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World
population will WASHINGTON, Apr 2: The world’s population, currently nearing six billion, will .....more European Parliament urges China to initiate CBMs BONN, Apr 2: The European Parliament has taken.....more NATO blasts Serbia BELGRADE,
Apr 2: A
series of powerful blasts.......more BEIJING,
Apr 2: China
today blamed the Tibetan spiritual leader.....more COLOMBO, Apr 1: At least 37 North Korean sailors were....more |
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US warns against trial of captured American soldiers WASHINGTON,
Apr 2: The US
with President Bill Clinton delivering Yugoslav ......more UNITED
NATIONS, Apr 2: Delegates from more than 170 countries have
suspended .....more COLOMBO,
Apr 1: In a
move to wean away voters from the opposition United
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World population will touch 8 billion by 2026 WASHINGTON, Apr 2: The world’s population, currently nearing six billion, will climb to eight billion by 2026, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. And the total will reach 9.3 billion by 2050, the agency projected in a report released today. "The growth of human population has been, is now, and in the future will be almost entirely determined in the world’s less developed countries," the census report said. It concluded that 99 per cent of natural increase the difference between births and deaths occurs in the developing regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America. By early in the next century deaths will exceed births in the more developed nations and all of the net growth will be in developing countries, the report added. The world’s age structure also will shift, becoming progressively older, in coming years with the population of those aged 65 and over more than doubling while the number of those under age 15 will grow by six per cent. (AP) |
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European Parliament urges China to initiate CBMs BONN, Apr 2: The European Parliament has taken note of India’s serious security problems, specially those arising from its disputed border with China, and urged Beijing to initiate Confidence Building Measures to usher in genuine stability and security in South Asia. The 636-member house in a 70-paragraph resolution on enhanced EU-Indian partnership adopted recently in Strassbourg said China’s substantial by nuclear arsenal was a source of concern and appealed for firm undertakings by India, Pakistan and China to remove nuclear threats in the region. Genuine stability and security in the region cannot be achieved by means of nuclear deterrence, but require an end to the current arms race, the European Union’s top legislative body said in the resolution. In a separate chapter on consequences of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan and cooperation in the region it also asked both nations to sign and ratify the CTBT and the NPT and welcomed the recent initiatives by their Prime Ministers in this regard. The house took special note of the historic Lahore declaration signed by both nations in February to build security and mutual confidence and to lay the basis of a multi-structured bilateral dialogue to address all issues between them, including the Kashmir issue. It urged member states to recognise India as a privileged partner with the rider that the partnership be determined on the basis of New Delhi’s choices regarding nuclear disarmament and its commitment to the NPT. The resolution expressed concern over recent attacks on Christians in India and urged the Indian Government to make every effort to protect the freedom to practice all faiths. The Parliament, which adopted a resolution on India for the second time this year, said it is essential for the EU to develop its links with Asia, specially the Indian sub-continent and called for a composite dialogue on all issues, including non-proliferation, to facilitate the same. It suggested an annual Euro-Indian summit for this. The resolution also called upon the the EU executive body, the European Commission, to help India join the 25-member Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM), which meets in Seoul next year to consider fresh admissions into the group. On bio-piracy, it deplored appropriation of Indian plants, seeds and crops such as basmati rice and neem products patented by Western intellectual property regimes without involvement and consent of, or reward for, local custodians of such genetic resources. (PTI) |
