World hails Israel-Hamas ceasefire, thanks Egypt | ||
| November 22, 2012 - Updated 649 PKT | ||
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 WASHINGTON: The US, the EU and the UN on Wednesday welcomed a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and Washington thanked Egypt's new government for its successful first turn on the diplomatic stage.World powers were relieved by the deal, which may offer at least temporary respite from bloodshed in Gaza and southern Israel, but puts them in the debt of Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi, who sprang from the Muslim Brotherhood. US President Barack Obama, re-elected this month after a first term in which the Middle East peace process moved not one pace further down its supposed "road map", led a chorus of approval for Morsi's mediation work. Morsi, a leading member of the Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected in June this year in Egypt's first election since a popular revolt brought down secular strongman Hosni Mubarak. He resigned from his Brotherhood-led party, the FJP, and vowed to represent all Egyptians, but his elevation raised concerns about Cairo's peace treaty with Israel and its ties with Hamas, part of the Brotherhood movement. In the first big crisis of his tenure, however, Morsi was hailed as a peace broker, working with US officials to arrange a truce. "The president thanked President Morsi for his efforts to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and for his personal leadership in negotiating a ceasefire proposal," the White House said in a statement. Obama also reaffirmed the "close partnership" between Washington and Cairo, the White House said, adding that the two leaders "agreed on the importance of working toward a more durable solution to the situation in Gaza." The US leader also praised a more natural Washington ally, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but again stressed Egypt's role in securing the deal that it is hoped will end Hamas' rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes. "The president expressed his appreciation for the prime minister's efforts to work with the new Egyptian government to achieve a sustainable ceasefire and a more durable solution to this problem," a White House statement said. "The president commended the prime minister for agreeing to the Egyptian ceasefire proposal, which the president recommended the prime minister do, while reiterating that Israel maintains the right to defend itself," it said. Canada also praised Egypt, while criticizing Palestinian militants. "Canada welcomes this ceasefire and hopes terrorist cells based in Gaza will abide by the terms," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said. "The Egyptian government showed leadership and responsibility as a major regional state." European Union leaders, Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy, also welcomed the ceasefire, while cautiously stressing that the parties must "ensure its implementation and to prevent the restart of violence." Pledging EU support for the peace process, their statement added that the events of the last days "stress the urgent need to move towards a two-state solution allowing both sides to live side-by-side in peace and security". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appeared not quite ready to believe that a truce had been possible, after a week of bloodshed that killed more than 150 people, the majority of them Palestinians caught in Israel's onslaught. "We are encouraged and relieved that they have reached this ceasefire," Ban told reporters. "There are still many details to be solidified for a durable ceasefire. I hope they will finalize these details as soon possible. "Our focus now must be on ensuring that the ceasefire holds," he said. "They must keep their promises. I urge them to exercise maximum restraint, patience with a sense of mutual understanding, this is very important." Global oil prices had been rising before the ceasefire, with chaos in the Middle East boosting supply concerns, but they fell back to finish the day steady after news of the ceasefire broke. (AFP) |
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Israel, Hamas agree to Gaza truce |
 CAIRO:Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr announced that a truce had been agreed between Israel and Hamas over the Gaza conflict and said a ceasefire would come into effect at 1900 GMT.Egypt has been leading international efforts to reach a week of violence in and around Gaza and "these efforts have reached an agreement for a ceasefire." Earlier, A senior Hamas official told AFP that a deal to end a deadly week-long conflict between Hamas and Israel in and around the Gaza Strip was agreed. "The deal has been agreed. There will be an announcement in half an hour," the official said on condition of anonymity. Reuters news agency reported that Israel has agreed to a truce in the Gaza Strip, but will not lift its blockade of the Palestinian territory, Israeli sources said, declining to give further details of any deal. Shortly before, a Palestinian official with knowledge of Egyptian mediation between the two sides told Reuters that there was a ceasefire agreement to end eight days of fighting in Gaza that has killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis. |
MQM files petition to become party in voter lists case |
 ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to become party in the voter lists case Thursday, Geo News reported.According to sources, the petition was filed by Barrister Farogh Nasim on behalf of MQM. The petitioner was of the view that the MQM has complete mandate in the urban areas of Sindh especially in Karachi. Therefore, he should be heard in the case related to electoral rolls of Karachi. |
Toll in Rawalpindi blast rises to 23 | ||
| November 22, 2012 - Updated 1137 PKT | ||
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 ISLAMABAD: Toll in the suicide attack on a Moharram ul Haram procession in Rawalpindi that occurred late on Wednesday night rose to 23 on Thursday, a police rescue spokeswoman told.The attack, in the Dhok Sayidan area of Rawalpindi, came hours after two back-to-back bomb blasts --40 minutes apart-- near an Imambargah in Karachi, which killed two people and left 16 others wounded. Sources quoted eyewitnesses as saying that a suicide bomber suddenly entered into the Moharram-ul-Haram procession and detonated the explosives strapped to his body. "Two unknown people, who did not appear to be mourners, barged in the procession and one of them blew himself up", said eyewitnesses. It is pertinent to mention that around 3,000-4,000 mourners left one Imamabargah in the form of a procession and were on their way to another, when the bomber struck. Deeba Shehnaz said the death toll rose from 16 after patients, who were critically wounded in the attack, died from their injuries in various hospitals. "A total of 23 people have expired and 62 injured, eight of them are children," she said. "The 23 apparently include the bomber because we have pieces of the body that have apparently not been identified," she added. The attack came as Pakistan welcomed Muslim leaders for a rare summit in Islamabad that brings together Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Turkey and Pakistan in the Developing Eight. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for twin bomb attacks targeting Shiite Muslims in Karachi and Rawalpindi, which killed 25 people. "We carried out the attacks (on Wednesday) in Rawalpindi and Karachi because the Shiite community is engaged in defiling the Prophet," spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told by telephone from an undisclosed location. |
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
itamin D in pregnancy may prevent multiple sclerosis
PARIS: Researchers said Thursday they have found evidence that Vitamin D supplements for pregnant women in the world's colder, darker countries may stave off multiple sclerosis (MS) in their offspring.
The finding adds to a growing body of work showing a link between low Vitamin D levels and the debilitating disease, which sees the immune system attacking the body's own nerve fibres.
Data on more than 150,000 MS patients born in places north of 52 degrees, revealed a heightened risk for those born in April -- a month preceded by a long period without sunlight, said a paper in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Of the total, 13,300 were born in April compared to 11,600 in November -- a lower-risk month after summer in the northern hemisphere, British researchers wrote.
"Month of birth has a significant effect on subsequent MS risk," they said. "This is likely to be due to ultraviolet light exposure and maternal Vitamin D levels.
They added, though, it could also be "any factor that varies in a similar seasonal and latitudinal manner".
The data was taken from individuals born between 1930 and 1980, from studies done in Britain, the United States, Italy, Israel, Finland, Scotland, Sweden and Canada -- parts of which see little sunlight between the months of October and March.
About 100,000 people in Britain and about 400,000 in the United States are believed to suffer from MS, a disease that affects vision, movement, balance, sensation, bladder control and eventually also memory and thinking. There is no cure.
Study co-author Sreeram Ramagopalan from the Queen Mary University of London told AFP the findings amounted to an added MS risk of five percent for people born in April -- about five extra births per million.
"Pregnant mothers need to ensure they are Vitamin D replete at all times," Ramagopalan said in an email exchange.
"Because Vitamin D deficiency is a massive problem at the moment due to living at high latitudes and lifestyle changes (wearing sunscreen etc), mothers may need to take several thousand international units of Vitamin D3 to become Vitamin D replete."
Humans need Vitamin D, which our bodies produce from exposure to sunlight or extract from food, for healthy bones
Suspected links between a lack of vitamin D and an increased risk of death, including from heart disease and certain types of cancer, have been the subject of medical research for several years.
Researchers have also focused on its possible role in MS.
"It is thought that maternal Vitamin D levels during pregnancy affect the immune status of the developing foetus, and hence modulates subsequent MS risk," wrote the authors.
North of 52 degrees latitude lies the northern parts of England, the Scandinavian countries, and most of Russia and Canada.
No studies from the southern hemisphere were included in the analysis.
Mark Rothko painting crowns New York art sale
Rothko's No 1 helped Sotheby's achieve their best ever auction result
A painting by abstract artist Mark Rothko has fetched $75.1 million (£47.2m) at an auction in New York.
