Kabul—The Taliban
says President Hamid Karzai’s inauguration
ceremony is mean-ingless and they will not
accept his call for national unity. “Today is
not a historic day. This is a government based
on nothing because of the continuing presence of
foreign troops in Afghanistan,” spokesman
Zabiullah Mujahid said in a telephone call.
“Karzai’s call to the Taliban to come to the
government has no meaning.
Washington—Kashmiri-Americans will stage a peace
rally in front of the White House next week
during Indian Prime Minister’s visit and urge
President Barack Obama to persuade New Delhi
toward resolution of the lingering Jammu and
Kashmir question. Kashmiri-American commuity
leaders told newsmen here Thursday people from
both sides of the Line of Control, living in the
Washington metro area and elsewhere, will take
part in the rally, planned for next Tuesday
(November 24), when the U.S. leader will host
the Indian prime minister.
Cockermouth—Lifeboats and military
helicopters rescued hundreds of people overnight
in northern England as torrential rain flooded
homes and washed away bridges. Police in the
picturesque Lake District county of Cumbria, a
magnet for tour-ists, said on Friday a search
was under way for a police officer who
disappeared when one bridge collapsed under the
weight of water.
Ramallah—Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas has said presidential
and legislative elections scheduled for January
will be postponed, confirming that he has
accepted advice not to hold the vote. Abbas,
speaking to BBC Arabic, said the Palestinian
leadership would take meas-ures to avoid a
constitutional vacuum when the term of the
current legislature and his term as president
expire on January 25. He did not say what
measures would be taken to avoid a
constitutional vacuum.
THE journalist, Peter Oborne, could not believe
his ears when, last summer, in the aftermath of
Israel’s bloody invasion of Gaza, the leader of
the British Conservative Party, David Cameron,
praised Israel for striving to “protect inno-cent
lives”. Cameron was addressing the annual dinner
of Conservative Friends of Israel, the
pro-Israel group in his party.
