09 June 2006
Kabul, June 9 (Xinhua) Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar Friday expressed sorrow over the death of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and said it would accelerate national resistance.
In a statement read out to journalists by a purported Taliban spokesman, Omar said, "Zarqawi's martyrdom will not weaken the Iraqi resistance as this is a national resistance; any youth can become Zarqawi."
"Zarqawi has left behind thousands of youths who will even accelerate this resistance," he said adding, "I and all Muslims of Afghanistan's resistance are very sad by the martyrdom of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi."
Zarqawi was killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi raid Thursday in Iraq as U.S. F-16 warplanes dropped two bombs on him.
On Thursday, Afghan President H.E. Hamid Karzai called the death of al-Zarqawi a "severe blow for terrorism and a major success in the war on international terrorism."
Cairo, June 9 (Xinhua) A new videotape of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number-two of the Al Qaeda group in Iraq, is to be aired by the Dubai-based Al-Jazeera news channel, the TV said Friday.
The videotape came two days after the killing of the organisation's top leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The channel did not reveal whether Zawahiri would talk about the killing of al-Zarqawi in the tape.
Zawahiri will cover issues like the Palestinian referendum and Sudan's Darfur region crisis, according to Al-Jazeera.
Al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq, was killed Wednesday evening along with his seven top aides by a US air raid in their safe house in Hibhib, about 40 km northeast of Baghdad.
By F. Ahmed and Binoo Joshi,
Srinagar/Jammu, June 9 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to give Rs.100,000 to anyone killing a terrorist has triggered anger and disgust in Jammu and Kashmir, with Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad warning of anarchy.
From the government to the man on the street, many are simply unable to believe that the country's main opposition party has made such an announcement.
"It is like the Wild West of the 17th century," moaned Muzaffar Ahmed, who teaches in a college here and is among countless Kashmiris who constantly pray for a better tomorrow.
"The BJP is looking for booty hunters. What for do we have law and order if anybody and everybody can start head hunting here? What safeguards would we have against criminals and dacoits who can easily settle personal or communal scores by responding to the sinister announcement?" he asked, echoing an opinion shared both in the Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated Jammu region.
Former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma said Thursday that any civilian who killed a militant would get a cash reward of Rs.100,000 from his party while the family of a civilian killed by terrorists would get Rs.200,000.
Chief Minister Azad expressed his outrage.
"The BJP has lost all sense. It is unable to understand the situation and is trying to cause massive trouble in an already troubled state," Azad told IANS in Jammu.
"We are trying to neutralise militancy by acting tough against them and provide succour to victims of violence. But the BJP is inviting more violence in the state."
Azad added: "There is rule of law in the state. We have an elected government that is putting all its might and resources together to fight militancy. The BJP announcement means asking for anarchy."
Transport Minister and senior Congress leader Mangat Ram Sharma was so angry that he convened a hurried press conference in Jammu to voice his concern.
"It is an outright bid to communalise the situation. The BJP is either unaware of the dangers its announcement would have for communal harmony or it is deliberately fuelling communal frenzy.
"If the BJP has taken upon itself to announce rewards for killing militants, then what are the security forces here for? The BJP is seeking to demoralise the security forces and undermine their valiant efforts to fight terrorism."
In Srinagar, the hotbed of militancy that has claimed thousands of lives since 1989, the reactions of the people were sharp.
"This can prompt criminals and killers from other parts of India to join the violence in Kashmir for mercenary reasons. This is an open invitation to lawlessness," said Sajad Bhat, 26, a college student.
Even a fruit seller in Srinagar refused to believe the news.
"Do you mean to say I should stop selling fruits and buy a gun to start head hunting? Well, this is absurd," said Meraj-ud-Din, who sells fruit on the fashionable Residency Road.
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party chief Bhim Singh termed the BJP statement as "extremely dangerous and unheard of".
"It is simple politics which will have a disastrous effect on the life and property of the people," said Shiv Kumar, a shopkeeper in Pucca Danga area of Jammu.
"If the BJP is so proactive now, why didn't it curb terrorism when it ruled the country?" he asked.
A Congress leader in Srinagar commented: "Why didn't they make such an announcement during their rule? They are advocating jungle law."
Separatist leaders denounced the announcement.
"It is fascist. This aims at legitimising murder and lawlessness. That is the real BJP in its true colours," said a senior leader of the moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq in Srinagar.
Kolkata, June 9 (IANS) Nationwide protests witnessed last month against the government's plan to increase caste-based quotas in institutions of higher education were a creation of the media, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said here Friday
"The resistance (to the proposal) came from the media," he told reporters.
Justifying the proposal for the 27 percent reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs) in central educational institutions, he said all political parties had supported the government proposal.
"This is in accordance with the constitution," he added.
The government was going to increase the number of seats in central institutions to offset the reservation plan's impact on upper caste students. "The seats will be increased in a phased manner," Ramadoss said.
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Delhi Police Friday registered a case against the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital here for providing false information about drug abuse by Rahul Mahajan.
"We have registered a case against the hospital under Section 182 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)," said Sanjay Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police (South).
The case was registered at the Sarita Vihar police station in south Delhi after Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Kamini Lau had Thursday allowed police to do so.
Hospital authorities and doctors have been charged for providing false information about Rahul, the son of late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan, who was admitted to the hospital in the early hours of June 2 in a serious condition following a drink-and-drug party the previous night.
While the hospital had initially said that his toxic screen test revealed no trace of any narcotics in Rahul's blood and urine samples, the Central Forensic Science Laboratory found traces of illegal drugs like heroine and cocaine in them.
Rahul, 31, has been sent in judicial custody for 14 days.
When contacted, an Apollo official said that the hospital authorities were "cooperating with police in all possible ways".
Meanwhile, police have interrogated at least eight doctors, including Apollo's medical director Anupam Sibal.
"We have questioned the doctors more than once and are also scrutinising several documents of the hospital," Manish Aggarwal, additional deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi), told IANS.
"Since the issue is both serious and sensitive in nature, the scrutiny and the questioning process will continue for quite some time. We are trying to find out all the details of the case and the hospital is a major source for that," Aggarwal added.
Munich, June 9 (DPA) Germany captain Michael Ballack has contradicted his coach Juergen Klinsmann who had said that the midfielder would not be able to play in Germany's opening match against Costa Rica Friday.
Ballack is quoted in an article made available ahead of publication in Bild newspaper that he wanted to play. "I have had intensive treatment and I have no pain. I want to play."
"I have no pain and I have told the coach that. It is up to him whether he lets me play or not."
Earlier Thursday Klinsmann said at the final press conference ahead of the game that Ballack, 29, would not be able to play against Costa Rica. "The most important thing is to think ahead. I hope that he will be available for the second game."
Ballack did not train with the team in Munich's stadium Thursday evening.
