| Obama,
Manmohan have a cozy chat at G8-G5 summit L'aquila:
US president Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cozied
up to each other at a summit of the G8-G5 groupings at L’Aquila in Italy on Thursday.
Leaders of the world’s richest nations and major developing powers would have
on the table raging issues like global warming and international trade, with the
poorer countries seeking concessions. US President Barack Obama would chair the
climate discussions, but hopes of agreeing ambitious goals have faded after China
and India rejected demands to halve the emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.
The talks come on the second of a three-day Group of Eight summit, with discussions
broadened to include the heads of new economic powerhouses in recognition that
the world''s problems cannot no longer be dealt with by an elite few. The fragile
state of the global economy dominated the first day of the annual G8 summit, with
the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia acknowledging
that were still significant risks to financial stability. The 17-member Major
Economies Forum (MEF), which groups the G8 plus big developing nations, also looks
set to embrace the two Celsius goal on Thursday, but is balking at further commitments
ahead of a decisive U.N. climate conference in December. Progress could be hampered
by the absence of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who withdrew from talks to attend
to ethnic clashes in China''s northwest that have killed 156 people and wounded
over a thousand. Indian negotiators said developing countries first wanted to
see rich nation plans to provide financing to help them cope with ever more floods,
heatwaves, storms and rising sea levels. Broader economic concerns are also high
on the agenda, with emerging nations complaining that they are suffering heavily
from a crisis that was not of their making. China, India and Brazil have all questioned
whether the world should start seeking a new global reserve currency as an alternative
to the dollar. They have said they may raise this on Thursday after having discussed
it amongst themselves on Wednesday (July 08). The debate is highly sensitive in
financial markets, which are wary of risks to U.S. asset values, and the issue
is unlikely to progress very far in L''Aquila. However, a breakthrough on trade
may be within reach. Diplomats say the G8 and G5 should agree to conclude the
stalled Doha round of trade talks in 2010. Launched in 2001 to help poor countries
prosper, they have stumbled on proposed tariff and subsidy cuts.
Taliban may
hijack airplanes to repeat 9/11, warns Pak intelligence Top Lahore:
Pakistan intelligence authorities have warned that the Taliban may hijack
airplanes to carry out a terror strike similar to 9/11. Quoting from an intelligence
report, a private television channel said that some detained Taliban operatives
have revealed that their associates often use commercial airlines operating in
the country to travel from place to another, and are on the look out to hijack
the airliners to repeat the September 11, 2001 incident. Intelligence agencies
have also asked the concerned authorities to implement certain fundamental changes
in the security procedures for commercial airliners to ensure safety of passengers
and avoid any untoward incident, The Daily Times reports. Airplanes have become
more susceptible to be used for terror strikes ever since the 9/11 incident when
four commercial aircrafts of a US airliner were hijacked by Al-Qaeda and deliberately
crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon building in Washington.
Pak
death row inmate Sarabjit Singh's mercy plea forwarded to Zardari Top Lahore:
Sarabjit Singh's mercy plea, requesting that his death sentence be commuted to
life imprisonment, has been forwarded to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari,
The Daily Times reports. The plea was moved after the Supreme Court rejected Singh's
petition challenging the death sentence awarded to him earlier. The Pakistan Supreme
Court on June 24 had dismissed the review petition filed by Singh after his lawyer,
Rana Abdul Hameed failed to appear before the court. Hameed was not able to reach
the court on time and missed the proceedings, which worked against the case and
an ex-parte order was passed by the court. Later, Singh was given a new lawyer
to represent him in the court. Singh, who is currently languishing in the Kot
Lakhpat jail, is a resident of Amritsar . He was arrested near the Kasur border
in Pakistan in August 1990. Pakistan security agencies said that Singh had admitted
that he was sent to Pakistan to carry out serial bomb blasts in Lahore , Faislabad,
and Kasur, and was trained by the Indian Army, and the Research and Analysis Wing
(RAW). Singh was awarded the death sentence by a Lahore anti-terrorism court in
October 1991. He challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, however, the apex
court quashed his appeal in September, 2005, saying that the review petition was
not filed within the time period as mentioned in the law. In March 2006, a two
member Supreme Court bench dismissed Singh's petition against his conviction in
the Lahore 's Yakki Gate bomb blast in 1990. Singh has been languishing in Pakistan
jails for the last 28 years, as Pakistan has denied setting him free, despite
continuous efforts by the Indian diplomatic channels.
China objects
to ADB funding for Arunachal irrigation project Top New
Delhi: External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna today disclosed in the Rajya
Sabha that China had objected to funding by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to
an irrigation project in Arunachal Pradesh, which is a clear violation of the
ADB charter. During Question Hour, Krishna said India had made it clear to all
member nations of the ADB, that political considerations couldn't be cited for
prohibiting the bank from evaluating any project, and all member countries of
the ADB board except China supported India's plan. China did not endorse the Country
Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009-12 for India in the board of the ADB on the ground
that the proposed India CPS involved technical assistance funding for flood and
river erosion management project in Arunachal Pradesh which China claims is its
territory, Krishna said. India made it clear to all the member countries of the
ADB that CPS is not a political document and it does not make any judgment as
to the legal or other status of any territory. Krishna informed the house that
India had conveyed to the ADB member nations including China that Arunachal Pradesh
is an integral part of India and its status is not negotiable. Krishna felt that
ADB's assistance has to be strictly decided on economic parameters and not on
political considerations. On the back drop of Indo- China border talks next month
in New Delhi, Krishna informed the members that India has put across in the strongest
diplomatic language possible to China that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part
of India, and government wants to resolve the boundary issue with China amicably.
India is looking forward to normalize relationship with China and to extend partnership
in some sectors, Krishna said. Inflation
further dips to minus 1.55 per cent Top Mumbai:
Inflation dipped to minus 1.55 per cent for the week ended June 27 from minus
1.30 per cent in the previous week. The fall in inflation has been reported despite
increase in the prices of food items like pulses, fish marine, fruit and vegetables.
During the week, prices of fish marine were dearer by 10 per cent, arhar, fruit
and vegetables by two per cent each and urad and moong by one per cent each. However,
prices of cast iron casting, steel ingots and other metal products and some chemical
items got cheaper. |
