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Doctors to examine MOSCOW, Jan 20: Doctors were to take a look at the inside of President Boris Yeltsin’s stomach today to determine.....more MOGA, Jan 20: A 25-member Pakistani delegation, led by noted revolutionary poet Khalid Javed Jan, will pay an...more India turning new tourist haven for Israelis TEL AVIV, Jan 20: India is turning out to be the new tourist haven for Israeli tourists and the number of people visiting....more GTFD to includE HONOLULU,
Jan 20:
The US-based T Soja and associaties and Canada-based
International Telecom have announced that the.....more TOKYO,
Jan 20: Japan today appreciated certain
developments on the Indian side on nuclear issues
following Indian .....more |
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France express
satisfaction over India’s progress on CTBT PARIS, Jan 20: France has expressed satisfaction over the progress made by India in signing the Comprehensive Test .....more
State of the Union address WASHINGTON,
Jan 20: In his
" State of the Union address " to a joint
session of.....more LONDON, Jan 20: British scientist Ian Wilmut, who successfully cloned the sheep "Dolly", said today that he is now....more
Altaf Hussain constitutes Govt-in-exile ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The Muttahida Quami Movement chief Mr Altaf Hussain would have declared a Government-in-exile....more |
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Doctors to examine Yelsin today MOSCOW, Jan 20: Doctors were to take a look at the inside of President Boris Yeltsin’s stomach today to determine whether he needs surgery for a bleeding ulcer, a news report said. Mr Yeltsin was to receive a "controlled gastroscopy," in which a fiber optic thread with a tiny camera will pass through his mouth into his stomach, allowing doctors to inspect the ulcer, the ITAS-TASS news agency said. Doctors said that Mr Yeltsin, hospitalised on Sunday with what they described as an acute bleeding ulcer, would probably not need surgery, but they wanted to make a final decision after tests. Presidential aides said the President’s condition was stable, and that he had begun working while in the hospital. Still, Chief Presidential doctor Sergei Mironov said Mr Yeltsin would need from two weeks to three weeks in the hospital, and would not be allowed to travel for up to three months. Yesterday, Mr Yeltsin postponed a scheduled January 28 trip to France after talking to French President Jacques Chirac via telephone. He cut short his last trip, an official visit to Central Asia in the fall, also because of illness. Mr Yeltsin, 67, has been hospitalised five times since winning re-election in 1996 and has not been to his Kremlin office so far this year. Though the President insists he has not given up any of his powers, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov now runs most of the country’s day-to-day operations. (AP) |
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MOGA, Jan 20: A 25-member Pakistani delegation, led by noted revolutionary poet Khalid Javed Jan, will pay an 18-day ‘Goodwill Visit’ to Punjab and New Delhi under the auspices of South Asia Fraternity Association (SAFA) from January 26. Association Secretary Satya Paul said here yesterday that the delegation, comprising poets, writers and advocates, will first visit Dhudike, the birth place of Punjab Kesri Lala Lajpat Rai, on January 26 and participate in the three days ‘Lala Lajpat Rai birthday sports mela’ beginning that day. It will be accorded a civic reception at the Sanatan Dharam College for Women in Moga. A poetical symposium will be organised at Lajpat Rai birth place memorial where Pakistani poets will pay homage to the ‘Shere Punjab’ by reciting their poems. An Indo-Pak mushaira will be held at Kotkapura in Faridkot district. The delegation members will visit Chila Baba Farid, Baba Farid Mosque and Gurdwara Baba Farid and Godra Sahib where the Gurdwara Management would accord them reception. The Pakistani delegation will also visit Husainiwala to pay homage to great maryrs-Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. After attending another Indo-Pak Mushaira at Abohar, the delegation will reach new Delhi on January 31, where they will stay for a week, Mr Paul added. (UNI) India turning new tourist haven for Israelis TEL AVIV, Jan 20: India is turning out to be the new tourist haven for Israeli tourists and the number of people visiting the country has almost trebled recently to nearly 18,000 a year. While 7,362 visas were issued by Indian Embassy in 1993, the number went upto 17,880 in 1997 (most of them being tourists) and there is a further unlimited potential to be tapped,’’ Ambassador of India, Ranjan Mathai told here. He said ever since the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992, apart from ongoing bilateral cooperations in various fields including trade, agriculture and defense, there had emerged a new craze among israelis to visit India with more and more people applying for Indian visa every year. "This is also indicative of ever strengthening people-to-people friendship between the two countries," Mathai said. However, in 1998 slightly less number of people applied for Indian visas and this slide has been attributed to Air India’s decision to suspend its direct flights to Tel Aviv. Hindered by the absence of political relations between the two countries before 1992, the Israelis are now attracted by diverse and rich culture and friendly nature of people in India and many of them want to go there time and again, Mathai said. (PTI) |
