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| Sudan militia violence spreads to south-churches NAIROBI, May 20: Government-backed Rarab militias militnats razed the homes of some 23,000 villagers in southern.......more India for
removal BEIJING, May 20: Stressing for a fair and market-oriented global trading system, India today asked the industrialised......more US
commanders accept WASHINGTON, May 20: Accepting the responsibility for the alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, two US commanders......more US looks
forward to WASHINGTON, May 20: As Manmohan Singh-led Government is all set to assume office, the US has said it looked....more |
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Maoist strike disrupts life in Nepal for third day running KATHMANDU, May 20: Normal life in the Nepalese capital and in most places outside the Kathmandu valley continued......more Police
arrest key KARACHI, May 20: Pakistani police have arrested an Islamic militant linked to a plot to assassinate President Pervez....more Australia
PM wary CANBERRA, May 20: Claims that a suspected Australian Taliban fighter was badly beaten while detained by the United......more US allows
UN UNITED NATIONS, May 20: The United States allowed adoption of a UN Security Council resolution rebuking Israel’s.......more |
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Sudan militia violence spreads to south-churches NAIROBI, May 20: Government-backed Rarab militias militnats razed the homes of some 23,000 villagers in southern Sudan, despite talks to end 21 years of civil war, a senior church official said today. The homes in the upper Nile region have been destroyed over the past four days, forcing thousands to flee, said Bishop Hamilton Mvume Dandala, secretary-general of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). The systematic burning of grass hut villages in upper Nile was reminiscent of the conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, which the United Nations has called one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, said Dandala, who recently returned from a six-day trip to Sudan. "While the graphic media reports have caused all of us the world over to focus attention primarily on Darfur, we were informed that Government-backed militias are raiding villages in the upper Nile around Malakal with equal zeal," Dandala told a news conference in Nairobi. "Together with Darfur, the recent unfolding situation truly lends itself to a genocide in the making. It resembles Rwanda 10 years ago when the world merely watched as tragic events took place," he added. Some villagers viewed the raids as an attempt to undermine hopes of a peace accord between the Khartoum Government and southern rebels, while others thought they indicated a lack of political will to end Africa’s longest civil war, Dandala said. Negotiators are making slow progress in Kenya-hosted talks to end the war that pits the Islamic Arabic-speaking Government against rebels seeking greater autonomy for the mainly animist and christian south. oil, ethnicity and ideology are complicating factors. The peace process in Kenya does not cover the separate rebellion in Darfur, where rebel clashes with Government troops have displaced about one million people and forced an estimated 120,000 more to flee across the border to Chad. Aid agency medecins sans frontieres warned today of the risk of famine in Darfur where there are ‘’dangerously high’’ levels of malnutrition and mortality coupled with a rapidly deteriorating food security situation. Dandala also described conditions in three refugee camps he visited close to the capital Khartoum as "hell on earth". "here, children, women, the old and young languish in the hot sand with temperatures ranging between 42 degrees centigrade, up to 47 degrees" he said. The aacc groups churches and institutions represent some 120 million christians across the continent.(AGENCIES) |
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India for
removal of ‘inequities’ in agreement BEIJING, May 20: Stressing for a fair and market-oriented global trading system, India today asked the industrialised nations to correct their policies on domestic and export subsidies in order to address the concerns of developing countries. "We are of the firm and sincere view that the long-term objectives of a fair and market-oriented trading system will be achieved when trade distorting domestic support by the developed countries is corrected, export subsidies are eliminated and the agreement on agriculture adequately takes cognisance of and incorporates the legitimate needs of developing countries..," Indian Ambassador to China, Nalin Surie, said here. In the ‘country statement by India’ at the plenary session of the 27th Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) regional conference for Asia and the Pacific, Surie, also head of the Indian delegation, said the issue of profitability and remunerativeness of agriculture to which India attached greatest importance had an obvious linkage with the international trade regime. "We cannot therefore but emphasise at such multilateral platforms that the on-going process of negotiations on the agreement on agriculture must be in accordance with the spirit of the Doha declaration," he said. "Our commitment to remove the inequalities in the agreement on agriculture rests on the inherent inter-linkages between the `three pillars’ of market access, domestic support and export competition," he said. The major doses of subsidisation invoked by the developed countries leave the developing nations