Greece approve austerity as protesters, police clash

 

Greek lawmakers approved a new round of drastic austerity measures late Sunday after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left Athens buildings ablaze and the streets in chaos.

 

The deputies defied the 100,000-strong turnout in Athens and Thessaloniki and approved another round of stringent budget measures requested by Greece s international creditors in return for a multi-billion rescue fund.

 

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos denounced the violence in the debate leading up to the vote, saying the street battles around the parliament building had no place in a democracy.

 

Deputies “will assume their responsibility” and make the most important choice of “advancing with Europe and the single currency”, Papademos said shortly before the vote took place.

 

The fire brigade said 10 buildings were set ablaze in central Athens, most of them by petrol bombs hurled by masked protesters who have been a common presence at anti-austerity marches since the crisis began in 2010.

 

The health ministry said 54 people were injured in the day s events.

 

Fire engines were initially unable to intervene because of the size of the protest and the chaos that filled the streets around the parliament building, where lawmakers debated the austerity plan ahead of a late-night vote.

 

When protesters wearing gas masks tried to break through the riot police cordon around parliament, the standoff broke out into running battles, with tear gas canisters and rocks flying in opposite directions.

 

An estimated 80,000 protesters gathered in Athens, police said, matching the biggest turnouts achieved against earlier austerity packages last year, while around 20,000 also demonstrated in the second city of Thessaloniki.

 

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told parliament it had to back the government-approved plan to unlock a 130 billion euro ($171 billion) rescue fund from the EU and the IMF, or Greece would be forced to default.

 

“The situation is very clear. Tonight at midnight before the markets open the Greek parliament must send the message that our nation can and will (support the debt deal),” Venizelos said.

 

The pressure on Greece is huge as leaders in the eurozone core countries express their exasperation with Athens and increasingly minimise the wider dangers of the country stumbling out of the single currency.
 

Jails not new for PPP ‘Jialas’, says Firdous

While addressing the inauguration ceremony of NADRA office and the passport office at a village Kobey in the suburb of Sialkot, Minister for Information Firdous Ashiq Awan said that accountability, penalty and prize are the rights of the masses. The PPP stands first among giving sacrifices for the sake of democracy, she said.

 

She expressed that the government is taking concrete steps to overcome energy and gas crisis. She also has had a meeting with delegation comprising members from Chamber of Commerce, Dry Port Association and Surgical Association of Sialkot who called on Information Minister and Governor Punjab Sardar Muhammad Latif Khosa today.

 

The delegation was led by Chairman Chamber of Commerce Naeem Anwaar Qureshi and Chairman Dry Port Association Saddique Ishaq Butt.She announced that one more gas pipeline is being laid down from Wazirabad to Sialkot to resolve the problem of gas shortage in the city.

 

“We are focusing to generate electricity from hydel power which is cheaper and also directed provinces to initiate small projects to overcome the energy crisis”, she said.

 

Around 2000 megawatt electricity would be produced through the factories’ wastes which would also help resolve the issue.

 

Keeping in view the energy crisis, she informed that an energy conference would be arranged in Lahore soon.
Governor Punjab Sardar Latif Ahmad Khosa said that some people were hatching conspiracies to derail the system of democracy but such tactics would be foiled.

 

He said that the people claiming for change were actually committing forgery and fraud in the name of rule of law.
Commenting on next budget, he said the delegation that the upcoming budget would be people and business friendly.
The suggestions would be sought from Chamber of Commerce, Dry Port Association and Surgical Association in this regard which would be incorporated while planning the budget.

 

Latif Khosa said the country cannot progress until the government extend the tax net.

 

The government is taking concrete steps to overcome prevailing energy crisis in the country.

 

The delegation said 251 million dollars export is being made from Sialkot annually while the local industry is providing job opportunities to 0.4 million people.

 

PPP’s real court is masses and some elements are trying to halt the Senate polls with their threats, she said.

Sovereignty hinges on economic autonomy: MQM

Four industrialists Feroze Alam Laari, Saeed Usman Ali, Muhammad Rehan Zeeshan and Sadiq Muhammad have announced joining MQM at a press conference at Muthidda Qaumi Movement Headquarters, Nine Zero, in Karachi.

 

MQM deputy convener Dr Farooq Sattar and other officials were also present at the press conference.

 

The industrialists said that only MQM chief Altaf Hussain can take the country out of the current political and economic crisis and they have become the part of MQM to join hands with Altaf Hussain.

 

Dr Farooq Sattar said that industry and trade are the key sectors of any country and national sovereignty depends on economic independence.

 

Sattar said that the days have gone when politics overwhelmed the economy.

 

More and more people are joining the MQM in order to strengthen and support the economic programmes of Altaf Hussain, he said.
 

US envoy in Malidives to ease political crises

 

A top US diplomat arrived in the Maldives on Saturday seeking to help resolve a deepening political crisis sparked by the ousting of the Indian Ocean nation s first democratically elected president.