Instead, the 29-year-old midfielder underwent a special training session with US fitness specialist Mark Verstegen.
He also underwent a scan that showed no serious damage to Ballack's right calf muscle, at the time raising hopes he will be fit in time for Germany's second Group A match, against Poland in Dortmund on Wednesday.
"It is a relief that Michael does not have a serious problem," said national team manager Oliver Bierhoff.
Ballack injured the muscle in a friendly international against Colombia last Friday and has been unable to complete a full training session since then.
Jammu, June 9 (IANS) The Jammu Police Friday registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Vinay Katiyar for attempting to incite communal violence by announcing reward money for those civilians who killed militants.
A case under section 124A/153A of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), which is equivalent to the Indian Penal Code, was registered against Katiyar at the Nowabad police station.
The case was registered following Katiyar speech Thursday in which he announced a cash reward of Rs.100,000 from the party for any civilian who killed a militant and Rs.200,000 for the family of the civilian killed by terrorists.
However, no arrest has been mader.
Katiyar is in Jammu for the BJP's "satyagraha" (court arrest) programme. Friday was the third day of the programme in which about 2,000 party workers led by former central minister Shanta Kumar courted arrest demanding protection of the minorities in the Valley.
The agitation has been launched in the aftermath of the killing of 35 Hindus in Udhampur and Doda districts April 30 and May 1.
Katiyar, in his speech at the Parade Ground here Friday, told party workers that he did not say anything that can cause hatred among the people of different communities or religions.
"We have made a universal offer to fight against militancy. This is not placing one community against the other," he said.
WASHINGTON, June 8 (NNN-ZANIS) -- The takeover of Mogadishu this week by Islamic militias marks a major defeat for the administration of US President George W. Bush, which had secretly backed a coalition of warlords.
The victors, the Union of Islamic Courts, have sought to assure the international community that they have no intention of setting up a Taliban-style fundamentalist state.
But US officials have expressed strong concerns. They say their biggest fear is that the UIC will offer safe haven to Al Qaeda and other radical Islamists as the Taliban did after it took control of Afghanistan.
However, some independent analysts believe the outcome could actually contribute to Somalia's stabilisation and even make way for the transitional national government, based in Baidoa since it was formed in 2004.
Somalia has been without a central government since dictator, Mohammed Siad Barre, was deposed in 1991. Various parts of the country are ruled by warlords.
In Nairobi, meanwhile, the Kenyan Foreign Ministry has announced a total ban on Somalia warlords responsible for the latest vicious fighting in Mogadishu from entering Kenya, accusing them of undermining Nairobi's peace efforts in Somalia.
"The government of Kenya, has with immediate effect, imposed a total ban on all forms of travel into Kenya by Somalia warlords and their associates," said the statement issued on Tuesday.
The ban came a week after the United Nations decried violation of human rights, following a militia take-over of a hospital in Mogadishu as clashes raged in the Horn of African nation which has been struggling to bring sanity and the rule of law.
Kenya chairs the seven-nation regional peace mediation grouping, the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Kenyan officials say the ban covers the warlords, some of whom are serving ministers in the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and their associates.
"We would not allow our territory to be used by individuals who are destabilising their country thus undermining ongoing efforts to restore normalcy in the lawless Horn of African nation," said the statement.
"The government would like to reiterate its previously stated positions that it will not permit its territory to be used by those who persist in destabilising Somalia and undermine our ongoing efforts to restore peace and security in that country," it added.
The statement did not name the warlords or associates affected by the ban, but Kenyan authorities said it targeted members of the US-supported Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter- Terrorism (ARPCT) who were sacked by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi last Sunday.
They include National Security Minister Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, Commerce Minister Musa Sudi Yalahow, Militia Rehabilitation Minister Issa Botan Alin and Religious Affairs Minister, Omar Muhamoud 'Finnish.'
The transitional government, which was formed in Kenya, is based in Baidoa, 250 km southwest of Mogadishu, and has been working with IGAD, the African Union and the international community to develop a national security and stabilisation plan for Somalia.
Kenya hosted the peace talks that led the creation of the transitional government in 2004 and was its home in exile for a year.
The drastic step comes in the wake of claims by the Somali Islamic Courts that they had won the battle for Mogadishu against s a US-backed Somali warlord alliance, which vowed to resist Islamist militias that claimed to have seized control of Mogadishu on Monday.
It also came as UN top envoy in Somalia called on Islamic forces, to enter into talks with all parties in an effort to bring stability to a country that has been torn by factional fighting for the past 15 years.
The Islamic militia is gaining ground just as the UN-backed interim government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa. The militia is the first group to consolidate control over all of Mogadishu's neighbourhoods since the last government collapsed in 1991 and warlords took over, dividing this impoverished country of 8 million people into rival fiefdoms.
Somali warlords, who have ruled much of the lawless African nation since it plunged into chaos with the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, own property neighbouring Kenya or have assets and investments here.
Hyderabad, June 9 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Friday said India should take a lead in building world opinion for restoring international financial aid to Palestinian Authority and the need to address the larger issue of a homeland for its people.
Terming as 'utterly condemnable' the stand of Israel, the US and European Union in cutting off funds to the Palestinian Authority after the Hamas formed the government, the party urged the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to take a categorical stand that the wishes of the Palestinian people should be respected and all financial allocations to them should be restored.
The central committee of CPI-M, which is meeting here, lamented that the UPA government had not condemned the stance of Israel and the US.
It discussed the issue and expressed solidarity with Palestinians in their long and justified struggle for homeland.
The party asked the government to send more aid to Palestine.
"In response to the criticism of the Left parties, the government has announced a token contribution for Palestine but we are not happy with this," said CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechuri.
Briefing reporters about the discussions on the second day of the three-day meet, he said the Left parties would collect funds for Palestinians, if necessary.
The meeting decided to send a delegation of MPs to Palestine to study the situation and to express solidarity with the Palestinians. It authorised its party politburo to finalise the delegation with other Left parties.
"Israel has stopped giving $50 million collected per month which is tax and customs revenue that belongs to the Palestinian Authority. This immoral effort to starve Palestinian people into submission is against all international and humanitarian norms," said a statement released by the party.
"The US says it is committed to strengthen democracy around the world. It has set up UN democracy fund for this purpose but when Hamas won the elections through democratic means, it has cut all the aid. This stand is utterly condemnable," says Yechuri.
He dismissed allegations against Left parties that they were communalising foreign policy by raising issues of Palestine and Iran.
"If anybody is communalising the foreign policy, it is US and its President George Bush who has claimed that God ordered him to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Those who are accusing us of communalising foreign policy should know whom they are supporting," he said.
New York, June 9 (IANS) Disaster victims are prone to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), says a study.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a collection of disruptive, intrusive symptoms expressed by those who have suffered personal trauma. The symptoms include flashbacks, recurrent dreams of the event, survival guilt and hyper-vigilance, the study found.
