Daily Excelsior... World

Political parties in
Nepal to defy Govt
ban on rallies

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Nepal's seven-party pro-democratic alliance today vowed to press ahead with their anti-King demonstration in the capital, a day ..... ....more

Zoo under fire for
snake handlers' advice

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17: A local zoo is facing heat after snake handlers there told visitors to hit stray snakes on the head and throw them on the road ............more

Public gathering banned
in Kathmandu, Latipur

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The Nepal Government has imposed a ban on public gatherings in the national Capital and Lalitpur district in a bid to foil the ..........more

Islamic volunteers to
patrol streets to prevent 'indecency'

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17: Islamic religious authorities have set up a squad of volunteers in Malaysia for patrolling the streets to prevent Muslims from conducting any "indecent act," including showing mutual affection in .............more

Time of essence in bird
flu fight, experts warn

BEIJING, Jan 17: Bird flu experts meeting in Beijing warned today that time was of the essence in battling a disease that has killed almost 80 people since 2003 and has now arrived at the . ........more

Nude squats should
not be allowed: Inquiry Commission

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 17 Terming the age old Malaysian custom of forcing detainees to do nude squats while holding their ears as a violation of human rights, an independant inquiry commision has . ........more

Four Chinese monks
to retrace Xuan Zang's
journey to India

BEIJING, Jan 17: Four Chinese Buddhists will retrace the trail of Tang dynasty monk Xuan Zang to India some 1,300 year ago and offer valuable ..........more

Indian woman acquitted
of selling baby

DUBAI, Jan 17: An Indian woman, who tried to sell her baby for Dh 6,000 (Rs 72,000) has been acquitted by a Dubai court of the charges of child-..............more

Political parties in Nepal to defy Govt ban on rallies

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: Nepal's seven-party pro-democratic alliance today vowed to press ahead with their anti-King demonstration in the capital, a day after the Royal Government banned rallies here apprehending that Maoists might infiltrate them.

In a separate development, the Government imposed night curfew in several other districts besides Kathmandu. The districts included are Siraha, Morang, Saptari, Tanahun, Kaski, Syangja, Chitawan, Gorkha, Bara, Makawanpur, Rupandehi, Taplejung and Baglung.

The Home Ministry yesterday asked political parties not to press ahead with their rally on January 20 in view of the possible Maoist infiltration and asked the alliance to come for a dialogue to resolve the problem.

However, enthused by the massive participation of people in a similar rally held in Janakpur last week, political parties are determined to hold their rally.

"We will defy the Government ban. The government is worried by our successful demonstration in Janakpur," Nepali Congress Spokesman Krishna Sitalia said.

"It is the height of autocracy," CPN-UML Spokesperson Pradip Nepal said reacting to the ban on public gatherings.

Nepal said the Government's attempt to link the democratic forces with violence is condemnable act. "Our understanding with the rebels is for peace, democracy and human rights."

Nepali Congress General Secretary Ramchandra Poudyal said the parties are determined to go ahead with their peaceful programme despite the government's warning.

The "unconstitutional and unrepresentative Government's ban was indicative of its frightened mentality, which is terrified by the parties show of strength. There is no question of holding talks with such a Government," NC (Democratic) General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi said.

The seven political parties also urged the Maoists to honour the 12 point understanding with them and prove their commitment to it by shunning violence.

"The Maoists should not attack any unarmed and innocent people in the pretext of war," they added.(PTI)

Zoo under fire for snake handlers' advice

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17: A local zoo is facing heat after snake handlers there told visitors to hit stray snakes on the head and throw them on the road to be run over by cars, a charge dismissed by zoo authorities as a "joke."

"They may have used those lines in the show in jest," the New Straits Times quoted Zoo Director Mohammad Ngah as saying. He said it was just a joke so that visitors would be wary of snakes.

However, he promised that the handlers would be instructed to drop such advice from their performance.

A visitor quoted by the paper said the zoo was sending out a wrong message through such advice.

The zoo has performances featuring pythons and cobras as a part of its multi-animal shows held on weekends. (PTI)

Public gathering banned in Kathmandu, Latipur

KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The Nepal Government has imposed a ban on public gatherings in the national Capital and Lalitpur district in a bid to foil the planned January 20 demostrations by political parties against ''autocratic rule'' in the State, media reports said.