to resort to counter-measures as best they can, to afford a degree of protection to their farming sector, Surie noted. Turning to the agriculture scene in India, he pointed out that this key sector has maintained its growth with all major crops displaying rising trends of production on virtually constant area coverage, indicating improved productivity. For the year 2003-2004, the estimated production of food-grains, pulses, oil seeds, coarse cereals, cotton and commercial fibres is likely to be four to eight per cent higher than the corresponding figures for the last ‘normal year’ (2001-2002). The figure would be much higher if compared to the drought year (2002-2003), which turned out to be one of the worst droughts in India’s recorded history. However, the crisis was addressed in a coordinated and comprehensive manner by the Central and State authorities, Surie noted. "The huge production losses in 2002, however, remind us of our continuing over-dependence on the monsoon," he said. While pointing out that Asia has emerged as the powerhouse of world agriculture, Surie said forums such as the on-going FAO meeting had an important role to play in providing the much-needed impetus to identify frameworks and strategies for regional and sub-regional collaborations. (PTI) |
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US commanders accept
responsibility for WASHINGTON, May 20: Accepting the responsibility for the alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, two US commanders have said more soldiers other than the seven already facing court-martial could be prosecuted. The two generals in charge of the US-led coalition in Iraq John Abizaid and Ricardo Sanchez were testifying before a congressional panel yesterday. As Chief of the Central Command running the war, Abizaid said he takes responsibility for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. Overcrowding in the cells of that jail "contributed to systematic failures," and may have created conditions for abuse to take place. Sanchez, commander of multinational force Iraq, told the committee that he accepted responsibility for the atrocities committed against Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and assured the senate armed services committee at a hearing that "it won’t happen again." "As a senior commander in Iraq, I accept responsibility for what happened at Abu Ghraib, and I accept as a solemn obligation the responsibility to ensure that it does not happen again." "We have already initiated courts-martial in seven cases and there may be very well be more prosecutions," Sanchez said, adding "we may find that the evidence produced in these investigations ... Leads to more courts-martial." The hearing came just after a Military Judge in Baghdad sentenced Jeremy Sivits to a maximum one-year jail term for his role in the humiliation of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison. (PTI) |
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| US looks forward to working with new
Indian Government WASHINGTON, May 20: As Manmohan Singh-led Government is all set to assume office, the US has said it looked forward to working with it on all aspects of Indo-American relationship and hoped that there would continuity in the peace process between India and Pakistan. "We are looking forward to working with them. We have a solid agenda with the Indian people covering all aspects of our relationship. We see no reason why they should not continue to be pursued with the new Government," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said. He was addressing a joint press conference with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri after their talks here yesterday. Both Powell and Kasuri hoped the "road map" of peace between India and Pakistan would remain on track despite the change of Government in India. "A road map has been worked out between India and Pakistan on their relationship which they have followed and which seems to be still very much active and we expect both sides will continue to walk down that path," Powell said. Kasuri said Pakistan was committed to the peace process with India. "We discussed the situation emerging out of the new elections in India and the secretary felt — and I ageed with him — that in view of the work that has already been done and the good vibes that are coming from the leaders of the would be Government, we both agree these are positive signals and we need to continue with that", Kasuri said. "I am certain that the Government of Pakistan is committed to continuing the peace process and I look forward to the Government of India doing the same." (PTI) |
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Maoist strike disrupts life in Nepal for third day running KATHMANDU, May 20: Normal life in the Nepalese capital and in most places outside the Kathmandu valley continued to be paralysed today by the three-day shut-down imposed by Maoist insurgents. The Maoists called for the three day general strike beginning tuesday to mark the end of their month long agitation against what they call the "anti-democratic forces and infamous royalists." Eye witnesses said most of the schools and colleges, shops and businesses houses were remained closed today. The Government owned trolley bus service and the Sajha public transport buses were seen plying the streets but most of the privately operated public transports were off the road. However, there were a few taxis and a large number of motor-bikes in the streets of the capital city. Nepalese media reports today said in the strike yesterday, the Maoists destroyed two taxis for defying their strike call. (DPA) |
