Indian PM’s sermon

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh argued on Thursday that innovations in “green” technology should be shared with developing countries in much the same fashion as HIV/AIDS drugs. Labelling new, clean-energy discoveries “global public goods,” Singh said the attached legal copyright regime should balance rewards for the innovators with the need to promote the common good of humanity. “Suitable mechanisms must be found that will provide incentives for developing new technologies while also facilitating their deployment in developing countries at affordable cost,” said Singh at a climate technology summit. The prime minister cited a precedent in the case of pharmaceutical technologies being made available for the benefit of HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries. — AFP

Bangla plot unearthed

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi minister said on Thursday that a bomb attack this week designed to kill a ruling party lawmaker was linked to the murder of the country’s founding leader in 1975. Deputy law minister Kamrul Islam said Fazle Noor Tapash “was targeted by the same people who killed Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Tapash’s father”. Tapash escaped unhurt in Wednesday’s attack in the capital Dhaka, but at least 15 people were injured. Mujibur Rahman — known as Mujib — was Bangladesh’s first president having led the country to independence after a nine-month war against Pakistan in 1971. — AFP

Cabinet takes oath

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s new Cabinet was sworn in Thursday for a five-year term. Critics accused the president of compromising recent reforms for political interests. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a retired general, won July elections in a landslide on the popularity of reform during his first term at the head of the world’s third-largest democracy. Many had hoped his strong mandate would enable him to pick a team dedicated to clean government in a country, which is being branded most corrupt by anti-graft watchdogs. — AP