Sunday, May 15, 2011
IMF chief charged with sex assault, France in shock
NEW YORK (Reuters) - IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged on Sunday with trying to rape a New York hotel maid in a scandal that appeared to wreck his hopes of becoming France's next president.
A handcuffed and drained Strauss-Kahn appeared before before reporters for the first time on Sunday night when two police detectives escorted him from a police station to a gray, four-door sedan. Police said he would be taken to the booking station at Manhattan Criminal Court.
His hair neatly parted, Strauss-Kahn wore a black overcoat, blue dress shirt and black dress slacks. He kept his eyes straight ahead, avoiding looking at the battery of cameras that had staked out the site for hours.
The sexual assault charges throw the IMF into turmoil just as it is trying to ease an escalating euro zone debt crisis, and they turn France's presidential election campaign upside down when polls had made Strauss-Kahn a clear front runner.
The charismatic 62-year-old, who led the International Monetary Fund through the 2007-09 global financial meltdown and has been central in galvanizing Europe to tackle its debt woes, for long had the reputation of a womanizer. But the charges he faces are in another realm.
A maid, 32, said he emerged naked from the bathroom and sexually assaulted her inside his $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel hotel near New York's Times Square on Saturday afternoon.
He would plead not guilty, his lawyers said.
Strauss-Kahn's first court appearance before a state judge had been expected on Sunday night but was delayed after investigators asked a judge for a warrant to search his body for scratches, a police spokesman said.
The defendant agreed to a medical examination voluntarily, one of his defense lawyers said. It was unclear where or when the exam would take place.
"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination tonight ... at the request of the government and in light of the hour we have agreed to postpone the arraignment until tomorrow morning," said lawyer William Taylor. No specific time was given for the court appearance.
"He's tired but he's fine," said Taylor, Strauss-Kahn's longtime, Washington-based lawyer.
Police say he fled the hotel after the alleged assault and a few hours later they pulled him from his first-class seat on an Air France plane minutes before it was to take off for Paris.
Strauss-Kahn was charged with a criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape, moving him from luxurious hotel suite and a glittering public career to scandal and a bare holding cell in New York's tough Harlem neighborhood in the space of a few hours
The contrast could barely have been more dramatic. At the Sofitel, Strauss-Kahn's suite had a conference room, living room, foyer, spacious marble bathroom and a bedroom with a sumptuous king-sized bed and feather and down duvet.
While he was locked up in Harlem on Sunday, the woman identified him from a police lineup that included five other men, a police spokesman said.
Police say Strauss-Kahn does not have diplomatic immunity from the charges, which if proven could carry a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years. They have collected DNA evidence from the hotel suite, The New York Times reported.
The IMF said Strauss-Kahn had been in New York on private business. He has hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman, a seasoned defense attorney who has successfully represented several celebrities, to lead his defense team.
The IMF chief's wife, well-known French television personality Anne Sinclair, jumped to her husband's defense.
"I do not believe for a single second the accusations leveled against my husband," she said in a statement.
IMF CRISIS, ELECTION 'THUNDERBOLT'
The IMF tried to fill its leadership vacuum by naming No. 2 official, John Lipsky, as acting managing director. The charges against Strauss-Kahn are a huge embarrassment for an institution that oversees the global economic system and has authorized hundreds of billions of dollars of loans to troubled countries as well as playing a major role in the euro-zone debt crisis.
The euro fell to a six-week low against the dollar and a two-month trough against the Japanese yen when markets opened in Asia on Monday as the news added uncertainty to aid for Greece and other indebted euro zone countries.
The allegations immediately threw France's presidential race wide open.
He had not yet declared his candidacy but Strauss-Kahn was widely expected to run for the Socialist Party and early opinion polls showed him with a big lead over the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking a second term at the election next April.
"The news we received from New York last night struck like a thunderbolt," said Socialist leader Martine Aubry, appealing for party unity.
France's government as well as Strauss-Kahn's political allies and rivals called for caution and respect for the presumption of innocence, but his presidential ambitions appeared to be dead unless the case against him quickly unravels and he is shown to be innocent.