The local administration of Kathmandu and Lalitpur in separate statements issued yesterday said ''political demonstrations have been banned in Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts.''

The Home Ministry has also called on the public not to participate in any demonstration and stay away from such protests in the days to come as ''they could turn violent''.

''In view of the possibility of the terrorists (referring to Maoists) infiltrating the protest demonstration said to be organised by the seven political parties in Kathmandu on January 20 and creating anarchy, His Majesty's Government requests the seven political parties to immediately call off the (protest) programme and help resolve the problem on the basis of dialogue and understanding,'' local media quoted the Ministry statement.

The seven parties struggling to establish multi-party democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom have said they will defy the ban and the demonstration be held.

The leaders also said that they would not hold any dialogue with the ''unconstitutional and undemocratic'' Government. (AGENCIES)

Islamic volunteers to patrol streets to prevent 'indecency'

"The team's role is to prevent indecent behaviour," Che Mat Che Ali, director of the Federal Territory Islamic Department was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.

The 75 people who signed up for the Volunteer Squad will be on the special lookout for indecent acts, the paper said adding that these included showing affection in public and holding hands.

Che said that the team, which could not be authorised to make arrests, would approach people and advise them against "creating social problems and committing sins like that," the paper said.

Volunteers will wear blue vests and white baseball caps as their uniforms.

More than half of Malaysia's 26 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims. There are also ethnic Indians and Chinese who practice religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity freely. (PTI)

Time of essence in bird flu fight, experts warn

The World Bank hopes the meeting will raise 1.2 billion dollars to help improve health and veterinary services in developing countries grappling with outbreaks, and to strengthen surveillance in areas not yet affected by the H5N1 flu virus.

''H5N1 is primarily an animal disease. However, given its expanding geographical scope and that H5N1 is endemic in some countries, our assessment is that the risk of pandemic is great,'' Margaret Chan, the World Health Organisation's top pandemic expert, said.

''Timing is unpredictable and the severity is uncertain,'' she told the conference.

The virus has already killed at least 79 people since 2003, according to the WHO, and scientists fear it is only a matter of time before the H5N1 strain mutates into a pandemic form that passes easily between people.

Human victims had been confined to East Asia until recently, when three children from the same family died in eastern Turkey, bringing the virus to the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Turkish officials said a fourth victim, a 13-year-old girl, died on Sunday.

''The situation is very serious, very worrying,'' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech told Reuters.

''You see it is going more and more towards the western part of the world... If the mobilisation of the funds is not coming immediately, in a couple of months we'll need more money.''

While difficult for people to catch, nearly 150 people are known to have been infected by H5N1 in six countries, killing more than half its victims and underscoring fears about the havoc the virus could wreak if it does mutate into a pandemic form.

The World Bank estimates that between 1.2 billion dollars and 1.4 billion dollars will be needed to prepare for and respond to outbreaks, although that could rise with larger culling programmes.

The amount also does not include human vaccines, which World Bank Vice President Jim Adams said the WHO deals with separately.

The Bank itself approved a 500 million dollars line of credit last week towards the 1.2 billion dollars target, and the European Union has pledged 100 million dollars in aid.

PLUGGING HOLES

But the senior UN coordinator for avian and human influenza, David Nabarro, told Reuters yesterday he wanted 1.5 billion dollars in addition to money UN agencies and country donors have already spent fighting the virus in Asia.

Australia's Health Department, for example, says the government has already committed 106 million dollars to help countries in Asia prepare for an avian influenza pandemic or other infectious diseases. It was not clear if Canberra would be offering any more cash at the Beijing meeting.

Representatives from 89 countries -- aid donors and recipients -- are attending the conference, along with delegates from more than 20 international organisations, including the WHO and FAO.

The WHO's top China representative said last week that bird flu was testing the local health and surveillance systems of poor countries, and he hoped the money raised in Beijing could help plug those holes.

China, the host country that last year reported more than 30 flu outbreaks in poultry, said funds were urgently needed.

