Lok Sabha adjourned over enemy property bill

NEW DELHI – The Lok Sabha was adjourned for two hours Monday – the second disruption on the day – after an uproar over the proposed amendments to the Enemy Property Act empowering the government to dispose of properties in India of those who left for Pakistan in 1947.

The amendments reverse over four-decade-old government …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Lok Sabha adjourned over enemy property bill.

Yechury favours all party talks on Darjeeling issue

DARJEELING – Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury has said all political parties from the Darjeeling hills should be invited for the next round of talks on the interim set-up for the region.

Talking to reporters here on Sunday, Yechury said: “The issue must be collectively taken forward and we would want all the … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Yechury favours all party talks on Darjeeling issue.

SAD-BJP alliance is unbreakable: Yashwant Sinha

CHANDIGARH – Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha Monday said the alliance between his party and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab was solid and unbreakable.

“I want to tell you that the alliance will continue. There is no misunderstanding between both sides,” Sinha, newly-appointed as the BJP in-charge for Punjab, told reporters … Read more >>.

China announces global talent search for executives at 12 major state companies

China in global talent search for state companies

BEIJING – China’s government announced a global talent search Monday to fill top posts at 12 major state-owned companies in its latest effort to turn huge but inefficient government enterprises into global competitors.
Communist leaders want to build up 30 to 50 state companies as national champions in fields …. Source article  : China announces global talent search for executives at 12 major state companies.

US-Egyptian dissident signs petition backing president’s son to run in elections

Egypt: Dissident signs pro-Gamal Mubarak petition

CAIRO – An Egyptian-American dissident and former advocate against heredity succession in Egypt has signed a petition backing the president’s son to run in next year’s elections.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim told The Associated Press Monday that he was only supporting Gamal Mubarak’s right to run in presidential elections, not endorsing him.
The …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Obama presides over end of Iraq combat mission, Mideast talks; more guarded hope than triumph

War and peace: Obama nears pivotal Mideast moment
WASHINGTON – Straddling war and peace, President Barack Obama is about to formally end the divisive U.S. combat role in Iraq and restart talks between Israelis and Palestinians, a moment defined more by relief and hope than triumph.
On Tuesday night, Obama will tell the … Read more >>>.

Parliament adjourned over alleged misuse of CBI

NEW DELHI – Disruptions returned to parliament on the penultimate day of the monsoon session Monday as opposition members forced adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha over the alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the government.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members demanded discussion on the issue …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Parliament adjourned over alleged misuse of CBI.

Rajya Sabha adjourned over Sohrabuddin case

NEW DELHI – The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon Monday after opposition members voiced protests over a Gujarat police officer’s petition to the Supreme Court that she was being pressurised to implicate former state minister Amit Shah in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh killing.

As soon as the Rajya Sabha assembled for question hour, members of … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Rajya Sabha adjourned over Sohrabuddin case.

North Korean leader Kim may be headed home after Chinese trip that sparked succession talk

North Korean leader Kim may be headed home
BEIJING – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appeared Monday to be winding up a six-day visit to China that fueled speculation he was seeking aid and drumming up support for a succession plan involving his youngest son.
Reporters have followed a train and a 35-vehicle motorcade …. Original source  : North Korean leader Kim may be headed home after Chinese trip that sparked succession talk.

Aborigine nears victory as first indigenous member of Australia’s House of Representatives

Aborigine nears win in Australia’s House of Reps

SYDNEY – An Aboriginal man appeared set for victory Monday in his quest to become the first indigenous person to win a seat in Australia’s House of Representatives.
Ken Wyatt of the conservative Liberal Party held a thin lead in the Western Australia seat of Hasluck with 93 percent … Original article on : Aborigine nears victory as first indigenous member of Australia’s House of Representatives.

