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Fifty years on, WELLINGTON, May 8: Fifty years after conquering the world’s highest mountain, Sir Edmund Hillary is setting a pace that would leave many.....more Prabhakaran
presents COLOMBO, May 8: LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran presented a map of ‘Tamil Eelam’ and the ‘LTTE Insignia’ to Japanese special envoy Yasushi .....more From
Hollywood to Iraq, KERBAIA, IRAQ, May 8: A handful of Los Angeles cops have the answer to Iraq’s postwar lawlessness — they spend their days yelling "kill police"......more US
to propose lifting of UNITED NATION, May 8: With the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the US will be moving to UN Security Council for lifting of more than a....more |
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India back in the list of SARS reporting countries NEW DELHI, May 8: India is back on the WHO’s list of countries reporting "probable cases" of SARS after being declared SARS free by the world body ....more Bush
says optimistic WASHINGTON, May 8: US President George W Bush said today he was optimistic about making progress toward West Asia peace despite .....more Sharon says ready for negotiations with Syria JERUSALEM, May 8: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today he was ready for peace negotiations with Syria without preconditions. ......more US
proposes Iraq UNITED NATIONS, May 8: The United States circulated to key Security Council members today its proposals to lift all UN sanctions against Iraq except for an arms embargo. . ........more |
Fifty years on, Everestbeater faces new challenge WELLINGTON, May 8: Fifty years after conquering the world’s highest mountain, Sir Edmund Hillary is setting a pace that would leave many younger men trailing far behind. Nearly 84 years old, partially deaf, and his once-towering frame stooped by age, Hillary is about to call on his legendary reserves of stamina and strength for a round-the-world jaunt to mark the anniversary of the scaling of Mount Everest. New Zealander Hillary, together with Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first to stand on the 29,028-foot (8,848-Metre) summit, which locals call Chomolungma or Mother Goddess of the World, on May 29, 1953. Hillary’s upcoming trip to Nepal, Britain, and the United States caps months of intense global media interest and celebrations to mark a feat which recalls a pioneering spirit of adventure in past generations. "All of it has been extremely tiring up to now. We’ve had calls from reporters and newspapers and everything from all over the world over the last few weeks," Hillary told from his Auckland home. "It really has been quite a demanding procedure." Twelve hundred mountaineers have followed in the footsteps of Norgay and Hillary, who afterwards famously said "We knocked the bastard off", but 175 have died in the process. British expedition leader John Hunt chose the strapping six foot three inch (1.89 metre) New Zealander because of his experience in the Himalayas and reputation for immense energy and strength. Hillary’s climb won huge media coverage, with news of the "British" triumph coinciding with Queen Elizabeth’s coronation day. In an age where, increasingly, heroes’ reputations are tarnished, Hillary’s, if anything, has grown through his life. His Himalayan trust raises money for the Sherpa and other Nepalese people living in the shadow of Everest, and he has personally helped build 27 schools, two hospitals, 12 medical centres, bridges, pipelines and an airfield. Like a father asked to choose his favourite child, Hillary is loathe to pick climbing Everest as his happiest or even most memorable moment, and instead says there is too much emphasis on the anniversary. "I have been lucky enough to have had quite a few exciting adventures and I don’t really attempt to decide which is the most dramatic. Everest of course had the biggest impact in the media and the world in general. "But going to the South pole and flying to the North pole and driving jet boats into the Ganges and going up the Himalayas, they were all exciting activities." Despite decades of adulation as the first person on Everest —Norgay, who died in 1986, followed a few steps behind — the former bee keeper has never regretted climbing the mountain. "I never think that. I have thought that it would have been nice if the 50th anniversary hadn’t been quite so...," his voice trails off "...People are a little bit obsessed by it, I think." Nepal, a poor country that is home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, has invited every living mountaineer who has climbed Mount Everest to a celebration on May 29 in the capital Kathmandu. Hillary will be at the gathering with around 500 Sherpas, before attending a dinner in his honour at the Royal Geographical Society in London, followed by fund-raising speeches in New York, Washington and San Francisco. Hillary continued his charity work despite the death of his wife Louise and one of their three children, daughter Belinda, in a plane crash in the Himalayas in 1975. He cites times with his family as his happiest moments, above any of his adventures to the poles or the climbing to the highest point on earth. "Reaching the top? oh no it was a great moment. It was a moment of satisfaction. But I certainly would not have said it was the happiest moment. "I think definitely moments with my family and camping with the family and scrambling around with them, and all that. That’s been much happier occasions," he said. New Zealanders warmed to the self-effacing "ordinary bloke" who liked to be known simply as "ED", whose number was listed in the Auckland telephone directory, and whose craggy, weather-beaten face appears on the New Zealand five-dollar note. "I like to think that I am a very ordinary New Zealander, not too overly bright perhaps, but determined and practical in what I do," he said recently. Hillary has said often that his work with the Himalayan trust, founded in 1961, has given him the most satisfaction, but age was catching up with him. "I am getting a bit old and decrepit now of course but I’m hopeful that our Himalayan (trust) and the general public will keep on supporting the work."(AGENCIES) |
