Month: April 2010

NPT regime under stress and fraying at seams: US

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Washington, April 30: Ahead of the crucial nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference, the Obama administration has said that NPT regime is under great stress and the US will work to prevent countries from cynically violating the nuclear treaty and then exercising their withdrawal rights to evade accountability.

Ellen Tauscher, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security in her remarks at the Centre for American Progress, charged countries like North Korea and Iran from violating its international responsibilities.

China lifts ban on entry of HIV individuals; US welcomes

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Washington, April 30: The US has welcomed China’s decision to lift a ban on the entry of HIV positive patients into the country.

“I commend China’s decision to lift its ban on HIV-positive individuals entering the country. The Obama administration has taken similar action here at home, repealing the long-standing policy that prevented people living with HIV from entering the United States,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement on Thursday.

Ahmadinejad’s visa application still being processed: US

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Washington, April 30: The visa application for the Iranian delegation including its president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the NPT Review Conference in New York is still being processed, the Obama administration has said.

There is also no plan for any meeting between the American and Iranian delegation on the sidelines of the NPT Review Conference, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley told reporters.

“The visas for the Iranian delegation for the NPT conference are still being processed,” Crowley said in response to a question.

Over half of world’s chemical weapons destroyed: UN

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New York, April 30: More than half of the world’s chemical weapons stockpiles have been destroyed in the 13 years since the UN Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Thursday.

Ban said the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which was set up to monitor the convention, has certified the destruction of 58 percent of the weapons as of the end of March.

It has also verified that 89 percent of chemical weapons production facilities have been destroyed and converted to peaceful uses.

Pakistan closer to a nation under siege: US

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Washington, April 30: Having pumped billions of dollars in military assistance and rushing guerrilla warfare experts to train soldiers to shore up Pakistan’s capabilities to tackle militancy, influential US Congressmen and Pentagon officials feel that the nation is still closer to siege

“I don’t think the dynamic is as distinct as a nation at war or a nation at peace. It’s probably closer to a nation under threat or a nation under siege,” Lt Gen John Paxton, Director for Operations, Joint Chief of Staff, told the US Congress.

Italian gas company in Iran threatened with US sanctions

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Rome, April 30: Italy’s largest energy company has said it will end its role as lead developer of a natural gas field in Iran after the US threatened to impose sanctions on it.

Eni will transfer the Darkhovin gas field to local partners after the US threatened to place sanctions on companies doing business with energy-rich Iran which Washington and its allies say is developing nuclear weapons.

“We will hand over the field within the next few weeks,” Paolo Scaroni, Eni chief executive, said here on Thursday.

Five children hurt in new attack in China: Report

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Beijing, April 30: A farmer attacked and injured five kindergarten students with a hammer in eastern China before burning himself to death on Friday in the latest in a string of horrific assaults on children at Chinese schools, state media reported.

The attacker used a motorcycle to break down a gate of the school in Shandong province’s Weifang city, struck a teacher who tried to block him and then used the hammer to attack the children, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

India charged with molesting 20-yr-old family friend in US

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Chicago, April 30: A 57-year-old Indian man has been charged with sexually abusing a young woman, who was friends with one of his children and considered him “a father figure”.

Rajender Kumar Patel of Melrose Park near here has been arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual abuse for molesting the 20-year-old woman, also an Indian, on Valentine’s day this year.

Patel has admitted to the molestation and provided a six-page detailed account of what he did to the victim. His bond was set at USD 25,000 today.

PM wraps up three-day Bhutan visit

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Thimphu, April 30: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday wrapped up his three-day visit to Bhutan which saw India and Pakistan agreeing to move ahead with the stalled peace talks.

Prime Minister Singh left this morning for New Delhi from Paro International airport, about 60 km from Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital.

Singh was here to participate in the 16th SAARC Summit where leaders vowed to root out terrorism and signed a trade agreement aimed at opening new vistas in economic integration.

Three sworn-in as judges of Supreme Court

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New Delhi, April 30: Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra, Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, was Friday sworn-in as a judge of the Supreme Court alongwith two others, taking the total strength of the apex court to 30.

The other two judges who were sworn-in alongwith Justice Sudha are Justice H L Gokhale, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court and Justice Anil R Dave of the Bombay High Court.

Justice Sudha is the sole woman judge in the present lot.

AMU restores Hyderabad as centre for MBBS exam

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Lucknow, April 30: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has decided to restore Hyderabad as one of its test centres for conducting the 2010-11 MBBS entrance examination to be held May 8, officials said.

The varsity had earlier cancelled Hyderabad as a test centre following unrest and disturbances there over the Telangana issue.

“After reviewing the present scenario in Hyderabad, the varsity has decided to revive the test centre there,” AMU official spokesperson Rahat Abrar said Friday in Aligarh, some 300 km from Lucknow.

–IANS

Sugar prices, withdrawal of MPs quota spark anger in Rajya Sabha

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New Delhi, April 30: The high prices of sugar and the withdrawal of a quota for MPs in central schools sparked anger among opposition members in the Rajya Sabha Friday but failed to move the government.

“Sir, the minister says sugar prices have come down but it still costs Rs 35 a kg in the market,” Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) complained during question hour. She spoke after Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar detailed a series of measures that he said had been taken to control sugar prices.

Burqa set to be banned in Belgium

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London, April 30: Belgium is all set to become the first European country to ban the burqa in public after the country’s lower chamber of parliament approved a bill.

