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At Wednesdays assembly of over500 people on the steps of St Pauls,#occupylsx collectively agreed the initialstatement below. Please note, like allforms of direct democracy, the statement will always be a work in progress.1 The current system is unsustainable.It is undemocratic and unjust. We needalternatives; this is where we work towards them.2 We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds,genders, generations, sexualities dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together with occupations all over the world.3 We refuse to pay for the banks crisis.4 We do not accept the cuts as eithernecessary or inevitable. We demandan end to global tax injustice and ourdemocracy representing corporationsinstead of the people.5 We want regulators to be genuinely independent of the industries they regulate.6 We support the strike on the 30thNovember and the student action on the9thNovember, and actions to defend ourhealth services, welfare, education andemployment, and to stop wars and armsdealing.7 We want structural change towardsauthentic global equality. The worldsresources must go towards caring for

people and the planet, not the military,corporate pro ts or the rich.8 We stand in solidarity with the globaloppressed and we call for an end to theactions of our government and others incausing this oppression.9 This is what democracy looks like. An ti-C ap ita lis t P ro test sProtesters attend demonstrations overthe global nancial system near St PaulsCathedral in London as the protestsspread around the world.On Saturday 15th October, around 4000 -5000 people earnestly took to the streets,speaking out against corporate greed andeconomic equality.The police were quick to issue sanctionsagainst the occupation of PaternosterSquare, but an unlikely sanctuary wasprovided by St Pauls Cathedral. Thesteps of this iconic London landmark received a host of peaceful protesters asthey began their general assemblies andplanned a course of action in the same vein as Occupy Wall Street.Purportedly, the police tried to disperseprotesters from St. Pauls, but this wasagainst the wishes of Canon ChancellorGiles Fraser. Dr Fraser, welcoming of the people who occupied the steps, askedthe police to move on. A sublime and

Anti-Capitalist Protests

Occupy LondoStock ExchangBegins, Where will it end?

Continued on page 02 >>


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symbolic symphony of goodwilldemocracy, Dr Fraser said;The UK mainstream media have been fairly affable towards the

movement by granting airtime andink; the antipodal of Occupy WallStreet where the U.S media largely ignored the protests for an exorbitantamount of time. On the other sideof the Atlantic, the UK press havefollowed the Occupy London Stock Exchange, but there are those whohopelessly miss the point , the slogan

of We Are The 99% which has become the symbolic strap-line of Occupy. The 99% banner representsthe loose notion that 1% of thepopulation hold the worlds wealth,and the 99% are now dangerously disengaged and left with completesocial disparity. At no point do theoccupiers claim they represent

anyone but themselves, they do notrepresent 99% of us as Mr Andrew Gilligan suggested; they are part of 99% - included and inclusive. This isthe point that mainstream reportersneed to remember, and those in themainstream media would know thisif they had anger on social issues as well as corporate. The global Occupy

protests are an organic democraticprocedure that has been born outof pure frustration for the currentpolitical, media and economicclimate.Its more than possible that we arein uncharted territory with history giving us no lessons on how thisglobal movement will conclude.

Occupy London Stock Exchange Begins, W here w iContinued from page 01 >>

Bank policymakersdiscussed injecting up

to 100bn in new round of quantitative easing as they predicted growth would stall

Bank of England policymakersare bracing for the UK economy to grind to a virtual halt anddiscussed pumping even more

electronic money into theeconomy than the 75bn they agreed on this month.

Minutes from the Banksmeeting earlier this monthrevealed the monetary policy committee (MPC) was unitedover keeping interest ratesattheir record low of 0.5%, despite

in ation being well above itsgovernment-set target.

Policymakers discussedinjecting as much as 100bn of fresh money as they consideredthe threats to growth from theglobal economy, sovereign debtproblems and stalled householdspending.

The minutes said: In theUnited Kingdom, the path of output had been affected by anumber of temporary factors, but the available indicatorssuggested that the underlyingrate of growth had moderatedand would be close to zero in thefourth quarter.

Bank o f England voted 9-0 to pum p75bn more into UK economy

NEWS2 South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

K en joined Ed Miliband and Ed Balls in Camdenon Monday to launch Labours plan for jobsand growth in London.

Labours ve-point plan pledges to:1. Create up to 11,500 jobs for young people and

build 5,000 new homes2. Bring forward investment projects like new

school buildings3. Temporarily reverse the Tory-led Governments

VAT rise - a 450 boost for families with children4. Cut VAT on home improvements to 5% for a

year5. Give up to 334,000 smallrms a tax break to

take on extra workersEd Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party,

said:These are dangerous times for Britains economy

and worrying times for millions of London families.Week-by-week, day-by-day, with every downgrade in growth with every new setof unemployment gures, we can see the

governments plan is failing Londoners.Only a government which is badly out of touch

with what is happening in Britains high streets,homes and workplaces would fail to realise that.

Today we are calling for an emergency Budgetnow and a clear ve-point plan to create jobs, helpstruggling families and support small businesses inLondon.

Ken Livingstone said,In a city where, disgracefully, one in ten is out

of work thanks to the Conservative partys failedpolicies we need the plan for jobs and growth thatEd Miliband and Ed Balls are proposing.

Labours plan to cut VAT and invest in new jobs would make a real difference, putting the interestsof ordinary Londonersrst - and I will follow thesame course by putting money in peoples pockets by cutting fares if I am elected.

The approach taken by the government and mayorare making Londoners less well off and less safe.

Ken has promised to rip up Boris Johnsonshigh fare policy which has committed Londonersto 20 years of fare increases at 2% above inationeach year and replace it with a fairer fares packagestarting with:

An overall cut in fares for Londoners of 5% in the

autumn of 2012 No further fare rises at all in 2013. From January 2014 and in subsequent years no

fare rises above RPI ination.

Ken Livingstones ve-point plan tocreate 11,500 jobs for the young

Governor of the Bank of EnglandMervy King has warned thatBritains economic recovery isoff the track, accusing the government of not taking correct measures to handle the

countrys economic crisis.In a speech addressed to the Instituteof Directors in Liverpool, King alsoinsisted that Britain is threatened by theglobal economic calamity and time isrunning out to resolve it.

Despite taking emergency stepsincluding low interest rates and printingnew money, the governments could not yet tackle the fundamental problem of overspending which is the underlyingcause of the economic crisis, King said.

He pointed out that some of the

employed steps could aggravate the nancial problems, exacerbate the debtcrisis and leave taxpayers with larger bill,adding that these inadequate measureshad only bought time for the world

economy, leading markets to question thesustainability of banks and governments.So far, that time has not been used

to deal with the underlying imbalances,or the weaknesses in bank and sovereign balance sheets. Time is running out, headded.

While con rming that in ation wasclose to its peak and the medium termoutlook was weak, King considered theinternational problems as a threat to ourstrategy of rebalancing and recovery of the UK economy.

Our objective must be to steer the UK economy slowly back to a position of morenormal interest rates and lower budgetde cits. With a lower level of sterling and

a credible plan to reduce the scal de citover the medium term, we were on track.But the problems in the euro area and themarked slowing in the world economy have lengthened the period over which

a return to normality is likely, Kingsuggested.The governor declared that creditor

governments including Germany andJapan must increase their domesticrequest in order that debtor states likeBritain could export more.

Each country can put itself in aposition to rebalance, as we have done inthe UK. But in the absence of rebalancing,globally and especially in the euro area, we could be facing a recovery that is notmerely reluctant but recalcitrant.

Britains economic recovery is off the track : Mer

PublisherSalah Bu Khamas (UAE)Sabha Khan (UK)

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NEWSSouth Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011 3

Year of pain for Anni Dewanis family THE father of murderedhoneymoon bride Anni Dewani

says nearly a year of struggling to cope without knowing why their daughter

was killed has taken its toll on his wifes health.She just needs answers, we need

answers, said Annis father, VinodHindocha.

Were not telling Shrien (Dewani)hes guilty or hes not guilty, were just saying give us answers, saidHindocha, who was speaking from hishome in Mariestad, Sweden.

He said aside from his wifes ailinghealth, he was struggling to cope tosuch an extent that he had not returnedto work since Annis murder.

Last month the UK Home Secretary signed Shrien Dewanis extradition

order, but his legal team thenannounced they would appeal againstthis.

Had Shrien, who is accused of masterminding Annis November 13murder in Khayelitsha, not decided toappeal, preparations for him to returnto Cape Town would have started yesterday.

Hindocha said he did not understand why Dewani was appealing againstthe extradition. His legal team keepssaying he needs closure all the time.

We also need closure. If he goes toSouth Africa, we can all have closure.

Hindocha added that four years agohis wife had had a major operation asshe had been stricken with cancer.

She had then undergone gruellingchemotherapy and radiation therapy.We were doing so well until Anni

passed away. But my wife was notsupposed to travel a lot or go underany stress, Hindocha said.

After Annis murder, he and his wifehad travelled to London a few timesand to South Africa to retrace Annislast journey and this had impacted onNilam Hindochas health.

My wife isnt coping now. Its really dif cult. Things are not as they should

be, Hindocha said.He believed that if his wife knew

why her daughter had been murdered,she would be able to move on with herlife and recover fully.

