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UK race riots highlight OLDHAM, ENGLAND, May 29: Britain’s worst race riots for years have brought into the open the ...more US,
Russia to huddle at UNITED NATIONS, May 29: US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Minister Robin Cook seek to convince Russia today to break the ...more Natural
rubber used NEW YORK, May 29: In 1994, the ground under the USC University Hospital in California was shaken by a tremor which caused other buildings in the ....more Taliban
regime toughen ISLAMABAD, May 29: Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has tightened restrictions for women......more |
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Cornered Indonesian JAKARTA, May 29: Embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid was going to declare a civil emergency and dissolve Parliament to save himself from impeachment, and stopped only after his cabinet ministers and military chiefs vehemently opposed the move, a local report said today.......more China, US agree on BEIJING, May 29: China today firmly rejected US pleas for allowing the American spy plane to fly out on its own, but agreed to a US proposal to use a Antonov-124 Cargo plane to transport the disassembled EP-3..........more US suggested to remain WASHINGTON, May 29: United States should remain an impartial observer during.......more |
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UK race riots highlight Asian identity struggle OLDHAM, ENGLAND, May 29: Britain’s worst race riots for years have brought into the open the determination of Asian and black youths to challenge a mainly-white society in which their immigrant parents were simply happy to find a place. The weekend violence, which burst onto the British political agenda in the middle of an election campaign, typified the struggle for identity many of the young in immigrant communities endure in modern Britain. Police in this run-down northern English town have pinned immediate blame for saturday’s riots on "outside influences" —mainly ultra-rightwing english nationalists and white power supremacists — stirring up trouble ahead of June 7 general election. But community leaders say tension has been brewing for years inside ethnic Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Kashmiri groups as well as among blacks from Africa and the Caribbean — all of them from nations which were once colonies of the British empire. Their roots trace back to immigration into northern England’s textile industry in the 1960s, but now the early immigrants have grown-up children keen to secure a niche and identity in British society. It is not an easy task. Many of the 15 to 25-year-olds who rampaged through Oldham’s pot-holed streets in two nights of violence are from relatively affluent backgrounds, with fast cars and high hopes for a bright professional future. Born and brought up in England, and with increasing confidence in their greater numbers, they now refuse to take what they say has been years of racial abuse and discrimination. "Why should we go? I am as english as the next man. Oldham is our town, our home,"said Sameer, a 25-year-old with a masters degree in microbiology. Walk round Oldham with eyes closed, and it is impossible to distinguish between Kashmiri, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or English youths — the voices you hear are all broad Manchester accents. "We’ve worked hard for this - nice cars, nice houses, but my parents have never been on holiday in their lives," said Kamran, a 22-year-old student who has all the latest gadgets from a mobile phone to widescreen television. "We’re not just going to give that up" British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has so far stymied the opposition conservative party’s attempts to turn asylum and immigration into a hot election topic, said Oldham did not reflect Britain as a whole. "I don’t think it is typical of the state of race relations in Britain today, where I think the vast majority of people want to live together in peace and in harmony," Blair said. (REUTERS) |
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US, Russia to huddle at NATO on Iraqi sanctions UNITED NATIONS, May 29: US Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Foreign Minister Robin Cook seek to convince Russia today to break the deadlock on their new Iraqi sanctions proposals when they meet at a NATO session in Budapest, diplomats said. Russia, represented by its Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, has the strongest objections to a draft resolution Britain circulated to the 15 UN Security Council members last week. France, whose Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine, will be in Budapest, appears to support the resolution in principle. But his envoys are stressing unity among the council’s key members, an indication they would want to put off a vote if Russia continues to balk at the draft. The US-British measures ease sanctions on civilian goods to Iraq but expand a list of military-related supplies. Ivanov, whose country is not a NATO member, is scheduled to be in Budapest today for a meeting of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council. China, the fifth permanent UN Security Council member with Veto power, will not be represented at the NATO meeting. Ambassadors from the five Council powers met late yesterday at UN headquarters but apparently made no progress. France has submitted a series of amendments, some of which the United States and Britain have accepted whether a vote can be held soon is uncertain. The United States and Britain want to get the resolution adopted by May 31, before the current phase of the UN humanitarian "oil-for-food" program expires on June 3. That program, which regulates oil sales from and goods going to Baghdad, was meant to ease the impact of sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. The oil-for-food plan requires proceeds from Iraqi oil sales to be put in a UN escrow fund out of which suppliers for goods imported to Iraq are paid. The US-British resolution would keep the fund intact, thereby denying Baghdad free use of its monies. Iraqi officials, who oppose any resolution that perpetuates the sanctions, have threatened to cut off oil supplies if the measures are approved. But the