Researchers led by Sandro Galea at the Institute for Social Research, one of the world's oldest survey research organisations, reviewed studies conducted in the aftermath of disasters during the past 40 years and found that more than one third of disaster victims may suffer from stress disorder, reported the science portal EurekAlert.
According to them, while 30-40 percent of adults who were directly affected may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, approximately 10-20 percent of rescue workers and 5-10 percent of the general population may also experience the disease.
"Our analysis also shows that the most important risk factors for the development of PTSD are the extent of exposure to the disaster and the scope of the disaster," said Galea.
Although the prevalence of PTSD has previously been found to be higher after human-made and technological disasters than after natural disasters, Galea said this difference is largely due to differences in sampling.
"Most studies conducted after human-made and technological disasters have focused on direct victims, while studies of natural disasters typically include samples of people in the overall community who probably had substantially lower exposure to the disaster."
Women consistently have a higher prevalence of PTSD after disasters than men, as do persons with pre-existing or concurrent psychiatric disorders and those who have previously experienced traumatic events or substantial stress, noted Galea
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Kuwait and India are set to take political and economic ties to a new level when Kuwait's ruler Amir Shaikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah comes here on a state visit next week.
Although all bilateral and regional issues will be discussed, the focus of the Amir's six-day visit from June 14 will be on accelerating two-way business and investment. Kuwait is home to over half a million Indian workers.
Al-Sabah will be accompanied by a Kuwaiti business delegation and top ministers and officials.
Bilateral agreements on promotion of business and greater cooperation in sectors of the knowledge industry like IT and telecom may be signed during the Amir's visit, official sources told IANS.
Al-Sabah will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including welfare of Indian workers in the oil sheikhdom.
Excluding oil, India-Kuwait bilateral trade was almost $700 million in 2004-05. Kuwait provided about 11 million tonnes of crude oil and 1.25 million tonnes of oil products worth around $4.5 billion.
"The government of India looks forward to the visit of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait and his delegation. The visit would substantially strengthen bilateral ties and raise them to a new height," a statement from the Indian external affairs ministry.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, June 9 (IANS) President George W. Bush has set up a task force on "New Americans" to expand English, civics and history lessons as part of a plan to help some 10 to 12 million illegal immigrants, including a few Indians, gain a path to citizenship.
Essentially aimed at Spanish speaking illegals from Mexico, the move gives the few Indians and other English knowing Asians a head start to become assimilated in American society.
Creation of the new task force is aimed at pushing "assimilation", considered critical by President Bush both for the nation and for those who have entered its borders. In his view, deporting millions of people to their home countries is "impractical, it's not going to work, and it's not necessary".
"One aspect of making sure we have an immigration system that works, that's orderly and fair, is to actively reach out and help people assimilate into our country," Bush said during the course of a campaign-style trip to sell his immigration bill to the public and to sceptical conservatives in the US Congress.
"That means learn the values and history and language of America," he said. "You got to repay a debt to society and learn the skills necessary to assimilate into our society. Show us you've been working hard."
While no budget has been provided for the new task force, the president's fresh emphasis on assimilation is considered part of a strategy to sell what Bush calls "comprehensive immigration reform" to both sides of the political divide in Congress.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will lead the task force, which will work to consolidate and expand existing federal efforts and look for the best practices among nongovernmental organisations.
Bush acknowledged that a proposed road to citizenship is "the ultimate stumbling block" to congressional approval of his immigration reforms.
Supporters of the move suggest that requiring illegal immigrants to learn English is an important step to make the voters understand that such a pathway to citizenship is not amnesty. They also note that aliens seeking citizenship would have to pay back taxes and a small fine.
While the Senate, mostly on the strength of Democratic votes, recently passed a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship, House Republicans, joined by three dozen Democrats, passed an immigration reform bill last year that seeks only tighter border enforcement.
Of late, wherever the president goes, Bush explains the importance of English to one's success. "It's hard to run your own business unless you can speak English," he said, acknowledging the difficulty in learning a new language.
A 2004 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that 57 percent of Hispanics felt they had to learn English to be part of American society, while 41 percent said they did not think it was necessary.
Guwahati, June 9 (IANS) Floods triggered by monsoon rains in Assam have displaced some 66,000 people in the northeastern state, all the major rivers being in spate, officials Friday said.
A total area of about 13,000 hectares of land has come under the floodwaters, an official statement said.
"The affected people have been shifted to safer places with relief materials distributed among the flood-hit victims," it said.
No casualties have been reported so far. The worst hit by the floods, which began May 31, are the eastern district of Nagaon and western Nalbari district. The districts of Dhemaji, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Karimganj and Hailakandi have also been hit.
The Brahmaputra river has spilled its banks along Majuli, the world's largest river island, 350 km from Guwahati.
"At least 8,000 hectares of land, including 3,050 hectares of agricultural area, have been submerged in Majuli due to flooding," the statement said. Road and rail communications have been hit in some parts of Assam with floodwaters overtopping highways and breaching rail tracks.
According to a Central Water Commission bulletin, the main river Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level in at least six places.
The 2,906 km-long Brahmaputra is one of Asia's largest rivers that traverses its first stretch of 1,625 km in China's Tibet region, the next 918 km in India and the remaining 363 km through neighbouring Bangladesh before converging into the Bay of Bengal.
Every year the floods leave a trail of destruction, washing away villages, submerging paddy fields and drowning livestock, besides causing loss of human life and property, in the remote state of 26 million.
The monsoon was scattered in Assam last year thereby sparing millions of people from the ravaging floods. In 2004, at least 200 people died and more than 12 million were displaced in the floods.
Bhopal, June 9 (IANS) Several government officials in Madhya Pradesh's Indore town have obtained fake caste certificates to secure jobs through reservation benefits and the police have now promised strict action against the guilty.
"A list containing names of 40 such government employees and officials who have allegedly secured jobs by obtaining fake caste certificates has been sent to the state tribal welfare commissioner's office," said a tribal welfare department official.
However, such people are employed in cities across the country and not just in Indore alone. They are working at places as far as New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata and companies as important as Indian Airlines, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), and State Bank of India, amongst others.
Further, in certain cases it was noticed that members of the same family had certificates from different places. "This can't be the handiwork of one person and more than one official is involved in issuing such certificates", said the official.
"The list of those accused of being employed on the basis of fake certificates was prepared by the department's Indore office early this year and sent to the commissioner's office on March 6, 2006. Further investigations by the state head quarters are underway and action may be taken any time," said Indore office convenor R.N. Johny.
A copy of the same has also been sent to Indore Police Superintendent Adarsh Katiyar. "Our men are looking into the complaint and appropriate action will be taken against those found guilty," he said.