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NATO blasts Serbia on eve of soldiers’ trial BELGRADE, Apr 2: A series of powerful blasts shook Southern Serbia early today in the tenth day of NATO airstrikes against Yugoslav military targets, the state agency Tanjug reported. It said four missiles hit military barracks in the town of Vranje, 300 km South of Belgrade. No casualties were reported, Tanjug said, but the blasts had caused serious damage to the barracks and surrounding buildings. It said the explosions scattered parts of the installation several hundreds yards away. The attack came after an overnight lull in NATO bombing -possibly due to heavy cloud cover - and on the eve of a trial of three US soldiers captured by Serbian forces on Wednesday. NATO said the three had been abducted during a routine patrol along the Macedonian-Yugoslav border while Belgrade maintained they were seized inside Yugoslav territory and consequently would face a military trial today. Neither the capture of the soldiers nor the upcoming easter holiday seemed to alter NATO’s resolve to go in with the bombing. US Defence Secretary William Cohen vowed to stay the course. The Chief of the Yugoslav Army deployed in Kosovo, General Nebojsa Pavkovic told state radio that his troops would put up fierce resistance to any attempts by NATO troops to enter the province. State television said Serb security forces had defeated separatist ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) guerrillas and cleared KLA strongholds throughout the Serbian province. (REUTERS) |
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China blames Lama for lack of dev in Tibet BEIJING, Apr 2: China today blamed the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for lack of development in the mountainous region as a US politician visited the area. The disturbance and sabotage of the Dalai Lama clique constitutes one of the major factors behind backwardness of Tibet, said Basang, Deputy Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, quoted by official Xinhua news agency. She told visiting member of house of representatives Matt Salmon Tat before the Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959, 95 per cent of the Tibetan population were serfs. Tibet has always been an inalienable part of China, she said, repeating the official Beijing Line, and adding the feudal serfdom system was practiced in Tibet until 1959 when democratic reform was introduced into the region. The Dalai Lama is marking the 40th anniversary of his flight into exile, which came after Chinese troops who marched in 1951, launched a bloody crackdown on a Tibetan uprising. China has stepped up its criticism of the Dalai Lama, one of Beijing’s arch foes, whom it accuses of working to try to split the motherland. The Dalai Lama can return to China during his lifetime as long as he completely abandons his splitting activities, recognizes publicly that Tibet is a part of China, he said. The nobel peace laureate, who set up his Government in exile in Northern India, has repeatedly called for talks with beijing over the future of Tibet, stressing he is noteeking independence but autonomy. (AFP) |
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US warns against trial of captured American soldiers WASHINGTON, Apr 2: The US with President Bill Clinton delivering Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic a blunt warning, said three US servicemen should be returned and not put on trial today. There was absolutely no basis for them to be taken, Clinton told several thousand military personnel and their families gathered in a large aircraft hangar in Norfolk, Virginia yesterday. There is no basis for them to be held. There is certainly no basis for them to be tried. The three army soldiers were seized on Wednesday while on patrol along the Macedonia-Yugoslavia border, and reports said Yugoslavia planned to bring them before a military tribunal later today. President Milosevic should make no mistake the US takes care of its own, Clinton said, drawing thunderous, prolonged applause. Defence Secretary William Cohen, interviewed on PBS’ ‘the new hour with Jim Lehrer,’ called the military tribunal a Kangaroo court. We believe that they have been illegally detained but at a minimum, they are nonetheless subject to the protection of the Geneva convention, he said. And there should be no trial. (REUTERS) |
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Tackling population growth UNITED NATIONS, Apr 2: Delegates from more than 170 countries have suspended negotiations on new proposals to curb global population without tackling the key issue of money and still divided over sex education and reproductive health. Nonetheless, Dr Nafis Sadik, Director of the UN Population Fund, said there has been progress and she is confident there will be consensus on new ways to implement the ambitious goals adopted at the 1994 UN population conference in Cairo. "I think we will move forward," she said. Since last week, the delegates have been debating proposals for key actions to further implement the Cairo accord. But by end of their meeting yesterday, they had only completed two-thirds of the draft document. Delegates agreed last night to resume the preparatory meeting, and to let Bangladesh’s UN Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, who is chairing the preparatory committee, decide the date. The proposals are scheduled to be presented to a special general Assembly session in June. Chowdhury told the Associated Press that he hopes to resume the preparatory committee meeting "well ahead" of the