"All this is completely astounding, immensely troubling and distressing. If the facts prove true ... it's something degrading for all women. It's terrible for the image of France," said Francois Bayrou, a centrist opponent.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her rival's presidential hopes had been crushed.
Christine Boutin, president of the Christian Democrat Party, suggested Strauss-Kahn may have been set up.
"I think it's very likely a trap was set for Dominique Strauss-Kahn and he fell into it," she told France's BFM television. "It's a political bomb for domestic politics."
French voters are famously tolerant of political leaders' extramarital affairs. The allegations against Strauss-Kahn are entirely different, and much more serious.
If they are proven, Strauss-Kahn's fall from power in a scandal would be one of the most dramatic of any high-profile international figure in decades.
Many politicians have fallen after being caught in extramarital affairs and others have survived them, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton as well as former French President Francois Mitterrand.
Rarely have senior figures faced brutal assault charges like those filed against Strauss-Kahn.
With Strauss-Kahn in the dock, the IMF also now faces many questions of its own, because his character had been questioned before.
In 2008, Strauss-Kahn apologized for "an error of judgment" after an affair with a female IMF economist who was his subordinate.
The Fund's board of member countries warned him against further improper conduct, but cleared him of harassment and abuse of power and kept him in his job. It will now face new scrutiny over whether that response was too weak, especially as there have been persistent rumors about Strauss-Kahn making sexual advances to women.
PIVOTAL IN EUROPE'S DEBT WOES
An economics professor and former French finance minister, Strauss-Kahn took over the IMF in November 2007 for a five-year term, and won praise for helping galvanize leaders to inject billions of dollars into the world economy during the global financial crisis.
He introduced sweeping changes to ensure vulnerable countries swamped by the crisis had access to emergency loans, and others to give major emerging market countries such as China, India and Brazil greater voting powers in the IMF.
Witty, multilingual, a skilled public speaker and sharp back-room negotiator, Strauss-Kahn also weighed into thornier issues by urging China to let its currency rise in a dispute with the United States.
A crisis of leadership at the Fund now will especially worry European nations given Strauss-Kahn's pivotal role in brokering bailouts for Iceland, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Strauss-Kahn had been due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday and join euro zone finance ministers on Monday to discuss the bloc's debt crisis and how to handle Greece, which is struggling to meet the terms of a 110 billion euro European Union/IMF bailout last year.
"This might definitely cause some delays in the short term," a Greek official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers moved quickly to cast doubts on the allegations against him.
Brafman, his U.S. lawyer, previously defended pop star Michael Jackson against child molestation charges as well as other celebrities in trouble.
The maid who accused Strauss-Kahn told police he attacked her when she went in to clean his suite.
"She told detectives he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer where she was, pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her, according to her account," New York police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act, according to her account to detectives. He tried to lock her into the hotel room."
The woman, who has not been named, was treated in hospital for minor injuries, Browne said. She has worked at the hotel for three years and the property's manager said on Sunday she has been a "completely satisfactory" employee in her work and her behavior.
Under New York state law, attempted rape and a criminal sexual act both carry a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years. Unlawful imprisonment carries a potential sentence of three to five years.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols, Lesley Wroughton, Noeleen Walder, Christine Kearney, John Irish, Andrew Longstreth, Brian Love, Catherine Bremer and John Irish; Writing by Tim Ahmann and Kieran Murray; Editing by Stella Dawson, Daniel Trotta, Peter Cooney and Jackie Frank)
A handcuffed and drained Strauss-Kahn appeared before before reporters for the first time on Sunday night when two police detectives escorted him from a police station to a gray, four-door sedan. Police said he would be taken to the booking station at Manhattan Criminal Court.
His hair neatly parted, Strauss-Kahn wore a black overcoat, blue dress shirt and black dress slacks. He kept his eyes straight ahead, avoiding looking at the battery of cameras that had staked out the site for hours.
The sexual assault charges throw the IMF into turmoil just as it is trying to ease an escalating euro zone debt crisis, and they turn France's presidential election campaign upside down when polls had made Strauss-Kahn a clear front runner.
