Talks on Siachen, Wullar Barrage in July
Islamabad:
The technical level talks on Siachen and the Wullar
Barrage/Tulbul projects will be held during the last week
of July, informed sources were quoted by The Nation as saying.
According to the paper, the talks are being held to iron
out differences over the two contentious issues. The discussions
will held under the peace roadmap agreed by the two sides
on the sidelines of 12th SAARC summit in January and again
between February 16 and 18 this year. "Now, it has been
decided to hold talks on Siachen and the Wullar Barrage
in the last week of that month," an official source was
quoted as saying. The two sides have held several rounds
of talks over the issue in the past without any significant
or tangible results. The Wullar Barrage issue rose out of
India's plan to build two reservoirs, the Wullar Barrage
and Bahlihar Dam in Kashmir, a move that was objected to
by Pakistan under the terms and conditionsset down in the
1960 Indus Basin Treaty. The sources said Islamabad was
all willing to resolve these two issues as well as other
contentious matters with India as it agreed to in February
2004 joint statement, and hoped that India would also demonstrate
the same willingness to sit across the negotiating table.
Sri Lanka's U-turn on Tamil Tigers (Go
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Colombo:
In a major policy shift, Sri Lanka's ruling Freedom
Alliance has recognised the Tamil Tiger rebels as the sole
representatives of the country's Tamil minority. A statement
from the Alliance said it was clear that peace talks had
to be between the two main parties - the government and
the rebels. The move comes in advance of a visit to the
country by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen aimed
at reaffirming Oslo's commitment to mediating in Sri Lanka's
peace process. Recognising the Tamil Tigers as the sole
political representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils is a bitter
pill for any hardline government to swallow, but it is a
necessary one if peace talks are to take place. The Tigers
will not even start negotiations without this degree of
recognition.
Given
recent moves by the new government of President Chandrika
Kumaratunga to try and kick start the peace process, it
is not a surprising acknowledgement by her party. But what
is not clear is whether all her allies in the Freedom Alliance
agree with the statement issued by their secretary general
officially confirming that peace talks have to be between
the government and the Tigers alone. The statement tries
to play down the significance of this policy shift, saying
it is a continuation of what previous administrations did
and arguing that it does not preclude consultations with
other interested parties in the peace process. But one of
the main components of the Alliance, the JVP, has steadfastly
criticised any attempt to recognise the rebels and rejected
any move towards power sharing. This latest statement comes
as the Norwegian foreign minister is due in Sri Lanka for
talks with both the president and the rebel's reclusive
leader. Norway suspended its role in mediating in the Sri
Lankan conflict last year but was asked by President Chandrika
to return despite strong criticism of its role by members
of her party.
Residential colony for Indian diplomats
in Pak (Go
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Islamabad:
Indian diplomats in Pakistan will soon have an exclusive
residential colony for themselves. Islamabad's Capital Development
Authority (CDA) has approved the construction of the residential
colony in the Diplomatic Enclave area of the city. According
to the Daily Times, CDA Chairman Kamran Lashari and an Indian
delegation led by Indian Foreign Office Additional Secretary
Nepro Pama worked out the modalities of the project at a
meeting on Sunday. The CDA had already allotted a plot in
the Diplomatic Enclave to the Indian embassy and a "no objection
certificate" for construction will be issued soon.
Pak, China start trade through Khunjarab
Pass (Go
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Islamabad:
Trade between Pakistan and China has started from the
border through Khunjarab pass here on Monday. Preparations
have been made for trade to take place between Susst in
Hunza valley and Texico Rigging in China.
