March 2007
1 March 2007
Brussels, 28 Feb (IndianMuslims.info) A Palestinian national unity government provides the international community with an important opportunity for a much-needed change in policy towards the Palestinians. Failure to do so risks provoking greater internal Palestinian strife as well as Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"After Mecca: Engaging Hamas", the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the Saudi-brokered Mecca Agreement between rival Palestinian organisations Hamas and Fatah. Providing a detailed examination of the agreement and an analysis of Hamas based on extensive discussions with the Palestinian Islamist movement and others, it concludes there are significant challenges but also the chance of a fresh start: for the Palestinians to restore law and order and negotiate genuine power-sharing arrangements; for Israelis and Palestinians to establish a comprehensive cessation of hostilities; and for the international community to focus on a credible peace process.
“A year of pressure and sanctions has extracted little from Hamas�, says Mouin Rabbani, Crisis Group Senior Analyst. “The Quartet – the U.S., EU, Russia and UN – needs to adopt a pragmatic approach that judges a new government by its conduct and seeks to influence its deeds, not its members’ ideology. The alternatives are either illusory or worse�.
The past year has been fruitless for all sides. Hamas has failed to govern, Fatah has failed to rule, and their escalating conflict has been fuelled by the combination of international sanctions and foreign promotion of their power-struggle. While the EU pumped more money into the occupied territories more ineffectively and less transparently, Western commitment to democracy in the Middle East has been roundly discredited, and diplomacy has been virtually non-existent. By almost every standard – governance, security, economics, institution-building and the peace process – there has been only regression.
Without a Hamas-Fatah power-sharing arrangement and as long as the Islamists remain marginalised and unable to govern, there can be no sustainable diplomacy.
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Hamas and Fatah should demilitarise their political rivalry and negotiate sustainable power-sharing arrangements open to all Palestinian political organisations.
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The PA government and presidency should cooperate to negotiate a speedy prisoner exchange and comprehensive cessation of hostilities with Israel.
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The EU and its Member States should engage the new Palestinian government and Hamas with the goal of ensuring the Islamists’ conduct is compatible with the objective of a two-state settlement rather than that of ousting it from power.
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The members of the Quartet and Israel should refrain from undermining either the Mecca Agreement or attempts at engagement by other parties.
“If the international community is serious about its proclaimed goals, it will help stabilise inter-Palestinian relations, broker a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire, permit the unity government to govern and press for meaningful negotiations between Abbas and Olmert,� says Robert Malley, Crisis Group’s Middle East Program Director. “It will see Mecca as an opportunity to revive the peace process, rather than as yet another excuse to bury it�.
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By Manish Chand,
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Snamprogetti, the Italian company Ottavio Quattrocchi represented for nearly 30 years in India, appears to have run out of luck in this country after the canny businessman, known once for his connections to the Gandhi family, got entangled in the Bofors gun scandal in the mid-1980s.
Snamprogetti, a Milan-based Italian fertiliser and engineering multinational, hasn't won any new project in India for quite some time.
It is mostly involved in the expansion of the existing projects like those of Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) at Phulpur and Tata Chemicals unit at Barbala in Uttar Pradesh, and the Chambal Fertilisers factory in Madhya Pradesh, company sources told IANS.
The company has a liaison office here with a support staff of barely six-eight people.
Snamprogetti was, however, not a party to the $2.1 billion Bofors gun deal in which several million dollars were, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation, paid to Quattrocchi - often referred to as simply 'Q' - for fixing the multi-billion dollar defence contract.
"Quattrocchi quit the company around the time he left India in 1993," a company official, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.
The multinational is now represented by Ashok Chopra in India. Snamprogetti, part of the Eni group and one of Europe's largest contractors, has operated more than 900 projects in nearly 100 countries of the world.
The company's business prospects in India soared when Quattrocchi arrived with his wife Maria in February 1964. The Italian couple cashed in on their ties with the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Italian-born wife Sonia Gandhi and gained unfettered access to key bureaucrats and politicians in his office.
With deft liaison with the powers-that-be in India and a free use of the Gandhi name, Snamprogetti's stock rose with the company winning its first big contracts during the emergency regime in the mid-seventies.
IFFCO's Phulpur plant with a urea capacity of 1,550 tonnes a day (mtd), four units of Krishak Bharati Co-operative Ltd (KRIBHCO) at Hazira, each with a capacity of 1,100 mtd, and the Trombay V and the Thal Vaishet plants of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd were some of the first fertiliser projects executed by Snamprogetti in India between 1975-1986.
The big break for Snamprogetti came when it won contracts for the 10 plants (including two expansion projects) to be fed by natural gas from the HBJ (Hajira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur) pipeline.
As all these plants depended on gas supplied by the public sector GAIL India Ltd from Bombay High through the HBJ pipeline, the company decided to make Snamprogetti the chosen technology licensor and contractor for all the projects.
Although the Italian firm was known for its cutting edge technology, those in the know argued that these projects were awarded to the company despite rivals offering a lower price.
Another big moment for Snamprogetti was when the then prime minister Indira Gandhi reversed a decision of the previous Janata Party government and awarded a contract for the Thai-Vaishet fertiliser complex to the Italian firm and its Danish associate Haldor Topsoe.
The World Bank and the Confederation of Engineering Industry (the predecessor of the Confederation of Indian Industry - CII) contended that that the fertiliser plants, which came up along the HBJ pipeline, cost the country an extra Rs.100 crore (over $22 million).
In his book, "Beyond Boundaries: A Memoir," the London-based Indian businessman Swraj Paul and head of the Caparo Group, has written revealingly about how he annoyed Rajiv Gandhi because he refused to oblige Quattrocchi despite "strenuous efforts" made by his office to get him to buy Snamprogetti equipment for a fertilizer project he was planning in India.
Shimla, March 1 (IANS) As many as 151 Dalits who had once converted to Christianity have returned to the Hindu fold after a religious ritual in a temple here.
"One hundred and fifty-one Christians have become Hindus again after an elaborate Hindu ceremony carried out in a Shimla temple on Wednesday," said Tarsem Bharti, chairman of the All India Scheduled Caste and Tribes Association here Thursday.
Mahant Suryanath, a priest of the Sanatan Dharma Temple, first washed the feet of each of them and offered them water from the holy Ganges river to drink. Then he welcomed them to the Hindu fold amid reciting of Vedic mantras by Brahmins.
"We welcome the children's return to Hinduism," said Suryanath.
Bharti said: "Many more people want to return to the Hindu fold after they were converted to Christianity as they were induced into it."
In Himahcal Pradesh, an anti-conversion law came into effect On Feb 21, banning forcible religious conversions.
The All India Christians Council (AICC) had warned, "it would challenge the law passed by the state assembly as it was against the minorities and was unconstitutional."
New Delhi, March 1(IRNA) Continuing its offensive against Tamil rebels, Sri Lankan jets today bombed suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) positions in the island's northeast, killing 18 people.
The aerial raids were conducted by MIG jets on a rebel training camp in Vavuniya, PTI reported here quoting Defence Ministry sources who didn't give further details.
Sri Lanka has intensified attacks on LTTE after the rebels fired mortars at two helicopters carrying foreign diplomats and a government minister to the restive eastern Batticaloa district on Tuesday.
The navy yesterday attacked a rebel flotilla in the eastern waters, destroying two of the boats.
In another incident, naval patrol boats fired at and sank a large vessel believed to have been carrying arms for the rebels. At least 15 separatists are believed to have died in the two incidents.
Over 60,000 people have died in the decades-long struggle for independence waged by the LTTE. With the surge in fighting since December 2005, over 3,800 lives have been lost on both sides.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid hit centuries apiece as India defeated defending champions Sri Lanka by 157 runs in a Group A match in the 1999 World Cup in England.
Ganguly notched up a magnificent 183 and Dravid made a solid 145 to virtually scupper Sri Lanka's chances at the County Ground in Taunton, May 26.
The duo shared the first triple century partnership in one-day internationals as India piled up 373 for six in 50 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka failed to put up a brave front and were all out for 216 in 42.3 overs.
The Sri Lankan fielding was atrocious with innumerable catches being spilled and the bowling was made to look like a Sunday afternoon romp as Ganguly and Dravid made mincemeat of the attack.
Left-hander Ganguly hit 17 fours and seven sixes to become India's highest scorer in ODIs beating Kapil Dev's 175 not out against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells in the 1983 World Cup.
Sri Lanka needed to beat India to stay in the competition, but faced a massive task of bettering their opponents' total.
They faltered right from the start and barring a composed 56 by Aravinda de Silva and 47 by captain Arjuna Ranatunga the efforts from the batsmen were not enough to beat India.
SCOREBOARD
India vs. Sri Lanka, Group A match, World Cup, County Ground, Taunton, May 26, 1999
India:
Sadagoppan Ramesh b Vaas 5
Sourav Ganguly c sub b Wickramasinghe 183
Rahul Dravid run out (Muralitharan) 145
Sachin Tendulkar b Jayasuriya 2
Ajay Jadeja c & b Wickramasinghe 5
Robin Singh c de Silva b Wickramasinghe 0
Mohammed Azharuddin not out 12
Javagal Srinath not out 0
Extras: (lb 3, w 12, nb 6) 21
Total: (for six wickets in 50 overs) 373
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Ramesh, 0.5 overs), 2-324 (Dravid, 45.4), 3-344 (Tendulkar, 46.5), 4-349 (Jadeja, 47.3), 5-349 (Singh, 47.4), 6-372 (Ganguly, 49.5)
Bowling:
Chaminda Vaas 10-0-84-1 (3nb, 1w)
Eric Upashantha 10-0-80-0 (3nb, 3w)
Pramodya Wickramasinghe 10-0-65-3 (1w)
Muttiah Muralitharan 10-0-60-0 (2w)
Mahela Jayawardene 3-0-21-0
Sanath Jayasuriya 3-0-37-1 (2w)
Aravinda de Silva 4-0-23-0 (1w)
Sri Lanka:
Sanath Jayasuriya run out (Srinath) 3
Romesh Kaluwitharana lbw Srinath 7
Maravan Atapattu lbw Mohanty 29
Aravinda de Silva lbw Singh 56
Mahela Jayawardene lbw Kumble 4
Arjuna Ranatunga b Singh 42
Roshan Mahanama run out (Tendulkar) 32
Chaminda Vaas c Ramesh b Singh 1
Eric Upashantha c Azharuddin b Singh 5
Pramodya Wickramasinghe not out 2
Muttiah Muralitharan c Tendulkar b Singh 4
Extras: (b 4, lb 12, w 8, nb 7) 31
Total: (all out in 42.3 overs) 216
Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Jayasuriya, 2.1 overs), 2-23 (Kaluwitharana, 4.3), 3-74 (Atapattu, 14.2), 4-79 (Jayawardene, 15.3), 5-147 (de Silva, 28.1), 6-181 (Ranatunga, 34.3), 7-187 (Vaas, 36.4), 8-203 (Upashantha, 40.6), 9-204 (Mahanama, 41.3)
Bowling:
Javagal Srinath 7-0-33-1 (1nb, 2w)
Venkatesh Prasad 8-0-41-0
Debashish Mohanty 5-0-31-1
Anil Kumble 8-0-27-1 (2w)
Sourav Ganguly 5-0-37-0 (2nb, 1w)
Robin Singh 9.3-0-31-5 (4nb, 2w)
Result: India won by 157 runs
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: R.S. Dunne (New Zealand) and David Shepherd (England)
Third Umpire: Ray Julian (England)
Match Referee: Cammie Smith (West Indies)
Man of the Match: Sourav Ganguly (India)
By Badal Mukherji
India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, until very recently, was heading to Budget 2007 quite comfortably. With a GDP growth rate over 9 percent and foreign exchange reserves in excess of $180 billion, the Indian economy seemed to be well under control. But inflation and state elections created concern.
The latter gets into the budget debate through the agrarian constituency that most MPs have. This perhaps explains why Chidambaram began his budget presentation Wednesday with the statement that to him agriculture was the first priority.
However, with its share in GDP below 20 percent, there is no way that agriculture can play a dominant role in the economy. There are two major policy corrections required.
First, in order to enhance productivity, infrastructure and technology bottlenecks in agriculture have to be lifted. Secondly, in order to provide gainful employment to a very large number of unemployed people, non-agricultural jobs must be found. Within a year none of these problems can be solved by an annual budget; if anything, it is a five-year plan that should address these issues.
However, in the approach document of the 11th Five-Year Plan there are some general discussions on the subjects but no tangible policies.
To make a realistic dent in the unemployment problem the most important instrument is the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. But I have not seen any serious understanding of the problems of the sector either in the approach document or in the budget. Vast majority of the SMEs do contract jobs for large corporates but get bankrupted because those contracts cannot be enforced. They get broke in court cases. The state must intervene with a suitable instrument and protocol.
As for inflation, it is observed that there has been 6.2 percent increase in the wholesale price index, implying something like a 12 percent increase in the consumer price index, which is not extraordinarily high but high enough to adversely affect the budget of the lower middle-class and the poor.
It is in order to grapple with this that Chidambaram has lowered the import duties, sales, excise and other indirect taxes; measures that will also increase imports and further lower prices.
Again, international steel, cement and petroleum prices have increased sharply, and the tax component of each of these has been substantially lowered. Whereas industry seems to be unhappy about the lack of any tax sops, they should be thankful that Chidambaram has still avoided the most powerful contra-cyclical instrument of inflation control, which is increase in private and corporate income taxes.
Indeed, if a combination of the monetary policy already instituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the reduction of indirect taxes introduced in the budget fail to significantly lower inflation, then an increase in income-tax rates across the board will be inevitable.
Hindsight is so easy that I almost decided not to talk about mistakes of the recent past, but to the extent that they have a bearing on the current policy, they need to be sorted out. One of the biggest sources of generation of incomes is capital gain, both on land and buildings and on equity.
In a country where income distributions are so grossly skewed, capital gain must be taxed. But last year taxes on long-term capital gains of equity shares were in fact abolished. Last month there were published estimates of the loss of revenue on this account - it is somewhere between Rs.150-250 billion.
The simple re-imposition of this tax will immediately mop up a substantial percentage of aggregate demand. The point I am trying to make is that whereas RBI has responded with the monetary policy to contain inflation, the discussions about the supply side problems are slightly irrelevant in the short run; there is serious need for appropriate management on the demand side.
With the savings rate of 32 percent and the investment of 33 percent, a good rate of growth is almost assured, especially as it is driven by the service sector, almost independently of what the government does. It is a matter of some concern that the service sector in turn is facing a very serious constraint in the form of supply of skilled manpower. I have not seen anything in the budget that takes this constraint head on.
I am afraid the problem of higher education is far more complex than a simple enhancement of budgetary allocation can handle. One needs not only a flow of quality students coming up through schools to colleges and universities and research institutions, one also needs just as importantly a matching supply of skilled teachers who can train the students.
But the academic scene has changed drastically in the recent past in as much as the top students going out of the universities are being bid away by the private corporate sector and hence there is nobody left for teaching at the higher level.
The consequence is that within a few years the same corporate sector starts bitterly complaining about the shortage of skills, without awareness of the fact that it is their own action that is partly responsible for the problem.
But this is not the full story; agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC) have for decades permitted colleges and universities to virtually contribute nothing towards the cost of education. Both tuition for students and salary for teachers are miserably low. Growth depends on savings, investment and knowledge. I am afraid there seems to be no awareness of the last factor.
With the government losing its importance in overall economic activities, its responsibilities towards proper regulation of economy and towards social welfare increase substantially. But it has now become a standard practice that plan documents make noble statements about social welfare and budgets largely ignore them.
To sum up, this has been a carefully fine-tuned budget so as to least disturb the arrangement of policies that have generated such impressive growth as of the recent years, especially as that growth is almost entirely due to the private sector.
With large revenue collections in hand the state can turn to urgently required investment in infrastructure sectors. It will hope that better foodgrain output plus imports, wherever necessary, will, together with monetary policies already taken, help contain and lower the rate of inflation. But until such time as the analysis that explains the growth process is reasonably complete, no hard action on any front for who knows what might upset the apple cart!
Chennai, March 1 (IANS) Telecom service provider Aircel Thursday unveiled 3G technology in the city, for the first time in India, showing that the country is ready for the next generation of mobile services.
The union government has asked existing service providers to conduct 3G trials in specific cities.
Aircel, in collaboration with Chinese telecom major ZTE Corp., has conducted the trial of this technology for three weeks in the city, Aircel and ZTE officials told the media here Thursday.
ZTE has the capability to mix 2G and 3G technology in one network. The Chinese telecom giant is also researching R5 and R6 technologies (SoftSwitch-based control system of the commercial next generation core networks), which will comprise the 4G telephone services in future.
High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) services such as downloading of large volume of business data and streaming movies online at speeds of 3.3 MB per second have also been tested in India, for both computers and mobile handsets, using ZTE cards.
The services to be made available are internet access, mobile television, mobile video conferencing, video phone and voice and data services through the same equipment.
"We will be able to offer 3G mobile services upon necessary government clearance in a couple of months," Chinmay Mitra, Aircel group's chief technology officer said here Thursday.
At present a Nokia 6680 handset, which is 3G enabled, costs about Rs.25,000. Experts say once the 3G technology comes in, there will be more demand and hence instrument costs will come down.
Aircel's GSM subscriber base is touching five million and the company says it has the core network and switching in place to go 3G for its subscribers in a few months.
Aircel has also roped in Ericsson to provide its media gateway and servers and is also partner it for other telecom technology.
The 3G trials are taking place in Chennai, Guwahati, Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar. Chennai and Coimbatore will complete trial by March 31, Jagdish Kini, Aircel group's CEO.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 1 (IANS) Al Qaeda and the Taliban maintain "critical sanctuaries" in Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, according to a top US intelligence official, but the US is not yet ready to play a direct role there.
Washington is working with Islamabad to ensure that the region does not become a safe haven for terrorists as Pakistan also has a "strong interest" in not allowing extremism to breed there, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
Vice president Dick Cheney, who has reportedly delivered a tough message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, will "report to the president on what he learned", she told the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee on War Funding.
"But I do think that we need to remember that the Pakistanis have a very strong interest, also, in not having extremism breed in that area," she added, ruling out a direct US role.
Rice's comments came a day after Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told the Senate Armed Services Committee that while 75 percent of Al Qaeda's leadership has been killed or captured, a new generation of terrorists is training in Iraq, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and East Africa.
McConnell, who recently succeeded John Negroponte, now serving as Rice's deputy as head of 16 agencies that make up the US intelligence community, said both Al Qaeda and the Taliban maintain "critical sanctuaries" in Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions.
Eliminating these strongholds will be top US priorities in Afghanistan this year along with breaking the link between militants and local warlords profiting from drug trafficking, he said.
Criticising Musharraf for making agreements with local tribal leaders who since have allowed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to regroup, McConnell said, "The president of Pakistan believed that he could be more effective by signing this peace agreement.
"And in our point of view, capabilities of Al Qaeda for training and so on increased," he said adding, "We believe (Pakistan) could do more.
"Many nation states are unable to provide good governance or sustain the rule of law within their borders," McConnell said without naming any one country. This sets the conditions for creating "failed states, proxy states, terrorist safe havens, and ungoverned regions that endanger the international community and its citizens," he said.
McConnell was joined by Lieutenant General Michael Maples of the Defence Intelligence Agency and Thomas Fingar, who chairs the National Intelligence Council, to deliver an assessment of current and emerging national security threats.
Terrorism remains the top threat to US security, and Al Qaeda, which is rebuilding itself and strengthening its ties to affiliated groups in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, is the intelligence community's pre-eminent challenge, they said.
Although conventional explosives are the terrorist's weapon of choice, Maples warned that intelligence agencies receive reports that Al Qaeda continues to seek chemical, biological and nuclear weapons for use in future attacks.
With the help of allies such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UK, Maples said, the US successfully has disrupted attacks, such as the 2006 plot to bomb US-bound trans-Atlantic flights, and brought several senior Al Qaeda operatives to justice, such as Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq.
In Iraq, Maples said, Al Qaeda accounts for a fraction of the overall violence, but its focus on executing large-scale, mass casualty bombings has magnified the group's impact on the country's complex security situation by accelerating Sunni-Shia violence.
"Conflict in Iraq is in a self-sustaining cycle, in which violent acts increasingly generate retaliation," he said. "Insecurity rationalises and justifies militias, in particular Shia militias, which increase fears in the Sunni-Arab community. The result is additional support or at least acquiescence to insurgents and terrorists, such as Al Qaeda in Iraq."
Maples told senators that Iraq's Shia militias have been discovered training in neighbouring Iran as well as in facilities operated by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
By Aroonim Bhuyan,
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Though the allocation in India's budget 2007-08 for health and education has been increased, there is scope for even more, feels Minar Pimple, deputy director (Asia), UN Millennium Campaign.
"The government has actually committed six percent (of the budget) to education and three percent to health," Pimple told IANS in a telephonic interview.
This, he said, though marks an increase from the previous budgets, is still not enough from the UN's Millenium Development Goals' (MDGs) perspective.
"India still ranks 126th among 177 countries across the world in the human development index," Pimple, who oversees the UN Millennium Campaign in 11 countries in Asia, said.
He pointed out that the MDGs closely resemble India's National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP).
There are eights MDGs in all: eradicating extreme hunger and poverty; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability; and developing a global partnership for development.
Pimple said that in India, 54 percent of pregnant women are still anaemic as also 50 percent of newly born babies. Besides this, a large number of children are stunted at growth.
"Hunger, malnutrition and maternal mortality - these are the issues India need to address on an urgent basis if it has to move up the human development index," he said.
Asked if he was unhappy with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's allocation for the health and education sectors, he said, "I am happy that the allocation for these sectors have been hiked. But I still see scope for more allocation in the health and education sectors. These sectors are a cause of concern for the UN."
He also said that inequalities in economic wealth have been growing in India in the last 10 years.
"The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. I don't see this budget addressing the problem of inequalities in economic wealth," Pimple, who operates out of the UN office in Bangkok, said.
By Sujoy Dhar,
Kolkata, March 1 (IANS) As vehicles whiz past E.M. Bypass on the city's eastern fringe towards the airport, a signboard on the left indicates the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's dog pound now run by Maneka Gandhi's People for Animals (PFA).
It is here that the adage every dog has his day comes true. This sprawling pound aims to restore the mental and physical health of stray dogs. And it particularly focuses on anti-rabies vaccination for the canines.
"We are as much working for humans as animals. The welfare of animals and humans is related since our stray dog sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination programme only helps prevent rabies in humans," Debasis Chakrabarti, managing trustee, PFA Calcutta, told IANS.
"Since it costs only Rs.25 to vaccinate a stray dog against rabies compared to Rs.1,500 for a human, it is more advisable to spend money on vaccinating dogs for the sake of humans."
With an estimated 19,000 people dying from rabies in India every year, the NGO offers a new model to fight rabies and save thousands of poor people who cannot afford the costly post- bite anti-rabies injections. The injection costs around Rs.1,500, which not many can afford.
PFA suggests that the government spend more money on anti-rabies vaccination for dogs so that a dog bite in a locality is not cause for alarm among the victims.
Indian deaths from rabies account for nearly 35 percent of such deaths worldwide, according to data available with WHO. Worldwide nearly 55,000 people succumb to rabies, mostly caused by dog bites. Of this, Asia accounts for 31,000.
Chakrabarti said: "In a letter to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya we have written that the only way to tackle rabies effectively and economically is to vaccinate the stray dogs. Since the days of killing stray dogs in a cruel and futile exercise are over we can at best sterilise and vaccinate the dogs for our own well-being."
A visit to the otherwise forbidden zone of the PFA-run dog pound off E.M. Bypass offers a pleasant sight. Rows of cages where at least 325 dogs can be accommodated look relatively sanitised and the animals are treated with a lot of care.
PFA's veterinary doctor has conducted over 12,000 surgeries since 2002 as part of its ABC (Animal Birth Control) programme.
The West Bengal figure on rabies deaths is 162 in the year 2005, as provided by state joint secretary of public health S.N. Dutta quoting records of Kolkata's Infectious Diseases (ID) hospital, though he admits that the real figure could be much higher.
Though the West Bengal health department per se is not averse to the idea of vaccinating dogs against rabies, it feels the initiative should be taken by the state veterinary department.
"If the veterinary department wants funds from us we would provide the same. We already fund the vasectomy of stray dogs," Dutta told IANS.
According to Dutta, anti-rabies injections like Rabipol or Rabirix are distributed free among people who are BPL (below the poverty line) but the vaccines are not adequate to meet the demand.
"We offer the injections in two hospitals in Kolkata. But I must admit that the total production of the vaccine is not enough to meet the total number of patients who come to hospitals with dog bites," he said.
Dutta said even if dogs were vaccinated, a victim of bite would not know which dog was vaccinated and which was not.
But Chakrabarti differed.
"We have an extensive programme in every locality. Each dog that we sterilise or vaccinate is ear-clipped. We call it ear-notching so that we can keep track of the vaccination," he stated.
"For so many years we have been working to raise our own funds. PFA Calcutta is a flagship project of PFA nationwide and has set an example in animal management," said Chakrabarti.
He also said: "I have no faith in the state's veterinary department. They have no positive role to play and their contribution to the sterilisation programme is zilch."
With rabies causing a major health hazard in India and the government machinery not equipped to cope with the problem, it remains to be seen if the authorities realise the potential of the non-governmental organisations like PFA which runs Asia's biggest animal hospital ASHARI here besides a huge cat shelter.
Said WHO chief spokesman H.K. Pandey: "Since over 90 percent of the rabies cases are due to dog bite, what India needs to do is to vaccinate dogs. The dog population in India is much higher as compared to any other country and the canines should be sterilised to curb the growth."
Los Angeles, March 1 (DPA) Late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith's funeral is set for Friday after her estranged mother lost a court appeal to prevent her burial in the Bahamas.
Smith's mother Virgie Arthur had appealed to Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal against a lower court ruling that gave custody of Smith's remains to the court-appointed guardian for her daughter, Dannielynn.
The court said Smith be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel, who died in September, three days after Dannielynn's birth.
The ruling came as the National Enquirer, a salacious tabloid weekly, reported that Smith had died of severe pneumonia and not, as many had speculated, from a drug overdose.
Smith, 39, died Feb 8 after collapsing in a hotel room in Hollywood, Florida.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Lt Gen Saibal Mukherjee has taken over as the Director General of Army's Medical Services here Thursday.
An alumnus of Government Medical College, Nagpur he was commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in May 1970. After obtaining MD in Radio Diagnosis from Pune University in 1977, he completed training in Radiation Oncology from the prestigious Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai and received MD from Bombay University.
A pioneer in the field of cancer treatment in the Armed Forces, he worked at the Malignant Diseases Treatment Centres, both at Pune and Delhi.
He has held important appointment of Commandant, Command Hospital Kolkata and Deputy Director Medical Services at HQ Eastern Command. He was commanding the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College before he took over as DGMS (Army). For his unflinching dedication to the cause of service, he was recently awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
New Delhi, March 1 (Indianmuslims.info) Maheshwar Dayal’s drama 1857 ki Dilli was staged at Sri Ram Centre here Wednesday, the third day of the ongoing drama festival organised by Delhi Urdu Akademy.
Directed by Muhammad Shahid, the drama consists of 19 characters with the central role played by the poor Delhi which had witnessed the turbulent scenes of death and destruction of innocent lives and loot and arson of public properties during the first war of independence 1857.
The success of this one-hour-and-a-half long play lies in making it palpably clear that the 1857 incident was in fact the first war of independence rather than a mere revolt when both Hindus and Muslims were getting united all over the country, and that the Indians lost it due only to the treachery of their own people.
The drama portrays the carefree life of children, the waywardness of the progeny of nawabs and the elite, and the concern of people like lalaji, nawab and munshi in a very successful manner. Besides, it also presents how unaware of the then ongoing developments were the womenfolk and servants.
Important characters of the drama were Munshiji (Seekh Kumar), Lalaji (Faisal Zaman) and Meer Sahib (Arshad Khan), etc. Besides, Gami Khan (Vikas Shukla) and Chudiwali played very good roles though their faulty pronunciation of Urdu words marred the warmth of the play.
Other characters include Lalaji ki Bahu (Afreen Fatma), Kanhayya (Naseem Khan), Madhav (Zahid Chauhan), Bahuji (Sunbul Shakeel), Pahalwan (Shahzad Khan), Nathu (Saleem Raza), Chowkidar (Mumtaz Ahmad), Maulvi Sahib (Irshad Saifi), Yusuf (Munis Ahmad), Gulshan (Sonu Singh), Bablu, Zeeshan and Nauneet, etc.
The roles of Gopal Pathak for light arrangement, and Rinku Kumar Gupta, Gopal Pathak and Qayyoom Yasmeen for music direction added to the success of the drama.
Akademy’s secretary Marghoob Haidar Abdi presented a bouquet of flowers to Muhammad Shahid, thanking him for his excellent direction while the playwright Rais Azmi conducted the entire show.
Lahore, March 1 (IANS) Pakistan Thursday received a big jolt as drug-tainted fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif were withdrawn from the upcoming World Cup, with officials saying they were not fit to play.
Announcing this minutes before the team's departure to the West Indies as well as the International Cricket Council's (ICC) announcement to get rid of drugs from the game, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said pacer Mohammad Sami and pace-bowling all-rounder Yasir Arafat will replace them in the 15-member team.
The withdrawal of Shoaib and Asif further weakens Pakistan's pace bowling. The country has also lost all-rounder Abdul Razzaq to knee injury and hard-hitting batsman Shahid Afridi for the first two World Cup matches following a ban over breach of ICC code of conduct.
The PCB banned Shoaib for two years and Asif for one year after they tested positive in internal tests and missed the Champions Trophy in India.
But the PCB, against the wishes of ICC, dramatically reinstated both. The ICC then moved the Court of Arbitration in Sports against the PCB's decision to re-impose the ban. The case is still going on.
"On verbal reports from the doctors, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif require more time to become fit," PCB said in a short statement here Thursday.
"Hence, the national selection committee, in consultation with the team management, has decided that Mohammad Sami and Yasir Arafat would replace Shoaib and Asif for the World Cup."
Shoaib and Asif, skipping the precautionary dope tests conducted by PCB Friday, had gone to England for medical advice. But it was speculated that they had gone to England to take masking agents to avoid traces of Nandrolone. They were to undergo further tests on their return to Pakistan.
Had Shoaib and Asif tested positive again, they would have faced life bans under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules. ICC is a WADA signatory.
The rest of the World Cup-bound players and the seven reserve players took the precautionary dope tests Feb 16. The results are yet to be declared.
Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had said a few days ago that if Shoaib and Asif were to miss the 16-nation World Cup starting March 11, Pakistan's prospects of doing well would be drastically undermined.
Pakistan are clubbed with the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland in Group D. Following group league matches, two top teams from the four pools advance to the quarter-finals.
Coach Bob Woolmer conceded Thursday the ouster of Shoaib and Asif was a huge disappointment for Pakistan. "It is a big blow and I feel sorry for both these players," he was quoted as saying on a cricket website.
But he added: "They are missing a mega event. But last year we did well without Shoaib in Sri Lanka and the year before in India without either of the two bowlers."
Azhar Mahmood has replaced Razzaq but Pakistan will have to pick their XI from just 14 players for their first match against the West Indies March 13 at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. Afridi will also miss the second game.
Hyderabad, March 1 (IANS) Four people, including two teachers, were killed Thursday when the boat in which they were travelling capsized in a lake in Nalgonda district, about 200 km from here.
Police said the local made boat went down in a lake in Kottapet village in Ketaypalli mandal.
A group of eight people had gone for hunting in a boat. The mobile phone of one of them fell into the water and all others came to one corner of the boat in order to retrieve it. The boat lost balance and capsized.
Fishermen in the area managed to rescue four people. However, the rest, including headmaster and a teacher of a school, were drowned. All four bodies have been recovered.
Tashkent, March 1 (RIA Novosti) Road construction workers have found a teenaged boy in Uzbekistan's mountainous region eight years after he was reported missing in 1998, local prosecutors said Thursday.
"The boy acts like a wild animal. He is afraid of everything, cannot speak and only makes snarling sounds," prosecutors said, adding that road construction workers found him.
Experts identified the boy after studying his photographs taken in 1998. His parents recognised the boy from among several other teenagers in a line-up.
Prosecutors said the boy would be returned to his family following a course of rehabilitation.
"The boy is being taught to speak and live among people. Experts are also trying to find out where and how he survived all these years," prosecutors said.
SAO PAULO, Marhc 1(NNN-PRENSA LATINA) -- Brazilian and foreign intelligence agencies Tuesday began mounting the largest ever security operations for a president visiting Brazil, in view of United States President George W. Bush’s visit on Thursday and Friday.
The aim is to prevent "possible terrorist attacks" against Bush while he is in Sao Paulo, the largest city in the southern hemisphere.
Social movements in Brazil have called for demonstrations in the country’s main cities to condemn the US president’s visit.
The security system has the active participation of the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, the country’s Federal Police and Armed Forces, as well as other local and foreign institutions.
This is Bush’s second visit to Brazil. The first took place in the federal capital, Brasilia, in November 2005, and security at that time included 1,800 police and soldiers.
In Montevideo meanwhile, Uruguayan social sectors announced that protests against the visit of Bush to that nation on March 9 would take the form of demonstrations in and outside the capital.
Bush will be making a Latin American tour that will also take him to Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.
Daniel De Souza, secretary general of FUCVAM (National Federation of Housing Cooperatives for Mutual Assistance), confirmed that protests will also be held in the province of Colonia, 112 miles west of Montevideo.
Union leader Juan Castillo said that the Uruguayan people consider the US president persona non grata for his genocide of thousands of innocent people in the occupation wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
-- NNN-PRENSA LATINA
New Delhi, March 1 (indianmuslims.info) Though the Union Budget 2007-08 presented by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday does not come up to the expectations of Indian Muslims – whose socio-economic and educational backwardness has been a subject of discussion and debate for quite some time – it does hold some better prospect for them in the future.
Various packages have been allocated for different heads related to minorities. Rs 63 crore has been allocated for Minority Development Council, Rs 60 crore for Awqaf, and Rs 108 crore for 108 selected districts across the country viz. 1 crore for each such district. Muslim observers hope that these 108 selected districts are the same socio-economically and educationally backward districts that have been recommended for special attention in the Justice Sachar Committee Report.
Rs 210 crore has been allocated for scholarships to poor students doing secondary school, high school and higher studies courses. Besides, Rs 6000 crore has been allocated for mid-day meals for school-going children, and for education for all schemes.
New Delhi, Mar 1 (IANS) The central government Thursday approved the merger of two state-run carriers Air India and Indian making the new entity the largest airline in India.
The government will continue to be the sole owner of the entity. However, it will go for an IPO (initial public offering) after getting necessary approval from the finance ministry, according to sources.
"The two state-owned carriers have both suffered from years of under-investment in their fleet and products," Kapil Kaul, chief executive for South Asia for Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a leading airline industry think tank, had earlier told IANS.
According to industry experts, the merged entity will have a fleet size of 125 new generation aircraft by 2010 after new aircraft are added and some of the existing ones are phased out to emerge among the top 30 carriers globally. The turnover will also top Rs.150 billion ($3.3 billion).
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The cabinet Thursday gave its approval for enactment of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill that aims at preventing sectarian strife and quicker justice to victims.
The bill envisages prevention of communal violence and offences, speedy investigation and dispensation of justice, said an official note issued after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It will also impose enhanced punishment on those guilty of communal violence, providing relief and rehabilitation facilities to the victims and empowering the states and central authorities to discharge their duties in assisting victims in the matter, it said.
By Probir Pramanik,
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) After protesting the controversial blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code" last year, Roman Catholics in the metropolis have again sprung into action against the worldwide premiere of a documentary that claims to have found the burial place of Jesus that challenges the basic tenets the Christian faith.
The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), a Mumbai-based community organisation, have written to the Discovery Channel's office in New Delhi requesting it to refrain from broadcasting the feature documentary scheduled for a worldwide premiere Sunday.
"The Lost Tomb of Jesus" is a feature documentary, directed by Emmy Award-winning documentary film-maker Simcha Jacobovici and produced by Oscar-winning director James Cameron of the "Titanic" fame, Flex Golubev and Ric Esther Bienstock.
"The documentary trivialises the credibility of the Bible and the Christian faith," said CSF general secretary Joseph Dias.
"'The Lost Tomb of Jesus' hurts the sentiments in a pluralistic society and is an attempt for selfish profits and commercial gains or cheap publicity."
"We want the Discovery Channel to relent from broadcasting the documentary in India. We have lodged our complaint with the channels' Delhi office and are expecting a response on the matter by Friday," Dias told IANS here Thursday.
"The documentary can be best described as a hotchpotch, concocting archaeological adventure," he added.
The organisation said that the timing of the broadcast during the 40 days of Lint, observed by Catholics is very unfortunate as was the case with movie version of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code".
"The credibility of the Bible, which says that Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb and rose from the dead to rise to the heaven, is trivialised in the documentary," Dias said.
The CSF is also protesting references made in the documentary to Judah as the secret son of Jesus through Mary Magdalene and portrayal of Mathew, one of the writers of the Gospels, as a maternal relative of Jesus and the mention of the burial of Jesus' siblings in the same tomb.
According to the Discovery Channel website, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" traces the discovery of thousands of tombs containing ossuaries or limestone boxes that served as coffins in the first-century Jerusalem.
"One of these tombs was found to contain ten ossuaries. Six ossuaries have inscriptions on them and it turns out that every inscriptions in this particular tomb relates to the Gospels," it says.
"In the feature documentary, a case is made out that the 2000-year-old 'Tombs of the Ten Ossuaries' belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth."