special session, "maybe towards the end of May." Women’s rights and pro-choice groups have accused the Vatican and some Muslim countries of trying to water down proposals on sex education and sexual and reproductive health "just as they did at the Cairo conference" "While there has been significant progress in reproductive health programmes around the world over the past five years, a number of obstructionist delegates are debating principles already agreed by 170 countries in Cairo," said Katherine Hall Martinez, of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy in New York which promotes women’s reproductive rights. The Cairo plan calls for universal access to affordable reproductive health services by the year 2015, including family planning, sexual health services and programs for adolescents. It says all women have the right to determine the size of their family. Despite lengthy negotiations, disputes remain over key issues in the draft on new follow-up actions including a call for laws punishing women who have undergone illegal abortions to be reviewed, all references to contraception, and whether the world health organisation should lead efforts to establish indicators for women’s sexual and reproductive health. Both Sadik and Chowdhury were optimistic that these disputes would be resolved during the next round of negotiations. But Chowdhury said there may not be consensus on money, which hasn’t been debated yet. Governments agreed to spend 17 billion dollars per year by 2000 achieving the goals set out in Cairo. Industrialised nations pledged to provide one third of the cash or 5.7 billion dollars per year but so far are providing just 1.4 billion dollars per year. The draft calls for industrialized nations to meet their commitments and to earmark a minimum of five per cent of their foreign aid for population activities. "That’s a major advancement to what’s happening now," Chowdhury said. "We would like donors ... To accept the challenge." (AP) |
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Kumaratunga directs officials to use Tamil in records COLOMBO, Apr 1: In a move to wean away voters from the opposition United National Party, Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga has directed officials to use Tamil in keeping official records in all divisions where minority Tamils constitute one fifth or more of the population. Days before the April six polls to five provincial councils in South, where Tamils and Muslims constitute a significant votebank, the decision was announced yesterday at a meeting of the on-the-spot-service started recently by the Government to redress the grievances of Tamils, who complain of regular harassment by security agencies. Prof Peiris, author of the Government’s devolution proposals, said the latest order would enable Tamil-speaking people to transact their business with the Government in their own language. It would also benefit Tamil-speaking Muslims. The order was issued as the proposals providing adequate safeguards for Tamil language failed to get through the parliament due to lack of a two-thirds majority, Peiris said. The proposals were introduced in the parliament in Nov, 1997 but could not be passed as the United National Party (UNP) refused to extend support. Kumaratunga is first Sinhala leader to admit Tamils’ genuine grievances and encourage Government departments to adopt measures to alleviate their hardships, he said. As per the Government’s proposals, Sinhalese would be the official language of records in seven provinces while Tamil would have same status in North and East where Tamils are in a majority. (PTI) |
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37 North Koreans missing in Indian ocean as ship sinks COLOMBO, Apr 1: At least 37 North Korean sailors were missing when their merchant ship sank after colliding with a South Korean cargo vessel in the Indian Ocean last night. India immediately launched search and rescue operations for the two ships which collided around 1500 GMT (2030 hrs IST) between Sri Lanka and Sumatra at latitude five degrees and 56 minutes north and longitude 83 degrees and 52 minutes east, officials here said today. A Maritime Ministry spokesman in Seoul said the 7,000-tonne Manopok, which collided with the 52,000-tonne South Korean Hyundai Duke, was carrying altogether 39 North Koreans. Two have been rescued. So far only two have been saved while all others are still reported missing. The vessel apparently went under after hitting our ship, the spokesman said. India has pressed two Naval ships and an aircraft to search for the missing sailors, Indian officials here said. Colombo Radio, Sri Lanka’s ship-to-shore communication centre here, said all the merchant ships in the vicinity have been alerted. As the scene of the accident appears to be closer to the Andamans than Visakhapatnam the Indian authorities there sent a plane from Port Blair, it said. The South Korean ship, which picked up the two survivors, is arriving here tomorrow, the radio said. (PTI) |
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