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Manmohan leads Asia at Bandung

     Bandung (Indonesia): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today represented Asia and Namibian President represented Africa at a special ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic Bandung Conference which led to the creation of the Non- Aligned Movement (NAM). "That we gather at this time to deliberate ways on strengthening our co-operation in the summit that we completed yesterday. The declaration emanating from it clearly indicated that the spirit of Bandung is not only alive, but also alive and kicking. It goes without saying, the implementation of the Asian-African strategic partnership," said Singh. Singh was chosen to speak on behalf of Asia at the ceremony attended by leaders of 106 Asian and African countries to sign the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) to ensure peace, stability and security in the two continents.

     The Prime Minister also led the Asian leaders in the symbolic walk to the Conference hall where the historic 1955 meet was held. Only one leader on behalf of a continent was allowed to speak. While India was asked to represent Asia, Namibia represented Africa at the ceremony. Earlier, Leaders of nations stretching from South Africa to North Korea came to this former Dutch colonial hill station on Sunday to honour political pioneers who set the stage for the Non- Aligned Movement 50 years ago. Arriving from Jakarta in a fleet of jetliners, leaders and representatives of some 100 countries retraced the steps taken by the heads of 29 Asian and African governments who met here in 1955 to declare principles proposing a third path apart from the Soviet and U.S. sides of the Cold War divide. The Golden Jubilee celebration in Bandung comes on the heels of an Asia-Africa summit in Jakarta, a two-day meeting intended to rekindle the spirit of the original. The leaders have promised to boost trade and step up co- operation in the war against terrorism and trans-national organised crimes.

      The 1955 summit was the first major meeting of leaders from what would come to be called the Third World, and is recognised by historians as leading to the organisation of a formal global Non- Aligned Movement in 1961. Earlier, putting forward the case for India's permanent membership of the UN Security Council, Singh said the United Nations needs to be more democratic.

Future world will be multi-ethnic in character: PM (Go To Top)

     Jakarta: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the future world be multi-ethnic in character. Singh during his tour to Jakarta for the Asia-Africa summit, at a banquet hosted in his honour by the Indian community there said, that the world of the future would be one of multi-ethnicity where distances would cease due to advances in science. "I believe that the world of the future is a world where people of diverse religious background, of different castes and creeds, different backgrounds will learn to live together in peace, in harmony, in friendship and as equal citizens. The development in science and technologies are destroying the world of distance," said Singh.

     Earlier Singh also met Nepal's King Gyanendra for the first time since the monarch seized power two months ago. Singh described the talks as "constructive". Singh said he impressed upon the monarch to restore multi-party democracy in the kingdom. The 57-year-old Gyanendra had justified his takeover as necessary to crush a Maoist revolt against the monarchy that has left over 11,000 people dead since 1996. Singh said the king was "quite sensitive" to India's concerns on the need to restart political process in Nepal where his seizure of power had set the scene for greater abuses by troops and more disappearances of people. On India's military supplies to Nepal, Singh said the request from the king would be looked at in "proper perspective." India and Britain suspended arms aid to the mountain kingdom to express their displeasure at the way Gyanendra took power, and Washington has slammed the takeover. Gyanendra took power on February 1 after blaming Nepal's warring politicians for failing to tackle the Maoists, who are estimated to control more than two-thirds of the impoverished Himalayan nation. Singh also touched upon India-Pakistan relations saying the recent talks with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf were fruitful. In a significant coming together, Musharraf and Singh have this month agreed to open up a militarised frontier dividing Kashmir. The two leaders said they would work towards a "soft border" in Kashmir, opening meeting points for divided families and boosting trade, travel and cooperation across the frontier.