A total of 134 lawmakers voted Thursday in favour of the ban. Two members abstained but no one voted against.

Under the new law, women are prohibited from wearing full-face Islamic garments, such as ‘burqa’ or ‘niqab’ on streets, parks, sports grounds and buildings “meant for public use or to provide services”.

The offender will face a fine of 15-25 euro ($28-$47) and a prison term of up to seven days.

US must reassure Pakistan about India, says US official

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Washington, April 30: With Pakistan’s traditional defence posture still geared to conventional military conflict with India and not counterinsurgency, a top Pentagon official says the US needs to reassure an Islamabad wary about growing India-US relations.

“Although extremist attacks have led to the repositioning of substantial Pakistani forces, Pakistan’s strategic concerns about India remain pre-eminent,” Michele Flournoy, Under Secretary for Policy in the Department of Defence, told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Govt apprises MPs from Naxal areas on dev schemes

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New Delhi, April 30: Government on Friday apprised MPs belonging to 33 worst Naxal-affected districts about its strategy, especially development schemes, and sought their cooperation in the task to deal with the Maoists.

Home Minister P Chidambaram and other top officials briefed the MPs about the gravity of the Maoist problem and steps being taken by government to deal with the menace.

FCI godown not used for stocking liquor: Govt

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New Delhi, April 30: Government Friday said no godown of Food Corporation of India (FCI) was leased out for stocking liquor and the nation’s grain buyer had enough storages to stock the commodity.

“I have seen the reports in one of the newspapers about one of the godowns being used for storage of liquor. I have gone into it in great detail. That godown is not controlled by FCI,” Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

BJP puts withdrawal of support to Soren govt ‘on hold’

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New Delhi, April 30: Looking to buy time, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday put on hold its decision to withdraw support to the Shibu Soren-led government in Jharkhand.

The decision in this regard was taken in a meeting of party’s parliamentary board in the national capital.

Briefing the media after the meeting, party general secretary Ananth Kumar said, “The parliamentary board has decided to discuss the issue with our alliance partners in Jharkhand and our state leadership, till then our decision of April 28 (to withdraw support) has been put on hold.”

Bahrain asks expat workers to cooperate in census work

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Manama, April 30: Runaway migrant workers might be a challenge in the census 2010 which was launched in Bahrain on Wednesday. The government will tackle such problems by checking the records of people who entered Bahrain in the last 10 years but never left the country.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, a government official also called upon foreign workers to cooperate with census representatives as they are interested in collecting information only to complete their database.

Iran, Egypt ready for battle at nuclear meet

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United Nations, April 30: Iran and Egypt are gearing up for battle against the United States and its allies over Israel and developing countries’ rights to atomic technology at a major meeting on the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to attend the conference, which opens on Monday and runs until May 28. He will be facing off with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who heads the U.S. delegation at the meeting at U.N. headquarters.

Iraq vote recount to start Monday; may take 3 weeks

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Baghdad, April 30: An election recount in Baghdad will start on Monday and may take three weeks, Iraqi officials said on Thursday, further delaying the formation of a new government as U.S. troops prepare to leave.

Sectarian tensions are rising almost two months after the March 7 vote as Shi’ite-led factions including the incumbent prime minister’s bloc seek to overturn the slim, two-seat lead of a cross-sectarian alliance heavily backed by minority Sunnis.

Iraq asks Kuwait to drop legal action against airline

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Baghdad, April 30: Iraq called on Kuwait on Thursday to halt legal action against Iraqi Airways following Kuwaiti attempts to seize one of the carrier’s planes in London in the latest row between the neighbouring countries.

A lawyer for the Kuwaiti authorities obtained a British High Court order to prevent the director general of Iraqi Airways, who is currently in London, from travelling and seized his passport, Iraq’s transport ministry said in a statement.

Iraq’s banned Baath holds public meeting in Syria

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Damascus, April 30: Iraq’s banned Baath party, booted out of power in the 2003 US-led invasion, held its first public meeting in the Syrian capital on Thursday.

“We have launched negotiations to reunite the party,” Ghazwan Qubaissi, the number two in a wing led by Mohammed Yunes al-Ahmad, a former governor of Mosul under now executed dictator and Baath chief Saddam Hussein, told.

Clinton seeks action on peace from Arabs

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Washington, April 30: Arab states should offer more moral and financial support to Palestinians, reach out to Israelis and stop arming militants to foster Middle East peace, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.

In her third speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in two months, Clinton stressed U.S. support for Israel after a period of acute U.S.-Israeli tension while laying out actions she expects of Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries.

Clinton warns Iran, Syria on threats to Israel

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Washington, April 30: The Obama administration warned Iran and Syria on Thursday that America’s commitment to Israel’s security is unshakable, and they should understand the consequences of threats to the Jewish state.

In a speech, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Syrian transfers of increasingly sophisticated weaponry including rockets to militants in southern Lebanon and Gaza could spark new conflict in the Middle East. She added that a nuclear-armed Iran would profoundly destabilize the region.

China eyes targeted sanctions on Iran: EU

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Beijing, April 30: The European Union’s foreign affairs chief said Friday that China is willing to discuss sanctions on Iran as long as they are carefully targeted and bolster efforts to curb the Iranian nuclear program.

EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Catherine Ashton said her discussions with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao show that China’s position has evolved from agreeing in principal to discuss sanctions to recognizing that targeted sanctions play a role.