shameen

Scottish leader defends Lockerbie bomber release

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London, August 24: Scotland’s government defended itself Sunday against unrelenting criticism from the U.S. over the decision to free the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber on compassionate grounds.

Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a Libyan convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 airline bombing, was released Thursday because he is terminally ill with prostate cancer. He has returned to his native Libya to die.

His release was met with outrage by families of the U.S. victims of the bombing and criticized by President Barack Obama as “highly objectionable.”

US sanctions point man in Seoul to press NKorea

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Seoul, August 24: A U.S. official charged with enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea will seek South Korea’s support during talks in Seoul on Monday even as Pyongyang makes conciliatory moves after months of military grandstanding.

A high-ranking North Korean delegation led by close aides of leader Kim Jong-il sent to mourn a former South Korean leader met President Lee Myung-bak on Sunday and delivered a message from the North’s leader in their first formal communication since Lee took office about 18 months ago.

Obama facing hard choices on Afghanistan war plans

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Washington, August 24: As public support for the war in Afghanistan erodes, President Barack Obama soon may face two equally unattractive choices: increase U.S. troops levels to beat back a resilient enemy, or stick with the 68,000 already committed and risk the political fallout if that’s not enough.

Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is completing an assessment of what he needs to win the fight there. That review, however, won’t specifically address force levels, according to Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Australia sprays oil slick amid wildlife fears

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Sydney, August 23: Aircraft sprayed chemicals to break up a large oil slick off Australia’s northwestern coast on Sunday as environmentalists expressed fears for rare wildlife from oil gushing into the sea from an uncapped well.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the slick from the West Atlas offshore drilling rig had lengthened overnight from an estimated 8 nautical miles on Saturday.

Burnt remains of all Taiwan tanker crew found: Malaysian police

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Kuala Lumpur, August 23: Malaysian police on Sunday ended search and rescue efforts on a stricken Taiwanese oil tanker involved in a collision in the Malacca Strait after the burnt remains of all its missing crew were found.

The MT Formosa Product Brick tanker caught fire and was seriously damaged on Tuesday after a collision with a Greek-managed bulk carrier in the narrow shipping lane, with burnt bone fragments of two of the nine missing Chinese sailors found on Saturday.

Italian, French aircraft to join Greek fire effort

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Athens, August 23: Greece has requested assistance from Italy and France to combat a forest wildfire raging out of control on the outskirts of Athens for a second straight day, the fire department said on Sunday.

“Two fire-fighting aircraft from Italy and one from France will be coming today,” a fire department spokeswoman said.

Typhoon Morakot claimed 650 lives: Taiwan

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Taipei, August 23: The death toll from Typhoon Morakot was raised to at least 650 on Sunday after the worst weather disaster to hit Taiwan in half a century.

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said 160 were confirmed killed, with another 490 listed as missing and presumed dead. DNA tests will be conducted on battered bodies that authorities have not yet been able to identify, Liu said.

The storm that hit two weeks ago triggered landslides and widespread flooding that trapped thousands of people in remote southern villages for days.

Ten US banks bite the dust every month; 81 failures in ’09

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New York, August 23: Four more American banks went belly up last week, pushing the total failures to a staggering 81 entities so far this year, even as the country’s economy is showing early signs of recovery.

In one of the biggest collapses this year, Guaranty Bank, which had assets worth USD 13 billion, was shut down by the regulators on August 21.

Reflecting the continuing financial turmoil, the count of failures so far in 2009 is more than three times that of just 25 bank collapses in 2008.

Kochhar named among four ‘women to watch’ globally

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New York, August 23: Having found her to be the most powerful women in India after the country’s ruling alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, business magazine Forbes has also named ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar among four women from across the world to watch out for in the next 12 months.

In the latest edition of its ‘world’s 100 most powerful women’ annual ranking, Forbes has named Kochhar, CEO and MD of the country’s top private sector bank, at the 20th position.

GM to focus on used-car biz; plans to expand retail network

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New Delhi, August 23: General Motors India is working on increasing its used-car business 15-fold and will push its second-hand cars through existing as well as new dealerships across the country.

The company has 17 outlets of pre-owned cars — Chevrolet-OK — and plans to increase that to 50 by the end of this year.

Now, the company is working on extending the business to all its existing dealerships that have been dealing only with new vehicles so far.

Asia’s new middle class driving consumption

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New Delhi, August 23: The emerging Asian middle class is presenting an attractive market destination for products ranging from consumer goods to financial services, even though it still has a long way to go to matching up with the US consumption prowess, according to a report.

“In comparison to lower-income households, the middle class has a greater amount of discretionary income (income available after taxes and essentials such as food and shelter are taken care of) to use and it will be more diversified in its consumption choices,” according to a Deutsche Bank Research report.

Don’t come fishing for account details: Swiss banks to India

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New Delhi, August 23: Swiss banks may have turned over client details to the US, but they have said India is not welcome there on a name-fishing expedition.

“Swiss law and even OECD’s Model Tax Convention do not permit fishing expeditions, in other words, the indiscriminate trawling through bank accounts in the hope of finding something interesting.

“This means that India cannot simply throw its telephone book at Switzerland and ask if any of these people have a bank account here,” a top official at Swiss Bankers Association told a news agency from.

Inflationary pressure build up on deficient monsoon: IEG

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New Delhi, August 23: Inflationary pressure has started building up on the Indian economy on a deficient monsoon, expansionary stance of the central bank and the rise in oil prices, says the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG).

And food prices are going to rise further.

