Govt of India bends 70%, Anna seeks 90% : The all-party meeting called by the government on Wednesday

Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh wrote to Anna Hazare, who has been on fast for eight days, saying the government would request the Lok Sabha Speaker to "formally refer the Jan Lokpal Bill to the standing committee". This panel would consider all versions, including the government's, Team Anna's and Aruna Roy's.

The olive branch came just before the government agreed to consider Team Anna's demand to put the Prime Minister under the Lokpal's purview and merge the CBI's anti-corruption wing with the proposed ombudsman. The government has agreed to enact the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill to deal with corruption in higher judiciary. Government agreed that this legislation would be vetted by the Hazare group.

The sticking points are: Civil society's demand to include the lower bureaucracy in the Lokpal's ambit, enacting Lokayuktas for states, extending Lokpal's jurisdiction to cover the conduct of MPs inside Parliament, adoption of a citizen's charter by every government department that lays down the duties of officials and punishments for non-performance.

The civil society has asked the government to give a commitment in writing that the Lokpal Bill will be passed in the current session itself after withdrawing the official bill from the standing committee or allowing it to lapse.

The government, which described the talks as "fruitful", plans to respond tomorrow. It will discuss the issue at an all-party meeting the Prime Minister has called tomorrow. Singh will also review the situation at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.

Last Thursday, TOI had suggested precisely this as a solution to the logjam, but members of the government and Congress had at the time indicated that it wasn't a feasible idea. On Tuesday, however, it chose to be flexible.

In fact, there was a clear attempt to de-escalate tension, with the government and Team Anna appearing to move closer to an understanding on two contentious issues. During the talks through the day, the government indicated that it was ready to put the PM within the Lokpal's jurisdiction with riders to protect the top office from motivated allegations. The Hazare camp appeared to agree that corruption in higher judiciary should dealt with a proposed law on judicial standards and accountability.

Although talks will continue on Wednesday and the issue will be discussed at the all-party meeting in the afternoon, the possibility of an early resolution looked slim with Hazare insisting on carrying on with his fast and asking that the Lokpal Bill be sent directly to Parliament, skipping Standing Committee scrutiny.

While finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government's chief negotiator, termed the talks "fruitful", representatives of Anna Hazare - Prashant Bhushan , Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi - tried not to encourage hopes of a breakthrough.

More crucially, Hazare insisted on carrying on with his fast despite the growing risk of damage to his kidneys and in defiance of advice from his doctors. Addressing the crowds at 9.10 pm, he said he had refused medical advise to take an IV drip, and was ready to die for country. He also warned against attempts to remove him forcibly, asking protestors assembled at the maidan to form a barrier if "any government people come here".

The leader also indicated that the government should hurry up on reaching an agreement in view of his health parameters. "Doctors are saying there is some damage to my kidneys, but my inner voice has told me and I should not be scared of death," he said.

The fast ensured that the civil society faction continued to hog sympathy just after the government through the PM's letter tried to seize the initiative in the battle of wits. The move sought to achieve multiple objectives: From expressing concern over Anna's falling health to counter the perception of cussedness to pull off an image makeover by appearing to be a partner in the fight against graft rather than an adversary.

But there was an attempt to disarm the Hazare group of their chief grouse: That the proceedings in Parliament will be rigged since it will not get to discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill at all. Faced with the allegation that they did not believe in parliamentary supremacy, the civil society faction said that their real quarrel was that the government had fixed the parliamentary proceedings. Seeking to blunt the plank, government strategy was to ensure that Team Anna was completely on board on the move to refer the Jan Lokpal Bill to the standing committee, even if this clearly means that not all of its provisions would be accepted. A middle ground had to be clearly defined, as the government does not want to face a fresh stir later.

However, Hazares' determination to carry on with his protest ensured there was no respite for the government. His insistence to call off his fast in defiance of medical advice will ensure that Anna camp continues to hog sympathy, while putting the government in a fix over how to deal with what threatens to be big political headache. While the political cost to government of a dip in Anna's health cannot be exaggerated, it also has to factor in how the attempt to forcibly hospitalize the septuagenarian.

The PM's conciliatory letter in which he voiced concern about Anna's health, was the most critical part of a larger and concerted move through Tuesday by the government to engage with Team Anna.

