03 June 2006
Hyderabad, June 3 (IANS) Secunderabad Saturday turned 200 years. Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy launched a 10-day celebration to mark the occasion.
The chief minister released a commemorative postal stamp and watched a documentary on the history of the cantonment city.
The series of events lined up to mark the occasion includes a carnival depicting the historic landmarks, culture, festivals and lifestyle of the people of the city. Cultural programmes, a vintage car rally, a musical programme, a laughter show and a heritage tour will also be organised.
Prominent singers like Remo Fernandez and S.P. Balasubramanyam and film actors and actresses will participate in the cultural programmes being organised by the department of tourism and culture.
It was on this day in 1806 that the ruler of then Hyderabad state had issued an order allocating an area to the north of the Hussain Sagar Lake for the cantonment of the British Army. This followed the signing of a subsidiary alliance for military and political cooperation between Nizam III Mir Sikandar Jah and the East India Company.
Though younger than Hyderabad by 215 years, Secunderabad is known for its distinctive and more modern lifestyle, cosmopolitan culture and architecture.
The twin city of Hyderabad-Secunderabad presents fusion of different cultures. Hyderabad was capital of a princely state ruled by Muslims, while Secunderabad was under the direct rule of the British till 1948.
Hyderabad was the largest princely state in India, having its own flag, currency, postal system, railways and radio.
After the state was merged into the Union of India following a military intervention, the Indian Army took over the cantonment area of the British Army.
Today the city houses dozens of defence establishments, including the Air Force Academy and research institutes.
The cantonment area is administered by the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), which looks after the vast military interests in the area.
However, dozens of residential areas have sprouted all around the cantonment in the last few decades, changing the landscape.
By Sanu George
Malappuram (Kerala), June 3 (IANS) With barely a week for the kick-off of the Football World Cup in Germany, thousands of miles away in this football-mad Kerala town the excitement is reaching fever pitch.
Huge cut-outs of players like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Zidane, Rooney and Beckham and national flags of Brazil, Argentina, France, Germany and Britain are fluttering on roads and street corners in this coastal town in north Kerala.
Malappuram is considered to have the most football crazy fans in Kerala and as the month-long World Cup - where 32 teams will fight for glory - gets under way in Munich June 9, people here too are getting into the swing of things.
Manjalamkuzhi Ali, legislator from the Mankada assembly constituency of Malappuram district, said unlike previous years this time the World Cup celebrations had begun soon after the election results of last month's assembly polls were announced.
Ali, who defeated then public works minister M.K. Muneer in the polls, told IANS: "The major reason for this is to camouflage the defeat of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in the assembly polls.
"Malappuram district was the citadel of the IUML and in previous elections the IUML had won as many as nine of the 12 seats. But this time it could win just five seats. To camouflage its poor showing in the polls and boost the spirit of party workers, the (World Cup) celebrations have begun a bit early," claimed Ali, who is a Left Democratic Front supported independent legislator.
The fisher folk in Kootayi, a coastal hamlet in the district, too are not upset by the arrival of the sudden monsoon. Instead they see it as a blessing in disguise.
"Even though the rains mean that we can't go fishing, which is our livelihood, the sudden monsoon has come handy. Due to strict instructions not to venture into the sea, we have used the time to spruce up our local club which will be bustling with activity once the World Cup starts," said Moideen, a fisherman and staunch supporter of Brazil.
And, in keeping with the tradition, barber shops in the district have become a beehive of activity with many avid fans like C.Ashraf, who is backing France and Argentina, sporting hairstyles of their favourite football heroes.
The World Cup also is fertile ground for betting and people usually play high stakes. But this time around, it has been a bit slack.
"Betting has still not picked up because many people lost money on account of betting in the assembly elections. Do you know my supporters got a staggering Rs.40 million about ($869,000) because I won the polls. But I'm sure as the World Cup gets into the second round, betting will gather pace," said Ali.
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday distanced itself from its late leader Pramod Mahajan's son Rahul who is struggling for life at a hospital here after what police suspect was a drug-laced drinking bout.
Bibek Moitra, a close aide of Pramod Mahajan and a mentor for Rahul, died after suspected intake of drugs in the same party Thursday night.
"This is a family matter and this can happen to anyone. The party has nothing to say on this," said senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj after the top brass of the party met Saturday at the residence of senior colleague L.K. Advani.
Putting all speculation to rest, Swaraj said the party leaders had met to discuss the office of profit bill issue and the party's strategy in the wake of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's refusal to sign the bill.
However, BJP sources said, the tragic incident did crop up and top party functionaries informally discussed the Rahul Mahajan episode and decided not to come out with any statement on the issue.
"Party leaders have been conveyed the message that no one would make any personal or official comment on this episode in media," a senior BJP leader told IANS.
Notwithstanding the party's studied silence on the incident, party functionaries admitted privately that whatever hopes Rahul nurtured of entering politics seemed to have been dashed.