Kolkata, June 9 (IANS) The government is shifting its focus from the curative mode of healthcare to the preventive one, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said here Friday.
"Children will be administered all viable vaccines, including those for Hepatitis B and Japanese Encephalitis. We are switching over to the preventive mode of medicare," Ramadoss said after dedicating the Diarrhoeal Disease Research and Control Centre to the nation.
He said diarrhoeal diseases claim 0.7 million lives of children every year, thus emerging as the second largest killer in the country after respiratory diseases.
The new centre has come up in collaboration with the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Japanese government has extended a grant-in-aid of Rs.920 million for the its construction.
Ramadoss said the centre would soon launch an Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) to bring a few diseases under the surveillance programme.
"Eleven parameters have been fixed for the purpose. Incidence of polio, HIV/AIDS, cholera, cardiovascular diseases and even road accidents will be brought under its purview," he said.
"Within five hours of outbreak of any disease it will be notified and action will be taken immediately. All the districts of the country will be connected through satellite links for better surveillance. The total project cost is estimated at Rs.3.5 billion," he said.
To supplement the IDSP, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases would be expanded and renamed as National Centre for Disease Control, the minister said.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon be made a separate department in the health ministry, which will be re-christened as ministry of health & family welfare and medical research, he said.
Talking on the sidelines of the programme, Ramadoss said that under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) medical facilities in two blocks in every district will be upgraded and medical mobile vans will be provided.
He said the cabinet had recently cleared a Rs.1.2 billion project for setting up six new referral and research institutes, one of which will be based in Kolkata. Moreover, a Rs.45 billion project will be taken up for expansion of 11 more institutes, he said.
Mumbai, June 9 (IANS) The Income Tax (IT) department Friday denied that it had served any notice to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan asking him to explain the purchase of Ray Ban glasses worth Rs.270,000 as reported in a section of the media.
"We clarify that the Income Tax department, Mumbai has not issued any notice to Amitabh Bachchan with reference to media reports that the actor had purchased sun glasses in New York valued at Rs.270,000," H. Tulsyan, Chief Commissioner Income Tax Mumbai, told IANS.
"There were several misleading reports in certain sections of the media. The media has been reporting that Income Tax department Mumbai has issued a notice asking the actor to explain the purchase of sun glasses in New York. We have not issued any such notice to Amitabh Bachchan," he added.
Amitabh used the branded glasses in his new film "Zamanat" due to hit theatres next week.
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Indian officials Friday dismissed a media report that claimed the US had given its nod for test firing the nuclear-capable Agni-III intercontinental ballistic missile, saying this was only the interpretation of Washington think tank Stratfor.
"The think tank has interpreted a statement Gen. Peter Pace (chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff) made here (this week) to imply that the US had given its go ahead for the test. India has made it amply clear that we have imposed a voluntary ban on testing and that is where the matter stands," a defence ministry official said.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India would publicly announce the Agni-III test firing when it happens
"As and when this test takes place, you will come to know. There cannot be any premature publicity," Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of a defence awards function here.
Pace, while replying to a question on Agni-III at a press conference here Monday, had said: "India is a sovereign nation and can decide for itself what weapons it needs. Missile tests do not necessarily destabilise the region".
The think tank has taken this as tacit US approval for the test, the official said.
Media reports last month said the Agni-III test flight had been put off under pressure from Washington, which felt this would send all the wrong signals at a time when the US Congress, as also the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), were considering the proposed India-US civilian nuclear deal.
Mukherjee had immediately rubbished the suggestion.
"We have no pressure on us. We have decided on a self-imposed restraint," Mukherjee said May 15.
"As responsible members of the international community, we want to keep our international commitments on non-proliferation," he added.
There have been indications since 2004 that Agni-III, a three-stage missile that adds a third stage to the first and second stages of Agni-II, was ready for launch.
Deployed from rail or road mobile launch vehicles, Agni-III is understood to be equipped with inertial guidance systems with improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation systems.
This would give it a high degree of accuracy with a medium to large nuclear payload of between 200 and 300 kilo tonnes (KT).
The Agni-I, with a range of 700-800 km, and Agni-II, with a 2,000 km range, have already been inducted in the Indian Army as part of country's minimum deterrent.
Agni-I is Pakistan specific while Agni-II and Agni-III are meant to counter threats from China.
Vienna, June 9 (DPA) Despite negotiations with Western countries over its nuclear programme, Iran has continued to enrich uranium as recently as this week, a confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) leaked in Vienna showed.
According to the report, Iranian nuclear technicians at the Natanz nuclear facility fed the enrichment gas uranium hexaflouride (UF6) into 164 centrifuges on Tuesday.
The report also said new production lines for centrifuges were being built at Natanz and that the Tehran government had refused to let activities at the facility be supervised by cameras.
The board of governors of the UN nuclear watchdog is set to discuss the report in the coming week.
Qazvin, June 9, IRNA,Iran will not negotiate its inalienable rights, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Thursday night.
President Ahmadinejad, who arrived in the northwestern province of Qazvin Thursday morning along with members of his cabinet, made the remark while addressing families of martyrs and war veterans of the province.
"We intend to hold talks (with states) on international issues.
(Certain countries) spread propaganda that if they officially recognize Iran's right to have access to nuclear fuel cycle, it will be tantamount to giving a major concession to our nation.
"They should not think that if they hold talks with Iran, it means they have given a concession to the country.
"They should know that it is the Iranian nation which accepts to negotiate with them on international issues. This is the Iranian nation who is giving procession to them," he said.
He added, "They make decisions against Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. We intend to hold talks with them on roots of corruption, discrimination and cruelties.
"In that case, peace will be established in the world and nations throughout the world will enjoy welfare.
"The Iranian nation insists on its inalienable rights and will never give them up."
The president stated, "Our nation raises flag of invitation to justice and humanity. My letter to (the US President George W.
Bush) has been written about increasing problems in the world." Head of Supreme National Security Council further added the Iranian nation is powerful and a real superpower.
The president and his cabinet ministers are scheduled to hold a session in the provincial capital by the same name (Qazvin) to discuss provincial problems and needs before rounding up their two-day visit.
President Ahmadinejad's current provincial visit is his 14th to various provinces of the country since the start of his initiative of bringing the government closer to the people.
He and his cabinet have already visited the provinces of South Khorasan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ilam, Qom, Hormuzgan, Bushehr, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari, Lorestan, Golestan, Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad and Khorassan Razavi, Zanjan, and Markazi.
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) India Friday imparted a "new dimension and dynamism" to its relations with Nepal by announcing a massive package - estimated to be over $200 million - for the socio-economic development of the Himalayan state and pledging full support for the restoration of political stability in the neighbouring country.