The film also documents DNA extraction from human residue found in two of the ossuaries and reveals new evidence that throws light on Jesus' relationship with Mary Magdalene.
The documentary includes dramatic recreations, based on the latest historical evidence, illustrating accurate images of Jesus of Nazareth, his family, his followers, his ministry, his crucifixion and his entombment.
"We are showing our disappointment to protest and warn viewers that a lot of mistruth is being shown on the Discovery Channel. The viewers should take such kind of telecast with a pinch of salt," Dias warned.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into corruption charges against Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying the chief minister of a large state like Uttar Pradesh could not function under a cloud.
Dealing a severe blow to Mulayam Singh Yadav ahead of state elections, the bench comprising Justices A.R. Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegations of assets the chief minister has disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Acting on a writ petition filed by Congressman Vishwanath Chaturvedi, alleging that Mulayam Singh and his family members had amassed millions of rupees of ill-gotten wealth, the apex court held these allegations could not be decided in a court of law.
If the CBI finds there are justifications for registering a FIR (first information report) after the preliminary enquiry, it could be so in accordance with law.
Stating that the chief minister of a large state like Uttar Pradesh could not function in a cloud when his integrity had been questioned, the bench said such an enquiry was essential in his own interest.
The petitioner had enclosed copies of the sale deeds of the properties acquired by Mulayam Singh, his two sons and daughter-in-law over the years and alleged the value of these properties was worth more than Rs.1 billion.
The petitioner alleged that Mulayam Singh had in 1979 declared a taxable income of just Rs.79,000. But within three decades, particularly during the period when he was chief minister, he had acquired all these assets through corrupt means.
The petitioner sought a direction to CBI to prosecute Mulayam Singh and his family members under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
Lucknow/New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) In a severe blow to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ahead of assembly polls, the Supreme Court Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into his wealth and property, allegedly far disproportionate to his known sources of income.
As news of the damaging ruling came in, the chief minister stayed holed up inside his house leaving his brother Ram Gopal Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP as well as general secretary of the ruling Samajwadi Party, to tell the media that he would file a review petition in court.
"The chief minister will file a revision petition as we have no faith in the CBI to which the probe has been assigned by the apex court.
"We have no objection to the probe but let it be done by a sitting or retired judge of a high court or Supreme Court," Ram Gopal Yadav said.
Ordering the CBI probe, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A.R. Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir said the chief minister of a large state like Uttar Pradesh could not function under a cloud when his integrity had been questioned.
It directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into allegations that assets the chief minister had were disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Acting on a writ petition filed by Congressman Vishwanath Chaturvedi, alleging that Mulayam Singh and his family members had amassed millions of rupees of ill-gotten wealth, the apex court held these allegations could not be decided in a court of law.
If the CBI finds there are justifications for registering a FIR (first information report) after the preliminary enquiry, it could be so in accordance with law. The bench said such an enquiry was essential in his interest.
The petitioner had enclosed copies of the sale deeds of the properties acquired by Mulayam Singh, his two sons and daughter-in-law over the years and alleged the value of these properties was worth more than Rs.1 billion.
The petitioner alleged that Mulayam Singh had in 1979 declared a taxable income of just Rs.79,000. But within three decades, particularly during the period when he was chief minister, he had acquired all these assets through corrupt means.
The petitioner sought a direction to CBI to prosecute Mulayam Singh and his family members under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The court ruling has given an impetus to the opposition demand that Mulayam Yadav be ousted from office. "He has no moral ground to continue in office and he must step down," demanded state Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari.
Added state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Keshrinath Tripathi: "We are going to raise this as an issue in the state assembly elections (in March-April)."
Surprisingly, however, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati did not even make a passing reference to the apex court order against her sworn political foe during her mammoth poll rally here Thursday afternoon.
The ruling comes just a few days after the Supreme Court disqualified 13 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators who had helped in the formation of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The make-or-break Class 12 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations began Thursday with most students jubilant that the first paper, on physics, turned out to be an easy one.
There were some, however, who felt the three hours allotted to them was not enough.
"I had to leave a couple of questions worth seven marks unanswered because I didn't have the time to attempt them," said a somewhat upset Sneha outside the Delhi Public School in south Delhi's R.K. Puram area. "But I am still expecting around 85 percent."
Most other students had different ideas.
"It was an easy paper! The derivatives were easy and there were very few numericals. That's all that I wanted. It was definitely an easier paper than last year's," said an excited Ritika, as her father beamed.
Seeing the kids' reaction, the anxious parents, many of who had camped outside the school gates where their wards wrote the exams, heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank god his paper was good. Otherwise it would have spoilt his mood and he wouldn't have been able to prepare for his next paper well," said Anjana Bandopadhyay, whose son Animesh studies at the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan.
Each exam is of three-hour duration with an extra 15 minutes as cool-off time. The Physics question paper this year had less numerical questions and simple ones on derivatives.
This year 502,688 students from 4,789 schools are taking the school-leaving Class 12 examinations in India and abroad - an increase of 9.59 percent from 2006. The students will take their exams in 2,276 centres, of which 33 are in foreign countries.
Hyderabad, March 1 (IANS) A central team will visit Medak district of Andhra Pradesh on March 11 to identify the location for a proposed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
The district authorities have short-listed three villages for the institute in Sangareddy, about 70 km from Hyderabad. Out of the three, government land is available only near Lakadram village. Officials said if the central team selects any other location, the government might have to acquire private land.
The team comprising officials of the human resource development ministry is visiting the district amid rival demands over the location of the institute.
The opposition parties as well as leaders of the ruling Congress from some districts have demanded that the IIT be set up in the temple town of Basara in Adilabad district as was originally proposed.
The previous Telugu Desam Party government had lobbied for setting up an IIT at Basara and the state assembly had also passed a resolution in this regard.
In December last year when the central government sanctioned the institute for the state, the Congress government decided it would be located in Medak district because of its proximity to Hyderabad and thus to various infrastructure facilities.
The move evoked strong protests from the opposition parties, ruling party leaders in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts and even leaders from Nanded in neighbouring Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has constituted a panel to look into the issue but ruled out shifting the location from Medak district.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 1 (IANS) Kerala opposition leader Oommen Chandy Thursday lauded the achievements made by non-resident Keralites for doing development works for the state in the last 50 years of its formation.
"If you ask me what is the biggest achievement made by Kerala in the last 50 years of its formation, I have no doubt to say that it is the development works done by the Keralites, staying in the country and outside," said Chandy while interacting with the media here Thursday to celebrate the golden jubilee of the state's first government.
"It is they who have brought laurels to the state through their hard work and dedication and we should really applaud their efforts," added Chandy.
He said that Kerala, despite making huge progress in the field of healthcare and education in the last 50 years, has not been able to sustain it.
"It is rather sad that despite making huge strides in the education sector, we have completely failed to take the best of the growing information technology sector," said Chandy.
Speaking on the state politics, he said there was no difference between the two rival fronts in Kerala - the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition.
"Look the Left opposed the tractor, computer, Smart City project at Kochi and now they all speak the same language as we do, so there is no difference between us and them," said Chandy, taking a dig at the LDF.
"We are very clear, we have the same set of ideology, when we are in power or when we sit in the opposition," he said.
Commenting on the nine-month old V.S. Achuthanandan government, Chandy said: "They have been able to pay the salary promptly and has anything happened beyond that?"
Taipei, March 1 (DPA) A grandson of late Taiwan president Chiang Kai-shek Thursday sued President Chen Shui-bian for libel for calling Chiang the main culprit in the 1947 massacre of thousands of Taiwanese.
John Chiang, an opposition lawmaker, filed the libel suit with the Taipei District Court. He demanded one Taiwan dollar (3 US cents) in compensation from Chen as well as a newspaper apology.
"President Chen's arbitrary conclusion of the Feb 28 incident can only deepen ethnic division. I ask him to hold a public debate with me," Chiang told reporters.
"If the debate shows that Chiang Kai-shek was not the main culprit, Chen must apologise to the whole nation and clear Chiang Kai-shek's name," Chiang said.
On Monday, President Chen blamed his predecessor Chiang Kai-shek for the 1947 massacre that killed tens of thousands of Taiwanese and said that Chiang should have been punished for his crimes.
Some US-based relatives of those killed in the massacre have asked Chen to set up a special tribunal to try Chiang in absentia.
In the past week, Taiwan has been holding a series of activities to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the massacre. But the opposition accused Chen of using the incident to fan ethnic conflicts and boost the ruling party's chance of winning the 2008 presidential election.
On Feb 28, 1947, Chinese nationalist inspectors arrested a woman vendor selling cigarettes without license in Taipei. The arrest triggered a mass protest suppressed by nationalist troops, who killed tens of thousands of Taiwanese, breeding hatred of mainlanders that still persists.
Those who were killed were the elite of the Taiwan society. Some were shot dead while others were bundled in sacks and thrown into the sea. Estimates of the death toll range from 15,500 to 28,000.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) A day after presenting India's general budget for the next fiscal, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday asked India Inc to help the government in containing the price line as the inflation rate had crept to two-year highs.
"I will urge the industry to hold the price line. I will ask them to cooperate in the fight against inflation," the minister said in a post-Budget interaction with top industry leaders here.
He said the government would also provide incentives to those companies that help in easing prices and tax others which tend to make undue profits by taking advantage of rising demand.
The finance minister has said the annual rate of inflation, based on wholesale price index, would be contained at between 3.8 percent and 2.1 percent.
During the interaction Chidambaram said he had already cautioned the industry against spiralling prices. "But I am happy most industries have not pushed up prices. But in cement, prices have gone beyond all reasonable limits," he said.
"Therefore, we say, we will try to reward those having inclination to hold the price line, but we will tax anyone using that opportunity for making huge profit," the finance minister said.
Presenting the national budget Wednesday, Chidambaram proposed to cut excise for those who retailed cement at up to Rs.190 per 50 kg bag from Rs.400 to Rs.350 and sought to raise duty to Rs.600 per tonne if the commodity was sold at a higher price.
He also told the industry leaders that the government has seen no cooperation from the cement industry even though they had promised to bring down prices.
According to the minister, moderation of inflation is possible through certain measures such as duty cuts announced in the budget 2007-08, the monetary steps undertaken by the central bank and supply side augmentation.
"Supply side must be augmented and price line, to the extent possible, must be held," he said, adding that inflationary bouts are not unusual in India.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and many of his party colleagues were apparently none too happy when Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram sought to highlight the fact that he had significantly reduced customs duty on pet food at a time when there is so much resentment over soaring prices of basic food items.
While reading out his tax proposals Wednesday, Chidambaram announced: "Sir, I have good news for cat and dog lovers. I propose to reduce the duty on pet food."
The remark provoked howls of protest in the packed Lok Sabha. One opposition MP shouted: "You are thinking about dog food? What about the food of the common man?"
Chidambaram's announcement has come under a lot of criticism, in a way overshadowing the numerous people-friendly budgetary proposals that he unveiled in parliament Wednesday, Congress leaders told IANS Thursday.
According to well informed sources in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Manmohan Singh, who had discussed major budgetary proposals with Chidambaram, "lost his excitement" after listening to him announcing duty cut for pet food, which he thought was singularly ill-timed.
Added a minister: "The moment I heard him reading out that, I shook my head in disbelief. How foolish he could be to highlight it at a time when the government is under fire for the soaring prices for food items."
Senior ministers as well as party leaders claimed that Chidambaram's "dog show" in the budget speech had taken away the charm of the budget, which they said had many positive proposals for the common man.
"In fact, the finance minister has done a good job. But unfortunately he could not convince either the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) or the public that it was a budget for them," pointed out a leader.
"Even if he was giving some sops for pet lovers, why should he announce it in the main budgetary speech?" asked another Congress leader.
The opposition and the communists were quick to pounce on Chidambaram's love for pets.
"What a wonderful budget! Food for human being becomes costlier and dog food cheaper!" Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sushma Swaraj yelled as she came out of parliament house Wednesday.
"This government cares for cats and dogs, not for the poor," chipped in Telugu Desam Party MP K. Yerran Naidu.
Beijing, March 1 (Xinhua) China has completed construction of a thermonuclear fusion reactor, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced here Thursday.
The Experimental Advanced Super conducting Tokamak (EAST) is an upgrade of China's first generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in operation in the world, said Chinese scientists
About 2,000 Chinese researchers are engaged in studying thermonuclear fusion and succeeded in generating an electrical current of 250 kilo amperes in five seconds.
Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST is the cheapest and fastest to build and the first to go into operation. In 2003, China joined the 4.6 billion euro ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), the largest international programme dedicated to experiments in thermonuclear fusion.
"EAST fusion reactor has obtained state ratification for test results, use of funds, operational management and data authenticity," said a 34-person joint ratification committee at the CAS news conference.
Beijing, March 1 (Xinhua) Southeast China's Fujian province was on high alert after it confirmed a human case of bird flu, an official said Thursday.
Zhang Changpin, vice governor of Fujian, ordered compulsory inoculation of all fowls to prevent an outbreak of the epidemic. He asked the health, stock-raising and forestry authorities at all levels to be on high alert and monitor the situation closely.
Li, a 44-year-old farmer in Jian'ou city, developed symptoms of fever, cough and expectoration Feb 18. Tests by the provincial disease control and prevention centre showed that the patient was infected with the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.
The patient is said to be receiving treatment at a local hospital and is in a critical condition. She was confirmed to have made contact with dead fowls.
Li is the country's first human case of bird flu in about seven weeks. On Jan 10, a 37-year-old farmer in east China's Anhui Province had contracted bird flu but had recovered subsequently.
The virus has killed 14 people in China since 2003.
Beijing, March 1 (Xinhua) China's State Nuclear Power Technology Co. has selected Westinghouse Electric Co. of the US to provide technology for four nuclear power generating units to be built in China, according to a framework contract signed here on Thursday.
Under the contract, Westinghouse will provide four third generation pressurised water reactors, two in Sanmen City, in east China's Zhejiang Province, and two in Haiyang City, Shandong Province.
Beijing, March 1 (Xinhua) The governments of China and France signed a landmark cooperative treaty here Thursday to set new standards for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) expected by practitioners to help in the fight against AIDS and cancer.
The two countries will cooperate in academic and clinical TCM research, setting new standards for TCM products in line with western medical practice and developing new TCM products, said the document signed by Chinese Health Minister Gao Qiang and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.
"TCM is useful for treating cancers, AIDS and other serious diseases, and is indispensable in disease prevention, health care, treatment and recovery," Gao said.
TCM, considered an alternative medicine in many Western countries, has attracted foreign patients because of its perceived ability to alleviate AIDS and cancer symptoms and improve their life quality. It has millions of followers in China because of its effectiveness and its low cost compared with Western medicines.
Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that France is ready to use its expertise in modern medicine to make TCM safer, more effective and to bring it into line with modern medical practices. France has had a total of 47 Nobel laureates, 8 of them are in the medical field.
China has now signed 26 cooperative agreements on TCM with foreign countries or international medical organizations, and more than 70 medical treaties with foreign countries including cooperation on TCM.
TCM, which has a 3,000-year history, has a unique system for diagnosing and curing illness, fundamentally different from that of Western medicine. Typical TCM therapies include acupuncture, herbal medicine and Qigong exercises.
Beijing, March 1 (Xinhua) Southeast China's Fujian province has put its health service on maximum alert to take preventive measures against bird flu after a a man was confirmed to have been infected with the virus, officials said Thursday.
According to the provincial health department, a 44-year-old farmer, surnamed Li, in Jian'ou city in the province developed symptoms of fever, coughing and expectoration Feb 18 and laboratory test results showed he had been infected with bird flu virus strain H5N1.
Zhang Changpin, vice governor of the Fujian province, has ordered compulsory inoculation on all fowls, and required local authorities to set up vaccination files and issue certificates to vaccinated animals.
Zhang required the health, stock-raising and forestry authorities at all levels to be on high alert and closely monitor it.
He also asked local workers to quarantine and check the animals at every stage when they leave farm, enter slaughter houses and are put in the market. Those who failed should be punished accordingly.
The patient is now receiving treatment at local hospital and is in severe condition. She was confirmed to have made contact with dead fowls.
Li is the country's first human case of bird flu in about seven weeks since China reported Jan 10 that a 37-year-old farmer in east China's Anhui
Province had contracted bird flu but had recovered.
H5N1 infection killed 14 people in China since 2003.
According to Fujian health authorities, China's Health Ministry has conveyed the information to WHO, health agencies in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and some other countries.
New York, March 1(IRNA) Some 25 American peace activists left San Luis, California, on a two-week peace mission to Tehran, the California-based `San Luis Tribune' announced Thursday.
The visit was organized by `Efforts for Peace', an international volunteer group dedicated to the cause of peace.
The organization has over 100 years of experience in peaceful activities and has played a significant role in many regional and international peace demonstrations aimed at promoting peace around the world.
The civic-minded group is to meet with ordinary civilians, the independent and government-run media, university instructors and students, religious leaders and representatives of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
According to the daily, the US delegation will also confer with politico-religious leaders and visit historical sites in Iran.
Details of the group's itinerary was not disclosed by the daily.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday declined to stay the release of Ram Gopal Varma's controversial Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Nishabd" that releases Friday.
However, a division bench comprising Chief Justice M.K. Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Khanna issued notice to Ram Gopal Varma, RGV Films and the censor board on a revision petition filed by film director Jahar Kanungo accusing Varma of plagiarism.
The court asked the respondents to file their replies by April 9.
Kanungo, who has made a Bengali art film called "Nisshabd", accused Varma of resorting to plagiarism and sought a court direction seeking stay on the release of the movie.
Kanungo's counsel Kartik Jai Shanker had mentioned the matter Wednesday before the division bench that posted the matter for hearing Thursday.
On Tuesday, a single bench of Justice A.K. Sikri had dismissed Kanungo's petition, squarely blaming him for not getting legal reprieve because he approached the court late.
'Nishabd', directed by Varma, tells the story of a 65-year-old man, infatuated with a girl of his daughter's age. The lead roles in the film have been played by Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan and Rewati.
Karnal, March 1 (IANS) A number of houses belonging to the Dalit community were set on fire near here Thursday afternoon following the murder of a person of another community.
District police officials confirmed that Rajput community members in Salwan village in Haryana set 12 to 15 houses of Dalits on fire.
The action was meant to avenge the murder of Mahipal Singh, a Rajput, by some Dalits Tuesday, police officials said.
Additional police force was rushed to the village to defuse the situation.
The Rajput youths ransacked homes of Dalits before setting some of them on fire.
No loss of life or injury was reported, district police chief Sibash Kabiraj said.
The police conducted raids at several places to arrest the culprits behind setting fire to the houses of Dalits.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) William Dalrymple's "The Last Mughal", a fascinating account of the final years of Bahadur Shah Zafar II's Delhi court during the first war of Indian independence in 1857, tops the list of non-fiction books while British journalist and author India Knight's "The Dirty Bits for girls" is top in the fiction list.
NON-FICTION
1. Title: The Last Mughal
Author: William Dalrymple
Publisher: Penguin-Viking
Price: Rs.695.00
2. Title: In Spite of the Gods
Author: Edward Luce
Publisher: Little, Brown
Price: Rs.695
3. Title: Trees of Delhi
Author: Pradip Krishen
Publisher: Delhi Tourism
Price: Rs.799.00
4. Title: Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
Author: Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor
Publisher: Vintage
Price: $12.75 (Rs.564)
5. Title: Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, his People and an Empire
Author: Rajmohan Gandhi
Publisher: Penguin - Viking
Price: Rs.650.00
6. Title: The Tao of Deception
Author: Ralph D. Sawyer
Publisher: Basic Books
Price: $22.50 (Rs.990)
7. Title: 13 Dec
Author: Arundhati Roy
Publisher: A Penguin Original
Price: Rs.200
8. Title: Reflections in a Sacred Pond
Author: Murad Ali Baig
Publisher: Tara
Price: Rs.295
9. Title: The World Economy
Author: Angus Maddison
Publisher: Academic Foundation
Price: Rs.1,295.00
10. Title: The Oxford Companion to Economics in India
Author: Kaushik Basu
Publisher: Oxford
Price: Rs.2,750
FICTION
1. Title: The Dirty Bits for girls
Author: India Knight
Publisher: Virago
Price: Rs.495.00
2. Title: Nineteen Minutes
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Hodder Stoughton
Price: 6.90 pounds (Rs.595)
3. Title: The Peacock Throne
Author: Sujit Saraf
Publisher: Sceptre
Price: 11.99 pounds (Rs.1,034)
4. Title: Sophie Kinsella
Author: Shopaholic & Baby
Publisher: Bantam Press
Price: 7.25 pounds (Rs.626)
5. Title: The Inheritance of Loss
Author: Kiran Desai
Publisher: A Penguin Book
Price: Rs.395.00
6. Title: Animals People
Author: Indra Sinha
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Price: $12.50 (Rs.550)
7. Title: Ishq and Mushq
Author: Priya Basil
Publisher: Doubleday
Price: Rs.495.00
8. Title: Love in Torn Land
Author: Jean Sasson
Publisher: Doubleday
Price: 7.75 pounds (Rs.669)
9. Title: Shame: Forced into Marriage, Rejected by those she loved
Author: Jasvinder Sanghera
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Price: 7.50 pounds (Rs.647)
10. Title: HIDE
Author: Lisa Gardner
Publisher: Orion
Price: 5.50 pounds (Rs.474)
The list has been provided by Bahri Sons, Khan Market, Delhi.
Roorkee, March 1 (Indianmuslims.info) That the division of Muslim votes strengthens communal Hindutva forces came true once again with the results of Assembly elections in Uttarakhand. There are more than a dozen constituencies in the plains region of the State where owing to the division of Muslim votes the Congress candidates were defeated and the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the direct beneficiary of this political game plan.
In bringing defeat to the Congress, which had been in absolute power in the State for the last five years, Maulana Masood Madani’s Maidani Kranti Dal (MKD, whose candidates fought as Independents) and the Bahujan Kranti Party of Asim Singh – who had defected from Bahujan Samaj Party – played an important role. Though these newly-formed parties failed to make their debut in the Assembly, their participation in the electoral fray ultimately paved the way for the BJP.
In some cases more than one Muslim candidate fighting on the tickets of different political parties cost the Muslims very dear.
For instance, in Iqbalpur constituency of Haridwar district three political parties – Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Kranti Party – fielded Muslim candidates. Although these three Muslim candidates were defeated, the total votes cast for these three candidates proved to be more than those bagged by the winning candidate (in this case a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, Choudhary Yashveer Singh).
It is widely believed in the political circles here that Maulana Masood Madani’s MKD had the defeat of Congress as its primary goal, and this ‘short-sighted’ policy went in favour of the BJP.
Abu Dhabi, March 1 (Xinhua) A series of hacker attacks launched by an extremist group in Turkey on Dubai eGovernment hosted websites have been foiled by web security team within two hours, the Gulf News reported Thursday.
"We believe the hackers belonged to an extremist group in Turkey as they also pasted a message in Turkish apparently referring to the killing of Hrant Dink and approving it," Said Salem Al Shair, eServices Director of Dubai eGovernment.
Hrant Dink, a 53-year-old Turkish journalist of Armenian descent, was shot dead outside his office on Jan 19 in Istanbul, which stirred a public outcry.
He was well known for writing controversial articles about the alleged Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks during the World War I and had received a six-month suspended sentence.
London, March 1(IRNA) The pro-British Democratic Unionists (DUP) and their Irish republican adversaries, Sinn Fein, are set to retain their position as Northern Ireland's two leading parties after next week's elections to Belfast's assembly, according to a poll.
The poll, the only one to be published so far during the Northern Ireland election campaign, shows the DUP on 25 per cent and Sinn Fein on 22 per cent, compared to 25.6 per cent and 23.5 per cent at the last assembly elections in 2004.
The Irish nationalist SDLP was shown to be up to 20 per cent, compared to 17 per cent four years ago, while support for the Ulster Unionists, the province's previous largest party, was put on only 16 per cent, down from 22.7 per cent in 2004.
Predictions have suggested that the UUP may gain a handful of seats to boost their current 30 members of the 108 seat devolved assembly and that Sinn Fein's number of 24 could be added to and overtake the UUP's 27, which is expected to fall heavily.
The elections are set to pave the way to the revival of the assembly suspended four years ago following the agreement by the UUP, previously opposed to the Good Friday peace deal, to share power with Sinn Fein.
Just half of those polled in the survey, published in the Belfast Telegraph Thursday, said they believed there was a likelihood of a working executive after the election.
But only a quarter felt that DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness could work well together in their designated positions as First and Deputy First Minister in a new power-sharing administration.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Cultures and cuisines will mix, giving India a taste of Europe when EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel comes here with the leaders of top food and liquor companies March 6.
"Boel will be accompanied by a 28-member delegation representing the agricultural and food processing industries of Europe," said Francisco da Camara Gomes, head of the delegation of the European Commission in India.
Boel, the EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development, will start her visit to India March 6. She will meet Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay and leaders of the Indian business community.
She goes to Mumbai March 9 where she will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and top business leaders.
"The key objective of the commissioner's visit is to reinforce and highlight common areas of partnership and growth in the field of agriculture and food processing technology," said Gomes.
Indians will get a chance to taste multicultural food at the International Ahaar Food Fair to be held at Pragati Maidan here March 8.
Top EU food companies like Arla Foods of Denmark, Danone and Lactalis of France, Gancia (Italy) and renowned liquor brands like Gonzalez Byass of Spain, Hilltop of Hungary, Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) of France and Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) of Britain will be pitching their tent at the festival in the hope of getting a slice of the burgeoning Indian pie.
Singapore, March 1 (DPA) India's third-party logistics market is forecast to experience explosive growth, reaching a market size of $125 billion in 2010, market analyst Datamonitor said in a report published Thursday.
The prediction comes on the back of India's gross domestic product (GDP) growing at more than 9 percent a year and the manufacturing sector enjoying double-digit growth rates.
Third-party logistics, or 3PL, is the outsourcing of a company's logistics operations to a specialized firm that provides multiple services for customers as opposed to having the respective company having an in-house unit to oversee its supply chain and transportation of goods.
"With increased geographical distribution of incomes in India, the consumer markets are extending beyond the five metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad," said Datamonitor's report published in The Business Times.
"Strong foreign direct investment in automotive, capital goods, electronics, retail and telecom will lead to increased market opportunities for providers of 3PL in India," it noted.
Outsourced logistics, at one-quarter of the $90 billion Indian market, is set to increase at a compound annual growth rate of more than 16 percent from 2007 to 2010, said Datamonitor.
Recognising the potential in the contract logistics market, 3PL service providers are expanding as companies looking for more than just transportation of their products and raw materials, the report added.
Jaipur, March 1 (IANS) The Rajasthan government has lined up a series of events, festivals and competitions to celebrate Rajasthan Day during March 24-30.
The events will include performances by celebrities such as actor Hema Malini and singer Kailash Kher and plays by the Prithvi Theatre Group from Mumbai. Folk artistes have been also been roped in.
Rajasthan tourism department officials say that efforts are on to invite singing legend Asha Bhosle and musician A.R. Rahman.
The inaugural celebrations for 'Dhora Ri Dharti' (Land of the Desert), organised by the tourism department, will take place at the Sawai Mann Singh stadium here, Usha Punia, Rajasthan's minister of state for tourism, told IANS.
The ceremony will be followed by a dance performance by Hema Malini.
A variety of cultural programmes will be held against the backdrop of the Albert Hall Museum here over the week. These will include a concert by ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali at the Albert Hall. Prithvi Theatre Group will perform March 27.
The other events include a tattoo show, puppet shows, adventure sports, a golf tournament, a `Run for Rajasthan' and a maha aarti (prayers). Rural sports like kabbadi, kho-kho and tug-of-war will take place at the SMS Stadium.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Jubilant faces came out of the gates, fanning a wave of relief to the anxious parents waiting for their wards to finish their first paper of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) class 12 exams Thursday.
The board exams kick-started with Physics, a subject not everyone was very comfortable with. But students, who were seemingly tense in the morning, were quite satisfied with their paper after all.
"It was an easy paper!" said an excited Ritika. "The derivatives were easy and there were very few numericals. That's all that I wanted," she said as her father beamed.
While most of the students heaved a sigh of relief that the exams had started on a good note and that most of the questions were as expected, there were some who said that the paper was a little lengthy.
"I had to leave a couple of questions worth seven marks because I didn't have the time to attempt them," said Sneha. "Nevertheless, the Physics question paper this year is easier than last year's," her friend added.
Each exam is of three-hour duration with an extra 15 minutes as cool-off time. The Physics question paper this year had less numerical questions and simple ones on derivatives.
This year 502,688 students from 4,789 schools are taking the Class 12 examinations both in India and abroad - an increase of 9.59 percent from 2006. The students will take their exams in the 2,276 examination centres, of which 33 are in foreign countries.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) An estimated 4.43 million people from abroad toured India in 2006, an increase of 13 percent over the previous year, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni informed parliament Thursday.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Soni said: "The foreign tourist arrival to India during 2006 is provisionally estimated to be 4.43 million, showing an increase of 13 percent over the corresponding figure of 3.92 million during 2005."
The minister said Britain tops the list of countries from where India gets the maximum number of tourists. During last year, 651,083 tourists were from Britain followed by 611,165 from the US.
Among others, Canada, France, Sri Lanka, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and Italy are the countries from where India saw a good flow of tourists during 2006.
To woo foreign tourists to India, the government was taking several steps like improving road, rail and air connectivity, participating in international tourism fairs and exhibitions, and using web marketing for better publicity and reach.
The minister said the government was according greater focus in the emerging markets, particularly China, Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.
By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, March 1 (IANS) Twenty-one years ago Amulya Nath Sharma spent Easter in a Kathmandu police station for preaching before a gathering that also included Hindu relatives of churchgoers. Now, with the world's only Hindu kingdom becoming a secular state, he will lead Nepal's growing Christian community as the country's first bishop.
Earlier this month, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Nepal from a prefecture to vicariate and named Father Anthony Francis Sharma as the kingdom's first bishop.
Sharma, 69, embraced Christianity at the age of four when his mother, a widow, converted in India's Assam state. He will be ordained at an official ceremony in Kathmandu on May 5 when he will be sworn in by the Pope's representative, Papal nuncio papal Pedro Lopez Quintana, in a ceremony to be also attended by the archbishops of Patna and Bagdogra from India.
It is a moment of exultation for Nepal's Christian community who till the 1990s faced prison or other punishment for proselytising.
Conversions were a punishable offence in Nepal till last April, when a public revolt forced King Gyanendra to step down as head of government and the newly restored parliament declared the world's only Hindu kingdom a secular state.
Father Sharma remembers the earlier days when anyone found to own even a copy of the Bible faced imprisonment or deportation.
He joined the Jesuits in 1956 and spent his childhood in Kurseong in eastern India. Father Sharma was sent to the Philippines for higher education in counselling and psychology and returned to India again for several teaching assignments.
The most prominent was as principal and rector of Darjeeling's famed North Point School, where traditionally, Nepal's royal family used to send its sons for education.
Prince Dhirendra, the present king's younger brother who died in the palace massacre in 2001, was a student of father Sharma.
"I also admitted Crown Prince Paras to the school," the future bishop of Nepal told IANS.
Father Sharma returned to Nepal in 1984 when he was appointed superior of Nepal.
Now eight months away from his 70th birthday, the priest thinks the appointment should have gone to a Nepali Jesuit from the ethnic communities.
"My days are numbered," he said. "In any case, I will have to retire after six years.
"I want to spend that time preparing someone from the ethnic communities."
Though the first Jesuit missionaries arrived in Nepal as early as the 18th century at the invitation of the then Malla kings about 238 years ago, when the present king Gyanendra's ancestor King Prithvi Narayan Shah overran the smaller principalities and consolidated his kingdom, they were expelled on the suspicion they were spying for the British government.
However, after a pro-democracy movement in 1950 ended the tyrannical regime of the all-powerful Rana prime ministers, the Jesuit fathers were invited back, though only to run schools and hospitals.
New York, March 1 (IANS) Garlic supplements may not help reduce cholesterol or other blood fats, irrespective of the type of garlic consumed, says a new study.
Several earlier studies had shown that garlic could effectively lower cholesterol. However, researchers at Stanford University tested raw garlic and two different garlic supplements on nearly 200 adults with moderately high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
After six months, the patients showed no improvements in their average cholesterol or other blood fats (lipids), no matter what kind of garlic they had consumed, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.
"Garlic supplements or dietary garlic in reasonable doses are unlikely to produce lipid benefits" in people with moderately high LDL cholesterol levels" the study said.
Researcher Christopher Gardner said the study was large enough and long enough to have detected any cholesterol changes.
"We even looked separately at the participants with the highest versus the lowest LDL cholesterol levels at the start of the study, and the results were identical," Gardner observed.
However, the researchers don't rule out the possibility that garlic has health benefits for other groups of people (such as those with higher LDL cholesterol levels) or those who require higher doses.
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) The Gateway of India, Mumbai's most prized landmark is all set for a makeover after getting the nod from the city's civic body, which has cleared a Rs.460 million phase one revamp plan.
The Gateway of India precinct, a Grade 1 heritage monument, got the go ahead for a revamp at a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Standing Committee meeting Wednesday. While the monument itself would remain untouched, the precincts would be made into a "no-parking" zone.
"The revamp plan would include expanding the pedestrian space in the area as well as relocating all public amenities at a facility centre," said P.K. Das architect for Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the appointed consultant for the makeover project.
The facility centre, to be located behind the Shivaji statue, will house all existing ticket counters for ferries that currently clutter the pathway to the monument. It will have a water fountain, kiosks, toilets, a Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation stall.
"The plan is to create more public movement. In a nutshell, the phase 1 of the project will look at enhancing pedestrian movement over vehicular movement and at augmenting public facilities," Das told IANS Thursday.
But residents of thee nearby Colaba area have voiced opposition to the new plan. The Colaba Residents Welfare Association stressed that the 'no parking' clause would create traffic and congestion problems for them.
"By eliminating the existing space and not providing an alternative will only worsen our condition," said Lucior Gurung, a Colaba resident.
"We are opposed to such revamp plans that do not take the concerns of the local residents into account. We fear severe traffic congestion in the area with visitors parking their vehicles in the residential areas," Gurung said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ravindra Pawar, who is also a member of the BMC standing committee, was also opposed to the revamp plans.
He said: "The plan makes no provision for parking based on the argument that most people who come to the Gateway use tourist vehicles and public transport. The cars belong to those who come to the nearby Taj Mahal Hotel.
How can they go ahead with the plan without permission from the traffic department?"
Satish Mathur, the city's joint commissioner of police (traffic) said he was yet to get a copy of the revamp plan.
Das, however, defended the plan. "Parking space for tourist buses and cars will be taken care of in phase 2.
"Tell me, where in the world is parking allowed in the precincts of a heritage monument? Moreover, the Taj hotel has its own provision for underground parking, which has for some reason been closed down.
"The BMC is proposing to build an underground parking lot near Regal Cinema close by," Das said.
Geneva, March 1 (DPA) If it's spring in Europe, it must be Geneva. This year, the lakeside motor show at the Palexpo congress centre in the Swiss city can be relied on to present a tempting array of previously unseen cars.
The 77th Geneva Salon event runs for 10 days - from March 8 to 18 - and 250 exhibitors from more than 30 countries are lined up to attend. Most cars on show will be entering the showrooms in time for the start of the car-buying season, but Geneva also gives a taste of what is further down the pipeline.
Among the wraps coming off here are those on the revamped version of Ford's family favourite, the Mondeo, glimpsed in the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale".
The US maker has high hopes for the new car, which weighs in at Geneva in saloon, hatchback and estate form. Based on the platform of the successful S-Max van, the Mondeo boasts dramatic lines and a remarkably refined ride thanks to new suspension.
"People should be so impressed by what they see that they simply want to own one," said Ford's chief designer Martin Smith, who used to work for General Motor's subsidiary Opel.
Over at the DaimlerChrysler stand, the new third-generation C-class marks a bid by Mercedes-Benz to reposition the model as a genuine sports saloon rather than just the little brother of the executive E-class.
Leaked pictures of Audi's new A5 can be found on motoring blogs all over the Internet, but Ingolstadt's glorious new coupe will not be officially unveiled until Geneva.
The car takes its styling cues from the smaller TT, but sports much more flowing lines than motorists have been used to from this manufacturer. Under-bonnet and interior details will be revealed during the event.
Among the other new cars making their debuts in Switzerland will be Fiat's Stilo-successor, the Bravo, the face-lifted BMW 5 and 1 series saloons and two sporting Honda Civic variants. Renault is due to showcase the second-generation Twingo.
Japanese maker Mazda has turned the angular hatchback 2 on its head and come up with a much sleeker version of the city car on its Geneva stand. The platform will be shared with the new Ford Fiesta. Production of the new Mazda is being switched from the company's European plant in Valencia, Spain to Mazda's main factory in Hiroshima.
Mouth-watering super-cars this year include a new Bentley, a revamped, high-performance BMW M3 and a svelte Maserati Coupé powered by Ferrari's 4.3 litre engine from the F430.
KTM is best known for making motorbikes, but it will be bringing along the X-Bow roadster, a door-less, Audi-engine kit car. Dutch tuner Donkervoort returns to the fray after an absence of some years with a closed top sports car, the D8 GT. Abarth, famous for its breathed-on Fiats, is back too with a cooking version of the Punto hatchback.
Of course, Geneva would not be the same without a host of concepts challenging the way motorists look at cars. Switzerland has no auto industry of its own, but the country is home to numerous custom producers, including Rinspeed.
The Exasis is the latest weird and wonderful creation from the stable that has given us the "Splash", the "Senso" and the "zaZen" - a show stealer last year. It also marks the company's 30th birthday.