"The party leaders can visit Rahul and keep in touch with him in a personal capacity. After all he is the son of one of our top leaders who is no more with us and many party leaders would definitely stand by the Mahajan family in this time of crisis," he added.
"However, there is no possibility of Rahul being inducted in the party at any position in the near future due to the recent episode. A political career for Rahul in the BJP now seems a remote possibility even if he gets a clean chit in this episode," said a BJP source.
"The BJP has carefully nurtured its image of a proponent of Indian culture and ethos. Champagne, drugs and late night wild parties are just not acceptable in this party," a party functionary said.
After Mahajan's death, Rahul was widely tipped as a potential political heir to the charismatic leader. Talk also veered on his possible induction in the youth wing of the party.
His unscheduled appearance at the BJP National Executive meeting here this week created a flutter among the delegates and journalists covering the event, prompting many to ask if this was his initiation into politics.
New Delhi, June 2 (IndianMuslims.info) Controversy about the number of Muslims in Indian Armed Forces may have died without any indication of their actual number; but the latest results of the Combined Defence Services Examination may provide us some clues.
The UPSC has declared the results of Combined Defence Services Examination – II, 2005. The selected candidates have qualified on the basis of the results of the written examination and interview for admission to the 121st Course of Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Naval Academy, Goa and 180th (Pre-Flying) Training Course of Air Force Station, Begumpet, Hyderabad. The number of vacancies for Indian Military Academy is 250, for Naval Academy is 20 and for Air Force Academy, the vacancies are 36.
Of the 347 candidtes who have qualified for Indian Military Academy, Dehradun; there are 4 Muslims, a repersentation of about 1.2%. None of the Muslims are able to qualify for Naval Academy, Goa and Air Force Station, Hyderabad.
Results of 2004 were little bit better for Muslims as there were 6 Muslims out of 330 qualified candidates (1.8%). None were able to qualify for the Naval Academy but 4 Muslims found their way to the Air Force Academy. That year also saw Najmuddin Saify ranked at number 29, this year the top Muslim is at rank 227.
List of successful Muslim candidates for 2005:
RANK : NAME
227 : SHAFIQ AHMED KHAN
229 : ATIQUE UZZAMAN
237 : MOHD ASHRAF MIR
294 : MD HAYAT
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) It was a day of dramatic developments and conflicting versions related to the case involving suspected poisoning of Rahul Mahajan, son of late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, who still remains in a Delhi hospital and death of his father's close aide Bibek Moitra.
Even as the hospital gave clean chit to Rahul saying no trace of cocaine was found in his blood, Delhi Police registered a case of drug abuse and destruction of evidence against "unknown persons".
"The case has been registered under section 27 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act," additional deputy commissioner of police Manish Agarwal told IANS.
Former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde, Rahul's uncle, asserted that the latter was never into drugs and that there had been an attempt to poison late Pramod Mahajan's son at the Thursday night wild party at Mahajan's 7, Safdarjung Road bungalow in the Indian capital.
Even as Delhi Police said they were looking for Sahil Zarru, one of the four youths who were at the party, the 21-year-old landed at the studio of Aaj Tak TV network in Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Srinagar after flying in from New Delhi to say he had no role in the death of Moitra or the party itself.
"There is no conspiracy. I myself have been a victim of it," Sahil told a stunned television audience. But he admitted that he had tasted "something" that was on the table at the house and soon lost consciousness.
"I have no idea what was happening (at the party). They were consuming something. I did taste it. Within two seconds I lost consciousness. I had no idea where I was, I was puking throughout the way," he said.
His lawyer Aslam Goni said Sahil would surrender to police. Even as Sahil continued to speak, Jammu and Kashmir police officers appeared at the studio and took him away.
Goni said: "Friendship with biggies has caused my client much trouble. He is not involved in any way with the tragedy. He was not the supplier (of cocaine). He has surrendered and he is ready to cooperate with the investigation."
Sahil is likely to be brought here Sunday by a Delhi police team.
Three of the four people who were present at the drug-laced drinking bout Thursday night were interrogated by Delhi Police Saturday. They also questioned Sahil's father Ghulam Mohammed, a New Delhi-based businessman.
Three others, Karan, Trishay and Rahul Malhotra who were also present there, had approached police Friday night offering cooperation.
According to the version given to police by this trio, Sahil allegedly bought cocaine for Rs.15,000 from a peddler in the posh area of Vasant Vihar in south Delhi. Moitra, the youths said, provided the money.
"Bibek gave Sahil Rs.15,000 to get the cocaine. These three youths are completely innocent. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," their advocate Ranvir Singh Kundu told IANS.
According to the three, after meeting Bibek and Rahul, Sahil went into the house with them as the others waited outside.
Sahil then emerged after some time, reportedly exclaiming, "These guys have gone mad. They want the stuff."
