were elated by President Bush’s gesture in inviting them to a meeting at the White House. "The stated abolition of estate duty and reduction in peak tax rate from 39 to 33 per cent would help the Indian American businessmen in a big way," said Dr George Thomas who runs a heart hospital in Florida said. "After all I have to pass on my asset base to my wards and the abolition of estate duty would be of immense benefit,"added Dr Thomas. (UNI) |
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LTTE releases 4 farmers held captive since Dec 1999 COLOMBO, Mar 17: The LTTE has freed four Sinhalese farmers it had been holding captive since December 1999, an official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. The farmers hail from Paduviya near Mullaitivu, in the north. This is the second time this month that the LTTE has released civilian captives from their custody. On March 2, the tigers had released two fishermen to the ICRC. They had also given an assurance to a Buddhist monk who was on an inter-religious peace delegation to the Vanni region that they would be releasing civilians in their custody. Gunawardena said the ICRC was aware that 11 soldiers and 10 civilians were still in LTTE’s custody. (PTI) |
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Foot-and-mouth disease
rapidly spreading in COLOMBO, Mar 17: An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, which has crippled the dairy and meat industry in Europe, is spreading rapidly in the north central province of Sri Lanka causing a threat to the livestock industry. Media reports here said farmers in Anuradhapura district are selling the sick cattle to butchers even after being advised not to release them even for grazing. They have also been advised to keep the sick cattle away from the healthy ones. With 582 cases of the foot-and-mouth disease identified in Sri Lanka, there was a growing fear that it could even wipe out much of the wild life including deer, sambhar and wild boar. As there has been no major outbreak of the disease here in the past, we are not really prepared to face it.The pigs and cattle in the country are not regularly vaccinated , Director General of Animal Production and Health Dr G G N Abeykoon said. Among the steps taken to prevent the spread of the disease are vaccination of cattle and pigs and public advise against drinking unpasteurised milk. "Although Sri Lanka does not have the same variety of disease as Europe has at the moment, it is better to take preventive measures," a Livestock Development Ministry official said. Meanwhile, all passengers on flights arriving from the United Kingdom will be disinfected at the Colombo International Airport to prevent entry of foot-and-mouth disease virus. The Ministry of Livestock Development in a press statement said that any food items originating from animals and carried by the passengers will be destroyed and airline garbage will be properly disposed off. The ministry as well as the Department of Wildlife have also instructed hotels and tour organisers to inform them if tourists from the UK were planning to visit the wild life parks and sanctuaries here. (UNI) |
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Population of New York touches record 8 million WASHINGTON, Mar 17: The population of United States’ largest city New York has touched a record eight million as per the latest census, an increase attributed to large-scale influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin American countries. The 2000 census figures say that the city grew because of rising numbers of Asians and Hispanics. The black population is stable while the number of non-Hispanic whites fell over the past decade. Another trend that emerged during the census is that cities where there is influx of immigrants did not suffer population losses. This trend is witnessed in Chicago, whose population grew for the first time since 1950’s reaching 2.9 million. Cities that have not lured immigrants like Pittsburg, St Louis and Washington, lost population over the decade, The Washington Post, quoting census figures, said. New York, always the city of newcomers, grew 9.4 per cent from 1990 when the population was just over 7.3 million. An indication of its multi-ethnic character is revealed by its recent decision to print ballots in Spanish and Chinese. The city may go in for printing ballots in Korean as well. About one in ten New Yorkers is Asian-American, a group that grew more than 50 per cent in the past ten years. (UNI) |
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Exhibition targeting Falun Gong begins in Hong Kong HONG KONG, Mar 17: A three-day exhibition aimed at portraying the Falun Gong spiritual movement as an evil cult opened today in Hong Kong, where the movement is legal though outlawed in mainland China. The display of more than 200 pictures and photographs organised by pro-Beijing groups in the former British colony classed Falun Gong alongside some of the world’s deadliest cults, such as Japan’s doomsday Aum shinri Kyo. "We hope Hong Kong citizens, through this exhibition, can increase their understanding of cults...This can help maintain Hong Kong’s stability," Jiang Enzhu, head of China’s liaison office in Hong Kong, told reporters at the exhibition. Falun Gong claims to have millions of followers in China and has shocked the ruling Communist Party by its persistence and ability to organise mass protests despite a nationwide crackdown. How to handle the controversial movement’s activities in this former British colony has become the biggest test to date of the freedoms that Beijing granted Hong Kong when British rule ended in 1997. A Falun Gong practitioner inside the exhibition hall on Saturday showed a booklet containing pictures of fellow adherents being tortured by Chinese authorities. Security guards swiftly asked her to leave. "Look at these pictures, I mean these people are tortured to death, to such an extent that it is really horrible," practitioner Fiona Ching told reporters. "And so many people haven’t seen these stories yet, so I am afraid they might be misled." Human rights groups say more than 100 adherents have died in Chinese police custody of beatings, forced medication or other abuses. (REUTER) |
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ILAMABAD, Mar 17: Pakistan has successfully upgraded old Mirage aircraft fleet by installing state of the art navigation and attack accessories turning them into modern front line fighters, according to official sources. The upgrades have enhanced the day and night air defence and offensive capacity of the Mirage aircraft and also enhanced its survivability in hostile environment. The upgrades were undertraken at the Mirage rebuild factory Kamara established in 1974 which rebuilds and overhauls the Mirage aircraft. The rebuilding and overhauling of the mirage capability enabled Kamra factory to import 45 used Mirages which had been lying in storage for a long time. The upgrades have doubled the Mirage fleet of the PAF and the entire task was completed in a very short time at a fraction of the cost involved. Pakistan is trying to acquire used aircraft from other countries and a deal for the purchase of another fleet of 40 is in progress. Pakistan has already received three consignments. (UNI) |
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Lankan Govt says Norway’s peace move may succeed COLOMBO, Mar 17: The Government said a Norwegian peace initiative to end Sri Lanka’s protracted civil war stood a good chance of success because of growing international outrage over terrorism. "We have approached the issue differently this time," Constitutional Affairs Minister Gamini Peiris said in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Association yesterday. "We now have a skillful facilitator." In 1995, when the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last met, there was no facilitator. Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim has met representatives from both sides several times in recent months in an attempt to bring them back to the table. The rebels have been outlawed in Sri Lanka, India and the United States. Last month, Britain announced its decision to ban the LTTE, a step that must be approved by Parliament. Last week, Singapore cracked down on guerrilla groups raising funds in the island nation. The growing condemnation of terrorism around the world could force the rebels to shun violence and choose a democratic path, Peiris said. "The poignant reality of the war has come home to the public, bringing about a change in attitude," Peiris said of the growing call in Sri Lanka for talks. Further, a draft new constitution offers wide autonomy to Sri Lanka’s eight provinces, including those where the country’s 3.2 million Tamils are in the majority, and the Government is prepared to accommodate any new proposals the rebels may make, he said. (AP) |
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