The charismatic 62-year-old, who led the International Monetary Fund through the 2007-09 global financial meltdown and has been central in galvanizing Europe to tackle its debt woes, for long had the reputation of a womanizer. But the charges he faces are in another realm.
A maid, 32, said he emerged naked from the bathroom and sexually assaulted her inside his $3,000-a-night suite at the Sofitel hotel near New York's Times Square on Saturday afternoon.
He would plead not guilty, his lawyers said.
Strauss-Kahn's first court appearance before a state judge had been expected on Sunday night but was delayed after investigators asked a judge for a warrant to search his body for scratches, a police spokesman said.
The defendant agreed to a medical examination voluntarily, one of his defense lawyers said. It was unclear where or when the exam would take place.
"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination tonight ... at the request of the government and in light of the hour we have agreed to postpone the arraignment until tomorrow morning," said lawyer William Taylor. No specific time was given for the court appearance.
"He's tired but he's fine," said Taylor, Strauss-Kahn's longtime, Washington-based lawyer.
Police say he fled the hotel after the alleged assault and a few hours later they pulled him from his first-class seat on an Air France plane minutes before it was to take off for Paris.
Strauss-Kahn was charged with a criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment and attempted rape, moving him from luxurious hotel suite and a glittering public career to scandal and a bare holding cell in New York's tough Harlem neighborhood in the space of a few hours
The contrast could barely have been more dramatic. At the Sofitel, Strauss-Kahn's suite had a conference room, living room, foyer, spacious marble bathroom and a bedroom with a sumptuous king-sized bed and feather and down duvet.
While he was locked up in Harlem on Sunday, the woman identified him from a police lineup that included five other men, a police spokesman said.
Police say Strauss-Kahn does not have diplomatic immunity from the charges, which if proven could carry a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years. They have collected DNA evidence from the hotel suite, The New York Times reported.
The IMF said Strauss-Kahn had been in New York on private business. He has hired New York lawyer Benjamin Brafman, a seasoned defense attorney who has successfully represented several celebrities, to lead his defense team.
The IMF chief's wife, well-known French television personality Anne Sinclair, jumped to her husband's defense.
"I do not believe for a single second the accusations leveled against my husband," she said in a statement.
IMF CRISIS, ELECTION 'THUNDERBOLT'
The IMF tried to fill its leadership vacuum by naming No. 2 official, John Lipsky, as acting managing director. The charges against Strauss-Kahn are a huge embarrassment for an institution that oversees the global economic system and has authorized hundreds of billions of dollars of loans to troubled countries as well as playing a major role in the euro-zone debt crisis.
The euro fell to a six-week low against the dollar and a two-month trough against the Japanese yen when markets opened in Asia on Monday as the news added uncertainty to aid for Greece and other indebted euro zone countries.
The allegations immediately threw France's presidential race wide open.
He had not yet declared his candidacy but Strauss-Kahn was widely expected to run for the Socialist Party and early opinion polls showed him with a big lead over the conservative incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, who is seeking a second term at the election next April.
"The news we received from New York last night struck like a thunderbolt," said Socialist leader Martine Aubry, appealing for party unity.
France's government as well as Strauss-Kahn's political allies and rivals called for caution and respect for the presumption of innocence, but his presidential ambitions appeared to be dead unless the case against him quickly unravels and he is shown to be innocent.
"All this is completely astounding, immensely troubling and distressing. If the facts prove true ... it's something degrading for all women. It's terrible for the image of France," said Francois Bayrou, a centrist opponent.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her rival's presidential hopes had been crushed.
Christine Boutin, president of the Christian Democrat Party, suggested Strauss-Kahn may have been set up.
"I think it's very likely a trap was set for Dominique Strauss-Kahn and he fell into it," she told France's BFM television. "It's a political bomb for domestic politics."
French voters are famously tolerant of political leaders' extramarital affairs. The allegations against Strauss-Kahn are entirely different, and much more serious.
If they are proven, Strauss-Kahn's fall from power in a scandal would be one of the most dramatic of any high-profile international figure in decades.
Many politicians have fallen after being caught in extramarital affairs and others have survived them, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton as well as former French President Francois Mitterrand.
