Report on Mumbai probe in 10 days: Rehman Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's interior ministry said Saturday it had given its investigators ten days to submit a preliminary report on the Mumbai attacks suspects in the light of Indian information.
Ministry chief Rehman Malik told a news conference here that cases could be registered only on the basis of tangible evidence and more time could be given to the investigators if necessary.

India blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group for training, equipping and financing the 10 gunmen who used automatic weapons and hand grenades to bring havoc to Mumbai during a siege that lasted 60 hours.

Pakistan has said India had provided some information on January 5 but no evidence. It said it was conducting its own inquiry and had ruled out handing any suspects to India.
Malik said the Indian government could also be requested to provide more information to help the ongoing inquiry in Pakistan.

Rio police show new face in slums

RIO DE JANEIRO: Bouncing a small boy on her knee and listening attentively to residents’ complaints, Capt Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo is the new face of policing in Rio de Janeiro.“The police are entering houses that have doors open with their guns pointed,” complained Marcelo Andrade, a 38-year-old resident of the Santa Marta slum.“They aren’t invading houses, but they need to check when there’s an open door,” de Oliveira replied, dark hair tied back above her bullet-proof vest. “When you have something new there will be changes for the better and worse.”In their long, bloody battle to take back control of hundreds of slums from drug gangs, Rio’s police are trying a new tactic – staying in place and talking to people.After invading this community of about 10,000 people in November and driving out the Red Command drug gang, the police surprised residents by staying, starting an experiment they plan to expand to other slums scarred by gang warfare and the usual police tactic of “invade, shoot, and leave.”

UN Assembly calls for ceasefire in Gaza: Resolution adopted

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 17: The UN General Assembly with overwhelming majority adopted a resolution on Friday night calling for an immediate, durable ceasefire in Gaza. It rejected a more critical and hard hitting text proposed by a group of Muslim countries, Eucudor, Venezuela, Bolivia and other Latin American states.Although the resolution is non-binding, the diplomats who supported it said the overwhelming majority in favour presented a moderate viewpoint that would strengthen Egyptian mediating efforts in the Gaza crisis.The numbers on the electronic board showed 142 countries in favour, four opposed and eight abstaining. However, the exact figures were not immediately clear as several countries said their votes had not registered due to electrical faults.Voting against were Israel, the United States and the Pacific island of Nauru, which believed the resolution was biased against Israel. Venezuela, which thought it was too soft on the Jewish state, was also shown by the board as voting against although the country’s delegate said he abstained.

Obama sets off on train ride to presidency

PHILADELPHIA, Jan 17: President-elect Barack Obama, tracing the train route Abraham Lincoln took nearly a century and a half earlier, undertook the final leg of his inaugural journey to the US capital on Saturday, pledging to reclaim America’s spirit but also warning of steep challenges facing the country.“Starting now, let’s take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union,” he told several hundred invited guests gathered inside a hall at Philadelphia’s historic 30th Street train station before his trip to Washington where he will be inaugurated on Tuesday as the first African-American US president.“Let’s build a government that is responsible to the people and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable. ... Let’s make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning and the hope for the future.”While talking about the future, Mr Obama reflected on the past, echoing the words of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln and president John F. Kennedy. He cited the founding fathers who risked everything with no assurance of success in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 when they declared independence from the British king.

Rule of law key to stability: Iftikhar

KARACHI, Jan 17: Lawyers will continue their struggle for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution and an independent judiciary, which are essential for the country’s stability, according to the deposed chief justice of Supreme Court Justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.Speaking at the city court building after administering oath to the office-bearers of the Karachi Bar Association on Saturday, he said that the action of rulers on Nov 3, 2007, had sabotaged the judiciary to prolong their grip on power because they did not have the courage to keep an independent judiciary.He said that the judges of the Sindh High Court were punished because they had taken up the matter of the May 12 mayhem, adding that the case was not being pursued because no one had the moral courage to bring the culprits to justice.

Nations demand climate plan from air, maritime industries

Saturday, January 17, 2009TOKYO: Representatives of 20 nations and the European Union called on Friday on the air and maritime industries to act on global warming and address carbon emissions by year-end. Transport ministers and envoys from the nations, including the Group of Eight major economies, held two days of talks in Tokyo as part of efforts to meet a goal of drafting a new climate change treaty by December. In a joint statement, the nations said while transport was “an important foundation of our society” it was responsible for “considerable emissions of carbon dioxide,” affecting the climate and public health. “Urgent actions are required to address these issues while ensuring sustainable development,” the statement said. They called on the International Maritime Organisation to “deliver a package of appropriate mechanisms for reducing emissions, preferably by the end of 2009.” The countries also said they would support the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to come up with technology, standards and market-based measures by the end of the year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The aviation industry group had agreed in 2007 to come up with ways to reduce the environmental impact of airplanes.