Karzai, Bush sign strategic partnership declaration

     Washington: US President George W Bush and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai signed a "strategic partnership" on Monday enabling long-term American involvement in Afghanistan's security as well as reconstruction. "I have signed a strategic partnership with the president, it's a partnership we have been working on for quite a while," Bush told reporters with Karzai by his side after their meeting at the White House. "It's a partnership that establishes regular high-level exchange on political, security and economic issues of mutual interest," Bush said. Bush said US troops in Afghanistan will remain under US control despite Karzai's request for more authority over them. "Of course, our troops will respond to US commanders," The News quoted Bush as saying. But in an apparent bid to assuage any concerns, Bush said that under the new pact, the United States would "consult" with Afghanistan if it perceives its territorial integrity, independence or security is at risk. Bush said: "Today, it's important for the Afghan people to understand that we have a strategic vision about our relationship with Afghanistan." We will help the Afghan people build strong, lasting government and civic institutions. We'll continue to support reconstruction, economic development and investments that will help educate and build the skills of the Afghan people," he said. Karzai said the "memorandum of understanding" he signed with Bush was for "long-term partnership". It "will make sure that Afghanistan continues to receive reconstruction assistance, training from the US for its military and the police, and which will enable Afghanistan to stand on its own feet eventually and be a good, active member of the region, contributing to peace and stability in the region," he added.

Kashmir solution within 12 months: Musharraf (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that the Kashmir issue could be resolved within 12 months if there was a political will in India in this regard. He said that it was high time that both he and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh resolved the issue, otherwise the situation would revert back to deadlock again with new leaders. The Daily Times today quoted Musharraf as saying that he was in favour of demilitarisation of the Kashmir valley quickly. According to the paper, the President said that he was confident that militancy and extremism would die their natural death if the peace process between the two countries continued smoothly. Reiterating the involvement of the Kashmiris in tripartite talks to resolve the issue, Musharraf said he was in favour of APHC (All Parties Hurriyat Conference) leaders coming to Islamabad. About the Baglihar, Siachen and Sir Creek issues pending with India, the Pakistani President said they also could be resolved with sincerity and decisiveness.

Another Quran desecrated at a US college (Go To Top)

     Lahore: Another instance of desecration of the Quran has come to light in the US after a Muslim student at the San Joaquin Delta College found a copy of the holy book lying in a toilet pot. The incident occurred last week, the Daily Times quoted a newspaper report as saying. The copy of the desecrated Quran came from the college library. Following the incident, the remaining copies of the holy book have been placed behind the library desk to prevent any recurrence of the incident, said the report. According to the paper, the incident is similar to the one described by the Newsweek magazine that sparked Muslim protests worldwide last week. The report was, however, later retracted the report. The incident has sparked quite a controversy in the College campus with the students condemning it widely. "We have respect for all other religions. We can only hope to get that same respect," said Ramsey Abboushi, the 19-year-old Muslim student who found the book in the toilet. Sean Khan, another Muslim said that he would have felt offended even if the desecration had involved a religion other than Islam. He called such acts a result of "ignorance." "If it was the Bible flushed down the toilet, I'd be angry.......it's a total disrespect to somebody's beliefs," the paper quoted Wade Heath, an 18-year-old Christian student, as saying.

Oz scientists discover new planet in Milky Way  (Go To Top)

     Sydney: A team of Australian scientists has discovered a huge planet with the help of a revolutionary new astronomy technique. The massive, gaseous planet, named OB-05-071, is in the Milky Way between Earth and the centre of the galaxy, about 15,000 light years away. The odds of the discovery were one in 10 million, said Stefan Dieters of the Canopus Observatory team at Cambridge, which found the planet. On three nights in April, Dr Dieters and Kym Hill were in the right place at the right time to identify the planet, which is 1000 times the size of Earth and 15,000 light years away from our solar system. It was found through a technique based on the theory that the gravity of big objects in space bends passing light from stars. The starlight is distorted as a result and astronomers can detect the heavenly culprit. OB-05-071 is one of the most distant ever discovered and proves the usefulness of microlensing in the hunt for Earth-like worlds across the galaxy. The University of Tasmania team is part of an international collaborative project co-ordinated by the Paris Institute for Astrophysics, which is pioneering the use of gravitational microlensing to look for new planets. "We are confident we will detect an Earth-like planet using gravitational microlensing, that could harbour life on it," the researchers were quoted by News.com as saying.

Sania crashes out of French Open (Go To Top)

     Paris: Sania Mirza`s French Open campaign ended with a whimper after she lost in the first round of the Clay Court Grand Slam women`s singles at the Roland Garros here on Tuesday. According to the media sources, Sania, yet to reach her peak fitness after an ankle injury eight weeks ago and playing in only her second tournament on comeback, went down 3-6 3-6 to 30th ranked Gisela Dulko of Argentina. The 18-year old Indian did well to break her opponent four times, twice in each set, but Dulko`s experience on the red clay helped her bounce back every time and prevail over the Indian to close the issue in an hour and 17 minutes. Sania received one WTA point and 11,790 euro for her effort. She would now turn her attention to the doubles play where she partners Anna Chakvetadze of Russia. The match failed to raise to a level as both the players committed series of unforced errors -- 32 and 31 for Sania and Dulko respectively -- but the Argentine won 72 points as against Sania`s 58.

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