Hindocha, an electrical engineer,said he had not been to work for 11months.

Its been a torture every single day.I cant go to work. I cant focus.

People say time will heal the wounds, in this case time increasesthe wounds, he said.

Hindocha said he was waiting tohear when proceedings regardingDewanis extradition appeal would goahead.

If I hear he will come back to South Africa, Ill be therst to book ticketsthere, he said.

The South African authorities want Dewani to return so that he canstand trial with his local co-accused,Mziwamadoda Qwabe and XolileMngeni.

In November, Zola Robert Tongo, who had chauffeured Dewani and Anniaround while they were honeymooningin Cape Town, confessed to his role in Annis murder and was sentenced to18 years in jail.

Tongo said Dewani had offeredhim R15 000 to have his wife killedand Tongo had then hired Qwabe andMngeni to kill her.

Last month Qwabe and Mngeni, thealleged hit men in the case, appearedin the Wynberg Regional Court.

There they were told their case had been transferred to the Western CapeHigh Court.

A pre-trial conference was set forFebruary 10.

Yesterday Hindocha said he hopedDewani would be in South Africa by then.

November 13 would mark one yearsinces Annis murder.

Hindocha said he had invitedpeople from around the world to lighta candle in memory of his daughter onNovember 14.

THE Queen has embarked on what may be her last tour of Australia.Travelling with the Duke of Edinburgh,she touched down at Canberras RAAFFairbairn base tonight in a British Airways jet to be welcomed by hundredsof wellwishers, many holdingowers or wavingags.The Queen emerged from the plane

wearing a teal-coloured coat and hat to be greeted by Governor-General QuentinBryce and Prime Minister Julia Gillard. A military band played God Save

the Queen and a 21-gun salute rangout before the 85-year-old monarchinspected the ceremonial royal guardmade up of army, navy and air forcepersonnel.The Queenrst visited Australia in 1954.Some expect that the 2011 tour will beher last.THEY turned on the pomp and

ceremony, with the military band, thestraight-backed guard of honour andthe royal representative at Yarralumla,Quentin Bryce, all doing their bit as the

Queen yesterday set foot on Australiansoil for therst time in ve years - andpossibly the last.The genuine warmth of the welcomefor the 85-year-old monarch and PrincePhilip, 90, set off a picture-perfectspring evening in Canberra, and broughta smile to the face of the Queen.Youre beautiful, someone shouted

from the big and happy crowd, packed with local schoolchildren who got theafternoon off class to see her. She noddedgraciously in response.

Queen begins her 16th, andpossibly last, visit to Austra lia

PML-N Mian Nawaz Sharif has allegedthe MQM of introducing politics of terrorism in Pakistan and also that it

was involved in disturbing peace inKarachi.The politics of terrorism in Pakistanstarted with creation of MQM, whichalso is involved in disturbing peace inKarachi, Mian Nawaz Sharif said inan interview to a private TV channelduring his visit to rain-affected areas of Sindh on Wednesday.Stating that his party was againstthe terrorism, PML-N chief referredto Karachioperation against MQMconducted during his rst tenureas Prime Minister, and said, MQMshould now make it clear whetherit wants clean politics or terrorismthrough their armed wings.

Nawaz Sharif denied that Go ZardariGo was the name of his movement.Such a slogan is very old one. Now there must be a change in Pakistan, hesaid to a question.

PML-N chief said those in thegovernment were involved in corruptionand questioned how could such

people run the country. Meanwhile,PPI correspondent reported fromNawabshah that Nawaz Sharif whiletalking to newsmen at Nawabshahairport leveled same allegation onMQM of being involved in terrorism.He said It was MQM to decide if it wantsto do politics or terrorism. HakimMuhammad Saeed was murdered when I was Prime Minister. At thatpoint I decided to part ways with MQMand sacriced my government. Now the MQM must clear itself and declareif they want to do a clean politics orcontinue terrorism through its militant wing, Nawaz Sharif said.PML-N said there must not be any role

of army in politics and categorically stated that his party would not enterinto alliance with any party that favorsrole of army in politics. He said people want to get rid of corrupt government.

Nawaz holds MQM respofor terrorism in politic


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4 South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

EDITORIAL

Prisoner swap

about scoringpolitical pointsShalits release could enable

Hamas to extend its sphere of in uence outside Gaza Yesterdays successful prisoner

swap between the Israelis andHamas was not a humanitariangesture by either side. TheIsraeli soldier Gilad Shalit wascaptured by Hamas more than ve years ago, and some of thehundreds of Palestinians have been in Israeli hands for muchlonger than that.

Their release could havehappened at any time, but thepresent moment suited bothsides for their own politicaladvantage.

Both Hamas and the Israelis(for very different reasons)have been put under pressure by both Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas going tothe United Nations to seek recognition for the Palestinianstate, and the new politicaldynamism in the region created by the events of the ArabSpring.

The Israelis are pumping outtheir lies with great uency.Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahus spokesmanproduced the most agrantnonsense after Shalit reachedIsrael yesterday when he saidthat we hope to live in peaceand reconciliation with ourneighbours. We are ready forthe immediate resumption of peace talks. The Palestinianside so far says that they are not willing to talk to us. We hopethey change.

The Netanyahu governmenthas been blatant in its refusalto talk to the Palestinians, andto frustrate any attempt to go back to the de ned path to atwo-state solution.

It has continued to build andexpand its colonies, and ithas increased the roadblocksand routine harassment andpersecution of the Palestinians.

Hamas has different issuesto consider. It has agreed toreconciliation with Fatah, butit wants a reasonable measureof in uence over events as they unfold.

The release of Shalit allowsthem to enter a wider eld of regional politics outside thenarrow con nes of Gaza, whichmay well suit them over thenext 12 months.

NEWS

US Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton is likely to arrive inPakistan on October 20 (Thursday)for a two-day visit aimed at putting thestrained Pakistan-US relations back on track and rectifying the damagedone to bilateral ties by strong anti-Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)statements by American of cialsaccusing it of sponsoring terrorismin Afghanistan.

As the top US diplomat lands herelater this week, Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad has put off his visit to Islamabad, which wasalso scheduled for later this week.

A diplomat conrmed thepostponement of the Iranianpresidents visit but said it hadnothing to do with Clintons visitand was only a matter of working outthe schedule of the Iranian leader, who would now visit Pakistan someother time in the near future.

Iran and the US are currently engaged in a serious row over theObama administrations allegationsagainst Tehran of devising a plot tokill the Saudi Arabian ambassadorto Washington.

The diplomat said that duringher visit to Islamabad, Clinton would pick up the discussion from where US Special Representativefor Afghanistan and Pakistan MarcGrossman left it.

Grossman visited Islamabad afew days ago and held meetings with Pakistans civilian and military leadership on prospects of peacetalks with the powerful Taliban-linked militant group Haqqani

network. Clintons visit is a greatopportunity for the two countries tonormalise their ties, the diplomatsaid.

Before Grossmans visit both sides were not communicating via formaldiplomatic channels and the only discussions being held were through

secret channels between the defence

of

cials of the two countries. Thisfact lends further importance to thesecretary of states visit.

Clinton will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, Foreign MinisterHina Rabbani Khar and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq ParvezKayani during her two-day stay inIslamabad and hold talks with themon ways to improve bilateral tiesand revive full counter-terrorismcooperation.

According to APP, Haqqanitold a gathering of the Pakistani- American community in Portland,Oregon, that challenges remain inthe wide-ranging bilateral ties butrelations are gradually coming back to normal.

Both Islamabad and Washingtonrealise we need each other and astrong, positive bilateral relationshipis in the best interest of our twocountries and their peoples, saidHaqqani.

Despite the positive whispersemanating from diplomatic sources,it is unclear if the two sides have beenable to iron out their differences onhow to tackle the Haqqani network,allegedly based in North Waziristan Agency.

The US remains adamant thatthe deadliest Afghan Taliban alliedinsurgent group must be dealt with forcefully. However, Secretary Clinton recently hinted at reachingout to the Haqqanis in the questto seek a political solution to the Afghan impasse.

Pak-US tensions ease throughquiet diplomacy

The Council of Europes secretary general says the anti-Muslim beliefsof confessed Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik are shared by more Europeans than most people would like to believe.Thorbjoern Jagland told the AP inan interview Wednesday that only avery small minority of like-mindedindividuals would act on those beliefsas Breivik did. But Jagland said hes

very concerned that xenophobicattitudes especially toward Muslims are getting worse in Europe.Breivik has confessed to killing 77people in a bomb attack and shootingspree in Norway last July. But hedenies criminal guilt, saying hes in astate of war and believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway andEurope from being overrun by Muslim immigrants.

CoE ch ief: Anti-Mu slimfeeling on rise in Euro pe

A gold nugget weighing 7 kg 650g (16,87 lbs) was discovered by Vostok mining partnership atIrkindan deposit in Ayano-Maisky district of Russias Khabarovsk region.

The nding was tentatively evaluated at 12.7 million rubles($424,000), of cials said. Thenalcost of the nugget will be announced

later, Finmarket reports.The nugget looks pure andoutwardly resembles a boxingglove.This is the rst big nding that weve had in 40 years of work in

the region. We found a large goldnugget in this region in 2007, andit was 1.7 kilos, of cials of theenterprise told Interfax.