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Prabhakaran presents ‘Eelam map’ to Japanese envoy Akashi COLOMBO, May 8: LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran presented a map of ‘Tamil Eelam’ and the ‘LTTE Insignia’ to Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi, who met him at Wanni region yesterday. According to ‘Tamilnet’ website, Prabhakaran during his three-hour long deliberations with the Japanese envoy on resuming peace talks with the Lankan Government and participating in the Tokyo conference in June, said he would consider the request seriously if the Government took ‘positive steps’ towards implementing decisions taken at earlier rounds of talks. Prabhakaran, during the talks, was assisted by his political advisor Anton Balasingham, LTTE political wing head S P Thamilselvan and economic advisor Jay Maheswaran while the Japanese delegation comprised of Japanese special envoy Yasushi Akashi, Japanese ambassador to Sri Lanka Seiichiro Otsuka, Regional Girectors at Ministry of Foreign Affairs Takio Yamada and Ryousuke Kamono and second secretaries Koji Yagi and Masatomi Oikawa. Balasingham later at a post-meeting press briefing in Kilinochchi said the LTTE was not ‘running away’ from the peace talks, but has given time to the Government to come out with positive steps on the implementation of the decisions already arrived at during earlier rounds of talks. We have told him (Akashi) that we will seriously consider his request. But at the same time we have indicated that the Sri Lanka Government should take some immediate measures to see the proper implementation of decisions arrived at during the earlier phase of negotiations. According to Balasingham, the other issue taken up was the proper functioning of the ‘sub-committee for immediate humanitarian and reconstruction needs (Sihrn)’, an interim body set up with the participation of both the Government and LTTE representatives, at one of the earlier six rounds of talks. We insisted Sihrn should be made more efficient and that the North-Eastern reconstruction fund had to be reactivated properly and legally constituted so that donor funds can be utilised, which are blocked due to "egal’ glitches. So we have suggested that the Government take actions in this regard. The LTTE also requested to the Government, through Mr Akashi, to take immediate measures for the resettlement of the displaced as they have been languishing in refugee camps for the last ten years. But the Government is giving ‘primacy’ to the security concerns of the armed forces rather than the humanitarian aspect of this problem. So, we told Mr Akashi that this problem needs to be addressed and that unless some concrete actions are taken, we will not be in a position to make a ‘positive decision’ with regard to resuming talks or participating in the donor conference, said Mr Balasingham. He added so the coming week is crucial. If the Government is prepared to take any positive action, then of course, we will make a favorable decision. Otherwise it is going to be a difficult. Later on reaching Colombo in the evening, Mr Akashi met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to explain the LTTE’s concerns. Meanwhile, the Norwegian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen and peace facilitator Eric Solheim is scheduled to meet Prabhakaran today in Wanni on the same subject. They would also meet the Lankan Prime Minister before leaving for Norway. (UNI) |
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From Hollywood to Iraq, Los cops teach riot tactics KERBAIA, IRAQ, May 8: A handful of Los Angeles cops have the answer to Iraq’s postwar lawlessness — they spend their days yelling "kill police". All the way from Hollywood to the Iraqi holy Shi’ite city of Kerbala, five Los Angeles police officers — reservists with the US marines — play the part of a hostile crowd as they train the local law enforcement in riot control tactics. Teaching a dozen local police to form a circle, face outward and charge with their assault rifles, the US troops screamed in the faces of the Iraqis, who timidly replied with "get back, get back". "A week ago, if I’d seen a bunch of Iraqis with loaded guns, I’d have shot them," said Sergeant James Zourek, who battled his way into Baghdad last month with his Californian colleagues. "Now it’s nice to show them how to keep the peace," added Sergeant Victor Lopez, who back home cruises along Hollywood Boulevard on his mountain bike looking out for pickpockets. In the power vacuum after US troops toppled Saddam Hussein, looters, armed gangs and petty criminals swarmed over