Changing its earlier tack of using intermediaries to talk to Team Anna, law minister Salman Khurshid met with Anna lieutenant Arvind Kejriwal in the first direct contact between the two sides on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the evening, Team Anna and the government met at finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's office.

Singh's letter and a quiet meeting between law minister Salman Khurshid and Team Anna leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Akhil Gogoi led to a formal exchange at the office of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Mukherjee, named Prime Minister's chief negotiator, met Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan. Khurshid was also present.

The all-party meeting called by the government on Wednesday will try to draw the response on parties on how far they will back the peace initiatives. The government is quite prepared to recast the Lokpal law substantially but wants parties to indicate where they stand on contentious issues like inclusion of lower bureaucracy, higher judiciary and conduct of MPs in Parliament.

On Tuesday, we front-paged a TIMES APPEAL. And we are heartened to see the first signs of thaw. But the peace process has only just begun; the last thing the nation wants or needs is for it to be derailed. We're therefore taking the unusual step of re-running the Appeal, because it will be as relevant tomorrow as it was yesterday... 

TIMES APPEAL : Last Thursday, The Times of India offered three solutions (while acknowledging the legal/constitutional roadblocks to each one of them) to break the logjam: (1) a referendum; (2) an MP introduces Team Anna's draft as a private member's bill and Parliament debates both the government and the Jan Lokpal versions; (3) the issue be referred to an eminent persons' committee. We would not be so immodest or foolish as to believe that a better solution does not lie outside of the three proposed by TOI. But there can be no second opinion on the need to find common ground. Both the government and Team Anna claim to be doing what they're doing "for the people". If that be so, neither side should allow ego to come in the way of a solution that best tackles the curse of corruption and serves the cause of India and its people. This is a moment in our history that calls for humility and guts, not hubris or bravado.

TIMES VIEW: Even those who disagree with the form of Anna's protest cannot quarrel with the cause, or with the nationwide public upsurge he has created. But now that the government has agreed to formally refer the Jan Lokpal Bill to the standing committee of Parliament, he should call off his fast before his health deteriorates any further. The fight is far from over, and he needs to preserve his energy for the road ahead. Source:Times Of India

Virginia earthquake rattles East Coast;No major injuries or extensive damage were reported after the 5.8-magnitude earthquake

A strong earthquake in Virginia shut down a nearby nuclear power plant Tuesday afternoon and sent out seismic waves felt by millions from Georgia to northern New England. Three aftershocks were reported by Tuesday evening.

No major injuries or extensive damage were reported after the 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. The quake prompted evacuations of office buildings and the precautionary closing of monuments in the nation's capital.

A surge in calls by cell-phone users after the event affected service in many areas, federal officials said.

Aftershocks of magnitude 2.8 and 2.2 were recorded later in the afternoon, followed by one of 4.2 just after 8 p.m. ET, officials said. More aftershocks are possible in the coming weeks.

"It's one of the largest that we've had there," U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said of the quake.

Most federal buildings in Washington had reopened by late Tuesday afternoon, but officials were taking all precautions before giving the all-clear to some of its most iconic structures. The U.S. Capitol was cleared for employees to come back to get their belongings, but inspectors asked people to limit their time inside the building while engineers continue to work around the complex.

A helicopter inspected the Washington Monument, and it was found to be structurally sound, the National Park Service said.

But a secondary inspection revealed cracking in the stones at the top of the monument. Structural engineers on Wednesday will determine the best way to repair the monument before it is reopened, the agency said. The grounds have been reopened except for an area about 100 feet outside the plaza.

Virginia quake felt by millions

Shock waves up and down East Coast

New Yorkers respond to quake

Earthquake hits Virginia

Record-setting earthquakes

Measuring earthquakesThe Lincoln and Jefferson memorials reopened Tuesday evening.U.S. Park Police spokesman David Schlosser said to his eye, the monument was "clearly not leaning. It's standing tall and proud."

Witnesses reported a number of buildings were evacuated as far away as North Carolina and New York, where a 5.8 earthquake struck in 1944.

The quake, which was recorded at 1:51 p.m., was shallow -- just 3.7 miles deep -- and located 88 miles southwest of Washington near the town of Mineral, Virginia. The magnitude was initially reported as 5.8, then revised to 5.9, and then revised again back to 5.8.