Gold nugget worth$424,000 found in Russia


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NEWS 5South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

The human rights group Amnesty International calledon Canadian authorities Wednesday to arrest former President George W.Bush when he attends an economicsummit in the province of BritishColumbia next week.

The group accused Bush of responsibility for crimes underinternational law includingtorture.

Amnesty International asked thatCanada either prosecute or extraditeBush for violations that they allegetook place during the CIAs secretdetention program between 2002and 2009.

The organization wrote a 1,000page memorandum addressed toCanadian authorities to make thecase for human rights violations by

the 43rd president.Canada is required by its

international obligations to arrestand prosecute former President

Bush given his responsibility forcrimes under international law

including torture, Susan Lee, Americas Director at Amnesty

International, said in a statement.The Canadian government

responded to the request withcritical words for Amnesty International.

I cannot comment on individualcases that said, Amnesty International cherry picks cases topublicize based on ideology.

This kind of stunt helps explain why so many respected human rightsadvocates have abandoned Amnesty International, Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration JasonKenney told POLITICO, noting that Amnesty International had neversought a court order to bar Cubandictator Fidel Castro or Tongolesedicator Gnassingb Eyadema fromCanada.

Perhaps this helps to explain why Salman Rushie has said thatit looks very much as if Amnestysleadership is suffering from akind of moral bankruptcy, and

why Christopher Hitchens has written about the organizationsdegeneration and politicization,Kenney added.

Bush cancelled a visit toSwitzerland in February after facingsimilar public calls for his arrest by the other human rights groups.

Amnesty International said thatCanada was obligated to arrestBush under its commitments to theUN Convention Against Torture.

The human rights organizationobjected to the Bush administrationsenhanced interrogationtechniques and violations they characterized as cruel, inhumanand degrating treatment andenforced disappearances.

A failure by Canada to takeaction during his visit would violatethe UN Convention against Tortureand demonstrate contempt forfundamental human rights, saidLee.

Amnesty International seeks George W . B

British Charity Muslim Aidtoday welcomed remarks by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley about eating less to cut down the

health bill on obesity.It said that instead of simply

reducing food intake, the publicshould also be encouraged to

share their food savings with thehomeless and other vulnerablehouseholds who are nding it

hard in these times to make endsmeet. A spokesperson for Muslim Aid

said: Secretary Andrew Lansley has got it spot on when he points toa culture of eat more, waste more. What we need instead is the rightkind of food in the right quantity to stay healthy and contented.However, in these challenging

times when unemployment isincreasing and many householdsare nding it hard to manage theirfood budgets, it will be wonderfulif the public shared their surplus

with the poor and vulnerable to bring food on their table.

Muslim Aid is considering aproposal to set up food banksto ship surplus food donationsto countries like Somalia intimes of need. These food banks, if patronised by the bigsupermarkets can also providefood to the homeless and lessaf uent people in the UK to endfood poverty here, added thespokesperson.

Health Secretarys remarkson obesity can help end foodpoverty: says Muslim Aid.

The trial against Anders BehringBreivik, charged with the July 22nd terrorist attacks the largest

criminal trial in Norwegian history - will most likely start just after Easterin 2012.

The Police can still not conrm an

exact start date for the trial, but assumethat it will most likely take place inthe spring. We are working on the

assumption that the trial couldstart April 1st next year, saysErlend More, Department Managerof the Court Administration.

However, because thetrial would then fall duringEaster, it will most likely

be rescheduled for afterthe holiday and begin on

April 10.District Judge Geir

Engebretsen agrees with the currentprediction: At that time we go into thesecond quarter, so around Easter is a

very likely time, he says. Regardless,the goal is for the trial to be completed before summer in 2012.

A decision has yet to be made about

where the trial will be held, but OsloCourthouse is the most likely option.

Telenor Arena was discussed asanother option earlier in the process, but is unlikely due to the arenasassociation with entertainment andconcerts.

Terr or ism : Br eivik Trial to s tar t in Apr i l

Jemima Khan is leaving the Independent to join theNew Statesman as associate editor.She will write and commission and will also work on what the magazine calls specially curated issues.Khans decision comes within weeks of the Indy amending her status. She was appointed as thepapers associate editor in June by the former editor,Simon Kelner.But the incoming editor, Chris Blackhurst, reducedher role to that of contributing editor, with a reducedpay arrangement.He was warm about her talents, and her great rangeof contacts, but she has written little for the paperof late.The New Statesmans editor, Jason Cowley, is clearly very pleased with his acquisition, saying: Imdelighted that Jemima is joining us and that I havetempted her away from the Independent.She is a rst-rate journalist who has strongcampaigning instincts and a powerful interest ininternational affairs and human rights issues.In April, Khan oversaw a special free speech issueof the Statesman, which featured high-pro lecontributors such as Hugh Grant, Oliver Stone, TimRobbins and Russell Brand.Cowley said: She worked brilliantly with the wholeteam on her guest-edited issue of the New Statesman, which was a media sensation. Shes very popularamong the staff.Khan said of her appointment: I loved workingon the guest edit at the beginning of the year andI am delighted to become a permanent part of theexceptional team at the New Statesman.I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Independent but the challenge of a wider role at the New Statesman

was too tempting.Only a couple of weeks ago, Blackhurst signalledthat Khan would be writing more for the Indy. Butshe recently decided that things werent working outafter all. Sources: New Statesman/The Independent

Jemima Khan quits Independent for New Magazine s editor says he is delighted at signing up rst-rate campaigning journalist


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NEWS6 South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

Iranian President Mahmoud

Ahmadinejad reacted Sunday tothe release by the U.S. governmentthat accused Tehran of sponsoringa terrorist plot in the United Statesand used the occasion to blame Washington for the frequent bilateral crises.The Iraniannation does not need educatedarticulate plans of murder. Murderis your thing, said Ahmadinejad,speaking at the Iranian Parliament,The Iranian Presidents remarks were reported by the of cial newsagency, IRNA. The onslaught fromthe leader responds to U.S. chargesthat the Islamic Republic would be behind a plot to assassinate the

Saudi ambassador in Washington, Adel al-Jubeir. Ahmadinejad saidthe U.S. is seeking to create anew crisis every day with Iran,accusing it of terrorism. Forhim, the American accusationsare merely an attempt to try andstop the development of Iran.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

of Iran said in a statement thatthe U.S. accusations have nolegal basis and they only seek toexacerbate tension in the regionin the Middle East and undermineinternational security. They unilaterally announce chargesagainst a resident (Iranian) in theUnited States, without providingdocuments, and create a mediacampaign against Iran that hasno legal basis, the Ministry said.For Iran, Washington shouldhave consulted Tehran aboutits suspicions. But the U.S.government ignored the expressrequest of the Islamic Republic

which it did, against internationalconventions, says the statement. A reminder, that the west, theUnited States and Israel inparticular, have accused Iran of plans to produce nuclear weapons, which Iran completely denies. Iranis a signatory to the Nuclear Non-

Proliferation Treaty, while Israelhas refused to sign the treaty, andis also in possession of a largenuclear stockpile itself, remainingcompletely unchallenged. Leadersof those countries have also

threatened Iran with military action, stating that all options areon the table/ Numerous sanctionshave also been imposed on Iran, while there are none on Israel.Irans representative to the IAEA,

the organization responsible for

monitoring compliance made thefollowing statements:Iran has repeatedly announcedthat it opposes nuclear weaponsand that all its activities pursuepeaceful objectives and arecarried out under the IAEAsfull surveillance. As it has beenrepeatedly proven over the pasteight years, claims about Iransnuclear arms are baseless, hesaid, adding that the internationalcommunity has been witnessingsuch unfounded allegations. An IAEA report said, Iranappears to be working with theagency on parts of its nuclear

program as it promised earlier.Certain misunderstandings overIrans nuclear activities have beencleared up, and the inspections onthe countrys centrifuge researchcenters by IAEA have proventhat Irans nuclear activities arepeaceful, the report concludes.

Ahm adinejad reacts to the USA:Mur der is your thing

Awlaki family condemns killing of clerics soThe family of Anwar al-Awlakiis asserting that the U.S.-

born clerics son,killed last week ina U.S. airstrike in Yemen, was a 16-

year-old noncombatant who paid ahefty price for something he neverdid and never was.

Anwar al-Awlaki was killed inlate September. His son was killedtwo weeks later.

In a statement, their rst sincethe killing of Anwar al-Awlaki lastmonth, the family says the clericsson was an American citizen who was living in the Yemeni capitaluntil mid-September, when he lefthis mother a note saying he wasgoing in search of his father. He was killed Friday in a U.S. dronestrike while barbecuing under themoonlight with other teenagers,the family said.

A family member reached inSanaa conrmed the Awlakis hadreleased the statement.

The family said they had beenshocked to see reports suggesting

that Abdulrahman al-Awlaki wasa 21-year-old al-Qaeda operative.On a memorial page set up onFacebook, they posted photos of theteenager.

