| Leaders call for concrete steps to build mutual trust, promote ...
NEW DELHI, Apr 3 (UNB): Unlike previous assemblies of South Asian leaders and rhetoric speeches, the 14th SAARC Summit assumed a greater dimension of economic and political cooperation with Afghanistan taken in as a new member and China, Japan, South Korea, America and the European Union as Observers.
The Delhi summit virtually sparked a ray of hope for the impoverished South Asians with the promise for establishing physical, economic and intellectual connectivity and removing barriers to intra-regional trade and changing mindsets of political leaderships.
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who assumed the new responsibility of leading the eight-member SAARC family for next one year, said, " I see signs of hope that our governments are now addressing the bilateral political issues that have prevented us from achieving our potential."
"We must now make a break with the past and join hands to realise our shared destiny," Dr Singh said in his inaugural speech at the 14th summit at Vigyan Bhaban Tuesday morning.
Climate report warns of drought, rising sea levels, species extinction
Global warming is likely to have wide-ranging impacts on the world's ecosystems, water availablity, and sea levels warned the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest installment. It said that mitigation and adaption strategies are the best way to reduce and prepare for the coming changes.
The following is selected exerpts from the "Summary for Policymakers" [PDF] of the new report.
Observed impacts
Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.
With regard to changes in snow, ice and frozen ground (including permafrost), there is high confidence that natural systems are affected.
China Medicine Announces Record Fourth Quarter and 2006 Results
China Medicine Corporation (BULLETIN BOARD: CHME) , a leading distributor of medical products, traditional pharmaceutical and Chinese medicines, herbs and dietary supplements today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ending December 31, 2006. For the fourth quarter of 2006, revenue increased 65.4 percent to $8.6 million compared to $5.2 million for the same period in 2005, as a result of a broader product portfolio, sales network and improved sales of proprietary products. China Medicine is actively developing an extended line of proprietary products and as a result of these efforts experienced a 181.4 percent increase in medical formula sales to $1.6 million. The Company previously recorded proprietary product revenue as other operating income which was not included in reported revenue.
Joint Interview Given by Premier Wen Jiabao to Japanese Press
Shortly before his official visit to Japan, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao gave a joint interview at Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai in Beijing on 4 April 2007 to resident reporters of 16 Japanese news agencies, including Nikkei, Asahi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Kyodo News and NHK. Wen Jiabao: Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. Before I start my visit to Japan, I am very happy to give you this interview. I am keenly aware of the importance of this visit and I have a sense of mission. China-Japan relations are now at a crucial stage. We should work together to advance our relations. I also hope that the press of both countries will step up efforts to promote China-Japan ties. I am happy to answer your questions. Question: Thank you very much, Premier Wen, for taking time out of your busy schedule today to give us this interview.
Website on economic offences launched
CHENNAI: An Economic Offences website, which would provide an insight into the working of three units of Economic Offences wing, has been launched.
The units consist of the commercial crime investigation wing CID, idol wing CID and economic offences wing.
The website, www.tneow.co.in, which was launched here on Wednesday by Tamil Nadu DGP D Mukherjee, would provide the status of important cases of all the three wings, apart from information about latest judgments and amendments in various Acts.
The portal would be useful for aggrieved depositors of defaulted financial institutions investigated by the Economic Offences Wing as it would include details of latest refund made, steps initiated for further repayments, status of prosecution of accused involved, apart from a host of other details.
EDITORIAL: Another embarrassing development for Pakistan
An American TV channel, ABC News, says that the United States has been secretly advising and encouraging a Pakistani militant group to carry out a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran. The name of the outfit is Jundullah which took credit for an attack in February that killed at least 11 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard riding on a bus in the Iranian city of Zahedan.
The Iranians also have a version of their own. Last month, the Iranian state television broadcast confessions by those who helped organise and carry out the Zahedan attack. The terrorists reportedly admitted to being members of Jundullah and said they had been trained for the mission at a secret location in Pakistan. What is more, according to ABC News, when the US Vice President Dick Cheney met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in February in Islamabad, the secret campaign against Iran was on the agenda.
200th Anniversary Sermon on the Abolition of the British Slave ...
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'we see,' your sin remains." (John 9:41)As we gather to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the British slave trade, there is much to be thankful for. That Atlantic trade of slaves deprived millions of people - the estimates range from 5 million to 20 million - of their dignity, freedom, and ultimately of their lives.The physical and psychological horrors of this, the greatest relocation, enforced and cruel, of human beings in the history of the world, are beyond imagination for us. 1807, for all its limitations, marked a decisive step in the redemption of human degradation. There has been a proper concern, however, during this anniversary, that it not become a self-congratulatory affair. Not only was the entire process of abolition, of which 1807 was only a moment (however significant) fraught with deep moral ambiguities.
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