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Police arrest key suspect in Musharraf assassination plot KARACHI, May 20: Pakistani police have arrested an Islamic militant linked to a plot to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf in the southern port city of Karachi two years ago, officials said today. Kamran Atif, 28, was captured during a fierce gun battle as police raided a home in central Karachi where he was hiding. A woman passerby was killed in crossfire. "It’s a big catch," an official from the police Crimes Investigation Department told AFP, requesting anonymity. An accomplice managed to escape during the raid. Atif is alleged to have been in charge of pressing the detonator to blow up a remote-controlled car bomb parked on a highway as Musharraf’s motorcade passed by from Karachi airport in April 2002. The detonator failed to work and the plot was aborted. Four other militants were tried and convicted last year over the botched and sentenced to life prison terms. Atif, wounded in yesterday’s gunfight, was taken to hospital yelling "the defeat is the fate of infidels. Muslims will prevail," witnesses said. Explosives and Islamic militant Jihadi literature were found in the house. Atif belonged to a splinter group of a militant outfit fighting in Jammu and Kashmir known as Harkat-ul-Mujahedin-al-Alaami. The four other men jailed over the plot were from the same outfit. (AFP) |
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Australia PM wary of Cuba detainee abuse claims CANBERRA, May 20: Claims that a suspected Australian Taliban fighter was badly beaten while detained by the United States in Afghanistan should be taken "with a grain of salt", Australian Prime Minister John Howard said today. Howard said he was sceptical of the abuse accusations made by a Pakistani man who shared a cell with Australian David Hicks in Afghanistan. He said the claims, reported by an Australian newspaper, would be investigated. "They are coming from somebody who’s a Taliban supporter. We will have them investigated. I do initially take them with a grain of salt," Howard told Australian radio. The abuse claims have been made in the wake of a barrage of allegations and photographs of mistreatment by US and British forces of Iraqi prisoners. "We didn’t hear anything about (the abuse claims) last year or the year before. So I am sceptical. I question why it is that these claims have only arisen now," Howard said. Hicks Australian lawyer Stephen Kenny and his US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, last week said Hicks had been mistreated while held at Guantanamo bay in Cuba. An Australian inquiry at the weekend found no evidence of abuse. The inquiry also found a second Australian, Mamdouh Habib, had not been mistreated. Habib was arrested crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan three weeks after the September 11, 2001, hijacked airline attacks on New York and Washington. The Washington post newspaper has reported that the US Defense department last year approved interrogation in Guantanamo bay that included forcing inmates to strip and subjecting them to loud music, bright lights and sleep deprivation. Kenny said a confidentiality deal with the United States prevented him from revealing the nature and extent of any abuse suffered by hicks, 28, an Islamic convert who had been held since his capture more than two years ago in Afghanistan. "I have sought specific permission of general Hemmingway of the US Military Commission’s appointing authority for permission to speak but I haven’t yet received that," Kenny told Australian radio today. (AGENCIES) |
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US allows UN council to rebuke Israel on Gaza UNITED NATIONS, May 20: The United States allowed adoption of a UN Security Council resolution rebuking Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes by abstaining rather than using its veto power to kill the measure. The abstention by the Bush administration, which last vetoed a resolution critical of Israel in March, reflected its dissatisfaction with Israel’s largest incursion into the Gaza Strip in years. At least 33 Palestinians died in two days. The other 14 Security Council members voted in favor on Wednesday after negotiations between Algeria, representing Arab nations, resulted in a watered-down text to prevent a US veto. The final version no longer "demanded" Israel stop the bulldozing of Palestinian houses, which the United Nations says made 1,600 people homeless this month. Israel’s Ambassador Dan Gillerman told reporters the US stance had to be taken in a "wider context" in light of talks the Bush administration was having with Arab leaders. He appeared to be referring to Iraq. The resolution calls on Israel to respect its obligations under international law and insists "on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law." It expresses "grave concern" about the humanitarian situation of Palestinians made homeless in the Rafah refugee camp on the Egyptian border where Israel says the houses serve as gun nests. And it condemned "all acts of violence, terror and destruction." (AGENCIES) |