''There is a significant shortfall of funds in many affected countries ... Which will seriously hamper their prevention and control efforts,'' Qiao Zonghuai, Chinese vice foreign minister, told the conference.

''We have a saying in China: 'When the nest is overturned, no egg stays unbroken','' Qiao added. ''In the fight against avian influenza, no country can stay safe by looking the other way.''

Now was the time to fight bird flu, Nabarro added.

''We're being put to the test like never before,'' he said. ''We can stamp out avian influenza, particularly new outbreaks. Working together, we can reduce death rates and the economic impact both of avian flu and a future pandemic.'' (AGENCIES)

Nude squats should not be allowed: Inquiry Commission

In a detailed report submitted to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the commission has recommended everything regarding body searches, including classification of types of searches and the corresponding processes and procedures, commission chairman Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah told the New Straits Times.

"We have prepared a very detailed recommendation," Dzaiddin said. "What you are supposed to do when you arrest a person, when you do the search, who must be present there. And when it comes down to strip searches... Pat-down searches, how you go about it," Dzaiddin said.

He said unlike countries with common law such as the UK and Singapore, Malaysia did not have a manual for body search. "Here, our standard operating procedures (SOP) are only guidelines. We should include our SOPs into law," he said.

Cautioning that unless the practices were codified their abuse was likely, he said:"You can allow such a search, but it must follow proper procedure. Otherwise, it will be abused."

The five-member commission was appointed in November last to look into an incident of forced nude squats in detention, which was recorded and distributed via multimedia messaging service, the Times said. The commission has also recommended the setting up of an independent complaints and misconduct commission to look into complaints against police. (PTI)

Four Chinese monks to retrace Xuan Zang's journey to India

BEIJING, Jan 17: Four Chinese Buddhists will retrace the trail of Tang dynasty monk Xuan Zang to India some 1,300 year ago and offer valuable gifts to Nalanda Buddhist temple as part of efforts to increase mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.

Four Buddhists will be selected from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. They will traverse through west China, Pakistan and Nepal, and eventually arrive in Nalanda, where Xuan Zang of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) once lived and studied, vice-chairman of the Buddhism Association of China, Shi Xuecheng said here.

The four Buddhist monks are scheduled to set out this May from the ancient city of Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

"Buddhism originated in India and was highlighted in China," Shi said.

Monk Xuan Zang went to India some 1,300 years ago and now, in return, the Chinese will present India with Chinese Buddhism thinking. The move is of great significance in cultural and religious communication between China and India, he said.

But unlike Xuan Zang, his successors are not looking for Sanskrit texts. Instead, they are hoping for better communication and cultural exchange between the two countries, he said.

He described the trip as "very significant," as this year marks the 'Year of China-India Friendship'. The journey will also give the public a better understanding of Buddhism, which entered China from India, he was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Xuan Zang devoted his entire life to learning Indian approaches to Buddhism and spreading Chinese culture, Shi said.

"To follow his trail is to explore the cultural heritage of both China and India, and the great thoughts of our ancestors who cherished peace and love," he said.

He said four candidates have already been chosen, who will walk part of Xuan Zang's path. "We don't have enough time to walk the whole way," he said. "It would take at least two years if we were to do so."

The group will carry valuable gifts for Nalanda, including a Liuzu Altar Sutra embroidered on silk, a Sakyamuni Statue and a copy of an ancient Chinese book, "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" by Xuanzang's disciple Bian Ji.

"The embroidered Liuzu Altar Sutra is the most valuable gift as it is the only Sutra originated in China," said Shi Zhongyao, secretary-general of the trip organizing committee. "Others were all translated from Sanskrit," he added.

In the late autumn of 628, Monk Xuan Zang started his journey to South Asia. He walked 25,000 kms and spent 19 years of his life learning Indian Buddhism. He is seen as a front-rank scholar by Indian Buddhists and his story is even written into Indian primary school textbooks, Shi said.

Other activities to celebrate the Year of China-India Friendship include two ancient Indian music concerts at the Jiayu Pass, the western end of the Great Wall in Northwest China's Gansu Province and Kuche in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 'China Daily' reported.

Photo and painting exhibitions will also be held in Beijing and New Delhi after the journey's completion. (PTI)