Venus will cross the Sun for the first
time in 122 years (Go
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London:
Another breath-taking celestial event is just a month
away. Next month millions of people around the world will
get to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event when the planet
Venus, the Earth's closest neighbour, crosses the Sun's
path. According to independent.co.uk, the scientists believe
that at 6.19 a.m. on June 8, Venus will appear as a tiny
speck on one side of the Sun and will slowly transverse
the fiery ball for the next six hours. This unique transit
occurs when Venus and Earth, whose paths round the Sun tilt
at slightly different angles, line up exactly where their
orbits cross. This transit last occurred on December 6,
1882, during the reign of Queen Victoria and is one of the
five events of its kind ever watched by man. The transit
would be visible in Europe, Africa and Asia. Other countries,
including Japan and Australia, will be able to see the beginning
of the transit, but the Sun will set before the event ends.
For millions, this would be a rare spectacle. For space
engineers, however, there is a more pressing interest, as
the event will provide a chance to test technology designed
to question whether we are alone in the universe. "In a
few years, space probes and land-based telescopes will start
to try to observe alien worlds in transit around other stars.
But first we need the Venus transit to test our techniques,"
said the Nasa scientist David Crisp.
14 killed in Maoist attack in Nepal
(Go
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Kathmandu:
At least 14 people, including seven soldiers, were on
Sunday killed by Maoist rebels who attacked a bus heading
for the capital. Twenty passengers were among the injured,
some seriously. The attack followed an upsurge of violence
in Nepal which has coincided with increasing political turmoil.
The leader of the Maoist rebels, who want to overthrow the
monarchy, has expressed a wish to forge closer ties with
the mainstream opposition parties. Those parties have been
organising mass protests daily demanding that King Gyanendra
restore democratic government. Around 9,000 people have
been killed in Nepal since the Maoist insurgency began eight
years ago.
Markets crash on unbated selling (Go
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Mumbai:
The Sensex opened with a huge negative gap of 40 points
at 5,629. The markets plunged deep into the red, as unabated
selling across-the-board dragged the index below the 5,600-mark
to an early low of 5,555. The Sensex is now down 111 points
at 5,558. The Nifty also has come under the grip of a broad-based
selling pressure, and has lost 36 points to 1,768. The markets
crashed by more than 100 points on Monday even as the country
goes to polls in the final phase. The main reason according
to the analysts for this sharp fall in the beginning of
the week is the cloud of uncertainty which is hanging over
the country because of the exit polls not giving a clear
picture of the mandate of the polls. More so the market
is also reacting to the uncertainties of an NDA-led government
getting the required majority, and also because the option
of a third front is also very much in the contention of
forming the government apart from the Congress and the BJP-led
NDA.
PCB yet to reconcile Rs 2 cr ticket collections
(Go
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Karachi:
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has yet to reconcile
tickets valued at Rs18.6 million which their various officials,
including chairman Shahryar Khan and chief executive Rameez
Raja, took from a consultant and his team who were responsible
for ticket sales during the recent home series against India.
According to the News, Rs. 18.6 million worth of tickets
was taken by the Board officials during the five match ODI
series which was a runaway success, and from which the Board
had netted approximately 65 million in ticket sales. The
Rs. 65 million does not include the Rs.18.6 million to be
reconciled by the PCB. The paper said that the Rs. 18.6
million figure relates to only Rs.1200 and Rs.1500 denomination
tickets taken by board officials during the one-dayers.
Quoting sources, the paper said the Board officials took
the tickets by signing receipts handed out by the consultant
and his team. Subsequently, the receipts were sent to the
board for final reconciliation of ticket sales.
The
paper said that majority of these tickets would have been
used by the PCB officials to give to the two teams, match
officials, visiting guests and other influential etc., but
what is not known is whether the Board officials gave the
tickets on a complimentary basis or ensured they were accounted
for in money terms. Normally, only the two teams and match
officials are given complimentary tickets. An unidentified
source reportedly said that in the Lahore one- dayers itself
the Board officials had taken around 5000 tickets of the
Rs 1500 denominations. One reason for this, the source said,
was that some Board officials also purchased tickets directly
from the consultants in bulk to give away to their friends
and families. "In the first one-dayer in Karachi two board
officials purchased over 1500 tickets of the 1500 denomination,
the source added.