"The Prime Minister of India (Manmohan Singh) conveyed India's readiness to render all possible assistance to Nepal in that direction, in accordance with the priorities and wishes of the government of Nepal," said a joint statement at the end of the four-day official visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.
"The prime ministers agreed to enhance the India-Nepal development partnership for expanding rural and economic infrastructures, developing education and healthcare facilities, and building human resources in Nepal," the statement said.
Koirala left for Kathmandu Friday evening, wrapping up his historic visit that began Tuesday evening with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a departure from protocol, going personally to the airport to receive the elder statesman of Nepal.
In a generous gesture, India extended an immediate one-time grant of $21.7 million (Rs.1 billion) as budgetary support and offered a soft credit line of $100 million for executing infrastructure development projects.
New Delhi also enhanced its "Aid to Nepal" budget for the current financial year from over $14 million (Rs.650 million) to over $42 million (Rs.1.5 billion) annually and waived the dues on account of defence purchases.
Besides, India offered a spate of concessions, including the exemption of the four percent additional customs duties for Nepalese exports to India.
New Delhi also decided to arrange immediately supply of 25,000 tonnes of fertilizers to Nepal at subsidized prices and to accelerate the release of funds to Nepal under the Duty Refund Procedure Scheme.
The IndianOil Corporation will work out with Nepal Oil Corporation modalities for rescheduling the dues owed to it on account of oil supplies, said the joint statement.
Stepping up its involvement in the social sector, India has also decided to double the number of scholarships for Nepalese students, including for girls.
What was striking about New Delhi's hefty package was its will to assist in long-term economic rejuvenation of Nepal through the development of mega infrastructure projects in the areas of roads, railway linkages, border infrastructure, water resources and construction of an oil pipeline, special economic zone and airport upgrades.
India's new developmental partnership, that included developing human resource and expanding infrastructure, formed the leitmotif of Koirala's visit to India at a time when his country was embarking on a historic transformation into a confident democratic state.
This theme was reflected in the joint statement.
"The prime ministers agreed to enhance the India-Nepal development partnership for expanding rural and economic infrastructures, developing education and healthcare facilities, and building human resources in Nepal."
India was also unequivocal in support of pro-democracy Seven Party Alliance (SPA) headed by Koirala and the peace initiative taken by his government to bring the Maoist rebels into the democratic fold.
"The restoration of democracy in Nepal provided a historic opportunity for a qualitative enhancement of bilateral relations between the two countries," said the statement.
Manmohan Singh "commended the recent initiatives taken by the government of Nepal to bring about peace, stability and return to the path of economic recovery."
Describing Koirala's visit as of "great historical significance," Manmohan Singh offered his full support to the SPA in creating "a stable, peaceful, democratic and prosperous Nepal".
Koirala profusely thanked India for its support in Nepal's "peaceful struggle for restoration of democracy".
The octogenarian leader also met Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and "sorted out" all issues relating to defence cooperation between the two countries.
During his visit, Koirala met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, ruling United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani.
Berlin, June 9 (DPA) Farmers may be committing suicide in India, but sales of Mercedes-Benz are booming in the country.
The sales have jumped by 16 percent on average over the last five years. This, experts say, is part of a boom in sales of luxury goods around the world, thanks to a new class of super rich in Asia, the Middle East and eastern Europe.
Like China and other emerging economies, India's high-octane economic growth rates have helped to create a new sense of wealth and prosperity as well as brand consciousness in a section of society.
The result has been a flood of designer shops from Gucci through to Valentino, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel along with leading watch brand makers such as Tag Heuer and Cartier popping up in major cities across India.
Whether it is yachts, premium car brands, champagne, Haute Couture fashion, high-priced liquor and wines or perfumes and handcrafted watches, reports from companies making high-end products point to a robust 2006 for their industry after a solid start to the year.
Highlighting the arrival of a new wealthy elite in China, luxury German car group Audi said this week that sales in Asia's new powerhouse economy surged by 65 percent in May and almost doubled over the last five months.
Having already forged a presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, legendary New York retailer Saks Fifth Avenue is to become the first US department store to open in China.
Analysts said that China could represent 10 percent of the world luxury goods market by 2015 with the numbers of Chinese dollar millionaires growing at 12 percent annually.
Worldwide sales of luxury goods are expected to average about six percent in the run up to the end of the decade, international consulting group Bain & Co said in a report released this week, with the sector growing by a solid nine percent in Asia.
This has been borne out by a recent string of reports from the corporate high priests of luxury goods with France's Hermes International saying it was aiming for 10 percent annual sales growth in the coming years and New York's venerable Tiffany & Co reporting double-digit first-quarter international sales expansion.
Paris-based luxury goods powerhouse LVMH said first-quarter sales jumped by 15 percent partly driven by strong demand from Asia as well as Europe.
"All business groups recorded strong progress, continuing the trends observed in 2005," LVMH said confirming that it expects to turn in "significant growth" for 2006 as a whole.
The current buoyant state of the global luxury goods sector is in marked contrast to recent years when Europe's economy was battling to emerge from a protracted period of stagnation and concerns were growing about the threat posed by risks such as SARS and war in Iraq.
Now, apparently unperturbed by soaring oil prices and rising interest rates, emerging markets around the world have been joining key markets in the US, Europe and Japan to chalk up big sales of luxury goods on the back of the international economy's recent healthy growth rates.
Munich, June 9 (DPA) German police mounted an all-out security operation Friday at the opening game of the football World Cup, with 3,000 officers deployed to watch out for potential terrorists, hooligans and pickpockets.
Under a zero-tolerance policy, "violence-prone" fans were to be detained.
Armed with lists of known troublemakers, the police aimed to catch any violent fans on highways and trains before they reached the southern city where Germany was playing Costa Rica.
One of the city's abiding traumas is the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics, which killed 11 Israeli athletes.
Five terrorists and a German policeman were also killed in that tragedy.
"The events of 1972 are a very painful memory for us," said Munich's chief of police, Wilhelm Schmidbauer, as he described the security regime to ensure there would be no repeat.
In the sky above the city, AWACS planes provided by NATO were enforcing an air exclusion zone in a radius 56 km around the World Cup stadium, using radar to survey all flying objects.
German air force interceptors were cruising nearby, ready to act just in case anyone decided to use an aircraft to disrupt the game.
Islamic fundamentalists throughout Germany have been under observation for weeks just in case any attack is being cooked up.
"We don't want to leave anything to chance," said Schmidbauer. "It can only be a fun occasion if it is a safe one."
He also warned fans to keep an eye on wallets, with petty thieves likely to have a field day in excited crowds.
At the stadium, where 1,400 performers were taking part in the opening ceremony, police and security guards not only had to protect the players on the pitch but also hundreds of celebrities, among them Iranian Vice President Mohammed Aliabadi, in the stands.
The German government refuses to meet with Aliabadi but police were to protect him the same way as any other visiting VIP.
