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Pak must end
support to terrorism, says Blair Pakistan launches
home-made submarine An eye for eye, rules Pakistan court 19 killed in Ivory Coast shootout
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From ashes of WTC rises a
new tower Khatami’s assurance
to Shirin Ebadi Berlin Wall stretch sold for 1.7 lakh euros Whitney alleges beating by husband
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Pak
must end support to terrorism, says Blair London, December 12 “The key is for Pakistan to end all support 10 terrorism in any form and, if that proves to be the case, for India to be willing to enter into a sensible dialogue about Kashmir,” British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said in the House of Commons. Replying to a point raised by Gerald Kaufman (Labour), Blair recalled his bilateral meeting recently with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, and said “I believe that there is a strong desire on all sides to make progress (on Kashmir issue). The omens were better than they have been, Blair said, adding “over the last 18 months there has been some progress, but still further progress is required. I remain sure that both governments are committed to making that progress.” To a point made by Kaufman that during his recent visit to Islamabad, President Pervez Musharraf had assured him of his determination to progress towards full democracy in Pakistan, the Prime Minister said: “My friend is quite right about the movement towards democracy within Pakistan, which is extremely important. The signs are basically positive there.” Blair said the Heads of Government welcomed the progress made towards democratic governance in Pakistan. “They expressed the hope that Pakistan Parliament would soon pass the necessary measures to allow the lifting of Pakistan’s suspension.” Summing up the outcome of the CHOGM meeting at Abuja, Blair said “We agreed on the urgent need to re-launch the world trade talks, which stalled at Cancun in September, and underlined our collective commitment to a successful Doha development round. That commitment is significant. “The fact that all of us agreed on the need to re-launch the Doha development round and on the need for all parties to show flexibility in the search for agreement shows that a global deal is indeed possible. Everyone will gain if the talks succeed, but the biggest winners will be the world’s poor, and if the talks fail, the world’s poor will be the biggest losers too.” Blair noted that where Pakistan has moved forward since Commonwealth leaders last met, Zimbabwe has gone backwards. “The country was suspended from the Commonwealth in March 2002, shortly after elections that the Commonwealth’s own observers concluded were neither free nor fair,” he said. “Since then, there has been yet more violence and intimidation against the opposition MDC party — the Movement for Democratic Change — against lawyers and human rights activists, and indeed, against anyone speaking up against President Robert Mugabe’s oppressive policies”, Blair said. “Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper, The Daily News, has been closed down despite court orders in its favour,” he said. Blair said the outcome in Abuja was hard-fought, but in the end it was a victory for Commonwealth values.
— PTI |
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Pakistan launches home-made submarine
Karachi, December 12 At a ceremony at Karachi’s naval dockyard, President Pervez Musharraf inaugurated the Agosta 90B submarine five years after construction began with the help of French state-controlled naval shipbuilder Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN). “It has given a considerable boost to our defence capabilities,” the military leader said. “Pakistan has joined the elite group of countries, which can construct, submarines. It is a step toward self-reliance.” The launch of the vessel was delayed by the US-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan and the killing in May 2002 of 11 French naval technicians working on the project by a suicide bomber. The attack has been linked to Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. “I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of the French engineers, who lost their lives in this gruesome attack,” President Musharraf said. The diesel-electric submarine is the second of three to be constructed under a deal with France, and the navy said in a statement it would go on building conventional submarines once they were finished. The first of the three was built in France and had been in service with the Pakistan navy since 1999. The Agostas have been fitted with modern command and control systems and are capable of launching anti-ship missiles and torpedoes. It is designed as an anti-submarine, anti-surface and intelligence gathering resource. President Musharraf said the main threat to Pakistan was not “external”, but came from religious extremism and sectarianism. “This menace of extremism is eating us like termites. All Muslims are facing a threat because of it,” he said. — Reuters
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An eye for eye, rules Pakistan court Multan, December 12 Mohammad Sajid carried out an acid attack on Rabia Bibi in June after her parents broke off their engagement and gave her hand to someone else. The judge in the anti-terrorism court in Bahawalpur, in central Punjab, ruled that the convict be given a matching punishment under the Islamic law of Qisas. The law, enforced in Pakistan during the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq in 1979, says a culprit should be handed a similar punishment to the crime committed unless pardoned by the victim or the victim’s family. Observers said the sentence was unlikely to be carried out because of public outcry and as President Pervez Musharraf was determined to modernise the country. “Acid drops will be thrown into his eyes in line with the Islamic laws,” said Mr Mohammad Shahid, a court official. Sajid confessed in court that he had thrown acid in the face of Bibi in revenge for her family not keeping its promise, the court official said. The attack blinded and badly mutilated the girl, he added. Human rights activists criticised the ruling, which could be appealed against. “It is a ruling, but not justice. It is not a punishment, but revenge,” said Mr Rashid Rehman of the private Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Acid attacks on women are relatively common in rural Pakistan, where harsh feudal and tribal laws are enforced. Women have been victims of such attacks merely for failing to bear a son or for cooking badly. Human rights activists say more than 70 incidents of acid attacks have been reported in Punjab since January. Strict rulings based on Islamic justice handed out by lower courts in Pakistan are often overturned by higher courts. — Reuters
