Vol. 5 Num 249 Sat. February 05, 2005       Home  News Today's Index Front Page Business Sports Point-counterpoint Metropolitan National International Culture General Views Editorial Letters to Editor Write to Editor Sections Literature Others About Us Contact Advertisement Supplements Archives International 'Pressure mounts on king to back down' India is putting pressure on Nepal's King Gyanendra to back down from his "royal coup" but may be forced to back him, fearful of a Maoist rebel victory in the Himalayan nation, analysts and military officers   Nepali army mulls tough action against rebels Nepali security forces battling Maoist rebels will be told to uphold human rights but guerrillas face tough action if they refuse King Gyanendra's call for peace talks, the kingdom's army chief warned   Oil-for-Food Scam Annan vows action against UN staff A probe into the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq said the director of the operation got oil allocations for a firm run by a friend, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan vowed to discipline him.   Republicans express doubt on Bush's social security plan Congressional Republicans are expressing doubt that President Bush's plan for personal accounts in Social Security can win approval, saying lawmakers fear the political consequences of voting major change   Sadr belittles election, demands US pullout Attacks down in Iraq after polls: US Iraqi Shia rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr called yesterday on his community's senior religious leaders to insist on a timeline for a US troop withdrawal and belittled last week's historic vote. Chandrika for ethnic unity to rebuild Lanka Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga called yesterday for ethnic unity to rebuild the tsunami-hit nation as a modern, progressive state in an address to the nation during scaled-down freedom day   Thaksin expected to win strong mandate for anti-poverty agenda Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will likely win a strong mandate this weekend to push his political agenda in a second term, especially if he is spared the succession of crises that marked hisfirst,   Corruption in Aid Lankan tsunami survivors take to streets Hundreds of tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka took to the streets in southern Matara district yesterday to protest corrupt aid distribution, police said.   Britain, US still at odds over lifting China's arms embargo US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw said yesterday their countries continued to disagree over whether the European Union should lift its ban on selling arms to   Guantanamo Ruling Judge allows US govt to appeal A federal judge on Thursday allowed the Bush administration to immediately appeal her ruling that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have constitutional rights and that the military tribunals to review their cases   Rumsfeld says he offered to resign twice Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says he submitted his resignation twice to President Bush during last year's Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.   4 officials found guilty of forced labour Myanmar A Myanmar court has made an unprecedented ruling convicting four officials of forcing villagers to work on a road project, sentencing them to prison for up to 16 months, a UN official said yesterday.     Advertisement