They further told the police it was Sahil who took them to the Mahajan bungalow and they were never a party to the drug deal.
Rahul, along with Moitra, was taken to the Apollo hospital early Friday after they were found unconscious at their Safdarjung Road residence. Moitra was declared dead by the hospital on arrival.
Although doctors at the Apollo hospital said they found no cocaine in Rahul Mahajan's blood or urine, his uncle Munde said: "I have known Rahul for years. He was never into drugs and I suspect he has been poisoned."
Anupam Sibal, medical director of the Apollo Hospital, told reporters: "We (doctors) can't say what toxin it was that caused his unconscious state when he was brought in to the hospital. We did mandatory tests on 14 to 15 drugs and all of them proved negative.
"At this moment we are unable to identify what caused his multi-system dysfunction. But we do not know what the forensic tests will reveal."
Meanwhile, police were looking into all possible angles and awaiting the chemical examination and microbiological test reports from the forensic lab.
"Rahul Mahajan, who is recuperating in Indraprastha Apollo hospital, was given semi-liquid food this evening and his health condition has further improved," a hospital official informed.
"He is talking comfortably and is on a recovery path but he continues to be in the intensive care unit," the hospital official added.
The police has so far not questioned Rahul Mahajan.
Pramod Mahajan, who was the BJP general secretary, died May 3 after being shot at his Mumbai residence by his brother Pravin. He succumbed to his bullet wounds after a 12-day fight for survival at the Hinduja hospital.
In the meantime, the BJP has distanced itself from Rahul.
"This is a family matter and this can happen to anyone. The party has nothing to say on this," said party leader Sushma Swaraj after the top brass met at the New Delhi residence of senior colleague L.K. Advani.
"Party leaders have been conveyed the message that no one would make any personal or official comment on this episode to the media," a BJP leader told IANS.
Brussels, June 3 (DPA) Europeans are the world's heaviest drinkers, with alcohol killing 115,000 people and costing billions of euros in social and health expenditure, according to an EU-funded study.
Alcohol is responsible for 7.4 percent of all ill health and early deaths in the EU and is the third highest risk factor for ill health, ahead of obesity and behind only tobacco and high blood pressure.
Drinking causes some 60 different types of diseases and conditions, the report said.
It also stressed that a great part of the damage done by alcohol is borne by people other than the drinker. Alcohol-caused harm to non-drinkers includes 60,000 underweight births and up to 9 million children living in families with drinking problems.
An estimated 10,000 bystanders or passengers die annually because of drunk-drivers on Europe's roads.
"It is the children who pay the price of the last round," said Derek Rutherford, Secretary of Brussels-based alcohol watchdog Eurocare.
With some 11 litres of pure alcohol drunk per adult each year, Europe is the heaviest drinking region of the world, the report said. An estimated 23 million Europeans (five percent of men and one percent of women) are addicted to alcohol.
According to the report, Norway has the strictest alcohol policy in the EU and Greece the most lax. However, drinking habits and levels throughout the continent are rather similar, it added.
Education and public awareness campaigns are not enough to curb the damage caused by alcohol, the report warned, calling for tougher rules on drunken-driving as well as on sales and marketing of alcohol.
Rutherford called for restricting alcohol advertising and for prohibiting sports sponsorship, which he said, "is the most insidious marketing strategy of the alcohol industry".
The report was funded by the European Commission and written by the London-based Institute of Alcohol Studies.
The commission said it will propose new measures on harmonising the rules of use, sales and advertising of alcohol across the EU, later this year.
Jammu, June 3 (IANS) Fear of terrorist attacks is preventing many Kashmiri Hindus from visiting shrine 'Kheer Bhawani' for the annual festival starting Sunday. While thousands of pilgrims were expected to reach the spot, only 500 boarded buses Saturday.
Only half a dozen buses carrying pilgrims left for the shrine Saturday, the person in charge of organising transport for Kashmiri pundits from Jammu to the shrine, Vinod Bhatt, told reporters here.
Last year, more than 15,000 Kashmiri Hindus had visited the shrine located at Tulla Mulla village, about 27 km from Srinagar.
Recently, four terrorist attacks in a row in the Valley left six tourists dead and more than 50 wounded.
Vijay Bakaya, an advisor to the chief minister, said all arrangements for the pilgrimage were in place with adequate security arrangements. He said the exact number of the pilgrims would be known Sunday.
Each year the shrine attracts Kashmiri Hindus (also known as 'Kashmiri pundits') from the Valley as well as from winter capital Jammu and other parts of the country. Kashmiri pundits migrated in large numbers in 1990 after the outbreak of an armed insurgency in Kashmir.
The pilgrims visit the temple of the goddess 'Ragnya Devi' at the shrine and observe fast on the eighth day of the full moon in the month of May.
Many shopkeepers, who sell items like milk and flowers - used in the ritual, are Muslims, who abstain from eating meat on the day considered sacred by the Hindus.