Visionary designer Frank Rinderknecht says the Exasis is supposed to look like a cross between an off-roader and Auto Union's classic cigar-shaped racing cars of yore.
The two-seater is made of electrically coated transparent plastic that comes from Germany's Bayer Materialscience company. The car weighs next to nothing around 750 kg in fact with acceleration in the Porsche-class. The lightweight two-cylinder motor turns out 150 hp, but the Exasis can be driven hard with a clear conscience the engine runs on bioethanol fuel, which boasts low CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.
Bangkok/Berlin, March 1 (DPA) Thailand is a top tourist destination, and no force seems able to stop that - not even the 2004 tsunami, nor the bomb blasts in Bangkok around the turn of 2006.
But some tourists themselves, whether through incapability, carelessness or stupidity, make their Thai holiday a disaster and wind up in hospital, in prison or even dead.
The list of pitfalls is long. It includes overindulgence in alcohol and sex, and inadequate insurance coverage for accidents or illness. In addition, many tourists are unaware that smoking marijuana on the beach or in their hotel room is just as illegal as overstaying their visa.
Visitors who break the law and fail to pay the ensuing fine will end up in jail faster than they think. And those lacking funds cannot expect a gift of money from their country's diplomatic mission in Thailand.
Bangkok-based foreign diplomats and physicians in tourist centres such as Bangkok, Phuket, Ko Samui, Chang Mai and Pattaya are often astounded by tourists' carelessness.
"A lot of people are less inhibited while on holiday than they are at home," noted Olivier Meyer, a Swiss physician who practices in Pattaya.
Older men with fragile health are particularly at risk.
"Someone with heart problems who thoughtlessly plunges into Thailand's pleasures is endangering his life," Meyer said,
His colleagues agree - the heat on the beach, several shots of hard liquor, a Viagra and then vigorous sex with a bar girl is "a life-threatening cocktail".
Heart and circulatory failure, and diseases common in old age generally, are the most frequent causes of death among German tourists, according to the German embassy in Bangkok. Traffic accidents, often involving motorcycles, come next.
Some 160 Germans died in Thailand last year, many of them because of careless behaviour. The figure was about 120 in 2000 when fewer Germans travelled to the Asian country of palm-fringed beaches, Buddhist temples and elephant parks.
The German foreign ministry in Berlin said its embassy in Bangkok registered about 120 arrests of German tourists every year, usually because they committed fraud or remained in the country longer than permitted.
Visitors spending more than four weeks in Thailand require a visa. Missing deadlines and failing to pay fines can result in arrest and deportation.
Safety tips put out by Germany are constantly updated, as they were for Thailand in early January following a series of deadly bomb blasts in Bangkok.
Overall, however, tour operators regard Thailand a safe destination, especially its traditional resorts. Attacks on tourists are seldom.
Motorcycle rentals are probably cheaper at Thailand's popular tourist spots than anywhere else.
Motorcycles with engine sizes of 700 cubic centimetres and more can be had for less than 20 euros (27 dollars0 per day. Mopeds cost as little as 5 euros per day.
Rental firms often do not ask to see a driving licence, and the vehicles are rarely insured, so tourists carry the full risk, often without knowing it. And sometimes they have no health insurance that covers them while abroad.
Helmetless holidaymakers wearing T-shirts and shorts, their hair blowing in the wind, can be seen zipping along the shore on motorcycles, particularly in Pattaya, sometimes even with a bottle of beer in their hand.
Motorcycle rental firms also do good business in lesser-known places such as Hua Hin and on the island of Koh Tao.
The Bangkok-based Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) wants all tourists to obey the country's laws and customs.
"Fortunately, only a fraction of our guests get into trouble," said Satit Nillwongse, executive director of TAT's Europe department.
London, March 1 (IANS) A Lebanese businessman has been charged with the murder of his British Indian police officer wife.
Fadi Nasri, 33, along with another man, 37-year-old Roger Lesley, were charged Thursday with the murder of special constable Nisha Patel Nasri, who was stabbed to death outside her home in Wembley May 11 last year, according to Daily Mail newspaper.
Nasri, who runs a limousine business, was held on suspicion of murder in north London Tuesday.
Nisha, who grew up in London, had been working as a special constable for three-and-a-half years.
The 29-year-old constable and her husband were celebrating their wedding anniversary on the night of the attack.
Two other men Tony Emmanuel, 41 and Jason Jones, 35, are already under police custody and have been charged with the murder.
The motive for the attack on Nisha is still not clear. She was killed with a cook's knife, which was missing from her kitchen after the attack. Later, police was able to recover the knife and it was found to carry not only Nisha's DNA, but also that of her suspected attacker.
By Qaiser Mohammad Ali,
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) Admitting that his shot selection has been poor, ace batsman Virender Sehwag hopes that luck will "smile" during the World Cup so he can give India flying starts again.
"Luck has not been with me for sometime now. I hope the bad times are over and luck will smile on me during the World Cup," Sehwag told IANS in an exclusive interview here.
"My shot selection has also not been good in the recent past and it contributed to my poor form," he said in his hotel room before catching the early morning flight to West Indies Thursday with the entire Indian team.
The 16-nation World Cup begins March 11, and India plays its first match against Bangladesh March 17 in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Sehwag, who showed signs of regaining his touch with a strokeful 46 against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam in the last one-dayer before the World Cup, is aiming to score consistently in India's two warm-up matches in the West Indies to cement his place in the XI.
"My goal is to put up consistent performance. I have worked hard in the off time in Delhi and hope it will bear fruit. Hope good times are just around the corner," he said of his long practice sessions under his childhood coach Amar Nath Sharma.
"I will take it match by match in the West Indies," said the 28-year-old, the lone Indian to have scored a triple Test century.
Sehwag's hopes emanate especially from his 46-run knock in which he looked in complete control of shot selection. In that series, he returned to the Indian team after being rested for the preceding series against the West Indies owing to poor form.
He was, however, quite bizarrely run out when looking set to notch his 25th half-century, and possibly his eighth century. The run out drew a lot of criticism for his casual approach, but Sehwag emphasised that his mind was very much on the game.
"I was not distracted; I was not thinking anything else except cricket. I just thought I was in the crease," he commented on his dismissal for the first time in the media.
After he completed the run, wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara broke the wickets at the bowler's end to take Sehwag completely by surprise.
"The only thing that I was thinking was that I had missed a boundary; that had I played the shot well it could have crossed the boundary."
Sehwag, who has aggregated 4,833 runs in 167 one-dayers, also clarified that removal from vice-captaincy has not affected him or his batting.
"After all, when I started playing cricket I never expected that one day I would become the Indian team's vice-captain, so when I was removed it did not affect me," he said.
"You have to bat responsibly at all times, whether you are vice-captain or not."
Sehwag said the last two international innings have given him a lot of confidence.
"When you are not scoring runs your confidence is low. During the break (he was rested against the West Indies series) I cleared my mind. I came back with a fresh mind against Sri Lanka," he said.
Sehwag had extended practice sessions, ironing out flaws in his technique with Sharma's help. "I had uninterrupted batting sessions of up to two hours during the break. It helped me improve my concentration level."
"Usually, 30-35 overs are bowled in two hours in one-day internationals. And if you bat for that period, you can carry that concentration to the rest of the (50-over) innings," he explained.
Now Sehwag is looking to score some more runs in the warm-up matches against the Netherlands and the West Indies March 6 and 9 at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica to enhance his confidence.
"Scoring well in those matches will help a great deal," said the cricketer who was the top scorer with 82 in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia in Johannesburg.
Cape Town, March 1 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) Thursday decided to "target test" players for banned substances during the forthcoming World Cup, in the wake of Pakistani players Shoaib Ahktar and Mohammed Asif testing positive during the Champions Trophy in India last year.
The target tests will be in addition to ICC's commitment to randomly test four players - two from each side - in 17 of the 51 matches in the 16-nation meet starting March 11 in the West Indies.
The tests may take place at any time from Friday onwards, when the tournament's support period starts ahead of the warm-up matches.
"Both Shoaib and Asif have played for Pakistan over the past few months despite testing positive for prohibited substances last year. That is a fact neither player has disputed and it is also a fact that has caused the game a high level of embarrassment as a result," said Malcolm Speed, chief executive officer of the ICC, during a board meeting here.
He added that the ICC wants to make sure that all the players who take part in the World Cup are free from banned substances.
"From an ICC perspective, having the option to target-test as well as the already-scheduled tests in place means that if a player does have anything in his system then there is a very strong possibility he will be caught out," said Speed.
Speed went on to add that the ICC is committed to maintain zero tolerance of drugs in the game and are loyal to the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) Code, to which they signed in July last year.
"Since signing the WADA Code we have produced a DVD on the ICC's anti-doping policy that was distributed to all teams at the Champions Trophy," revealed Speed.
"The DVD has also been sent to the six other teams taking part in the World Cup and it has been translated into Hindi and Urdu."
Speed said that the ICC has embarked on a mission to help all its members to educate the players and officials and empower them to introduce a WADA-compliant policy.
Shoaib and Asif tested positive of banned substance Nandrolone during an internal test conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in October during the Champions Trophy. Shoaib was handed a two-year ban and Asif for one year but the PCB dramatically reinstated both the players, much against the wishes of the ICC.
The ICC then moved the Court of Arbitration in Sports against the PCB's decision to re-impose the ban and the case is still going on.
The ghost of dope test again returned Thursday as the duo was withdrawn from the World Cup squad on grounds of fitness. It seems that the PCB is not willing to face further humiliation as the chances are that the duo will again test positive in the target tests conducted by the ICC.
Phulwari Sharif, March 1 (Indianmuslims.info) Imarat Shariah Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand has expressed grave concern over the spitting of communal venom by Vishwa Hindu Parishad general secretary Praveen Togadia in Bihar, saying that his (Togadia’s) inflammable statements can poison the atmosphere of brotherhood and communal harmony in the State if stern action is not taken against him.
Imarat Shariah Nazim Maulana Aneesur Rahman Qasmi said here Wednesday, “It seems the State government has given him free hand (to do/say whatsoever he likes) that he is making venomous statements against a particular community in Bihar and polluting the atmosphere of the State.�
The Imarat Shariah leader added that Togadia has made such inflammable statements in Hajipur and Siwan that the government should take stern action against him forthwith. “The government should arrest him,� he said without mincing any words.
He further informed the presspersons that Imarat Shariah had taken serious notice of such statements made by Bajrang Dal and RSS activists in Kishunganj and Darbhanga the other day when it addressed a letter, along with newspaper clippings of their diatribe, to Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah, urging the government to ban making inflammatory speeches and take action against those who are hell bent upon doing so.
New Delhi, March 1(IRNA) India's Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath Thursday invited Australian companies to tap the growing opportunities in India's mining, farm and education sectors.
"The mining sector should be of great interest to you. The economies of India's traditionally backward states, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa, have the potential to grow from USD 30 billion in 2003 to USD 75 billion by 2015 if they tap their mineral wealth, and in the coming years I expect Australian companies with their state-of-the-art clean coal and mining technologies to play a huge role in developing the wealth of these states," said Kamal Nath while addressing the 16th meeting of the India-Australia Joint Business Council organized by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here Thursday.
The farm sector stakeholders may have a lot to offer to India in latest farming methods and cropping patterns, he said.
India, Kamal Nath said, was in the process of revitalizing its farm sector massive investments in processing capabilities and cold chains. It was also looking to diversify its crop mix.
"I believe that Australian food processing companies can play a big role in developing boutique crops in India such as canola, Chinese vegetables, grapes, organic wheat and berries," he pointed out.
Kamal Nath said the education sector had a vast scope for Australian firms and institutions. This was already becoming evident from the fact that last year Australia edged out the UK to become the second most sought after destination for Indian students, attracting 15,000 students in 2006, he added.
Responding to the concerns expressed by Habil Khorakiwala, president of FICCI, on availability of visas for business travel, Australian Minister for Trade Warren Truss said the two governments had agreed to resolve the issue so that multiple entry visas could be made easily available to business visitors.
Truss, who is leading the largest-ever business delegation to India, alluded to the synergies that existed between the two countries that now needed to be translated into concrete business ties. For instance, he said, Australia has huge mineral and energy resources and India has a huge demand in these sectors.
He said food processing in India offered big opportunities for Australian companies. He said he would initiate a major study in Australia on India's food processing industries in order to assess how Australian companies could assist Indian companies in this sector.
The meeting was also addressed by Brian Hayes, chairman of the Australia-India JBC, Vikram Kapur, chairman of the India-Australia JBC, and Habil Khorakiwala, FICCI president.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Riding a 15 percent annual growth in arrivals over the last four years, India will be the partner country at ITB Berlin, the world's largest travel and trade show March 6-11 where it will showcase its rich cultural and scenic diversity that is a huge draw globally.
"As a partner state, ITB Berlin will provide the ideal platform for showcasing India's unique tourism products and promoting India as a preferred destination," a tourism ministry official said.
"Significantly, it gives an opportunity (for the) Incredible India (promotion campaign) to be the focus of five-six million people for one week and reach out to the largest audience of travel industry representatives, decision makers, the media and potential travellers," the official added.
"The world is turning towards India and India is open for business like never before. In such an environment, Incredible India is boldly and surely taking on the world," the official maintained.
As the partner state, India will host the opening ceremony, during which a cultural programme will feature a unique fashion and audio visual presentation - 'The Tree of Life' - portraying the country's rich textile craft heritage in contemporary terms, while retaining its cultural ethos.
The show will be a spectacular visual journey across some of the most craft rich areas of India and will tell the historic story of its 16 million crafts persons who, till today, practise their art much as their ancestors did.
Presented by Ritu Kumar, one of India's foremost fashion designers, the presentation will highlight the influence of Indian design motifs on the world.
The dance extravaganza thereafter will include the Kathak and Mohiniattam dance forms, musicians from Rajasthan, folk dancers from Gujarat and Orissa, drummers from Manipur, exuberant and rhythmic dancers from Punjab, martial dance forms, acrobatic acts and a lot more.
Tourism Minister Ambika Soni will inaugurate the India pavilion on March 7.
Set up in an area of 870 square metres, it will see the participation of 20 state tourism departments, organisations like Air India, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and the India Tourism Development Corp, as also some 45 travel agents, tour operators, hotels and resorts.
The daily activities at the pavilion that will have "Colours of India" as its theme will comprise cultural performances, live demonstration of Ayurveda and art and craft skills, application of henna, and distribution of brochures, posters, bindis, bangles and other promotional material.
A 100-strong cultural group from India will give a feel of Indian folk and traditional dance forms to the visitors.
This apart, graffiti splattered on the shuttle buses plying within the fair ground will further enhance the India ambience.
A host of seminars on subjects like business opportunities in India, trekking in the Himalayas, medical and wellness tourism, and scuba diving and river rafting will also be held on the occasion.
For 40 years, ITB Berlin has been a driving force in the worldwide travel industry, attracting high-ranking professionals with decision-making powers, and has shown a steady increase in the number of exhibitors and visitors year-on-year.
"As a principal destination for business travellers and tourists, India has established a firm place in world tourism. Due to the country's political stability, its strong economy and an increasingly favourable business and investment climate, the growth prospects for the country in tourism are substantial," the tourism ministry official pointed out.
Proof of this is found in the fact that Conde Nast Traveller, the world's leading travel and tourism journal, has ranked India amongst the top four preferred holiday destinations of the world.
The website Lonely Planet has placed India amongst the top five destinations in a survey of 167 countries.
By Manish Chand,
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team will submit a formal request Thursday afternoon to the Argentine authorities to extradite Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi wanted for his role in the Bofors bribery scandal in India, India's envoy Pramathesh Rath said.
"The CBI team has arrived in Buenos Aires and will submit an extradition request along with necessary documents translated into Spanish at 4 p.m. (12.30 am IST) Thursday," Rath told IANS over the phone from Buenos Aires.
"We are well within the deadline," he said when asked whether New Delhi has been late in making a formal extradition request for Quattrocchi, who has been accused by the CBI of receiving $7 million in commissions for helping to fix the $2.1 billion gun deal.
According to Argrnine law, the Indian authorities have to submit an extradition request along with relevant documentation within 30 days of the arrest of a person who is sought to be extradited, Rath explained.
Quattrocchi, the sole surviving accused in the Bofors gun deal scam that rocked India in the eighties, was detained near the picturesque Iguazu Falls in Argentina's Misiones province where he was holidaying with his wife on Feb 6 and was released on bail on Feb 23.
"We have lined up a panel of Argentine lawyers to argue for the extradition of Quattrocchi. It's for the CBI to decide which one to choose," Rath said.
"The foreign office in Argentina will have to determine how to go about it," the envoy said when asked how long the legal process to extradite Quattrocchi will take.
"The Argentine foreign office has assured us that the issue will be dealt in an absolutely legal terms," Rath said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured that the CBI will be given full freedom to facilitate the extradition of Quattrocchi, known once for his proximity to the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Italian-born wife Sonia Gandhi who currently heads the ruling coalition.
As parliament erupted in furore over the Quattrocchi affair Thursday, Manmohan Singh assured that the government was ready for any discussion on the issue.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) India's merchandise exports rose 14.08 percent in January to result in a 32-percent growth in the first 10 months of 2006-07, valued at $99.13 billion, official data showed Thursday.
The exports were valued at $74.98 billion in the like period of last fiscal.
Statistics released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics of the commerce ministry said merchandise exports in January this year topped $9.65 billion against $8.46 billion in the like month of 2006.
The cumulative value of imports during the first 10 months was $149.73 billion, which was higher by 37.61 percent over $108.80 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
In January, imports amounted to $15.43 billion, against $11.37 billion in the like month of last year, to register a growth of 35.74 percent.
As a result, the trade deficit for the first 10 months jumped to $505.89 billion over $338.25 billion during the like period of last fiscal, April-January 2006.
The main reason for the high growth in trade deficit has been the 36.40 percent increase in crude imports, which were valued at $48.61 billion in the first 10 months of this fiscal against $35.64 billion in the in like period last year.
Non-oil imports, on the other hand, rose 23.31 percent and were valued at $10.11 billion in the first 10 months compared with $82.01 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
New Delhi, March(IRNA) An Indian MiG-21 aircraft crashed at Shibkhola near Kurseong in West Bengal's Darjeeling district Thursday afternoon.
It was not immediately known if the pilot was safe or not, PTI reported here quoting state IGP (law and order) Raj Kanojia.
The aircraft took off from Bagdogra at about 1:00 pm (local time).
A search operation has been launched in the area.
Port of Spain, March 1 (IANS) Tickets for the preliminary group match between India and Sri Lanka in the ICC World Cup 2007 to be played at the Queen's Park Oval here March 23 have been sold out.
However, 50 percent of the tickets are still available for India's first group match against Bangladesh March 17, tickets supervisor Mark Santana told Newsday.
India is placed in Group B along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda. All matches in this group will be played at the Queen's Park Oval.
Tickets for the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match of March 21 are also available, Santana was quoted as saying.
Also sold out are tickets for a warm-up match between world No. 1 South Africa and Pakistan to be played at the University of West Indies ground in St Augustine.
New York, March 1 (IANS) An Indian American professor has received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research in computer sciences.
Piyush Kumar, an assistant professor in the department of computer science of the University in Tallahassee, Florida, will receive the grant over a period of five years, according to the University website.
Kumar is pursuing research on the design, analysis and implementation of algorithms for geometric problems, particularly problems with applications in areas such as pattern recognition, machine learning, optimisation and computer graphics.
NSF is an independent federal agency created by US Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science, to advance national health, prosperity, welfare and to secure national defence.
With an annual budget of about $5.58 billion, NSF is the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by US colleges and universities.
NSF offers the award "in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organisation".
"This is just another indication of the momentum for academic excellence that is building on our campus," said Kirby W. Kemper, University of Florida's vice president for research.
New Delhi, March 1(IRNA)The Indian government has reduced its financial aid to Nepal but increased it for other neighboring and African countries in its 2007-2008 budget estimates, which also has raised the allocation for the External Affairs Ministry to USD 986 million (Rs 4433.60 crore) from last year's USD 910 million (Rs 4095.05 crore).
Budget estimates for 2007-2008 for the External Affairs Ministry presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) Wednesday allocate USD 393 million (Rs 1768.55 crore) for assistance to other developing countries. These include USD 171 million (Rs 770.91 crore) to Bhutan, up from USD 134 million (Rs 599.51 crore) last year, and USD 31 million (Rs 138 crore) to Nepal, which is less than last year's USD 47 million (210 crore), said a UNI report here.
Allocations for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka remain the same at USD 3 million (Rs 15 crore) and USD 6 million (28 crore), respectively.
Maldives will have a more than double allocation of USD 3 million (Rs 15 crore), up from last year's USD 1 million (Rs 6 crore), Myanmar USD 18 million (Rs 80.41 crore), up from last year's USD 10 million (44.57 crore), other developing countries USD 145 million (Rs 651.23 crore), up from USD 132 million (591.63 crore) in 2006-2007, Central Asia USD 5 million (Rs 20 crore), up from last year's USD 4 million (17 crore), and African countries USD 12 million (Rs 50 crore), up from last year's USD 5 million (20 crore).
The External Ministry will get USD 502 million (Rs 2258.86 crore) for embassies and missions abroad, passport and emigration, training, special diplomatic expenditure, international conferences and meetings, entertainment charges and other expenditure.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) India's national media Thursday mostly lauded the national budget for 2007-08 unveiled a day earlier by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram with a focus on rejuvenating the sagging farm sector.
While pointing out that India Inc was not wholly happy with the proposals, many newspapers conceded that the minister had done an apt tight rope walking amid the conflicting demands of the market and the mass of people steeped in poverty.
"It's not a bad budget after all," decreed The Economic Times, India's best-known business daily.
Calling the budget a "theme for a dream", it said that Chaidambaram had done the right thing by focusing on issues such as inflation and all-round growth.
"Palaniyappan Chidambaram needs to be commended for resisting the temptation to do a populist course correction," added the Hindustan Times
Lauding the budget for "Including the excluded", it hailed the minister's emphasis on agriculture and his determination to tame the inflation, measures it believes should now be effectively implemented by the government.
Another daily, the Business Standard, however despaired that the budget had disappointed Indian industry.
"India Inc wanted more, much more," it said, reflecting an opinion widely held in the business sector, listing some of the weaknesses of the annual exercise as seen by the Indian industry.
"PC Piggybanks on Jumbo" yelled The Times of India, one of the leading newspapers that ran a popular campaign called "India Poised" days ahead of the budget.
It said Chidambaram had played the Santa to rural banks as he allocated funds to uplift the regional rural banks (RRBs).
The Indian Express remarked: "Chidambaram could have listened to many of his political colleagues and 'taxed the rich' and discovered new avatars of populism."
The Hindu thought differently: "Overall, the budget is somewhat of a disappointment, with an incremental rather than an imaginative or innovative approach."
New Delhi, March 1(IRNA) Calling the proposed India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) gas pipeline a "viable" alternative to meet the country's energy needs, India's Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar Thursday said many countries were "against" it due to certain "vested interests." "Many countries are not in favor of this pipeline because of their vested interests. But this would soon be a reality," Aiyar said while releasing a book by Dilip Hiro here titled "Blood of the Earth - The Battle for the World's Vanishing Oil Resources," PTI reported.
Aiyar said all oil producing countries in Asia should unite and form an organization on the likes of the European Union to fight "some" countries which "dictate" the price of petroleum products.
With petroleum resources fast depleting, the future would be hydrogen and not petroleum, he said.
"We in India and China have started using energy from solar power and wind power. The country has also started using CNG as a fuel. But that is not sufficient," he said.
"We need to tap energy produced by hydrogen," he said.
He maintained that there was no alternative to launching a search for alternatives to petroleum for fuel under the emerging situation.
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) Buoyed by software stocks, Indian shares rose by 1.71 percent Thursday, recovering from Wednesday's 4 percent fall following central budget jitters and a global sell-off triggered by the Chinese stock market.
The 30-issue Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index (Sensex) rose 221.45 points to 13,159.55 and the broad-based National Stock Exchange (NSE) index Nifty went up 1.76 percent to 3,811.20 points.
The recovery was led by technology stocks after leading software services exporters said they would not be greatly affected by the budget move to apply the minimum alternate tax (MAT) to them.
Index heavyweights IT shares led the bounce back with India's leading software exporter Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., leading the pack, up 5.7 percent at Rs. 1,255.60, followed by fourth-ranked Satyam Computer Services Ltd, up 5.47 percent at Rs. 435.05 and India's third ranked software exporter Wipro Ltd., up 5.09 percent at Rs. 589.40, gaining Rs 28.55 over the last traded stock.
Infosys Technologies Ltd., rose 3.6 percent at Rs. 2,153.45 recouping most of Wednesday's 5 percent drop.
Market analysts said the pullback was expected after the uncertainty surrounding the budget was overcome.
"A pull back was excepted after the market saw a sharp fall in the past few days leading to the budget Wednesday. It was a relief today for the market after overcoming the jitters of uncertainty surrounding the budget," said an analyst.
Bajaj Auto Ltd., India's second-biggest motorcycle maker, led the major losers of the day, down 3.93 percent at Rs. 2,514.10 shedding Rs.102.85, after it said that its sales in February fell 2 percent form a year earlier because of production constraints and limited sales of its high-end bikes.
Top cement makers Grasim Industries Ltd., ACC Ltd. and Gujarat Ambuja were also among the top losers following a rise in cement prices in terms of the budget measures.
Gujarat Ambuja cement Ltd., was down 3.62 percent at Rs.111.75, followed by ACC Ltd., down 2.61 percent at Rs.876.55, and Grasim Industries Ltd., was down 0.57 percent at Rs. 2,200.00.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd., Hero Honda Motors and consumer goods maker Hindustan Levers Ltd, were the other major losers.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 1 (IANS) An Indian graduate student has been charged with making terrorist threats after he caused a bomb and anthrax scare leading to a shutdown at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
The student, Sujithkumar Venkatramolla, 22, was arrested on campus early Tuesday after walking into a civil engineering building armed with a knife, holding a paper bag and saying he had a bomb and anthrax, media reports citing local authorities said Wednesday.
Police eventually subdued him with a stun gun after he refused to drop the knife. The bomb and anthrax threats were determined to be phoney.
Extensive searches of the campus building Tuesday found no trace of explosives, and preliminary tests showed that a white, powdery substance found on the man was nothing more than powdered sugar, police said.
Venkatramolla, a civil engineering student from Nizamabad, India, was depressed and apparently distraught over grades.
He was charged with armed criminal action, resisting arrest, false report of a bomb threat, making terrorist threats, and first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer. He was later sent to jail with bond set at $250,000.
The investigation will take some time to finish, because of the heightened concerns about terrorism and the fact the student was from overseas, police said. The FBI is among the investigating agencies.
A university spokesperson said she was not aware of any previous disciplinary issues relating to the student who lived in an off-campus apartment.
The 5,850-student technological research and engineering campus was shut down for the day by the scare. Twenty-three people, including eight students and a faculty member, were quarantined for several hours but showed no signs of illness and were allowed to go home Tuesday afternoon.
The school has students drawn from 48 US states and 55 foreign countries.
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) The Indian cricket team left here early Thursday morning to take part in the World Cup beginning March 11 in the West Indies.
The 15-member side, led by Rahul Dravid, left at around 3 a.m. by a British Airways flight for London.
The team, which is placed in Group B, will play two practice matches before clashing with Bangladesh at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Sri Lanka and Bermuda are the other teams in the pool.
The opening ceremony will be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, March 11.
New Delhi, March 1(IRNA)The Indo-US joint working group (JWG) on counter-terrorism met here to discuss cooperative strategies to fight the global menace of terrorism.
The US delegation, led by Acting Coordinator for Counter- Terrorism Frank Urbancic, met over a full day Wednesday with Additional Secretary for International Organizations of India's Ministry of External Affairs KC Singh, who hosted the delegation, an official release said here.
The two discussed, inter alia, regional counter-terrorism efforts, threat assessments in South Asia and the Middle East, bio-terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and the ongoing Anti-Terrorism Assistance Training Program.
They also discussed terrorist finance and money laundering, the ideological dimensions of terrorism, information sharing and widened cooperation for preventing terrorist acts.
They also agreed to find new ways to forge institutional linkages to foster closer interaction and cooperation.
They concurred that no country today is safe from terrorism and that cooperation between India and the United States not only strengthens the fight against the scourge of terrorism but is also a symbol of the way in which like-minded democracies can work together as partners in countering the global menace of terrorism.
The next meeting of the counter-terrorism JWG will take place in Washington.
Gaza, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) About 6,000 Palestinians were indicted in 2006 due to charges of committing so called "violent acts" against Israel, revealed a study by the Israeli military prosecution in the West Bank.
According to the study, published by Yediot Ahronot, the current numbers indicated an increase in these procedures taken against Palestinians, mostly living in the West Bank.
The study said "3,523 indictments were filed against Palestinians in West Bank military courts. The indictments ranged from charges of stone throwing organised by terror groups, to attempted murder and murder."
Further more, "67 indictments were for murder, and 330 for attempted murder." Meanwhile, the study had revealed that in 2000, a total of 560 Palestinians were indicted, while in 2002, 2,135 indictments were filed.
The numbers continued to climb, reaching 3,000 by 2004 and although a decline in indictments against Palestinians was seen in 2005, the numbers shot up again in 2006 and broke all records, said the study.
These numbers, it said, indicated an increase in administrative injunctions against Palestinians, which were considered an alternative to arrests and legal procedures when a possibility of revealing intelligence sources was at risk.
GAZA, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) -- About 6,000 Palestinians were indicted in 2006 due to charges of committing so called "violent acts" against Israel, revealed a study by the Israeli military prosecution in the West Bank.
According to the study, published by Yediot Ahronot, the current numbers indicated an increase in these procedures taken against Palestinians, mostly living in the West Bank.
The study said "3,523 indictments were filed against Palestinians in West Bank military courts. The indictments ranged from charges of stone throwing organised by terror groups, to attempted murder and murder."
Further more, "67 indictments were for murder, and 330 for attempted murder." Meanwhile, the study had revealed that in 2000, a total of 560 Palestinians were indicted, while in 2002, 2,135 indictments were filed.
The numbers continued to climb, reaching 3,000 by 2004 and although a decline in indictments against Palestinians was seen in 2005, the numbers shot up again in 2006 and broke all records, said the study.
These numbers, it said, indicated an increase in administrative injunctions against Palestinians, which were considered an alternative to arrests and legal procedures when a possibility of revealing intelligence sources was at risk.
Khartoum, March 1(IRNA) Iran President said here Wednesday the Zionist regime is offspring of the British, nurtured by the US, and committing crimes in region relying on their support.
According to IRNA's reporter to Khartoum, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comment on the first day of his state visit of Sudan during a meeting with this country's religious Alims.
President Ahmadinejad referring to a number of Zionist regime's endless list of crimes, highlighted the massacre of defenseless Palestinian and Lebanese nations, emphasizing, "The Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan."
Referring to the strong support of a number of warmonger powers for the racist Zionist regime, Ahmadinejad reiterated, "Many Western governments that claim to be pioneers of democracy and standard bearers of human rights close their eyes over crimes committed by the Zionists and by remaining silent support the Zionists due to their hedonist and materialist tendencies."
The President added, "Today the Zionist regime is a symbol of hedonism and the manifestation of the ugly soul of some usurper powers that support it."
President Ahmadinejad whose comments were confirmed by "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is the Greatest) shouts of Sudanese Alims, added, "The grave problem with which the mankind is entangled today is that some tyrants have deviated a lot from the prophets' path, that is the Right Path."
He said, "We notice today that some powerful leaders consider the entire world as their own property and interpret all rules and regulations in their own favor."
Ahmadinejad considered return to the Divine Prophets' Path as the only way left for saving the mankind from the quagmire they are caught in due to deficiencies of the man made schools of thought, such as Liberalism and Communism that have failed in meeting the dire needs of the mankind.
The president added, "Today the nations have waken up and they voice their disgust for the usurper powers, denouncing their conduct and this has provided an appropriate path for the expansion of monotheism throughout the world."
He said, "The world nations ask for justice and the restoration of man's dignity and prestige."
Ahmadinejad referred to the prevailing conditions in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine, and the crimes committed by tyrant powers in those countries, reiterating, "The foot steps of those tyrant powers can be traced in all world crises and disputes."
The IRI President added, "These colonialist powers are opposed to the scientific and technological advancement of the Muslim countries and do not permit the free world nations to move towards development and advancement."
Ahmadinejad added, "Even in the West, too, the nations are under the reign of some tyrant regimes, their social freedoms are ignored in those countries, and their broad minded intellectuals are imprisoned." The president emphasized the unity and solidarity among world Muslims, and the need for their refraining from discord as the secret of Muslims' victory against their enemies, adding, "It is due to significance of Muslims' unity that enemies of Islam feel committed to disturb and uproot Islamic solidarity."
Ahmadinejad referred to the enemies' efforts aimed at sowing seeds of discord among Shi'a and Sunni Muslims in different Islamic countries, adding, "The entire world Muslims believe in fundamentals of the need to observe solidarity, which is why the Muslims should unanimously dismantle the enemies plots in that respect."
The president referred to Sudan as "A great stronghold for authentic pure Islam", arguing, "In Islamic country of Sudan, thanks to the presence of great and pious Alims and thinkers the light of the Glorious Qur'an flows in the veins of people's lives, and piety waves in the hearts of this land's people."
Ahmadinejad added, "Iran and Sudan have rich natural and human resources, and can pave the path towards advancement and development relying on cooperation constantly."
President Ahmadinejad is scheduled to attend his Sudanese counterpart's dinner party in his honor.
Ramallah, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) Five Palestinians were wounded and seven were arrested when the Israeli Army raided Thursday the Al-Fara'ah refugee camp near Nablus, north of the West Bank, and imposed a curfew.
According to Palestinian sources, clashes erupted in the camp between the Israeli Army and locals, resulting in the injury of five Palestinians.
The sources added Israelis surrounded several buildings there, arresting seven Palestinians in the process.
Israeli forces' re-occupation of Nablus came only 24 hours after their withdrawal. The imposed curfew prevented the transport of injured people to local hospitals.
Rome, March 1 (DPA) Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi narrowly survived a make-or-break vote of confidence after his centre-left government received 162 votes in parliament's upper house, just two ballots more than the required majority.
Prodi was backed by 158 elected senators and only mastered the quorum thanks to the support of four life-appointed senators. A total of 157 opposition lawmakers voted against the government Wednesday.
While the outcome of the vote represented a political victory for Italy's embattled centre-left leader, analysts noted that the government faced an uncertain future due to the wafer-thin nature of his support in the Senate.
"The government is like the Tower of Pisa: It leans, but it doesn't fall," said Justice Minister Clemente Mastella.
The government now faces a similar vote of confidence Friday in the lower Chamber of Deputies, where it enjoys a much more comfortable majority.
"I am very satisfied, now let's go to the Chambers," Prodi was quoted as saying immediately after the result of the vote.
The premier had been asked to verify his parliamentary majority by President Giorgio Napolitano, who rejected Prodi's resignation at the end of two days of crisis talks with party leaders Saturday.
Prodi also won Wednesday's knife-edged vote because Luigi Pallaro, an independent elected in the South American constituency, and Marco Follini, a lawmaker who recently split from the opposition UDC party, both agreed to back him.
Had he lost the vote, he would have been constitutionally obliged to step down.
Addressing lawmakers earlier in the day, Prodi defended his government's efforts to cut the country's ballooning budget deficit and Italy's peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, saying his government was working for "a political solution" to the crisis affecting the Asian country.
Italy's premier had tendered his resignation last week after losing a key foreign policy vote in the Senate, where two far-left dissident lawmakers refused to back him in opposition at the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, where Italy has nearly 2,000 soldiers.
Both rebel lawmakers agreed to back the government on Wednesday despite their reservations over the mission.
Italy has a long history of revolving-door governments and Prodi's is the country's 59th since the post-World War II constitution was adopted.
The former European Union Commission chief formally assumed power on May 17, 2006 at the helm of a broad nine-party coalition ranging from communists to Christian Democrats after defeating Silvio Berlusconi in the closest general election in modern Italian history.
Melbourne , March 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) Indonesia is expected to decide tomorrow whether to accept a group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers from Australia for UN processing.
Australia ’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Canberra wanted the 83 men, who are being held on Christmas Island , to be returned to Indonesia to have their claims to refugee status determined by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), news agency, the Australian Associated Press said in a report Thursday.
The Sri Lankans, along with two Indonesians, were intercepted by the Australian navy aboard a fishing vessel in international waters last week.
Australia has been in talks with Jakarta to try to secure a guarantee that Indonesia would not deport the 83 men to Sri Lanka if they were returned to Indonesia .
Sri Lanka has demanded the men's return and branded them economic migrants whose claims to asylum are "baseless", the news agency said.
With Indonesia seemingly resisting Australia 's requests, it looks increasingly likely the Sri Lankans could have their claims processed on Christmas Island or be transferred to Nauru .
Downer today confirmed there had been no deal reached, and said Australia would be willing to pay for the cost of processing the men through the UNHCR in Indonesia .
He anticipated a final decision from Jakarta "in the next day or so".
"We haven't got a final response yet from the Indonesians. We're simply awaiting that and I don't know what their response is going to be," he said.
"They don't want to end up with them permanently in Indonesia - that's their perspective so we'll have to wait and see what their final decision is."
Downer met in Canberra with Sri Lanka 's Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who has demanded the men be sent back to their homeland -- where a civil war is raging between the Sri Lankan Government and secessionist Tamil Tiger rebels.
The Sri Lankan High Commission said de Silva had urged Downer to consider Sri Lanka 's stance on the asylum seekers.