Bangladesh, China discuss road link

DHAKA – China is ready to sign a pact with Bangladesh on a road link via Myanmar, a visiting Chinese official has said.
China had expressed its support to build a 111-km road covering the three nations in March this year. It will link the southern Yunnan province with Bangladesh via Myanmar. …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Bangladesh ex-dictator meets Hasina, may escape punishment

DHAKA – Bangladesh’s former military ruler Hussain Mohammed Ershad may escape punishment for violating the country’s constitution following his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after which he “looked quite happy”, his aides said.
The meeting Sunday took place at Ershad’s instance, three days after the high court invalidated the seventh amendment to the …. Source  : Bangladesh ex-dictator meets Hasina, may escape punishment.

MPs: Crorepatis or underpaid public servants?

NEW DELHI – A 300-percent salary hike plus doubling of generous allowances is in the offing for our MPs, never mind that the majority of them are ‘crorepatis’, or millionaires as revealed by their declared assets! The MPs, of course, insist what they get is woefully short of what is required to discharge their duties …. Original source  : MPs: Crorepatis or underpaid public servants?.

North Korean leader Kim leaves northeastern Chinese city on trip that sparked succession talk

NKorean leader Kim leaves Chinese city Harbin
CHANGCHUN, China – North Korean leader Kim Jong Il left China’s northeastern city of Harbin on Monday in the latest leg of a secretive trip believed aimed at drumming up support for a succession plan involving his youngest son, news reports said.
Reporters have followed a 35-vehicle motorcade …. Source article  : North Korean leader Kim leaves northeastern Chinese city on trip that sparked succession talk.

Hong Kong marchers protest Philippine government over hijacking that killed 8

Hong Kong marchers protest handling of bus tragedy

HONG KONG – Hong Kongers marched in honor of eight locals killed in a bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine government for botching the rescue operation and demanding justice for the dead.
Former police officer Rolando Mendoza commandeered a bus carrying a 20-member tour group visiting the Philippine …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Estimated 80,000 people in Hong Kong protest Philippine hijacking that killed 8, demand probe

80,000 in Hong Kong protest Philippine bus tragedy

HONG KONG – Hong Kongers marched in honor of eight locals killed in a bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine government for botching the rescue operation and demanding justice for the dead.
Former police officer Rolando Mendoza commandeered a bus carrying a 20-member tour group visiting the Philippine … Original article on : Estimated 80,000 people in Hong Kong protest Philippine hijacking that killed 8, demand probe.

Israel to blame if talks fail: Abbas

RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Sunday warned Israel would foil peace talks to be resumed Sept 2 if it continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“Israel’s government would alone bear the responsibility of threatening the negotiations with failure and collapse if all forms of settlement expansions continued,” Abbas said in … Read more : Israel to blame if talks fail: Abbas.

Politician leading coalition talks in Belgium offers to resign, but king says keep trying

King orders coalition talks to continue in Belgium

BRUSSELS – A politician leading talks aimed at forming a new government in Belgium more than two months after an election offered to resign Sunday, but the country’s king ordered him to keep trying.
Talks on long-standing differences over language issues dividing the nation’s Dutch-speaking and Francophone parties broke … Original article on : Politician leading coalition talks in Belgium offers to resign, but king says keep trying.

Merkel seeks 10-15 years extension for nuclear plants

BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel called Sunday for Germany’s nuclear power plants to be given an extension of 10 to 15 years past their current legal shutoff date in about 2022.

The options of shutting down, continuing with or extending the life of the country’s reactors has proved a hot political issue, dividing the last three [..] Read the original article: here.

Remarks by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana

Xavier University
New Orleans, Louisiana
1:50 P.M. CDT
     THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  It is good to be back.  (Applause.)  It is good to be back.

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It’s good to have you back!
     THE PRESIDENT:  I’m glad.  (Laughter.)  And due to popular demand, I decided to bring the First Lady down here.  (Applause.)
     We have just an …. Read the original article  : Remarks by the President on the Fifth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana.