WASHINGTON: In a landmark speech reaching out to the Islamic world, US President Barack Obama on Thursday called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims, saying both sides should overcome the cycle of suspicion and discord, and religious beliefs across the world were not inimical or exclusive to each other.
Obama’s eloquent address in Cairo, Egypt, home to the historic Al Azhar and Cairo University, contained quotations from the Koran, rich references to Islam’s contribution to civilization, and his own personal connection to the faith. Beyond that, he also outlined the source of the fear and mistrust between the two sides, including 9/11, while warning that violent extremists have exploited these tensions ''in a small but potent minority of Muslims.''
Among the key contentious issues and geography identified by Obama were the festering Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Iraq (which he suggested was needlessly invaded), US differences with Iran and indeed much of the world over possession of nuclear weapons, Af-Pak (home to the perpetrators of 9/11), and differing perceptions between the west and the Islamic world on democracy and women's rights.
But he conspicuously excluded any reference to the Kashmir issue in the Indian sub-continent, home of the largest concentration of Muslims in the world, likely to the dismay of Pakistan and its separatist proxies who have made it a cause, and the delight of Indian nationalists who believe it is a domestic or regional concern.
Outlining the more recent events that led to the growing rift between the US and the Islamic world, Obama reminded the world that the perpetrators of 9/11 were hiding in the Af-Pak region, forcing U.S to come after them. Al Qaeda was not only unrepentant but was even now planning to expand their reach and kill on a mass scale.
''Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case,'' Obama said, echoing the general Indian sentiment about lowering its guard against acts of terrorism.
The US President said ''America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security.''
The US President also touched on the revived debate about nuclear weapons, saying he understood those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. ''No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons,'' he said, indicating that he would push ahead with advancing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Earlier, in reaching out to the Islamic world, Obama proffered his own personal experience, relating ''I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.''
''So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed,'' he said. ''That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't.''
Obama said he considered it part of his responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear, but that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. ''Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire,'' he said, offering a thesis that is seldom accepted in the Islamic world.
Kasab had confessed to crime, police officer tells court
MUMBAI: A police officer told a special court on Thursday that Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab had confessed to him that he along with nine other LeT members had arrived from Pakistan after hijacking marine vessel 'Kuber' and committed terror acts in Mumbai on November 26 last year.
Sub-inspector Chandrakant Jadhav was being examined by the prosecution in an attempt to nail Kasab in the crime.
Jadhav said Kasab had told him, "Ten of us came from Karachi by Al-husseini and mid-way hijacked Indian boat Kuber. Four Kuber crew members were shifted to Al-husseini while we sailed in Kuber with its navigator Amarsingh Solanki till we reached near Mumbai coast. Then we killed the navigator."
The witness told special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that Kasab had described how they killed the navigator by slashing his neck from behind and leaving his body in the engine room.
After Kasab made the confession, Jadhav took him and two other witnesses to 'Kuber' boat anchored at Sasoon Dock where they saw Solanki's body. A satellite phone and notebook was also found. These articles were seized and panchnama was drawn, Jadhav said.
The witness said some articles (allegedly belonging to the terrorists) were found from Kuber. These were 14 blankets, 15 jackets, eight empty diesel cans, toothpaste, tooth brushes, three boat covers, two cloth cleaning brushes, empty sugar bag, paper wheat flour bag and 'Pak' brand detergent powder.
Some of the items had 'Made in Pakistan' labels.
Air France says no hope of survivors in Atlantic
Fernando De Noronha (Brazil):Air France has told families of passengers on Flight 447 that the jetliner broke apart and they must abandon hope that anyone survived, a grief counsellor said on Thursday as military aircraft tried to narrow their search for the remains of the plane.
Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told the families in a private meeting that the plane broke apart either in the air or when it slammed into the ocean, according to Guillaume Denoix de Saint-Marc, who was asked by Paris prosecutors to help counsel family members and was at the yesterday meeting.
The plane, carrying 228 people, disappeared after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris on Sunday night.
Investigators were relying heavily on the plane's automated messages to help reconstruct what happened to the jet as it flew through towering thunderstorms.
They detail a series of failures that end with its systems shutting down, suggesting the plane broke apart in the sky, according to an aviation industry official with knowledge of the investigation.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the crash. "What is clear is that there was no landing. There's no chance the escape slides came out," said Denoix de Saint-Marc, who heads a victims' association for UTA flight 772, shot down in 1989 by Libyan terrorists.
Gourgeon told families there were no survivors, according to Denoix de Saint-Marc.
New Air France debris found, explosion unlikely
Earlier, search crews flying over the Atlantic found debris from a crashed Air France jet spread over more than 55 miles (90 km) of ocean on Wednesday, reinforcing the possibility it broke up in the air.
India is safe, insists Chidambaram despite US travel advisory
New Delhi:The US has claimed that India is faced with a "high threat" from terrorism and asked its citizens to be vigilant, prompting New Delhi to assert that the country is a safe place and such an advisory was unwarranted.
Home Minister P Chidambaram said India is "safer than any other country in the world" and New Delhi will try to persuade Washington to withdraw such an advisory.
He was reacting to an 'Urgent Warden Message' posted on American Embassy website which cautioned American citizens in India.
"The United States Mission in India wishes to urgently remind all US citizens resident in or travelling to India that there is a high threat from terrorism throughout India," the message said.
"As terror attacks are a serious and growing threat, US citizens are urged to always practice good security, including maintaining a heightened situational awareness and a low profile," it said.
The message said, "Americans in India should be vigilant at all times and monitor local news reports and vary their routes and times in carrying out daily activities." The advisory asked Americans to consider the level of security present when visiting public places, including religious sites, or choosing hotels, restaurants, entertainment and recreation venues.
Commenting on the advisory, Chidambaram said the MEA will be asked to speak to the US to persuade them to withdraw the advisory.
"India is a completely safe country... India is a safe place, it is safer than any other country in the world. Thousands of tourists come to India and we look forward to welcoming them," he told reporters.
Indian Business News
Sensex ends above 15,000 mark
Mumbai:Reversing its early weak trends, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex regained the 15,000 point level after nine months by rising nearly 138 points after the government unveiled its reforms plan to tackle the economic slowdown.
The 30-share index, which had lost 1.8 per cent in the opening session, rebounded with a gain of 137.78 points at 15,008.68, a level last seen in September last year. It touched the day's high of 15,026.03 points.
Similarly, the 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 41.95 points to 4,572.65, after touching the day's high of 4,582.20.
Marketmen said trading sentiment turned bullish after President Pratibha Patil presented the agenda of the UPA government in Parliament.
They said government data showing a fall in inflation and a firm start in European stock markets this afternoon also boosted trading sentiment.
The President said the new government will focus on adversely-affected sectors like infrastructure, exports, small and medium enterprises, and housing.
The pension and financial sectors and disinvestment in PSUs would be priority areas for the UPA government, she said.
The rally was backed by shares of the realty, capital goods, healthcare, power and banking sectors.
Among the 30 Sensex stocks, 21 counters ended higher, led by pharmaceutical stocks of Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma, while nine ended with losses.
The upsurge was backed by the realty sector, which gained the most, by 3.29 per cent, to 4,116.99, with stocks of DLF Ltd, Unitech Ltd, Shobha Developers and Akruti City perking up.
The capital goods sector was the second-best performer by rising 3.23 per cent to 12,551.73. Stocks of heavy machinery used for construction such as Lakshmi Machines Works surged 28.60 per cent to Rs 1,201.85 and Areva by 7.27 per cent to Rs 362.95 after Patil told Parliament that the government plans to remove delays in public works projects.
Inflation dips to 0.48 pct, rate cut on cards
New Delhi:Inflation declined to 0.48 per cent for the week ended May 23, giving head room to the government to initiate expansionary measures and prompt banks to cut rates.
While the wholesale price index stood at 0.61 per cent in the previous week, the rate of price rise was 8.90 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.
Even though inflation declined during the week, the prices of essential food items like fruit, tea, cereals, pulses and spices became more expensive.
In the light of falling inflation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is holding a meeting with heads of public sector banks on June 10 to stress further moderation in interest rates to spur economic growth.
"My Government is firmly committed to maintaining high growth with low inflation, particularly in relation to prices of essential agricultural and industrial commodities,"
President Pratibha Patil said while presenting the agenda of the second UPA government at the joint session of Parliament.
This is the 12th week in succession when inflation stood below one per cent.
Meanwhile, ICICI Bank today slashed the benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to 15.75 per cent, a move that would benefit home, consumer corporate loan borrowers.
Indian Sports News| Indian Cricket News
Andrew Symonds sent home from T20 World Cup
Melbourne:Controversial Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds is on his way home from the ICC World Twenty20 Championship for skipping the team practice at the Oval following an "alcohol-related incident", media reports said on Thursday.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the 33-year-old Symonds broke a number of rules "in the last 24-48 hours" and the CA was now busy in organising flights to get him back to Australia.
"In isolation the breaches that I am talking about are not serious, but in the scheme of things, in the scheme of history, they are enough for it to be the final straw," Sutherland was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.
Symonds' CA contract, which he retained only last month, is also now under review, he said.
Australia's prospect in the tournament have been dealt with a major blow in the absence of Symonds, who starred for the IPL title winners Deccan Chargers in South Africa.
The Ricky Pointing-led team faces the West Indies on Saturday in their tournament opener. Ponting will shortly front another press conference in London to address the situation.
The Australian team management had a meeting after becoming aware of the situation and expressed their concerns to CA, who would request the International Cricket Council to organise a possible replacement player.
It is likely Symonds' international career could now be over after the latest in a long list of off-field problems. Symonds, who failed to earn selection in Australia's Ashes squad announced last month, has been embroiled in a series of off-field controversies over the past year, the prominent ones being the go-fishing saga and monkeygate, involving Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Bowling at death remains a concern: Dhoni
London:The crushing win against Pakistan did lift the morale but India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not ready to gloss over the fact that bowling at death remains the team's lone chink in the armour. Even though Dhoni sounded happy about the overall performance of the team, the Indian captain was particularly perturbed about bowling at the death.
"Even though it was a warm-up match, I think winning it was important for us. After the defeat against New Zealand, the response from the players was amazing today," Dhoni said. "But still there are certain areas which need to be addressed, like bowling the last couple of overs," he said. "You have to be good at the end. Fortunately, we have options and players who can bowl at the end," Dhoni said. Both against New Zealand and Pakistan, R P Singh proved particularly expensive towards the end as India bled some late boundaries in both the matches. Dhoni, however, had no other major complains. "We did not field well initially and the energy level was quite down. But after (Suresh) Raina got that run out, it was high again. Spinners then came to the party and Ishant (Sharma) was at his best again," he said. The Indian captain admitted he was worried with Pakistan's brisk start and thought they might end up getting a 180-score.
"They looked like getting 200 at some stage but we always knew in twenty20, if you lose a few wickets in the middle overs, you are in trouble. If you have good spinners, you can always put pressure on the opposition. I thought if we can restrict them to 165, that would be achievable. But if you have to chase 180, you are always under pressure, whatever be the conditions," Dhoni explained.
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