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Obama says winning Pennsylvania is key to reaching White House

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:57:00 -0400

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has said that he will win the White House race if he wins Pennsylvania. He was speaking to workers after touring Voit Siemens Hydro Power Generation plant.

“If you vote for me, I think we will win Pennsylvania. If we win Pennsylvania, we''ll win the election,” Obama said.

The Illinois Senator is targeting rural voters in swing states such as Pennsylvania with a populist message, offering relief from pocketbook worries while accusing Republican presidential nominee John McCain of complacency about the country’s hard times.

The strategy is key to winning Pennsylvania and its prize of 21 electoral votes, the Washington Post reported.

The state has not voted a Republican in a presidential election since backing George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis in 1988. But Democrat John Kerry carried it by a thin 2.5 percent margin in 2004, and McCain is campaigning aggressively in the Keystone State.

With seven visits to Pennsylvania so far during the campaign, McCain signaled he is determined to put the state in play this year.

Obama struggled to attract the critical working-class vote in the state primary, as his campaign was hobbled by reports that at a private fundraising event in San Francisco he complained the state''s small-town voters were not supporting him because they are bitter and cling to guns and religion.

He lost the primary by a nine-point margin to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, though fared better than the more than 10-point deficit predicted by some opinion polls. (ANI)

India seeks resolute action against terrorism

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:56:00 -0400

Indian Ambassador to the United Nations Nirupam Sen has said a determined action is needed to root out terrorist networks and deter regimes from encouraging and harbouring armed extremists.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Friday, Sen termed terrorism as a "pervasive and insidious" threat to global security and core values of the UN.

The Ambassador urged the world to act as one in denying terrorists, their ideologues and financiers access to arms, funds and means of transportation of their deadly goods and safe havens.

Regarding the measures taken by New Delhi, Sen said India has adhered to existing regulatory framework governing controls over weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery.

“It has strengthened these obligations by enacting Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery System (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act 2005, an "overarching and integrated legislation prohibiting unlawful activities relating to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems," he said.

During his address, Sen recommended to member countries for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention Against International Terrorism (CCIT) to reinvigorate multi-lateral and collective dimensions of counter-terrorism efforts.

Failure of member states to reach an agreement on the definition of the terrorism is holding up the Convention. Some had sought to exclude liberation movements from the definition.

Sen reiterated India’s position that terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of its motivation, is a "criminal and unjustifiable" act and "no cause, no matter how just, can excuse terrorism." (ANI)

US cross-border raids into Pak set to increase in coming months

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:56:00 -0400

US military officials have reportedly said that strikes in Pakistan’s FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) will increase in the coming months as “such cross-border raids were necessary” to counter increasing violence in Afghanistan.

According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the cross-border US commando missions, like Wednesday’s strike in Wana killing around 20 civilians, into Pakistan may grow in coming months despite doubts within the Pentagon over the efficacy of such raids.

Pentagon officials who spoke to Los Angeles Times said that some officials in the US Defence Department believed such commando raids were necessary to counter increasing violence in Afghanistan.

“The raids threatened to aggravate US-Pakistani tensions just before the country’s presidential election on Saturday, in which attitudes towards the US are likely to be a key issue,” reported the US-based English daily.

It quoted a senior Pentagon official as saying that the presence of so-called safe havens in FATA forced US officials to conduct Wednesday’s raid that killed dozens of people in South Waziristan. “You can’t allow a haven. You have to get to the areas that they rest, relax and train,” said a military officer on the condition of anonymity.

Another US official suggested that the Wednesday’s raid was conducted in response to border attacks, and that no high-ranking militant leader was captured or killed. “There are targets other than formally designated high-value targets,” the official said.

The report also noted that the raid had fanned a long-standing debate within the Bush administration over how to deal with militants in Pakistan. Pressure has been building within the US military for more aggressive use of existing practices as US casualties have increased with the rising number of attacks carried out in Afghanistan by militants based in Pakistan, the report added.

A senior Pentagon official, conceded that pushing for more aggressive action by the new Pakistani government also carried risks. Any Pakistani politician perceived to favour more US latitude in Pakistan would suffer, the official said, and added: “If you want to lose. Just be the one that gets caught talking to Vice-President Dick Cheney about US incursions across your border.” (ANI)

‘Greek Postmen’ tops ‘oddest book title’ list

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:56:00 -0400

"Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers" has been named as the oddest book title of the past 30 years.

The book by Derek Willan, a comprehensive record of Greek postal routes, topped the list with 13 percent of the 1,000 international public votes.

The title was chosen from the winners of the annual competition that began in 1978, according to the Bookseller magazine.

Greek postmen trounced over “People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead” and “How To Avoid Huge Ships” into second and third place with 11 and 10 percent votes respectively.

"The posties pulled off a real shock here. The pre-tournament favourite was the prize''s first ever recipient - "’Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Nude Mice,"’ the Mirror quoted Horace Bent, custodian of the annual Diagram Prize, as saying.

"Right from the off, it was Gary Leon Hill''s "People Who Don''t Know They''re Dead" that set the pace. It topped the polls for over three weeks," he added.

The prize was dreamed up initially at the 1978 Frankfurt Book Fair as a way of avoiding boredom. It has since become an annual star.

This year''s winner was "If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs." (ANI)

Brit student rescued in Russia after 3,700-mile SOS alert!

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:55:00 -0400

A British student who fell off her horse and broke her leg in a remote part of eastern Russia was airlifted to safety – after her distress signal was picked up 3,700 miles away by an RAF base in Scotland.

Kimberley Warren, a second year zoology student at Nottingham University, fell off her horse during a research trip in the Kamchatka region in the far east of the country.

She then activated a rescue beacon on the night of September 4 which was detected by satellites monitored by the UK Mission Control Centre, based within the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at RAF Kinloss in Moray.

The beacon used GPS technology, which gives a very accurate position within five seconds of being activated, allowing RAF Kinloss to raise the alarm and tell Russian emergency services where to find the party of nine.

"They were able to pinpoint the location of the group right down to an area smaller than half a tennis court," Guardian.Co.UK quoted Michael Mulford, from RAF Kinloss, who added that it was "very unusual" for the base to respond to signals so far away, as saying.

After a 12-hour helicopter rescue operation Warren, who had broken her leg, was airlifted to a nearby town with the rest of the group. (ANI)