Manmohan tells
UN to abandon 1945 legacy
by I Ramamohan Rao
New
York: Reiterating India's demand for UN reforms, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday told the 60th session
of the UN General Assembly that there was an urgent need
to abandon systems tuned to 1945, and initiate steps compatible
with the 21st century. "All of us assembled here recognize
that the United Nations is in need of urgent and comprehensive
reform. The management of global interdependence requires
strong international institutions and a rule based on a
multilateral system. The reform of the United Nations must
be based on this principle," the Prime Minister said. Describing
the UN as suffering from a democracy deficit, the Prime
Minister said that member states must make efforts to make
the World Body an "organisation more representative of the
contemporary world and more relevant to our concerns and
aspirations". "It must include the expansion of the UN Security
Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories of
membership. Unfortunately, the United Nations suffers from
a democracy deficit. Its structure and decision-making process
reflect the world of 1945, not of 2005," he said, adding
that UN must posses the ability to "deliver on the Millennium
Development Goals, lined on the charter obligations".
On a philosophical note, he said that the ancient Vedic
concept of "Vasudhaiva Kuktumbnakam" or the "whole world
is once family" held true even today. In this regard, it
was imperative for the UN to leave a more enlightened legacy
for the future generations, he said. "In this One World
there is only one United Nations. If we fail the UN, we
will fail succeeding generations, who have every right to
expect a more enlightened legacy than is currently in sight,"
he said. India, he said, welcomed the agreement reached
on the Draft Outcome Document to be adopted on Friday. "It
is a roadmap for the work ahead to reorient the Organisation
to meet the challenges of the present. India will be a keen
and willing participant in the process," he concluded.
Indian
PM meets US businessmen (Go
To Top)
New
York: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan SIngh on Wednesday
met top US corporate honchos over lunch and invited them
over to invest in Asia's third largest economy. William
Harrison, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Steven S.
Reinemund, Chairman and CEO, Pepsico, and Sy Sternberg,
CEO, New York Life, were among the big names that attended
the lunch that was hosted by the Indian Ambassador to the
US, Ronen Sen. Singh briefed the top executives about the
initiatives taken by his government to attract Foreign Direct
Investment into India,particularly in areas such as real
estate and civil aviation. India has said it's domestic
and international passenger traffic would grow 20 percent
a year as the government and private sector would invest
20 billion dollars over the next five years, including more
than doubling the number of civilian passenger planes to
400.
Indo-Pak
joint statement (Go
To Top)
New
York: The following is the text of the joint statement
issued after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and President Pervez Musharraf:
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf
met in New York on September 14, 2005 and reviewed progress
in their relations since they last met in New Delhi on April
18, 2005 The two leaders referred to the earlier statements
of 6 January 2004 and 18 April 2005 and reiterated their
plledge that they would not allow terrorism to impede the
peace process. They reaffirmed their commitment to the decisions
taken at their meeting in New Delhi and agreed to expedite
their implementation. They also welcomed the progress made
within the framework of the composite dialogue, including
promotion of trade and economic relations, people to people
contacts and confidence building measures. They also welcomed
the recent release of prisoners on both sides and agreed
to continue this process on a humanitarian basis. They expressed
their commitment to ensure a peaceful settlement of all
pending issues including Jammu and Kashmir to the satisfaction
of both sides. They agreed that possible options for a peaceful
, negotiated settlement in this regard should continue to
be pursued in a sincere spirit and purposeful manner. Statement
ends.
Sarabjit
may not be hanged (Go
To Top)
New
York: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is believed
to have told Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that
the case of Sarabjit Singh, the man facing death in Pakistan,
would be addressed in a humanitarian manner. Briefing the
Indian media here this morning, Foreign Secretary Shyam
Saran said that the Prime Minister had raised the Sarabjit
Singh issue with President Musharraf during their hour and
45- minute long talks on Wednesday night, and the latter
had told the former that Islamabad intended to go forward
on the issue in a "humanitarian manner. Saran said that
the Prime Minister emphasized that the issue of Sarabjit
Singh has aroused emotions in India, and in his reply, Musharraf
had said that the "legal issues will be looked at in a humanitarian
attitude." This statement suggests that Sarabjit, who has
been on death row for the past 14 years, will not be executed,
though there is no confirmation about him being released
in the near future.
Sensex
scales another peak (Go
To Top)
Mumbai:
After ending in red yesterday, the country's key share
market benchmark index Sensex today bounced back strongly.
The Stock Exchange Mumbai (BSE) Ltd 30-share sensitive index
scaled a new intra-trade peak at 8294.24 before ending the
day at 8283.76 as against yesterday's close of 8189.48,
recording a net gain of 94.28 points or 1.15 per cent. In
the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty
also closed 32 points higher at 2,518 points. Leading the
charge among the Sensex scrips was Grasim at Rs 1,398 and
TCS at Rs 1,450 that logged gains of 4.2 per cent and 3.6
per cent, respectively.
Cultural
fiesta for Queen's Baton run in Delhi (Go
To Top)
by Vrishti Beniwal
New
Delhi: It was all in all a sports event, but the cultural
evening hosted at the National Stadium as the Queen's baton
completed its Delhi leg amid great pomp and show on Wednesday,
added flavour to the event. The over-excited Delhites cheered
the relay, shared the excitement and felt pride, as the
Baton passed through Darya Ganj, Delhi Gate, Vijay Chowk
and India Gate. And as Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore entered the National Stadium bearing the Queen's
baton amid sound of 'band-baja', it started raining, signifying
the welcome by the Rain God. The cultural programme, hosted
by Charu, Rageshwari and Sajid Khan, saw some beautiful
performances by singers like Daler Mehndi, Sukhwinder Singh,
Mahalakshmi Iyer, Hema Sardesai, Sudesh Bhosle, D J Narayan
and Abhijeet Sawant. The artists performed a special Commonwealth
theme song "Jitenge, Jitenge..hum dilon ko jitenge..hum
khelon mein duniyan jitenge..". Children dancing in the
background wearing tri-colour dresses added flavour and
also a sense of patriotism to the event. The programme ended
with a fabulous laser show and thematic multimedia dance
sequence on the 'Spirit of Commonwealth Games', which was
choreographed by Ashley Lobo. The relay was flagged off
at the Red Fort, with 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh starting
the run with other eminent sport personalities also joining
in at the event. It made its way through the 6.25 miles
route before ending at the National Stadium, where it was
carried by sporting icons Anju Bobby George, Mahesh Bhupathi,
and finally Rathore. Rathore was presented a cheque of Rs
10 lakh for his medal- winning feat at the Athens Olympics.
The
Queen's Baton Relay is a significant part of the Commonwealth
Games as it represents the important aspects of community,
celebration and unity that represent the Games. This is
the first occasion that it is travelling to all the 71 nations
of the Commonwealth. After Delhi, the Baton, which started
at the Buckingham Palace in March, will go to Bangladesh,
also touching Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia and Brunei.
It will be carried by more than 3,000 people and travel
through 500 communities before it reaches Australian shores
in January next year. The baton has a number of impressive
features. Made of gold and magnesium, it incorporates the
latest technology, including a satellite tracking device,
LED light display and 'baton cam' that transmits high quality
images to the game's website. It also contains the queen's
"message to athletes", enclosed in an elegant chip.