Bhopal, June 3 (IANS) Two Christian women were gang-raped and a church attacked in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district, according to the district pastor.
According to pastor Kailash Davar, the rape took place in Nadia village a week ago.
"The attackers barged into the women's homes around 10.00 p.m., beat up the family members and took the women hostage. They dragged the women to a deserted area and gang-raped them," Davar told IANS.
He said the husbands of the women who along with other villagers tried to prevent the heinous act were beaten up.
Davar added that such atrocities on members of the Christian community had become common, especially in the interiors.
Indira Iyengar, a leader of the Madhya Pradesh Christian Association, has demanded a thorough probe into the rape.
Claiming that it was a "planned attack on the church, under the garb of preventing religious conversion", she sought action against the culprits.
Police said cases of rape had been registered against 10 people but they were yet to be arrested.
"All the accused including Lulla, Nandla, Kalu, Rewal Singh and Sakaram are from the same village Nadia where the incident occurred," a police officer said
But the police expressed ignorance about the alleged attack on the church.
By Prashant K. Nanda,
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Fascination for drugs and their easy availability have heightened the number of drug abuse cases among youngsters in metropolitan cities like Delhi, doctors said Saturday.
"The number of drug abuse cases has gone up by 50 percent in the last few years and, unlike in the past, most drug abuse patients these days are adolescents," said capital's leading psychiatrist Samir Parekh.
"Glamorisation of drugs and their easy availability are among the major driving forces," said Parekh, who is from the chain of super speciality hospitals Max Healthcare.
A medicine specialist with the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, S.P. Byotra, said the prevalent trend among young drug abusers was to take several drugs at a time.
"A combination of alcohol and drugs like heroine or cocaine is deadly and affects a number of organs. An overdose generally leads to low blood pressure, high sugar level and respiratory problem. It can affect kidney and lever functioning as well," Byotra told IANS.
Rahul Mahajan, the son of late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, is currently in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Apollo Indraprastha Hospital here, reportedly due to a drug overdose.
Byotra added that respiratory problems, which weaken the flow of blood to the lungs, could also lead to heart failure.
Currently, India is home to over 70 million drug addicts, of which, experts believe, the population of illicit drug users could be more than one million.
Byotra said one of the reasons for adolescents taking to drugs was to get out of depression and loneliness.
He said parents needed to be extra careful about their behaviour and how they bring up their children.
He added that substance abuse could also lead to mental health problems. "It generally leads to depression, anxiety, sleep disorder and many other problems."
Negating the notion that drug abuse is prevalent only among affluent classes, the head of the cardiology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), K. Srinath Reddy, said the number of drug abuse cases among urban slum dwellers was also high.
"We have found that youths in urban slums are inhaling a white powder-like substance to get a kick or feel high," said Reddy, who is also the coordinator of 'Hriday', an organisation working against drugs and tobacco abuse among youngsters.
Ahmedabad, June 3 (IANS) Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Gujarat Saturday demanded separate environment courts in each state of the country.
"Gujarat has become the capital of SEZs (special economic zone) and the SEZ Act and Rules have diluted existing environment laws," Mahesh Pandya of the 'Paryavaran Mitra', a group of environment activists in Gujarat, told reporters here.
Blaming the poor knowledge of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board officials about the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Pandya said the environmentalists were deprived of the information.
"Most of our applications remain unanswered, as the officials are not aware of the provisions of the RTI Act. This hampers our activities and we lose our standing in some cases," he said.
"Environment activists across the country have written letters to New Delhi, demanding setting up of a judicial body, a court if possible. It will reduce the burden on the high courts and the Supreme Court. It will also decide environmental cases quickly," said Pandya.
Activists of the Paryavaran Mitra earlier said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Law Commission of India had suggested that the central government should create a separate judicial body to tackle environment issues.
By T.R. Ramakrishnan,
St John's (Antigua), June 3 (IANS) Having taken the defensive option, playing six batsmen, India committed themselves to safety, of not losing the opener in the four-Test series against the West Indies.
When skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to bat, he furthered that cause for, getting a big score on this Antigua Recreation Ground, where West Indian captain Brian Lara himself has two 300-plus scores, would have been the best way of avoiding defeat, if not setting the stage for a win.
But after that, they lost the plot. They collapsed to 180 for 7, and only a 47-run stand between Anil Kumble (21) and S Sreesanth (batting 24) saw them reach some respectability. They finished the day at 235 for 9 and have a lot of ground to cover if they want to stay in the Test.
Dravid alone kept to the script, perhaps because he had authored it. He made only 49 but he faced 173 balls and stayed at the wicket for over four hours. His dismissal though was very tame. He got into two minds, fended awkwardly at Corey Collymore and gave Lara his third catch of the day in the slips.
Virender Sehwag (36), VVS Laxman (29), Yuvraj Singh (23) and Mohd Kaif (13) all got in and looked set for decent scores when they got out.
