B4U India

Nepal’s big 3 settle differences over supplementary bill draft

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:48:00 -0400

After days of dialogue, the major three parties of Nepal have finally settled the differences over the draft of the supplementary amendment bill, which has been brought about to include the Madhesi demands in the interim constitution.

The meeting of the big three parties --- Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist (CPN-M), Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML)--- held at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction on Friday reached an understanding on the draft of supplementary bill.

According to UML leader Bhim Rawal, the meeting agreed to finalise the draft including the phrases which will act as the basis for all the agreements forged between the government and the Madhesis, indigenous marginalised groups in the past.

According to Kantipur, a meeting of the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) has begun at the Peace Ministry to finalise the agreement reached between the three ruling parties.

The draft will then be taken to the Council of Ministers once ratified by the SPA. The government will table the supplementary amendment proposal at the Constituent Assembly sitting as per the cabinet’s decision.

Top leaders of the Maoist, Nepal Congress and UML had been holding discussions since past four days to arrive to an understanding on the selection of phrases to be used in the draft of the supplementary bill. (ANI)

Zardari, Nawaz may meet in London to remove “differences”

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:47:00 -0400

In a bid to remove “mutual differences” and ensure smooth functioning of the coalition governments at the Centre and in Punjab, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif are expected to meet in London later this week.

Zardari is currently in Dubai, from where he is expected to proceed to London in a day or two, reported the Daily Times.

“The co-chairman has reached Dubai and will proceed to London in a day or two. He is likely to meet Nawaz Sharif to resolve the ‘reported’ differences between the two partners to ensure smooth functioning of the coalition governments at the Centre and in Punjab,” the paper quoted PPP sources as saying last evening.

During their meeting, the two leaders are also likely to discuss the issues of the reinstatement of the sacked judges and the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf. Ministers of the PML-N quit the federal cabinet on May 13 after the government failed to meet the deadline of May 12 set for the reinstatement of the sacked judges.

The PML-N parliamentarians maintain that they will not rejoin the cabinet until the judges’ are reinstated. (ANI)

Black pastors wary of Obama

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:46:00 -0400

Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama is apparently losing the support of black pastors, most of whom are of the view that black Christians are voting for him on emotional grounds, rather than on his stand on issues affecting American life in the short and long term.

Ben Kinchlow, a former co-host for the Christian Broadcasting Network and author of the new book "Black Yellowdogs," said many black churchgoers unthinkingly support the Democratic Party.

"Many black Christians voting for Obama are doing so for emotional reasons and not because they've studied the issues. They think Barack Obama is the shining city on the hill; that now is the chance to move into the 21st century without what regarding what the real issues are," the Washington Times quoted Kinchlow, as saying.

Bishop Gilbert Coleman, pastor of the 1,000-member Freedom Christian Fellowship in Philadelphia, said black believers are not knowledgeable about Obama's beliefs.

"People blindly go to the polls and blindly pull the lever for 'Democrat. We are not that divided as a congregation right now, but there are others in Philadelphia that are split over this," he said.

Bishop Coleman further said that: “there are a lot of things Obama is saying that are very uncomfortable to Christian evangelicals.

All the pastors interviewed said they are hammering home to their congregations the consequences of their votes. (ANI)

Mugabe moves to erase Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:46:00 -0400

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his military backers plan to assassinate or frame dozens of opposition legislators in an attempt to consolidate power and take back control of Parliament.

The Zanu (PF) party of Mr Mugabe lost its grip on the legislature for the first time since independence when the Movement for Democratic Change took control of the Lower House and drew level in the Senate after the March elections.

Having overturned Morgan Tsvangirai’s victory in the first round of the presidential vote with a brutal campaign of terror, President Mugabe’s henchmen believe that they can retake Parliament using violence or trumped-up criminal charges to drive out elected opposition MPs.

The original plan was to overturn the majority by challenging opposition wins through the courts, alleging that the results had been rigged. The refusal of judges to kowtow has led the regime to resort to tried and tested methods of violence.

“We are starting to see a pattern emerge,” Nelson Chamisa, the MDC spokesman, said. “This is a consistent, co-ordinated strategy.”

Ten opposition MPs have been arrested in recent weeks and two remain in custody while others are out on bail charged with a range of offences alleging their involvement in election violence.

Sources say that the regime is setting its sights on the remaining opposition legislators arresting those it can on trumped-up charges of assault, theft and rape.

In contrast, Parliament has yet to be convened since the March 29 elections gave the MDC 100 seats against 99 for Zanu (PF), with another ten seats for the breakaway MDC faction of Arthur Mutambara and one for an independent.

The witch-hunt has sent scores of MDC MPs into hiding, which could debar them from Parliament. Under Zimbabwean law, any parliamentarian can be dismissed for failing to attend for 21 consecutive days. (ANI)

Russia rated UK's biggest threat after al-Qaeda and Iran

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:45:00 -0400

Britain’s security services have identified Russia as the third most serious threat facing the country after al-Qaeda terrorism and Iranian nuclear proliferation.

The services are understood to fear that Russia’s three main intelligence agencies have flooded the country with agents, according to The Times.

This alarming piece of news comes as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepares to meet Russian President Medvedev in Hokkaido, Japan, on the sidelines of the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit.

Reflecting the sensitivity of the encounter, senior British officials declined to give details of the issues that Brown intends to raise, clearly not wanting to raise the temperature in advance.

According to The Times, Brown is expected to use his first G-8 summit to urge his colleagues to meet their pledges to double aid to Africa.

British officials said that the G-8 was not on track to meet commitments made at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005 to double aid to 50 billion pounds a year worldwide and aid to Africa to 25 billion pounds.

They expect the summit to reaffirm that commitment - although the words are not yet in the summit communiqué.

Brown wants a G-8 commitment to helping countries to increase the number of health workers to 2.3 per 1,000 people and providing 60 billion dollars (30 billion pounds) for health over a set period. (ANI)