Rarely have senior figures faced brutal assault charges like those filed against Strauss-Kahn.
With Strauss-Kahn in the dock, the IMF also now faces many questions of its own, because his character had been questioned before.
In 2008, Strauss-Kahn apologized for "an error of judgment" after an affair with a female IMF economist who was his subordinate.
The Fund's board of member countries warned him against further improper conduct, but cleared him of harassment and abuse of power and kept him in his job. It will now face new scrutiny over whether that response was too weak, especially as there have been persistent rumors about Strauss-Kahn making sexual advances to women.
PIVOTAL IN EUROPE'S DEBT WOES
An economics professor and former French finance minister, Strauss-Kahn took over the IMF in November 2007 for a five-year term, and won praise for helping galvanize leaders to inject billions of dollars into the world economy during the global financial crisis.
He introduced sweeping changes to ensure vulnerable countries swamped by the crisis had access to emergency loans, and others to give major emerging market countries such as China, India and Brazil greater voting powers in the IMF.
Witty, multilingual, a skilled public speaker and sharp back-room negotiator, Strauss-Kahn also weighed into thornier issues by urging China to let its currency rise in a dispute with the United States.
A crisis of leadership at the Fund now will especially worry European nations given Strauss-Kahn's pivotal role in brokering bailouts for Iceland, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Strauss-Kahn had been due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday and join euro zone finance ministers on Monday to discuss the bloc's debt crisis and how to handle Greece, which is struggling to meet the terms of a 110 billion euro European Union/IMF bailout last year.
"This might definitely cause some delays in the short term," a Greek official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Strauss-Kahn's lawyers moved quickly to cast doubts on the allegations against him.
Brafman, his U.S. lawyer, previously defended pop star Michael Jackson against child molestation charges as well as other celebrities in trouble.
The maid who accused Strauss-Kahn told police he attacked her when she went in to clean his suite.
"She told detectives he came out of the bathroom naked, ran down a hallway to the foyer where she was, pulled her into a bedroom and began to sexually assault her, according to her account," New York police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act, according to her account to detectives. He tried to lock her into the hotel room."
The woman, who has not been named, was treated in hospital for minor injuries, Browne said. She has worked at the hotel for three years and the property's manager said on Sunday she has been a "completely satisfactory" employee in her work and her behavior.
Under New York state law, attempted rape and a criminal sexual act both carry a potential sentence of 15 to 20 years. Unlawful imprisonment carries a potential sentence of three to five years.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols, Lesley Wroughton, Noeleen Walder, Christine Kearney, John Irish, Andrew Longstreth, Brian Love, Catherine Bremer and John Irish; Writing by Tim Ahmann and Kieran Murray; Editing by Stella Dawson, Daniel Trotta, Peter Cooney and Jackie Frank)
HCL Tech gets automation contract from US bank
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - HCL Technologies, India's fourth largest software services firm, said late on Friday it got a contract from a unit of U.S. bank First Horizon National Corp to automate its commercial lending operations.
HCL, which did not disclose the value of the contract, said the contract will cover banking lines of small business, business banking, commercial banking, commercial real estate, corporate banking and private banking.
(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky)
HCL, which did not disclose the value of the contract, said the contract will cover banking lines of small business, business banking, commercial banking, commercial real estate, corporate banking and private banking.
(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky)
Petrol price hiked Rs.5 per litre; opposition, people fume
New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) In its steepest hike so far, the price of petrol will be raised Rs.5 per litre in an over 8 percent increase from Saturday midnight. The increase comes only a day after the assembly poll results in five states, and was greeted by anger and derision from ordinary citizens and opposition parties.
According to officials, the three state-run companies will increase the price in a move to plug the losses suffered due to sale of subsidised domestic fuel.
In Delhi, petrol is currently priced at Rs.58.37 per litre, while it is Rs.63.08 per litre in Mumbai till Saturday. From midnight, it will be raised to Rs.63.37 and Rs.68.33, respectively.
In June last year, the government had allowed oil companies to set the price of petrol as per the market situation, following which they had raised the price of petrol by Rs.3 per litre.