"The Sri Lankan minister told Mr Downer that in our belief, they are not refugees, they are economic migrants," a commission spokesman told AAP.
"Mr Downer listened and noted what he had to say."
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Thursday conferred Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2006 on eminent artistes and called upon them to use performing arts to promote developments in sectors like agriculture, agro-processing, education, healthcare and culture.
Kalam honoured five eminent personalities as Akademi Fellows - Gursharan Singh, theatre personality from Punjab; Kishan Maharaj, tabla maestro from Varanasi; Rohini Bhate, eminent Kathak guru from Pune; T.N. Krishnan, master violinist and carnatic music scholar from Chennai; and N. Khelchandra Singh, eminent scholar of Manipuri art and culture.
He also honoured 33 artistes with Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. The Akademi Fellowships and Akademi Awards carry a purse money of Rs.50,000, a 'tamrapatra' (brass plaque) and an 'angavastram'.
Kalam said folk dancers in Chhattisgarh are using their art to create awareness about jatropha plantation. He added that he had witnessed a dance drama performance at Ahmedabad, depicting the social evils against women.
Kalam said this would also be another method by which our ancient performing arts could be preserved, as preservation requires continuous practice and application. He said art-promoting groups in the government and music lovers of corporates have to encourage such missions.
Ram Niwas Mirdha, chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Badal K. Das, secretary, Union Ministry of Culture, were also present on the occasion.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 1 (IANS) The budget session of the Kerala Assembly begins Friday with Governor R.L.Bhatia delivering his address. State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac will present his second budget on March 9. The session concludes March 29.
Interestingly, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition is all set to nail the V.S.Achuthanandan government for having cleared the Asian Development Bank loan, which they opposed steadfastly for nearly five years when the UDF ruled the state between 2001 and 2006.
The opposition is also agitated over the recent incident involving Pinnarayi Vijayan, the ruling Communist Party of India (CPI-M) state secretary, who was caught with five bullets at the Chennai airport last month, while on his way to Delhi.
Achuthanandan government's failure to go ahead with the road development work, which has come to a standstill for the past three months, is yet another issue that the opposition will use to hammer the government.
The chief minister's trump card will be the proposed Smart City project, which is on the brink of being signed with Dubai Internet City.
Achuthanandan had announced early this week that the project would be cleared before the assembly session begins.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Surendra Koli, one of the main accused in the killing and sexual assault of at least 20 people, mostly children, in Nithari village near here Thursday gave a confessional statement to a New Delhi court.
Metropolitian Magistrate Chandrashekhar was ordered to record the statement of Koli, who along with his businessman employer Moninder Singh Pandher is alleged to have kidnapped, murdered and assaulted at least 20 people in a Noida bungalow on the outskirts of Delhi.
Chandrashekhar was appointed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau after Koli expressed his willingness to have his confessional statement recorded.
After the court's order, Koli taken to a video conferencing room where his statement was recorded in camera.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Surendra Koli, whose reported killings of at least 20 people, mostly children, in Nithari village of Uttar Pradesh, shook conscience across the country, Thursday gave a confessional statement to a Delhi court.
Following an order of Metropolitian Magistrate Chandrashekhar for recording Koli's statement, the alleged serial killer was taken to a video conferencing room where his statement was recorded.
Koli, along with his businessman employer Moninder Singh Pandher is alleged to have kidnapped, murdered and assaulted at least 20 people in the Nithari village of Noida district just across the borders of this national capital.
Chandrashekhar was appointed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau after Koli expressed his willingness to have his confessional statement recorded.
Kochi, March 1 (IANS) Kuwait-based K.G.A group of companies, founded by Kerala- born K.G. Abraham, Thursday announced a massive investment of Rs.6 billion ($ 136 million) for setting up three luxury hotels in the state.
"In the first phase of investment, we plan to set up a Rs.2.2 billion five star hotel project in Kochi in collaboration with international hotel chain Crowne Plaza of the Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG)," Abraham said at the project's foundation stone laying ceremony here.
"It would have 210 rooms and amenities like conference facility for 600 people, three restaurants and meeting rooms," he added.
Abraham said his group has identified two more hotel projects, one at Kovalam and the other one in Thiruvananthapuram itself.
Michael Herrmann, IHG's director of operations (Southwest Asia), said the partnership was a reflection of their commitment towards further portfolio expansion in India. He added that the project was in line with the group's focus on developing strong hotel brands.
"Crowne Plaza Cochin will showcase and support the brand's development in the country and assist in the establishment of a brand compliant Crowne Plaza in southwest Asia," Herrmann stated.
The KGA group, which takes on construction contracts, has its presence in Kuwait's oil industry as well.
"Work on the two projects would begin in two years," Abraham said.
The KGA group has also been involved in social projects in Kerala. They were reportedly the first company to complete construction of 26 houses in Ernakulam district when a tsunami struck the Kerala coast in December 2004.
The Crowne Plaza Cochin will be IHG's 23rd hotel in India and the 4th Crowne Plaza hotel in India.
London, March 1(IRNA) Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said Thursday that his party's MPs will join backbench Labour rebels in opposing Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans to replace the country's nuclear weapons.
"If the government puts a motion embodying the proposals Tony Blair has announced, I will lead the Lib Dems into the no lobby," Campbell said about his party's 63 MPs.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, he criticized Blair for demanding a vote this month on replacing the country's Trident nuclear weapons, saying it was "clearly yet another effort by the prime minister to establish his legacy" before resigning.
Labour deputy leadership contender John Cruddas suggested that the backbench revolt against a new generation of nuclear weapons was likely to include moderate MPs as well as left-wingers.
Cruddas told the Financial Times that Blair could face a substantial rebellion over his decision to replace Trident by putting forward a motion seeking to delay any decision.
The Lib Dems are also due to debate a resolution at its spring conference in Harrogate, northern England, calling for a delay until 2014 and proposing an immediate 50 per cent cut in Britain's nuclear arsenal.
Campbell said the proposals would justifiably allow Britain to claim it was fulfilling its non-proliferation treaty obligations in contrast to accusations that the government will breach its commitment.
"We could challenge other countries to do the same and [it] would put us in pole position on the issue of nuclear disarmament without in any way prejudicing our security," he said.
Cruddas, who is one of several candidates seeking to replace deputy leader John Prescott, when he stands down at the same time as Blair later this year, suggested a rebel amendment for a delay could be tabled before the government's vote expected on March 14.
A House of Commons Early Day motion calling on the government to extend an "insufficient" consultation period of three months has already been signed by 142 MPs from seven political parties, including 78 Labour backbenchers out of the party's total of 352.
Despite the sizeable opposition, Blair is still expected to comfortable win the vote to replace Trident because of support of the main opposition Conservative Party, which has 196 MPs.
But like the vote for the Iraq war and the opposition from trade unionists, academics, peace campaigners and church leaders, it is expected to lead to questions whether Blair has the country behind him let alone his ruling party.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Not to be outdone by millions of cricket lovers in the country, the Lok Sabha Thursday sent its best wishes to the 15-member Indian cricket team that left Thursday morning for the West Indies for the World Cup beginning March 11.
"I am sure the house will join me in sending our best wishes to the Indian Cricket team," Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said.
When Republican Party of India MP Ramdas Athawale said the house wanted the team to win the World Cup, Chatterjee quipped: "It needs some discipline. Let the players not follow the parliamentarians."
He was referring to repeated disruptions seen in both houses of parliament this week as the opposition demanded a statement on the government's moves to extradite Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrrocchi, the accused in the Bofors pay-off scandal, who was arrested in Argentina Feb 6.
The speaker also congratulated Congress MP Naveen Jindal, who won a gold medal in the fifth Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters Shooting Championship in Jaipur and a silver at the National Games in Guwahati last month.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Joining millions of cricket fans in the country, the Lok Sabha Thursday sent its best wishes to the Indian cricket team that have left for the West Indies for the World Cup beginning March 11.
"I am sure the house will join me in sending our best wishes to the Indian Cricket team," Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said.
The 15-member Squad left for the Caribbean from Mumbai early Thursday morning.
When Republican Party of India MP Ramdas Athawale said the house wanted the team to win the World Cup, Chatterjee quipped: "It needs some discipline. Let the players not follow the parliamentarians."
He was referring to repeated disruptions seen in both houses of parliament this week as the opposition demanded a statement on the government's moves to extradite Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrrocchi, the accused in the Bofors pay-off scandal, who was arrested in Argentina Feb 6.
The speaker also congratulated Congress MP Naveen Jindal, who won a gold medal in the fifth Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Memorial Masters Shooting Championship in Jaipur and a silver at the National Games in Guwahati last month.
Raipur, March 1 (IANS) Maoist guerrillas triggered a landmine in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district Thursday killing eight people including four Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) and two special police officers.
Four NAP personnel were also seriously injured in the blast near Injeram in the southern tip of Bastar, 470 km south of capital Raipur, police said.
The NAP has been deployed in Chhatisgarh to take on Maoists who run their own administration in defiance of the government in parts of the state, mostly in tribal areas.
Raipur, March 1 (IANS) Eight people, including six security personnel, were killed in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district Thursday when Maoist guerrillas triggered a powerful landmine blast, police said.
Four Nagaland Armed Police (NAP) soldiers, two special police officers (SPOs) and the driver and cleaner of the truck they were travelling in were killed in the blast near Injeram in Bastar region's Dantewada district, 470 km from here. Four NAP soldiers were critically injured in the attack.
"Militants blew up a police patrolling team in a thickly forested stretch and then started indiscriminate firing. We have at least eight dead and four injuries," said Girdhari Nayak, inspector general the state's Maoist operations division.
Chhattisgarh is one of the worst hit amongst India's 13 states where Maoist guerrillas hold sway.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Mehbooba Mufti, president of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), a partner in the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Thursday and demanded demilitarisation in the militancy-hit state and revocation of special powers to the security forces.
"I met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today and discussed the issues of troop reduction, revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and vacation of agricultural and orchard land and private and government buildings occupied by the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir," Mufti told IANS.
Mufti said her demands were aimed at strengthening the emerging public faith in the state's political and democratic institutions.
"The systematic and time-bound reduction of troops and revocation of the AFSPA would be the appropriate and fitting response to the fast-changing ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir," she added.
Mufti said the reconciliatory process initiated by the coalition government, with the active support of the central government, has to a large extent alleviated public alienation and enhanced people's sense of freedom and their faith in democratic means.
"There is, however, a compelling need to reinforce the political initiatives with adequate administrative measures to completely transform the scenario," she said in a statement.
She added that for sustaining peace in the state through public involvement, the country and its leadership must trust the people of Jammu and Kashmir and reduce troops and revoke AFSPA at the earliest.
"The cost of not doing so, I am afraid, would be much higher for the state and the nation," she pointed out.
Mufti made it clear that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir called for such confidence building measures earnestly and the country's leadership must grab the opportunity and respond appropriately to the public mood to bring a turn-around in the situation.
Appreciating the role played by the armed forces during difficult times, she added: "But this cannot be an endless arrangement as it is unfair for the security forces as well as the people of the state."
During the last two days, Mufti has held similar meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to put across her party's viewpoint on demilitarisation of the state.
Jaipur, March 1 (IANS) Rajasthan state assembly's budget session started on a stormy note Thursday with four opposition legislators suspended for the entire budget session for shouting anti-government slogans in the house.
No sooner Governor Pratibha Patil accompanied by Speaker Sumitra Singh and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje entered the house to deliver the address, than members of opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) started to raise slogans, describing the governor's address unconstitutional.
Repeated requests by the speaker failed to persuade the members thus forcing her to adjourn the house till Friday.
Both Amra Ram and Ranvir Singh, who were later joined by BSP's Morari Lal Meena and Suresh Meena, continued shouting slogans amid protests by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.
The speaker then suspended CPI-M's Amra Ram, Lok Janshakti Party's Ranvir Singh Gudha, BSP's Suresh Meena and Morari Lal Meena for the remaining budget session.
Ram insisted that he should be allowed to speak as he wanted to raise the issue of the suffering of farmers in the state. He has been leading farmers' protest in Sri Ganganagar district over the past couple of years demanding more water for irrigation in the area.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Mobile telephony will now be available within 10 km of India's international borders, except in Jammu and Kashmir, it was announced Thursday.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) amended the Cellular Mobile Telephone Service License Agreement to facilitate the move.
"The Licensee shall create a 'Buffer Zone' of 10 kms width along the Line of Control (LOC), Line of Actual Control (LAC), Akhnoor and Pathankot areas in Jammu and Kashmir, as applicable, wherein they shall not deploy their cell site(s)/ radio transmitter(s)," said an official statement.
The mobile telephone service providers will be able to extend their services in other border areas.
According to industry experts, the telecommunications sector had been pushing for this move, as it will help expand rural connectivity.
Shimla, March 1 (IANS) Snow fell for the third consecutive day across Himachal Pradesh including the popular resort of Shimla, which wore a white mantle early Thursday.
"Shimla received snowfall in March after five years," Manmohan Singh, head of the regional weather office here, told IANS.
Traffic was disrupted at many places in the town due to skidding of vehicles on slippery snow.
The mercury dropped to freezing point (0 centigrade) in the night. The Hindustan-Tibet road continued to be blocked beyond Shimla at the popular resorts of Kufri and Narkanda, which witnessed snowfall again Thursday.
Chail and surrounding woods were also covered under a thick blanket of snow.
Manali, already under deep snow, saw more of it Thursday even as it remained cut off from the rest of the country since Tuesday. Some 75 cm of snow has piled up at Manali forcing people to remain huddled indoors.
Snow was being cleared on the Kullu-Manali highway near Pathlikul some 250 km from here. Heavy snowfall had eluded Manali during much of the winter and has been welcomed by the tourism industry.
Snowfall was heavier at the Solang ski slopes overlooking Manali. It was several feet deep at the 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass the gateway to the Lahaul Valley, which received yet another spell of heavy snowfall.
Temperatures in the snow-covered Spiti Valley have plummeted to minus 15 degree centigrade.
Pangi, the isolated valley in Chamba district, was well under 120 cm of snow. The administration has warned the locals not to move out of their homes due to the risk of avalanches in Pangi.
New Delhi/Lucknow, March 1 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav suffered a major blow Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into corruption charges against him, putting the wrestler-turned-politician under a cloud ahead of crucial assembly elections.
The Samajwadi Party reacted with anger and some disdain, suggesting that the apex court was biased against the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and rejecting the opposition demands that he should resign on moral grounds.
Acting on a writ petition filed by Congress activist Vishwanath Chaturvedi, alleging the chief minister and his family had used corrupt methods to amass wealth, Justices A.R. Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir held that the allegations could not be decided in a court of law.
But the judges directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into charges that the assets of the chief minister and his family members far exceeded their known sources of income by examining the documents related to their wealth.
The bench also directed the CBI "to ascertain if a corruption case is made out and if yes, submit their report to the central government, which might take further steps depending upon the outcome of the probe."
It said that a probe into the allegations would only be in the interest of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
"Mulayam Singh Yadav is a senior politician and holding a very high public post of chief minister in a very big state in India and the allegations made by the petitioner against him have cast a cloud on his integrity. Therefore, in his own interest, it is of utmost importance that the truth of these allegations is determined by a competent forum," the bench said.
The judges said "such a course would also subserve public interest and public morality because the chief minister of a state should not function under a cloud and that it would also be in the interest of the chief minister and the members of his family to have their honour vindicated by establishing that the allegations are not true."
While ordering the probe, the judges pointed out that, "in this case, voluminous documents, including several sale deeds, income tax returns and assessment orders and several photographs of the properties allegedly acquired by Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members have been filed."
"In our opinion, the minuteness of the details furnished by all the parties have to be carefully looked into and analysed only by an independent agency with the assistance of chartered accountants and other accredited engineers and valuers of the property," the judges said.
The judges said the chief minister of a large state like Uttar Pradesh, which will elect a new legislature in April-May, could not function under a cloud when his integrity had been questioned.
Although any CBI enquiry is sure to drag on, the Supreme Court fiat could not have come at a worse time for Mulayam Singh Yadav, who faces a strong challenge from an opposition divided but determined to unseat him in the staggered elections. A section of the opposition predictably pounced on the judicial order to target the chief minister, already beleaguered by charges of poor governance.
As news of the damaging ruling came in, the chief minister stayed holed up inside his house leaving his brother Ram Gopal Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, to tell the media that he would file a review petition in court.
"The chief minister will file a revision petition as we have no faith in the CBI to which the probe has been assigned by the apex court. We have no objection to the probe but let it be done by a sitting or retired judge of a high court or Supreme Court," Ram Gopal Yadav said.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav's trusted aide, told reporters in New Delhi: "We have nothing to hide. We don't dispute the Supreme Court's observations. But the same judge, A.R. Lakshamanan, earlier dismissed a plea against (Railways Minister) Lalu Prasad in a similar case."
Added Jaya Bachhan, wife of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan: "We welcome the order. It is good that things are settled once and for all."
The Congress, which failed to garner support to impose the president's rule in Uttar Pradesh last month, went on the offensive.
Party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said: "The chief minister should have resigned. We hope he will at least cooperate with the CBI probe and he will not try to sabotage the investigation with his usual gimmicks."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vowed to make the judicial order a campaign issue. But Mulayam Singh Yadav's bitter foe Mayawati made no mention of the development as she addressed tens of thousands of people at a major rally in Lucknow Thursday where she poured scorn on everyone: Mualaym Singh Yadav, the BJP and Congress.
In the Supreme Court, the petitioner had enclosed copies of the sale deeds of the properties acquired by Mulayam Singh Yadav, his two sons and daughters-in-law over the years and alleged that the value of these properties was worth more than Rs.1 billion.
The petitioner alleged that Mulayam Singh Yadav had in 1979 declared a taxable income of just Rs.79,000. But within three decades, particularly during the period when he was chief minister, he had acquired all these assets through corrupt means.
The petitioner sought a direction to the CBI to prosecute Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
Thursday's ruling comes just a few days after the Supreme Court disqualified 13 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators who had helped in the formation of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.
It also comes at a time when anger over the policy apathy over the killing and sexual abuse of a large number of children in Nithari village in Uttar Pradesh's Noida area, bordering New Delhi, has not abated.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The grey skies complemented the mood outside most schools in the capital Thursday as Class 12 students began their Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams. Jittery students flipping through thick textbooks last minute while parents tried to calm them were a common sight.
This year the examination began with Physics, a subject not everyone is very comfortable with. "I just hope I don't forget the formulae. They are very important...," trailed off Vaishali, biting her nails and poring through her Physics textbook in the metro as her father stood by.
But if students are nervous, so are parents. Most parents could be seen waiting near the gates of the schools where their wards are taking their paper.
"Physics is not an easy subject. But Animesh, my son, was not as nervous as I was. I tried my best to conceal my feelings!" said Anjana Bandopadhyay, standing near the gates of the Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, where her son is taking his paper. He is a student of Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan.
"Nipun, my son, was not very tense. The only thing that he was upset about is that he will not be able to concentrate on the World Cup!" said another mother. "In fact I am a little nervous. I will wait here till he's done."
Beginning at 10.30 a.m., the exam lasts for three hours, with 15 minutes cool-off time which helps students collect themselves and read the questions properly before getting down to the task of answering the paper.
Ginny Ghuman, a teacher and mother of a son taking his Class 12 exams this year, however, looked more relaxed. "I think girls are more sensitive than boys are. Or maybe boys don't want to show their true feelings.
"In any case, my son Guriyog put in six to seven hours of study everyday and is not nervous," she said. Her son is a student of Delhi Public School, Dhaula Kuan.
This year 502,688 students from 4,789 schools will take the Class 12 examinations both in India and abroad - an increase of 9.59 percent from 2006. The students will take their exams in the 2,276 examination centres, of which 33 are in foreign countries.
Tel Aviv, March 1 (DPA) An Israeli television channel exposed a document, allegedly showing that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert granted favours to dozens of members of his former Likud party when he served as trade and industry minister two years ago.
The exposure late Wednesday is the latest in a series of corruption scandals plaguing Israel's leadership.
Only last month, Israel's state prosecutor ordered a police investigation into suspicions that Olmert committed breach of trust during the privatisation of a leading Israeli bank when he served as finance minister in late 2005.
The document exposed by Israel's Channel 10 television listed 115 Likud delegates and described how each was granted various favours by Olmert's trade and industry ministry.
According to the investigation, Olmert allegedly used his influence as trade and industry minister in bodies like the Small Businesses Authority - the department that grants permits to foreign workers - and the national telephone company Bezeq to "help out" party members.
Many of the recipients were members of the Likud Central Committee, the party's main institution, or other activists.
The assistance ranged from pushing for the promotion of a Likud delegate's wife, to getting another delegate's son a job in a phone company, to helping a third with hiring foreign workers, and obtaining an internship at a desired position for the relative of yet another.
In a first reaction, Olmert told reporters in Jerusalem that he received many requests from citizens, some of whom were Likud members, for help with solving bureaucratic problems, but said that any assistance given had been done legally.
"We always acted according to the instructions of the government's legal advisor," he said. He added he was unfamiliar with the document.
The premier's office earlier issued an official reaction, saying the list must have been compiled by a former political advisor, who aimed to highlight Olmert's achievements on behalf of the Likud Central Committee as a minister, but without his knowledge.
It also accused the Likud Central Committee of corruption, charging that the behaviour of its members during the party's term in power under former premier Ariel Sharon had "polluted Israeli politics".
Washington/Wellington, March 1 (DPA) New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is to meet with US President George W. Bush on March 21 in Washington for discussions including the war on terrorism.
New Zealand has participated in the NATO effort to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan, where the Taliban has re-emerged as a force in the southern part of the country. NATO expects the Taliban to launch a major offensive in the coming months as the weather improves.
The US formally withdrew New Zealand's ally status and cut military and top-level political ties in the mid-1980s when a former Labour government passed an anti-nuclear law that barred nuclear-armed and -powered vessels from visiting the country's ports.
Clark, who belongs to the Labour Party, has endeavoured to restore relations since becoming prime minister in 1999 and in 2002 became the first Labour leader to visit the White House since the anti-nuclear row broke out.
She has maintained an independent foreign policy, refusing to join Bush's coalition to invade Iraq while supporting international peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
"New Zealand and the United States enjoy a strong and mature friendship built on common values and a long history of working together in many areas," said Clark, in her announcement of the Washington visit.
"I look forward to emphasising the breadth and depth of that relationship," she said Wednesday.
Clark will also visit Chicago and Seattle, apart from Washington.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Surendra Koli, the man accused of sexually assaulting and killing over 20 people, mostly children, in Nithari near this capital appeared before a Delhi court Thursday and confessed to his role in the macabre crime that had shaken the nation.
Koli began his in-camera confession in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Chandrashekhar, who was appointed by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau to record it under the provisions of Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The court began recording the confession late Thursday evening after several legal procedures were complied with and arrangements were made for audio and video recordings.
The recording of the confession, which Koli said he was doing to unburden his conscience, was expected to continue till late into the night, said court officials.
Koli, a domestic help, along with his employer businessman Moninder Singh Pandher, are the main accused in the crime that came to light with the discovery of human remains from a drain near Pandher's bungalow in Noida Dec 29.
Earlier Thursday, Koli had expressed his desire to confess when he was produced before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate's court after a day of solitary confinement at Tihar jail here.
The court then asked Delhi Legal Aid Cell lawyer Sangeeta Bhayana to represent the accused and explain to him the possible ramifications of his proposed confession to the court.
The lawyer stunned the court by refusing to obey the order. "I will prefer quitting the Legal Aid Cell panel to representing such a heinous criminal," said Bhayana.
Three other lawyers, Aman Sarin, Gurinder Pal Singh and Neeraj Agarwal, who were present in the courtroom then, said they were willing to represent Koli if he and the court allowed them to do so.
As the accused expressed his willingness to have the counsel of the three layers, magistrate Lau asked them to explain to him the consequences of confessing before a court. The magistrate also asked other people including media persons to leave the courtroom to allow the lawyers to advise Koli in solitude.
Explaining the matter, the lawyers told Koli that he should think twice before making the confession as he would not be able to retract his statement and on its basis he could even be convicted to a life term.
"But Koli, despite our counsel, insisted that he wanted to make the confession," Sarin told reporters later.
With Koli insisting on confession, Magistrate Lau appointed fellow Magistrate Chandrashekhar to record his confession. She also directed for video and audio recordings of his confession and asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrange for necessary equipment.
For the video recording of his statement, she said, the video camera and other equipment of the Patiala House court premises' video conferencing facilities would be utilised.
Koli was subsequently taken to the video conferencing room where magistrate Chandrashekkar, according to the mandatory requirement, once again explained to him the legal consequences of the confession.
After Koli earlier told the CBI that he wanted to confess to his demonic crime to unburden his conscience, the agency Wednesday approached the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate that had remanded the accused to judicial custody for a day to provide him complete solitude and reach an independent, uninfluenced decision to make the confession.
Though the case related to the Nithari serial killings falls under the jurisdiction of the Ghaziabad court in Uttar Pradesh, the CBI chose a Delhi court for Koli's confessions as the law permits the investigating agency to have it recorded before any magistrate.
Lucknow, March 1 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has ruled out alliance with any political party ahead of the April 7-May 8 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, expressing confidence that her party would form the next government in the state on its own.
Addressing an election rally at the Amkedkar Maidan here Thursday, she said: "We will contest the elections alone and I am confident of forming a government entirely on our own this time."
In a bid to boost the morale of her party members, she said: "Remember BSP was the only party that has the potential to beat Mulayam at the hustings."
Mayawati said: "Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have joined hands to damage BSP's poll prospects, but I can assure you that they would not be able to cause any harm to us."
"Congress was focused on the mission of sending me to jail, besides hatching conspiracies against me," the BSP leader said.
She also charged the Congress with "clandestinely floating smaller parties like the Jan Morcha and the United Democratic Front with the sole objective of denting BSP's rich prospects."
Sporting the party's blue badges and carrying the matching banner and flags, BSP workers virtually took over all roads leading to the venue, that was nearly painted blue with banners, buntings and posters of Mayawati, their party president.
Replying to BJP leader Kalyan Singh's oft-repeated charge that she took money to give party tickets, Mayawati said: "Yes, I do take money for awarding the party ticket, but everyone knows that I have no family and all that money is used for taking our party ahead.
She, however, refused to comment on the order given by the Supreme Court Thursday for a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the assets of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
As if pre-empting a tirade during the elections about her own material acquisitions including huge properties, Mayawati told the gathering: "Our political adversaries may try to raise the question of the two bungalows owned by me in Lucknow and New Delhi. But it is you supporters who have gifted me these."
As many as 17 trains were hired by the BSP to ferry its volunteers from various places across the state. "They have paid several hundred thousand rupees for each train", Lucknow divisional railway manager R.K. Gupta told the media.
The rally, said to be the largest ever by any political outfit in Lucknow, was estimated to have drawn nearly one million people. City life was thrown out of gear for several hours as thousands of vehicles carrying BSP supporters poured in from different corners of the state.
"More than 1 million people have attended today's rally", said BSP general secretary Satish Chandra Misra, who was credited with the success of attracting even Brahmins to the party that was primarily known as a Dalit outfit.
WASHINGTON, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) -- Backing away from reports of a shift in US policy in its dealings with Iran and Syria, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday there will be no bilateral talks between the United States and Iran or the United States and Syria in the context of a regional conference in Baghdad on March 10.
During a White House briefing, Snow noted that the Iraqi government has extended official invitations to regional neighbouring countries, Egypt, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League for the Baghdad conference.
"If, in fact, topics like EFPs (explosively formed penetrators) and such come up in that conference, obviously we will address them," Snow said, referring to the sophisticated armour-penetrating roadside bombs which US officials have said are being sent into Iraq from Iran and used to attack US troops.
"But there will not be bilateral talks between the United States and Iran or the United States and Syria within the context of these meetings. These are organised by the Iraqis, and these are on issues that are pertinent to Iraq".
As for whether the United States has changed its policy dramatically, "it has not," Snow said, noting that there have been a number of occasions in recent years in which US and Iranian government officials have been seated at the same table in multilateral negotiations.
There were many contacts with the Iranians with regard to Afghanistan throughout 2002 and 2003 through the Bonn six-plus-two process as they were setting up the government in Afghanistan, he noted, and there was also an offer by the United States to work diplomatically with the Iranians on border issues.
The Iranians were at the Iraqi compact meeting at the United Nations last September, Snow said.
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell was in a meeting with neighbours at Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2004; US and Iranian representatives participated in meetings subsequent to the Madrid Donors Conference in October 2003; and there were subsequent meetings in the International Reconstruction Facilities Fund for Iraq, including February 2004 in Abu Dhabi, May 2004 in Doha, October 2004 in Tokyo and July 2005 at the Dead Sea, Snow said.
It is important that people understand that the Bush administration is serious when it comes to the Iranians about a precondition for bilateral negotiations and also for diplomatic relations, "which is they cannot be working toward a nuclear weapon," Snow said.
The Permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany have made this clear in conversations with the Iranians, Snow said.
"We want to make sure those waters do not get muddied, and that the Iranian people also understand that we look favourably upon the Iranian people, but we take a dim view of the Iranian government's activities when it comes to terrorist activities," he added.
Asked why US officials would not want to discuss the explosive devices in Iraq that are allegedly coming from Iran, since those devices are killing so many Americans, Snow said the topic may well come up at the Baghdad conference.
"I am certainly not going to rule it out," he said. "But again, the Iraqis are the ones who are convening the conference, and they are the ones who are going to have control of the agenda".
New York, March 1 (IANS) Indian American corporate executive Indra Nooyi, slated to become Pepsico Inc chairperson in May, is stepping down from the board of Motorola, the world's second-biggest mobile phone maker.
Nooyi, 51, chief financial officer at Pepsi until last year, was named chief executive officer in October and elected chairperson of the $32 billion soft drink and snack food company in February.
A Motorola director since 2002, Nooyi cited the additional responsibilities of her new posts as the reason for her decision.
She and H. Laurance Fuller, 69, a former co-chairman at BP Amoco plc, have opted not to stand for re-election at the Schaumburg communications-equipment maker's annual meeting on May 7, Motorola Inc. said in a regulatory filing.
Their departure in May will reduce the size of Motorola's board from 13 to 11, Motorola said.
The decision comes after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said in late January that he had taken a stake in Motorola and intended to seek a board seat with the aim of persuading the company to accelerate share buybacks.
New York, March 1(IRNA)Iran's permanent UN representative here Wednesday reiterated Iran is not breaching any of its international commitments by producing nuclear fuel.
In IRI representative's written answer to an article published in Wednesday edition of Wall Street Journal, it is pointed out, "We are merely moving based on our stated right in the text of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that allows us to produce the fuel we need." The reply added, "Contrary to the claim made in Wall Street Journal, Iran has both in the past, and today been constantly cooperating with the IAEA and its nuclear facilities have been functioning fully under direct supervision of that agency in accordance with NPT regulations."
The IRI Permanent UN Representative further reiterates, "Relying on more than 2,000 personnel/day inspections, the UN nuclear watchdog has repeatedly announced in its comprehensive reports that there is no evidence about Iran's deviation from non-peaceful objectives in its nuclear program."
In its reply to the intriguing US daily article, the Iranian UN representative has posed the question, "With all these points in mind, the question is on what basis is the UN after imposing sanctions against Iran, while proliferation threats have been repeatedly posed by Israel, and the UN has taken no step aimed at disarming its nuclear arsenal."
It adds, "That is further astonishing keeping in mind that Israel has so far refrained from permitting the agency's inspectors to visit its huge nuclear arsenal."
The official IRI reply advises the international community to adopt an urgent decision to abandon adopting such double standards against Iran's rights, that cannot be justified based on any logic.
Iran's Permanent UN Representative has at the end expressed regret that Iran's rights are so easily ignored even by the US journalists, just as they always ignore our country's constructive role in promotion of regional stability, in a bid to present a distorted image of the Islamic Republic of Iran's humane identity.
By Zakaria Abdul Wahab
RIYADH, March 1 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- The waning International Islamic News Agency (IINA), set up by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), will be given a new breath of life by the end of the year under a plan drawn up to revive it.
A study to draw up a fresh plan of action for the 35-year-old body will be conducted soon, financed by the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
The decision to carry out the study was made here Wednesday at the inaugural meeting of the new Board of Directors of IINA which was established at the seventh meeting of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers in Jeddah last September.
The IINA board members comprise nine news agencies -- three each from the Middle East, Africa and Asia with Saudi Arabia as the secretariat. Asia is represented by Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.
At the meeting, Malaysia was represented by Zakaria Abdul Wahab, deputy editor-in-chief of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama). Zakaria also attended as an observer for the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) whose presidency is held by Bernama.
Malaysia, Turkey and Senegal were assigned by the meeting to draw up the terms of reference for the study to be done by a private entity to be decided by the IDB later.
OIC Secretary-General Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, in his remarks at the IINA board meeting, said this might be "the last opportunity for the OIC to do something concrete and useful for IINA in light of the current international situation affecting Islamic countries and the Muslim peoples who can no longer tolerate that their official information and media apparatus and instrument of joint Islamic action can remain so crippled and ineffective".
He said the new plan to revive IINA should be carved out with a clear vision and inspired by a rational mindset, challenges and demands of this new millennium.
"That is, a vision focused on revitalizing and remoulding IINA in the shape that the founding forefathers of the OIC had in mind, more than 30 years ago," he added.
He said IINA should be in the vanguard of Islamic information and media as both the instrument and beacon that could rally Muslims, defend their vital causes and protect their higher interests on the international stage, and convey their views and perspective to those outside the Islamic world.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Culture and Information of Saudi Arabia, Iyad Amin Madani. -- NNN-BERNAMA
GAZA, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will, in two weeks time, hold their third meeting to concentrate on ways of "furthering the dialogue", said the Haaretz Thursday.
The newspaper quoted a senior political source in Jerusalem as saying the meeting came "in view of the difficulties in forging a Palestinian unity government." Earlier this week, aides for the two leaders met to prepare for the Olmert-Abbas summit.
In Cairo on Tuesday, Abbas said he would meet Olmert in "a week or two." Olmert reiterated Wednesday during his meeting with the visiting EU commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner the preconditions for proceeding further with diplomatic talks with the Palestinians.
"My talks with the Palestinian President will deal with issues relating to containing terrorism and the quality of life of the Palestinians," he said.
He said he was unwilling to discuss the issue of a final settlement or the implementation of the second stage of the road map.
As an example of the improvements in the quality of life of the Palestinians, Olmert told the visiting EU official of his decision last week to extend the daily operating hours for the Karni crossing for goods in and out of the Gaza Strip
Kabul, March 1 (DPA) The leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist network and the world's number one fugitive, Osama bin Laden, is still alive, a top Taliban commander claimed in a rare interview.
"We know he is still alive," Mullah Dadullah, chief of the resurgent movement's military operations, told Britain's Channel 4 television in comments broadcast Wednesday.
"He is not yet martyred," Dadullah said at a secret location in Afghanistan.
Speaking in Pashtu, he added that he had not personally seen bin Laden since the Taliban was ousted from power by US-led forces just over five years ago.
"Our comrades stand shoulder to shoulder with us," he said of current relations between the Taliban and Al Qaeda. "They keep us informed."
The US is offering a reward of $25 million for information leading to the capture of bin Laden, whom Washington holds responsible for the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington on Sept 11, 2001.
He is widely believed to have escaped from eastern Afghanistan into Pakistan's mountainous tribal region at the end of that year when a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban.
Contrary to US intelligence agency claims, Pakistan says there is no evidence to suggest that leaders of the Taliban or Al Qaeda are hiding on its territory.
LARKANA, March 1. (NNN-APP): Foreign terrorists hiding in Pakistan's mountainous tribal belt have been warned to leave the country or risk stiff military action.
Issuing the warning, President General Pervez Musharraf, declared before a large public gathering:
"People have come there from outside - they are living in our mountains and spreading terrorism not just in Pakistan but in the entire world."
He said Pakistan was facing threat of terrorism and extremism and although things were better in Sindh as compared to the NWFP, the impact was being felt in the entire country.
“These people are putting Pakistan in danger and they should; otherwise we will have to deal with them," he said, adding that Islam is a religion of peace and had no place for extremist and terrorist tendencies.
He dismissed the use of the concept of 'jihad' by these elements, saying it was the prerogative of the government and not individuals.
He urged the people to help the government fight such extremists and terrorists by informing the police.
"Identify and point out those who have such tendencies and inform the law enforcement agencies," he said.
Earlier, Musharraf who was here for the ground breaking of Larkana-Khairpur bridge, said it would halve the distance between the two towns and help bring progress to under-developed areas.
He also directed construction of additional 15 km road to link it with the Indus Highway, besides announcing Rs 100 million each for District Larkana and Khairpur, dualisation of Sehwan-Ratodero, improvement of N-5 at a cost of Rs 5 billion.
He said Karachi-Hyderabad Super Highway was being converted into a six- lane motorway.
He also urged the people of Sindh to consider the possibility of having large water reservoirs aimed at preserving precious water resources and for its judicious use.
"We are striving to provide water resources for all, particularly those living at the tail-end," he said, adding that in the next two years 30,000 water courses will be brick-lined so that water is not wasted.
Lucknow, March 1 (IANS) All polling booths in Uttar Pradesh will remain under the direct supervision of central paramilitary force, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalswamy declared here Thursday.
He also said no one would be allowed to vote without a photo identity card, which, he said, would be issued to at least 95 percent of the voters before the polling dates.
Addressing a press conference at the end of an overall review of the arrangements ahead of the April 7-May 8 state assembly poll, Gopalswamy said: "Each one of the 109,721 polling booths across the state would have central paramilitary force personnel to overcome any confusion about categorisation of booths as sensitive or hyper-sensitive."
"This time, all booths would be treated at par and receive equal attention of the commission," he added.