Look at his pictures, his friendsand his hobbies, the statementsaid. His Facebook page shows atypical kid.

The family also condemned theunlawful assassination of Anwaral-Awlaki, 40, saying that he wasan American citizen who had never been formally charged with any crime.

Anwar was never a militantnor was he the head of Al Qaedaexternal operations the family said.

The family of Samir Khan, the al-Qaeda propagandist killed alongside Anwar al-Awlaki, has previously issued a statement condemning theU.S. targeting of their son as illegal.

The Charlotte family described

Khan as a law-abiding citizen of the United States who had never

been implicated in a crime.Was this style of execution the

only solution? the family said.

Why couldnt there have been acapture and trial?

Press TV reported that it was to betaken off air in the UK next week, which Ofcom has not conrmed.

Ofcom is in fact still considering whether to revoke Press TVslicence, after nding in May thatit had broken broadcasting rules by showing a 2009 interview withNewsweek journalist Maziar Bahari,detained by the Iranians, whichMr Bahari later said was a forced,

scripted confession, under threat of execution.

Ofcom spokesman Rhys Hurd saidthat no decision had yet been made.

But in May, when Ofcom ruledagainst the channel, it was madeclear that punishment could includea ban on broadcasting. Press TV is

likely to be allowed to appeal if it is banned.In a statement posted on its

website, the channel claimed: The

British media regulators decision isconsidered to be an abuse of the UK media law and the result of mountingpressure on the organisation by certain members of the royal family and government.

It added: A quick glance at thesenior decision-makers at Ofcomreveals that the regulator is mostly made up of former Channel 4 andBBC executives, some of whom are

well-linked to, and inuenced by,powerful pro-Israeli politicians andUS sympathisers.

Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn,

London mayoral candidate KenLivingstone and former MP GeorgeGalloway have all made regularappearances.

Ofcom has ruled that both MrGalloway and Mr Corbyn have breached broadcasting rules onimpartiality. Mr Galloway hasdescribed Israel as a terroristgangster state and a miscreant,law-breaking rogue, war-launching,

occupying state. Mr Corbyn breached the rules when he appearedon Mr Galloways weekly Commentshow.

Press TV could have its licence revoked


7/31

7South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

The Reality of Un iver sity Fees

[Previously: ...Anthony andI...were bruised with bustednose, eyes, lips, ears, stomach,arms...we had two weeks off to recover and do whatever wepleased.***...violence was wrong andhurting others got you no-

where so long as we all endedup affected, and this was in-evitable.]My ideology of that never left,and even if I was in a posi-tion to hurt, I truly believedI would never let myself fallinto the epitome of such dark-ness, was just the way I was.Still, I had complete gratitude

for Anthony saving me.My mom gave me aspirin

and sleeping tablets to assuagethe pain, I took three in onego, (of the aspirin) and twoof the other, this was alright,said it on the packet. I wantedto escape from my daily painsof being human, still not ever

wanting it to change as I was ne with the way I was born.

With my last consumption of the pill and water I inaccu-rately placed the glass on theedge of my side table, gently closing my eyes as I heard athump: the glass. The doctorsaid I should have rest, my

family let me rest, and even Worthall has given me thechance of rest, well I mightas well use it, Ill pick it uplater, mindlessly I thought as Idrifted away into the fantasiesof having a soul.

The minute I awoke I wasalready feeling slightly bet-ter, I would rest. My headstill hammered and I hadstrains all over me, my timefor sleep was nigh. Sighing Ilooked up towards the ceil-ing thinking just thinkingabout life. I turned towardsmy clock on the windowpane:only eleven oclock. Great,

not even the next day and my wounds werent healing: Idhave plenty of rest. Slowly my eyelids tightened: sight hazy,sight dreamlike. A week wasa while, two weeks even, andgiven the amount of damagedone to my body, Id be likethis for a while, so I might as

well have gotten used to it.The night air aroma of Ar-rova was sweetened with theessence of nostalgia and de-spair. On top of a hill, Hanal-ed painfully overlooked hishometown, grinning with aslight strain, seeing an ab-sentminded crow perched on

a shadow shrub. He knew he was hungry, and he knew thattoday he would kill. The echoof him blew added dread andgrief, which to him, remindedhim of the days that he wasntchained to a curse mark that

would never disappear. Clos-ing, clenching, calming his sts, he enduringly looked

back up into empty, navy darkness; there is a slightchance, he thought, but I mustdo this, it must be done! Andhe cautiously hurled himself down onto the ground rocks

before him, walking. Perhapstoday isnt a time to kill, butinstead the aftermath of whatshouldve been truly desired.

SORRY FOR YOURSELFMarisa Paulson

With all the current economic andclimatic turmoil in the world, theinternational status quo is rightly termed as depressing. Daily wend ourselves swamped with theevident degeneration of morality:criminality has experienced a surge,from bankers embezzling funds toknife crime on the London streets;nancial markets are spiraling outof control (to a destination of whicheven economists are unsure of). It would seem that meteorologists arerelying more on probability lawsthan on fancy technology as weatherpatterns pirouette wildly. Yet, hopeinsists. With all this dismal truismcomes the reality of hope and, in my mind, it takes the form of education.Nonetheless, even our hope is underthreat.Considering going to a Britishuniversity? Does the sound of havingthe possibility of attending some of the worlds most highly commendedtertiary institutions appeal to you?The answers may be yes and they arerightly so. However the Coalitionsrecent bill to raise the university fees

cap to 9000 is certainly a barrierto our aspirations of continuing onto higher education. Subsequently many top universities have raisedtheir fees in a dramatic fashion.The perplexity of why the Coalitionis suppressing higher education isincomprehensible. Why try to inhibitsomething which could one day help revive the countrys economy?The Chancellor, George Osborne,is forever consulting advisors onstrategies for economic growth whenhe chooses to ignore an obviousconsideration. Cameron, having

obtained a rst class honours degreein PPE (Philosophy, Politics andEconomics) at Oxford, is expected toknow his way around the economy.Having been studying AS Economicsfor a short season it already strikesme that one of the more importantfactors of production in an economy

is Labour and if Labour is to be better, an educated workforce is vital.It seems that the only skill Camerontransferred as Prime Minister fromhis Oxford days is how to damagethings something which theBullingdon Club was renowned for.

The internationally-respectedstatesman Nelson Mandela, that bastion of democracy, is quoted sayingthat education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world we live in. The opportunity togo to university allows us to broadenour minds, much like travelling.

Yet with the latest extortionate hikein tuition fees not a few potentialundergraduates must be dissuadedfrom continuing in higher education.Figures, as reported in an articlefrom the Telegraph broadsheet,illustrate that some universities

are anticipating that a fth of undergraduates will be lost as aresult. While it is necessary recognize

that the countrys economy is in aslump and savings need to be madeacross the board, the Government isnot doing enough to encourage youthto pursue a path in higher education.Sure, provision is being made forthe destitute and, needless to say,

the wealthier members of society need not worry about economisingfor university. Nonetheless the

squeezed middle will again bearthe social cost of this externality.The Government is in grave dangerof jeopardising the futures of many would-be undergraduates. Can ourgovernment empathise with theaverage family in the land? Considerthat 23 of the 29 cabinet membersare millionaires and the question becomes almost rhetorical.Furthermore, Government has withdrawn direct state funding forteaching in universities, leavinguniversities to vie for students andtheir money. This policy may justsend some English universitiesdown the drain as they will need toscrutinize their balance sheets withgreater intensity, making universitiesmore like a rm than a centre of learning. Amidst strong oppositionand criticism from leading academicssuch as Sir Peter Scott, former vice-chancellor of Kingston University,the Government has decided to presson.It is now a conrmed truth that as of September 2012 many universities will charge 9000. However thisshould NOT deter us from going touniversity. If we have aspirations

we must work towards them nomatter what obstacles may seemto hinder our progression. ThoughGovernment policy may be aimedat widening the ssure between theelite and those situated on the lowerrungs of the social ladder, it is withinour power to reverse this. If we want a fairer Big society we mustght for our rights. If our places of education are stolen away from ourgrasp, then it may be conceived that we are descended from primates.Education is our only key to a betterexistence.

Ad ria n Fe la ar

If we wan t a fairer Big society wemustght for our rights. If our placesof education are stolen away from ourgrasp, then it m ay be conceived that weare descended from primates. Educationis our on ly key to a better existence.


