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Jamali makes it formal

          New Delhi, May 3: Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has now formally invited his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee for talks in Islamabad. The invitation was reportedly handed over to the acting Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan TCA Raghavan on Saturday morning shortly after Jamali had a telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. The latest round of peace overtures by the two countries comes just a week before the scheduled visit to the region by Deputy US Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Just solution needs patience, Vajpayee to Pakistan

          New Delhi, May 3: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Saturday that disputes cannot be settled overnight and both sides should patiently negotiate for a just solution at the right time and circumstances. The poetic statesman, who sometimes talks in monosyllables, made an oblique reference to the five-decade old Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. "There should be a right atmosphere in the country. If there are any differences, they should be solved amicably through dialogue, and if they cannot be solved through dialogue, one should wait for the right time. What's the hurry to resolve the differences right now. If they are solved, it's good, one must keep on trying, but if they are not solved, then one must be patient," Vajpayee said while inaugurating a science seminar here.

          Vajpayee on Friday said New Delhi would appoint a high commissioner to Pakistan and restore air links in a bid to further ease tensions with its nuclear rival. Pakistan in a reciprocal statement said it would soon announce measures aimed at mending relations with India. Two weeks ago Vajpayee had told a rally in Srinagar that he wanted talks with Pakistan. Last Monday Jamali telephoned Vajpayee and invited him to visit Pakistan. The conversation was the first high-level contact between the two countries in 18 months. The steps would be the first tangible evidence of a thaw between the South Asian rivals, which came close to war last year over disputed Kashmir. In the past New Delhi had refused to consider talks with Pakistan until it stopped infiltration in Kashmir.

          New Delhi accuses Islamabad of training, arming and sending militants to join a nearly 14-year-old revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Islamabad denies giving material help to the militants in Kashmir, and says it only gives moral support to what it calls the Kashmiri people's "struggle for self-determination".

Kashmir not on UN Council's May agenda: Pak envoy (Go To Top)

          New York, May 3: There will be no meeting on Kashmir at the UN Security Council this month , Pakistan's ambassador to the world body, Munir Akram, told reporters after chairing the first session of the Council on Friday. But he did not explain why it did not figure in the agenda. Akram said he had scheduled a public meeting on March 13 on the role of the Council in peaceful settlement of disputes, but said it was not specifically about the 55-year-old conflict over Kashmir, according to the News.

          The daily quoted him as saying that "the meeting will cover existing and future disputes. Every time Pakistan speaks in the Council on peace and security, we speak about Kashmir and we will continue to do so in our national capacity. But as Council president we will act with utmost impartiality." Akram, of course, admitted that his country's relations with India "are, to put it mildly, difficult." But "we are heartened by the recent moves that have been made by both sides to normalise the situation," he reprtedly remarked.

Iraq to be divided into three: US official (Go To Top)

          Washington, May 3: The United States and its allies will split Iraq into three military sectors and will form a multinational force to "stabilize" post-war, a senior US official was quoted as saying on Saturday. The US and its allies will seek neither a UN mandate nor active participation of countries that opposed the war, he said . Iraq will be divided into three sectors to be commanded by the United States, Britain and Poland, which will enlist other countries to provide forces to secure the peace, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

China, Hong Kong record 18 Sars deaths, 191 new cases (Go To Top)

          Beijing, May 3: China and Hong Kong have had 18 fresh deaths from Sars and 191 new cases, the health officials said Saturday. China's death toll from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) now stood at 190 with nine new deaths and 3,971 cases. Some 1,406 Sars patients have been discharged from hospitals. Meanwhile, another nine people have died in Hong Kong while 10 new Sars cases have been recorded. The new deaths brought the territory's death toll from Sars to 179, with 1,621 cases. The number of new cases announced Saturday was the lowest daily figure since the outbreak here in mid-March. One of them was a medical worker.

Saudi 'sons-of-the-soil' policy troubling Keralites (Go To Top)

          Thiruvananthapuram, May 3: The decision of Saudi Arabian government to impose restrictions on jobs to overseas workers is causing panic in Kerala. With its agrarian economy in a shambles and not much industry to boast of, the coastal state depends heavily on remittances from the Gulf region to keep itself afloat. The Saudi government recently announced plans to earmark 21 per cent white collar jobs for its nationals to tackle the growing unemployment problem. Government figures say 11 per cent of Saudi Arabians are jobless, but independent reports peg it at more than 25 per cent. More than three million people working in the Gulf area are expected to return in the next three years, 30 per cent of whom are Keralites.

          "Saudi Arabia has brought a rule that the locals should replace all these jobs, which are now with the immigrants, within three years. Certainly this will leave one million Malayalees without work and they would have to return," Badaruddin Qasim, a supervisor with a construction company in Riyadh, said in an interview on Friday. According to Qasim, the return of expatriates would add to the unemployment problem and blamed the state authorities for being blind to their plight.

Kerala shutdown after nine deaths in violence (Go To Top)

          Thiruvananthapuram, May 3: Hindu organisations called for a shutdown in Kerala on Saturday after communal clashes claimed at least nine lives in a northern district of the state the previous night. The clashes took place in Marad beach in Calicut district, nearly 400 km north of here. The immediate cause for the violence was reportedly related to fishing rights in the beach. Most of the dead were Hindus.

          The shutdown brought life to a standstill in Thiruvananthapuram. Most vehicles were off the roads and attendance in governmment offices was thin. Shopkeepers said they had no option but to down the shutters in the highly politicised state. Reports said situation in the Marad beach continued to remain tense amidst tight security. Marad witnessed similar clashes in January 2001, which had resulted in five deaths and had left many huts and fishing boats damaged.

Sonia's Udhampur visit cancelled (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, May 3: Congress president Sonia Gandhi's scheduled visit to Udhampur district was cancelled on Saturday due to bad weather. A dense dust haze that enveloped the Capital since morning led to cancellation of many national and international flights. Similar weather conditions were reported from Jammu and Kashmir also. Sonia was slated to visit Reasi town in Udhampur district to address a public rally. But due to the highly disturbed weather, her chopper could not take off. During her one-day visit to the state, Sonia Gandhi was scheduled to visit Vaishno Devi shrine too.

Mayawati claims crime graph down during her rule (Go To Top)

          Lucknow, May 3: UP Chief Minister Mayawati said on Saturday there has been a marked improvement in the law and order situation during one year of her government in power. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader claimed the improved law and order situation was the greatest achievement of her coalition government in which country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the junior partner. Mayawati took reins of the state on May 3, 2002. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Mayawati said her government has launched a crackdown on criminal and anti- social elements.

          "We have taken severe action against both small and big criminals due to which the crime graph in the state has come down by seventy per cent. Whatever actions we have taken against these criminals have been followed properly by the police and in all action was taken against 99 per cent accused, of which 98 per cent investigations were completed. Stern action was taken against senior and influential criminals without feeling any political pressure. And the most important achievement was...no communal violence or communal tension took place in the state during the period," Mayawati said before leaving for New Delhi.

          Mayawati said the state's economy strengthened during the year following a slew of measures by her government. Mayawati's party champions the cause of the Dalits, who are at the bottom of India's social caste strata, while her coalition partner BJP traditionally draws its support from the middle and upper classes. Late last year her government came under threat after main opposition Samajwadi Party attempted to topple her. Mayawati later arrested lawmaker Raghuraj Pratap alias Rajju Bhaiya, topping the list of criminals. Mayawati, under frequent attacks from all quarters for running the government in an "arbitrary fashin", said her coalition functioned smoothly with the cooperation of all partners.