"The same pattern had been followed during the last election in Bihar that helped to ensure a free and fair poll in the state; we are confident of ensuring a similar free and fair election in Uttar Pradesh as well."
In addition to this, electronic voting machines across the state will be equipped with a device that would keep its memory intact for five years. "That would prevent any kind of fudging," the CEC added.
To facilitate voting by the visually challenged, the Election Commission has also provided Braille on the electronic voting machines. According to the CEC, this was also being done for the first time.
The seven-phased elections to the 403-member state assembly would commence April 7 and conclude May 8. The new assembly would be constituted before May 14, when the term of the current assembly expires.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Kenya, the surprise semi-finalists of the 2003 World Cup, are in fine form these days and have won 11 of the last 13 one-day internationals as they go into the World Cup this month.
Although all their victories have come against minnows Scotland, Bermuda, the Netherlands, Ireland and Canada, who all have also qualified for the tournament starting March 11, they seem to be ready for the big challenge.
Kenya have picked six players without World Cup experience, and one -- pacer Rajesh Bhudia -- has not even played a one-day international. Two of the players are born in India.
Placed in Group C along with England, New Zealand and Canada, Kenya will have to play really well to advance to the second round as only two teams each will progress from each of the four groups.
Following are the pen-sketches of the 15 players (statistics include their last ODI against Scotland in Nairobi Feb 7):
Steve Ogonji Tikolo (captain)
Born: June 25, 1971, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and pacer
ODI record: Matches: 87, Runs: 2,362, Average: 30.28, Highest score: 111, 100s: 2, 50s: 17, Overs: 413.1, Wickets: 63, Average: 30.59, Best bowling: 4/41, Catches: 45
World Cup record: Matches: 18, Runs: 492, Highest score: 96, Average: 28.94, 50s: 5, Overs: 46.3, Wickets: 10, Average: 23.60, Best bowling: 3/14, Catches: 5
Thomas Odoyo (vice-captain)
Born: May 12, 1978, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium-fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 90, Runs: 1,677, Average: 24.30, Highest score: 84, 50s: 6, Overs: 644.2, Wickets: 97, Average: 31.08, Best bowling: 4/25, Catches: 23
World Cup record: Matches: 17, Runs: 315, Highest score: 43 not out, Average: 26.25, Overs: 120, Wickets: 16, Average: 35.56, Best bowling: 4/28, Catch: 1
Rajesh Bhudia
Born: November 22, 1984, Bhuj (India)
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: None
James Kabatha 'Jimmy' Kamande
Born: December 12, 1978, Muranga
Style: Right-hand bat and fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 39, Runs: 352, Average: 14.08, Highest score: 68, 50s: 1, Overs: 166.4, Wickets: 17, Average: 47.35, Best bowling: 3/32, Catches: 8
World Cup record: Matches: 2, Overs: 18, Wicket: 1, Average: 89.00, Best bowling: 1/51
Tanmay Mishra
Born: December 22, 1986, Mumbai
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 25, Runs: 661, Average: 33.05, Highest score: 66, Overs: 0.3, Catches: 11
World Cup record: None
Collins Omondi Obuya
Born: July 27, 1981, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 49, Runs: 567, Average: 17.18, Highest score: 68 not out, Overs: 230.1, Wickets: 26, Average: 46.27, Best bowling: 5/24, Catches: 18
World Cup record: Matches: 9, Runs: 88, Highest score: 29, Average: 14.67, Overs: 77.5, Wickets: 13, Average: 28.77, Best bowling: 5/24, Catches: 4
David Oluoch Obuya
Born: August 14, 1979, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Matches: 41, Runs: 777, Average: 20.45, Highest score: 93, 50s: 4, Catches: 27 (includes 12 as fielder), Stumpings: 4
World Cup record: Matches: 4, Runs: 11, Average: 3.67, Highest score: 4 not out, Catches: 8
Nehemiah Odhiambo
Born: August 7, 1983, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium-fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 16, Runs: 142, Average: 17.75, Highest score: 66, Overs: 93.4, Wickets: 10, Average: 49.10, Best bowling: 3/25
World Cup record: None
Peter Jimmy Carter Ongondo
Born: February 10, 1977, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 47, Runs: 292, Average: 10.43, Highest score: 36, Overs: 299.5, Wickets: 50, Average: 26.32, Best bowling: 5/51, Catches: 8
World Cup record: Matches: 9, Runs: 84, Average: 12.00, Highest score: 24, Overs: 55.2, Wickets: 4, Average: 56.50, Best bowling: 2/44
Lameck Onyango
Born: September 22, 1973, Nairobi
Style: Right-hand batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 9, Runs: 44, Average: 11.00, Highest score: 23, Overs: 38.5, Wickets: 9, Average: 25.33, Best bowling: 3/37, Catch: 1
World Cup record: Match: 1, Runs: 23, Average: 23.00, Highest score: 23, Overs: 4, Catch: 1
Maurice Akumu Ouma
Born: November 8, 1982, Kiambli
Style: Right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Matches: 23, Runs: 384, Average: 17.45, Highest score: 57 not out, Catches: 9 (includes 3 as fielder), Stumping: 1
World Cup record: None
Malhar Patel
Born: November 27, 1983, Kenya
Style: Right-handed batsman
ODI record: Matches: 3, Runs: 40, Average: 13.33, Highest score: 25
World Cup record: None
Ravindu Shah
Born: August 28, 1972, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium-fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 53, Runs: 1,425, Average: 27.94, Highest score: 113, 100s: 1, 50s: 11, Overs: 10, Catches: 16
World Cup record: Matches: 14, Runs: 419, Average: 29.93, Highest score: 61, 50s: 3, Catches: 5
Otieno 'Tony' Suji
Born: February 5, 1976, Nairobi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 53, Runs: 472, Average: 13.49, Highest score: 67, 50s: 1, Overs: 200.5, Wickets: 19, Average: 58.63, Best bowling: 2/16, Catches: 15
World Cup record: Matches: 8, Runs: 14, Highest score: 6, Average: 4.67, Overs: 29, Wicket: 1, Average: 155.00, Best bowling: 1/45, Catches: 5
Hiren Ashok Varaiya
Born: April 9, 1984, Kenya
Style: Right-handed batsman and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 15, Runs: 23, Average: 23.00, Highest score: 10 not out, Overs: 128.2, Wickets: 24, Average: 18.13, Best bowling: 4/25, Catches: 5
World Cup record: None
Roger Harper (coach)
Born: March 17, 1963, Georgetown, Demerara (British Guiana)
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 105, Runs: 85, Average: 16.13, Highest score: 45 not out, Overs: 862.3, Wickets: 100, Average: 34.31, Best bowling: 4/40, Catches: 55
World Cup record: Matches: 14, Runs: 118, Average: 10.73, Highest score: 24, Overs: 132, Wickets: 18, Average: 27.11, Best bowling: 4/47, Catches: 6
Ranchi, March 1 (IANS) A Holi without revellers chasing passers-by with 'pichkaris'? Unthinkable till a few years back. But the new trend in Jharkhand suggests the water sprayer is no longer the most sought-after plaything among children for celebrating the festival of colours.
The reason: It's considered unhealthy.
"Health experts say children should avoid playing with plastic articles and most sprayers are made of plastic," said Pyali Banerjee, a housewife.
"On Holi we often get complaints about children pumping harmful liquids in the eyes of other children with pichkaris, so we discourage them from buying pichkaris now," added Sushila Devi, another housewife from Ranchi.
Colours used for spraying water are also said to be harmful for the skin and this is adding to the decrease in their sale.
"Till few years back we were earning good money selling pichkaris during Holi. The sale has declined by 20 per cent now," said Vikas Kumar, a shopkeeper from Lalpur in Ranchi.
Another shopkeeper, Indu Bhushan echoed: "During Holi we would set up makeshift stalls outside the shop. Over the years, traditional pichkaris were replaced with other forms such as guns or airplanes but the sale was good. In the last few years its been steadily going down."
The price of sprayers varies from Rs. 5 to Rs. 90 depending on the shape, make and size.
He admitted that health conscious people now prefer not to play with colours. People like only 'abirs' (coloured powder) and avoid liquid colours.
"There was a time when one child would insist on buying two to three pichkaris and parents would buy them without a second thought. Now parents discourage children from buying them on health grounds," said Munna Bhagat, who has set up two stalls of sprayers near Sahid Chawk in Ranchi.
However, not everyone is averse to sprinklers.
"During Holi I buy at least five pichkaris. We enjoy playing with colours for at least two to three days," said Sumit Kumar, a student of DAV School here.
Siliguri (West Bengal), March 1 (IANS) An MiG-21 fighter aircraft pilot of the Indian Air Force was killed after the aircraft crashed near Kurseong in Darjeeling district Thursday afternoon.
Defence sources said Squadron Leader S. Pandey was killed in the crash after the aircraft broke up mid-air soon after take-off around 1240 p.m. The crash occurred near Norbong tea estate in Kurseong sub-division.
The hilly area is forested and difficult to access.
The body of Pandey is yet to be retrieved.
Siliguri (West Bengal), March 1 (IANS) An MiG-21 fighter aircraft pilot of the Indian Air Force was killed after the aircraft crashed near Kurseong in Darjeeling district Thursday afternoon.
Defence sources said Squadron Leader S. Pandey was killed in the crash after the aircraft broke up mid-air soon after take-off around 1240 p.m. The crash occurred near Norbong tea estate in Kurseong sub-division.
The hilly area is forested and difficult to access.
The body of Pandey is yet to be retrieved.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) A four-day impasse in parliament over Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi ended Thursday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assuring the opposition that his government had done "no wrong" and wanted to net him for his role in the Bofors payoff scandal.
Making an intervention in both houses of parliament, Manmohan Singh said his statement to the media about the government's moves on Quattrocchi, charged with bribery and fraud in the Bofors scam, was not "was not aimed at hurting the sentiments of any members".
The leaders of opposition in both houses - L.K. Advani in the Lok Sabha and Jaswant Singh in the Rajya Sabha - criticised Manmohan Singh for his statements to the media Tuesday about the Quattrocchi issue.
Manmohan Singh had told the media that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been given the full freedom to take all steps to extradite the Italian businessman, who was detained in Argentina Feb 6.
The government was also believed to have agreed to the opposition's demand for a thorough discussion over the issue.
Said Manmohan Singh, who came under criticism from the opposition over his government's alleged delay in extraditing Quattrocchi from Argentina: "It has been our consistent stand that we do not shy away from any discussion... We are ready for any discussion as decided by the floor managers and the speaker."
Responding to Advani's allegation in the Lok Sabha that it was improper for the prime minister to talk to the media about Quattrocchi instead of inside the house, he said: "It was not my intention to hurt the sentiments of the opposition or any member. It was not a press conference. I was asked to comment on election results and somebody asked me about the Quattrocchi issue.
"As far as the facts of the matter are concerned, my colleague (Minister of State for Personnel and Grievances) Suresh Pachouri has laid statements in both the houses.
"I repeat that that this government has done nothing wrong. We will allow the CBI full freedom to pursue the case," he said.
The opposition had stalled parliament's functioning since Monday, accusing the government of acting tardily in extraditing Quattrocchi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) disrupted the Lok Sabha proceedings Thursday morning too, leading to two abrupt adjournments, saying the prime minister was protecting the culprits and was not ready to inform the house about the government's moves.
In the Rajya Sabha, breaking the stalemate was more difficult as the Samajwadi Party, AIADMK and Left members stood up to speak. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat allowed one MP from each party to speak.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned thrice after the opposition stalled the proceedings attacking the government.
Pachauri made a statement in parliament Tuesday seeking to dispel doubts that Quattrocchi's bail from an Argentine court would have a bearing on proceedings to extradite him. Quattrocchi has been released on bail but not permitted to leave Argentina.
A two-member CBI team has left for Buenos Aires and is expected to arrive there Friday to present their case before the authorities.
New Delhi, Mar 1(IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday said his government was ready for any discussion in parliament and reiterated it had done "no wrong" in handling the extradition demand for Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who has been linked to the Bofors payoff scandal.
Manmohan Singh, who came under harsh criticism from the opposition over his government's seeming failure to extradite Quattrocchi from Argentina, said: "It has been our consistent stand that we do not shy away from any discussion... We are ready for any discussion as decided by the floor managers and speaker."
Responding to opposition leader L.K. Advani's allegation that it was improper for the prime minister to talk to the media about Quattrocchi instead of inside the house, Manmohan Singh said: "It was not my intention to hurt the sentiments of the opposition or any member. It was not a press conference. I was asked to comment on election results and somebody asked me about the Quattrocchi issue."
Manmohan Singh had told the media that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had been given the fullest freedom to take all steps to extradite the Italian businessman, who was detained in Argentina Feb 6.
"As far as the facts of the matter are concerned, my colleague (Minister of state for Personnel and Grievances) Suresh Pachouri has laid statements in both the houses."
"I repeat that that this government has done nothing wrong. We will allow the CBI full freedom to pursue the case."
The opposition stalled parliament's functioning since Monday, accusing the government of acting tardily in extraditing Quattrocchi. The Bharatiya Janata Party disrupted the proceedings Thursday morning too, leading two abrupt adjournments, saying the prime minister was protecting the culprits and was not ready to inform the house about the government's moves.
Pachauri made a statement in parliament Tuesday seeking to dispel doubts that Quattrocchi's bail from an Argentine court would have a bearing on proceedings to extradite him.
Quattrocchi has been released on bail but not allowed to leave Argentina.
A two-member CBI team has left for Buenos Aires and is expected to arrive there Friday to present their case before the authorities.
New Delhi, Mar 1(IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday again reiterated that the "government had done nothing wrong" in its handling of the extradition demand against fugitive Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, charged with bribery and fraud in the Bofors gun payoff scandal, and said the CBI had been given "full freedom" to pursue him.
"As far as I am concerned I can affirm that this government has done nothing wrong. We will allow the CBI full freedom to pursue the case," Singh told the Lok Sabha after the opposition stalled parliament proceedings demanding the government come clean on its approach to Quattrocchi, who is on bail after his arrest in Argentina.
He also sough to clarify his statement to reporters two days earlier outside parliament house after the opposition accused him of showing disrespect to the house by making a statement outside it when it was in session.
"It was not my intention to hurt the sentiments of members or the opposition. I was asked to comment on the election results and a question on the extradition demand came up," Singh told the house.
The opposition stalled parliament's functioning for the last two days, accusing the government of acting tardily in extraditing Quattrocchi.
Minister of State for Personnel and Grievances Suresh Pachauri had made a statement in parliament Tuesday seeking to dispel doubts that Quattrocchi's bail from an Argentine court would have a bearing on proceedings to extradite him.
Quattrocchi, arrested Feb 6, has been released on bail but not allowed to leave Argentina.
A two-member CBI team has left for Buenos Aires and is expected to arrive there Friday to present their case before the authorities.
by Vladimir Simonov
A person of mixed race with a name that reminds Americans of their main enemies would need a lot of luck to be nominated as a candidate for president of the United States.
This is what comes to mind when you think of Barack Hussein Obama, 45, a Democrat representing Illinois in the Senate.
Obama, who joined the presidential race on February 10, 2007, talks about his name quite openly, in a manner than wins thousands of supporters.
He said he used to be called Alabama or Osama, and his middle name really is Hussein, which in Arabic means “small and beautiful.� But then, Americans seldom use middle names anyway, and, as Shakespeare put it, “what’s in a name?�
The main thing is that he, the son of an economist from Kenya and an American from Kansas, now draws bigger crowds than the Rolling Stones.
“The fact that someone like me can attract a crowd like this shows that this country yearns for something new and different,� he said on one occasion.
According to some pollsters, 62% of Americans say they are ready for an African-American in the White House.
The Senator from Illinois became the talk of the nation when he made a brilliant speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, where he said America was a much more complicated country than the one portrayed by “the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes.�
It appeared that the country was ready to step over the imaginary fence dividing the Republican elephant from the Democratic donkey and unite to turn its hopes into reality.
One of the biggest of these hopes is an honorable withdrawal from Iraq that lives up to America’s responsibility to the future of the Middle East.
Obama later incorporated that idea in his Iraq War Deescalation Act of 2007.
“Our troops have performed brilliantly in Iraq, but no amount of American soldiers can solve the political differences at the heart of somebody else's civil war,� Obama said.
He proposed that the Bush administration should commence redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007 with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008.
However, the plan is not as black-and-white as it may seem at first glance.
It allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain as basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism, and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces.
It also allows for the temporary suspension of the redeployment, provided Congress agrees that the benchmarks have been met and that the suspension is in the national security interest of the United States.
In other words, Obama retains the right to follow any possible scenario.
He has not proposed anything new. His plan is consistent with the ideas of the Iraq Study Group (ISG), also known as the Baker-Hamilton Commission, and with those of many war critics.
Why has his proposal so outraged his opponents then, and why has the other side praised the idea now that it has been expressed by an African-American newcomer in the Senate?
The first salvo was delivered in Australia, whose prime minister, John Howard, said:“If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats.�
Time magazine called the Illinois Senator “America's hottest political phenomenon,� and TV hosts rushed to invite him to their talk shows.
Obama accepts criticism and praise equally coolly, which means that he knows his worth.
He said about Howard: “If he is ... [so enthusiastic] to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq� to complement the 1,400 troops Australia already has there.
As to his sudden popularity, Obama said he was flattered by the amount of attention he is receiving, though also concerned, and that it speaks more about America than about himself.
He probably meant that the country is ready for a radical change, including the most unusual presidential election in its history.
It is difficult to say exactly which of Obama’s qualities attract American voters most.
Some say he looks like a young John Kennedy and has the same charisma. Like JFK, the Illinois Senator is both glamorous and modest.
Others like him because he does not pretend to speak for Black America.
He seldom quotes Martin Luther King, and never speculates about his contribution to King’s struggle for civil rights.
Like Condoleezza Rice, and Colin Powell before her, Obama wants to detach his policies from his skin color.
Judging by the growth in public sympathy, he has chosen the right path.
A Gallup poll conducted this month estimates his support at 21% as opposed to 40% who would vote for Hillary Clinton, Obama’s main rival for the Democratic nomination.
But Hillary should know from her husband’s experience that taking the lead at the beginning of the race can be treacherous.
Bill Clinton finished the primaries in New Hampshire third, yet spent two terms in the White House.
Hillary is running ahead of Obama on all counts so far.
She has the best spin doctors at her disposal, a talent for convincing donors to cough up big money, and a name. Taken together, this could all be described as a political brand.
But the Clinton brand also carries the burden of Gennifer Flowers, Monica Lewinsky, the failure of the health insurance proposal, and the high-profile Whitewater scandal, concerning the real estate dealings of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates, James and Susan McDougal, in the Whitewater Development Corporation.
Barack Obama is free from the burden of the past, maybe too free.
His weakest point is his lack of political experience.
He will have served less than four years in the Senate by 2008, which has encouraged Vice President Dick Cheney, a political veteran, to say about Obama: “I think people might want a little more experience than that, given the nature of the times we live in.�
However, astute Americans may retort that the current political experience in Washington has pushed America into the Iraqi deadlock and the attempt to globalize democracy, and that they do not need this kind of experience.
In fact, experience is a drawback rather than an advantage, “given the nature of the times we live in.�
Obama will most likely try to play on that paradox by offering Americans “the audacity of hope� (the title of his second book recently published) instead of experience.
I tend to think that the suspense surrounding the 2008 presidential campaign in the U.S. will come to an end next summer, when the Democratic National Convention will have to make the choice between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, unless Hillary offers Barack the chance to be her running mate.
-- NNN-RIA Novosti
By Jaideep Sarin,
Chandigarh, March 1 (IANS) The full-scale presidential fleet review of the Indian Air Force (IAF) - the first in 31 years - is to be held here March 7.
Even though clouds and rain in the last two days threatened to disrupt preparations for the biggest IAF event - also coinciding with the platinum jubilee of the force, IAF officials hope the sky will clear out in time.
A full dress rehearsal of the review and air show is scheduled here for March 5, air force officials said.
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces, will become the fourth head of state to do the full fleet review of IAF.
The last review was also held at Chandigarh Jan 19, 1976 when the president was Fakruddin Ali Ahmed.
The fleet review is seen as an exercise by IAF to honor the supreme commander and demonstrate its stature and strength.
In the review, the static and air display of IAF's entire fleet takes place, including an impressive parade by the air warriors. A unique feature would be that all 41 Presidential colours that have been awarded by the presidents of India would be displayed.
The aircraft and systems that would be on static display will comprise fighter jets MIG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Jaguar, Mirage-2000 and Sukhois, transport aircraft Dornier, Avro, AN-32, IL-76 and Embraer and helicopters Chetak, Cheetah, MI-8, MI-17, ALH, MI-25 and MI-26.
For the first time, the static display will include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - Heron - used in surveillance.
The flying display will comprise fly pasts by MI-17, MI-26, advanced light helicopters (ALH), Chetak, Cheetah, M-35, HPT-32, mixed formation of Avro, AN-32 and Dorniers, Bisons, Mig-29, Mirage-2000s, Jaguars.
The IL-78 refuellers will fly past with two Mirage-2000 plugged in. Once overhead, the fighters will unplug and carry out a steep climb.
A unique feature of the fly past would be the Jaguar formation in which 17 aircraft will fly in close proximity making a figure of '75' - signifying 75 years of IAF's existence.
IAF SU-30 aircraft would perform the Trishul manouvre.
The Sarang (helicopters) and Suryakiran (jets) aerobatic teams will entertain viewers at the end of the review.
The first presidential fleet review took place in 1954 (President Rajendra Prasad) and the second in 1972 (President V.V. Giri). Both were held at Palam airport in Delhi. The third one was in 1976 in Chandigarh.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Budget over, the Quattrocchi issue was back Thursday with both houses of parliament being adjourned as opposition MPs attacked the government on the extradition of the Italian businessman, arrested and released on bail in Argentina for his role in the Bofors bribery scandal.
Proceedings in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were stalled, leading to repeated adjournments till 2 p.m.
As the lower house met, BJP deputy leader V.K. Malhotra stood up seeking a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding Quattrocchi's extradition.
Other opposition members then joined him in creating a ruckus in the house, forcing speaker Somnath Chatterjee to adjourn the house for half an hour at 11.05 a.m. and then again till 2 p.m.
The Rajya Sabha failed to conduct any business till lunch following two adjournments when the BJP, actively supported by the Samajwadi Party, raised slogans against the prime minister and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
The opposition was up on its feet as soon as the house met at 11 a.m., the appointed time to take up the question hour.
After several unsuccessful attempts to restore order, the house was adjourned till 12 noon and then till 2 p.m. Opposition leaders refused to spell out their strategy for the post-lunch session and whether they would allow the house to run even after 2 p.m.
Ottavio Quattrocchi, the only surviving accused in the Bofors gun payoff scandal that has haunted the politics of this country for two decades, was arrested in Argentina Feb 6 and was subsequently let off on bail.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said Tuesday that the "government had done nothing wrong" in its handling of the arrest in Argentina of the fugitive businessman.
"This government has done nothing wrong. The law of the land, the rule of law will prevail," the prime minister said.
"The CBI will be given full freedom (to secure Quattrocchi's extradition from Argentina)," he added.
A junior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team has left for Argentina Wednesday to seek his extradition.
Bhubaneswar, March 1 (IANS) An Orissa director general of police (DGP) has been interrogated in connection with his missing son Bity Mohanty, who was convicted of raping a German tourist in Jaipur and jumped parole on Nov 20, media reports here said.
Bidya Bhusan Mohanty, who is DGP home guard and fire services, was questioned for over half-an-hour in Cuttack, 26 km from here, Wednesday by a Rajasthan inspector handling the case, said a report from local channel OTV.
The Rajasthan police had earlier tried to arrest Mohanty but could not after the Orissa High Court granted him interim protection.
Mohanty's son Bitihotra, held guilty for raping a 26-year-old German woman in March 2006, was serving a seven-year sentence in a Jaipur jail. The 23-year-old management student had been let off on a 15-day parole Nov 20, but failed to return after its expiry.
Rajasthan police lodged a complaint against Mohanty in Jaipur for aiding and abetting his son's escape from custody.
Rajasthan's Inspector Virendra Jhakkar has been camping in Cuttack for the last few days.
Jaipur, March 1 (IANS) Rajasthan is getting ready to grow olives. The state government has joined hands with an Israel-based company to cultivate olive and dates in the desert state.
"We have tied up with an Israel-based company by forming Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd (ROCL) for growing olives and dates in 40,000 hectares of land the state," Agriculture Minister Prabhulal Saini told IANS here Thursday, without naming the Israeli firm.
He said that the company during the first year would start to use Israeli technique in government-run agriculture farms at seven different places in the state.
"We have identified 30 hectares of land each in Baror and Anoopgarh in Sri Ganganagar district, Lunkaransar in Bikaner, Tinkaradi at Alwar, Kishanpura in Jaipur and Sandhu in Jalore for growing oilve and dates," Saini added.
Initially an investment of Rs.60 million is likely to be made on the project.
Saini said that agriculture marketing board and Israeli company would contribute Rs.15 million each in the project and rest Rs.30 million would be taken from the banks in the form of loans.
He said that saplings of olive and dates would be imported from Israel and added that it takes three years for a tree to yield fruits after sowing.
Port of Spain, March 1 (IANS) Renovation at the Queen's Park Oval cricket stadium, where India will play its preliminary group matches in the ICC World Cup, is nearing completion and the venue will be ready for use by March 8.
ICC venue development director Don Lockerbie has expressed satisfaction over the work done in the two weeks after he voiced concern about the facilities at the stadium here.
"I am very pleased with what I saw today. Tremendous work has been done on the Oval and I can say that this makes me feel good," Lockerbie told the Trinidad Guardian, while congratulating the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and venue development manager Martin Snaggs.
He said he wanted to see the remaining work done quickly so that the place "is brand new to open the batting at the World Cup".
India, placed in Group B along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda, will play its first group match March 17 against Bangladesh.
The Guardian quoted Snaggs as saying that work was done overtime at the Oval during the past few weeks.
"A lot of work has been done to the Pavilion and the Trini Posse Stand and by early next week the work would be completed. From that point we will just be fine-tuning everything for the start of the tournament," he told the newspaper.
Generally thought of as one of the most picturesque among all the old grounds in the West Indies, the Queen's Park Oval is the largest of the all stadiums in the West Indies, accommodating 25,000 spectators.
It was here that India, under Bishen Singh Bedi, successfully chased 403 runs in the third Test of the 1976 series to beat Clive Lloyd's men by six wickets.
By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, March 1 (IANS) Though the meeting of SAARC commerce ministers this month failed to reach a breakthrough in trade ties, the business community in the region is hoping wheels will achieve what deals failed to when the first SAARC car rally kicks off from Bangladesh on March 15.
Business chambers in the region are hoping the 30-day marathon journey covering the seven member countries - Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives - will boost connectivity, people to people relations and investors' confidence.
Floated by Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka last year, the SAARC car rally is being implemented by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) in partnership with corresponding business groups in the six other member countries as a public-private partnership programme.
What started off as a sports and social event is now being shaped as a boost to regional business as well with each member organising a mini business summit on the days the rally passes through it.
In Bangladesh, as the rally with 14 cars flags off from Cox's Bazar, the business meets will start with a conference on the promotion of trade and commerce cooperation.
While Bhutan is hosting a meet on information and communication technology (ICT), Nepal hopes to bring together energy experts from the seven nations for a seminar on energy efficiency, including hydropower. India is hosting a conference on the CEOs of South Asia while Pakistan is focusing on SME (small and medium enterprises) development.
"The rally will be a showcase for SAARC trade and tourism," says Chandiraj Dhakal, chief of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry that is organising the Nepal lap of the rally together with Nepal Tourism Board and the ministry of tourism, culture and civil aviation.
"The motorcade will pass through the cities that are popular tourist destinations to highlight their potential."
In Nepal, besides the capital, the rally will cover the sunny city of Pokhara, a popular tourist destination, and Lumbini in southern Nepal, where the Buddha was born.
However, it remains to be seen how effective the rally will be in promoting business or even good relations in the region.
Two of the member states, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are currently passing through fresh turmoil. Bhutan has been locked with Nepal for nearly two decades in a dispute over the repatriation of more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in Nepal.
This month, the much-awaited meeting between the commerce ministers of the region to boost the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement ran into a wall again due to the continuing feud between India and Pakistan, with New Delhi tacitly warning it could revoke the benefits extended to Islamabad if they were not reciprocated.
In addition, Nepal is currently racked by a series transport strikes, blockades and nationwide shutdowns.
On Wednesday, the kingdom was paralysed after an ethnic group, the Nepal Adivasi Janajati Mahasangh, called for a Nepal shutdown to press its demand for autonomous states.
Since last Monday a group from the Terai plains in the south has called a transport strike in the plains as well as blockade of the trading points on the Indo-Nepal border.
And from coming Monday, the two protesting groups have agreed to join forces and enforce an indefinite Nepal strike.
However, Dhakal feels the protests will subside by March 23, when the rally enters Nepal from India.
"We are also requesting the different political parties as well as organisations to suspend all protests for the four days and three nights that the rally will pass through Nepal," he says.
"Because this is an event that goes beyond Nepal, it is for the benefit of the entire region."
Lucknow, March 1 (IANS) The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police is probing whether those behind last month's blast in the Samjhauta Express had any connection with this state, an official said Thursday.
Investigating teams have confirmed that the suitcases containing the explosives that blew up two coaches of the train were purchased from Meerut - a lead STF is pursuing.
STF teams have also fanned out to Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and other parts of Uttar Pradesh in search of leads, a senior state police official told IANS here.
At least 64 passengers of the Samjhauta Express were killed in the explosions near Panipat in Haryana Feb 18.
By Prasun Sonwalkar,
London, March 1 (IANS) Dismayed that India's budget announced Wednesday did not include reduction of duties on imported spirits, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has urged the European Union to initiate dispute settlement proceedings against India at the WTO.
The SWA, which for some time has been campaigning for a reform of India's alleged discriminatory tax treatment, wants the proceedings to be started at the "earliest opportunity".
Complaints by SWA and EU's spirits and wine industries had led to a EU investigation in 2006 that found that the Indian fiscal regime for imported spirits and wines was in "blatant violation" of WTO rules. It had also urged for early reform of the system - by Wednesday's budget.
According to SWA, Scotch whisky continued to be subject to a high and discriminatory tariff and tax burden of up to 550 percent in India.
Gavin Hewitt, SWA chief executive, said: "Regrettably, India has failed its WTO challenge and continues to deny consumers' choice and fair market access for Scotch Whisky and other imported spirits.
"Today's budget was a last opportunity for India to reform the system. That opportunity has been missed and we are now urging the EU to take the matter to a WTO panel at the earliest opportunity.
"India's discriminatory tariff and tax regime for imported spirits must be reformed in line with international trade rules."
SWA sources say that access to India for EU spirits and wines is unfairly restricted by a discriminatory fiscal regime, with Scotch whisky and other imported spirits subject to a tariff and tax burden of up to 550 percent. In contrast, Indian spirit drinks can be imported into the EU tariff free.
The EU referred the issue to the WTO for consultations in November 2006. With no steps taken by India to reform the system, the sources say that a WTO dispute settlement panel - a body of trade experts - can be established to rule on the merits of the case. Its ruling is binding on the parties to the case.
The EU spirits industry has been successful on each of the three occasions on which discriminatory spirits taxation has been considered by a WTO panel - in relation to Japan, Chile and South Korea.
Raipur, March 1 (IANS) Police patrolling was stepped up in 10 villages of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region where angry protesters injured six policemen late Wednesday in an attack when police asked locals to call off a meeting convened to intensify protests against the Tata's upcoming steel plant, police said Thursday.
"Some local politicians are fuelling anti-Tata protests in the 10 villages of Lohandiguda and we have strengthened police presence there Thursday as the situation is very tense," Bastar range inspector general R.K. Vij told IANS over the telephone.
He said the protesters attacked the state police team in the area Wednesday and injured five police personnel including an assistant platoon commandant of the Chhattisgarh Armed Police when the forces visited the area to "maintain law and order".
Lohandiguda is located some 32 km from Jagdalpur town, the Bastar district headquarters.
The Chhattisgarh government has assured the Tatas that it would provide 5,157 hectares -- a mix of private and government land -- in the Lohandiguda area to set up the plant and develop the township.
"The tribals are determined to cross any limits to save their ancestral farm land from going into Tata's hands. The police have ordered the locals to not convene any protest meetings and agree to a smooth land handover, which is not acceptable to them," Chitranjan Bakchhi, a local Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, told IANS Thursday.
Tata Steel, India's largest private sector steel maker, is setting up a 5 million tonne per annum integrated greenfield steel plant in Bastar district with an investment of Rs 100 billion for which a written agreement was signed between the company and the state government on June 4, 2005.
The Chhattisgarh government has sent a recommendation to the Indian government for granting a prospecting license to Tata Steel for carrying out a survey in the 2,500-hectare area in Dantewada district's Bailadila hills in Bastar region.
Bailadila has huge world-class iron ore stocks that have been divided into 14 deposits. The public sector National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has been excavating mines in three bigger deposits.
Patna, March 1 (IANS) A special court in Bihar Thursday convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin for abducting a political activist in Siwan in 1998.
The special court in Siwan, about 150 km from here, convicted Shahabuddin on the basis of circumstantial evidence against him, public prosecutor Ravilas Mahto told newspersons.
The hearing in the case was concluded Feb 26 and the court will pronounce the sentence against Shahabuddin Friday, he said.
According to a police complaint lodged by Communist Party of India - Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) secretary Keshav Baitha, Shahabuddin along with his 20 unidentified supporters attacked the party's office in Siwan and ransacked it.
The complainant said Shahabuddin had beaten and abducted him for several hours.
A Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, Shahabuddin faces charges in over 40 criminal cases, including those of murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles.
He is currently lodged in Siwan jail. He was arrested in New Delhi over a year ago in a case related to the seizure of arms from his ancestral house in Siwan district.
Last month, the Patna High Court had directed that all pending cases against him would be tried by a special court constituted by the state government in Siwan Jail itself.
Patna, March 1 (IANS) A Bihar court Thursday convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, who faces charges in over 40 criminal cases, for abducting a political activist in Siwan in 1998.
The special court in Siwan, about 150 km from here, convicted the parliamentarian on the basis of circumstantial evidence, public prosecutor Ravilas Mahto told newspersons.
The hearing in the case was concluded Feb 26 and the court will pronounce the sentence against Shahabuddin Friday, he said.
According to a police complaint lodged on Oct 7, 1998 by Communist Party of India - Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) secretary Keshav Baitha, Shahabuddin along with his 20 unidentified supporters attacked the party's office in Siwan and ransacked it.
The complainant said Shahabuddin had beaten and abducted him for several hours.
In the complaint, he was charged under various sections of Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement and house trespass.
A Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, Shahabuddin faces charges in over 40 criminal cases, including those of murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles.
He is currently lodged in Siwan jail. He was arrested in New Delhi over a year ago in a case related to the seizure of arms from his ancestral house in Siwan district.
Last month, the Patna High Court had directed that a special court constituted by the state government in Siwan Jail would try all pending cases against him.
Following the verdict, the CPI-ML demanded the cancellation of Shahabuddin's Lok Sabha membership. The party also challenged RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to take action against Shahabuddin.
"We demand that the Lok Sabha speaker cancel Shahabuddin's membership on the ground of conviction in a criminal case," the CPI-ML state secretary Ramjatan Sharma told newspersons here.
"We demand Lalu Prasad oust Shahabuddin from the RJD," he added.
Welcoming the judgment, Sharma said it was a big day for his party that had been fighting against Shahabuddin's "muscle power" in Siwan. "It is the first time he has been convicted by the court," Sharma said.
By Subhash K. Jha,
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) Barely a week after stories of his illness broke out and swamped the print and electronic media, Saif Ali Khan is back on his feet and promises to quit smoking for ever.
"I'll have to take it easy for a while. Nothing strenuous and certainly no smoking any more... In fact, my doctors told me my condition was brought on entirely by smoking. It causes deposits in the artery, which caused that clot. I've decided to quit smoking completely," Saif told IANS.
Saif was rushed to hospital when he complained of chest pain while practising for his performance at Stardust awards. The actor was discharged recently.
He is out of danger, but Saif is bewildered by and yet resilient to the knocks of life.
"There's bad news and good news. The bad news is that it was a blood clot in my heart. The good news is that it's been fully cured."
Today Saif and his heart have become best friends.
"Yeah, you can say that again. It's been a time of revelation for me. Though I came out unscathed, this hospital experience served up a healthy warning for me. I need to correct a few things in my life, mainly the smoking.
"There I was, with genuinely ill people, people who were suffering from cancer and chronic heart ailments. It just made me so conscious of my own life and my responsibilities."
The ceaseless surge of concern has moved Saif.
"I was so glad to see my family and so many of my friends from the film industry visiting me in hospital. I now intend to use my rest period, writing each of them a personal thank you note."
So has the experience made Saif more compassionate?
"I guess so. I never visited anyone in hospital. Now, I've decided to change that. It matters so much to have people who care for you when you're down."
Saif has one immediate regret. "I couldn't host the Filmfare awards. In fact, it would take me a couple of weeks to get back to normal."
Johannesburg, March 1 (IANS) South Africa received a perfect send-off to the World Cup, as captain Graeme Smith was presented with the International Cricket Council (ICC) One Day International (ODI) Championship Shield here for occupying the top spot in the team rankings list.
Smith's side assumed the top spot in the ODI rankings from Australia earlier this month following an outstanding run of results over the past year, which has seen the team win 15 of its past 21 matches, including seven of the last eight.