With so many on the East Coast unaccustomed to earthquakes, many people were left wondering whether all that rumbling could have been caused by a truck, helicopter, an explosion or some other force.

Kate Duddy was in an office building elevator in Manhattan, alone, when the shaking started.

"I have never felt a quake before. It was scary having no idea what the cause was," she said. "I felt the vibrations and the elevator stopped for a period of about five minutes."

The earthquake triggered the automatic shutdown of a nuclear power plant less than 20 miles from the epicenter after it lost electricity. The quake signaled "unusual events" at 12 other nuclear facilities across the East Coast and Michigan, U.S. authorities reported.

Dominion Virginia Power said both reactors at its North Anna plant shut down after the first tremors. Reidelbach said the plant vented steam, but there was no release of radioactive material. Dan Stoddard, senior vice president of nuclear operations for Dominion, said there was no damage to the spent fuel pool.

Officials were restoring full power to the site, which was operating on diesel generators. Stoddard said that might happen by late Tuesday, but that was before the evening aftershock. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was monitoring the plant.

Relatively minor damage was reported in a few Virginia counties, including Louisa, nearest to the epicenter.

Several school buildings had damage, as did town hall buildings, Louisa County spokeswoman Amanda Reidelbach told CNN. An unspecified number of minor injuries were reported in the county.

Desi Fleming, a resident of Mineral in Louisa County, said the quake arrived with a rumbling "that sounded like a train coming to a stop." It knocked down two chimneys on the converted 1900-vintage home that now houses her parcel-shipping business.

Tuesday's incident occurred in a known seismic zone in central Virginia, said Dave Russ of the U.S. Geological Survey. But the strength of the earthquake was a bit surprising. A 5.9 event occurred in 1897 near Blacksburg, he said.

At Washington's National Cathedral, spokesman Richard Weinberg said three 5- to 8-foot pinnacles had broken from the central tower. He said stone masons and engineers would assess the damage, which also included other pieces that broke and fell on the surrounding lawn.

The building was evacuated and closed to the public.

Wayne Clough, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, said the national museum's landmark castle on the Mall had cracks in interior walls. There was no immediate indication of structural damage, but the 150-year-old building will need closer examination, he said.

"You want to do an inspection to be sure about that," Clough said.

Clough, who's also an earthquake engineer, said the geography of the Eastern Seaboard helped transmit the shock from the Carolinas to New England. The underlying bedrock is largely a solid sheet, "so you get a lot more travel out of earthquake waves than you would in California," he said.

Those waves extended to downtown New York, where court buildings were evacuated.

"I was trying to figure out what was going on, like everyone else," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who said he had been through many earthquakes when he lived in California.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an afternoon news conference that the earthquake was felt "across the five boroughs" of the city, but there were no reports of injuries and "virtually no reports of damage."

The quake was also reported to have been felt on the island of Martha's Vineyard, where President Barack Obama was playing golf. He did not feel the earthquake, according to the White House.

The earthquake slowed but didn't halt major transportation services.

Service at major airports throughout the region was disrupted, but all were reported to have resumed normal operations about 75 minutes after the earthquake struck.

At John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark-Liberty International Airport, control towers were evacuated, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

Amtrak on Tuesday evening said service between Washington and Baltimore had returned to normal speeds following inspections.

In Spotsylvania, Virginia, Tish Walker said she was spooked and staying outside for the moment.

"I used to live in California, so I know shaking and this felt big," she said. "I grabbed my dog and raced outside; my first thought is always that the furnace might explode or a cabinet crashes down on top of us."