much of Iraq while the US military focused mainly on protecting key buildings and local police stayed at home. But with US officials acknowledging that restoring law and order to cities is now key to the recovery of Iraq, the military has begun arming and teaching local police to fight crime and quell any riots. The reservists and Iraqis have had to overcome language and cultural differences to work together in Kerbala — a major city about 80 Km (50 Miles) South of Baghdad. The californians now accept the Iraqis arriving late for work and blaming it on "God’s Will", while the trainees no longer believe the rumour — heard across Iraq — that the US troops have X-ray vision installed in their sunglasses. Despite seeking to improve its image after race riots exploded across Los Angeles in 1992, the police department is still criticised for heavy-handed tactics. But the reservists said their main task was to teach the Iraqis restraint — especially as local residents said the police carried out Saddam’s religious repression in the city. On Monday, the Kerbala officers had a chance to put their lessons into practice, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and dispersing a crowd after 200 demonstrators stormed city hall to protest against a city council member, the soldiers said. "We did exactly what we’d been taught and we broke up the the protest against the mayor’s council peacefully," Ahmed Khazi, who has been an Iraqi police officer for four years. The US soldiers were proud of their trainees, saying Iraqi police were at greater risk of being hurt than their counterparts in the United States. "You don’t often see people walking down Hollywood Boulevard with AK-47s," Lopez said. "The Iraqis first response is to use maximum force but we’re training that out of them." Joking around with his pupils, Vincent Deglinnocenti, broke the language barrier by picking up the broken leg of a stool and mimicking, Charlie Chaplin-style, a US policeman standing on a street corner twiddling a truncheon. A trainee grabbed the wooden leg and pretended to bludgeon him over the head with it. "Iraqi policeman," he said.(AGENCIES) |
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US to propose lifting of UN sanctions against Iraq UNITED NATION, May 8: With the ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the US will be moving to UN Security Council for lifting of more than a decade-old sanctions against Iraq even as it announced suspending its own economic embargoes against that country. A "forward looking" resolution seeking lifting of sanctions is likely to be circulated among the Security Council members this week, US Secretary of State Colin Powell said here after an hour last evening with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss the move. The proposed resolution would be co-signed by Britain and Spain. Earlier, US President George Bush proded UNSC members to lift sanctions against Iraq, saying no country should use sanctions "to hold back the Iraqi people". "The regime that the sanctions were directed against no longer rules Iraq and no country in good conscience can support using sanctions to hold back the hopes of the Iraqi people," Bush said in Washington after meeting Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. The resolution proposes creation of an international advisory board comprising Secretary-General Kofi Annan, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and US oil executives to oversee oil exports and to ensure the revenue earned is spent in way that benefits Iraqi people, Diplomats and officials said here. Washington announced lifting of its own sanctions on Iraq saying that it was an essential step in providing for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and for commencing the reconstruction process in the war-ravaged country. (PTI) |
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India back in the list of SARS reporting countries NEW DELHI, May 8: India is back on the WHO’s list of countries reporting "probable cases" of SARS after being declared SARS free by the world body on May 1. The WHO’s website on SARS mentions one SARS probable case in India. The WHO had modified the definition of probable cases on by May one. All the cases reported in the country earlier, despite testing positive for the new corona virus in samples, did not fall into the WHO’s previous case definition of "SARS probable" as they did not have symptoms of pneumonia in the lungs. "We have taken into account one case in Kolkata who is a SARS probable according to the who’s revised definition," Dr N Kumara Rai, WHO’s representative here, said. However, the cases reported prior to May 1 did not fall into the definiton of SARS probable, Rai said. Meanwhile, one more person was declared as "SARS probable" by health authorities in the country yesterday. The case, a 28-year-old man from Karnataka who tested positive in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, has not been included ISA "We are aware of only one case in Kolkata. No other case has been notified to us," Rai said. The Kolkata case is a 25-year-old man who was admitted on April 27 at the infectious diseases hospital with fever and cough. His chest X-ray had shown symptoms of pneumonia and he had a travel history to Hong Kong. His samples tested positive for the new corona virus. According to the new case definition, a probable case is a SARS suspect (a person with high fever, cough or breathing difficulty, and with close contact with SARS suspect or with probable case or a travel history to a place reporting local transmission of virus) who tests positive for SARS corona virus by one or more assays. Earlier definition included only those SARS suspects who showed pneumonia in lungs X-ray as SARS probables. People whose samples tested positive for SARS virus, but did not have pneumonia were not categorised as SARS probables. Health officials said the testing procedures had been made more strict. (PTI) |