It is the first time a side has overtaken Australia in the ICC ODI Championship table since the listings began in October 2002. If South Africa continues to hold the top spot till April 1 they will win $175,000 for being there. The side placed second will win $75,000.
The shield was presented to Smith Wednesday by a representative of the Championship's sponsor, LG Electronics, as the Proteas prepared to fly to the Caribbean for a go at the World Cup -- starting March 11 -- a prize that has eluded them since their return to international cricket 15 years ago.
"This a great honour and a deserved reward for all the hard work the team has put in over the past 18 months. However, heading the log at this stage will not change our focus on the job at hand over the next two months in the Caribbean," said Smith.
Gerald Majola, the chief executive officer of the South African cricket board said that it was an outstanding achievement by the Proteas under Smith's captaincy.
"They have had an extraordinary run of form over the past 12 months. This includes a 3-2 series win over Australia, sealed by scoring a then world-record 438/9 as well as seven wins from their last eight completed matches," said Majola.
"Now all eyes are on the World Cup and the players are quite confident that their teamwork will stand them in good stead throughout the tournament."
South Africa is in Group A with Australia, Scotland and the Netherlands. The Proteas will open their campaign in the 16-nation meet against the Dutch, March 16 in St Kitts and Nevis.
Johannesburg, March 1 (DPA) South Africa Thursday took over the month-long rotating presidency of the UN Security Council at a time when the world body is mulling fresh sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.
The presidency of the council is a largely ceremonial role, but the holder does have the power to table and influence resolutions.
The five permanent, veto-wielding members of the council - the US, Britain, France, China and Russia - plus Germany are seeking a new UN resolution that would impose further sanctions on Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment.
South Africa has said it supports the right of countries to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and is thought likely to oppose further sanctions.
President Thabo Mbeki met with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, in Pretoria last weekend, but the outcome of their talks was not revealed.
Observers said South Africa would likely use the council presidency to put pressure on the UN to pick up the tab for African Union peacekeeping missions. Union troops are currently serving in Darfur and Burundi and are preparing to go into Somalia.
South Africa became a non-permanent member of the Security Council in January.
Colombo, March 1 (DPA) The Sri Lankan Air Force bombed a Tamil rebel training camp in the north of the country Thursday, amid reports of a recent rebel military build up in the area involving intensified training, amassing of arms and ammunition and conscription of local teenagers.
An aircraft bombed the training base at Kunukkal close to Mankulam, 300 km northeast of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, a military statement said.
There have been reports of a heavy military build up in the rebel strong holds of Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts, it said.
There were no details of the damage although pilots had observed, "scores of Tiger terrorists (rebels) training," the statement added without giving details.
Independent reports confirmed that civilians have been trying to move away from rebel camps in the area fearing that the air force will launch a full-scale attack.
The air force has been playing an important role in destroying Tamil rebel positions in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka in recent months.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Enrolment of tribal children in schools in four districts of Andhra Pradesh has gone up to 92.8 percent thanks to a project that can be emulated by other states as well.
After studying the many problems that led to a huge dropout rate among tribal children, a project jointly launched by two NGOs with the backing of the state government developed an integrated bilingual teaching methodology with the aid of linguists and educationists.
As language was also a major constraint, the state government introduced textbooks in seven tribal dialects. This, however, added to the burden of the teachers who didn't understand the local dialects.
They then developed training modules for teachers in order to bridge the language gap between the teachers, who were primarily from the plains, and the tribal children. This has now been adopted in 200 primary schools in East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts.
The outcome of this seven-year-old project called Sustainable Tribal Empowerment Project (STEP) has brought down the dropout rate to 40 percent, from the initial 70 percent in 2001 when it was launched.
According to an earlier survey, 78 percent of tribal population and 56 percent tribal habitations have primary schools in their vicinity. Another 11 percent tribal population and 20 percent of their habitations have schools within a one-kilometre radius.
Among the problems educationists encountered were the difficult terrain, geographical barriers and small children having to walk a distance of more than half a kilometre to attend school.
Add to that, a high number of teachers don't come to school at all and the medium of teaching was not student friendly. Rigid formal schooling and a uniform code of conduct also drove the kids away from school.
The biggest challenge was to convince families to send their children, especially girls, to school and not push them to work.
"The entire process of convincing a family to pull out their kid from his work or from a child marriage means there is bound to be a conflict. A conflict, a debate and then a decision that it's the right of a child to go to school," Shanta Sinha, child rights activist and Magsaysay award winner, said during the release of STEP's report Tuesday.
Added Amrendra, a STEP official: "Age difference and irregular schooling process in the tribal areas led to the high drop out rate. We introduced residential bridge courses (RBC) on a pilot basis to mainstream never-enrolled and drop out children in the age group of 9-14 years."
The children in this age group are withdrawn from workplaces and enrolled in the RBC, which prepares them for enrolment into formal schools.
STEP is an initiative by international NGO CARE and its partner organisation Nature. The Andhra Pradesh department of tribal development backs the project.
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) Ghulam Mohammad Khan got hold of his three-year-old son Majid and sprinted towards the bus that would take him to the aircraft flying him home Thursday, after a week of being stranded here after snow blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Khan and his six-member family, who had been staying at the bus terminus here, were among the lucky 65 airlifted to their homes in the Kashmir Valley. Thousands of passengers have been stranded here since last week.
The Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) started rescue operations Wednesday and were working on a war footing to reopen the highway, which has remained closed for seven days.
Incessant rain and snowfall triggered landslides at Panthal on the Jammu-Srinagar highway, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded at Jammu and Srinagar without aid and support. The highway is the only road link connecting the valley with rest of country.
The over 2,000 people who had to stay put at the bus stand had exhausted all their money on food. They were a joyous lot when Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced that they would be airlifted soon.
While the IAF provided the aircraft, the army deployed its teams at the Jammu bus stand, airport and tourist centres along with civil administration to assist the stranded travellers.
On Wednesday, 200 bus passengers were airlifted in four IAF AN-32 aircraft from Jammu to Srinagar while another 452 were moved to Udhampur by army buses to be airlifted in larger aircraft, a defence ministry statement said.
Shabeena, in her 20s, said she was happy that she would be reunited with her family. "I will never travel outside the valley again. I have experienced a nightmare in the past seven days," she said.
"Around 250 trucks and 25 light motor vehicles are still stranded in Ramban district alone," said Basant Rath, the superintendent of police of Ramban.
Sources in the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which maintains the 294-km highway, said laying the damaged 400-metre road stretch would take a longer time due to the inclement weather.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday dealt a legal blow to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav by ordering a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into his assets that have been alleged to be disproportionate to known sources of income.
Lucknow/New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the assets of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, a verdict that could be damaging to his party that faces a crucial popularity test in assembly elections in April-May.
Acting on a writ petition filed by Congress party activist Vishwanath Chaturvedi, alleging that Mulayam Singh and his family members had amassed millions of rupees through corrupt means, the apex court held these allegations could not be decided in a court of law.
It directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into charges that the wealth the chief minister possessed were disproportionate to his known sources of income.
If the CBI finds there are justifications for registering a FIR (first information report) after the preliminary enquiry, it could be so in accordance with law, the judges said. The bench said such an enquiry was essential in his interest.
As news of the damaging ruling came in, the chief minister stayed holed up inside his house leaving his brother Ram Gopal Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP as well as general secretary of the ruling Samajwadi Party, to tell the media that he would file a review petition in court.
"The chief minister will file a revision petition as we have no faith in the CBI to which the probe has been assigned by the apex court.
"We have no objection to the probe but let it be done by a sitting or retired judge of a high court or Supreme Court," Ram Gopal Yadav said.
Ordering the CBI probe, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A.R. Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir said the chief minister of a large state like Uttar Pradesh could not function under a cloud when his integrity had been questioned.
The petitioner had enclosed copies of the sale deeds of the properties acquired by Mulayam Singh, his two sons and daughter-in-law over the years and alleged the value of these properties was worth more than Rs.1 billion (Rs 10,000 crores).
The petitioner alleged that Mulayam Singh had in 1979 declared a taxable income of just Rs.79,000. But within three decades, particularly during the period when he was chief minister, he had acquired all these assets through corrupt means.
The petitioner sought a direction to CBI to prosecute Mulayam Singh and his family members under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The court ruling has given an impetus to the opposition demand that Mulayam Yadav be ousted from office. "He has no moral ground to continue in office and he must step down," demanded state Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari.
Added state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Keshrinath Tripathi: "We are going to raise this as an issue in the state assembly elections (in March-April)."
Surprisingly, however, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati did not even make a passing reference to the apex court order against her sworn political foe during her mammoth poll rally here Thursday afternoon.
The ruling comes just a few days after the Supreme Court disqualified 13 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators who had helped in the formation of the Mulayam Singh Yadav government
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) A former militant of the Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HUJI), who had surrendered last year, and his father were found killed in their home in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district Thursday.
Police here said that Mohammad Amin, 27, had come to stay with his father Ahmad Baksh in Kishtwar after laying down arms before the army.
Neighbours found their bodies lying inside the house.
"We have started investigating the matter. It appears that militants targeted them for surrendering," said a senior police officer.
Geneva, March 1 (DPA) Switzerland has the world's most conducive business climate for tourism, followed by Austria, Germany and Iceland, according to a latest study by Geneva based World Economic Forum published Thursday.
The US, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg and Britain completed the top 10 of the 124 countries included in the study.
WEF senior economist Jennifer Blanke said the report was no "beauty contest" or a reflection of the attractiveness of a country.
The study also looked at government policy and regulation, safety, hygiene, price competitiveness and natural resources.
"On the contrary, we aim to measure the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries," she said.
"The top rankings demonstrate the importance of supportive business and regulatory frameworks, coupled with world-class transport and tourism infrastructure." She added.
It was the first time the WEF put together an index on travel and tourism, which has become a major part of the global economy. India and China ranked 65th and 71st respectively. Russia was placed just ahead of China in 68th place.
International tourism revenue was $6.23 trillion in 2004.
By 2006, travel and tourism accounted for 10.3 percent of the global economy and was responsible for 8.2 percent of total employment in the same year.
Bangalore, March 1 (IANS) Tata Teleservices Ltd, a leading wireless service provider in the CDMA space, Thursday launched a single-chip mobile handset with multiple features and a host of functions.
Claimed to be the first single-chip cellular product in operation worldwide, Motorola's Motofone F3c handset with Qualcomm's chipset measures 9.1mm and weighs 75 grams.
"The debut of Motofone with Qualcomm reaffirms our commitment to offer the latest in global innovation and technology on the CDMA (code division multiple access) platform to meet the diverse needs and tastes of our customers in India," Tata Teleservices CEO Darryl Green said here at a preview of the product.
The ultra slim handset has been specially designed to suit the Indian consumers, with voice prompts in six languages - English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. More languages will be added later.
"Combined with the benefits of the Go Xtra Pack, the first of its kind offer will enable subscribers to avail double talk time for the first six months with bonus talk time valid for one year on activation. The scheme also offers free incoming calls for the first six months without re-charge," Green told reporters.
Qualcomm president for India and SAARC market Kanwalinder Singh said Tata Indicom, the mobile brand of the Tatas, became the first operator in the subcontinent to introduce the single-chip handset in place of the four-chip handsets prevailing in the market, especially in the rival GSM space.
"In our pursuit of bringing wireless connectivity to emerging markets, we have collaborated with Tata Indicom and Motorola to introduce the world's first single-chip handset in India. We look forward to working with the industry to make connectivity accessible to more people in the country," Singh pointed out.
With Rs.200 billion investment in 20 circles covering 3,100 cities and towns across the country, Tata Indicom has a customer base of about 15.5 million, including 3.8 million in the fixed wireless telephony segment.
"We are targeting to achieve over 100 million subscribers by 2011. In Delhi, we have already crossed the two million mark and one million mark in Karnataka.
"With the latest single-chip handset at an affordable price, we hope to rope in about three million subscribers in the next three months," Green said.
Islamabad, March 1 (DPA) Suspected militants beheaded a teacher of a madrassa in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province after accusing him of working for US security agencies, media reports said Thursday.
The teacher's body and severed head were found Tuesday by a roadside near Jandola in the tribal Tank district, about 250 km south-west of the provincial capital, Peshawar, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The body was reportedly stuffed into a sack while the head lay in the open and an attached Urdu-language note identified the victim as an Afghan teacher of a madrassa in the restive North Waziristan region.
The killers also wrote "hypocrite" on the forehead of the man, whose death was "a result of spying for Americans", the note said.
Militants in Pakistan's tribal areas have beheaded a number of people in recent months for allegedly providing intelligence to US forces fighting Taliban insurgents in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Hyderabad, March 1 (IANS) An official team will visit Medak district of Andhra Pradesh on March 11 to identify the location to establish an eighth Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the state.
The district authorities have short-listed three villages for the institute in Sangareddy, about 70 km from Hyderabad. Out of the three, government land is available only near Lakadram village. Officials here said if the central team selects any other location, the government might have to acquire private land.
The team comprising officials of the human resource development ministry is visiting the district amid rival demands over the location of the institute.
The opposition parties as well as leaders of the ruling Congress from some districts have demanded that the IIT be set up in the temple town of Basara in Adilabad district as was originally proposed.
The previous Telugu Desam Party government had lobbied for setting up an IIT at Basara and the state assembly had also passed a resolution in this regard.
In December last year when the central government sanctioned the institute for the state, the Congress government decided it would be located in Medak district because of its proximity to Hyderabad and thus to various infrastructure facilities.
The move evoked strong protests from the opposition parties, ruling party leaders in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts and even leaders from Nanded in neighbouring Maharashtra.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has constituted a panel to look into the issue but ruled out shifting the location from Medak district.
There are already seven IITs, globally acknowledged as centres of excellence, in the country.
Bangkok, March 1 (NNN-TNA) Combined Royal Thai Army and Malaysian Police patrols will begin soon in order to ensure security along the common border between the two neighbouring countries.
The mission was revealed by Col. Virat Kamolsilp, commander of Thai Army's 5th Infantry, after leading a Thai delegation from Thailand's Fourth Army Region Command to confer with the Northern Malaysia General Operations Unit Police Brigade in Malaysia. Leading the Malaysian delegation was Sach Dato, Asman Bin Yosof.
The agenda was to plan a joint patrol in Thailand's southernmost province of Satun and Perlis State of Malaysia. The operation begins March 13 and is comprised of Thai infantry and Malaysian police which will initially operate for three months, March 14 to June 16.
Both governments believe that joint patrols will contribute to improved border security.
The Thai prime minister and his Malaysian counterpart agreed in bilateral talks in Bangkok last month to jointly develop Thailand's far south and northern Malaysia in an attempt to end the continuing violence in Thailand's insurgency-torn region which claimed some 2,000 lives in the past three years.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Failed to get tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup final? Take heart. Tickets are still available.
Over 2,200 tickets for the World Cup final to be held at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, April 28 will go on sale Friday online and in the official ticket centres at the nine host venues in the West Indies, according to an ICC Cricket World Cup press release.
As in the case of additional semifinal tickets, which were recently made available after a number of them were returned from various contractual obligations to the event's commercial partners, these are being made available to the general public through the same avenue.
"Once again, some of our sponsors have not exercised their full option on tickets for the final and CWC (Cricket World Cup) has received returns for the final in various categories," CWC commercial director, Stephen Price, stated in the release, while pointing out that at some world games, sponsors were not thoughtful enough to return unused tickets for possible sale, thereby resulting in large blocks of empty seats on various occasions.
"This will not be the case at this Cricket World Cup as we have been working closely with our commercial partners to ensure that these seats - some the best in the tournament - reach the public," he said.
"There was excessive demand for the final and we are sure that cricket fans will appreciate this golden opportunity to get their hands on these much sought after tickets for the biggest tournament match," Price added.
In all, 600 tickets in Category 1, 1,600 in Category 2 and a small number in Category 3 will be available for sale, according to the release.
These will go on sale simultaneously at the ticket centres as well as online (www.cricketworldcup.com) at 10.30 am Eastern Caribbean time Friday (8 pm India time).
While persons who have not previously bought any CWC tickets will now be eligible to buy tickets for the final, there will still be a maximum limit of four per person, the release stated, adding that these tickets will be sold strictly on a 'first-come-first-serve' basis.
Tokyo, March 1 (Xinhua) Tokyo experienced its first winter without any snowfall since 1876, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday.
The weather service's observatory point in Otemachi, central Tokyo, did not record any snowfall from December to February, the period defined as winter in Japan.
According to the agency, the Japanese capital usually has heavy snowfall in early spring rather than in midwinter. However, as the temperatures are expected to remain higher than usual, snowfalls seem even more unlikely this month.
Last winter was extremely cold in Japan. However, this year's was warmer than expected, with average temperatures in January 1.44 degrees Celsius higher than usual.
Sales of winter clothing and kerosene suffered, resulting in a 0.8 percent year-on-year fall in the country's retail sales in January, according to government statistics.
Colombo, March 1 (Xinhua) Two people were killed when a trainer aircraft crashed Thursday in Sri Lanka's north central district of Anuradhapura, said the military.
"A PT-6 trainer aircraft of the Sri Lanka Air Force crashed within minutes of taking off inside the Anuradhapura air base around 12.15 pm (0645 GMT)," said the Media Centre for National Security in a statement.
Both the trainer and the instructor died, said the statement.
The air force said engine failure was the cause of the crash.
London, March 1(IRNA) Trading standards officers Thursday started to investigate claims that petrol stations have been selling contaminated fuel after reports of thousands of cars breaking down.
The Society of Motoring Manufacturers (SMM) stressed the urgency of finding the source of the potential contamination, saying it could not recall vehicles being affected on such a scale.
"It appears there is a rogue load of petrol in the United Kingdom at the present moment," SSM Chief Executive Christopher MacGowan said.
Increasing numbers of motorists were reported to have been affected with their cars juddering, misfiring and losing power after filling up with petrol.
The suspected fuel was allegedly sold by some service stations, including supermarket chains Tescos and Morrisons, mainly in the southeast of England.
Independent oil company Greenenergy, which supplies "greener" fuels to supermarkets, said its "extensive" tests showed that it met industry standards, but was continuing its investigation.
But according to the Guardian newspaper, the problem could be associated with petrol being contaminated with ethanol without motorists being advised.
Ian Hillier, petroleum spokesman for the Trading Standards Institute, said including ethanol in petrol does not really contaminate it, but added that there does need to be a clear warning to people who buy petrol.
"Ethanol is actually seen as a green measure but if sold without any warning then offenders are in breach of bio-fuel labeling regulations," Hillier said.
United Nations, Mar 1 (NNN-APP) The UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees has appealed for $26 million to improve the living conditions of some 18,000 Palestinians living in Neirab camp near Aleppo, Syria, as part of a new project emphasizing community participation.
"This is a bottom-up project, where the refugee community prioritized the development of their neighbourhood," UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Director in Syria Panos Moumtzis said Wednesday.
The top priority for refugees is improvement of education and health facilities, according to a UNRWA press release. They also would like to have open public spaces, leisure facilities and neighbourhood nurseries. In addition, the project will create opportunities for skills training and employment coaching activities.
Neirab camp originally housed World War II troops, the press release said. Six decades later, Palestine refugees still live in the original barracks and no renovations or re-building has been done to accommodate the expanding population over the years.This has led to overcrowding and unsafe building structures that pose health and safety hazards.
In 2003, the release said, UNRWA started a project to relocate 300 families to new houses on land made available by the Syrian Government in the nearby camp of Ein Al-Tal. This represented Phase I of the project, but the need remains to improve conditions in Neirab camp itself. Phase II will utilize the newly available space in Neirab to reconstruct the camp and to develop housing units and community facilities.
"The Neirab project represents a prototype that will empower Palestinians to secure their livelihoods, meet their needs and address their concerns", UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd said.
The project reflects the co-operation between the Syrian Arab Republic, UNRWA and donor countries to provide better services to Palestinian refugees. So far, the Syrian Government has been the strongest supporter to the project, contributing $6.5 million.
Established in 1949 after the first Israeli-Arab war, UNRWA is the main provider of basic services -education, health, relief and social services - to over 4.3 million registered Palestine refugees throughout the Middle East.
United Nations, Mar 1 (NNN-APP) Unregulated sales in places such as street markets and the Internet of both internationally controlled and counterfeit drugs endanger the lives of people worldwide, according to a UN-backed report of an independent drug control body.
"It is important for consumers to realise that what they think is a cut-price medication bought on an unregulated market may have potentially lethal effects whenever the consumed drugs are not the genuine product or are taken without medical advice," Dr. Philip Emafo, President of the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said Wednesday.
"Instead of healing, (these drugs) can take lives," he added.
The 2006 INCB report warns that unofficial drug sales, due to a lack of standards, result in substandard and even lethal medications going to unsuspecting customers. The drugs sold on the black market are often stolen from legitimate healthcare centres or retailers, illicitly manufactured or sold illegally on the Internet.
To combat this problem, the Board urges States Parties to at least one of the three main drug control treaties the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (as amended by the 1972 Protocol), the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances to strengthen their law enforcement mechanisms, as well as implement effective policies to combat the production and sale of counterfeit drugs.
The INCB urges UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), to assist Member States with better understanding the ramifications of illicit drug sales on the unregulated market as well as preventing the trafficking of these drugs.
The report also highlights developments in specific regions of the world. For example, the Board points out that the cultivation and production of cannabis and the trafficking of cocaine is on the rise in Africa, suggesting that African countries continue efforts to enhance their respective drug control policies.
Although an independent body, the Board was established by the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The Board's 13 members are nominated by their countries, but serve in their personal or expert capacities, providing information to the general public and experts around the world on matters of drug control, both from the standpoint of illegal drugs and also the standpoint of ensuring the availability of drugs that are controlled, but also legal and medically useful.
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 1 (NNN-APP) - The UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees has appealed for $26 million to improve the living conditions of some 18,000 Palestinians living in Neirab camp near Aleppo, Syria, as part of a new project emphasizing community participation.
"This is a bottom-up project, where the refugee community prioritized the development of their neighbourhood," UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Director in Syria Panos Moumtzis said Wednesday.
The top priority for refugees is improvement of education and health facilities, according to a UNRWA press release. They also would like to have open public spaces, leisure facilities and neighbourhood nurseries. In addition, the project will create opportunities for skills training and employment coaching activities.
Neirab camp originally housed World War II troops, the press release said. Six decades later, Palestine refugees still live in the original barracks and no renovations or re-building has been done to accommodate the expanding population over the years.This has led to overcrowding and unsafe building structures that pose health and safety hazards.
In 2003, the release said, UNRWA started a project to relocate 300 families to new houses on land made available by the Syrian Government in the nearby camp of Ein Al-Tal. This represented Phase I of the project, but the need remains to improve conditions in Neirab camp itself. Phase II will utilize the newly available space in Neirab to reconstruct the camp and to develop housing units and community facilities.
"The Neirab project represents a prototype that will empower Palestinians to secure their livelihoods, meet their needs and address their concerns", UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd said.
The project reflects the co-operation between the Syrian Arab Republic, UNRWA and donor countries to provide better services to Palestinian refugees. So far, the Syrian Government has been the strongest supporter to the project, contributing $6.5 million.
Established in 1949 after the first Israeli-Arab war, UNRWA is the main provider of basic services -education, health, relief and social services - to over 4.3 million registered Palestine refugees throughout the Middle East.
UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) -- Kuwait's UN Representative, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Murad, in his capacity as chairman of the Arab Group, expressed concern and discomfort late Wednesday at Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's hint last December that his country possessed nuclear weapons.
This came in identical letters he addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, and Security Council President Peter Burian.
The letter said Olmert, in an interview with German television on Dec 11, 2006 said his country was "not the first" country in the Middle East to produce nuclear weapons, in a clear indication that it possessed such weapons.
The Israeli prime minister claimed in the same interview that his country did not pose a threat to neighbouring countries, as he said Iran did.
The Kuwaiti ambassador said the "declaration is of no surprise" as the Arab and international community had strong suspicion that Israel possessed a nuclear programme, but noted this instance was important in that it was the first statement to be made by a high-ranking Israeli official on the issue.
This, he said, reaffirms Arab and international doubts on Israel's nuclear capabilities.
Al-Murad also said this came in stark violation of the will of the international community as stipulated by UN Security Council resolution on dangers of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.
He noted that resolution 487 passed in 1981 called on Israel to immediately place its nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The representative called on the UN General Assembly, Security Council, and the IAEA to bear their responsibilities and act seriously and effectively without delay to implement related resolutions in order to counter threats to regional and international security.
He said Olmert's statement reiterate regional concerns and those of the international community over threatened international peace, at a time when the international community failed to push Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The ambassador said double standards were employed in the region in this regard, which reflected on the draft resolution presented by the Arab group to the IAEA's 50th General Assembly.
Arab countries retain their right to take all necessary measures to face threats posed by Israel's nuclear capabilities through UN decision-making channels, he said.
Cuba, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, sent similar letters to the three UN officials.
Bhubaneswar, March 1 (IANS) An American devotee Thursday was fined by priests for entering into the famous 12th-century Jagannath temple in Orissa's holy city of Puri, where entry of foreigners are prohibited, police said.
Paulf Rodgier, 55, reportedly entered into the temple along with two Indians, Dhirendra Kumar Sukla, 47, and Asis Saxena, 23, at about 2 p.m. Thursday, inspector in charge of town police station Alekh Pahi told IANS.
When they were roaming inside the temple the temple priests caught them near the temple's north gate. The priests fined Rodgier Rs.209 when he pleaded that he was not aware of such restriction, Pahi said.
"We immediately brought Rodgier, Sukla and Saxena to the police station for their safety," Pahi said.
Police will not register any case against them because the priests have already fined them as per temple rules, he said.
The trio had reportedly come to government-run National Thermal Power Corp, located at Kaniha in Angul district, on official work a few days ago.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 1 (IANS) The US House of Representatives has passed a bill making review of foreign investment in the homeland-security sector and critical infrastructure such as power plants, ports and toll roads, more stringent.
The measure approved unanimously Wednesday would give Congress more oversight over the review process by making such deals subject to review by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
It would require a 45-day investigation to follow the initial 30-day review of any deal by companies controlled by foreign governments. It also would oblige the director of national intelligence to analyse any potential threats to national security posed by a foreign investment.
"This bill contains very tough provisions to protect national security, including the ability for CFIUS to reopen reviews when companies don't comply with mitigation agreements designed to reduce security risks," said Democrat Carolyn Maloney, who sponsored the measure.
However, lawmakers from both parties were quick to emphasise that the legislation was crafted carefully to avoid discouraging foreign investment in the United States. "The welcome mat for foreign investment must be out," Spencer Bachus, ranking Republican member of the Financial Services Committee, said.
The legislation would ensure that Congress is notified when investigations are completed and receives regular reports on agreements or conditions imposed by CFIUS.
For the bill to become law, it must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president.
The White House has expressed support for the House bill with some reservations. The Office of Management and Budget said in a statement that one of the provisions it opposes would allow extension of the 45-day investigation for transactions involving foreign governments.
Major US business groups, including the Organisation for International Investment, an association of US subsidiaries of foreign companies, welcomed the bill. They said it "strikes a critical balance between protecting national security and encouraging beneficial foreign investment."
In 2005, foreign companies invested more than $110 billion in the United States, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business federation.
US lawmakers have complained that the current law leaves them out of the review process. They attempted to revamp CFIUS in 2006 when the CFIUS approval of a management deal concerning six US ports by a state-owned Dubai company caused an uproar.
The House and Senate, however, failed to agree on a compromise measure after each chamber had passed a different version of the legislation. The adjournment of the 109th Congress ended work on those bills; the 110th Congress, which convened in January, had to introduce new bills to restart work on CFIUS legislation.
Taipei, March 1 (DPA) The US is considering selling some 443 missiles, worth $421 million, to Taiwan to boost the island's defences against China, Taiwan press reports said Thursday.
At Taiwan's request, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a branch of the US Department of Defence, has notified the US Congress of the possible sales to Taiwan, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Taiwan's representative office in the US has requested a possible sale of 218 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 235 AGM-65G2 Maverick Missiles, along with associated equipment, support and technical assistance.
The US is committed to providing military assistance under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act. This sale is consistent with US law, the prime contractor in this deal will be Raytheon Missile Systems Corporation the DSCA said in a statement, the DSCA said.
The Taiwan parliament is still debating if it should pass the arms purchase budget, citing the high cost and late delivery.
Meanwhile, Taiwan is also seeking to buy 66 F16C/D warplanes to fill the gap in air defence until Taiwan has introduced its third generation warplanes.
By Alfred de Tavares,
Stockholm, March 1 (IANS) A Swedish whistle-blower on corruption says it is highly unlikely that Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi will be extradited to India but feels his alleged involvement with the Bofors payoff scam may impact the "nearly matured" sale of new Bofors howitzers to New Delhi.
"I do not think Quattrocchi will either be extradited to India or that Sweden has any interest in him," Swedish weapons export observer Henrik Westander told IANS. "However, it is very interesting to see what detrimental effect it may have on the ongoing, nearly matured, sale of new Bofors howitzers to India."
Westander is the reputed whistle-blower of the 319 million SEK bribes scandal surrounding the 1987 Bofors AB 155mm howitzer sale to India and author of the awesome book "The Story of Bribes and the Fall of Two Governments".
Quattrocchi, who was said to be the conduit for the Rs.640 million in bribes allegedly paid for securing the order, was arrested in Argentina Feb 6 and is now out on bail but is still in the country. New Delhi says it will seek his extradition from Argentina.
"Bofors is at the most critical stage in their arduous year long campaign to win the Indian mega order for their up-dated 400 SH77BO5 howitzers (worth $1.5 billion-Rs.60 billion). That also translates vitally into 1,000 new Swedish jobs", Westander said.
"This has been the scenario since (their South African competitor) Denel was thrown out of the race, early last year, leaving only the (Israeli) Soltan to challenge Bofors. Now a resurrected Quattrocchi may just rattle the precarious apple cart."
But Christer Heneback, director of information at the BAE Systems Bofors, thought differently.
Heneback told IANS of the Indian Army's trials of the howitzer: "We have fulfilled all the Indian demands to a 100 percent. That is why we are confident of our good chances. We saw how the Israeli pieces foundered during earlier tests.
"We have no reason at all to worry about Quattrocchi or anything connected with the Indo-Bofors AB deal in the past. BAE Systems Bofors is a completely new company with no connection whatsoever with Bofors AB," Heneback maintained.
Said Heneback: "BAE Systems Bofors has submitted offers for 100, 200, 300 and 400 artillery pieces to the Indian defence authorities. However, 400 howitzers is reportedly the current need of the Indian armed forces.
"But in the final run," he explained, "the Indian requirement is far higher. The final stage is estimated at another 1,100 howitzers, which will, most probably, be manufactured, under license in India.
"The final tests, with only Soltan as the other participant, were carried out between Oct 24 and Nov 7, 2006 at a height of over 5,000 metres, in the Kashmir Himalayas," he said. "As far as we have been given to understand, the Indian Army observers considered the performance par excellence and are very keen on the gun.
"Subsequent to these tests," said Heneback, "the (Indian Army) director general of artillery has submitted his appraisal and recommendations to the army chief, who will take the final decision in concert with the defence ministry and the government of India. This procedure is purportedly expected to take around six months and is expected to be transparent.
"We should, hopefully, receive the order by the beginning of the forthcoming spring," Heneback said.
That is if Quattrocchi does not blow those hopes to smithereens.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Women groups in the country have lauded the general budget for 2007-08 for its "gender-sensitive" allocations though they said the funds were not sufficient.
Reacting to the budget presented by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in parliament Wednesday, WomenPowerConnect, a Delhi-based women association, welcomed the various tax concessions given to working women.
Women received special mention in the "gender sensitive" budget that increased the outlay for women specific programmes and 50 ministries setting up special gender budgeting cells.
"There is growing awareness of gender sensitivities of budgetary allocations," Chidambaram said in his budget speech.
However, the group was disappointed over the allocation of Rs.87.95 billion for women-specific programmes which it believed was not sufficient.
The government had not focused on the girl child under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or universal education programme, it added.
"Even after putting so much emphasis on SSA in the subsequent budgets, there has not been much progress in terms of the girl child's education. There was a need to have a special allocation for girls," Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research, and president, WomenPowerConnect, said in a statement.
"The plan to insure the heads of the household is ambiguous and women are likely to be left out in rural areas as they are neither considered as heads of the household nor as earning members even when they are engaged in gainful economic activities," she said.
"There is a need to protect provisions earmarked for women in the composite programmes under health, education and rural development by placing restrictions on their re-appropriation for other purposes," the association said.
New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Australia became the second team after the West Indies to lift the World Cup twice when they defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the final in 1999 at Lord's June 20.
Australian bowlers made the most of Wasim Akram's surprising decision to bat first and ran through the Pakistani batting line-up to dismiss them for a paltry 132 in 39 overs. It was also the lowest total ever recorded in a World Cup final.
In reply, the Australians lost just two wickets as they rattled off the runs in double quick time in 20.1 overs with a splendid batting effort spearheaded by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist's brisk businesslike cameo of 54.
Glenn McGrath and Man of the Match Shane Warne were the chief tormentors for the Pakistani batsmen.
Chasing a target of just 133, Australia needed to get off to a solid start as openers Mark Waugh and Gilchrist faced the fearsome new ball prospect of Akram and Shoaib Akhtar in tandem.
Akhtar induced a top edge from Gilchrist which fell inches short of the in rushing fine leg, but thereafter he produced a fine drive through mid off to post Australia's first boundary of the day.
Akhtar was working up a mighty pace in his opening spell but it was of no use as Gilchrist used the raw pace to get the boundaries.
SCOREBOARD
Australia vs. Pakistan, Final, World Cup, Lord's, London, June 20, 1999
Pakistan:
Saeed Anwar b Fleming 15
Wajahatullah Wasti c Mark b McGrath 1
Abdul Razzaq c Steve b Moody 17
Ijaz Ahmed b Warne 22
Inzamam-ul-Haq c Gilchrist b Reiffel 15
Moin Khan c Gilchrist b Warne 6
Shahid Afridi lbw Warne 13
Azhar Mahmood c & b Moody 8
Wasim Akram c Steve b Warne 8
Saqlain Mushtaq c Ponting b McGrath 0
Shoaib Akhtar not out 2
Extras: (lb 10, w 13, nb 2) 25
Total: (all out in 39 overs) 132
Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Wajahatullah, 4.4 overs), 2-21 (Anwar, 5.1), 3-68 (Razzaq, 19.4), 4-77 (Ahmed, 23.4), 5-91 (Khan, 27.1), 6-104 (Inzamam, 30.1), 7-113 (Afridi, 31.6), 8-129 (Azhar, 36.6), 9-129 (Akram, 37.2)
Bowling:
Glenn McGrath 9-3-13-2
Damien Fleming 6-0-30-1 (2nb, 4w)
Paul Reiffel 10-1-29-1 (2w)
Tom Moody 5-0-17-2 (1w)
Shane Warne 9-1-33-4 (2w)
Australia:
Mark Waugh not out 37
Adam Gilchrist c Inzamam b Mushtaq 54
Ricky Ponting c Khan b Akram 24
Darren Lehmann not out 13
Extras: (lb 1, w 1, nb 3) 5
Total: (for two wickets in 20.1 overs) 133
Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Gilchrist, 10.1 overs), 2-112 (Ponting, 17.4)
Bowling:
Wasim Akram 8-1-41-1 (2nb, 1w)
Shoaib Akhtar 4-0-37-0 (1nb)
Abdul Razzaq 2-0-13-0
Azhar Mahmood 2-0-20-0
Saqlain Mushtaq 4.1-0-21-1
Result: Australia won by eight wickets
Toss: Pakistan
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and David Shepherd (England)
Third umpire: Srinivasraghavan Venkataraghavan (India)
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Man of the Match: Shane Warne (Australia)
Player of the Tournament: Lance Klusener (South Africa)
Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) A 15-member Indian cricket team left early Thursday to participate in the World Cup in the West Indies carrying with them the hopes and aspirations of millions of Indians, not just in the country but around the world.
For a nation where cricket is not just a sport but a way of life, the fortunes of the Indian team as it takes on 15 other nations in the March 11-April 28 Cup will be followed, dissected, praised and criticised with normal activity taking backseat to the all-consuming passion for the game.
With millions playing cheerleaders for the team and chanting the slogan made popular by a television commercial "Ooh, aah India. Aaya India", captain Rahul Dravid's team of cricket gladiators would have the huge responsibility of shouldering a rising India's pride and global standing on their young shoulders.
They would have their first halt in Jamaica where they would play a series of warm-up matches in Trelawny Stadium prior to their first Pool B match against Bangladesh on March 17 at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Sri Lanka and Bermuda are the others teams in this group.
The 51-match 49-day tournament begins with the opening ceremony in Montego Bay, Jamaica March 11 while the first match, between hosts West Indies and Pakistan, will be played March 13 at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
There are huge expectations from the Indian team, which reached the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa before the Sourav Ganguly-led side lost to Australia in Johannesburg.
This time, India is expected to progress to the second round called Super Eight easily as two teams each will be advancing from the four pools. The eight teams will then play a round robin league amongst them, but not against teams from their own group.
To the relief of the fans - including hundreds who are expected to troop to the Caribbean to watch the matches from North America - the Indian team has started to hit peak form as was evident from their back to back home series wins over the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Most of the players have either regained form or are showing signs of getting it back.
Both Dravid and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar looked satisfied and sounded optimistic on the eve of the team's departure.
"This is an excellent team. Man to man, our team is far superior to the other teams, but they have to put that into practice," said the former India captain who was himself part of the 1983 World Cup-winning team.
"There's no need to tell the players what to do in the West Indies, they all are fit and in form."