One couldn't fault Yuvraj for his dismissal, a ball from left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed, playing his first Test in nearly two years, having some extra fizz and going through to hit the stumps. All the others failed to stay the course as the West Indians bowled to a plan on a pitch that had good bounce and carry all day.
Collymore was the pick of the bowlers, getting the ball to move away just that little bit. He got Sehwag with his first ball. Sehwag had blazed away to 36 off 37 balls, with seven fours, scoring heavily off Ian Bradshaw who tended to bowl down the leg. But he hung his bat out and was snapped up by Lara at first slip.
Collymore also got Dhoni (19, 27 balls) later in the day, just when the dashing wicketkeeper seemed to be stepping up the pace.
Laxman and Kaif were caught behind off Bravo, but flashing outside the offstump. Bravo bowled tightly all day and at one stage had figures of two for 10, off 11 overs, eight of those coming in boundaries, one a square drive from Yuvraj, surely the shot of the day, and the other an edged Dhoni shot over third man.
It's very much advantage West Indies. Kumble and Co. have done a bit with the bat. They will have to do much more with the ball to keep India in the hunt.
By Vishnu Makhijani,
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) India and China have taken a quantum leap forward in their military ties, but only enlightened leadership on both sides can help resolve their lingering border dispute that led to a brief, bitter war more than four decades ago.
The agreement the two countries inked in Beijing May 29 on enhancing defence ties is arguably their biggest confidence building measure after the April 12, 2005, document they adopted in New Delhi detailing 11 guiding principles and political parameters to resolve their border dispute.
This involves the delineation of their border in the Arunachal Pradesh region of northeastern India. This apart, India maintains that China has also occupied a large part of the Aksai Chin area in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
"When it comes to resolving the boundary row, neither side will fully get what they want. Compromises will have to be made on certain issues and this requires statesmanship of a level that is not on the horizon (in India). For China, this is perhaps easier," explained Lt. Gen. (retd) Satish Nambiar, a former deputy chief of the Indian Army.
"In India, it is difficult to build consensus on such an issue because every party looks at it from their narrow political prism. Still, the military pact is a very good development because it will play a stabilising role in the region," added Nambiar, who has also served as the Indian Army's director general of military operations and commanded UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia in the mid-1990s.
"The India-China pact is a clear pointer that while New Delhi wants better ties with the US, this does not mean a gang-up against China as we can handle our own security," he added.
At the same time, India would have to accept the "empirical reality" of Chinese ambitions in Asia, strategic expert Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar noted.
"India has made considerable strides in improving ties at the international level but, at the Asian level, it has to recognise an empirical reality: that China views itself as the major power in Asia (an ambition that India too nurses)," Bhaskar, member-secretary of a National Security Council-appointed task force on global strategic developments, told IANS.
Even so, the military pact would lead to "greater interaction and this could be the precursor to greater political understanding", added Bhaskar.
Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Cao Gangchuan May 29 inked a military pact that, among others, envisages joint exercises by their armed forces and training programmes in the field of search and rescue, anti-piracy and counter-terrorism measures.
It also focuses on:
* Annual exchanges between high-level functionaries of the defence ministries and the armed forces of the two countries.
* An annual Defence Dialogue to review progress in the defence exchanges, make suggestions for the future and to exchange views on international, security and strategic issues.
* Establishing a mechanism of study tours for each other's senior and middle-level officials in order to facilitate better understanding of the foreign, defence and national development policies of the host side.
In all this, the joint military exercises are perhaps the most significant.
"Hitherto, the Indian and Chinese armies have been inviting observers for their exercises. The fact that they have decided to provide each other a closer look at their establishments shows the degree of comfort they have reached," a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Spelling out the roadmap for the future, the official said a beginning would perhaps be made with a joint exercise at the platoon (30 men) level.
"The two armies have to dovetail the joint exercises into their existing training schedules and this could take up to a year. This is how we check out our interoperability. Over time, the process will get institutionalised and the level of the exercises could also rise," the official explained.
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had hitherto been sending its officers to observe army-air force exercises conducted in northern India. The last such occasion was when 30 PLA observers were present during Operation Desert Strike conducted in Rajasthan last November.
"There is the problem of language," the official admitted, adding: "We are working on it. We have a large number of officers who can speak Mandarin while the Chinese have officers and soldiers who are fluent not only in English but in Hindi too."
Ironically, while India and China have created a mechanism for their senior officials to examine the boundary dispute as they go ahead in areas like military, economic and cultural exchanges, this example could not be replicated when it came to Pakistan.
"As long as the Kashmir dispute simmers, the Pakistani Army uses that as a convenient handle to stay in power. If you de-hyphenate Kashmir from the other confidence building measures, it becomes difficult for the army to survive," the official explained.