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GTFD to include Phoenix link database HONOLULU, Jan 20: The US-based T Soja and associaties and Canada-based International Telecom have announced that the jointly developed Global Telecom Facilities Directory (GTFD) will now incorporate the Phoenix link database previously published as the Phoenix link international submarine cable book. With the acquisition of Phoenix link, the GTFD becomes the premier market intelligence source for international telecom industry. It will address the growing demand for global network planning resources for incumbent and new competitive telecommunication carriers across the world. The acquisition of Phoenix link was formally announced yesterday at 21st annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) being held here. (UNI) |
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Japan appreciates ‘developments’ on indian side TOKYO, Jan 20: Japan today appreciated certain developments on the Indian side on nuclear issues following Indian foreign secretary K Raghunath’s intense parleys with the Japanese decision-makers. All in all, we think in respect of nuclear issues we see certain developments on the Indian side, A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said here today in an apparent reference to India’s unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and its negotiations with key powers aimed at paving the way to joining the CTBT. However, differences on core issues remained with the two sides reiterating their known positions, Japanese officials said assessing Raghunath’s ten-hour talks spread over three days at the Foreign Ministry here in an effort to convince Tokyo of reasons behind New Delhi’s nuclear and missile policies. During discussions, Raghunath made it clear that India’s missile programme, entirely defensive in nature, would proceed as necessary and said New Delhi was preparing to test-fire a newly developed missile of which other nations had been notified. The foreign secretary, who left for home today after a morning meeting with a group of Japanese lawmakers concerned with Indo-Japan relations, had asserted yesterday that India’s defence preparations were security oriented and not for any offensive purposes. (PTI) |
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France express
satisfaction over India’s PARIS, Jan 20: France has expressed satisfaction over the progress made by India in signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the two countries continued their high level talks aiming to strengthen strategicties. Diplomatic sources said French president Jacques Chirac, who met Indian Prime Minister’s special envoy Brajesh Mishra here yesterday, expressed satisfaction over India’s progress over the CTBT. He also called on India to accede to the International Nuclear Treaty. Mr Mishra, who arrived here on Monday as part of the ongoing strategic dialogue between the two countries, met Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and held second session of Indo-French strategic consultations, official sources said. Mr Mishra, held first round of talks, with his French counterpart Gerard Errera when the latter visited New Delhi in October last. The present visit is the second meeting between the two representatives. Mr Mishra left for London to continue his dialogue with the British authorities. Diplomatic sources said the ongoing Indo-French discussions are part of the multipolarity that France seeks to establish. The Indo-French discussions include long term strategic, economic and military cooperation. Indo-French relations received a boost especially after Paris’ refusal to impose sanctions on India after their May’ 98 nuclear tests. Both countries decided to establish ‘strategic dialogue ‘ when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was here last October. Defence Minister George Fernandes, leading a high powered delegation, was here last week to hold talks with French authorities. He met Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and his French counterpart Alain Richard. France is keen to sell its high-tech armaments to India and both sides are exploring the possibility of transfer for technology. (UNI) State of the Union address WASHINGTON, Jan 20: In his " State of the Union address " to a joint session of Congress last night, President Bill Clinton scrupulously avoided any criticism of India or Pakistan for conducting nuclear tests in May last and made only a passing reference to the two countries in the context of the U.S. Non-proliferation efforts in general. "We must increase our efforts to restrain the spread of nuclear weapons and missiles, from North Korea to India and Pakistan," he remarked. This was the only reference to the two South Asian rivals in the President’s 77-minute speech which followed the commencement of his defence in the Senate impeachment trial several republicans boycotted. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, presiding over Mr Clinton’s trial, also stayed away. The President spoke primarily about his domestic agenda, including social security, health-care and education reforms. Since this was his first speech to Congress after India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests and their impending missile tests, the impression here has been that Mr Clinton would make a weighty case against these moves highlighting, what the U.S. experts often call, threat to the fragile peace between India and Pakistan. Apparently, Mr Clinton has left the matter to be handled by Deputy Secretary of State Stroble Talbott who is visiting New Delhi and Islamabad later this month to pursue further the United States’ on-going dialogue with the India and Pakistan which began immediately after the nuclear tests. Mr Talbott will reach New Delhi