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19 killed in Ivory Coast shootout
Abidjan, December 12 “They tried to attack the (state television). Our riposte left more than 19 dead. Since then we have been patrolling to put an end to this attack,” said Ahosse
Amie, a sergeant in the paramilitary police. “One of us was injured in the shooting.” A senior army officer in the West African nation said 12 attackers had been killed and one member of the Ivorian security forces died in three separate clashes overnight in Cocody and another suburb called Abobo. Tensions are running high in the world’s top cocoa grower, which remains divided between a government-controlled south and rebel-held north despite a formal end to the civil war. A peace process to end the conflict has become mired in a standoff over rebel political demands and a call by President Laurent Gbagbo for them to lay down their guns. The Ivorian army and rebel officers have agreed to start withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline dividing the country from Saturday but there is no agreed date for full-scale disarmament as yet. Some
pro-Gbagbo loyalists have pledged to attack rebel positions if they don’t disarm next week although the ceasefire line and a no-weapons buffer zone is policed by some 4,000 French soldiers and 1,300 West African
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London, December 12 Mick’s accolade for services to music was announced almost 18 months ago, but was delayed due to Jagger’s touring commitments. He will be known as Sir Mick. Queen Elizabeth awards such titles twice a year on the recommendation of Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to citizens in recognition of exceptional achievements or services to Britain. But on Friday the Queen was to undergo a minor knee operation and the heir to the throne was doing the honours. Jagger (60) said he would be accompanied to the palace by his 90-year-old father Joe. The idea of a titled tearaway Jagger caused some wry comments. “Sir Jumping Jack Flash rejoins the establishment,” remarked the newspaper The Daily Telegraph, while the Guardian noted that in his time Jagger had represented the very antithesis of Britain’s establishment. Michael Philip Jagger set up the Rolling Stones with Richards while still a student. In 1962, Jagger and Richards hooked up with another guitarist, the late Brian Jones, and the three began playing gigs around London, releasing their first album, “The Rolling Stones”, the following year. — AFP
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From ashes of WTC rises a new tower
New York, December 12 New York state Governor George Pataki and developer Larry Silverstein signed the steel beam before it was raised to support the tenant floors of the building. The first 10 floors would house an electrical substation to power Lower Manhattan. The beam was draped with an American flag, donated by a US reserve soldier who helped in the rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks. The flag would be permanently installed in the building once the steel work was finished. The original WTC, an auxiliary building which housed offices, an electrical substation and the city’s emergency command centre, withstood the initial impact of the collapsing twin towers, but toppled later in the day after fires, fed by fuel tanks for backup generators, raged out of control. The new slim, 52-storey tower with a glass facade would be taller than the one destroyed in the terror attacks, but its 1.6 million square feet would actually be less than the original. “Not only is it a brand new design, but it will also incorporate safety standards and be one of the safest high-rise buildings constructed anywhere in the world, going beyond what New York city codes require. It will be a green building. It is designed in such a way as to be environmentally sustainable,” Governor Pataki said. — IANS
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Khatami’s assurance
to Shirin Ebadi Paris, December 12 Mr Khatami told French newspaper Le Monde that Ms
Ebadi, the first Muslim woman to win the prize, had in the past encountered a few problems. Despite her status as a hate-figure among Iran’s religious hardliners — she had received death threats and had been assigned a bodyguard by the government — Ms Ebadi argued passionately that Islam was not incompatible with human rights.
— Reuters |
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Berlin Wall stretch sold for 1.7 lakh euros Berlin, December 12 He beat his two main rivals, one bidding by telephone, by offering 1,74,000 euros. Then he left quickly through a side door. The 29-metre stretch of concrete wall, three metres high, stands in central Berlin as a reminder of the Cold War years, when the city was divided between communist east and capitalist west. “It is a piece of German history,” intoned auctioneer Hans-Peter Plettner, opening bidding late on Thursday . The wall fell in 1989 on the back of a growing pro-democracy movement to signal the effective end of the Cold War. The stretch of wall sold at the auction stands on a vacant plot of 650 square metres. The plot came with building permission, but the sale was on the condition that the wall itself could not be moved or broken.
— AFP |
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Whitney alleges beating by husband Washington, December 12 A portion of the police report obtained by AFP said Houston had returned home at approximately 8.20 pm on Sunday and was confronted by Brown. “She further advised that Mr. Brown stated he was going to ‘beat her a..’ and then struck the left side of her face with an open right hand,” the document said. Houston told the police that Brown left home five minutes later and headed for the airport to catch a flight to Los Angeles. Brown (34) was persuaded to turn himself in and appeared in the Fulton County Magistrate court yesterday to face domestic violence charges, police officials said.
— AFP |
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Seven Israelis shot at 3 explosions rock Baghdad Project to save Buddha statues Israeli President’s China visit Jackson innocent: parents |
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London, December 12
Abidjan, December 12
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