Not only was the stadium, which is home to clubs Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich, under tight security, but also a free public viewing area for 20,000 people at the Olympic Park, where the two city clubs used to play.
Hours before the game, thousands had gathered on the lakeside at a nine-metre-wide screen, which was to show the game live.
All 56 games of the World Cup will be screened live at the Park, where there is a memorial plaque to the victims of the 1972 attack. Police have warned fans in advance to carry identity papers in case police check them.
Some 300 foreign police are also on duty in Germany during the Cup, with the same powers to demand ID and arrest as German police.
Munich's deputy chief of police, Jens Viering, said it would more difficult to police Olympia Park than the stadium "where the situation is well structured".
At the park, there were fears of brawls on the lawns between rival groups of fans.
Police chief Schmidbauer said the police would "show the red card" to the hooligans, of whom 300 Germans have been banned outright from all stadiums during the World Cup.
If they came to town, they would be detained under police powers to forestall crime.
Other nations, such as Britain, have confiscated passports of many hooligans.
Patrols of uniformed police were also to be stepped up in downtown Munich that is famed worldwide for its beer-halls, and an unknown number of plain-clothes police were to be deployed to keep an eye on the crowds.
The Munich security operation has been in planning for five years and vacation has been banned for all the 7,000 police in the city.
Berlin, June 9 (DPA) Although the World Cup is "a time to make friends", activists have voiced concerns about possible racist attacks during the games, and a website is offering tips to visitors.
Several NGOs and rights activists have criticised the German government and FIFA, the international football federation, for their failure to make special provisions for victims of racist attacks during the month-long sporting event.
To aid the thousands of visitors, several German NGOs have set up emergency hotlines. Two rights organisations have launched a website that gives helpful advice.
The site, www.prevent-racist-attack.org, has been up and running since Wednesday in five languages.
It warns of particular danger of racist attacks against people travelling in Germany's economically depressed regions and adds "extra care is important at night".
"We are advising particular care if you are stopping in east Germany and in parts of east Berlin," suggests the site jointly operated by the International League of Human Rights and the Africa Council, both with a mission of fighting racism.
The best means for preventing or dealing with a racist attack is travelling in groups, asking onlookers for help, and in some cases doing something unexpected, it advises.
German anti-racism activists have criticised FIFA, the German World Cup organising committee and the government for not preparing any special measures to assist victims of racism at the World Cup.
Several weeks before the World Cup began, Uwe-Karsten Heye, a former government spokesman predicted attacks against dark-skinned fans by German rightwing extremists.
Though his remarks were sharply criticised by the government and World Cup officials, the issue took on added significance after an attack in a Berlin suburb against a German politician of ethnic Turk extraction.
"Heye was very brave to say what he did, silence is shame," said Yonas Endrias, a spokesman for the Human Rights League.
The danger of violence against persons of colour in east Germany and east Berlin is dramatically higher than in the west of the country, said Judy Gummich of the Africa Council, an umbrella grouping representing 25 ethnic minority groups in Berlin and the German state of Brandenburg.
Endrias, who was born in Eritrea but has lived in Germany more than 25 years, rejected traditional explanations of racism attacks in Germany - destitution and joblessness - as the sole reasons for the continuing violence.
"Racism is a social problem," the political scientist said.
--DPA
Kolkata, June 9 (IANS) Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss Friday urged film stars, sportspersons and other celebrities to desist from endorsing soft drinks in the larger interest of public health.
Addressing the inaugural programme of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central Food Laboratory (CFL) here, he underlined the need for a strong food safety and regulatory mechanism to protect the vast population of the country as well as compete with the international food standards.
He unveiled a Rs.3.7 billion package for modernisation of food and drug laboratories across the country.
Ramadoss announced that the central government would soon come out with an Integrated Food Law merging the present Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA) and repealing several existing laws of the food sector.
Thiruvananthapuram, June 9 (IANS) The Indian overseas affairs ministry has decided to set up a research unit here in Kerala to study various aspects of international migration with a focus on the vast Indian diaspora.
Minister of Indian Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi will inaugurate the unit at a function to be held at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Thiruvananthapuram (CDS) June 12, an official release said Friday.
"Ravi will sign an agreement with the CDS to set up on the research unit," said Irudayarajan, a CDS fellow who will head the new centre as chair professor.
Irudayarajan and the CDS have done pioneering studies on the impact of migration that have revealed that there are more than two million Keralites currently working outside the country, with close to 90 percent of them in the Gulf.
Annual remittances from these non-resident Keralites have reached the Rs.200 billion mark - close to 25 percent of the net domestic product of the state.
"To start with, we intend to follow up our earlier studies. We will certainly prepare a detailed plan on the working of the unit," Irudayarajan said.
New Delhi, June 9 (IANS) Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh Friday accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi of "masterminding a witch-hunt" against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
"Everything is done at the instruction of Soniaji," Singh said referring to the Supreme Court's direction to Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, to submit details of his income tax returns within four weeks.
The court order came Wednesday after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) moved by Vishwa Mohan Chaturvedi, a social activist, which accuses Yadav of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
"She has masterminded the witch-hunt against our party leaders," Singh said at a press conference here, adding that Chaturvedi was a close associate of many senior Congress leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
"He (Chaturvedi) has counted even our party offices as Mulyalam Singh's wealth. How is it possible? Can the sprawling bungalows in Delhi used by the Congress party be counted as Sonia Gandhi's properties?"
Incidentally, the Samajwadi Party supports the Congress-led coalition government from outside.
Singh, who had earlier accused Gandhi of having his telephones tapped, said the Supreme Court should ask who were funding Gandhi and her son Rahul's foreign trips.
"According to the affidavits they filed before the Election Commission, Sonia Gandhi did not own a car, she had only Rs.20,000 in her accounts. If she does not have a car, how is she commuting? By bullock cart?"
"Where is the money coming from for Rahul baba's expensive bikes? Is it coming from uncle Quattrocchi?" he asked sarcastically referring to Swedish businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi who had been accused in the Bofors pay off case.
"Now the country is divided into two - those who support Sonia Gandhi and those who oppose. Those who support her can get away with anything and the second lot would be harassed for everything."
London, June 9 (IANS) Simple arm exercises could help beat peripheral vascular disease - a blood circulation problem that causes severe leg pain, says a study.
John Saxton and other researchers from Sheffield Hallam University's centre for sport and exercise science studied more than 100 patients aged between 50 and 85 with peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
The scientists found that the cardiovascular function and walking ability of the patients improved after they took part in arm exercises, the science portal News-Medial reported.
This is the first large-scale trial of its kind to show that a regular workout of the upper body can help ease the chronic leg pain associated with PVD.
Peripheral vascular disease occurs when the arteries narrow or become blocked with fatty material. The artery can become so narrow that it cannot deliver enough oxygen-containing blood to the legs during walking exercise.
