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COLOMBO, Oct 18: Tamil Tiger rebels today concluded an extended overseas visit during which they held discussions with legal experts on the... ..more Russian
spacecraft BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN, Oct 18: A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Spaniard .....more Encroachments cleared from Indian Karachi consulate building ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: Pakistan today said the provincial Sindh Government has removed ....more Bhutanese refugee leaber requests India to help resolve problem KATHMANDU, Oct 18: Requesting India to help resolve the long-festering problem ...more |
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US General, under fire, WASHINGTON, Oct 18: A senior Pentagon intelligence officer, under fire for his comments about Islam, said he was "neither a zealot nor an extremist" .....more Unexpectant
mother SYDNEY, Oct 18: An Australian woman got the shock of her life when she gave birth to a healthy baby boy just three hours....more World
Health body GENEVA, Oct 18: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it wanted controls on laboratories holding SARS virus.......more S Korea
says SEOUL, Oct 18: South Korea today said it had decided to send additional troops to Iraq to back up the US-led forces in the......more |
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COLOMBO, Oct 18: Tamil Tiger rebels today concluded an extended overseas visit during which they held discussions with legal experts on the power-sharing proposal aimed at restarting the stalled peace process with the Sri Lankan Government. The Tiger delegation led by the group’s political wing leader S P Thamilselvan arrived this morning at the Bandaranaike international airport and was whisked away to the rebel-held Wanni by a Government helicopter, airport officials said. The delegation left here on October 2 for Ireland and later travelled to Norway and Sweden before returning home. In Dublin they consulted ethnic and foreign legal constitutional experts to finalise a set of proposals they agreed during a similar meeting in Paris in August. Peace talks remain suspended since the sixth round in Hakone, Japan. The Tigers have said they will return to talks only if the Government agrees to their proposal for an interim administrative council for the island’s embattled northern and eastern regions. In Norway, the team met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen and urged him to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to deliver on promises made at six rounds of peace talks since September last year. "We paid attention to the conflict resolution process in various parts of world with special emphasis on the interim arrangements that were put in place prior to a final resolution of the conflict," the LTTE’s Peace Secretariat quoted Thamilselvan as saying. Thamilselvan said the international community must pressure Colombo to ensure that minority Tamils received a peace dividend from the ceasefire that is in place since February 23 last year. "Tamil people are beginning to lose hope in the peace process and we are afraid that this will create a sense of frustration and therefore it becomes necessary to bring pressure on the Government to create an environment conducive for peace and confidence building. "In this respect the international community that is interested in lasting peace, has a moral responsibility to interact with the Government of Sri Lanka and create such an environment," Thamilselvan said. "If this is not done expeditiously the peace process will be retarded," he claimed. (PTI) |
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Russian spacecraft blasts off for international space station BAIKONUR, KAZAKHSTAN, Oct 18: A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian, an American and a Spaniard blasted off today for the international space station from the Russian space program’s Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch came three days after China became the world’s third spacefaring nation, joining the ranks of the Soviet Union, now Russia and the United States. It was the second manned space launch from Baikonur since the US space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in February, putting the US space program on hold. Since the Columbia disaster, US space agency has been dependent on the Russians to keep its astronaut corps flying. The European space agency, lack its own means to launch astronauts, also regularly buys seats on the non-reusable Russian spacecraft. The new space station responsibilities have put a strain on the Russian space program’s budget, but have also boosted the prestige of an agency that was derided a few years ago for becoming a provider of expensive junkets for rich space tourists. "I want to convey our thanks for your support during this period when the shuttle cannot fly," Charlie Precourt, the NASA Deputy Manager responsible for the space station, told a meeting of Russia’s most senior space officials on Friday. The three-man crew US astronaut Michael Foale, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri and Spanish astronaut Pedro Duque are to reach the space station after a two-day trip. The spacecraft was to reach orbit about nine minutes after liftoff. The crew took off from the same launch pad that rocketed Yuri Gagarin into the history books into 1961 as the first man to go into orbit. American astronaut Ed Lu and Russian Yuri Malenchenko, who have been in space since April, will show their replacements, Foale and Kaleri, around the station before heading home on Oct 28 with Duque aboard another Soyuz that is already docked at the station. Duque, whose first Foray into space was aboard the US shuttle discovery in 1998 with former astronaut and US senator John Glenn, plans to spend his eight days on the floating space lab carrying out of a series of experiments. (AP) |