Benedict XVI installed as Pope (Go To Top)

     Vatican City: Benedict XVI has been formally installed as the new Pope and has been presented with the symbols of power-- the Papal ring and the pallium - a narrow stole of white wool. The new Pope, during the ceremony, called the Jews for unity with other Christian denominations. The ceremony was attended by various political and religious leaders of the World, besides about half a million pilgrims. Pallium, one of the symbols of power, is embroidered with five red crosses representing blood of Christ. It is made from lambs wool signifying role as shepherd and is reserved for bishops and Popes. It is considered as pontifical power when worn by Pope. The other symbol of power, the Papal ring, is also known as the Fisherman's Ring, which is made from gold. It bears the image of St Peter in a boat fishing and name of Pope. It acts as the papal seal and is destroyed when the Pope dies. The two-hour inauguration ceremony began with the 78-year-old German Pope and the Roman Catholic cardinals processing to the site of St Peter's tomb, underneath St Peter's Basilica, to pray. Benedict XVI was dressed in a gold robe over sacred white vestments. He then emerged from the church into the sunshine of St Peter's Square as a choir sang the Laudes Regiae. "All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me," the new Pope said. Soon after the mass is over, Pope Benedict XVI will be driven around in a car. Reverend George Ratzinger, 81, the elder brother of the Pope, is also attending the inauguration along with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Horst Koehler. Other heads of state and government include French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Spanish King Juan Carlos.

Pak arrest 23 Indian fishermen (Go To Top)

     Karachi: Pakistan arrested as many as 23 Indian fishermen on Friday evening while they allegedly fishing in Pakistan territorial waters, The News reported today. The fishermen were later handed over to Docks Police for further legal action. Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (MSA) confirmed this in a statement saying that it apprehended four Indian fishing boats along with 23 crewmembers onboard. A press release issued by MSA said that the Agency's ship "RAFAQAT" was on its routine patrol in the eastern maritime region, where it spotted the Indian boats fishing illegally about 40 km inside Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The MSA has apprehended 131 Indian fishing boats along with 818 fishermen during this season since September 2004.

Villagers in Nepal form self-defence committees (Go To Top)

     Nawalparasi (Nepal): With the increasing number of Maoist attacks, Villagers in some parts of Nepal have formed self-defence committees to counter such attacks. Villages like Shobhani and Nawalparasi, about 250 kms west of Kathmandu, have now a strong 500-member army of young men and women. Some of the villagers have even disposed off their lands to become members of the Revenge Committee. "We have sold our land, homes everything to raise this army...what will we do with all this if we don't have life. All these people here, they have sold their fields, homes. We have collected 200,000 to 400,000 rupees so far. If we don't have life then what is the worth of all that money," said Mushri Pahalwan Kushwaha, president of the Revenge Committee. Soldiers of the committee say they are determined to stop Maoist attacks. "We have no support from anybody. This war is completely our own, we are fighting it alone for our poor brothers and sisters. We want that help should reach them, the poor people are struggling to survive, they need help soon," said Pappu Chauhan, a village soldier. Last fortnight, heavily armed Maoist rebels dragged villagers out of their homes in the western part of the country and killed at least 10 in a midnight attack. At present, Nepal is under royal rule with King Gyanendra as its head. In February, King Gyanendra fired the Sher Bahadur Deuba government saying it had failed to quell the Maoist conflict, assumed full powers, jailed political leaders and ordered a crackdown on the rebels.

Tendulkar's flamboyance is over: Viv (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards has said that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar is "aging" and won't be able to play with the same flamboyance with which he played in his early days of career. Tendulkar turned 32 today. "When you are 21, you are the best, with a perfect sight and good hand-eye co-ordination. At 26, you get a lot wiser. Tendulkar is now a very mature player. He is now more into a fortifying role and not flamboyant. But you must respect that he has grown older. He cannot always fulfil the things that are expected of him. He may be looking to play the way he started his career, but that is not always possible," the Dawn quoted Richards as saying in an interview. Apparently advising Tendulkar to retire, Viv said, "if Tendulkar left cricket right now, he will still be a legend. He carried India's mantle for a long period. He has done his job and done it well." With 10,134 runs in his kit, the fourth highest scorer in Test cricket had scores of four, two, six, 123, one and nine during the recent six-match ODI series against Pakistan, the paper said.

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