This results in leg pain known as intermittent claudication and forces the person to stop and rest until it passes. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and a poor diet are high risk factors in this disease.
The scientists said simple arm exercises could help beat a crippling leg condition that affects one in 20 people over the age of 55 in Britain.
Patna, June 9 (IANS) Trial in cases against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin will begin inside jail premises soon with the Bihar government setting up two special courts inside prison.
Shahabuddin is lodged in Siwan jail in his home district.
Official sources said Friday the law department had issued a notification for setting up a District and Sessions Judge Court and another Judicial Magistrate's Court inside Siwan jail for speedy trial.
Shahabuddin, a Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, faces charges in over 40 criminal cases, including those relating to murder, abduction, possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles. He is also facing charges of sedition.
"The trial would begin in a day or two in the special courts," said home secretary Afzal Amanullah.
He said separate rooms inside Siwan jail had been converted into courtrooms for the purpose and the Patna High Court had appointed judges for the two courts.
According to official sources eight cases would be tried on a priority basis in the special courts.
Last month Shahabuddin was shifted to Siwan jail from the high security Bhagalpur prison in the wake of a Patna High Court directive to speed up the trial of cases against him.
Officials said the government decided to try Shahabuddin inside the jail in view of the security risks involved in taking him to the district courts and also because of his health problems.
Shahabuddin is said to be suffering from acute spinal pain. Earlier, he had failed to appear before the Siwan court due to health problems.
Srinagar, June 9 (IANS) A general strike called by the Hurriyat Conference against the arrest of its chairman Syed Ali Geelani paralysed life in Jammu and Kashmir Friday.
Geelani was arrested Wednesday in Poonch town and remanded in judicial custody till June 29 in connection with cases of inciting communal tension. These cases were registered against him 5 years ago.
Shops in summer capital Srinagar and other towns remained shut while skeletal transport plied on the roads. Most of the state government offices, banks and educational institutions also remained closed.
Frontline Hizbul Mujaheedin supported the strike.
The authorities in the Valley had made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order.
By T.R. Ramakrishnan,
Gros Islet (St. Lucia), June 9 (IANS) St. Lucia is not one of West Indies' traditional cricketing centres. No St. Lucian has played Test cricket for West Indies and the second Test against India, beginning at the Beausejour Stadium here Saturday, is only the third to be played on the island. (The first two were against Sri Lanka (2003) and Bangladesh (2004) and both were drawn).
But that has not prevented the island from having a wonderful stadium. It is spectacularly located, nestled in a stretch of flat land between green, green low-rise hills, and has world-class facilities, including lights, which made it an easy for next year's World Cup organisers to choose it as a venue for one of the semi-finals.
The Indian team played a four-day game here in their last tour in 2002. Skipper Rahul Dravid, who did not play that match, said the stadium was new then and that wicket would not be any basis to make a judgement of the current state of the pitch.
On Thursday morning, when the Indian team reached the stadium at about nine for a serious practice session, the pitch had a lot of grass on it. With two days to go for the start of the Test, it was obvious that there will be work done on it.
As Dravid observed: "It's very hard to read it 48 hours in advance. We'll have a look at it tomorrow and see what it's like before we decide on the right combination for the Test."
But from what Dravid said later during his chat with journalists, that the "wickets here (in the West Indies) are not going to be in favour our spinners too much", it doesn't seem likely that there will be any change in the combination. So it is possible that there will be only one change in the side - Irfan Pathan coming in for the injured S. Sreesanth.
According to the locals, the wicket is a batting track. Ishwar Maharaj, born in Trinidad, grown up in Canada (for whom he played in the 2003 World Cup) and now settled in St. Lucia, was one of the net bowlers as the Indians had a three-hour plus practice session. He said that the Beausejour wicket was one of the best batting tracks in the Caribbean.
So it was good to see coach Greg Chappell giving the Indian top order a special tutorial. Surrounded by the top six (Virender Sehwag, Wasim Jaffer, V.V.S. Laxman, Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif), he spoke about and demonstrated, for over 15 minutes, the importance of balance and footwork in building up a long innings.
Sehwag, who came in for special attention during the lesson, and Jaffer will have vital roles to play in the Test, for according to Dravid, the key to the Test is to start well.
Said Dravid: "The game starts new. It doesn't matter what happened in the first Test. We can take heart from a few things but the important thing is to start well."
BAGHDAD, June 8 (NNN-KUNA) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Malki announced on Thursday that government troops have located dead body of Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi, two women and five of his male aides in a house used as a hideout after it was struck in an air strike.
Meanwhile on the streets of Baghdad, citizens celebrated the eventful news about the death of the notorious insurgency leader, responsible for a long chain of savage violence on the Iraqi arena that has claimed thousands of innocent lives.
Joy filled Baghdad's streets on a hot day, as gun shots sounded through the air, and cars packed with overjoyed Iraqi's roamed the streets. Many Iraqis shared sweets with people outside their homes, and civil organisations paraded as they condemned violence chanting "death to Al-Zarqawi and Saddamites."
The prime minister, in a statement, said Iraqi citizens had informed the authorities about Al-Zarqawi's whereabouts, ahead of the air strike on the hideout where he was found dead along with two women and five of his aides in the region of Hebheb.
A presidential spokesman denied reports that the air strike that took the life of the leading notorious insurgency chief was carried out as a result of a tip-off provided by the Jordanian intelligence.
The information about his whereabouts were provided by natives of the region where he was hiding along with his aides, the spokesman said.
Earlier, while speaking at a news conferece, Al-Malki declared, "today Al-Zarqawi has been finished." He added that Al-Zarqawi was killed in an American air strike north of the town of Baacouba.
The killing of the notorious insurgent constituted a message to all those involved in the insurgency against the state, he said, and vowed to pursue the "political process," he said.
He also vowed to "face all kinds of challenges ... the sole road for the prospertiy of the Iraqi people is by means of unity and national conciliation because all the Iraqis are in one boat and it must anchor at the safe beach … I thank all my citizens for their services and coordination and I also thank the armed forces and the army and the Multi-National Forces for their leading role.
"We will meet you on other occasions of victories God's willing."
Speaking at the same news conference, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, said Al-Zarqawi's death "did not end violence in Iraq but is a step in the right direction and is a good omen for Iraq, the prime minister and efforts of the global war against terrorism."
He affirmed that there are difficulties ahead, but the authorities will continue to fight terrorism and who want Iraq to fail.
The ambassador called for bringing sectarian violence to an end "in order for Iraq to unite."
George W. Casey Jr., the top US commander in Iraq, who also spoke at the conference, confirmed the death of Zarqawi saying that he was identified through facial recognition and finger prints.
He added that Zarqawi worked on undermining the coalition efforts for stability in Iraq and killed thousands of innocent people.