8/31

8 South Asia Tribune I Thursday 20 October 2011

ADVICE

Dear Miss R,

I am extremely concerned about my brother who hasrecently started hanging out with the wrong crowd.Hes always been very sensible and a good studentand a positive role model for me. However he has become increasingly irritant and rude for exampleswearing at my mum. Just last week he went andgot his tongue pierced; him and my mum had a hugerow and now they are not speaking. Im also worriedhes been taking drugs/smoking. Things are getting very tense at home and Im not sure what to do.My brother is a smart kid but if he keeps going onlike this, hell get into major trouble and I hate the

situation at home. A n g e la

Dear Angela,

First of all its best you speak to your mother abouthow you feel and then speak to your brother andtell him you love him but you are concerned aboutthe changes in him. Also, try speak to your fatherif possible and see if he can do anything? Boys willusually relate more to fatherly gures and its mostlikely your brother will listen to him. It would also be wise to contact a counselor and get your brothertested for drugs/alcohol. Keep in mind that adults will be the best to deal with this s ituation so contactany other adult immediately if not your parents for

example a teacher. Who knows with some help andguidance that nose ring may disappear too. M is s R

ENTERTAINMENT

FASHION

DEBATE

Indulgence is a word that most wouldndoverrated yet most neglect to understandthat we spend a large majority of our livesindulging over trivial things. A magazine,a sumptuous snack or (my personalfavourite) a Phone app. We each allow ourselves to pursue these various things because they are easy, because they areconvenient and ultimately because they give us pleasure. And in our pursuit of these things we take not even a momentspause to think, todays pleasure could betomorrows pain?Most if not all would readily assumethat the purchase of one magazine, twomagazines, maybe two magazine andone monthly subscribed magazine willdo us no harm . After all what pain couldpossibly come from turning glossy pages,lling our mind with information andattuning our eyes to aesthetically pleasingimages? The negligible fact of the matteris this. For the pleasure of browsing youreyes over these charming pages comesthe pain of emptiness within your pocket.

Every subscription and every purchaseaccumulates to the cut back of your ownpersonal funds. Funds which could beput to much better use but what use ismore funds weighed against personalsatisfaction?Many of us are suckers for a good dish. A steaming hot plate of chips here, a wellseasoned piece of chicken there and aravishing slice of cake just to keep thingseven. After all what pain could possibly come from igniting your insides with a hotdelicacy on a cold day? What pain couldpossibly come from tucking into somefreshly cooked fries from a certain place with two golden arches and lastly whatpain could possibly come from consuminga hand crafted pastry topped with cream,chocolate or an even sweeter surprise?In actual fact a lot of pain. Trips to thedentist, an unatteringgure, the deathof your social life, shall I go on? Never theless what good is a social life, well keptteeth and an even better keptgure when weighed against personal taste?Last but not least, a great number of usdare I say all of us love a good produce

of technology. Be it a Phone app, thelatest game console or even the latestphone. After all what pain could possibly come from manipulating nature,cocooning ourselves in a virtual worldand earning the top score? Aside fromthe environmental trouble caused to gainresources needed to fuel these pieces of technology, the extreme measures of recycling enforced by the government inorder for certain materials to enable themanufacturing of these products and alittle thing I like to call global warmingno pain what so ever could come formthese things. Pay no attention to thethings listed for what good is a world in which recycling is not taken to extremes,the environment is cared for and global warming is reduced when weighedagainst personal entertainment?In no such words am I saying that peopleshould stop eating, purchasing magazinesor perhaps stop buying needless pieces of technological devices that are more to do with vanity than with use. I am simply saying that todays pleasure could betomorrows pain.

Todays pleasure Tom orrow s painKeziah-Ann Abakah

By M is b a h Kh a n

The symbol of rock has seen to bea simple hand gesture, howeversome believe to see it otherwise.

Celebrities, The public and eventhe President of the USA have been seen using this highly symbolic rock sign with theirhands, but what does it actually mean?Is it just a normal way of showing your love for rock or does itrepresent something far beyond

our understanding?The sign itself is known allaround the globe, most peoplerecognise it, and rock springsto mind, however are all thesesupporters actual rock fans?Many of us believe that it is aharmless character representingthe distinct style of rock. Others believe that it must relate toIlluminati, Satanism or evenFree Mason.Nonetheless it doesnt changethe fact that all these peopleare using representation, and italmost leaves us all blinded.

Does Rock On haveSom ething m ore to it?

Faux fur is a timeless fashio n. Its wa rm , fas hi on ab le an d a ke y t re nd th isseason. Fur is luxury at its cheapestand here are a few pieces that can give yo u t he ul tim ate c oz y l oo k

Light brown faux fur hooded gilet45.00

www .r iv er is land .comFur Cuff Heeled Boot

22.00 www.m atalan .co. uk

Fake fur collar12.99

ww w.h m.c om /gb

Fake fur jacket39.99

ww w.h m.c om /gb

TOBACCOFUR TRIM MITTEN

Price: 16.00 www. tops ho p. co m


9/31

9 Saarc international I Thursday 20 October 2011

aarcS i n t e rna t iona lThursday, 20.10.11 Work displayed in saarc int. a re areview of southasianmedia.net.The information on this page is forinformation purposes only.The South Asia Tribune andSAARC International Ltd.assume no liability for any inaccurate, delayed, or incompleteinformation, nor for any actionstaken in reliance thereon.The full story can be viewed atw w w .sou thas ian m edia.n et

The American build-up, which includeshelicopter gunships, heavy artillery andhundreds of U.S. and Afghan military personnel,has reportedly caused panic in Pakistans north Waziristan, a usually safe haven for Haqqani ghters.

U.S. military troops are positioning on thePakistan border in eastern Afghanistan aheadof a likely drone missile attack against militantsfrom the Haqqani network, a feared faction of theTaliban.

The American build-up, which includeshelicopter gunships, heavy artillery and hundreds of U.S. and Afghan military personnel, has reportedly caused panic in Pakistans north Waziristan, ausually safe haven for Haqqani ghters.

Pakistan Army sources told the Telegraph thatthe American plan was to force the tribal militiafrom their bases and into Afghanistan, where they will be encircled, arrested or killed.

Preparing for strike: U.S. military personnel

are amassing on the Afghan-Pakistan border.The Haqqani group, which is linked to both the

Taliban and al-Qaida, has been blamed for highpro le attacks in the Afghan capital, including lastmonths 19-hour siege against the U.S. Embassy inKabul.

Members of the network fathered in the capitalMiranshah to consider the appropriate response tothe anticipated strike, the Telegraph reported.

Local of cials warned that Pakistans armedforces would block any move across the border by American forces, but military sources in Islamabadand Afghan of cials told the Telegraph that the build-up was part of a coordinated operation.

President Barack Obama has said that he believes Pakistan is not going after insurgentgroups that it feels could end up regaining power in Afghanistan after coalition forces leave.

A senior of

cial with the U.S.-led coalition toldreporters at a brie ng today that the coalition was very focused now on the Haqqani network.

Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq ParvezKayani has not ruled out the possibility of aunilateral US military strike against militants inNorth Waziristan tribal region, but warned that Washington will have to think ten times beforelaunching such an attack, a media report saidtoday.

They (USA) might do it but they will have tothink ten times because Pakistan is not Iraq or Afghanistan, Gen. Kayani was quoted by TheExpress Tribune newspaper as telling members of parliaments defence committee during a brie ngat the General Headquarters yesterday.

The rare brie ng for members of the standingcommittees on defence of the two Houses of parliament lasted over three hours, media reportssaid.

Gen. Kayani made the remarks when alawmaker asked him to comment on the possibility of a US strike in Pakistan, like American attacks inLaos and Cambodia before the withdrawal from Vietnam.

Opera tion Kn ife Edge on a t border

Kayani does not rule out US stUS forces am ass on Af-Pak bor der, ready for attack on Taliban


10/31

10 Saarc international I Thursday 20 October 2011NEWS

Travelers from India andPakistan may soon be allowedto visit to more than three placesin one visit as per the new Visa Agreement the draft of which isnalised in New Delhi. It envisagesmore liberalised and simple visaprocedure for business people.

The draft of the agreement to easetravel for the nationals of eithercountry desiring to visit the other was nalised during the secondmeeting of the Joint Working Group(JWG) and will be submitted to therespective governments for obtainingnecessary approvals in order to signthe Agreement at an early date,Ministry of External Affairs said.

The draft also envisages hassle-freetravel for the businessmen from eachcountry by providing more liberalisedand simple visa procedure, accordingto of cial sources.

The modalities for streamlining the visa procedures was also examined atthe two-day meeting which was heldin pursuance of the decision takenduring the India-Pakistan Home/Interior Secretary-level talks held inMarch.

The meeting, which was a follow-up on the deliberations held inthe rst meeting of the JWG inIslamabad in June this year, wasled by Anil Goswami, AdditionalSecretary(Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs, and Nasar Hayat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of

Interior, from Pakistani side.The discussions were held in a

friendly and cordial atmosphere. Thetwo sidesnalized the draft text of the

Agreement which will be submittedto the respective governments forobtaining necessary approvals inorder to sign the Agreement at anearly date, MEA said.

The draft of the new bilateral visa

agreement envisages, among otherthings, multiple-entry visas fortraders and businessmen of the twocountries.

During the talks between theforeign ministers of the twocountries in June, the two sides hadprioritised building strong people-to-people contacts as a key part of their relationship and decided toaccelerate their negotiations forconcluding a visa agreement.

The draft agreement as suggested by Pakistan included that all embassy staff assigned as diplomats and theirfamilies should be allowed multipleentry visas during their period of posting; High-ranking dignitaries with diplomatic passports would be given single-entry visas; nondiplomatic staff and families in the

missions would get multiple entry visas during tenure but the visas would be restricted to city of posting;of cial visas for of cials visiting on work would be single-entry.