Then, another substantial price rise took place in December 2010, when companies had hiked the price by Rs.3 per litre.
The last price hike was in January, when oil companies had raised the price by four to two percent. Thus, in the last nine months, the price of petrol has increased from Rs.47.93 per litre to Rs.63.37 - through nine revisions.
Despite the hike, oil company officials said they will still be losing about Rs.5 per litre of petrol, due to rising international crude prices, with India meeting eighty percent of its fuel consumption through imports. Another hike may be done next week, said officials.
There has been steady increase in the international prices, with the Indian crude basket priced at $113.09 per barrel Friday. The average of the previous fortnight from April 16-30 stood at $119.4 per barrel.
The last time the monthly average was above $100 level was in August 2008, when the crude basket price was calculated at $113.05 per barrel.
The biggest loss of the companies, however, is due to the sale of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene, whose price continues to be controlled by the government. Every day, oil companies lose Rs.495 crore due to the sale of these three products alone.
The empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on fuel prices is scheduled to meet next week, to consider a proposal to raise prices.
According to sources, there are proposals to increase the price of diesel by about Rs.4 per litre. Similarly, cooking gas cylinder could become costlier by about Rs.20.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties condemned the hike in petrol prices Saturday, terming it as an 'attack' and a 'cruel hoax' on the common man.
The BJP said it would fight against the measure 'inside and outside parliament' while the Left called it hypocrisy, coming a day after the election results to five states.
'The petrol price hike exposed the failure of the economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,' BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the price hike was highly condemnable.
'This is a cruel hoax on the common people,' he told reporters here.
Forward Bloc national secretary G. Devarajan said the government was 'indulging in hypocrisy by increasing the prices of petrol just one day after the assembly poll results'.
The moment the news flashed across the media, petrol stations in the city saw long queues of vehicles with people in a hurry to fill up the tanks before the hiked prices came into effect.
Shweta Arya, consultant in an infrastructure firm, lamented that her transportation budget has spiked in the last one year.
'My petrol expenditure has doubled in the last one year. How will the common man survive after such a price hike,' she wondered.
Vinay Verma, 32, wondered if the government could tolerate corruption among politicians and bureaucrats, which has drained the country's coffers, then why couldn't it also take on the burden of subsidy.
'I know that the hike is because of the international increase in prices. But what angers me is that the government can tolerate scams worth thousands of crores of rupees but fails when it comes to international fuel rates,' lamented Verma, a human resources executive.
According to officials, the three state-run companies will increase the price in a move to plug the losses suffered due to sale of subsidised domestic fuel.
In Delhi, petrol is currently priced at Rs.58.37 per litre, while it is Rs.63.08 per litre in Mumbai till Saturday. From midnight, it will be raised to Rs.63.37 and Rs.68.33, respectively.
In June last year, the government had allowed oil companies to set the price of petrol as per the market situation, following which they had raised the price of petrol by Rs.3 per litre.
Then, another substantial price rise took place in December 2010, when companies had hiked the price by Rs.3 per litre.
The last price hike was in January, when oil companies had raised the price by four to two percent. Thus, in the last nine months, the price of petrol has increased from Rs.47.93 per litre to Rs.63.37 - through nine revisions.
Despite the hike, oil company officials said they will still be losing about Rs.5 per litre of petrol, due to rising international crude prices, with India meeting eighty percent of its fuel consumption through imports. Another hike may be done next week, said officials.
There has been steady increase in the international prices, with the Indian crude basket priced at $113.09 per barrel Friday. The average of the previous fortnight from April 16-30 stood at $119.4 per barrel.
The last time the monthly average was above $100 level was in August 2008, when the crude basket price was calculated at $113.05 per barrel.
The biggest loss of the companies, however, is due to the sale of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene, whose price continues to be controlled by the government. Every day, oil companies lose Rs.495 crore due to the sale of these three products alone.
The empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) on fuel prices is scheduled to meet next week, to consider a proposal to raise prices.
According to sources, there are proposals to increase the price of diesel by about Rs.4 per litre. Similarly, cooking gas cylinder could become costlier by about Rs.20.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties condemned the hike in petrol prices Saturday, terming it as an 'attack' and a 'cruel hoax' on the common man.