Courtesy: CNN

What's next for Libya and the national council? Three questions on Libya - Opinion

A six month NATO-aided rebellion in Libya has advanced on the capital, Tripoli, in an effort to oust 42-year leader Muammar Gaddafi. Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, comments on three key issues. What's next for Libya and the national council? It is time for the Libyan people to celebrate the end of a four-decade dictatorship. Once they sober up from the jubilations of their well-deserved victory, however, they will discover this is only the beginning. Gaddafi has undermined, marginalised or obliterated many of the state institutions, including the military, and destroyed the political parties - indeed, political life in the country. There is much to restore and more to build from scratch. Security, reconstruction and political transition are only a few of the challenges they will face sooner rather than later. More importantly, they will need to manage expectations of those who have given their all for liberty, freedom and prosperity. Having said that, there is no need for alarm. Not yet any way. It's easy, even clichéd, to be pessimistic, even negative, about the post-revolutionary challenge. What is needed is optimism anchored in reality. And judging from what we have seen over the past five months, there is much to celebrate in terms of building a steering council and creating locally based revolutionary groups from the bottom up that have been well coordinated and largely disciplined. There have been disagreements and suspicion over the past several weeks, and the full story of the assassination of Abdul Fatah Younis is yet to emerge. And yes, there have been certain violations and acts of revenge, but considering the pent-up tensions and violence after decades of dictatorship and its terribly criminal behaviour throughout the past few months, these have been the exceptions to the rule. The revolution has been a pluralistic, all-encompassing coalition of people from all walks of life. They paid attention to local and tribal sensitivities and established an excellent coordination strategy between the local revolutionaries and the national steering committee. Unlike in Egypt and Tunisia where pillars of the regime, notably the military, remain in power, the Libyan revolution is set to wipe the slate clean and begin anew. Democracy is its only way to success. The transitional council must remember its role is just that – transitional - and avoid all tactics that prolong its unchecked authority. You mentioned Egypt and Tunisia. What do the Libyan developments mean for the Arab Spring? Libya is much smaller and relatively less developed than its neighbours Egypt and Tunisia. It also has much on its plate and will be preoccupied with its own internal affairs for years, even decades, to come. That's why one doesn't expect the new leaders in Tripoli to play any major regional role in the near future. However, the revolutionary contagion will only accelerate after the success of the revolution in Libya. The Assad and Saleh regimes should have much more to worry about today than last week as the latest revolutionary domino falls. Under pressure from their people, the Arab regimes are going to have to act. Yemen is next, and Syria, while more complicated, will have to follow suit. The same is true for the rest of North Africa. As a necessary bridge between Egypt and Tunisia, oil-rich Libya could play an important role in coordinating the three countries' future reconstruction strategies and their relations with the rest of the region and with the West. What about the Western powers - notably France, Britain and the US - where does the 'success' in Libya take them? First and foremost Western leaders need to wipe that smug look from their faces and make sure not to gloat about doing the Arabs any favours. Certainly the NATO aerial bombardment did help, but this was a revolutionaries' victory par excellence. The battle was won first and foremost in the hearts of the Libyans, just as with the Egyptians and Tunisians before them. Besides, after decades of complicity with Arab dictators, Western powers have much to make up for: They inserted themselves in the Libyan revolution after Gaddafi made genocidal threats against his people, but their interference was not necessarily motivated by humanitarian ends, rather more of the same geopolitics that led to befriending Gaddafi, Ben Ali and Mubarak in the first place. Syria is far more complicated and Britain and France will need to keep out of it militarily. That's not to say that the Libyans should be unappreciative for the extended helping hand. Better to have Western powers on the right side of Arab history for a change. And there is much room for cooperation and coordination in the future, but it should be done on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interest, especially that of the Arabs who are in every need of affirmative action. Western leaders must also steer away from driving a wedge between those whom they consider moderates and others deemed "Islamists", as Libya will need cooperation among all its citizens.

Marwan Bishara was previously a professor of International Relations at the American University of Paris. An author who writes extensively on global politics, he is widely regarded as a leading authority on the Middle East and international affairs.

Source: Al Jazeera

Pakistani pilot writes after 46 years to daughter of Indian pilot he shot down

Nearly half-a-century after shooting down an Indian civil aircraft under orders during the 1965 war with India, a Pakistan Air Force pilot has sent a condolence message to the daughter of the pilot of the aircraft he downed. 

Qais Hussain, a rookie Flying Officer during the 1965 war, made this moving and humane gesture via an e-mail, expressing his condolences and providing details of the circumstances under which he shot down the Indian aircraft.

The e-mail is addressed to Farida Singh, daughter of the Indian Air Force pilot Jahangir “Jangoo” Engineer, one of the three famous Engineer brothers in the Indian Air Force.