For the popular visit visa category,

visas would be issued for a period of six months; Senior citizens, eminentpersons, and females of one country married to males of the other, andtheir children below 18, would getone-year visas with multiple entries.Further the transit visa would be for36 hours.

The visa regime has, hitherto,restricted to social visits and topilgrim only. The new category of group tourism has also beenintroduced through an agent. The visa will be given for 30 days if thegroup should not be less than 10people. The agent will be requiredto register the group on arrival and

departure with the police stations of the places to be visited. Businessmen would get multiple entry visa for theduration of one year.

India, Pakistan rm upliberalised visa regime draft

Building Bridges will be thecore theme for the two-day 17th SAARC Summit beginningin the picturesque Atoll Addu inMaldives next month on November10-11, 2011.

The theme, preferred by theRepublic of Maldives, represents arange of new diplomatic initiativescovering geo-physical regionalconnectivity to conscious nursingof political dialogue among theSAARC community.

This will be the third-timeSAARC Summit being hosted by the Maldives government: theprevious ones in 1990 and 1997respectively.

SAARC community consists of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh,Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepaland Sri Lanka. The 16th Summit was held in April 2010 in Bhutan

with Climate Change as its centralsubject of deliberations.

Maldives is trying to bridgepolitical differences among themember countries of the SAARCforum.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf RazaGilani who is expected representPakistan at the 17th SAARCsummit on November 10 and 11,2011, will have second strategicoccasion of meeting with his Indiancounterpart Dr Manmohan Singh.

It was the Thimpu SAARC eventof April 2010 that both Islamabadand New Dehli had agreed to openup years choked channels fordiplomatic dialogue between them,the process now gone much aheadto a burgeoning bilateral trade andPakistans consent to accord MostFavored Nation (MFN) status toIndia.

Maldives aims to bridgeSAARC differences at

November summit

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it wouldhear the petition regardingforeign assets of civil and military of cers and has formed a larger bench to conduct the hear ing onOctober 31.

The petition was led in theapex court by former InformationMinister Mohammad AliDurrani.

The petition states thatcertain Pakistani civilian andmilitary of cials, politiciansand businessmen have made

money through illegal meansand subsequently laundered it toSwitzerland and other countries.

Mr Durrani claims that the foreign assets are worth astaggering $5billion.

He also said that according tothe UN convention, this money

belongs to Pakistan and the courtshould direct the government to bring it back.

Earlier this year, 30 membersof Parliament admitted to havingassets outside the country.

Among the parliamentarians who admitted to having assetsabroad are National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, FinanceMinister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh,Interior Minister Rehman Malik,Babar Khan Ghauri from theMQM, Senator Ishaq Dar fromthe PML-N, Senator Tariq Azeem

from PML-Q and former minister Azam Khan Sawati from JUI-F.

Last week, the Lahore HighCourt chief justice issued

notices to some of the countrysmost prominent politicians,including Pakistan PeoplesParty (PPP) chairperson BilawalBhutto Zardari, following a writ petition alleging they weremisappropriating public funds.

Chief Justice Ijaz AhmedChaudhry directed President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)chief Nawaz Sharif and PakistanMuslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)chief Chaudhry Shujaat

Hussain, among others, to letheir replies, along with theiraf davits, regarding the detailsof their worldwide assets by the rst week of December.

SC to hear petition on foreign assetsof politicians, m ilitary of cers

Assets are worth a stagger ing $5billion: The petition

Jordans King Abdullah dism isses

the governm ent According to Jordanian sources,

the King accepted the resignationof Prime Minister Al-Bakhit

The King of Jordan has yieldedto pressure from protesters andparliament and dismissed thegovernment of Maarouf Al-Bakhit.King Abdullah II also sacked hisintelligence chief, Mohamed Al-Rakkad.


11/31

Saarc international I Thursday 20 October 2011 11

WEEKLY REVIEW OF

AFGHANISTAN NEWS

The Russian Foreign Ministry hasissued a statement saying thatthe UN Security Councils decision toprolong the mandate of the InternationalSecurity Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan would promote security inthe region.

We believe that the extension of the

ISAF mandate will facilitate stabilizationin the country in close cooperation withthe government of the Islamic Republicof Afghanistan, reads the statementposted on the Foreign Ministrys web-site.

The prolongation of the mission wouldadvance of the Afghan stabilizationprocess and ensure regional security and stability, it added.

The Russian ministry reminded thatthe Security Council has designatedthe main responsibility for security andlaw enforcement in Afghanistan on thenational authorities.

It also said that the withdrawal of theinternational forces from Afghanistanshould take place only after the localmilitary and security forces haveacquired the necessary training tocounter any remaining threats from the

Taliban and Al-Qaeda.The resolution of the UN Security

council also mentions the special roleof regional security organizations in Afghanistan settlement, such as theCollective Security Treaty Organization(CSTO) and the Shanghai CooperationOrganization (SCO). Russia is a member

of both organizations.Russia continues to support the

international operation in Afghanistan,and in 2008-2009 opened transit routes

for transporting German and US military cargo across its territory into the warzone. This has given the ISAF a much-needed alternative route, especially afterthe Pakistan supply route had becomecomplicated after Al-Qaeda terroristsincreased their activities in the country.

Moscow has repeatedly stressed

the danger of chaos spreading from Afghanistan into other Central Asiancountries if the removal of internationalforces is conducted too hastily and without preparation.

Russia welcom es ISAF longerstay in Afghan istan

German President Christian Wulff vowed Sunday that Germany wouldcontinue to support Afghanistanafter the troops have left, as hemade a surprise trip to Kabul fortalks with President Hamid Karzai.I have come to Afghanistan tomake clear: Germany will not leave Afghanistan in the lurch, Wulff stressed upon arriving for the rstof cial visit of a German head of state to Kabul in 44 years. We will remain a reliable and durable

friend and partner of Afghanistanafter the handing over of security in 2014 as it overcomes futurechallenges, added the president in

remarks released by his of ce. Wulff was due to meet humanrights groups before embarkingon talks with Karzai, which wereto prepare the ground for a majorconference on Afghanistan in theformer German capital Bonn inDecember.Germany has around 5,000 troopssupporting international effortsin Afghanistan -- a mission pollsconsistently show is unpopular inthe country.

A total of 52 German soldiers havefallen during the mission, accordingto the armys website, 34 of themunder enemy re.

Germ an president insurpr ise Afghanistan trip

Parliam ent approves $51m

payout over K abul Bank Afghanistans parliament approveda $51m payment to the central bank on Sunday as part of a planned

compensation package over its multi-million-dollar bailout of the scandal-hit Kabul Bank.

The payment is part of a package of

government measures agreed with the

International Monetary Fund (IMF) tosecure a new loan for Afghanistan. TheIMF stalled renewal of its assistanceprogramme in the wake of the scandal, which highlighted endemic corruptionamong Kabuls elite.

It comes as planned NATO troop withdrawals and waning donor supportare expected to challenge economicgrowth in the heavily aid-dependentnation.

The central bank bailed out KabulBank, the war-torn countrys biggestcommercial lender, to the tune of $825million last year, after it collapsed in ascandal which saw hundreds of millionsof dollars stolen.

US of cials have accusedPakistan of ties to the Haqqanigroup, causing diplomatic riftsas the West seeks an end to the10-year war in Afghanistan. Afghan security forces and

their NATO allies have launcheda new push against the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network alongthe troubled Pakistani border,senior defence of cials saidTuesday.

Defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said operation KnifeEdge was launched two daysago, while a senior defenceministry of cial said it waslargely against the Haqqani

network, blamed for a recentattack in Kabul.

A NATO spokesman con rmed

only that enhanced of cialoperations were ongoing in

the eastern region that borders

Pakistan, but gave no furtherdetails for security reasons.

Afghanistan, NATO launch new push agains

Secretary of State Hillary RodhamClinton arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday on an unannounced visitto urge leaders there to continuereconciliation efforts with theTaliban. Clinton, arriving in Kabulafter a brief trip to Libya, will holdtalks with President Hamid Karzaiand other top of cials, encouragingthem to keep up efforts to convincemilitants to lay down their weapons.Optimism that Taliban leaders

will ever join in the peace processhas hit a new low with the recentassassination of the countrys toppeace negotiator, former PresidentBurhanuddin Rabbani, and a spate of high-prole attacks. She is expectedto discuss US strategic relations with Afghanistan and ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as wellas preview plans for conferences onthe future of Afghanistan due to beheld in Istanbul in November and

Bonn in December.Ties between Kabul and Islamabadhave been particularly strainedsince the assassination of Rabbani, who was killed by a suicide bomberposing as a Taliban reconciliationenvoy.Many Afghans, including seniorof cials, have accused the Pakistangovernment of having links to thekilling, and accused their neighborof fomenting instability to further

its own political interests. Pakistandenies this.Karzai has been more circumspect, but hinted after the killing that hehad lost hope in pursuing peacetalks with the Taliban and suggestednegotiations with Pakistan instead.Top US of cials accused Pakistanof supporting insurgent groups in Afghanistan after Septembers 20-hour attack on diplomatic targets inKabul, including the US embassy.