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Colombia asks world for cash to disarm militias BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, May 20: Colombia says it needs up to 150 million dollar in international aid to disarm 20,000 paramilitary gunmen, branded "terrorists" by the United States and blamed for some of the worst atrocities in the four-decade-long war. Chief Peace Negotiator Luis Carlos Restrepo told in an interview that Colombia was unable to shoulder the entire cost of the disarmament — an essential component of Bogota’s strategy to end the long years of fighting, and stamp out the world’s largest cocaine industry. "If we’re talking about demobilizing 15,000 to 20,000 combatants, it’s obvious that it will completely surpass the state’s budget," he said from his offices at the Presidential palace. In a breakthrough, leaders of the united self-defense forces of Colombia, a banned far-right group known by the Spanish initials Auc, agreed last week to confine themselves to a small rural area under the eyes of international observers. They will be joined by 400 armed bodyguards. The accord appeared to move the paramilitary leaders one step closer to demobilizing and disarming their fighters, which use guerrilla tactics to hunt down and kill marxist rebels, and any suspected civilian collaborators. The Auc is blamed for killing thousands of people, mostly poor peasants, they suspected of sympathizing with Marxist rebels, even using chain saws and rocks to kill their victims. (AGENCIES) Malaysia plans prisoner whipping
demonstrations KUALA LUMPUR, May 20: Malaysia’s prisons department will hold whipping demonstrations in schools as part of a scare tactic in efforts to cut down on the rate of serious offences like rape and drug trafficking, a senior Government official said. The road show of sorts will begin in June, and will be held with police lecture sessions explaining the severity of the country’s laws and punishments for rape and other serious crimes, said Deputy Minister of Internal Security Noh Omar yesterday. The move was hoped to create awareness among the country’s youths and to check the rise of juvenile crimes, noh was quoted as saying by the official Bernama News Agency. He said emphasis would be on rape cases, as many teenagers were not aware that having sex with an underaged girl, even with her consent, was tantamount to rape, adding that more than 80 per cent of rapes of under-18 girls in 2001 and 2002 were committed by Juveniles. Last year, 988 of the 1,479 rapes or 66.8 per cent were under-18 girls, and for the first four months of this year, 70.7 per cent of victims, or 396 out of 560 cases, were underaged girls, he said. (DPA) Taiwan President to offer China overture-newspaper TAIPEI, May 20: Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian will pledge in his inauguration speech today to reform the constitution, instead of adopting a new one, to appease a belligerent Beijing and a worried Washington, a leading newspaper said. China warned Chen on Monday to pull back from a "dangerous lurch toward Independence" or be crushed "firmly and thoroughly at any cost." But Beijing offered Taipei economic, diplomatic and other benefits if chen agreed Taiwan and the mainland were part of "one China." "President Chen’s closely watched inauguration speech will extend goodwill and use ‘constitutional reform’ to replace... A ‘referendum on a new constitution’," Taiwan’s mass circulation China Times quoted unidentified sources as saying. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, is convinced a new Constitution would be tantamount to formally declaring the self-ruled democratic island Independent and has warned of war. Beijing and Taipei have been diplomatic and military rivals since their split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but trade, investment and tourism have blossomed since the late 1980s. His toned down rhetoric could disappoint pro-Independence die-hards, who have threatened to walk out if Chen repeated a pledge in his 2000 inauguration speech not to declare the island independent. Chen’s 5,000-word speech will not repeat a timetable to hold the referendum in 2006, the newspaper said. He is scheduled to take the oath of office at 0100 gmt and begin a second four-year term even though courts have yet to rule on an election recount demanded by the opposition which produced about 40,000 questionable ballots. (AGENCIES) Brazil senate approves 1,200 troops for Haiti BRASILIA, BRAZIL, May 20: Brazil’s senate has agreed to send 1,200 troops to Haiti to lead a UN peacekeeping mission as Brazil seeks to build a role as a regional crisis mediator. President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, who has championed the interests of the world’s poorest nations since taking office, late last night offered Brazil’s biggest ever UN peacekeeping force to head the mission. The senate vote was the last hurdle for deployment. It was approved with 38 votes for and 10 votes against. Lula, who objected to the US-led war on Iraq last year, conditioned Brazilian leadership of the mission on international support to build a democracy in Haiti after two US interventions within ten years. Leadership of the UN mission to Haiti would showcase Brazil’s push for regional stability as it seeks a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, diplomats said. The UN peacekeeping mission will take over from a US-led multinational force on June 1. President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned in February and fled Haiti under international pressure as an armed rebellion threatened the capital Port-au-Prince. The UN Security Council unanimously approved on April 30 the new mission of up to 5,700 UN troops and as many as 1,622 civilian police. Brazilian senators also voted to increase Brazil’s peacekeeping force in east Timor — a Portuguese-speaking country like Brazil —to 125 from 75. (AGENCIES) |
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