more controversial parts of the draft resolution are put off until Secretary-General Kofi Annan makes recommendations, after which the council will review them. They include regulating trade among Iraq and its neighbors, monitoring Iraq’s land and sea borders against smuggling and weeding out the list of oil traders to eliminate shadowy firms, which are alleged to be paying Baghdad a surcharge on oil sales outside of the UN system. Also at issue is a list the United States and Britain distributed, giving its roster of banned goods that include high performance computers, certain types of software, high frequency radio relay communications and other items. The 23-page list, obtained by Reuters last week, is in addition to a previous list of armaments that have been banned outright. The US-British resolution also wants to add the "Wassenaar arrangements" list on munitions and "dual-use" items, which have military and civilian applications. These would have to be reviewed individually by the council. The Wassenaar Accord, named after a town in the Netherlands, suggests lists of export controls for conventional arms, dual-use goods and technologies. China has not participated in the Wassenaar pact and its envoy, Shen Guofang, has protested that his country needs time to study it. Russia, too, has said more time was needed to analyze all the lists. (REUTERS) |
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Natural rubber used as earthquake buffer NEW YORK, May 29: In 1994, the ground under the USC University Hospital in California was shaken by a tremor which caused other buildings in the area to collapse. The 32,520 square metre hospital, which operated normally the day after the January 17 tremor, survived because of 149 rubber bearings which absorbed the shock. For the natural rubber market, an industry whose prices are hovering barely above near historic lows, an alternative market for the sap flowing from rubber trees raised by hundreds of small farmers in their countries would be a boon. Doctor Keith Fuller, head of a team aiming to develop new uses for natural rubber at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre in Britain, told Reuters that the use of rubber in buildings began some 30 years ago. It was felt that utilisation of "seismic isolators would provide superior earthquake protection." "Seismic isolators could be a substantial market for natural rubber," he said, adding that it will not by any means approach the use of rubber by the tyre industry. The price of natural rubber has been hit by rising stocks and a remorseless increase in output by top producers Thailand and Indonesia. Suharto Honggokusumo, Executive Director of the Indonesian Rubber Association (Gapkindo), said prices would recover only if there were concrete moves by the world’s top producers to control output or even reduce it. "I think it may take three years for prices to reach a profitable level for producers," Honggokusumo told Reuters. Andrew Taylor, an associate with KPFF Consulting Engineers who is a member of the earthquake engineering group of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said the technology is gaining wider acceptance. "Base isolation is rapidly becoming the method of choice for protecting critical structures from earthquake damage," Taylor, whose KPFF was the structural engineer for the USC University Hospital and is a pioneer in the field. The first building constructed on rubber isolation bearings was a school in the former Yugoslavia in 1969. Taylor said there are about 45 buildings and 120 bridges in the United States resting on rubber bearings to protect them from quake damage. "Most base isolated buildings and bridges in the united states are located in the western states where seismic hazards are high," said Taylor. Fuller said natural rubber is the mostly commonly used material for seismic isolators because of its strength and the constancy of its mechanical properties over a long period of time. The technology "reduces the earthquake forces imposed on the structure" compared to conventional techniques which rely on controlling the damage inflicted by a quake. Taylor said most of the buildings use rubber bearings but that an alternative would be sliding isolation systems which may offer advantages in some situations. Some of the major producers of such bearings are bridgestone in Japan, Dis, Inc. of Lafayette, California and Skellerup Industries Ltd. of Christchurch, New Zealand. The three countries straddle the pacific "ring of fire" of fault systems and volcanoes which is among the most seismically active regions in the world. The ring snakes through Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and up the spine of South and Central America and assumes its most visible form in the famed San Andreas fault running like a scar in California. Thousands of people have died in quakes around the region. Although rubber seismic bearings are getting more attention for buildings, their use in domestic homes has been practically non-existent. "We haven’t heard of it used in California," said the Purchasing Manager of Big Housing Company in the state, adding that rubber is normally used to insulate pipes and around the air-conditioning unit. Taylor added: "Very few residences in the United States have been isolated, although there are hundreds of condominium buildings in Japan that incorporate base isolation systems." (REUTERS) |
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Taliban regime toughen restrictions on women ISLAMABAD, May 29: Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has tightened restrictions for women with a new edict against close-fitted Burqas, the full-body veil women are required to wear, a report said today. Women in the Islamic militia’s southern stronghold of Kandahar have been ordered to cover their bodies with a loose burqa so their curves are not revealed, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said. Religious police squads had been asked to implement the order, it said. Pakistan-based AIP said the edict was prompted by reports that Afghan women were wearing figure-hugging veils like those sometimes used in neighbouring Pakistan and other Islamic countries. The religious police yesterday also burnt 43,200 photographs of women, declaring them un-islamic, it said. The Taliban have imposed a unique brand of fundamentalist Islamic law in Afghanistan. Women most cover themselves from head to toe in public are denied access to public education and cannot work outside their homes except in the health sector. (AFP) |
