Gas loaded truck explodes killing 65

ADDA RODU SULTAN (PAKISTAN), May 16: Giant plumes of smoke and flames engulfed a town in Eastern Punjab province today after a truck loaded with gas exploded, killing as many as 65 people and injuring at least 75 others, police said.

According to police and eyewitnesses the truck was barreling down the dirt road that runs through the center of Adda Rodu Sultan in Jhang district, some 65 km north of Multan when it rolled.

Gas began to leak from the tanker. About 150 residents and shop owners rushed to the vehicle with buckets and cans to collect the leaking gas. But minutes later there a fire began and the tanker exploded, they said.

It’s still not clear what sparked the explosion, police said.

"It seemed that all hell had broken lose," said Sabir Hussain, a resident of the area. "People caught in that inferno were wailing and crying. . . But none of us could help. The flames and the heat were unbearable. . . We watched them die."

Dozens of people who were trying to collect the leaking gas died immediately.

Many people, with their clothes on fire, jumped into a nearby canal. A few bodies were later recovered, but several more people still are missing.

Another 70 people are being treated for burns, at least 35 of them are reported in serious condition, doctors said. The death toll is likely to rise, they said.

The fire rapidly spread throughout the dusty town engulfing shops and homes. (AP)

Israel goes to polls tomorrow

CAIRO, May 16: Amid Palestinian hope that Benjamin Netanyahu would not be re-elected, Israel goes to polls tomorrow to choose a Prime Minister who will decide the fate of the stalled peace process in the Middle East.

Monday’s poll clash between Likud party chief and current incumbent Netanyahu and opposition Cabour chief Ehud Barak, would decide the way the peace process goes, given the difference in opinion between the two leaders on an independent Palestinian statehood.

The Palestinians, who held Netanyahu responsible for the deadlock in the peace process, however, did not openly endoresed Barak fearing that any perceived interference in Israeli polls may backfire and drive undecided voters into Netanyahu’s camp.

While Netanyahu had opposed Palestinian statehood saying it would endanger Israel’s security, Barak advocated a separation between Israeli and Palestinian populations, a position closely associated with separate statehood for Palestine.

The two leaders also differed in regard to the status of Jerusalem, with Netanyahu saying the future of the holy city, including its eastern sector which was claimed by the Palestinians, was non-negotiable and Barak saying that he would keep Jerusalem united. (PTI)

APEC calls for new rich-poor dialogue on financial system

LANGKAWI (MALAYSIA), May 16: Pacific-rim Finance Ministers today called for the establishment of a new and permanent body, with members from rich and poor nations, to study ways of improving the global financial system and reducing the risks associated with volatile short-term capital flows.

In their final communique, Ministers from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum called on their deputies to study whether some rules could be imposed on currency traders and hedge fund operators. They were to present their findings to heads of state at their annual summit in New Zealand in September.

The 16-page statement, however, fell short of calling for the regulation of capital markets, as has been demanded by host Malaysia.

" While we recognise that efforts to reform the international financial architecture will take time, we see the need for the momentum to be maintained, not withstanding the recent return of stability to financial markets," the communique read.

The Ministers called for more transparency and disclosure standards within the member economies, as well as private financial institutions and highly-leveraged hedge funds.

" We also recognise the need for appropriate transparency by market participants, including highly-leveraged institutions," the statement said.

Since early yesterday, the Finance Ministers have been discussing strategies to prevent the kind of crisis which crippled many Asian economies in the last two years. Ministers exhibited signs of optimism that the worst may be over for many of their economies, while recognising that serious challenges lie ahead. (AP)

China steps up anti-NATO stance,
calls forstronger UN role

BEIJING, May 16: China today stepped up its anti-NATO campaign, calling on like-minded nations to unite on the vexed Kosovo crisis and strengthen the role of the United Nations.

The United Nations, as an authoritative international body, should play a leading role in seeking a political solution to the Kosovo crisis, leading ‘The People’s Daily’ newspaper, which is also the mouthpiece of ruling Communist Party of China, said in a commentary.

China, as permanent member of the UN Security Council, will never agree to let the UN discuss any political solution while the bombing is going on, the paper said.

"There is no peace to talk about under artillery fire," the paper said while urging like-mined nations to join forces against NATO’s barbaric bombing campaign in Yugoslavia.

All peace-loving nations and peoples in the world, including the people of NATO countries, should unite and make active efforts and contributions to stopping NATO’s brutal bombing of Yugoslavia to end the Kosovo crisis as soon as possible, the paper said.

Bypassing the United Nations, NATO’s military attacks against Yugoslavia is a gross violation of the UN charter and the norms of international laws, and a challenge to the international stabilisation mechanism represented by the United Nations, it said. (PTI)

Pak Army chief calls for building conventional weapons

ISLAMABAD, May 16: Pakistani Army chief General Pervez Musharraf has said conventional weapons continue to be the actual tools of war-waging even in the nuclear era and it is important to strengthen this force.

While we hope that the nuclear deterrence in the region will have a sobering effect on the enemy, we must build on our conventional forces, General Musharraf, who undertakes a crucial visit to China later this month, said while addressing the graduation parade at the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur yesterday.

General Musharraf, who had also been given the additional charge of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) recently, underlined that, Pakistan must keep in mind that since world war II, no nation has ever exercised the nuclear option (and) conventional weapons continue to be the actual tools of war waking the nuclear era.

The Pakistani Army chief has been stressing on building up the conventional strength at various forums in recent times amidst reports that the Nawaz Sharif Government is hard pressed to increase the defence allocations in the national budget which is due to be presented before the Parliament in the middle of next month.

We must build up our conventional forces to deter the adversary’s aggressive designs, General Musharraf said in an obvious message to the Government that any reduction in the defence budget would prove a risky proposition at this stage. (PTI)

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