Rothko's No 1 (Royal Red and Blue), described by Sotheby's as "a seminal, large-scale masterpiece", was the subject of a heated bidding war.
The price far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $35m-$50m (£22m-£31.4m) but fell short of the record $86.9m (£54.6m) a Rothko fetched in May.
The sale also saw a 1951 Jackson Pollock work sell for $40.4m (£25.4m).
Pollock's Number 4, a characteristic drip painting, easily outstripped the previous highest price - $23m (£14.4m) - fetched at auction by a work by the abstract expressionist.
The Rothko painting was one of eight works hand-selected by the Russian-American artist for his landmark solo show in 1954 at the Art Institute of Chicago.
It had been in the same collection for 30 years before coming to auction.
Tuesday's sale of post-war and contemporary art at Sotheby's saw plenty of interest from investors, raising a total of $375m (£236m) - the best auction result in the auction house's history.
Andy Warhol had a strong showing, with Green Disaster (Green Disaster Twice) selling for $15.2m (£9.5m) and The Kiss (Bela Lugosi) fetching $9.3m (£5.8m).
Another Warhol work, Suicide, that had been estimated to sell for between $6m (£3.7m) and $8m (£5m) ended up going for $16.3m (£10.2m).
A "screaming pope" by British artist Francis Bacon sold for nearly $30m (£18.9m), a Willem de Kooning piece fetched just under $20m (£12.5m) while a work by Gerhard Richter went for $17.4m (£10.9m).
Franz Kline's Shenandoah fetched $9.3m (£5.8m), setting another artist's record.
"If you want to talk about the market being happy, healthy and well, here it is," said Sotheby's auctioneer Tobias Meyer, worldwide head of contemporary art.
"That's probably about as good as it gets."
Further high prices are expected at a second Sotheby's contemporary and post-war art sale on Wednesday, with two Christie's sales focusing on the same period also taking place in New York this week.
European workers stage austerity protests
Protesters clash with police in Lisbon, Athens and Madrid, while workers march in Brussels, Rome and Marseille
Workers across the European Union have staged a series of protests and strikes against rising unemployment and austerity measures.
General strikes in Spain and Portugal halted transport and closed businesses and schools. Police and protesters clashed in several Spanish cities.
Rallies took place in 23 countries including Greece, France and Belgium, union officials told the BBC.
Hundreds of flights to and from striking nations were cancelled.
Airlines recommended that passengers check schedules before setting out to airports.
British Airways and Easyjet were among the UK carriers forced to cancel some of their services.
The European Trade Union Confederation has co-ordinated the Europe-wide action.
The confederation's Judith Kirton-Darling told the BBC that austerity was not working.
"It's increasing inequalities, it's increasing the social instability in society and it's not resolving the economic crisis," she said.
Some 40 groups from 23 countries were involved in Wednesday's demonstrations.
'No work'
Unions in Spain and Portugal started strikes at midnight to protest against austerity measures that have combined tax rises with cuts in salaries, pensions, benefits and social services.
Marchers came out late on Tuesday in Spain, where 25% are unemployed, the highest rate in Europe.
"I have two sons in my house. One is getting subsidies, the other has been at home for the last three years," said protesting housewife Paqui Olmo.
"It is not that he doesn't want to work, there is just no work."
Picketers and police fought at a Madrid bus depot where demonstrators were trying to stop buses from leaving.
There were outbreaks of violence in other Spanish cities, and the interior ministry said more than 80 arrests had been made across the country. Dozens of people, including 18 police, were injured.
The government has played down the strike, saying the electricity grid registered 80% of its normal usage.
But unions claimed the operations of several large companies, including Danone and Heineken, ground to a halt.
In neighbouring Portugal, demonstrators took to the streets, carrying banners denouncing the European Union, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).
The so-called troika has bailed out Portugal to the tune of 78bn euros ($100bn; £62bn), and demanded deep austerity measures in return.
The unemployment rate has hit a record 15.8%, according to figures released on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho acknowledged the rise was "bad news" but had been expected.
"We know that the unemployment level will increase a bit further before we observe a decline," he said.
Continue reading the main story
The BBC's Chris Morris in Lisbon said public transport had come to a virtual standstill, and many schools and public offices were expected to be closed.