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Bush says optimistic about West Asia road map WASHINGTON, May 8: US President George W Bush said today he was optimistic about making progress toward West Asia peace despite Israeli-Palestinian violence ahead of a weekend visit to the region by Secretary of State Colin Powell. He added a concerted effort was needed to stop the violence so the peace process, outlined in a West Asia "road map" unveiled last week, could proceed. An Israeli missile strike killed a Palestinian militant as he drove in Gaza City today. Earlier in the day, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian as he approached a military checkpoint near a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. The killings underscored the difficulties powell will face this weekend when he tries to lay the groundwork for renewed peace talks aimed at ending 31 months of bloodshed in the Palestinian uprising for independence. "Of course we’re going to make progress. Yes, we’ll make progress, absolutely," Bush told reporters as he met the emir of Qatar in the oval office. The reason for his optimism, he said, was the fact new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas had renounced violence and was committed to reforms. "He understands what we know, that a peace process will proceed if and when there is a concerted effort to fight violence," Bush said. Bush said he would be talking to the Emir about how to encourage Arab nations to stop "the funding of terror" and working with the palestinian authority to encourage the habits of democracy and freedom. "I’m very optimistic. That’s why I’m sending Secretary Powell there," he said. The peace plan, worked out by the so-called quartet of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, calls for a Palestinian state as early as 2005 at the end of a process that starts with a halt to violence and Israeli steps to improve life for Palestinians. (AGENCIES) |
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Sharon says ready for negotiations with Syria JERUSALEM, May 8: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said today he was ready for peace negotiations with Syria without preconditions. "I am ready to hold negotiations with any Arab nation, including Syria, without preconditions...The Syrians will of course have demands on us and we will have for sure demands on them. We are ready to sit and discuss these issues," he said in a taped interview on Israeli television. Syria has insisted any negotiations be based on the outcome of previous peace efforts and UN resolutions, terms rejected by Israel. Peace talks broke down in 2000 over the future of the golan heights, seized by Israel from Syria in the 1967 West Asia war. (AGENCIES) |
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US proposes Iraq sanctions lift except for weapons UNITED NATIONS, May 8: The United States circulated to key Security Council members today its proposals to lift all UN sanctions against Iraq except for an arms embargo. The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, would allow Iraq to sell oil again without UN controls. But the revenues would be deposited in an "Iraqi assistant fund" for humanitarian needs and reconstruction, with an advisory board that included the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. (AGENCIES) EU trade chief to coordinate WTO stance with future members BRUSSELS, May 8: European Union trade chief Pascal Lamy is to meet trade ministers from the bloc’s future members in Bucharest this week to agree a joint stance ahead of a key world trade organisation meeting in September, EU officials said today. Ministers are scheduled to meet on May 9-10 to review the progress of the ongoing wto negotiations which were launched in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. Officials said current and future EU members needed to coordinate their positions ahead of the WTO ministerial meeting in September in Cancun, Mexico. "Speaking with one voice on trade matters makes US stronger on the world trade scene," Lamy said in a statement before leaving for Bucharest. Commission officials said the ministers would reiterate their commitment to a number of decisions to be taken in Cancun, in particular on improved market access for agricultural and non-agricultural goods. The meeting would also highlight the importance of securing progress on the development aspects of the new round. The meeting is due to be attended by ministers from the ten states that are set to join the EU in 2004, including Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The trade chiefs of Bulgaria and Romania which are expected to join the EU in 2007 are also scheduled to attend, as well as turkey whose membership bid is due to be reviewed by the European Commission in 2004. (DPA) French minister urges improved ties with US PARIS, May 8: France