on January 29 for talks with External Affairs-Minister Jaswant Singh—their 8th round since June last. After a three-day stay in the Indian capital, he will proceed to Islambad to see his Pakistani interlocutor Shamshad Ahmad, that country’s Foreign Secretary. Earlier, talking about preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and missile, Mr Clinton asked the U.S Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)," so we can make it harder for other nations to develop nuclear arms— and we can end nuclear testing forever." It had been two years since I signed the treaty, he recalled and said, " if we don’t do the right thing, other nations won’t either. I ask the Senate to take this vital step: approve the treaty now." Mr Clinton said," we must expand our work with Russia, Ukraine, and the other former Soviet nations to safeguard nuclear materials and technology so they never fall into the wrong hands. He said his next budget would increase funding for these critical efforts by almost two thirds over the next five years. "With Russia, we must continue to reduce our nuclear arsenal. The START II treaty, and the framework we have already agreed to for START III, could cut them by 80 per cent from their cold war height,’’ he added. Mr Clinton also made a reference to what he called Iraq’s defiance of its obligations to destroy its "weapons of terror and the missiles to deliver them "and said " America will continue to contain Saddam—and we will work for the day when Iraq has a Government worthy of its people." He also made out a case for raising the United States’ military budget. "It is time to reverse the decline in defence spending that began in 1985. Since April, together (the administration and Congress) we have added nearly 6 billion, dollars to maintain our readiness. "My balanced budget calls for a sustained increase over the next six years for readiness and modernisation, and pay and benefits for our troops," he added. He said "the new century demands new partnerships for peace and security." "The United Nations plays a crucial role, with allies sharing burdens America might otherwise bear alone. America needs a strong and effective United Nations. I want to work with this new Congress to pay our dues and our debts," he added. The President wanted the U S. "to support security in Europe and Asia—expanding NATO and defining its new missions, maintaining our alliance with Japan, (South) Korea and our other Asian allies, and engaging China." "It is important not to isolate China. The more we bring China into the world, the more the world will bring change and freedom to China." he added. Talking about Africa, Mr Clinton said "we must fortify African democracy and peace, by launching radio democracy for Africa, supporting the transition to democracy now beginning to take hold in Nigeria, and passing the African Trade and Development Act". He issued a call to the nations of the world to join the United States in a new round of global trade negotiations to expand exports of services, manufacturers and farm products "tonight I say we will work with the International Labour Organisation on a new initiative to raise labour standards around the world. And this year, we will lead the international community to conclude a treaty to ban abusive child labour everywhere in the world," he added. (UNI) British scientist who
cloned "Dolly" LONDON, Jan 20: British scientist Ian Wilmut, who successfully cloned the sheep "Dolly", said today that he is now turning his attention to the artificial reproduction of human embryos. In an interview on BBC television, Wilmut said he hoped to begin preliminary experiments on the project next week using embryos which are at a very early stage of development. The embryos to be used would be killed before they reached the foetus stage, said Wilmut who believes his work could be invaluable in helping to devise therapy methods for illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. Asked if he felt comfortable experimenting with human embryos, Wilmut said he realised some people’s revulsion to the idea but wanted to help fight disease. "Yes, I do. I clearly understand that to some people it’s deeply offensive. I think it’s very important that it is a social decision that’s taken.... But yes, I personally would be prepared to do that because these are frightening diseases." (DPA) Altaf Hussain constitutes Govt-in-exile ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: The Muttahida Quami Movement chief Mr Altaf Hussain would have declared a Government-in-exile in Sind had Governor’s Rule not been imposed in the ethnic violence-plagued province, the Sind Governor Lt Gen (retd) Moinuddin Haider has said in an interview in which he declared the Government’s intention to wipe out all the dirt. In an interview to a local paper Gen Moinuddin Haider said the MQM chief always cherished a desire to establish his own independent country. He said the majority of the MQM elements were anti national and that a big operation was in the offing after Eid. The Governor said that the Government respects the judiciary but real peace and law and order could not be established without military courts as it was a dangerous task. He said what could be the alternative and why should not a criminal responsible for the killing of fifty innocent people be hanged. He said the whole politics of the MQM was based on black mailing and money earning. He said this party indulged in the worst type of national betrayal and caused lot of damage to the national interest. He said the Government was determined to remove all the dirt so that in future nobody raised his head again. (UNI) |
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