"Although Zarqawi is dead the terrorist organisations are still a threat against Iraq's stability and prosperity," he said, adding that the Iraqi forces, along with the coalition troops, would continue to hunt terrorists until terrorism in Iraq is eradicated.
Casey added that Zarqawi was killed in the area of Hebheb in Diyala in a wooded area, and that pictures of the operation would be made public later. The US official noted that seven people were killed in the same operation and that the scene of the action was still "being excavated" to determine exact toll of losses.
Al-Malki added that the killing of Al-Zarqawi would contitute "a strong boost for the efforts against terrorism .. it is a negative message to those betting on using terrorists and undermining stability of the country."
"This is an open battle between us and all those who seek to instigate sectarianism," the premier added, clarifying that the operation was preceded with tip-offs from civilians.
Al-Zarqawi was an extremist Islamic militant and leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network in Iraq, and had claimed responsibility for numerous acts of violence in Iraq, including the killing of civilians, kidnappings, and the beheading of hostages in Iraq.
He was opposed the presence of US, Israeli and Western military forces in the Muslim world, and in September 2005, he declared war on Shiite Muslims in Iraq, and is thus believed to have been responsible for suicide bombings in Iraqi areas with large populations of Shiites.
Ahmedabad, June 9 (IANS) The anti-terrorist squad (ATS) of the Gujarat Police here Friday arrested two youth for their alleged links with militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).
According to the ATS, Sheikh Umar Farooq Mohammed Nuruddin and Vakil alias Ali Mohammed Saiyad were planning to carry out attacks on important places in Gujarat like Somnath Temple, Akshardham Temple, the offices of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal besides blowing up the Sabarmati railway bridge and disrupting the Kandla-Bhatinda oil pipeline.
The youth were associated with two LeT militants Ubaidulla Chhipa and Firoz Ghaswala, who were caught in Delhi and brought here Friday morning, Deputy Inspector General (ATS) D.G. Vanjhara told reporters.
He said the LeT operatives were functioning from Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
"They went to Pakistan via Iran for their training, after which they came back to India and tried to smuggle RDX, detonators and Rs.50,000 to Delhi. Yusuf, their associate who helped in bringing the explosives into Kutch, was also nabbed earlier," added Vanjhara.
The police say the terrorist forces operating from Pakistan lure local Muslim youths to terrorism by promising to help them avenge the post-Godhra communal violence of 2002, in which at least 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, lost their lives.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, June 9 (IANS) Big businesses in the United States are upbeat about India and ready to make mega investments to expand capacities and go in for fresh green field projects, particularly in the petrochemical sector, according to a visiting Indian minister.
A team of Indian officials led by the Minister of State for Industries Ashwani Kumar gathered this impression after two conclaves with over 150 top American CEOs in the petrochemical and manufacturing sectors.
While the petrochemical sector meet at Greenbrier attracted 37 top executives from companies like BP, Exxon, Mobil and BASF, the second meet with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the largest industry trade group in America, brought 130 more from leading companies like Eastman, Bechtel and GE.
The Indian team made up of top officials from the petrochemicals and industrial policy and promotion departments and chief secretaries of four states - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal - was in the US to woo mega investments in "special investment regions", Kumar said.
These sector-specific investment regions offering world class infrastructure in terms of roads, rails and air connectivity would be co-developed by Indian and foreign developers based on the concept of anchor tenants.
Modelled on similar investment regions in Antwerp, Singapore, Shanghai and Thailand, they would offer tax breaks and other Special Economic Zone-like incentives and single window clearances with the centre becoming a proactive enabler and facilitator.
The Prime Minister's Office had set up a task force headed by his principal secretary to woo mega investments for these regions with the aim of raising the manufacturing sector's share in GDP from the current 17 percent to 23-24 percent by 2012 and 33 percent by 2020.
Kumar is also slated to speak on issues impacting much greater India-US engagements at a meeting of the Asia Society at New York on June 16.
On the sidelines of his mission, the minister said he had met leading Congressmen, members of think tanks and the media as part of an exercise to drum up support for the India-US civil nuclear deal.
Kumar said he had conveyed to his interlocutors that India-US relations had entered a new historic phase and their strategic partnership could grow further only if the US Congress approved the nuclear deal.
Washington, June 9 (Xinhua) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US has approved Gardasil, the first vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer.
The vaccine, which also prevents pre-cancerous genital lesions as well as genital warts due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18, has also been approved for use in females aged between 9 and 26.
Gardasil was evaluated and approved within six months under FDA's priority review process - a process for products with potential to provide significant health benefits.
"Today is an important day for public health and for women's health, and for our continued fight against serious life-threatening diseases like cervical cancer," said Alex Azar, deputy secretary of US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 6.2 million Americans become infected with genital HPV each year and that over half of all sexually active men and women become infected at some time in their lives.
On average, there are 9,710 new cases of cervical cancer and 3,700 deaths attributed to the disease in the US each year.
Cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women worldwide, is estimated to have more than 470,000 new cases and cause 233,000 deaths each year. For most women, the body's own defence system will clear the virus, and infected women do not develop HPV-related health problems.
However, some HPV types can cause abnormal cells on the lining of the cervix that years later can turn into cancer, while other HPV types can cause genital warts.
The vaccine is effective to prevent the infection of HPV types 16 and 18, which cause approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers, and to prevent that of HPV types 6 and 11, which cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts.
Gardasil, manufactured by Merck and Co. Inc., is a recombinant vaccine (contains no live virus), which is given as three injections over a six-month period.
The safety of the vaccine was evaluated in about 11,000 individuals. Most adverse experiences reported by the study participants who received Gardasil are mild or moderate local reactions, such as pain or tenderness around the area of the injection.
Lusaka, June 9 (Xinhua) Zambia's football coach Kalusha Bwalya has said the World Cup would be tough for the five African participants.
The former technical director of Zambia's national team said from Germany that the World Cup seemed "a notch above the ability" for most African teams, according to local media reports Friday.
Bwalya, however, said Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana had good players who could match the best at the tournament.
"Cote d'Ivoire is one of the best at the tournament when you look at individual players," Bwalya was quoted by Zambia Daily Mail as saying.
"You have Didier Drogba who is a fierce striker and then you have Kolo Toure who is currently one of the best defenders in the world," he added.
"When you look at all these, you realise that they have the quality like any other good teams at the tournament," Bwalya said.
He, however, pointed out that Cote d'Ivoire would find it difficult because the nation is in a tough group, which comprises Argentina, the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro.
"Ghana's biggest advantage is their ability to go forward from the midfield. They have fantastic players in Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah," Bwalya said.
Ghana is in Group E, which also has former champion, Italy, the US and the Czech Republic.
Angola, Togo and Tunisia are three other African teams that made it into the finals.
--Xinhua