His confidence in the team, which has six players -- Robin Uthappa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Sreesanth - with no World Cup experience, is a reflection of the increasing expectations from this talented side.
With stalwarts like Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, India has one of the bets batting line-ups in the world.
Although the bowling seem comparatively week, leg-spinner Anil Kumble provides the much-needed experience to this important department of the team.
"I am happy with the pacers, and I don't think we are taking any unfit player to the World Cup," said Dravid at the final press before departure.
"We are going to have a lot of close games. Australia still start as the favourites and we can't dismiss their past records -- can't write them off on the basis of a week's performance."
The Indian side has a combined experience of 2,225 one-day internationals -- and this does not include coach Greg Chappell's 74 matches.
Further, the advantage of having toured the West Indies for a Test and one-day series less than a year ago will come in handy for most of the players in the squad.
Virender Sehwag, who has not been great form but has recently shown signs of hitting the peak again, will draw a lot of inspiration and motivation from the previous tour.
He was the most successful Indian batsman in the one-day series and was also in fine form in the Test series, which India won after 35 years in the Caribbean.
Almost all the other players are already in form as they showed in matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. It is now a matter of carrying it to the Caribbean and maintaining top fitness levels.
The team left by a British Airways flight for London on way to the West Indies.
Board secretary Niranjan Shah and chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty were among the officials who saw the team off at the airport early Thursday morning.
SQUAD: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik (wicket keepers), Ajit Agarakar, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel
Support staff: Greg Chappell (coach), John Gloster (physiotherapist), Gregory King (trainer), Ian Frazer (bio-mechanist), Sanjay Jagdale (manager).
02 March 2007
Moscow, March 2 (RIA Novosti) Deployment of a US anti-missile radar system in the Caucasus would not affect Russia's defence capabilities, but the country could respond to the move nevertheless, the Russian Air Force commander Vladimir Mikhailov said Friday.
"Let them deploy (a radar)," he said. "It is their decision. Unfortunately, we have also heard of plans to place US missile shield elements in countries like Ukraine and other states, including former Soviet republics." Mikhailov said Russia was capable of offering an adequate response to the deployment.
Washington said the defences would be designed to counter possible strikes from North Korea and Iran, which are involved in long-running disputes with the international community over their nuclear programs.
Russia, which has been anxious about NATO bases that have appeared in erstwhile communist-bloc countries and areas that had formed the now dismembered Soviet republic, has blasted the plans to deploy anti-missile systems in Central Europe as a national security threat and a destabilising factor for Europe.
Baghdad, March 2 (Xinhua) An extremist Sunni militant group, linked to the Al Qaida group in Iraq, said Friday it had kidnapped 18 employees of the Shiite-led interior ministry and threatened to kill them to avenge the alleged rape of an Iraqi woman.
"Lions from the Islamic state in Iraq succeeded in arresting 18 members of the interior ministry in Diyala in response to what these apostates have done in fighting the Sunnis, and one of their recent act is the rape of our sister in religion," the group said in an internet statement.
The statement demanded the government to hand over the accused officers to the militants and release all the women detained in the governmental prisons.
However, the authenticity of the statement has not been independently verified.
Last month, a 20-year-old woman from western Baghdad accused three Iraqi policemen of sexually assaulting her, but the Iraqi government denied the accusation.
On Feb 22, four Iraqi soldiers have been arrested for raping an ethnic Turkoman woman in the town of Tal Afar, some 400 km north of Baghdad.
Rape victims in the conservative Iraqi society rarely go public because they fear public scorn and humiliation.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) An unpardonable miscalculation by the team management cost South Africa dear as the hosts were knocked out in the first round of the 2003 World Cup, losing to Sri Lanka in Durban.
Sri Lanka scored an imposing 268 - Marvan Atapattu a superb 124 - and then restricted the Proteas to 229 for six in 45 overs before the soaked players were forced from the field by sheets of rain. After that, came the bizarre miscalculation March 3.
The teams' scores were tied when the umpires called for the covers with South Africa needing 40 runs from the last 30 balls.
With rain falling, Mark Boucher smashed the fifth ball of the 45th over for six and blocked the last ball presuming that he had won the match.
Soon he, and the rest of his team, realised that they had miscalculated the reset target as per the Duckowrth and Lewis method, used for truncated matches. South Africa still needed one run to win.
The match ended in a tie but, as per rules, Sri Lanka won and South Africa crashed out, and skipper Shaun Pollock lost his captaincy.
Earlier, Atapattu (124, 129 balls, 18x4s), who scored his maiden World Cup century, and Aravinda de Silva (78 balls,6x4s, 2x6s) put up 152 for the fourth wicket.
SCOREBOARD
South Africa vs. Sri Lanka, Pool B match, World Cup, Kingsmead, Durban, March 3, 2003
Sri Lanka:
Marvan Atapattu c sub b Hall 124
Sanath Jayasuriya run out (Kirsten) 16
Hashan Tillakaratne c Boucher b Kallis 14
Mahela Jayawardene c Boucher b Hall 1
Aravinda de Silva c Smith b Ntini 73
Russel Arnold b Pollock 8
Kumar Sangakkara c Pollock b Kallis 6
Chaminda Vaas run out (Boucher) 3
Muttiah Muralitharan b Kallis 4
Dilhara Fernando not out 1
Extras: (lb 2, w 11, nb 5) 18
Total: (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 268
Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Jayasuriya, 8.6 overs), 2-77 (Tillakaratne, 17.4), 3-90 (Jayawardene, 22.1), 4-242 (Atapattu, 44.5), 5-243 (de Silva, 45.1), 6-258 (Sangakkara, 47.5), 7-261 (Arnold, 48.4), 8-266 (Muralitharan, 49.2), 9-268 (Vaas, 49.6)
Bowling:
Shaun Pollock 10-1-48-1 (1nb, 2w)
Makhaya Ntini 10-0-49-1 (2nb, 3w)
Monde Zondeki 6-0-35-0 (3w)
Jacques Kallis 10-0-41-3 (1w)
Andrew Hall 10-0-62-2 (1nb, 1w)
Lance Klusener 4-0-31-0 (1nb, 1w)
South Africa:
Grame Smith c Gunaratne b de Silva 35
Herschelle Gibbs b Muralitharan 73
Gary Kirsten b de Silva 8
Jacques Kallis b Jayasuriya 16
Boeta Dippenaar lbw Jayasuriya 8
Mark Boucher not out 45
Shaun Pollock run out (Sangakkara/Muralitharan) 25
Lance Klusener not out 1
Extras: (lb 4, w 12, nb 2) 18
Total: (for six wickets in 45 overs) 229
Fall of wickets: 1-65 (Smith, 11.1 overs), 2-91 (Kirsten, 17.2), 3-124 (Kallis, 23.1), 4-149 (Gibbs, 28.6), 5-149 (Dippenaar, 29.1), 6-212 (Pollock, 42.3)
Bowling:
Chaminda Vaas 7-1-33-0 (1nb)
Pulasthi Gunaratne 6-0-26-0
Dilhara Fernando 1-0-14-0 (1nb)
Aravinda de Silva 8-0-36-2 (1w)
Russel Arnold 4-0-16-0 (1w)
Muttiah Muralitharan 9-0-51-1 (1w)
Sanath Jayasuriya 10-0-49-2 (3w)
Result: Match tied (Duckworth Lewis method)
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Srinivasraghavan Venkataraghavan (India)
Third umpire: Peter Willey (England)
Match referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies)
Man of the Match: Maravan Atapattu (Sri Lanka)
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The merger of the two state-run carriers Air India and Indian Airlines would be executed in phases over the next two years and result in a net benefit of Rs.6 billion, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Friday.
"Technical and procedural formalities for merging the two airlines would begin immediately and one company with one name, one brand, one logo, one code and single financials is expected to be in place in the coming 16 weeks," he said.
"The merger of the two airlines would be completed in a phased manner over next two years," Patel told parliament, a day after the union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave a go ahead to the proposal.
In a statement, the minister said the two state-run carriers shared a proud legacy. "But in the past decade, their market position has been adversely affected due to intense competition and their inability to induct new fleet," he added.
"Further, there has been a growing tendency of consolidation and mergers in the civil aviation that enables airlines to achieve synergies and reduce costs," Patel said, explaining the rationale for the merger.
He said the government had already approved the induction of 68 new aircraft by Air-India and 43 new aircraft by Indian Airlines and the merger would further strengthen their operations.
"It is estimated this decision would result in net benefit of Rs.600 crore (Rs. 6 billion) at the end of the third year of merger," Patel said, even as he sought to assure employees that their interests would be foremost in the government's mind.
"The government is committed to ensure that all legitimate employee interests, including their current compensation, status etc. are protected. There will be no retrenchment and all employees will continue in the merged company."
He said the integration of manpower would be completed in a phased manner, on the basis of transparent and objective criteria and a well-defined grievance redressal machinery will be put in place.
"It is our objective to create a world-class airline in the public sector in close cooperation with all its employees."
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Ignoring requests to stand alone for better protection, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam offered midday prayers Friday at the historic Fatehpuri mosque here, standing among thousands of believers.
The president spent 20 minutes at the mosque, located near the Red Fort monument in the city's old quarters, during which he accepted the greetings of many with a polite "walekum as salam" (May Allah bless you too).
Kalam entered the sprawling mosque shortly after 1.30 p.m. and joined the prayer, led by Naib Shahi Imam Maulana Moulvi Mohammed Mouazzam, a 49-year-old who along with his brother received the president with a bouquet.
Kalam stood in the second row of a larger gathering 5,000-6,000 strong and prayed, like everyone else, with his head bowed and while facing the Mecca. He wore socks, having taken off his shoes in his car.
The prayers over, the devout secular Muslim left, after thanking the mosque officials and shaking hands with some of the more enthusiastic visitors.
The Fatehpuri mosque is not as well known as the nearby Jama Masjid although Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built both. Among Muslims, however, the Fatehpuri mosque commands greater respect owing to what the Imam said was its "spiritual loftiness".
Asked why Kalam had chosen the Fatehpuri mosque to pray, the Imam said: "The president is deeply into spiritual affairs. He is devoted to Sufiism. He has discussed with us religion and Sufi thoughts many times. So he chose to come."
The Fatehpuri mosque also houses one of the biggest Islamic seminaries in the Indian capital. It is ringed on all sides by narrow lanes chock a block with shops including those of Khari Boli, one of the biggest wholesale markets of Delhi.
Some of the locals had wanted to meet Kalam and submit memorandum related to Muslim affairs but the Imam said he dissuaded them from doing so "since the president is coming for a religious affair".
"He is the president of India and it is a honour for us to receive him," the Imam said. "He should not be troubled on this occasion by purely Muslim issues."
Hindu-majority India is home to the world's second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.
Linares (Spain), March 2 (IANS) Joint leader world No.2 Viswanathan Anand plays world No.1 Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the eighth round of the Morelia-Linares chess tournament.
As the Linares leg begins, Indian Grandmaster (GM) Anand, who will play with white pieces, is in joint lead with GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway at 4.5 points after seven rounds.
Carlsen will have black pieces against GM Alexander Morozevich of Russia.
In the other pairings, Hungarian GM Peter Leko plays GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine while GM Lev Aronian of Armenia meets GM Peter Svidler of Russia.
Anand and Topalov drew their clash in Morelia and in the Corus GMs tournament, also this year, Anand lost to Topalov. Overall, Anand has 20 wins to Topalov's 13 and there have 39 draws.
This eight-player tournament is split into two legs. The first seven rounds were played in Morelia, Mexico, and the next seven will be played here.
In the seventh and last round at Morelia, the NIIT-sponsored Anand beat Leko with black pieces to get into shares lead.
Standings after Round 7: 1. Anand and Carlsen 4.5 points; 3. Ivanchuk 4.0; 4. Aronian and Svidler 3.5; 6. Leko and Topalov 3.0; 8. Morozevich 2.0
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Australia routed India by 125 runs to win the World Cup for a historic third time at the Wanderers in Johannesburg March 23, 2003.
The mischievous smile rarely left Ricky Ponting's face as he led from the front, playing the innings of his life. He scored an unbeaten 140 to power Australia to 359 for two in 50 overs, the highest-ever score in a World Cup final.
In the face of great pressure while chasing, India were given fleeting glimpses of hope by Virender Sehwag (82) and then the rain, but they eventually succumbed to the far superior Australia. India managed 234 in 39.2 overs.
For the Indians, the much-cherished dream came crashing as pacer Zaheer Khan delivered a 15-run over to start with. The other bowlers followed suit.
Showing the stomach for a big fight, Adam Gilchrist tore the Indian bowling apart. Javagal Srinath, in particular, was treated severely as he was walloped for five fours and a six before he was taken off the attack.
Drawing deep into the resources of a well of optimism and hope, Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag walked out to chase against all odds, but the team failed to do so.
When play resumed with the threat of rain gone, Ponting went back to his strike bowlers and they delivered the goods.
SCOREBOARD
Australia vs. India, Final, World Cup, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, March 23, 2003
Australia:
Adam Gilchrist c Sehwag b Harbhajan 57
ML Hayden c Dravid b Harbhajan 37 93 54 5 0
Ricky Ponting not out 140
Damien Martyn not out 88
Extras: (b 2, lb 12, w 16, nb 7) 37
Total: (for two wickets in 50 overs) 359
Fall of wickets: 1-105 (Gilchrist, 13.6 overs), 2-125 (Hayden, 19.5)
Bowling:
Zaheer Khan 7-0-67-0 (2nb, 6w)
Javagal Srinath 10-0-87-0 (3nb, 2w)
Ashish Nehra 10-0-57-0 (3w)
Harbhajan Singh 8-0-49-2
Virender Sehwag 3-0-14-0
Sachin Tendulkar 3-0-20-0 (1w)
Dinesh Mongia 7-0-39-0 (2nb)
Yuvraj Singh 2-0-12-0
India:
Sachin Tendulkar c & b McGrath 4
Virender Sehwag run out (Lehmann) 82
Sourav Ganguly c Lehmann b Lee 24
Mohammed Kaif c Gilchrist b McGrath 0
Rahul Dravid b Bichel 47
Yuvraj Singh c Lee b Hogg 24
Dinesh Mongia c Martyn b Symonds 12
Harbhajan Singh c McGrath b Symonds 7
Zaheer Khan c Lehmann b McGrath 4
Javagal Srinath b Lee 1
Ashish Nehra not out 8
Extras: (b 4, lb 4, w 9, nb 4) 21
Total: (all out in 39.2 overs) 234
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Tendulkar, 0.5 overs), 2-58 (Ganguly, 9.5), 3-59 (Kaif, 10.3), 4-147 (Sehwag, 23.5), 5-187 (Dravid, 31.5), 6-208 (Yuvraj, 34.5), 7-209 (Mongia, 35.2), 8-223 (Harbhajan, 37.1), 9-226 (Srinath, 38.2)
Bowling:
Glenn McGrath 8.2-0-52-3
Brett Lee 7-1-31-2 (4nb, 2w)
Bradd Hogg 10-0-61-1 (2w)
Darren Lehmann 2-0-18-0
Andy Bichel 10-0-57-1 (4w)
Andrew Symonds 2-0-7-2 (1w)
Result: Australia won by 125 runs
Toss: India
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and David Shepherd (England)
Third umpire: Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Man of the Match: Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Player of the Series: Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Chandigarh, March 2 (IANS) Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal was Friday sworn in as Punjab's chief minister for the fourth time.
About 20,000 Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers crammed into the Punjab Cricket Stadium in Mohali near here to watch Governor S.F. Rodrigues administer the oath of office to the 80-year-old Badal and his ministers.
There was chaos in the stadium and the ceremony, which marks the return of the Akali Dal-BJP to power after trouncing the Congress government of Amarinder Singh in assembly elections, began over an hour late.
Dhaka, March 2 (IANS) Police raided a stronghold of Islamist militants at Bagmara in the western district of Rajshahi district and nabbed ten militants belonging to a proscribed Islamist body, the Jama'atul Mujahideen (JMB).
One of them is Abdus Sattar, a close associate of Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, who is awaiting the gallows for murdering two judges. Sattar, also a teacher of Jatragachhi Fazil Madrasa, was allegedly reorganising absconding JMB militants.
His arrest is part of the ongoing drive against militancy being conducted by the caretaker government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed.
Sattar is widely believed to have helped Bangla Bhai in his so-called anti-outlaw operations of Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB) in Bagmara in 2004, The Daily Star newspaper said on Friday.
Bagmara was for long Bangla Bhai's stronghold from where he undertook his campaign, spreading terror among the religious minorities and political opponents.
The then government of Begum Khaleda Zia denied the existence of the campaign.
It acted only after 500-plus explosions across the country on Aug 17, 2005.
Lagos, March 2 (Xinhua) At least 50 people drowned when a boat capsized on a waterway in Nigeria's southeastern Bayelsa State, local newspaper the Punch reported Friday.
The wooden passenger boat lost balance after running into turbulent waves. Some passengers who survived were receiving treatment in hospitals in the state, the daily said.
Sylvanus Egele, chairman of the Bayelsa State Marine Workers Union, has confirmed the incident, saying a rescue team had been sent to the area to search for more survivors or locate the corpses.
Boat mishap is common on the waterways of southern Nigeria, which borders the Atlantic Ocean. Overloading and poor maintenance of the vessels are usually the cause.
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The union budget 2007-8 made provisions for the minority community of the country. First, it has increased the monetary allocation to the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) and second, it has allocated Rs 210.60 crore for the three scholarship programmes for them.
"Last year, I made a modest contribution of Rs.16.47 crore to the equity of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC). Following the Sachar Committee report, NMDFC would be required to expand its reach and intensify its efforts. Hence, I propose to provide a further sum of Rs.63 crore to the share capital of NMDFC," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram made this announcement during his budget speech presentation in Parliament on Wednesday.
"There are a number of districts with a concentration of minorities. I propose to make a provision of Rs.108 crore for a multi-sector development programme in these districts," he said.
On the issue of minority education Chidambaram said, three scholarship programmes are being implemented for students belonging to minority communities and Rs 210.60 crore is allocated for this purpose.
"I propose to make the following allocations for three scholarship programme for the minorities", he said and went on to elaborate, "Pre-matric scholarships Rs.72 crore, Post-matric scholarships Rs.90 crore and Merit-cum-Means scholarships at graduate and post-graduate levels Rs.48.60 crore."
The union budget 2007 has announced Rs 750 crore for national scholarship scheme. It has allocated one lakh scholarship for class 9-12 students to check the dropouts in the school. Muslim students who normally discontinue their studies due financial constrains or family pressures are likely to be benefited by such provisions.
Just two days ago, on Monday, the Minority Affairs Minister A R Antulay had informed the Rajya Sabha, that districts, blocks and towns with population more than 50,000 have been identified for schemes aimed at welfare of minorities.
The exercise, carried out in zones with substantial population of minorities, was held in consultation with the Registrar General of India, Antulay said in a reply.
"The ministries, departments concerned with schemes included in the Prime Minister's new 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities have been advised of the details for appropriate action," he told the House.
"Also, it has been decided to set up an inter-ministerial task force under the chairmanship of a member of the Planning Commission to go into issues arising out of the geographical distribution of minorities in the country," he said.
On the issue of education of minorities, Antulay said, a merit-cum-means scholarship scheme for students from minority communities is awaiting approval from the competent authorities.
"The government plans to encourage students from the minority community to opt for technical and professional courses and undergraduate and postgraduate students would be offered scholarships to purse them," he said.
New Delhi, March 2 (indianmuslims.info) The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) has expressed its ‘deep sense of disappointment’ at the Union Budget proposed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on February 28 for the financial year 2007-2008. In a statement released here Friday, AIMMM president Syed Shahabuddin laments that the budget is disappointing for Muslims and ‘belies’ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s repeated promises.
“The budget speech makes only one reference to the Sachar Report for raising equity contribution to the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation from 16.47 crores last year to 63 crores this year,� said the Mushawarat leader.
His statement laments that the total allocation for minorities is far below that for SC/ST.
For minorities there are allocations of Rs 108 crores for multi-sector development programme (in ‘some’ and not ‘all’ districts of minority concentration), and Rs. 200.60 crores for on-going pre-matric, post-matric, graduate and graduate scholarships for students belonging to minorities. Their grand total comes to about Rs 310 crores while the allocation for schemes of benefit only to SC/ST has been increased to Rs. 327 crores. They have been also guaranteed a share of 20% in schemes of total allocation of Rs. 17,691 crores. Their scholarship programme comes to Rs. 699 crores. The grand total in their case comes to Rs. 7.528 crores.
“Undoubtedly, the Muslim community will also benefit to some extent from all general development and welfare schemes. However, it is doubtful that eligible Muslims shall receive due consideration at the level of distribution of benefits because there is no Central directive for proportionalisation among eligible backward groups at the operational level,� the statement pointed out.
Commenting on the prevailing condition of Indian Muslims, the Mushawarat leader said, “Muslim backwardness is largely due to the fact that the community has received very little benefit from the on-going development and welfare programme at various levels. The sad story is likely to continue.�
The Mushawarat has appealed to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Minority Affairs to consider the situation, and to the concerned Members of Parliament to raise the question of giving a better deal to the backward Muslim community, when the budget is considered by the Standing Parliamentary Committees and by the two Houses of Parliament.
New Delhi, March 2 (Indianmuslims.info) In a bid to contain communal riots effectively, bring the rioters to the book and provide the victims with adequate aid and means to rehabilitate, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the enactment of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill 2005. This bill envisages several benefits, including prevention of communal violence/offences and speedy investigation and dispensation of justice.
Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs as well as Information and Broadcasting Priyaranjan Das Munshi told the presspersons the bill “aims at creating institutional arrangement� for speedy investigation, disposal of cases, providing relief and rehabilitation for victims and empowering the states/Central authorities to discharge their duties in assisting victims in the matter.
“The new law, which makes it mandatory for the police to establish centres to record FIRs in riot-hit localities and at relief camps, also seeks to provide special procedures of investigation, the establishment of special courts with powers of summary trials and day-to-day hearings as a means to deal sternly with perpetrators of sectarian violence,� he added.
The Minister said imposition of enhanced punishment on the persons involved in communal violence/offences and providing relief and rehabilitation facilities for the victims were other features of the bill.
He also informed the presspersons that Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had held meetings with concerned citizens and social activists at different places in the country to discuss the proposals for amendments to the Act.
Originally drafted by the Home Ministry in fulfilment of the promise made in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Common Minimum Programme to prevent another Gujarat-like anti-minority pogrom by enacting a law, the Act was first tabled in 2005.
Various NGOs (non-governmental organisations)like Movement for Peace and Justice and Islami Relief Committee Gujarat had spearheaded the move to review the first draft of the Bill and advance proposals before the government authorities to give more teeth to the law in the making.
Managua (Nicaragua), March 2 (Xinhua) Cuban leader Fidel Castro could return to work soon, said the country's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, according to reports reaching here.
"We are optimistic" because Fidel has won the fight against his illness and "could return to work soon", Perez Roque told reporters in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpaon Thursday.
But the minister did not give an exact date when Castro would return to work. Roque, who earlier worked as Castro's personal secretary for seven years, is reported to be in frequent contact with the Cuban leader.
Roque and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close friend of Castro, have repeatedly said Castro is recovering well after a complicated intestinal surgery on July 27, 2006.
Fidel Castro, 80, handed over power temporarily to his younger brother, Defence Minister Raul Castro, after his surgery. The leader has not been seen in public since.
The foreign minister's comments followed a surprise call by Castro to Chavez's radio talk show to make his first live comments since his surgery. The call Tuesday night fuelled expectations that Castro could soon reappear in public.
Beijing, March 2 (Xinhua) China Friday voiced its opposition to the US arms sales to Taiwan, which it regarded as wanton interference in its internal affairs.
US should stop arms sales, end its military links with Taiwan and not encourage pro-independence forces so as to avoid jeopardising peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits as well as Sino-US relations, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.
The US Department of Defence has announced that it plans to sell Taiwan more than 400 missiles worth $421 million, which would include Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air missiles, Maverick missiles, as well as spare parts and maintenance equipment.
"Our position is consistent and clear." Qin said.
The US would violate commitments made in the three Sino-US joint communiqués, in particular the joint communiqué signed between the two countries Aug 17, 1982, if it offers arms to Taiwan, he said.
Qin urged the US to adhere to the one-China policy, honour the commitments it had made in the Sino-US joint communiqués and oppose "Taiwan independence".
Beijing, March 2 (Xinhua) China will encourage private companies to invest in the national defence industry, according to the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defence.
The policy will help the country's national defence industry make better use of funds and technologies owned by private companies, boost its innovative capabilities and improve weaponry research and production, said an official with the commission Thursday.
"As the defence sector concerns national safety, private companies must enter the industry gradually in a safe and regulated way," said the official on conditions of anonymity.
Last year, the commission issued licenses for private companies to branch into China's weaponry industry, breaching the long-standing state monopoly on the sector for the first time.
Private enterprises must enhance the awareness of secrecy, accept government supervision and fulfill military research and production tasks, the commission said in the guidelines.
News Delhi, March 2 (IANS) It was D-day finally for thousands of Class 10 students Friday as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination began amid the usual bouts of nervousness affecting both students and parents.
The first paper they will be taking is Social Studies. Constituting questions from five subjects - History, Civics, Geography, Economics and Disaster Management - Social Studies is termed by most as the "most challenging of all the papers".
"I am scared of the history portion because I tend to mix up important dates," said a nervous Sakshi Giri, who was poring over her textbook while travelling in the metro to her examination centre at Khalsa School, Chandni Chowk.
Her sister, who was accompanying her, admitted that she was equally nervous. "I am a little scared as well," she said.
The fact that this is the first board exam they will be taking also caused trepidation.
"This is not the usual annual exam that we will be taking. Although the pre-board exams conducted in our school prepared us mentally for this day, we are still a little scared," said Sashank and his friend Navneet, students of the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan.
The anxiety rubbed off on parents too.
"I woke up earlier than usual this morning because I simply couldn't sleep! I felt as if I was taking an exam all over again," said Sashank's mother Neena Verma.
"Moreover, these kids have an extra subject to deal with - Disaster Management - which was introduced last year. I hope the time is enough for them to finish the paper. Social Studies is a lengthy paper," another mother expressed her concern.
A total of 705,152 candidates from 7,658 schools are appearing for the Class 10 examination both in India and aboard - an increase of 8.11 percent over last year. CBSE has set up 2,490 examination centres, including 49 for foreign schools, for the smooth conduct of the examination.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Easy questions and ample time helped students of Class 10 answer their first paper on Social Studies of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams Friday as most of them came out triumphant.
"It was an easy paper. I was really scared because we had to do the maximum amount of learning for this paper," said an excited Pavitra Bawa, a student of the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan.
Comprising questions from five different topics - History, Geography, Economics, Civics and Disaster Management - this paper was termed as the "most challenging" by most students.
"In fact our pre-board examination paper was more difficult than this one. Even last year's paper was tough. But this one was simple," remarked Barkha Jhingan, another student.
Suman Bawa, teacher in the Army Public School, said all the questions were within the NCERT syllabus and though there were a couple of questions that were tricky, the students shouldn't have had any problem solving them.
Many students, who were initially nervous as it was their first board exam, completed the paper before the stipulated time of three hours.
"I finished my paper in two and a half hours. The time was more than enough. Moreover, the 15 minutes reading time at the beginning of the exam was really helpful," said Sharmishtha, whose examination centre was the Delhi Public School in south Delhi's R.K. Puram.
Abhishek Sharma added: "We are just thrilled that we are done with social studies. I am more relaxed now to prepare for my next paper which is mathematics on March 8."
Parents, who were equally anxious, were a relieved lot after seeing the smiles on their wards' faces.
"I am glad her paper went off well. Being their first board exam, it's a good start," said Ananya Verma, whose daughter Shikha took the exam.
A total of 705,152 candidates from 7,658 schools are appearing for the Class 10 examination both in India and aboard - an increase of 8.11 percent over last year. CBSE has set up 2,490 examination centres, including 49 for foreign schools, for the smooth conduct of the examination.
Ranchi, March 2 (IANS) Computers given to police stations in the Jharkhand capital are mainly gathering dust - neither the cops have been trained to use them nor have the machines been installed.
Under the Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA) programme, 30 police stations in Ranchi got four computers each in January. While some police stations have installed one computer, the rest lie packed and unused.
"Where is the space to set up the computers? For four computers you need at least one room. How will we install four computers in our two-room police stations," asked a frustrated sub-inspector of the Chutia police station.
The poor response of the police seems to be working against the proposed project. More than 100 police stations were to be included in the second phase of CIPA.
The project was planned to help keep the police updated with the crime graph and investigations into cases. Police stations were to be connected with their headquarters so that information could be available at the click of a mouse.
The police headquarters also failed to prepare the list of police officials who would be given training on the use of computers. According to the plan, at least two police officials from each station were to be trained.
"Initially we asked for names of officials interested in getting trained. As the response was poor, we have now asked district police chiefs to prepare a list and submit the names," said one official.
"We have also directed the persons concerned to arrange power connections for installing the computers," the official added.
Kolkata, March 2 (IANS) In an unprecedented order, the Calcutta High Court Friday sentenced the West Bengal Director General of Police, a legislator and two top district administration officers of Jalpaiguri to six months' in jail for contempt of court.
Anup Bhushan Bhora, the state's Director General of Police (DGP), Jalpaiguri district magistrate (DM) and the district's police superintendent (SP) were sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of court.
Congress representative in the West Bengal Assembly from Jalpaiguri, Debaprasad Roy, and 14 others, were also sentenced to the same term.
The court gave a 21-day stay order on the implementation of the sentence to enable the guilty to appeal the verdict in the supreme court.
In its ruling, the bench cited the "unprecedented breakdown of constitutional machinery" in the district for one month from Dec 15, 2006, to Jan 15, 2007 when no court was able to function.
Court in the district was totally paralysed for a month in the wake of an agitation by local people and lawyers who boycotted the court and stopped its functioning to press their demand for a circuit bench of the high court in Jalpaiguri.
The court said in its suo motu ruling, "In the past 57 years since the country has a constitution, nowhere has it been violated like this", lawyer Kalyan Bandhopadhyaya quoted it as saying.
The division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice K.K. Parasad gave the verdict against the DGP and other officials for their responsibility in the "constitutional breakdown" in Jalpaiguri.
The court also imposed a penalty of Rs.2,000 each on the DGP, DM, SP and another police officer or another month in jail in case of default.
"We will appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court," said West Bengal Law Minister Robilal Moitra.
Following the verdict, an emergency meeting was held in West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's room at state secretariat Writers' Building with Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb, Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy and Law Minister Rabilal Moitra, besides the convicted DGP.
Karachi, March 2 (IANS) Indian medicos at a medical conference here urged Pakistani doctors to "cross the border" to sharpen their skills, saying it is cheaper than going to the US or the UK.
They also made a pitch for greater people-to-people interaction without being deterred by problems like terrorism. "For one Samjhauta Express there are 10 cross-border conferences," said Prof V K Kapoor, head of the department of surgical gastroenterology at the Sanjay Gandhi Post-graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow.
He was referring to the terror attack on the Lahore-New Delhi train at Panipat, India last month in which close 70 passengers died and over 100 injured.
While media on both sides of the Indo-Pak border highlighted security issues and terror attacks, not enough was said or written about artistic and academic interactions, said Kapoor.
Inviting Pakistani surgeons to study in India, Dr Parveen Bhatia, laparoscopic surgeon and medical director of the Bhatia Global Hospital and Endosurgery Institute, New Delhi, called for a change in approach.
"We curse the darkness but we don't light a candle. We need to unlearn, learn and then relearn," he said.
"We don't need British or American solutions to our problems. Pakistani solutions can apply to Indian problems and Indian solutions can apply to Pakistani problems because our circumstances are the same," Bhatia said.
Dr Adarsh Chaudhary of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, backed Kapoor's assertion that local doctors should train locally. In fact, he is proud that he went to school in India. Doctors in India work in more volume, he argued, "which is why there is better training."
The trio is attending the 23rd annual congress of the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and GI Endoscopy.
Elaborating on Bhatia's point, Kapoor said that in his area of specialty (abdominal tuberculosis), about one-third of the people of the Indian subcontinent have had a tubercular infection. Doctors from the West don't have as much practice in dealing with tuberculosis as it is not a widespread disease in their part of the world. This is why local doctors should train at home instead of going abroad, Kapoor stressed. The living conditions in the subcontinent, proximity and poverty, for example, mean that TB spreads easily here.
Kapoor said that Indian surgeons were attracting more and more patients from Western countries. The NHS waiting lists are long for surgery in the UK, he said, citing one example of why British patients were coming to India. He has also treated people from Nigeria and Romania.
Chaudhary has been involved in live donor liver transplants. When it was pointed out to him that Pakistan was looking at new cadaver organ transplant laws, he said that this was encouraging. Even in India there is reluctance to harvest organs from brain dead people due to cultural and religious beliefs, he said.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Thousands of air travellers were stranded for hours at the Delhi airport Friday morning as dense fog disrupted over 40 flight schedules.
The runway visibility went below the 100-metre mark at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport early morning, forcing all Delhi bound domestic flights to divert to nearby destinations.
"For nearly three hours there were no domestic arrivals at the airport. Four domestic and 16 international flights were diverted to other cities," said an official of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL).
The India Meteorological Department said the capital would witness light fog on Saturday as well. On Friday, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 14.9 degrees Celsius.
Poor visibility also delayed the schedule of at least 20 domestic and international outgoing flights, the officer told IANS.
However, one runway that facilitates flights to take off and land during dense fog was operational.
"There were 11 domestic departures, 12 international departures and nine international arrivals on the runway till 9 a.m.," the official added.
But a large number of passengers were kept waiting inside a Kolkata bound Indigo flight for hours.
"The scheduled time of my flight was 5.45 a.m. but due to fog we boarded the flight one hour late. Then we were stranded on board the plane for nearly two hours," said Abhishek Roy, a passenger.
"All my fellow passengers were pacing up and down inside the flight. It was completely frustrating!" Roy remarked.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 2 (IANS) The US has praised India's good record on counter-narcotics, but is worried that an alarming increase in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is helping Taliban terrorists fund attacks on US and NATO forces.
"The Indian government has a good record on this, but it's also a huge country with a very large industry, so to prevent diversion from the legitimate pharmaceutical industry is a challenge," a senior US official said Thursday.
"India, of course, is the only legal producer of opium and we've worked closely with the Indian government. India has a good record, frankly, on counter-narcotics," said assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs Anne W. Patterson.
India, she noted, has a very large, legitimate pharmaceutical industry. "We work very closely with them to prevent diversion from that. The Indian government is very committed to that," she said while the US government's 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
Of particular worry in Afghanistan is the Taliban's involvement in the drug trade, Patterson said noting that cultivation of the opium poppy there increased by an "alarming" 59 percent, making the 2006 crop the largest on record.
Taliban leaders have publicly linked themselves to poppy cultivation, and drug profits now support elements of the Taliban and fund attacks on US and international troops in Afghanistan. The opium poppy is used to manufacture heroin, she said.
Patterson attributed much of the poppy problem in Afghanistan to the fact that the Afghan government "doesn't have control of [its] territory". Cultivation of opium poppies soared in 2006 in two Afghan provinces, Helmand and Kandahar, "because there is basically a lack of law enforcement and control", she said.
The resurgence of Afghan opium cultivation has increased the flow of heroin to Europe, Russia and the Near East, which "undermines those societies and the consolidation of democracy and security in Afghanistan", the report stated.
Patterson praised neighbouring Iran's role in combating drug trafficking, despite a State Department report characterising the country as a "major transit route for opiates smuggled from Afghanistan", which eventually reach Western markets.
"They are playing a very positive role" in fighting the Afghan opium trade, Patterson said of Iran. "They have been very active along the border" with Afghanistan.
The Iranians view the opium trade as a "major social and law enforcement problem" and have been the "most aggressive" by far of Afghanistan's neighbours in interdicting the Afghan opium crop, said Patterson.
Apart from Afghanistan, the report cited Bolivia and Venezuela as being particular problems in the drug trade.
Turning to terrorist financing, the US official said money laundering had long been "intertwined" with the drug trade. But the global community had become more aware since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States of "terrorists using underground systems to move money and transfer assets".
Focusing on money laundering "is one of the most valuable tools law enforcement has to combat international crime", the report said.
A focus on money laundering "can accomplish what many other law enforcement tools cannot" in attacking such threats as narcotics trafficking, alien smuggling, intellectual property theft, corruption and terrorism, it said.
Brussels, March 2(IRNA) The European Union (EU) is planning to launch a police mission in Afghanistan in June to reform the police in the Muslim country.
It will consist of 160 police officers deployed in Kabul, the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Wiesbaden, Germany, on Thursday.
According to a statement released by Solana's office in Brussels, a key element of the mission is in ensuring the extension of the power of the State to a number of Afghanistan's provinces.
The EU mission would work in close cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which has around 33,000 troops under its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan.
"We are also working hand in hand with the US who are engaged with their own programme for reform of the police in Afghanistan," Solana said.
He added that many non-EU states that were actively contributing to the reform of police in Afghanistan had already indicated that they would be willing to work within the EU police mission.
New Delhi, Mar 2 (IANS) An excess of counter-terrorism laws often rebound, which can prove to be counter-productive and lead to discontent and alienation of communities especially in the South Asian context, a jurists' panel said.
"Instead of isolating terrorist suspects, it (such laws) exacerbates rather than reduces tensions and violence," said Justice Arthur Chaskalson, at the end of a two-day public hearing on the South Asian experience of terrorism and counter-terrorism here Friday.
Chaskalson, the chairperson of the Eminent Jurists Panel, an independent group of eight jurists appointed by the International Commission of Jurists, is currently in India and conducting a global inquiry on the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism measures on the rule of law and human rights.