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Cornered Indonesian
President to JAKARTA, May 29: Embattled Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid was going to declare a civil emergency and dissolve Parliament to save himself from impeachment, and stopped only after his cabinet ministers and military chiefs vehemently opposed the move, a local report said today. In a revealing look at how isolated and perhaps dillusioned Wahid has become, Senior Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the Kompas Daily newspaper that Wahid yesterday was also going to issue an order dissolving the national assembly, although he clearly has no constitutional powers to do so. "The President said he believed it was the only way to save this country from a deviation from the constitution committed by members of the legislature that was endangering democracy," Yudhoyono told Kompas in an exclusive interview. But after several key cabinet ministers and Wahid’s armed forces chiefs told him they would not support the move, the President instead ordered Yudhoyono to take necessary steps to maintain law and order across this vast, troubled country. "We said frankly that we disagree with the decree being imposed," the minister said. "Several other ministers expressed a similar stance." Wahid is clinging to power after having twice been censured by Parliament, which is scheduled to convene again tomorrow to request the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the nation’s supreme legislative body, hold an impeachment session against the President. Legislators are widely expected to pass a motion calling for the special session, which could lead to wahid’s ouster within weeks. Yudhoyono said Indonesia had avoided a potentially devastating constitutional crisis yesterday, but he could not rule out that Wahid might again attempt a drastic move to remain in power. "I cannot predict what’s in the President’s mind but I remain consistent," he said. "If at any time, the President thinks about imposing the decree, I will stand firm to my position and disagree." In the past few days wahid had labelled media reports that said that he was preparing to dissolve Parliament in a bid to prevent it from meeting as a fabrication. Yudhoyono told Kompas that Wahid summoned him, several other ministers and the armed forces chiefs to the Presidential palace yesterday morning and told them he would issue a decree dissolving Parliament and the MPR at 12 p.m. After rejecting the move, the group went to brief Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who backed their stance, setting up a constitutional showdown pitting Wahid versus his Vice President, the entire cabinet and the armed forces. Perhaps seeing that following through on the move could lead to his immediate removal, Wahid backed down and instead issued an order upgrading security ahead of a possible special MPR session within 60 days. Hundreds of fanatic Wahid supporters have begun arriving in Jakarta ahead of tomorrow’s Parliament session, and there were fears of street clashes with members of Megawati’s leading Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). Megawati’s PDIP is leading the impeachment drive, and she would automatically become President if Wahid were impeached or resigned. Legislators, angered by Wahid’s inept management and combative attitude since taking office 19 months ago, are using circumstantial evidence of corruption as a pretext to remove him. Ironically, the Attorney-General’s office announced late yesterday that it had found no evidence wahid was involved in two multi-million dollar scandals last year within his inner circle. The President has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and claimed that moves by Parliament to remove him were unconstitutional. (DPA) |
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China, US agree on transporting
stranded BEIJING, May 29: China today firmly rejected US pleas for allowing the American spy plane to fly out on its own, but agreed to a US proposal to use a Antonov-124 Cargo plane to transport the disassembled EP-3. "We have explained our position. It is not just a technical issue. It has got something to do with the nature of the plane and the site at which it landed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said when asked why China insists on disassembling the US Navy’s EP-3 surveillance aircraft. The spokesman restated the Chinese position that the US surveillance plane cannot fly out of Hainan after repairs. The crippled EP-3 has been stranded at the Lingshui Air Base in South China’s Hainan province since the April one mid-air collision with a Chinese fighter jet. Senior US officials have repeatedly said they want to repair the EP-3. US technicians, who had inspected the crippled EP-3 in the first week of may, had said that the plane could be flown out of Hainan after repairs. Earlier, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong held consultations with US Charge d’Affaires Michael W Marine on the fate of the US spy plane. "China has agreed in principle that the US sends a chartered commercial AN-124 cargo plane to China’s Hainan province to carry back the disassembled EP-3 plane," he said. But the two sides need further discussions on relevant technical details, he said without giving a timeframe for the departure of the plane from Chinese soil. Zhu said that as to when the US can transport the plane out of China will depend on whether the US adopted a "positive and pragmatic attitude". "The Chinese side has all along adopted a responsible and positive attitude. We hope the US side would also act in this way," he said. Zhu said the two sides will continue to discuss related details, saying that Beijing and Washington have kept close contact concerning the return of the EP-3 plane. The EP-3, packed with highly-sensitive surveillance equipment, was heavily damaged in the mid-air collision while the Chinese F-8 fighter crashed and its pilot died, leading to strong Chinese condemnation of US spying activities. Diplomatic sources say the Chinese decision may finaly end the painstaking negotiations to end the US-China diplomatic stand-off over the spy plane issue, which has severely damaged bilateral ties. They said that by dismantling the plane, China would be able to somewhat humble the us military and appease the nationalistic Chinese public, who are outraged by the incident. The EP-3 is about the size of a boeing 737 passenger jet. However, it is not yet known whether the Lingshui air base in Hainan island can take the AN-124, currently the world’s biggest cargo aircraft. (PTI) |