Clinton in Afghanistan to Push Reconciliation


12/31


WEEKLY REVIEW OF

BANGLADESH NEWS

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Ziafueled communalism and hurt thereligious sentiments of the countrysminorities by her communalspeech, said Awami League leaderSuranjit Sengupta yesterday.Suranjit was speaking as thechief guest at a discussion styledAmendment of Vested Property Return Act 2001: Finalisation and victims expectation in the citysDhaka Reporters Unity.Bangladesh Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikkya Parishad, Ain OSalish Kendra and six other non-government and social organisationsorganised the discussion.Khaleda, at a rally in Sylhet recently,questioned the religious identity of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaafter the latter visited DhakeswariNational Temple during Durga Puja,

the largest religious festival of theHindu community.If the government does not protectthe rights of the minorities, then both the parties should give upexpectations on each other and it will change the political equilibriumin the country, he said. Addressing the function, veteranleftist politician Ajoy Roy opined forplacing the vested property issue inthe UN Human Rights Commissionfor its resolution. Arpito Sampotti Ain Protirodh Andolon General Secretary SubrataChowdhury placed a seven-pointdemand for inclusion in theamendment.Justice Ghulam Rabbani chairedthe function, where representativesof different non-governmentorganisations also spoke.

Khaledas comm entfueled communalism Australia-based Santos, which isdrilling a well in the Bay of Bengal

in search of gas, said it has to waitanother 10 to 12 days for a result.The oil and gas exploration company started the drilling at South Sangu-4,around ve kilometres off the presentSangu gaseld, on September 24 with jackup rig called Offshore Resolute brought from Singapore.The drilling needs around 10 to12 days more to reach the targeteddepth of approximately 3,600 to3,800 metres and know if there is any reserve, said ABA Siraj Uddowlah, vice president (government andpublic affairs) of Santos Bangladesh, yesterday.If gas was found in this well, another

one month would be required todetermine the total deposit, andanother one and a half years to set upa platform and underwater pipeline to bring gas ashore, he said.

He is talking to a team of journalists visiting the rig, around 45 kilometresfrom the shore.The work is going on smoothly and we are getting all sorts of support fromthe government, said Siraj.On completion of the South Sanguexploration, the rig would be movedto another Sangu 11 well where thedrilling is scheduled to start towards

the end of November.Santos Senior Drilling EngineerHasnain Ibrahim Babu said they had drilled upto 2,235 metres till yesterday. Aiming at increasing gas supply toindustries in Chittagong, Santos took a$126 million project for drilling SouthSangu-4, Sangu 11 and Sangu NorthEast wells in Block 16 of the Bay.

Sangu gas reserve to be known in 10-12

The government on Monday approved a proposal for dividingDhaka into two city corporations north and south with a view toensuring better service delivery toaround 1.2 crore people living in themetropolis.

The local government division placedthe proposal for splitting the DCC intotwo separate local government bodiesat the weekly meeting of the cabinet with the prime minister, SheikhHasina, in the chair at the secretariat.

The move came against the backdrop of the DCCs failure todeliver its responsibilities that include

cleaning, sewerage management andmaintenance of roads, a senior of cialconcerned told New Age, adding thatit had become dif cult for the city

corporation to cater to the demands of a growing population of the metropolisand so the government had decided todivide it into two city corporations.

The Awami League-led governmentis yet to take initiatives to hold theDCC elections due since May 14, 2007as it wants to divide the city into twoparts, according of cials.

The cabinet has approved inprinciple the proposal to makeamendments to the Local Government(City Corporation) Act, 2009 fordividing the Dhaka City Corporationinto two parts as the single body cannot deliver expected services toover one crore people,

prime ministers press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters afterthe meeting.

The city corporation with an areaof 360 sq kilometres is now dividedinto 92 wards with 15 constituencies.The proposed DCC North will beconstituted with 36 wards, including1- 23 and 37- 45, and the DCC South will be made up of 56 wards, including24- 36, 48-53, 56- 66 and 68-92, thepress secretary said. A senior of cial of the local

government division said that no wards would be delimited andMohammadpur, Tejgaon and Badda,to be placed under the northern part, would mark the dividing line betweenthe two city corporations.

Govt to split Dhaka into two city corpns

The police dispersed on Monday morning hundreds of small investors who spent the previous night outsidethe Dhaka Stock Exchange staging ahunger strike in protest at the freefall of share prices. After the police action, the investorsgathered in front of the NationalPress Club and vowed to continuetheir hunger strike. They also saidthey would call a countrywidegeneral strike if the governmenttried to suppress their movement.Investors, under the banner of Bangladesh Capital Market InvestorsCouncil, started the hunger strike on

Sunday morning in front of the DSE building demanding an immediateassurance from the prime ministerto stabilise the capital market.In a press brieng at the NationalPress Club, the council leadersclaimed that law enforcementagencies were asking them not to

continue the protest.We want security of our life.Different quarters and police haveissued threats asking us not to

continue the protest, Kazi NazrulIslam, acting president of the counciltold the brieng.He said the investors would continuetheir protest and hunger strike atthe press club and would not leavethe streets until their demands weremet.

Council leader Kazi Firoz Rashidsaid, If we cannot continue ourprotests here, we will move to theCentral Shaheed Minar to take our

protest to its next stage. If the policerepression continues, we will call anationwide general strike, he said.Leaders of the council claimed thatthe DSE authorities had unleashedpolice to foil their peaceful protest.During the overnight protest infront of the DSE, the investors

sang patriotic songs and parodiesderiding the governments policies. A sharp fall in the DSE index onSunday prompted the investors to

embark on a hunger strike. They demanded immediate governmentmeasures to stabilise the capitalmarket as it was going through adepression after a market crash inJanuary.Several political parties expressedtheir solidarity with the affected

small investors on Sunday. JatiyaParty chairman Hussein MuhammadErshad, BNP leader AbdulMoyeen Khan, Communist Party of Bangladesh central leader SajjadZahir Chandan, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president ASM Abdur Rob andgeneral secretary Abdul Malek Ratan visited the hunger strikers.The DSE benchmark index, DGEN,on December 5, 2010, booked thehighest-ever gain in its history to8,918 points. However, with theindex continuing to plunge sincethen, swinging only occasionally toa day or two of slight gains, have

lost 3,513 points over the past 10months.Thousands of small investors losttheir capitals in the prolongeddepression of the stock market but the government is yet to comeup with any concrete measures tostabilise the market.

Police disperse investors on hunger strike


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13Saarc international I Thursday 20 October 2011

WEEKLY REVIEW OF

BHUTAN NEWS

Bhutans newly married RoyalCouple waded through a sea of people during their 13-hour journey today from the ancient city of Punakhato capital Thimphu, covering most of the 71 km distance by foot.

The 31-year-old Oxford-educated Wangchuck and his Queen Pema, whodid her higher secondary schooling inHimachal Pradeshs Sanawar, skippedtheir lunch as they accepted greetings,congratulatory messages and simplegifts from people all along their journey that began as early as 7.30 AM.

The Royal Couple got down fromtheir car almost every ve minutes, walked along with commoners,

patiently signed autographs and evenlet them plant a kiss on their cheeksas people waited for hours together braving cold conditions to get a glimpseof the newly-wed couple.

The 71-km distance, which usually takes 3 hours by car, took 13 hours forthe Royal Convoy to reach the capitalas over 25,000 people queued acrossthis picturesque city alone to welcomethe Royal Couple to the capital.

The couple was scheduled to arrivehere by 2 PM, but it was 8 PM whenthey reached the Druk ShoppingComplex in the centre of the city.

When the convoy came near to

them, the Bhutanese cheered and welcomed the King and the Queen withfolded hands. Once the Royal Couplereciprocated their gestures, the people jostled with each other to present a white scarf, considered as a mark of respect, to the Royal Couple.

Many a times, the King got downfrom his vehicle and walked along with the people. He likes spendingtime with people, Kinley Dorji,Secretary Ministry of Information andCommunication, told PTI.

Most of the journey is being covered by foot. People are lined up across the way. He did not want to drive pastthem. That is why he took so much of time, he said.

Congress General Secretary RahulGandhi, a friend of the Bhutan King,arrived here this afternoon and willgrace the national celebrations at theChanglingmithang Grounds, which wears a festive look.

In Thimphu, near the Druk Shopping Complex, the Royal Coupleshook hands with school children, whopatiently waited for their arrival, gaveautographs, accepted gifts and evenkissed some of them.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Wangchuck, who attendedthe National Defence College in New Delhi, told the huge foreign media withfolded hands as photographers jostled with each other to click pictures.

Bhutans new ly-wed royal

couple walks to capital

Bhutans newlywed king and queenare headed to Rajasthan for theirhoneymoon, if sources are to be believed. The 31-year-old monarch,Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck,and his bride, Jetsun Pema, will visitUdaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur.The couple will arrive on October 25and stay till November 1. Apparently, Wangchuck fell in love with Rajasthan when he visited

Ranthambore last October. Lookslike the wildlife reserve made such animpression on him that he wants toshare the experience with his queen.It has also been learnt that they willtake a trip across Rajasthan in a specialtrain arranged for the couple. Not willing to disclose anything, Bina Kak,Rajasthans minister of tourism, only said, Wed love to play host if the royalcouple comes to our state.

