Month: October 2009

Washington, October 06: The Obama Administration and US lawmakers today condemned the suicide attack on the office of the World Food Programme in Islamabad that killed five aid workers.

“Senseless acts of violence against people who help feed the poor and hungry are an attack on civilisation itself.

Such cruel acts expose the true nature of the terrorist agenda,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

Taipie, October 06: Dozens of residents of south Taiwan who disobeyed government orders to evacuate as Typhoon Parma lingered in nearby seas could face fines of thousands of dollars, an official said Tuesday.

When authorities called on township dwellers in rural parts of Pingtung county over the weekend to leave their homes, several families refused, despite fears that they might be in the typhoon’s path, the official said.

Instead, they signed agreements vowing to take responsibility for their own safety, and stayed until the typhoon land warning was called off late Monday.

Washington, October 06: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Monday for patience and discretion as President Barack Obama decides how to conduct the war in Afghanistan, urging advisers to speak “candidly but privately” on strategy.

Gates did not single out anyone in his address at an Army convention in Washington, but his comments followed very public remarks by the top US commander in Afghanistan as well as Obama’s national security adviser.

Washington, October 06: The United States has said it is ready to engage North Korea bilaterally within the framework of the six-nation disarmament talks but stressed a complete denuclearisation by Pyongyang.

“The US remains willing to engage North Korea bilaterally within the framework of the six-party process to convince North Korea to take the path of complete denuclearisation,” the State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, said yesterday.

The six-party group includes US, China, Japan, the two Koreas and Russia.

Melbourne, October 06: Victorian premier John Brumby Tuesday said his recent India trip was fruitful and he “certainly got the message out that the state government was taking concrete action” to prevent any violence against the Indian community in Australia.

Brumby said he was able to assure Indian authorities that his government was doing all it could to curb attacks on young Indians.

Wellington, October 06: A former New Zealand government minister was jailed Tuesday for six years for bribery, corruption and perverting the course of justice.

Taito Phillip Field became the first Pacific Island-born legislator in New Zealand when he was elected in 1993 but in August he also became the first member of parliament found guilty of bribery and corruption.

Justice Rodney Hansen sentenced Field to four years jail on the bribery and corruption charges and another two years for perverting the course of justice.

Washington, October 06: The Obama administration has made it clear that there has been no change in US policy towards Tibet even as it decides to hold talks with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama after President Barack Obama’s visit to China scheduled in November.

This is for the first time since 1919 that the Dalai Lama would not be visiting the White House during his stay in Washington. The Dalai Lama arrived in Washington on Monday on a five-day visit, during which he would be meeting key Congressional leaders.

Toronto, October 06: Canada has been lauded as a role model for the rest of the world for accepting new immigrants.

A new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) praises Canada for its liberal and fair immigration policies.

Canada accepts more immigrants per capita than any other nation on earth in proportion to its population. With a population of about 34 million, Canada accepts more than 250,000 immigrants each year. They come from more than 150 countries, with India and China topping as the two main sources for immigration.

Washington, October 06: An Afghan immigrant accused of plotting a terrorist attack in New York after receiving training in Pakistan was in contact with a senior al-Qaida operative, intelligence officials familiar with the investigation have revealed, according to reports.

The CIA learned about Najibullah Zazi through one of its sources and alerted domestic agencies, including the FBI, intelligence officials said.

Seoul, October 06: North Korea said Tuesday it is willing to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations but only on condition it first holds talks with the United States to improve relations.

Leader Kim Jong-Il gave the commitment at a meeting late Monday in Pyongyang with visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the North’s official news agency reported.

Highlighting the need to restart negotiations, a South Korean source said the North appears to be in the final stages of restoring plutonium-producing plants which it had shut down before abandoning the six-party process.

North Korea, October 06: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told China’s premier the North was prepared to return to multinational disarmament talks but said that will depend on progress in its two-way negotiations with the U.S.

Kim’s comments, carried Tuesday by official North Korean and Chinese media, were the clearest sign yet that Pyongyang was readying to resume the six-nation talks it withdrew from after conducting a long-range rocket test in April and a second nuclear test in May.