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US suggested to
remain impartial during WASHINGTON, May 29: United States should remain an impartial observer during the ensuing dialogue between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, and assume the role of a mediator at an appropriate time, said a leading US think tank on South Asian affairs Stephen Cohen. In a policy paper titled ‘Moving Forward in South Asia,’ prepared by him just before Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had extended invitation to General Pervez Musharraf for talks, Mr Cohen said the US should encourage both sides to discuss alternative solutions to the problem. He said the US should work with its allies and friends to prepare for a time when both the countries are amenable to outside help. At that point, and with Indian and Pakistani concurrence, discussions over an agreement that could include monitoring and verification mechanisms could commence (with outside mediation), with the goal that all parties would adhere to a final agreement he said . Describing the recent trends to resist American involvement in Kashmir imbroglio as short sighted’ Mr Cohen, a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, said neither the dispute is ready for resolution nor for a major American role as a mediator. He, however, warned that if the current situation persist, it could lead to another Indo-Pakistan war. In such an eventuality, Washington must be prepared to intervene since the issue carries the danger of nuclear confrontation. The US should urge India to start meaningful dialogue with Kashmiri leaders of all political persuasions and offer assistance to New Delhi to combat counter terrorism. It should also warn Islamabad that continued support to non-Kashmiri and terrorist groups will qualify it for inclusion in the list of States that support terrorism. Summing up the situation in Kashmir, Mr Cohen said Pakistan is too weak to seize Kashmir but is able to stoke violence in the Valley. India is strong enough to retain Kashmir, but has not been able to govern it properly. The traditional culture of Kashmiri people cannot survive the present large-scale violence. But the Kashmiri leadership is weak and confused that neither United Nations nor the United States could impose a solution. Emphasising that the crisis in Kashmir is unlikely to be resolved quickly, Mr Cohen said the United States should notch up its level of engagement in these disputes, expand its support for informal diplomacy and explore the pros and cons of specific proposals with the concerned parties. Given the complex relationship between the United States and India and Pakistan, the Bush administration’s go-slow policy towards South Asian countries is understandable. Though a comprehensive policy review is currently underway in the State Department on South Asia, immediate attention needs to be given to strengthening and restoring relations with India and Pakistan. India is emerging as an Asia Pacific power but Pakistan remains an important regional power despite lack of enthusiasm in United States for its military regime and a weak economy. Conceding that the previous administration’s non proliferation policies angered the Indians and contributed to their decision to test its nuclear devices, Mr Cohen said President Clinton’s high profile visit to India did much to restore relations between the two countries. The Bush administration should adhere to the timetable set by Mr Clinton and Mr Vajpayee. This would mean a summit meeting this year and a visit to India by President Bush in 2002. Washington and New Delhi have divergent but not necessarily dissimilar views on questions of global arms control, development of national and theatre missile defenses, humanitarian intervention and India’s quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat. There may be disputes over trade policy since New Delhi has some of Asia’s highest tariffs. They are issues that cannot be resolved easily, but the administration should take advantage of the newly-created framework for dialogue with Delhi. American investment in India is increasing, and India has established a foothold in the American technology sector. The growth of Indian American community has increased the number of groups on both sides with a stake in good US Indian relations. Tracing the history of US India relations, Mr Cohen said it moved from a near alliance in the late 1950s to apathy in 1970s to estrangement by the nineties. The two countries may not be natural allies but they are now natural friends, he said. There is every indication that this new relationship will be a departure from the past, he said. On rebuilding ties with Pakistan, the Brookings analyst said while America should pursue an India first policy’ in South Asia but this should not become an India only’ policy. In other words, India should not be given a veto over American relations with Islamabad. Washington should renew contacts with those Pakistanis who share concern over the spread of radical Islam. They include some of the Pakistan’s army officer corps, several Pakistani intellectuals and professionals and most of the business community. United States cannot transform Pakistan but American help for Pakistan’s civilian institutions and Western-oriented middle class may slow the country’s descent into chaos and extremism. Islamabad supports the Taliban regime in Afghanistan as well as the radical Jehadis in Kashmir. As long as Pakistan continues this support, the risk of an expanded conflict in the region remains high. Washington should make a serious attempt to work with Islamabad, reserving the option of developing a more confrontational policy if cooperative efforts fail. (UNI) |
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