By Vishnu Makhijani,
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) India and China have taken a quantum leap forward in their military ties, but only enlightened leadership on both sides can help resolve their lingering border dispute that led to a brief, bitter war more than four decades ago.
The agreement the two countries inked in Beijing May 29 on enhancing defence ties is arguably their biggest confidence building measure after the April 12, 2005, document they adopted in New Delhi detailing 11 guiding principles and political parameters to resolve their border dispute.
This involves the delineation of their border in the Arunachal Pradesh region of northeastern India. This apart, India maintains that China has also occupied a large part of the Aksai Chin area in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
"When it comes to resolving the boundary row, neither side will fully get what they want. Compromises will have to be made on certain issues and this requires statesmanship of a level that is not on the horizon (in India). For China, this is perhaps easier," explained Lt. Gen. (retd) Satish Nambiar, a former deputy chief of the Indian Army.
"In India, it is difficult to build consensus on such an issue because every party looks at it from their narrow political prism. Still, the military pact is a very good development because it will play a stabilising role in the region," added Nambiar, who has also served as the Indian Army's director general of military operations and commanded UN peacekeeping forces in Bosnia in the mid-1990s.
"The India-China pact is a clear pointer that while New Delhi wants better ties with the US, this does not mean a gang-up against China as we can handle our own security," he added.
At the same time, India would have to accept the "empirical reality" of Chinese ambitions in Asia, strategic expert Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar noted.
"India has made considerable strides in improving ties at the international level but, at the Asian level, it has to recognise an empirical reality: that China views itself as the major power in Asia (an ambition that India too nurses)," Bhaskar, member-secretary of a National Security Council-appointed task force on global strategic developments, told IANS.
Even so, the military pact would lead to "greater interaction and this could be the precursor to greater political understanding", added Bhaskar.
Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Cao Gangchuan May 29 inked a military pact that, among others, envisages joint exercises by their armed forces and training programmes in the field of search and rescue, anti-piracy and counter-terrorism measures.
It also focuses on:
* Annual exchanges between high-level functionaries of the defence ministries and the armed forces of the two countries.
* An annual Defence Dialogue to review progress in the defence exchanges, make suggestions for the future and to exchange views on international, security and strategic issues.
* Establishing a mechanism of study tours for each other's senior and middle-level officials in order to facilitate better understanding of the foreign, defence and national development policies of the host side.
In all this, the joint military exercises are perhaps the most significant.
"Hitherto, the Indian and Chinese armies have been inviting observers for their exercises. The fact that they have decided to provide each other a closer look at their establishments shows the degree of comfort they have reached," a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Spelling out the roadmap for the future, the official said a beginning would perhaps be made with a joint exercise at the platoon (30 men) level.
"The two armies have to dovetail the joint exercises into their existing training schedules and this could take up to a year. This is how we check out our interoperability. Over time, the process will get institutionalised and the level of the exercises could also rise," the official explained.
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had hitherto been sending its officers to observe army-air force exercises conducted in northern India. The last such occasion was when 30 PLA observers were present during Operation Desert Strike conducted in Rajasthan last November.
"There is the problem of language," the official admitted, adding: "We are working on it. We have a large number of officers who can speak Mandarin while the Chinese have officers and soldiers who are fluent not only in English but in Hindi too."
Ironically, while India and China have created a mechanism for their senior officials to examine the boundary dispute as they go ahead in areas like military, economic and cultural exchanges, this example could not be replicated when it came to Pakistan.
"As long as the Kashmir dispute simmers, the Pakistani Army uses that as a convenient handle to stay in power. If you de-hyphenate Kashmir from the other confidence building measures, it becomes difficult for the army to survive," the official explained.
By T.R. Ramakrishnan,
St John's (Antigua), June 3 (IANS) Irfan Pathan was not "dropped". He has been "rested".
This was what Indian team manager Ravi Savant told mediapersons when asked about the team selection for the first Test, in which Pathan and off-spinner Harbhajan were not included.
"Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh have been with the one-day squad as well - they have been rested."
When asked rested for what, he replied, "For the Champions Trophy (to be played in India in Oct-Nov) and the World Cup (to be played next year)."
As incredulous journalists hammered questions at the manager, he defended himself valiantly: "The team has been selected by the national selectors, 16 have been chosen, only 11 can play, so five have to be dropped... it doesn't mean they are dropped, they are rested."
With such clarity coming from the manager, little wonder that most Indian media persons here look to Imran Khan, the media officer of the West Indies cricket board for all information, including that regarding the Indian team.
Kolkata/New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) The Bush administration is making every effort to ensure the passage of the historic civil nuclear deal between India and the US within the next two months, says a senior US diplomat.
"We hope to get the legislation moving and pass it in the next two months. Our Congress is independent but our administration is working on it," said Robert O. Blake, deputy chief of mission of the US embassy in New Delhi.
Blake was participating in a videoconference from New Delhi with the American Center in Kolkata on Bush's visit to India and "New Directions in US-India Relations".