“The grim monsoon situation and the expansionary fiscal policy have already led to a rise in inflationary expectations for the coming months. Besides, a further rise in the world oil prices would also be pushing prices up,” says the research organisation in a report.

GDP likely to grow by 7% in 2009-10: CII-Ascon survey

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New Delhi, August 23: With various segments of the industry showing signs of recovery, a CII-Ascon survey on Sunday said the county’s economic growth could go up to 7 percent during 2009-10 against 6.7 percent in the previous fiscal.

Projecting a 6.5-7 percent growth rate for the current fiscal, the survey said, “the corporate results for the first quarter of 2009-10 showed some incipient signs of stablisation.”

Sri Lanka to train Pak Army in tackling insurgency

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London, August 23: After its success in defeating the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan Army has agreed to train Pakistani military in tackling insurgency and offered the same to India.

The Sri Lankan Army’s new commander, Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya told the BBC that Pakistan had already asked if it could send its military cadets to train in counter-insurgency operations.

“We’ll give a favourable response,” Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya said of the request.

Women voter turnout sinks in Afghanistan

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Kandahar, August 23: Threatened with death, restricted by relatives or alienated by politics, turnout among women voters in Afghanistan was poor generally and close to zero in some parts of the south.

“We were very willing to vote but then Taliban provocation started. We heard that they would kill people, cut off people’s fingers and cut off their heads,” said Naseema Naseri, who works for an aid group in the southern city of Kandahar.

“The Taliban stuck up (fliers) making these threats. We were too scared to come out of our houses to vote,” she said.

Zardari urges Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Pak

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Hangzhou, August 23: Visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has urged Chinese entrepreneurs to set up business ventures in that country in a bid to boost foreign investment.

Zardari made the call during his visit to Hangzhou, capital of China’s Zhejiang Province, on Saturday.

With the gradual recovery of its economy, Pakistan is making efforts to explore new international markets and remove barriers for investment and trade so as to attract more foreign investment, Zardari told reporters in Hangzhou.

Bangladesh not to recognise Kosovo: Official

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Dhaka, August 23: Bangladesh has decided not to recognise Kosovo as an independent Balkan state, rejecting a request from the US.

Dhaka has made it clear that it would like to keep away (from the Kosovo issue), New Age newspaper said Sunday quoting Foreign Secretary Mirajul Quayes.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty had requested that Dhaka take the initiative while meeting Foreign Minister Dipu Moni recently.

Quayes said Bangladesh wants to maintain good relations with both the US and Russia and does not want to see one play against another.

–IANS

B’desh wants more info from India on Tipaimukh dam

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Dhaka, August 23: Ahead of Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni’s visit to India on September 7, Dhaka wants more information on Delhi’s plan to build Tipaimukh dam in Manipur state, a senior official has said.

Foreign Secretary Mirajul Quayes described last month’s visit to India by a parliamentary team as “useful” and said the data supplied by India was being examined by a committee of experts, New Age newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Foreign Secretary said Moni’s meeting with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna and other Indian leaders would be “watershed”.

Pak arrests 14 terror suspects, seizes explosives

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Lahore, August 23: Fourteen terror suspects, believed to be members of banned militant groups planning to carry out attacks in the eastern Punjab province, were arrested by Pakistani authorities and explosives and ‘jehadi’ literature seized from them.

The suspects, including two Afghan nationals, were taken into custody by law enforcement agencies from Jhang, Layyah, Chichawatni and Bhakkar areas, sources said last night.

Wildfires approach Athens, hospitals evacuated

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Athens, August 23: Dozens of wildfires broke out across Greece, torching olive groves, cutting off villages and sending residents fleeing on Saturday as one of the largest blazes swept perilously close to the capital’s northern suburbs.

The fires north of Athens were reported in an area more than 25 miles (40 kilometres) wide, and forced authorities to evacuate two large children’s hospitals, camp sites, villages and outlying suburban areas threatened by blazes that sent huge clouds of smoke over the capital and scattered ash on city streets.

South Korean Prez meets Pyongyang delegation

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Seoul, August 23: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with a visiting North Korean delegation on Sunday amid Pyongyang’s latest conciliatory moves that show signs of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, media reports said.

A high-level North Korean delegation arrived here on Friday to pay their last respect to late former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung who died recently.

Russia dam disaster death toll up to 69: Rescuers

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Moscow, August 23: The confirmed death toll from the disaster at Russia’s largest hydroelectric plant rose to 69 on Sunday, with six people still listed as missing, a spokesman for the search and rescue team said.

“The toll from the accident has risen to 69,” said a spokesman for the rescue operation at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant in Siberia, according to Russian news agencies.

The catastrophe is believed to have been triggered on Monday when a technical problem caused a massive surge of water in the turbine hall, engulfing around 100 workers.

US to reveal names of secret camp detainees to Red Cross

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Washington, August 23: The Pentagon has decided to share the identities of militants and terrorist suspects held in secret US military camps in Iraq and Afghanistan with the International Committee of the Red Cross, The New York Times reported.

Citing unnamed sources, the Times late Saturday said the change was signalled with no fanfare. The Red Cross, which has pushed for the change in policy, refused to comment to the Times.

British military procurement flawed: Report

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London, August 23: A report for Britain’s Ministry of Defence leaked on Sunday said the MoD’s procurement programme was hugely inefficient and harming Britain’s ability to fight enemies like the Taliban.

The report emerged as a former army commander warned that a lack of political will in London to provide more troops and equipment for Afghanistan risked seeing British troops lose the fight there.