Bhutan royals head to Raja

A royal wedding in Bhutan, is morethan a walk down the aisle for thenations newest cherished couple.It is, in fact a walk down a new lanefor the small Asian country, and ithas the people asking questionsabout themselves.The countrys goal was not simply to marry a royal couple, butinstead to share that wedding withthe rest of the country. Bhutan isa country that didnt even havetelevision until 1999. Today, justa dozen years later, most of thecountrys people enjoyed theopportunity to see the wedding onlive television.Journalists from around the world traveled to the tiny country sandwiched betweenIndia and China. Visiting thetown of Punakha, the ancientcapital, reporters converged ona monastery complex that onceserved double duty as a military fortress. As reporters marveled at

the ancient masonry, and curiously wondered just how a royalBuddhist wedding would work,the people of Bhutan wonderedhow the media attention wouldchange their country.The population of Bhutan is about700,000 people. The King, isknown for traveling around the

country and meeting his peoplein person. Often, he has beenknown to travel on foot or bicycle.He has even been known to invitecommoners to his palace for tea.Modern devices such as satellitedishes and television are new inthe country. And the people, whomostly make their living following

traditional ways of life, especially farming, seem to have littleappetite for the bustling outside world.The royal wedding was anopportunity for many to gatheraround television sets and enjoy the ceremony. The people areproud of their prince and new princess, and they watchedthe ceremonies with greatanticipation and pride. But as the joy of the nuptials faded, and thecommon people returned to theirtraditional lives, they have beenleft to wonder just what effect

the encroachment of moderntechnology, media attention, andparticularly television, wouldhave on their culture. Already, a dozen differentchannels are broadcasting theirprograms into every home withthe a satellite dish. Still, whetherthe media attention aroundthe royal wedding marks atechnological and social turningpoint for the people of Bhutan, is aquestion that only they can decidefor themselves, and fortunately,the answer is merely a switch ora plug away.

Royal w edding raises question for locals

Report on Media Developmein Bhutan Released

Copenhagen-based NGOInternational Media Support haspublished a report in association withBhutans Ministry of Informationand Communication, Unesco andUNDP on media development in theHimalayan mountain kingdom.The report notes that Bhutanhas made progress in media

development in recent years butthat the absence of skills and trainedmanpower could be a constraint inthe near future. Certain observationshave also been made on the modeof media regulation in force in thekingdom, which seems to leave lessroom than optimal for the exerciseof journalistic judgment.


14/31

The parliamentary standingcommittee on law and justice is likely to recommend bringing Prime Ministerunder the ambit of Lokpal with certainsafeguards.

The committee on law and justice is veering around to recommending exclusionof lower bureaucracy from the purview of the proposed Lokpal and facilitating settingup of powerful Lokayuktas in all states.

While the panel is likely to endorse thegovernments bill on the basic structure of the Lokpal, including exclusion of lower bureaucracy, higher judiciary, citizenscharter and allowing PM with certain

safeguards, it may also recommend that theSupreme Court judgment in the JharkhandMukti Morcha case be reviewed, allowingfor stronger control of conduct of MPs.

Anna Hazare had demanded that conductof MPs inside Parliament be brought withinthe Lokpal but the panel is unlikely toaccept it.

A major bone of contention -- also part of the Parliament resolution -- was inclusion of all government employees under the ambitof the Lokpal. This has been shot down by the committee and it appears unlikely thatTeam Annas demand will be accepted.

Most members feel that an 11-memberLokpal will not be able to ef ciently handle

40-lakh government employees and may prove entirely ineffective as a result. Sources who have been tracking the proceedingssaid there was near unanimity that CBIshould not be bifurcated as suggested incivil societys version of the bill.

The Jan Lokpal bill had recommendedthat the investigative wing of CBI betaken over by the Lokpal. This is unlikely to be part of the panels report though adetailed discussion on the powers of theLokpal is still to happen. On the issue of setting up Lokayukatas, a panel membersaid, Lokayuktas in states are a strongpossibility.

House panel likely to clear Lokayuktas

WEEKLY REVIEW OF

INDIA NEWS


Come 20 October, Dubai will seethe best of India and Pakistanfashion all under one roof. Thetop 15 designers from the bothcountries are set to showcasetheir nest collections at ModulaConceptio Boutique in Dubai. Among the designers on display is Sangita Rao, the talented

Dubai-based Indian fashiondesigner and the winner of TheCollege Best Achievement Award by Manish Malhotra (Indias topBollywood fashion designer). Also on show is Gulzeb Asif - if debuting her fashion line duringDubai Fashion Week (andstealing the show too) wasntenough! Her designs have alsofound a home at Studio 8, thefamous fashion boutique.Other names which are going to be there are Ashoo & Montana, Aleena & Fareena, Aeysha Mukri,Faizaa Samee, Youssef Kamoun(Haute Coutue by SS), Nasreen

H Shaikh, Rizwan Beyg, SadiaMirza, Saima Taimur, Sonya IffatOmer, Waseem Khan and ZaraShahjahan.

Fashion designersfrom India andPakistan unite

A cash-for-coverage scandal has

taken the zz out of Bharatiya JanataParty leader L K Advanis ambitiousJan Chetna Yatra against corruptionand black money with BJP leaders inMadhya Pradesh attempting to bribe journalists for favourable coverage. A cash-for-coverage scandal has takenthe zz out of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K.Advanis ambitious JanChetna Yatra against corruption and black money with the BJP leaders inMadhya Pradesh attempting to bribe journalists for favourable coverage of the yatra.Envelopes containing currency notes worth Rs. 500-1,000 were handed outto journalists during a press conference

called by local BJP MP Ganesh Singhat the district party of ce in Satna on Wednesday, a day ahead of Mr. Advanispress conference there.

State PWD Minister Nagendra Singh

also presided over the press conference.The incident came to light after oneof the journalists, Arvind Mishra of the Hindi daily Nai Dunia, returnedthe envelope handed out to him andreported the matter as a news story inhis paper.There were some 30-35 journalists both from print and TV at the pressconference and everybody accepted theenvelopes. I was enraged and along withmy photographer, decided to returnthe envelope. Its unfortunate that thisis what journalism, and politics, havecome to in this country, Mr. Mishratold The Hindu.Mr. Mishra claims he has a recording

of a phone conversation with theBJPs district media in-charge, wherethe latter has admitted to bribing journalists.

Cash-for-coverage scam takeszz out of Advanis yatra

After a sustained campaign againstthe Congress before the HisarLok Sabha bypoll by civil society members, Anna Hazare on Friday gave the party and government a breather.He announced postponement of hisanti-Congress yatra in Uttar Pradeshto the end of the winter session of Parliament.Anna wont say anything now. He will wait for the winter session toget over. Lets see if the Congress

brings the bill, Team Annas ArvindKejriwal said.However, other team members willtour UP from Monday.

The decision came on a day thatsaw Team Anna in turmoil over theremarks of two members, PrashantBhushan and justice Santosh Hegde.Hazare expressed unhappiness overBhushans statement on holdinga referendum in Kashmir anddistanced the team from it.Kashmir is an integral part of India.Bhushans views are in his personalcapacity, he said.In a separate development, justiceHegde said the anti-Congress

campaign in Hisar was not theright thing to do and that theHazare movement is and should beapolitical.

Anti-Cong yatra only after winter session: Anna

Session Judge V K Vyas granted bail on thecondition that Bhatt would cooperate withthe investigation and would remain present when called for.Seventeen days after he was sent to jail, suspended IPS of cer Sanjiv Bhatt,arrested for allegedly fabricating evidenceto implicate Narendra Modi in the Gujaratriots, was granted bail by a local court onMonday.Bhatt was in jail after being arrested onSeptember 30 in connection with an FIR ledagainst him by a police constable K D Pant

for allegedly threatening him and makinghim sign a false af davit with regards to theIPS of cers presence in the February 27,2002 meeting called by the chief ministerafter the Godhra train burning incident.

Gujarat: Suspended IPSof cer Sanjiv Bhatt gets bail

A ddressing a public meeting as part of his Jan Chetna Yatra in Nagpur, theoctogenarian leader alleged that the UPA government was not serious about bringing back black money to the tune of Rs 2.5lakh crore stashed abroad. BJP leader L.K. Advani has demanded a white paper on black money from the UPA government during theforthcoming Winter Session of Parliament.

He alleged that while countries like USA, UK,Canada and others have amended necessary provisions to bring back black money fromSwiss banks, the Congress-led UPA government was not at all initiating any steps.If the black

money is brought back, India can provide basicfacilities like water, power, roads and others tonearly six lakh villages in the country, he said.

Advani said ill-governance may lead to collapseof the UPA government and result in mid-termelections.

Fed up with the inaction on part of thegovernment on the 2G spectrum scam, theBJP and allies forced Parliament to a standstillfor the entire session and nally forced thegovernment to set up a Joint ParliamentCommittee, he said.

He criticised Prime Minister ManmohanSingh for his recent remarks favouring a criticallook at the Right to Information Act.Whenfaced with questions, Singh sought to clarify

that there will be no dilution of RTI, Advanisaid.On the occasion, BJP presi

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