In Italy, unions called for a series of rolling four-hour strikes through the day which were expected to affect road, rail and air transport.
Correspondents said early signs were that the impact had been fairly limited. Riot police in Rome fired tear gas at protesters who hurled objects towards officers.
In Greece, the strike action is the third major walkout in two months.
Successive governments have been pushing through deeply unpopular spending cuts and tax rises in order to receive bailout payments from the IMF and EU.
Earlier this week, MPs backed a fifth austerity package of salary and pension cuts and labour market reforms, as well as a stringent budget for next year.
The IMF and EU had demanded the measures in return for the next 31.5bn-euro instalment of the bailout.
The government, which is being forced into short-term financing in the bond markets, says it needs the bailout to avoid bankruptcy.
Athens police said they expected about 10,000 people to protest, which is a relatively small demonstration by Greek standards.
Budget airline EasyJet said it had rescheduled flights to and from Greece on Wednesday because of the strikes.
Police and protesting workers clashed in several Spanish cities
In France, five trade unions organised marches in more than 100 cities but did not call for a strike, Reuters news agency reported.
Analysts say the marches are a way of showing that workers in France are in solidarity with their fellow-workers elsewhere in Europe.
In Belgium, protesters rallied in Brussels outside the embassies of Germany, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland. They delivered a letter to Laszlo Andor, the commissioner for employment, social Affairs and inclusion, congratulating him on winning what they are calling the "Nobel Prize for Austerity", the BBC's Maddy Savage, in Brussels, reports.
Union walkouts have severely affected many of the high-speed rail links regularly frequented by politicians, advisors and diplomats from across the EU, our correspondent added.
Eurostar and Thalys, which connect Brussels to London and Paris, have been particularly hit, warning of delays or cancellations and advising passengers not to travel on Wednesday.
India Hindu leader Bal Thackeray 'improving'
Bal Thackeray is a popular Hindu leader
The condition of the founder of India's right-wing Shiv Sena party Bal Thackeray is improving, a senior leader of his party has said.
Earlier, doctors said Mr Thackeray, 86, was critically ill and on life support at his house in the city of Mumbai.
Party workers remain gathered outside his house and security is tight.
The cartoonist-turned-politician has courted controversy ever since he founded his party more than 40 years ago.
Mr Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena in 1966 as a "sons of the soil" movement, to fight for the rights of native Maharashtrians who, he believed, were under threat from other ethnic migrants.
Over time the party has acquired a reputation of promoting religious and ethnic chauvinism while allegedly targeting minorities, especially Muslims.
Mr Thackeray has been ailing and his condition deteriorated on Wednesday night, reports said.
The leader was having problems breathing and doctors from Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital were attending to him.
"Doctors are trying their level best [to stabilise Thackeray's condition] and conducting some tests on him," Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam told Press Trust of India news agency early on Thursday.
'Stable'
Later in the afternoon, Shiv Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut told reporters that Mr Thackeray was rallying.
"He is stable now. Need not worry. He is responding to doctors' efforts," Mr Raut, who is also an MP, said.
Mr Thackeray's son, Uddhav, emerged from the family house early on Thursday and asked the crowds to pray for his father.
"We are hopeful. You be hopeful. Let's pray ... Don't trust rumours. Make peace," he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.
Earlier, Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan and his son, Abhishek, visited Mr Thackeray's home, where they suffered minor injuries while moving through the rowdy crowd outside.
"Yes, both Abhishek and me were injured with cuts, but are fine and back home," Bachchan wrote on Twitter.
Last month Mr Thackeray was unable to attend a party rally but addressed it through a video message.
Burma to free hundreds of prisoners before Obama visit
Mr Obama is expected to urge Burmese authorities to continue political reform
The Burmese authorities say than 452 prisoners will be released in a goodwill gesture, days ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama.
Political dissidents could be among those freed, but it is not clear how many.
Human rights groups say there are around 300 political prisoners.
Mr Obama's visit, the first by a serving US president, is intended to encourage the government to continue a reform programme begun last year.
Previous amnesties have included a many non-political prisoners.
Some foreign nationals were among those due to be released in the latest amnesty, state media said.
Continuing impunity
The military-led government's reforms have included abolishing pre-publication censorship and passing a law allowing peaceful protest.
The opposition National League for Democracy participated in parliamentary by-elections earlier this year, and swept the board.