"For many years we tried to hold back our nuclear technology but because of your brain power you still succeeded in becoming a nuclear power. So we have lifted all those nuclear sanctions and the signing of the civil nuclear deal is historic. It is a departure from our over 30 years of policy," Blake said.
"We want high technology trade between the two countries," Blake said.
The deal was given a concrete shape during the visit of US President George W. Bush to New Delhi in March. When passed by the Congress, it will end a ban on trade with India in nuclear technology and material.
Blake said America's closeness with India was not driven by any ulterior motive but was because of the US foreign policy shift to Asia from Europe owing to issues like democracy, trade, trafficking and terrorism.
"The great issue of the day is terrorism and we cannot solve it by arrests. We have to win the battle of ideas. India has a Muslim population of 150 million but they have not joined organisations like Al Qaeda," Blake said.
"You are one of the big stories of 21st century. Your economy is growing at eight percent and you have a growing middle class," said Blake, urging India to keep the reform process going to meet the challenges.
Speaking at the interaction, economist Abhirup Sarkar said though the trade between the two countries was still insignificant, India was becoming important because of the status of American Indians.
"Indians have the highest median income among all ethnic groups in America," Sarkar said.
Former Indian ambassador to the US Siddhartha Shankar Ray said India and the US were bound together emotionally, historically and socially.
"We have reached a status where none of us can question the alliance between India and the US," said Ray.
New York, June 3 (IANS) Obese and overweight teenagers may face higher heart disease risk than people with normal weight, finds a new study.
Giovanni de Simone and other researchers from the New York Presbyterian Hospital studied 4,549 people in American-Indian (native American) communities in Arizona, Oklahoma, and North and South Dakota, reported science portal EurekAlert.
This analysis included data from examinations of 460 participants aged 14-20 years (245 girls and 215 boys). The researchers used ultrasound and other methods to measure the size, shape and pumping function of the teenagers' hearts.
They found that when a person is obese, the size and thickness of the heart increases - which cannot be understood by simply measuring the blood pressure.
"This excess of cardiac mass, which we call 'inappropriate' in connection to cardiac workload, is also associated with a general impairment of the heart's function of pushing blood into the arterial tree and also to distend its cavity to receive the blood returning from the periphery," explained Simone.
These results underscore the need to fight excess weight in children, since the damaging effects are evident even before adulthood, he said in the study, which was published in the June 6, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Similar analysis previously performed among other ethnic groups, such as Caucasians and African Americans, have also found similar risk factors," the researchers noted.
London, June 3 (IANS) Certain painkiller drugs, if used on a long-term basis, could affect your heart, says a study.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation. They are standard drugs used to treat chronic pain in conditions such as arthritis, reported the online edition of BBC News.
They include ibuprofen, diclofenac, COX-2s and naproxen.
Researchers at Oxford University led by Colin Baigent analysed data from all randomised trials that recorded serious vascular events in patients on NSAIDs.
They found that the odds of a heart attack or stroke increased by 42 percent that in patients taking COX-2s as compared with those administered placebo.
The odds were increased by 51 percent for a high-dose of ibuprofen (800mg three times a day) and 63 percent for a high dose of diclofenac (75mg twice a day).
However, naproxen was found not to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events, the researchers noted.
They stressed that the overall risk was small - for every 1,000 patients taking a COX-2 or an NSAID, amounting to around three extra people suffering a heart attack in a year.
"The important point is that for most people who don't have a history of heart attacks or strokes, the risk is very small, said Baigent.
CAIRO, June 3 (NNN-MENA) A research mission in Egypt has discovered the remnants of a two-room adobe-built house dating back to the era of Salahuddin al-Ayoubi and a single golden dinar of the same age in "Tel el-Sheikh Zeineddin" area in al-Shaboul district of Daqahliya governorate, Minister of Culture Farouq Hosni said.
The dinar is of a great scientific and historical value, Zahi Hawass, the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters.
Old as it is, the coin gains its importance being of the Ayoubi age when minting gold money was a rarity.
The names of leader Salahuddin al-Ayoubi and Abbasid Caliph Abul-Abbas Ahmed (575-622 AH) are engraved on the dinar.
Historically speaking, the inscribed dinar is a chronological study in Salahuddin's outreaching powers, especially after his victory over the Crusaders in the battle of Hettein in the year 583 AH, which is the same date carved on the coin.
New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Rahul Mahajan, the son of late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, has gained consciousness and doctors attending to him said tests conducted on him revealed no known drugs like cocaine or ecstasy.
"As per our standard protocol we did the mandatory toxic screen test. All the toxic screen tests are negative," said Anupam Sibal, medical director of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, where Mahajan is under treatment.
"We have also sent some samples to the forensic lab and do not have the results," Sibal added.
Rahul was brought to the hospital in the early hours of Friday in a critical state because of what the police then suspected was a case of drug overdose. Doctors said he was in a state of unconsciousness, with low blood pressure, shallow breathing and low oxygen in the blood.