The BJP said it would fight against the measure 'inside and outside parliament' while the Left called it hypocrisy, coming a day after the election results to five states.
'The petrol price hike exposed the failure of the economist Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,' BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the price hike was highly condemnable.
'This is a cruel hoax on the common people,' he told reporters here.
Forward Bloc national secretary G. Devarajan said the government was 'indulging in hypocrisy by increasing the prices of petrol just one day after the assembly poll results'.
The moment the news flashed across the media, petrol stations in the city saw long queues of vehicles with people in a hurry to fill up the tanks before the hiked prices came into effect.
Shweta Arya, consultant in an infrastructure firm, lamented that her transportation budget has spiked in the last one year.
'My petrol expenditure has doubled in the last one year. How will the common man survive after such a price hike,' she wondered.
Vinay Verma, 32, wondered if the government could tolerate corruption among politicians and bureaucrats, which has drained the country's coffers, then why couldn't it also take on the burden of subsidy.
'I know that the hike is because of the international increase in prices. But what angers me is that the government can tolerate scams worth thousands of crores of rupees but fails when it comes to international fuel rates,' lamented Verma, a human resources executive.
UN chief urges restraint from Israel, Arab sides
United Nations, May 16 (IANS) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for restraint from all sides in Israel and Lebanon and urged them to refrain from 'provocations', Xinhua reported.
The UN chief's call came following the deadly clashes along the Blue Line, a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel in the occupied Golan Heights and in the occupied Palestinian territory.
About a dozen people were killed on the Syrian and Lebanese borders when Israeli forces opened fire at the demonstrators who climbed the fence to enter Israel, reports said.
Palestinians and Arabs demonstrated in the Palestinian territories and on Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, the term they use to refer to Israel's creation in 1948 and the subsequent uprooting of Palestinians from their hometowns and villages.
'The secretary-general is deeply concerned that a significant number of people have been killed or injured. He calls on all concerned to show restraint and refrain from provocations so as to prevent escalation of tensions and ensure civilians are not killed or injured,' said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.
'The secretary-general calls for calm throughout the region and utmost responsibility from all concerned,' the statement said.
'He reiterates the urgent need for a just, lasting and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which ensures dignity and security for all, including an end to occupation, an end to conflict, and a just and agreed solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees.'
'The secretary-general calls for a renewed and sustained effort to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and advance the broader goal of a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East,' the statement said.
The UN chief's call came following the deadly clashes along the Blue Line, a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel in the occupied Golan Heights and in the occupied Palestinian territory.
About a dozen people were killed on the Syrian and Lebanese borders when Israeli forces opened fire at the demonstrators who climbed the fence to enter Israel, reports said.
Palestinians and Arabs demonstrated in the Palestinian territories and on Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon to mark the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, the term they use to refer to Israel's creation in 1948 and the subsequent uprooting of Palestinians from their hometowns and villages.
'The secretary-general is deeply concerned that a significant number of people have been killed or injured. He calls on all concerned to show restraint and refrain from provocations so as to prevent escalation of tensions and ensure civilians are not killed or injured,' said a statement issued here by Ban's spokesman.
'The secretary-general calls for calm throughout the region and utmost responsibility from all concerned,' the statement said.
'He reiterates the urgent need for a just, lasting and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, which ensures dignity and security for all, including an end to occupation, an end to conflict, and a just and agreed solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees.'
'The secretary-general calls for a renewed and sustained effort to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and advance the broader goal of a comprehensive regional peace in the Middle East,' the statement said.
Mamata to meet Sonia, to seal berth deal today
New Delhi: The Trinamool and Congress are likely to finalise their berth sharing deal for the West Bengal cabinet on Monday.
The Congress will submit a report of its Bengal MLAs to Sonia Gandhi today. The MLAs want to be part of the Mamata government. So, to keep the cadre happy, central leaders may agree to join the Trinamool government.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed will meet Sonia Gandhi with a report on the role the Congress should play in the newly elected West Bengal governemnt.
Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee buoyed by a historic mandate is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi later today. She may also meet the Prime Minister.