 

Mohamed Nasheed, who came to power in 2008, says he was forced to resign on Tuesday in a coup d etat led by mutinous army and police officers who threatened him with violence unless he stepped down.

 

He was replaced as head of state by his vice president Mohamed Waheed, whom Nasheed accuses of being party to the conspiracy to topple him.

 

The US assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, Robert Blake, will seek to clarify how power was transferred during a visit to the crowded capital of the famous holiday islands, the state department announced.

 

“Ambassador Blake will meet the president as well as the opposition during his 12-hour visit,” a US official in the capital island Male told AFP.

 

Since stepping down, Nasheed has called for fresh elections and has threatened protests if the police continue targeting his party members and figures in his former administration.

 

Rioting erupted across the country on Wednesday when Nasheed publicly said he was the victim of a military-backed coup and senior members of his party were beaten during a rally in Male.

 

At least 18 police stations were torched and dozens of vehicles, court houses and government buildings were destroyed some of the remote islets of the archipelago, police say.

 

The Maldivian police confirmed they were carrying out mass arrests of troublemakers while Nasheed said 350 people linked to his administration had been detained within three days of his resignation.

 

New President Waheed has rejected Nasheed s demand for elections.

 

“Simply because an ex-president wants an election we can t have one just like that,” Waheed s spokesman Masood Imad told AFP. “There is a constitutional process.”

 

Imad said Waheed had no intention of clinging on to power and would hold the next election when it is due, by November 2013.

 

New protests would spell further instability and damage for the country which depends on the hundreds of thousands of high-end travellers and honeymooners who visit its pristine islands each year.

 

Nasheed s efforts to force Waheed to step down suffered a major blow Thursday when Washington announced it recognised his successor s administration as legitimate.

 

Nasheed, a former political prisoner and climate change campaigner, voiced disappointment at the announcement and the US later appeared to step back from its earlier declaration.

 

“We will work with the government of the Maldives, but believe that the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power need to be clarified,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.

 

“And we also suggest that all parties agree to an independent mechanism to do that.”

 

“He (Blake) will see all of the major players and have a chance to talk about an appropriate way forward and reconciliation and national unity mechanism.”

 

Nasheed said Friday that recognition of the new Male administration would not help resolve the crisis.

 

The former president claimed police “stripped and hand-cuffed” his supporters and ransacked homes in Addu, the southernmost atoll, and said he would travel there in the next 24 hours unless the crackdown stopped.

 

A UN special envoy, Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, arrived in the Maldives Friday and met both sides, diplomatic sources said.

 

A European Union and Indian delegation are also due to visit.

 

Diplomatic pressure has been applied to prevent police acting on an arrest warrant for Nasheed issued by a local criminal court on Thursday, diplomatic sources said.

 

Presidential spokesman Imad said police were obliged to execute the arrest warrant only if they felt there was a risk that Nasheed would not appear in court to answer charges which are yet to be made public.

 

“He can go anywhere in the country, but he can t leave the country,” Imad said.
 

Bilateral relations review likely despite SC case against PM: US

 

The United States administration is hopeful that Pakistan can complete the process of parliamentary review on Pak-US relations, despite the internal crisis including the ongoing contempt of court proceedings against the country s Prime Minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, in the Supreme Court and forward the recommendations in this regard to the United States.

 

These recommendations are likely to form the basis of future relationship between both countries, after the differences peaked in the wake of NATO attack on Salala check-post in Mohmand Agency on November 26 that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The US officials have been maintaining that they could only comment on any issue concerning Pakistan after having a thorough look at the parliamentary review recommendations in due course.

 

Briefing the reporters on Friday, the US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland said “we are waiting for completion of Pakistani parliament s internal review before we are able to discuss these issues.” When asked if Pakistan had given any potential timeline to US officials for forwarding the said recommendations, she said “only Pakistanis can answer when they are going to forward these recommendations, but we are going to remain patient.”

 

On another question whether the US administration was concerned that the internal issues being dealt with by the Pakistani regime, case in the Supreme Court being on top of it, could delay the review process, Ms. Nuland disagreed and said that the indications being given to the US was slightly different. “From our contacts with Pakistan, we are getting the sense that they are trying to complete the review despite these issues.”

 

Regarding the headway on US relations with Pakistan, she said that there was “nothing new to report on relations with Pakistan or reopening of NATO supply routes.” She also declined to comment on a question whether US is still asking any questions from Pakistan about Osama bin Laden s presence in Abbottabad.

 

- Contributed By Awais Saleem, News Trends correspondent in Washington, DC
 

‘Avatar’ robot made in Japan

YOKOHAMA: A Japanese-developed robot that mimics the movements of its human controller is bringing the Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar” one step closer to reality.