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Encroachments cleared from Indian Karachi consulate building ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: Pakistan today said the provincial Sindh Government has removed encroachments from the disused India consulate building in Karachi and posted guards there and at five other properties belonging to India to protect them from potential intruders. Commenting on reports which appeared in the media about the alleged sale and purchase of the Indian consulate building in Karachi, a statement issued by Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman here said the federal Government has taken up the issue with the Sindh Government. "The Sindh Government, has today, removed the encroachment from the said premises and posted guards there. Guards have also been posted at other five properties in Karachi belonging to the Government of India", the spokesman said. Today’s statement followed a Karachi resident Ali Baqir Naqvi’s claim that he had bought the property and filed a petition in the Karachi High Court to permit him to take over. The Court issued a stay order and fixed the next hearing on October 22. The encroachment was noticed by an Indian Airlines official in Karachi Rama Krishna two weeks ago and the Indian High Commission had subsequently complained to Pakistan Foreign Office asking the Government to clear the illegal encroachments. The Indian consulate was closed in 1992 and since then the building was kept under lock and key of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. (PTI) |
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Bhutanese refugee leaber requests India to help resolve problem KATHMANDU, Oct 18: Requesting India to help resolve the long-festering problem of the Bhutanese refugees, refugee leader Tek Nath Rijal also urged Nepal to either resolve the problem during the 15th ministerial level meeting to be held next week or seek international help. "I do not like to accuse India, it has a positive attitude towards the refugee problem. I would like to request them to help resolve the problem," he said. Mr Rijal called on the Nepalese Government either to resolve the problem by creating an environment for the repatriation of the refugees or give up the bilateral talks with the druk Government and internationalise the issue. "If the Nepalese Government cannot resolve the problem, the long-running refugee problems should be internationalised," he said. The Bhutanese leader’s efforts to meet Indian Prime Minister and other senior ministers could not materialise during his recent visit. "I am again going to India and I hope I will be able to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani," he said. Mr Rijal criticized the verification report of the refugees by a joint team of Nepal and Bhutan in which only two per cent Bhutanese living in Khudunabari were declared as genuine Bhutanese. Unhcr as well as other international human rights organisations have also criticized Nepal and Bhutan for the report made public a few months ago. The refugee leader, who was recently released from prison in Bhutan, after being arrested in Nepal and sent to Bhutan in 1988 during the Panchayat regime, was here to get support of the international community and Nepal. "This is not the problem of Nepalese only, many other tribes are also forced to be refugees in Bhutan. Bhutanese King Jigme Singhe Wangchuk should also take initiative to resolve the problem," he said and appreciated the role played by UNHCR and the international community for the repatriation of the refugees. Nepal has been raising the issue in various international forums, including the UN but has not internationlised the issue of the refugees, who were forcibly evicted from Bhutan in 1990. India has repeatedly said that the Bhutanese refugee problem is a bilateral problem between the two Himalayan kingdoms, with which it has good relations. However, the Nepali Government has also requested India to use its good offices to resolve the problem of more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in unhcr-sponsored camps in eastern Nepal. (UNI) |
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US General, under fire, says he’s not ‘anti-Islam’ WASHINGTON, Oct 18: A senior Pentagon intelligence officer, under fire for his comments about Islam, said he was "neither a zealot nor an extremist" and apologized to those offended by his statements but did not take back any of his remarks. Army Lt Gen William Boykin, whose comments at Churches and prayer breakfasts cast the US war on terrorism in starkly religous terms, sought to explain comments including one that Muslims worship an "idol" and said he was not "anti-Islam." Democratic lawmakers, including Presidential candidates sens Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen John Kerry of Massachusetts, criticized Boykin’s remarks and chastised President George W Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for failing to criticize the general. And a Saudi diplomat called Boykin’s remarks "outrageous." A statement released late yesterday by the Pentagon Public Affairs office represented Boykin’s first attempt to publicly explain himself since his remarks came to light this week. He did not address his future, but defense officials said he had no plans to quit. The officials also said he planned to "tone down" his remarks. One official said, "I would not