Countries which previously had imposed sanctions on Burma have been offering deals on aid and increased trade links in response to the reforms.
However, Mr Obama's decision to make Burma one of his first destinations after being re-elected is being questioned by some critics, who say it is too soon to reward the government for reforms which have just started, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from Bangkok.
They argue that the repeated promises by President Thein Sein that he will stick to the reformist path will only be credible when all political prisoners have been freed, our correspondent reports.
Dozens more people have been detained this year during various protests, and the Burmese military still acts with impunity in border areas where it is fighting ethnic insurgents, he adds.
On a visit to India earlier this week, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi sounded a note of caution over the reform process, saying Burma had "not yet achieved the goal of democracy".
Xi Jinping has been confirmed as the man to lead China for the next decade.
Mr Xi led the new Politburo Standing Committee onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, signalling his elevation to the top of China's ruling Communist Party.
The party faced great challenges, he said, but would work meet "expectations of both history and the people".
Most of the new committee are seen as politically conservative, and perceived reformers did not get promotion.
Xi Jinping replaces Hu Jintao, under whose administration China has seen a decade of extraordinary growth.
The move marks the official passing of power from one generation to the next.
'Pressing problems'
Mr Xi was followed out onto the stage by Li Keqiang, the man set to succeed Premier Wen Jiabao, and five other men - meaning that the size of the all-powerful Standing Committee had been reduced from nine to seven.
Those five, in order of seniority, were Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang, Shanghai party boss Yu Zhengsheng, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and Tianjin party boss Zhang Gaoli.
The new leaders had great responsibilities, Mr Xi said, but their mission was to be united, and to lead the party and the people to make the Chinese nation stronger and more powerful.
"The people's desire for a better life is what we shall fight for," he said.
Corruption had to be addressed, he said, and better party discipline was needed.
"The party faces many severe challenges, and there are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption, being divorced from the people, going through formalities and bureaucratism caused by some party officials," Mr Xi said.
"We must make every effort to solve these problems. The whole party must stay on full alert."
'Confidence in continuity'
The new Standing Committee was endorsed in a vote early on Thursday by the new party Central Committee, but in reality the decisions had been made in advance.
The new leaders will gradually take over in the next few months, with Hu Jintao's presidency formally coming to an end at the annual parliament session in March 2013.
Mr Xi has also been named chairman of the Central Military Commission, a Xinhua news agency report said, ending uncertainty over whether that post would be transferred from Hu Jintao immediately.
Mr Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, held on to the post for two years after he stood down from the party leadership.
New Standing Committee member Wang Qishan has also been named head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection - the party's anti-corruption watchdog.
Mr Xi, a former Shanghai party chief, was appointed to the politburo in 2007.
A "princeling" - a relative of one of China's revolutionary elders - he has spent almost four decades in the Communist Party, serving in top posts in both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Shanghai.
His speech drew praise online, with a number of netizens liking his more informal style.
"This big boss at least is talking like a human being. I won't comment on the rest," well-known Chinese journalist Gong Xiaoyue said via micro-blog.
Mr Xi, 59, is said to be a protégé of Jiang Zemin, while Li Keqiang is said to have been Mr Hu's preferred successor.
Mr Hu has been the Communist Party chief since he led the Standing Committee line-up out on stage in November 2002.
Under his administration China has seen a decade of rapid development, overtaking Japan as the world's second-largest economy.
But the development has been uneven, leading to a widening wealth gap, environmental challenges and rumbling social discontent over inequality and corruption.
Analysts say there has been division at the very top of the leadership in the lead-up to the party congress, with two rival factions jostling for position and influence.
The transition process has also been complicated by the scandal that engulfed Chongqing party leader Bo Xilai - a powerful high-flier once seen as a strong contender for the top leadership. His wife has been jailed for murdering a British businessman and he looks set to face trial on a raft of corruption-related charges.
That notwithstanding, the power transition process has been orderly, for only the second time in 60 years of Communist Party rule.
"The ostensible lack of drama throughout the week-long session may disappoint sensation seekers," China Daily said in an editorial on Thursday before the new Standing Committee line-up was announced.
"But the confidence in continuity, instead of revolutionary ideas and dramatic approaches, means a better tomorrow is attainable."
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