The e-mail, with the subject line “Condolence”, dated Fri, Aug 5, 2011, is copied to Naushad Patel and Jagan Pillarisetti, the Indian contacts who helped Mr Hussain to reach out to the bereaved family, something he had wanted to do for some time. Mr Hussain forwarded the e-mail to a group e-mail for Pakistan Air Force colleagues, saying, “Most of you would recall that I had shot down an Indian civil aircraft after being scrambled from Mauripur in

1965 War”. Referring to an April 2011 article by Air Cdre. Kaiser Tufail (“The Gujarat Beechcraft Incident - 1965 War”, http://bit.ly/qhltr65 ), which gives details of the incident, he says that it was Naveed Riaz, the Lahore-based businessman and aviation enthusiast who helped him get in touch with the Indian contacts through whom he then managed to reach Jahangir Engineer’s daughter.

“I had decided to write a note of condolence, which I was able to do today and it is attached in full here below for your information,” he writes to his PAF colleagues, copied to Naveed Riaz.

Reproduced below in full is his e-mail to Farida Singh: “Dear Mrs. Singh, “I am glad that by now we know about each other and it is no surprise that I am writing to you, thanks to Naushad Patel and Jagan Pillarisetti.

“The incident happened 46 years back but it is as fresh in my mind as if it had happened yesterday. The aircraft flown by your father had drifted off course by many a miles and in his search for the destination, he had been going up and down in the border area of Rann of Katchh for quite some time and it made our Radar Controllers uncomfortable.

I happened to be strapped up in my aircraft along with another pilot (my Leader) in his, on two minutes take-off alert. We were scrambled but I had to take off alone, and with the help from my radar controller, intercepted your father’s aircraft which was considered to be on a recce mission to open a new war front. I caught sight of him at 3000’ and made a pass so close that I could read his markings and the number of the aircraft.

Your father spotted my presence immediately and he started climbing and waggling his wings seeking mercy. “Instead of firing at him at first sight, I relayed to my controller that I had intercepted an eight seat transport aircraft (guessing by the four side windows) and wanted further instructions to deal with it.

At the same time, I was hoping that I would be called back without firing a shot. There was a lapse of 3 to 4 long minutes before I was given clear orders to shoot the aircraft. “After the shooting, I had a sense of achievement and satisfaction that I had completed my mission and destroyed any recce data that might have been collected to open a new war front. I landed back at Mauripur, Karachi with my fuel tanks bone dry and was greeted by my seniors and other squadron colleagues.

Later that evening, All India Radio announced the names of the occupants who had lost their lives in that aircraft. “The reason that I have been trying to get in touch with you since recently is an article by Air Cdre Kaiser Tufail in April 2011, in which he researched the whole incident and came out with his story by interviewing me, the radar controller (a Flying Officer) and his supervisor (a Wing Commander) who took the decision to order the shoot.

I have also read numerous versions that appeared in the Indian media at the time, said to be eyewitness accounts from peasants of Mithapur which are unfortunately based on hearsay. Even the findings of an Enquiry Committee constituted by the Indian Government are nowhere near to what actually happened.

I was alone at the site of incident while my Leader who took off finally about 6 to 7 minutes after me (due to change of aircraft and a new pilot), was perched at the border at 20,000’ acting as a relay station between me and the controller at Badin. I had lost contact somewhere while descending to 3,000’ and had we not had this aircraft at 20,000’ at the border, I would not have found your father’s aircraft and he would not have lost his life along with all the others.

Nonetheless, the unfortunate part in all this is that I had to execute the orders of my controller.“Mrs Singh, I have chosen to go into this detail to tell you that it all happened in the line of duty and it was not governed by the concept that ‘everything is fair in love and war’, the way it has been portrayed by the Indian media due to lack of information. I did not play foul and went by the rules of business but the unfortunate loss of precious lives, no matter how it happens, hurts each human and I am no exception. I feel sorry for you, your family and the other seven families who lost their dearest ones. I feel greatly grieved that you lost your brother Noshir recently.

If an opportunity ever arises that I could meet you face to face to condole the death of your father 46 years back I would grab it with both hands. I would highly appreciate if you please convey my feelings to the other members of your family, who were equally hurt by the untimely departure of Jungoo to the next world.“I hope and pray that you and your family stay well“My best regards…Qais" Courtesy:The News International, Pakistan