expect him to engage in those sorts of speaking engagements in the future." "I am neither a Zealot nor an extremist. Only a soldier who has an abiding faith," said Boykin, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and war-fighting support. "I do believe that radical extremists have tried to use Islam as a cause for attacks on America," he said. "as I have stated before, are not true followers of Islam. "In my view they are simply terrorists, much like the so-called ‘Christians’ of the White Supremacy Groups, or Extremist (SIC) of any faith," Boykin said. "I am not anti-Islam or any other religion," he added. "I support the free exercise of all religions. For those who have been offended by my statements, I offer a sincere apology." NBC News this week broadcast videotapes of Boykin, an evangelical Christian, giving speeches while wearing his army uniform at various Christian functions. He portrayed the US battle with Islamic radicals as a clash with "Satan," saying they sought to destroy America "because we’re a Christian nation." In one speech, Boykin recalled a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said US forces would never get him because Allah would give him protection. "Well, you know what I knew, that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol," Boykin told his audience. In his statement, Boykin said his comments about that Muslim fighter "were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power idolatry. He was a corrupt man, not a follower of Islam." Boykin added, "my references to Judeo-Christian roots in America or our nation as a Christian nation are historically undeniable." he also said he defends the right of every American to worship "as he or she chooses." he also said he was an invited guest speaker at Churches. "I have frequently stated that I do not see this current conflict as a war between Islam and Christianity. I have asked American Christian audiences to realize that even though they cannot be in Iraq or Afghanistan, they can be part of this war by praying for America and its leaders," he said. Lieberman called on Bush to condemn Boykin’s "hateful remarks." democratic rep John Conyers of Michigan said "it is outrageous that someone who holds such extreme, closed-minded, zealous views would be allowed such a prominent position in our military." (AGENCIES) |
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Unexpectant mother shocked by surprise birth SYDNEY, Oct 18: An Australian woman got the shock of her life when she gave birth to a healthy baby boy just three hours after learning she had been pregnant for nine months. Carolyn Hounsell, 27, went to her doctor with stomach pains and was admitted to hospital, the daily telegraph reported today. A few hours later, the care worker said she got "a very big shock" when she delivered a 3.6 Kg boy. "I’d had some indigestion," Hounsell said, according to the newspaper. "They sent me off for an ultrasound, which told them I was at 37 weeks. The cramping I’d had were contractions," she said. Hounsell had tried unsuccessfully to conceive in the past. Her husband Dennis Ross, 44, had been told he could not father children after a car accident two-and-a-half years earlier. "He’s a good size. It makes you wonder where I could hide it. My boss was very surprised but not quite as surprised as I was," Hounsell was quoted as saying. (AGENCIES) |
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World Health body seeks pact on handling SARS virus GENEVA, Oct 18: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it wanted controls on laboratories holding SARS virus samples in order to prevent a return of the disease which killed more than 800 people in the past year. The risk of transmission from laboratories, the only place where sars is known to still exist, will be high on the agenda when scientists meet at who headquarters on Monday for a week of meetings aimed at preparing for any fresh outbreak. "We are trying to ready ourselves and ready the world for what could happen this year if SARS did come back," Professor John Mackenzie, coordinator of the who’s Scientific Advisory Committee, told a news conference. The respiratory disease, which is believed to have originated in southern China in November 2002, infected about 8,500 people in 30 countries and health officials are on high alert for a possible resurgence. The United Nations health agency declared the outbreak over in July, but there has since been one case in Singapore where a research student caught the disease while working in a laboratory that kept samples of the virus. Mackenzie said that the who hoped scientists would call for countries to keep tight control over allowing laboratories to work with the virus and to keep close track of stocks. "Not all laboratories should have the right to work with the virus. We do not want it to be too available for accidents," he added. Little was known about stocks in laboratories in countries which had registered the highest number of cases and therefore had most access to the virus, such as China, Taiwan or Vietnam. He said a benchmark diagnostic test was needed so that when suspected cases were studied anywhere in the world, the results would be the same. "We need to make sure that when labs are diagnosing sars, they are doing so with the most sensitive tests and that when they diagnose it, it really is SARS," he added. (AGENCIES) |