must send "messages" to the United States in the coming months to improve relations between the two countries, Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said today. In a newspaper interview, the minister said she was concerned about a souring of US popular opinion towards France after Paris’s rigid opposition to the US-led war in Iraq. "What’s worrying...Is the reactions of an American public opinion heated to white hot by political and media campaigns that undermine trans-Atlantic relations," Alliot-Marie told the daily Le Parisien. "It will be important for us to send some messages in the coming months because, otherwise, this phenomenon could be deep and long-lasting," she added in comments printed on the day france marked the end of world war two in Europe. Some US media said in the run-up to the iraq conflict that paris’s opposition to US policy over the crisis showed a lack of gratitude for the role played by US troops in world war two. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said France will suffer consequences for standing in the way of a UN resolution that would have paved the way for the use of force against Baghdad. US President George W Bush also said last month French President Jacques Chirac should not expect an invitation to his Texas ranch any time soon. Bush, however, is due to come to France for a meeting of G8 leaders early next month. Alliot-Marie was optimistic US and French leaders could work together, saying politicians were practical. "They know the important thing is the deep and lasting ties of friendship and partnership between our countries," she said. Concerning Iraq, France and the United States had not disagreed on the fundamentals of the issue, but on the timetable and methods for dealing with it, the minister said. (AGENCIES) Syria hands over suspect in Lebanon bomb spree BEIRUT, May 8: Syria has handed over to neighbouring Lebanon a man suspected of belonging to a gang blamed for a string of bomb attacks against western fast food outlets, a senior judicial official said today. Lebanese officials have said members of the network attacked fast food restaurants including McDonald’s and pizza hut and that they also planned to kill US Ambassador Vincent Battle in the northern city of Tripoli. But the official said the man turned over from Syria, a Lebanese citizen, had no direct links to the battle plot. His brother, an army draftee, was also being held over the restaurant bombings. There was no word on when the man was arrested. Palestinian and Lebanese security sources said authorities had arrested three Palestinians suspected of links to the bomb attacks. They were taken overnight in a security clampdown as they tried to enter the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli. Judicial sources said Lebanon formally charged eight more men, including two Palestinians, in connection with the bombing spree, bringing the total charged in the case to more than 25. Two of them were also charged with planning to bomb the US Ambassador’s convoy during a visit to Tripoli and with planning to attack the US Embassy in Beirut with missiles. The Lebanese Army said at the weekend it had arrested the head of the network blamed for the restaurant attacks. Lebanese authorities stepped up arrests after a large bomb was found in a car outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Beirut in April. It failed to explode. Anti-US sentiment is strong in Lebanon over US backing for arch-foe Israel, and has risen during a Palestinian uprising and the US-led war on Iraq. Lebanon and Syria, which has broad influence over the lebanese army, judiciary and security services, are under pressure to show they are cooperating with washington, especially in its "war on terrorism". (AGENCIES) US envoy in Moscow to push end to Iraq sanctions MOSCOW, May 8: A top US Envoy, trying to push a reluctant Moscow to agree to Washington’s plan to lift UN sanctions against Iraq, said today both sides recognised they had to resolve their differences for the sake of Iraqis. Assistant Secretary of State Kim Holmes, came to Russia at short notice ahead of this week’s presentation to the UN Security Council of a US-drafted resolution to lift decade-old UN sanctions and allow Iraqi oil exports to resume. "I think that there is a general understanding that there are questions that have to be resolved," Holmes told reporters after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. "On the details of it, we will have to work them out in further consultations," he said. "This was just an attempt to preview the resolution, to give them our ideas, to hear some reactions from them." US Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday the draft was expected to be given to all 15 Council members this week and would include a "vital role" for the United Nations in a postwar Iraq. But diplomats said the draft appeared to leave nearly all power in the hands of the United States and its allies. Russia, along with France, China and others, advocate a stronger UN role to give a US-chosen Iraqi authority international legitimacy. Washington, which cited Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction as the main reason for its decision to attack Baghdad without explicit UN backing, has said its experts were hunting for the banned weapons themselves and did not need immediate UN help. (AGENCIES) |
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