His father's aide Bibek Moitra - who was with Rahul that evening - was, however, brought dead to the hospital and the body was sent to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for postmortem.
Doctors at Apollo Hospital said what had caused Rahul's ill-health was "dramatic" but added they were not able to ascertain what had led to the "multiple organ dysfunction" because of which he was put on ventilator.
"Rahul is now out of the non-invasive ventilator. He has gained consciousness. A few minutes back, I spoke to Rahul and he asked for some water. His condition is improving," Sibal told reporters.
The doctor explained that tests were conducted for 14-15 parameters - including possible traces of drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, as also for poisoning - but the reports were wither in the negative, or within permissible limits.
"All tests were done under international protocol that we follow, including toxic screen. There was no cocaine," Sibal categorically said in response to a specific query. "The condition of his blood pressure, blood sugar, lever and kidney is almost stable."
He also explained that Rahul was under medication for depression.
Pramod Mahajan, who was the BJP's general secretary, died May 3, 2006 after being shot at his Mumbai residence by his brother Pravin. He succumbed to his bullet wounds after a 12-day fight for survival at the Hinduja hospital.
Mumbai, June 3 (IANS) Indian equities ended in the negative territory during the trading week ended Friday, mainly because of major selling by foreign funds, and analysts expect the market to remain choppy in the ensuing sessions.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the equity markets to the tune of $324 million in the past five days, as per data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the markets regulator.
Analysts said that was the principal reason for the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ending up with a loss of 358.02 points or 3.31 percent over the previous week.
The loss was despite a late flourish in trading Friday, which resulted in a gain of 379.91 points or 3.77 percent for the barometer index. The investor mood was weak despite some positive news on the Indian economy during the week.
Data on India's national income released by the Central Statistical Organisation showed that the gross domestic product grew at an impressive 9.3 percent during the quarter ended March 31, which exceeded expectations.
But analysts said the positive news failed to influence the markets since it had already been taken into account and investors were more worried over issues like inflation and interest rates.
"The fact is foreign funds had been the primary movers of Indian markets in the past. And the lack of buying interest among them has really taken the sheen out of the trading sessions," said an analyst with a brokerage firm here.
Data available with the markets watchdog showed that foreign funds may have been net purchasers to the tune of $2.24 billion in the current year, but net sellers of $248 million so far in this month and $1.63 billion in May.
"In the absence of a positive trigger, markets are expected to remain choppy. Much will depend on the first quarter results for this fiscal," the analyst added.
During the week under review, which was marked by choppy trading on each of the five days, the Sensex was up 44 points Monday but then began three straight days of dips - 67 points Tuesday, 388 points Wednesday and 327 points Thursday.
It was only on Friday that the barometer index registered some handsome gains, even though it had dipped sharply in the early hours of trading.
Among the Sensex stocks, Grasim fell 7.78 percent during the week, Bajaj Auto dropped 6.8 percent, Maruti Udyog declined 2.68 percent and Associated Cement Companies shed 1.66 percent.
Bharat Heavy Electricals, which moved up 2.62 percent, and Ranbaxy Laboratories, up 0.72 percent, were among the main gainers.
Washington, June 3 (DPA) US soldiers who called a deadly March 15 air strike on a building in the Iraqi city of Ishaqi did nothing improper, said the military.
Iraqi police alleged that 11 civilians were deliberately shot and killed by US troops. The US military acknowledged that three civilians died in the raid, along with an Iraqi insurgent who was involved in making roadside bombs.
In all, up to nine people may have been killed in the raid, but allegations that US troops "executed a family, and then hid the alleged crimes by directing an air strike, are absolutely false, said a spokesman for the US-led multinational force in Iraq.
The conclusions come amid an investigation into the alleged killing of innocent civilians by US Marines in Haditha in November. The US reportedly plans to file criminal charges against some of the marines over the deaths of 24 men, women and children.
A military inquiry into the Ishaqi deaths concluded that the soldiers correctly escalated force after receiving fire from a building in the city 100 km north of Baghdad, force spokesman Major General William Caldwell IV said in a statement.
"The investigation revealed that the ground force commander, while capturing and killing terrorists, operated in accordance with the rules of engagement governing our combat forces in Iraq," he said.
The raid's commander first called in helicopters, then an air strike that destroyed part of the building. The exact number of dead could not be determined because of the damage to the building, the statement said.
In the Ishaqi raid, coalition forces captured Ahmad Abdallah Muhammed Na'is al-Utaybi, known as Hamza, a Kuwaiti-born Al Qaeda cell leader, Caldwell said.
He said the dead included Uday Faris al-Tawafi, known as Abu Ahmed, an Iraqi involved in making so-called improvised explosive devices and recruiting Iraqis to join the insurgency against US-led forces and the Baghdad government.