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S Korea says tosend additional troops to Iraq SEOUL, Oct 18: South Korea today said it had decided to send additional troops to Iraq to back up the US-led forces in the region but did not specify whether these would be combat personnel. Presidential spokesman Yoon Tae-Young said the scale, timing and type of troops would be decided at a later date. The United States asked South Korea last month to send combat troops to help stabilise Iraq. South Korean media have said Washington wants Seoul to commit to sending about 5,000 troops by the end of this month. (AGENCIES) French Judge investigated for courtroom obscenity BORDEAUX, FRANCE, Oct 18: A French Judge was placed under official investigation for "sexual exposure" in a courtroom, prosecutors have said, after a newspaper reported the Judge masturbated while a lawyer pleaded her case. The 39-year old Judge masturbated for several minutes on Wednesday while listening to a female lawyer addressing the Court in a case dealing with a dispute between neighbours, regional paper la Charente Libre said. One of the paper’s reporters saw the Judge "making unambiguous gestures after discretely lifting his judicial robe and opening his trousers," it said. The Judge was temporarily suspended from his professional duties and examined by a psychiatrist, a prosecutor in the Southwestern town of Angouleme said. (AGENCIES) American in Qaeda cell in oil Co: Saudi official WASHINGTON, Oct 18: Saudi authorities broke up a cell of Al-Qaeda sympathizers who worked for Aramco oil company last year and it included an American, a Saudi official has said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide more details about the American, who he said was among the 7-10 people captured during the summer of 2002. A federal law enforcement official said the FBI did not have any information about an American in custody in Saudi Arabia related to such an incident. The US Government originally brought that individual, who was of Saudi origin with an American passport, to the attention of Saudi authorities, a US source said on condition of anonymity. Saudi aramco is the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company and a spokesman in Houston could not immediately be reached for comment. Since the Sept 11, 2001, hijacked-plane attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, the Saudi Government has been trying to overcome a perception that it had been too lax about extremists inside its borders. The Sept 11 attacks that killed about 3,000 people were a turning point for American sense of security on US soil and led to Government policies focused on fighting terrorism. The United States has vowed to destroy Al-Qaeda, a network of extremists led by Osama bin Laden and blamed for the attacks. Adel Al-Jubeir, Foreign Policy Adviser to Saudi crown Prince Abdullah, told reporters in Washington that his country has taken many steps to fight terrorism including more restrictions on financial flows. Saudi authorities have detained "well over 500 people" who are terrorism suspects, he said. "We have stifled a number of operations, terrorist operations," Jubeir said. "we have contributed to stifling operations not just in Saudi Arabia but in other countries, including in the United States." (AGENCIES) US senate approves 87 billion dollars for Iraq WASHINGTON, Oct 18: The US senate overwhelmingly approved a roughly 87 billion dollar bill for operations in Iraq, after voting to shave President George W Bush’s 20 billion dollar request to rebuild the country and convert half of the aid to loans. The House of Representatives earlier in the day passed the bill which also has funds for operations in Afghanistan. Reflecting unease over his Iraq policies, senators voted to cut 1.86 billion dollars from Bush’s request for 20.3 billion dollars for Iraq’s reconstruction. They also narrowly voted to make half of the reconstruction money a loan, over Bush’s objections. The senate then passed the bill 87-12. The house passed its version of the bill by a wide 303-125 vote, after it narrowly rejected a loan plan similar to the senate’s. With Bush saying that demanding repayment would jeopardize work to stabilise Iraq, loans will be the key issue when lawmakers meet next week to reconcile their versions for the final bill. Despite the senate action, republican leaders said they were confident the 10 billion dollars loan provision passed late on Thursday on a 51-47 vote would not survive in the final bill. "I’m very optimistic that the conference report is one the administration is going to be excited about," said Sen Mitch Mcconnell of Kentucky, the assistant senate majority leader. In the house, republicans leaders blocked a republican loan proposal despite arguments from conservatives that Iraq should finance its own rebuilding from its potential oil wealth. The house then rejected 226-200 a plan by democrats to convert half of the reconstruction aid into loans. (AGENCIES) Bush leaves Tokyo to offer Manila help on militants TOKYO, Oct 18: US President George W Bush left Japan on Saturday for the Philippines and the next stop in a whirlwind, six-nation tour of Asia focused on issues of counter-terrorism, security, trade and currencies. Bush praised his close ally, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, as a "strong leader" during his 18-hour visit to Tokyo but also pressed him to abandon Tokyo’s efforts to stem the yen’s sharp rise against the dollar by intervening in currency markets. In Manila, Bush will discuss security issues with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and celebrate a century of close ties against a backdrop of protests and poverty-hiding pomp. The eight-hour stop-over is part of an Asian sweep that also takes the US President to Thailand for an Asian-Pacific leaders gathering as well as to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. (AGENCIES) |
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