Users of the TELESAR V don special equipment that allows them not only to direct the actions of a remote machine, but also to see, hear and feel the same things as their doppelganger android.

“When I put on the devices and move my body, I see my hands having turned into the robot hands. When I move my head, I get a different view from the one I had before,” said researcher Sho Kamuro.

“It’s a strange experience that makes you wonder if you’ve really become a robot,” he told AFP.

Professor Susumu Tachi, who specialises in engineering and virtual reality at Keio University’s Graduate School of Media Design, said systems attached to the operator’s headgear, vest and gloves send detailed instructions to the robot, which then mimics the user’s every move.

At the same time, an array of sensors on the android relays a stream of information which is converted into sensations for the user.

The thin polyester gloves the operator wears are lined with semiconductors and tiny motors to allow the user to “feel” what the mechanical hands are touching — a smooth or a bumpy surface as well as heat and cold.

The robot’s “eyes” are actually cameras capturing images that appear on tiny video screens in front of the user’s eyes, allowing them to see in three dimensions.

Microphones on the robot pick up sounds, while its speakers allow the operator to make his voice heard by those near the machine.

The TELESAR — TELexistence Surrogate Anthropomorphic Robot — is still a far cry from the futuristic creations of James Cameron’s “Avatar”, where US soldiers are able to remotely control the genetically engineered bodies of an extra-terrestrial race they wish to subdue.

But, says Tachi, it could have much more immediate — and benign — applications, such as working in high-risk environments, for example the inside of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, though it is early days.

“I think further research and development could enable this to go into areas too dangerous for humans and do jobs that require human skills,” he said.

Japan’s famously advanced robot technology was found wanting during the crisis at Fukushima, where foreign expertise had to be called on for the machines that went inside reactor buildings as nuclear meltdowns began.

Tachi said a “safety myth” had grown up around atomic technology, preventing research on the kind of machines that could help in the wake of a disaster.

But he said his kind of robot technology could help with the long and difficult task of decommissioning reactors at Fukushima — a process that could take three decades.

A remote-controlled android that allows its user to experience what is happening far away may have more than just industrial applications, he added.

“This could be used to talk with your grandpa or grandma living in a remote place and deepen communications,” he said. AGENCIES

Syrian opposition responsible for violence: Russia

MOSCOW: Russia on Friday said the Syrian opposition bore full responsibility for the ongoing violence and accused the West of being an “accomplice” that pushed the regime’s opponents into armed conflict.
  
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the ITAR-Tass news agency the opposition’s refusal to enter direct talks with the Syrian government meant it “bears full responsibility for improving the situation,” accusing the West of being “accomplices in the process of inflaming the crisis.” AGENCIES

Nato supplies continuing, Munter creates stir

 

Talking to the media at the Pakistan National Council of Arts, Munter created quite a stir when he claimed that Nato supplies have resumed through Pakistani airspace.

 

When a reporter asked him it was right that despite closure of road routes for Nato, Pakistan’s airspace was being used, Munter said, “You are right.”

 

The supply routes were blocked off following outrage in Pakistan after the November 26 Salala checkpoint attack, in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

 

The US was made to vacate Shamsi Airbase, which was reportedly being used for drone strikes in Afghanistan and allegedly for those carried out in Pakistan.

 

“As I have commented before many times, what happened was tragic but unintentional and this is something that we all must work together to try to prevent. The way to work together is to make sure these kinds of tragedies do not take place,” Munter said.

 

He said that the US was looking forward to a debate in the Pakistani parliament over conservation of Pak-US ties. “We have waited because we think Pakistan has requested time to rethink about how our relationship should go ahead. We welcome those suggestions, the honesty and the spirit to take things forward.”

 

Cameron Munter the US had strong ties with Pakistan which were strengthening with each passing days. He said that US had the realization of Pakistan’s energy crisis, adding that it extended several million dollars aid to Pakistan for easing out the energy crisis.
 

Deutsche Bank Q4 profit falls by 69 pc

 

Germany s Deutsche Bank saw net profit fall 69 percent to €186 million ($245.06 million) in the fourth quarter as the eurozone debt crisis hurt its investment banking operation and lowered income from trading stocks and bonds.

 

The figure compares to €605 billion in the same quarter last year.

 

Total net revenues were off 7 percent at €6.89 billion.

 

The bank s corporate and investment bank, its investment banking and securities trading division, saw revenues drop 26 percent in the fourth quarter, to €3.4 billion from €4.6 billion a year earlier.

 

The bank cited “continued market uncertainty and lack of investor risk appetite leading to subdued market activity.”
 

Euro has made Europe stronger: Merkel

 

Merkel is visiting to China aimed in part at reassuring Beijing the eurozone crisis is under control.

 

Merkel made the comment in a speech in Beijing, just hours after landing in the Chinese capital for a three-day visit during which she will hold talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao.
 

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