Mamata will invite them for the swearing in ceremony and will also insist that the Railways ministry stays with Trinamool.
"I will meet Sonia Gandhi and PM and then we will make an announcement," said Mamata Banerjee.
The Congress will submit a report of its Bengal MLAs to Sonia Gandhi today. The MLAs want to be part of the Mamata government. So, to keep the cadre happy, central leaders may agree to join the Trinamool government.
Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed will meet Sonia Gandhi with a report on the role the Congress should play in the newly elected West Bengal governemnt.
Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee buoyed by a historic mandate is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi later today. She may also meet the Prime Minister.
Mamata will invite them for the swearing in ceremony and will also insist that the Railways ministry stays with Trinamool.
"I will meet Sonia Gandhi and PM and then we will make an announcement," said Mamata Banerjee.
DMK mulls pullout after Sonia call
CHENNAI: Upset with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's courtesy call to AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, the DMK is considering pulling out its ministers from the Union cabinet and provide only outside support to its long-time ally at the Centre.
An AIADMK statement on Saturday said Sonia had called Jaya to convey her ''best wishes'' on her electoral success.
DMK seniors, including party chief M Karunanidhi, have held informal discussions for two days since Saturday and probed the option of providing outside support to Congress. While Sonia's greetings to Jayalalithaa may be perceived by some as mere courtesy, in Tamil Nadu political opponents are not known to exchange such pleasantries. The Sonia-Jaya telephone conversation is seen as a needless provocation by DMK which is sore about the perceived apathy of the Congress in the wake of CBI action against Karunanidhi's family members.
A section within the DMK, however, cautioned restraint, pointing out that with the party now out of power, it should not lose its clout at the Centre as well. DMK has six Union ministers, including two Cabinet ministers M K Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran. Pulling them out would leave the DMK with no political capital at a time when the party has suffered a major rout in the assembly elections. ''Until the next Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the party should focus on rebuilding its image and strengthening relations with political allies,'' some senior leaders told Karunanidhi.
The mood in the DMK camp, grim since its disastrous performance, plunged further after news of Sonia's call on Saturday. ''Thalaivar (leader) expressed reservations about Sonia's call to Jayalalithaa. We can understand his feelings. We didn't mind the Prime Minister calling the AIADMK leader. But the political implication of Sonia calling her is different. They have never shared a good relationship. We believe Congress is now opening doors to the AIADMK.
In our opinion, they seem to be planning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,'' a former minister told TOI.
Congress spokeswoman Jayanti Natarajan said the AICC president also congratulated leaders of other parties who won state elections along with Jayalalithaa. ''In a democracy, it is a healthy trend,'' she told the media in Delhi. On reports that Sonia had invited Jayalalithaa for tea to Delhi, she said, ''I have no idea, I have no information.''
An AIADMK statement on Saturday said Sonia had called Jaya to convey her ''best wishes'' on her electoral success.
DMK seniors, including party chief M Karunanidhi, have held informal discussions for two days since Saturday and probed the option of providing outside support to Congress. While Sonia's greetings to Jayalalithaa may be perceived by some as mere courtesy, in Tamil Nadu political opponents are not known to exchange such pleasantries. The Sonia-Jaya telephone conversation is seen as a needless provocation by DMK which is sore about the perceived apathy of the Congress in the wake of CBI action against Karunanidhi's family members.
A section within the DMK, however, cautioned restraint, pointing out that with the party now out of power, it should not lose its clout at the Centre as well. DMK has six Union ministers, including two Cabinet ministers M K Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran. Pulling them out would leave the DMK with no political capital at a time when the party has suffered a major rout in the assembly elections. ''Until the next Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the party should focus on rebuilding its image and strengthening relations with political allies,'' some senior leaders told Karunanidhi.
The mood in the DMK camp, grim since its disastrous performance, plunged further after news of Sonia's call on Saturday. ''Thalaivar (leader) expressed reservations about Sonia's call to Jayalalithaa. We can understand his feelings. We didn't mind the Prime Minister calling the AIADMK leader. But the political implication of Sonia calling her is different. They have never shared a good relationship. We believe Congress is now opening doors to the AIADMK.
In our opinion, they seem to be planning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,'' a former minister told TOI.
Congress spokeswoman Jayanti Natarajan said the AICC president also congratulated leaders of other parties who won state elections along with Jayalalithaa. ''In a democracy, it is a healthy trend,'' she told the media in Delhi. On reports that Sonia had invited Jayalalithaa for tea to Delhi, she said, ''I have no idea, I have no information.''
BJP battles Governor H R Bhardwaj to save Karnataka government
BANGALORE: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka seems set to take to New Delhi its battle against Governor H.R. Bhardwaj for reportedly seeking the government's dismissal and direct central rule in the state.
The BJP legislators are meeting here Monday to decide the strategy to save their government.
They are likely to opt to present themselves to President Pratibha Patil in Delhi to prove the party has majority in the assembly.
The legislators meeting will be followed by a cabinet session of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa who late Sunday wrote to Patil to reject Bhardwaj's "unconstitutional move".
Bhardwaj has not made public the "special report" he says he has sent to central government on the Karnataka developments following the Supreme Court restoring the membership of 16 rebel lawmakers May 13.
Of the 16 legislators, 11 are from BJP and five are independents.
The rebellion in October last year had reduced Yeddyurappa ministry to a minority in the 225-member assembly and Bhardwaj had ordered the chief minister to seek trust vote.
The 16 rebels were disqualified ahead of the Oct 11 trust vote which helped Yeddyurappa win it amid chaos in the assembly.
Bhardwaj ordered another trust vote which Yeddyurappa won Oct 14 with 106 votes in favour and 100 against.
Of the 11 BJP rebels who won back their membership, 10 again expressed their support to Yeddyurappa Sunday while the 11th refused to do so.
The 10 waited outside Raj Bhavan late Sunday to hand over their individual support letters but Bhardwaj did not meet them.
He, however, met a group of ministers after which BJP spokesperson and former central minister V. Dhananjaya Kumar announced that Bhardwaj had "accepted" the support letters, indicating Yeddyurappa had survived the crisis.
However, the jubilation in the BJP camp was short-lived as the ruling party apprehended that Bhardwaj had quietly sought dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government and imposition of direct central rule, keeping the assembly in suspension.
It was Dhananjaya Kumar who told the media that Bhardwaj was possibly seeking dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government, within an hour of claiming that the governor had "accepted" the support letters.
The BJP legislators are meeting here Monday to decide the strategy to save their government.
They are likely to opt to present themselves to President Pratibha Patil in Delhi to prove the party has majority in the assembly.
The legislators meeting will be followed by a cabinet session of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa who late Sunday wrote to Patil to reject Bhardwaj's "unconstitutional move".
Bhardwaj has not made public the "special report" he says he has sent to central government on the Karnataka developments following the Supreme Court restoring the membership of 16 rebel lawmakers May 13.
Of the 16 legislators, 11 are from BJP and five are independents.
The rebellion in October last year had reduced Yeddyurappa ministry to a minority in the 225-member assembly and Bhardwaj had ordered the chief minister to seek trust vote.
The 16 rebels were disqualified ahead of the Oct 11 trust vote which helped Yeddyurappa win it amid chaos in the assembly.
Bhardwaj ordered another trust vote which Yeddyurappa won Oct 14 with 106 votes in favour and 100 against.
Of the 11 BJP rebels who won back their membership, 10 again expressed their support to Yeddyurappa Sunday while the 11th refused to do so.
The 10 waited outside Raj Bhavan late Sunday to hand over their individual support letters but Bhardwaj did not meet them.
He, however, met a group of ministers after which BJP spokesperson and former central minister V. Dhananjaya Kumar announced that Bhardwaj had "accepted" the support letters, indicating Yeddyurappa had survived the crisis.
However, the jubilation in the BJP camp was short-lived as the ruling party apprehended that Bhardwaj had quietly sought dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government and imposition of direct central rule, keeping the assembly in suspension.
It was Dhananjaya Kumar who told the media that Bhardwaj was possibly seeking dismissal of the Yeddyurappa government, within an hour of claiming that the governor had "accepted" the support letters.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)