In their interaction with civil society, the judiciary and rights activists here, one recurring theme that stood out was that counter-terrorism measures had been misused and abused by the state in what had come to called "state terrorism".
"We are not here to pronounce judgment on how terror laws are being applied on the ground but to understand if there are checks and balances and if they can be tested against international standards," says Chaskalson, who is from South Africa.
"What was also debated was whether there was a need to frame new security laws to combat terrorism and if existing legislation could be strengthened. Some of the participants also felt that adequate intelligence was the key to better security."
While there was consensus that an effective legal framework was required to successfully address the threat of terrorism, it was also felt that this framework had to respect international human rights and humanitarian law.
Despite important safeguards in India's terror laws, participants drew attention to the fact that counter-terrorism laws, such as the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and later the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) had led to serious human rights violations.
The panel members were told that these laws had been applied excessively also in states not affected by terrorism and used in a discriminatory manner primarily against minority communities and members of the lower castes.
"But the Home Minister Shivraj Patil assured us that it was not being unfairly targeted against the minority community," said Chaskalson.
Concerns were also raised about human rights violations committed under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and its far-reaching authority to use force, including the authority to kill, wide arrest powers and impediments to holding military personnel to account for human rights violations.
There was broad consensus among the participants that the recent recommendation of the Review Committee to repeal the legislation should be given effect.
Among those who met up with the panel included Colin Gonsalves of the Human Rights Law Network, Rajinder Sachar former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, senior advocate, Rajeev Dhavan, representatives of the Peoples Union of Civil Liberties and the Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission.
The panel heads off for Pakistan Saturday for its next round of hearing and is expected to publish its report by the end of the year.
New Delhi, March 3 (indianmuslims.info) Naib Imam Fatehpuri Mosque Maulana Muazzam Ahmad has welcomed the United Progressive Government’s bid to table in the current budget session of Parliament the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005, which envisages prevention of communal violence and offences, speedy investigation and dispensation of justice. He called it “a commendable move�.
“Manmohan Singh administration’s decision to present a bill to prevent sectarian strife proves that the UPA government is sincere about the safety and security of minorities, particularly Muslims,� said the deputy imam of the mosque in a statement here Friday.
He added that there had been a pressing need of such a law as could deal with communal elements sternly, punish them, and ensure rehabilitation of the victims. “The said bill, if enacted, will fulfil this need,� he hoped.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) proposes to start feeder buses on 36 routes to provide better connectivity with 27 metro stations across the city.
Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha Friday that CNG (compressed natural gas)-operated mini buses would be introduced to begin with.
The proposal is likely to be finalised in six months.
The minister denied that DMRC is struggling with poor passenger traffic due to inadequate feeder bus services.
Islamabad, March 2 (IANS) Feud persists, despite court orders, over the control of the Mughal-era Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens and other ancient monuments in Punjab, requiring interventions of officials in the culture ministry.
The Federal Archaeology Department (FAD) wants to create an 'independent' body to oversee the upkeep of the monuments, despite a Supreme Court directive in January that control of the monuments be passed on to Punjab Archaeology Department (PAD).
Among the ancient sites is the Katasraj temple complex in Chakwal district that was repaired in time for the Maha Shivratri Hindu festival last month, facilitating the worship of Lord Shiva for the first time since Pakistan's creation 59 years ago.
PAD had carried out the task in consultations with Indian archaeologists after paying a visit to Indian sites and monuments, collecting material for conservation and idols of Hindu deities.
However, Federal Culture Minister G.G. Jamal alleged that PAD has damaged some of the monuments. He wants the entire thing to be probed whether repairs and conservation being carried out is as per Unesco guidelines.
The PAD has retaliated saying the damage was caused when the former was in control and some of it is irreparable.
The Daily Times did not give details of the damage, if any, to the monuments and sites, over 150 of which are to be transferred to the PAD as per a directive issued in June 2001 by President Pervez Musharraf.
Musharraf had said that the control of historical sites would be restored to the provincial governments. The Supreme Court of Pakistan endorsed this. A Transfer of Ownership, Administration and Management notification was also issued on February 23.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Fiji Foreign Minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau arrives here Saturday on a four-day visit - the first after a military coup three months back in the South Pacific island that is home to nearly half-a-million strong Indian diaspora.
"It's a courtesy call to renew friendly ties with India. Nailatikau will be coming to thank India for not imposing regulations on trade and travel with Fiji (after the regime change in early December)," a Fiji high commission official said.
Nailatikau, who is interim minister for foreign affairs in Fiji's military regime, is likely to meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday and discuss a host of bilateral issues, including steps taken by the military dispensation to restore democracy and improve the economic situation of his country.
Nailatikau's visit comes at a time when Fiji is teetering on the verge of an economic disaster and the military-led government is under international pressure to restore democracy.
Neighbouring countries like Australia and New Zealand that host large expatriate Fijian populations have imposed military and limited civilian sanctions against Fiji.
Fiji's multi-party government headed by coup leader Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, popularly known as Frank, also includes Fiji Labour Party (FLP) led by former Indo-Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry, who is now finance minister in the new dispensation.
In a cautious message following the coup, India had expressed concern saying that it hoped for an early restoration of power to the people.
Indo-Fijians, most of them descendants of people who had come from India in the 19th and early 20th centuries, comprise around 44 percent of the country's total population of around 900,000.
Fiji's military regime has announced its own "roadmap" to hold parliamentary elections in 2010. It proposes to "kick- start" the national economy by restructuring the sugar industry.
London, March 2 (DPA) An indirect attack caused a "large fire" at a British military base in Basra, southern Iraq, the BBC reported Friday.
Quoting a military spokesman at British headquarters in Basra, the report said petrol had been set ablaze after indirect fire hit the base near the Shatt al-Arab Hotel in the centre of the city.
There were no casualties and "no impact whatsoever on operations" during the incident late Thursday, the spokesman said.
Aligarh, March 2 (IANS) Two months ago Aligarh received what can be called a jolt when an FM radio station opened. Now the whole town is on a song -- thanks to an FM mania.
In a town known for its sedate and slow paced life, everyone - roadside tea vendors, small hotels, tempos and almost all homes and students of Aligarh Muslim University -- are hooked on to FM music, the chirpy chats of the RJs who keep tickling listeners' funny bones.
Just when most people thought radio was dead, the medium sprung to life in its new avatar, one that is friendly, intimate and interesting.
Big FM and FM Rainbow are now the toast of the town.
In a highly conservative society like Aligarh's, FM has come as a fresh ray of hope -- and some sort of liberation from the straight jacket.
It is being heard in the rural hinterland with as much passion as in the towns around Aligarh like Sikandra Rau, Atrauli, Iglas, Sadabad, Hathras, Khurja, Bulandshahr, Anoop Nagar, Dibai and Soron.
At railway stations, bus stands, show rooms, dhabas, just everywhere, FM radios blare away programmes by celebrities like Swheta Tiwari, Prerna, Sunil Pal, says producer and programming head of Big FM Yashir Khan.
The day starts with Seher, giving a wake up call with bhajans, Sufi songs or Gurubani. Big Chai gives a kick-start to the day with witty inputs from Yashir Khan while RJ Zainab love packages life with Garam Masala.
A whole lot of interesting programmes keep the audience hooked on to FM round-the-clock. Some programmes of interactive nature involve the locals to express their views, like in "Kehta hai dil".
Electronic goods sale has registered an all time boom, say shopkeepers. After all radio is an affordable and convenient medium of communication. No wonder Aligarhians can be heard chanting punch lines of the FM radio stations: "Suno Sunao, Life Banao".
New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Former cabinet secretary and Indian ambassador to the US Pratap Kishan Kaul was cremated here Friday. He was 77.
Scores of diplomats and bureaucrats, including former ambassador to the US K.S. Bajpai and former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan, were at the Lodi Road crematorium here.
Kaul passed away Wednesday evening after a long illness. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.
A 1951 batch IAS officer, Kaul had the unique distinction of serving as commerce secretary, defence secretary and finance secretary before taking over as cabinet secretary in his 38-year-long career.
He also served as India's ambassador to the US for three years between 1986 and 1989.
A postgraduate in Economics from Allahabad University, Kaul later obtained masters in public administration from Harvard University.
Following his retirement, Kaul advised several industrial and financial firms on matters relating to corporate planning. In 2005, the government made him head of a high-powered committee to review the functioning of Central Government Health Service (CGHS) and make it more user friendly. He recommended that that the CGHS create specialist posts for augmenting the existing services.
By Azera Rahman,
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The festival of colours is here. But before you go painting the town red, make sure that your skin and hair don't bear the brunt of the harsh chemicals that abound in those colourful packets and pichkaris.
Rishi Parashar, dermatologist at the Ganga Ram Hospital here, says that colours other than those that are herbal in nature can do more than just harm the skin and hair.
"Different dyes have different oxidized metals which can be very harmful. Black colour for instance has lead oxide that can harm the kidneys and cause renal failure. It can also harm the reproductive system. Pregnant women, especially, must be very careful about it," Parashar told IANS.
Red colour has mercuric sulphide which can cause skin cancer, green has copper sulphate which can cause puffiness of the eyes and can even lead to temporary blindness, purple has chromium oxide which can aggravate asthma and blue has Prussian blue which can cause contact dermatitis.
"It's very important that people know the harmful effects of the artificial colours which they use to celebrate a joyous festival such as Holi. Only then will they take enough precautions," said Aman Verma, another dermatologist.
For protection, simple precautions can be taken.
Beauty expert Blossom Kochhar said that dabbing cold cream or mineral oil, like Baby oil, on all the exposed parts of the body followed by generous application of sunscreen, prior to playing holi, should help the skin.
"If not cold cream, one can also apply foundation on the face and the neck, since it ensures that the colours stick to the coat of foundation and after a good wash, the colours would come off with ease," Kochhar tells IANS.
Alternatively, one can also apply coconut oil on the exposed parts before going out to play. "Coconut oil will form a gentle coat on the skin and will ensure that the colours are not in direct contact with the skin," said Parashar.
For the hair, Kochhar suggests that one should oil one's hair with a mineral oil and then either braid it or clip it up. One can also wear a hat, although that's not always feasible.
Post the colour-riot a good head wash with a shampoo and a conditioner should do the trick of taking off the colour from the hair and the scalp. But for a more effective wash, Kochhar suggests a different concoction.
"Add half a tea spoon of glycerine and half a tea spoon of vinegar to your conditioner for the last rinse after you shampoo. This would ensure that your hair is clean but the bounce and the softness of the hair is not robbed.
"For colour hair, which is more porous that normal hair, I suggest that half a tea spoon of coffee is added to the conditioner for the rinse after shampooing," she said.
And just in case simple soap and water is not enough to wash off the colour from your skin, here's another tip.
"Take some milk powder, a mashed papaya and squeeze half a lemon and make a paste out of it. After applying it all over your face and other parts of your body, wash it off with water. The colour would go," Kochhar says.
"In case of any irritation of the skin, wash the area with plain water and apply calamine lotion. That should soothe the irritation," advises Parashar.
Brussels, march 1(IRNA) Former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix, said Thursday that the US military buildup in the Persian Gulf was to district the attention of the international community from the debacle in Iraq and stressed that the Security Council will not give the green signal for use of force against the Islamic Republic.
"The US buildup is a psychological warfare seeking distraction from the debacle in Iraq," Blix told a conference in Brussels.
Noting that the UNSC will not authorize use of force against the Islamic Republic, Blix said any military action will be a unilateral US act, a violation of the UN charter and lead to horrible consequences.
Blix, chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, said a dangerous diplomatic game was being played by the EU, the US and the UNSC by demanding that Iran should suspend its program as a condition for talks.
He argued that if nuclear negotiations with North Korea could be held without pre-conditions why not with Iran and urged the US to give security assurances to Iran.
The conference on "the establishment of a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East and the role of Belgium in this process," was organized by three peace organizations and held in the Belgian parliament.
Ambassador Werner Bauwens, special envoy for disarmament and non-proliferation in the Belgian foreign ministry , said his country is very actively involved in the debate over Iran's nuclear issue.
Belgium is currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC and also chairs the SC sanctions committee on Iran.
"The solution that we believe is one of negotiations and dialogue and not military action," said Bauwens and urged Iran to accept the offer made on behalf of the 5+1 by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana last year to find a negotiated solution.
Ambassador Friedrich Groening, Commissioner of the German government's arms control and disarmament, stressed that the door for negotiations with Iran remain open and the aim is a diplomatic negotiated resolution.
But he also urged Iran to comply with the UNSC resolution.
Egypt's ambassador to Belgium, Mahmoud Karem Mahmoud, reminded the audience that it was Egypt and Iran which had launched the initiative of a Middle East free of nuclear weapons back in 1974.
He said the Israeli policy of nuclear ambiguity has filled the region with mistrust and said "Israel's nuclear capability has not solved it security predicament."
"It simply serves as a major catalyst for an arms race in the Middle East," said the Egyptian ambassador and noted that the recent US-India nuclear agreement "rewards those states which stay out of NPT."
He called for diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear issue and cited the example of the negotiations with North Korea.
The conference was organized by three peace groups, Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament, Mayors for Peace and Abolition 2000 Belgium.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) He's Islamic by birth, brought up as a Hindu for most of his life and was fascinated by the Ram Lila. But seeing what's happening to Islam around the world, Bollywood's reigning star Shah Rukh Khan says categorically that he "needs to be standing for the goodness of Islam".
Unabashedly stating that he is "truly" an ambassador for Islam, Shah Rukh says his fascination with the Ram Lila hasn't changed. "But as I've grown older, and I see what's happening to Islam around the world, I think it's important that even without full knowledge of Islam, I need to be very clearly standing for the goodness of Islam."
In an interview with the weekly newsmagazine Tehelka, the star who is married to a Hindu and whose children are being brought up by both religions, says he stands for what a modern Muslim should be.
"I'd like people to know that Islam is not only about being a fanatic, or radically different, angered person, or one who only does jehad. I'd like people to know that the actual meaning of jehad is to overcome one's own violence and weakness. If need be, overcome it violently," says Shah Rukh.
In a deeply personal interview that gives a rare insight not only into his identity as a Muslim but also a husband, father, son and brother, Shah Rukh says of his elder sister: "My sister reminds me everyday that I cannot have a life like my father's."
The superstar, who has often spoken of his anguish at his parent's early death - his father when he was 15 and his mother when he was just 25 - speaks at length about his sister who "suffered a lot from their death".
"And I had a sister who was not well at all. Lala. She's much better now, but she'll never be fully well. Beautiful girl - physically and mentally, again an MA, LLB (like his father). But no good. After my father died, she got very shocked. Psychiatry wasn't so big then, it took us about four or five years to find help. Then it took five - six years for her to get very close to her mom, and then her mom died, so she was really shattered.
"Medically termed, she had a potassium imbalance. Physically, she started going very wrong."
By the time she came to Mumbai, she was really unwell, says Shah Rukh. "It took time for me to earn enough - during 'Dilwale Dulhaniya...' I took her to a doctor in London. Now, she's all right. Matlab, she'll never be fully all right, but she's better than what she was. She lives with me."
When he prays, the actor says, the closest he comes to a face are his mother and father - and his dogs! "I love my dog - Chewbacca. Is that blasphemous?"
And for those who have often wondered why Shah Rukh Khan talks so much about his son Aryan and so little of his daughter Suhana, here's the answer: "It's not that I'm not proud of her. In fact, I'm more proud of her in a certain way than even my son perhaps. But I'm shy of women.
"It's very shocking, but even with her friends, I can't play for too long. I think girls should be left on their own. And I've got this thing - I've never seen the inside of my wife's cupboard, or her handbag, or her drawers, or whatever. I've been married since '91, and I can't do it. I think a woman should have a lot of privacy. I'm like that even with my daughter."
He admits that most of his closest friends are women - Farah Khan, Juhi Chawla and Kajol - and most his male friends like Karan Johar are not very macho either.
About his much discussed "asexuality": "Its not asexuality. I'm just shy of women. I wouldn't know how to pick up a lover. If that's the right word to use."
"Sometimes girls say they like me. I don't know what to say, so before she thinks I'm foolish or asexual, I just say something funny. The best way to kill romance is to joke. And, again it's that conservative thing - I can't make the first move..."
Often castigated for dancing in marriages for money, Shah Rukh answers why and how: "I do perform at weddings. But it is very difficult to afford what I demand. You have to do it like a show, it has to be in an area where nobody drinks and eats, it will start at 9 p.m. and end at 11.30 p.m., the stage will be 30 by 40 feet, we will make our entries, we will not chat with anyone, we will not eat your food, we will not take pictures with your daughter or daughter-in-law, unless we personally want to. We will come, perform, and we will go away."
Discussing films, he says he simply that he doesn't watch them. "I get corrupted. When I see a good film and it doesn't do well, or I see a bad film, and it does well, it confuses me. I saw 'Rang De Basanti'. It was very well done. I was supposed to do a part in it. It was lying with me for about a year. I was shocked by the fact that I couldn't read into the script. I just didn't see any of it."
Shah Rukh also admits that he didn't like close friend Aditya Chopra's hit film "Dhoom 2" because it lacked sensibility.
Imphal, March 2 (IANS) Okram Idobi Singh was sworn in as chief minister of Manipur for a second consecutive term Friday.
Governor S.S. Sidhu administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 59-year-old Singh at the Raj Bhavan in capital Imphal. The council of ministers of the Congress government would be named in a couple of days.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which have won four and three seats respectively, are supporting the government and may join it later.
"Accelerating the pace of development and making progress in sectors like agriculture and infrastructure would be the main priorities of our government," the chief minister told journalists after being sworn in.
He termed the electoral verdict a vote for stability and good governance.
Singh is the only chief minister to have given any party a full five-year term in Manipur, a state traditionally known for its political instability. He won two assembly seats - Thoubal and Khangabok.
The Congress party pulled off an emphatic victory winning 30 seats in the 60-member legislature for which results were announced Tuesday.
The Manipur People's Party, the main challenger, received an unexpected drubbing, winning just five seats.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bagged five seats, independents won 10 and the National People's Party three seats.
The NCP and CPI were allies of the Congress in the last assembly. The Congress on its own had won 20 seats in the 2002 elections although its strength later rose to 35 with the NCP and candidates of a few smaller parties merging with the ruling party.
Port of Spain, March 2 (IANS) South African coach Mickey Arthur has named India as one of the six teams that can go on to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.
"There are six teams in my opinion that can win and they are, of course, South Africa, Australia, West Indies, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka," reports here quoted Arthur as saying soon after his arrival, along with the South African squad, at the Piarco International Airport here early Thursday.
He said this World Cup is very open and the team that plays better on the day can win the World Cup.
South Africa was the first side to arrive in Trinidad & Tobago for the World Cup. The team will play two warm-up matches against Ireland and Pakistan at the Frank Worrell Oval at the University of West Indies near here.
Once the tournament starts, it will play its preliminary group matches in St. Kitts & Nevis. South Africa is placed in Group A along with Australia, Scotland and the Netherlands.
"It is all about peaking at the right time and I think, for us, things have been going nicely this season," Arthur said "We have shown an upward curve so hopefully our planning is coming to fruition."
Meanwhile, South African captain Graeme Smith said that he does not read much into the fact that his team is now rated number one in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) ratings.
"I don't really read much into these things, of course it is nice to be rated the number one team, but I concentrate more on delivering on the field of play," the Guardian report quoted him as saying.
"I am hoping to have a good World Cup and together with the other senior players, I will be looking to do my part in order to make my team successful," he said.
Smith described his side as having a good bowling attack.
"...We have got a lot of variation so I think we back ourselves pretty well and I think this will be the key with the wickets not being tested and the team that adapts best will be able to get the most of it," he said.
By Manish Chand,
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) India has made a formal request to the Argentine authorities for extradition of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, wanted for his alleged involvement in the Bofors bribery scandal, and agreed to help Buenos Aires on a "reciprocal basis" in a similar situation.
"It was a very simple, formal affair. We have made a formal request for extraditing Quattrocchi and given relevant documents," India's ambassador to Argentina P. Rath told IANS over the phone Friday.
Rath filed the extradition request with the Argentine foreign office in Buenos Aires Thursday and handed over the documents, translated into Spanish, which were given to him by a two-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) now camping in Argentina.
"We will check again with the Argentine authorities next week whether the documents are in order or not," the envoy said.
Quattrocchi, who has been accused by the CBI of receiving millions of dollars in commissions for helping to fix the $2.1 billion gun deal, was detained on Feb 6 near the picturesque Iguazu Falls in Argentina's Misiones province where he was holidaying with his wife.
He was later released on bail on Feb 23, but his passport was impounded to prevent him from leaving Argentina.
Rath said the absence of an extradition treaty between India and Argentina should not come in the way of Quattrocchi's extradition as there are provisions in the Argentine law to take care of such situations.
"There are some provisions in the Argentine law which allow for the extradition of a person wanted in another country if that country agrees to help Argentina on a reciprocal manner in a similar situation," he said.
"We have told them we will help Argentina if a man wanted by that country is arrested in India," Rath said.
"We have taken the first step. Let's see how it goes," the envoy replied when asked whether he was confident about Quattrocchi's extradition to India. The Argentine law will take its own course, he added.
"The Argentine foreign office has assured us that the case will be dealt with in a strictly legal manner," Rath added.
According to Argentine law, the Indian authorities have to submit an extradition request along with relevant documentation within 30 days of the arrest of a person sought to be extradited. India has submitted its request a few days before the March 5 deadline.
The CBI will choose an Argentine lawyer among a panel of legal eagles lined up by the Indian mission in Buenos Aires to argue for Quattrocchi's extradition.
Under attack by a strident opposition, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured parliament that the CBI will be given full freedom to facilitate extradition of Quattrocchi, known once for his proximity to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Italian-born wife Sonia Gandhi who currently heads the ruling coalition.
Kingston, Feb 2 (IANS) The Indian cricket team for this month's World Cup arrived here early Friday morning.
The 15-member squad, led by Rahul Dravid, had left Mumbai by a British Airways flight early Wednesday.
The team will play two warm-up matches, against the Netherlands and the West Indies, at the Greenfields Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica, March 6 and 9, before the opening ceremony at the same venue March 11.
India, winners of the 1983 World Cup, start their World Cup campaign with a Group B match against Bangladesh at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, March 17.
The other teams in this group are 1996 champions Sri Lanka and first timers Bermuda.
In all, 16 nations, divided into four pools, are taking part. The final match will be played April 28 at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Two top teams each from the four pools advance to Super Six, or quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and the final.
New Delhi, March 2 (Indianmuslims.info) Islamic Fiqh Academy is all set to hold an international fiqh seminar at Azamgarh from March 30 to April 2. The seminar will commence in the night of March 30 and conclude with public address in the night of April 2.
Making an announcement to this effect here Thursday, the Academy’s general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said over 200 ulema, muftis and Islamic jurisprudents from home and abroad are expected to participate in the seminar.
One of the most representative fiqh institutions in the Indian subcontinent, Islamic Fiqh Academy has discussed and presented amicable solutions to more than 70 issues confronting the Muslims in the modern day since its inception in 1989.
Some of the issues the Academy has settled are about Islamic precepts and Shariah while some others are about social life, economics, medical ethics, organ transplantation, Aids, cloning, use of gelatine and alcohol, etc. The Academy has also rendered its services to introduce interest-free banking.
Srinagar, March 2 (IANS) With the weather improving in Kashmir, authorities here are confident that the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway would be thrown open for traffic tomorrow.
"Even yesterday 40 trucks carrying supplies crossed the Panthal road stretch and they have reached the Kashmir Valley. Today too we expect another convoy of trucks carrying essential supplies to reach here," Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Kashmir divisional commissioner told IANS here.
"I have been assured by the chief engineer of the Border Roads Organization (BRO) if the weather behaves, as it is doing right now, the road would be formally opened for traffic tomorrow," Dhar added.
Due to a stretch of the road slipping away at Panthal near Ramban in the Jammu region, the highway has remained closed for nine days.
Though there is no immediate shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG in the Valley, mutton, poultry products and vegetables have completely disappeared from the markets here.
"Mutton sellers are charging anything between Rs. 230 and Rs. 250 per kilogram and poultry is available only in the black market," said Abdul Salam, 49, a resident of Srinagar city.
Reports from all other major cities and towns said that mutton, poultry and vegetable shops remained closed for the third consecutive day Friday.
The Valley is totally dependent for its supplies on the Jammu-Srinagar highway.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) continued its sorties to airlift stranded passengers between Jammu and Srinagar for the third day today.
The IAF aircraft are transporting passengers free of cost. They were pressed into service after state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Ranchi, March 2 (IANS) The Jharkhand assembly Friday witnessed uproarious scenes over the seating of two Forward Bloc legislators - one was given a seat in the treasury benches and the other in the opposition.
The Forward Bloc had in February withdrawn support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government headed by Madhu Koda, but one of its two legislators, Bhanu Pratap Sahi, continues as minister in the government against the wishes of his party.
On Thursday, the party had written to Speaker Aalamgir Aalam and Governor Syed Sibte Razi to allot their two legislators seats only in the opposition benches.
Bhanu Pratap Sahi claimed himself as an Independent legislator but the Election Commission issued him a certificate as a Forward Bloc MLA after he won the assembly election in 2005.
When the house assembled Friday after the governor's speech, the Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML) legislator Vinod Kumar Singh raised the sitting arrangement issue.
Former chief minister and leader of opposition Arjun Munda said: "You (speaker) should allot seats to both the Forward Bloc legislators on the opposition side."
Replying to a question of an NDA member, the speaker said: "There is a system in a democratic set up. Since Bhanu Pratap is a minister, he has been allotted a seat in the treasury benches while the second legislator of the party has been allocated a seat with the opposition."
He went on: "As far as the membership and other issues are concerned, my court will take it up. Such issues cannot be discussed in the house."
The Koda government has a razor-thin majority in the 82-member house. The UPA government enjoys the support of 42 legislators, including the speaker and disputed legislator Bhanu Pratap Sahi.
The NDA is seeking to use the issue to topple the government on the floor of the house. The budget session of the Jharkhand assembly began Friday.
Patna, March 2 (Indianmuslims.info) Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Bihar Qamarul Huda has severely criticised the provocative speeches made by Praveen Togadia, Mahendra Sharan Das and Vinod Yadav in a public meeting organised on February 26 by Vishwa Hindu Parishad at Town Hall, Hajipur.
In a statement released here Thursday, Mr Huda said the VHP leaders were trying to create an atmosphere of hatred among Hindus and Muslims in Bihar.
“Their provocations have hurt the sentiments of Muslims,� he added.
Citing Togadia’s diatribe: ‘As only Christians (Angrez) live in England and Germany, similarly only Hindus will live in India,’ Mr Huda said, “Such statements are a blot on the face of democracy that we are. They are a great challenge to the champions of democracy in the country.�
On Togadia’s invective about the madrasas in North India that ‘visits of Jehadi people there are increasing; and if they are not stopped, Bihar too will become a Pakistan,’ Mr Huda said it is mere allegation which has no leg to stand.
Reacting to such inflammatory statements made by VHP leaders, the Jamaat leader said, “Such citizens of the country create Hindu-Muslim communal violence in the country. There is urgent need to bridle them with due course of law.�
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Corporate India's overseas foray for setting up large units in the steel space has added another feather with Jindal Steel and Power signing a pact with Bolivia for a $2.1-billion steel unit in the country.
The unit has been proposed in El Multan, which the company says, has one of the world's largest iron ore reserves estimated at 40 billion tonnes of medium-grade quality. The location is in the country's southeast near the Brazilian border.
"A definitive contract would be signed with the Bolivian government within 45 days," Jindal Steel, a part of the Rs.20 billion ($435 million) organisation, said in a statement Friday.
"Bolivia, a major natural gas producer, has agred to sell Jindal natural gas at $3.91 per million British thermal unit for steel making, which represents 70 percent of the project's power needs," the statement added.
In addition, Jindals will only pay $1.955 per million British thermal unit for the gas for power generation, which will represent 30 percent of the need.
The Indian steel major had set its eyes on the proposed project in June 2006 and had then emerged as the sole company that met the qualifying criteria set by the Bolivian government to exploit 50 percent of El Multan reserves, officials said.
Jindals will be investing the amount over eight years in creating the integrated steel unit that will have a capacity to manufacture 1.7 million tonnes of long products and 6 million tonnes of reduced, sponge iron.
The unit will also have a capacity to produce 10 million tonnes of pellets. A supporting infrastructure for producing 450 megawatt of electricity would also be created, officials said.
"The project will allow Bolivia to develop a steel-making industry for the first time and is the biggest investment in a single project in Bolivian history," the company statement said.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will offer midday prayers Friday at the historic Fatehpuri mosque, one of the country's biggest and located opposite the Red Fort monument in the city's old quarter.
The president will reach the mosque at 1.30 p.m. for the 'Jumme ki namaz' that will begin five minutes later, Naib Shahi Imam Maulana Moulvi Mohammed Mouazzam, who will preside over the prayer meeting, told IANS.
Also in attendance will be an estimated 5,000 Muslims, the normal gathering at midday Fridays in the sprawling mosque built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan but which is not as well known as the nearby Jama Masjid. Among Muslims, however, the Fatehpuri mosque commands great respect owing to what the Imam said was its "spiritual loftiness".
President Kalam, a devout secular Muslim, will take part in the namaz that will last about 15 minutes and leave the mosque around 2 p.m. "after probably having a cup of tea with us", the Imam said.
Some of the locals had wanted to meet Kalam and submit memorandum related to Muslim affairs, but the Imam said he dissuaded them from doing so "since the president is coming for a religious affair".
"He is the president of India and it is a honour for us to receive him," the mam said. "He should not be troubled on this occasion by purely Muslim issues."
Asked why Kalam had chosen the Fatehpuri mosque to pray, the Imam said: "The president is deeply into spiritual affairs. He is devoted to Sufiism. He has discussed with us religion and Sufi thoughts many times. So he chose to come."
The Fatehpuri mosque also houses one of the biggest Islamic seminaries in the Indian capital. Besides facing the mammoth Red Fort monument, it is ringed on all sides by narrow lanes chock a block with shops including those of Khari Boli, one of the biggest wholesale markets of Delhi.
Although built with great care, the Fatehpuri mosque is not as popular in tourist circles as the nearby and more imposing Jama Masjid, which too was built by Shah Jahan.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 (IANS) Reading out V.S.Achuthanandan government's policies for the year, Kerala Governor R. L. Bhatia said the state would focus on sectors like agriculture, tourism and information technology (IT) and encourage investments by non-resident Keralites (NRKs) in the state.
"The year 2007-08 will be declared as 'Harithavarsham', the year of agriculture and farmers," said Bhatia in his address to the Kerala Assembly, Friday.
"A programme to produce 15 lakh (1.5 million) tonnes of vegetables will be launched to make the state self-sufficient. Organic farming will be encouraged and the technical know-how for this will be transferred. Some 100 bio-villages will be started, with emphasis on organic farming," added Bhatia.
Bhatia also said the government would begin activities to take IT to greater heights: "A Technocity will be developed on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. This will be a self-contained IT township. IT parks will be established in all district headquarters and in select locations. The government will create two lakh new jobs in the next five years in this sector," said Bhatia.
He also said the government would begin steps to promote investment opportunities for NRK's through proper planning.
"Wayanad district will be made a major centre of milk production and milk products by establishing a joint venture project with NRI participation," said Bhatia.
The government has also decided to promote responsible tourism in a big way. "A year-long road map will be prepared to see that all stakeholders are brought into the framework of responsibility and the benefits of tourism shared by the local community," said Bhatia.
However, the opposition dismissed the address as a dull and dreary one, which had addressed no real issues.
"The governor's address ends with him saying that the first Kerala government (1957) of E.M.S. Namboothiripad would be the model for them. If that is to happen, it will do the state no good," said leader of opposition Oommen Chandy to reporters here.
Seoul, March 2 (DPA) North and South Korea agreed to resume reunion of separated families and the construction of a family reunion centre during high-level ministerial talks in Pyongyang Friday.
Initially, video reunions will start this month for families separated by the border and by early May face-to-face reunions will take place.
The reunions were put on hold in July, when North Korea conducted missile tests.
The agreements were to be released in a joint statement at the conclusion of the four-day ministerial meeting between North and South Korea Friday - the first in last seven months.
Still to be discussed, according to the Unification Ministry in Seoul, is the resumption of rice and fertilizer aid, which was also suspended since the July missile tests.
The new round of the inter-Korean ministerial discussions was initiated after North Korea agreed in Beijing Feb 15 to take steps towards dismantling its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for energy and other economic aid from South Korea, the US, China, Japan and Russia.
London, March 1(IRNA) A cross-party parliament committee Thursday called on the British government to put more money into defense research.
Britain's future defense capabilities could suffer if investment in defense research is not increased, the House of Commons Defence Select Committee warned in a report examining the work of the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
Although operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which so far have cost nearly Pnds 6 billion (Dlrs 11.5 bn) took priority, the Defense Ministry should not cut long-term research funding, the report said.
It urged ministers to use the government's comprehensive spending review this summer to bring Britain up to international competitors' levels or risk losing the "fighting edge" of its armed forces.
The MPs pointed out that the UK's Pnds 2.64 billion (Dlrs 5 bn) annual defense research budget was just a fraction of the US's Pnds 23 bn spent by the US and warned that the gap is widening.
Britain spends only 9 per cent of the defense budget on research, equivalent to just 0.18 per cent of country's GDP, in contrast to 16 per cent and 0.46 per cent of GDP spent by the US.
"The government's own analysis has shown that military advantage depends on the research and development investment made over the previous 25 years," committee chairman James Arbuthnot said.
Arbuthnot maintained that the UK's defense research, including the independent scientific and technological services provided by DSTL, is currently amongst the best in the world, but warned that this was at risk.
"If the UK continues to fall behind other countries in defense research spending, our armed forces will lose their capability advantage and fighting edge," he said.
Patna, March 2 (IANS) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, euphoric over his record-surplus budget, will celebrate his trademark 'kapdaphad' (cloth-tearing) Holi, dancing to drum beats and Bhojpuri songs, in the state capital.
"After presenting my dream Railway Budget, which has shown up a profit of Rs. 200 billion, I'm now in a mood to celebrate Holi in my very own style. It's going to be kapdaphad Holi for me once more," said Lalu while speaking to IANS here Friday.
Beaming with pleasure, Lalu said that as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and millions of people had praised his Railway Budget across India, he was ready to celebrate the festival of colours in a big way like earlier times.
Holi had been a low-key affair for Lalu in the last few years.
The railway minister planned to stay on at 10 Circular Road, the official residence of his wife Rabri Devi, former Bihar chief minister and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, till Holi.
Sources at Rabri Devi's official residence said Lalu had given instructions for a grand party. "There will be different herbal colours, thandai, bhang and sweets."
Lalu is known for tearing off clothes of his party leaders including ministers, officials and people who visit him on Holi day.
During their 15 years rule in Bihar, Lalu-Rabri would host a big Holi party every year except the year Lalu was in jail on charges of his involvement in the multi-million rupees fodder scam in the late 90s.
Alternately, the present Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will celebrate Holi in a simple and low-key fashion.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The Lok Sabha was adjourned for half an hour Friday after Samajwadi Party members disrupted proceedings protesting the Supreme Court order initiating a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
After the house met, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav sought to suspend the question hour and discuss the "political conspiracy" against Mulayam Singh.
"There has been a political conspiracy to falsely implicate Mulayam Singh Yadav," he said.
The apex court had Thursday directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into the allegations of assets the chief minister had disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Although Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked him to raise the matter at 12 noon, his party colleagues gathered near the speaker's podium raising slogans like "Congress ki jhooti saazish nahi chalegi (The conspiracy by the Congress will not work)".
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said the issue had nothing to do with the government and that the Supreme Court order was on the basis of a public interest litigation (PIL).
As Samajwadi Party members paid no heed to the speaker's request, Chatterjee adjourned the house for half an hour at 11.05 a.m.
LONDON, March 2 (NNN-KUNA) -- A major British children's charity has pulled out of Iraq, blaming the deteriorating security situation, it was announced here Thursday.
"Save the Children UK" closed its offices in Erbil, in northern Iraq, Wednesday, after operating in the country for 15 years.
The charity said in a statement the ongoing insurgency had made its work increasingly difficult and the decision to leave was taken "with great regret."
It will continue to support Iraqi groups that help the country's children, 8 per cent of whom are believed to suffer from acute malnutrition.
Save the Children said: "The decision is linked to the deteriorating security situation in significant areas of the country including the capital Baghdad, which makes it increasingly difficult for our work to make a significant impact on the lives of children."
"Save the Children UK made the decision to withdraw from Iraq after much deliberation and with great regret.
"We are however confident that after 15 years we are leaving behind a strong legacy that will continue to benefit Iraqi children and their families, " the statement added.
The charity said it always kept its options open to work anywhere in the world where it could help poor and marginalised children, but had no current plans to return to Iraq.
Another major British charity "Christian Aid" said it was sorry to see Save the Children leave.
Oliver Burch, Christian Aid's Iraq programme manager, said: "The security situation is not good with considerable risks for Iraqis and even more for internationals trying to implement projects.
"The failure of international forces to respect the neutrality of aid work has done much to increase the risk.
"Christian Aid staff do not now travel to Iraq but continue to work through and fund Iraqi organisations, as we do all over the world, and we are tremendously impressed with the achievements of our Iraqi colleagues," Burch added.
Imphal, March 2 (IANS) A Congress party led coalition in Manipur, headed by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, is to be sworn-in for the second straight term Friday, officials said.
A government spokesperson said Manipur Governor S.S. Sidhu would administer the oath of office and secrecy to the 59-year-old chief minister at a simple function around 1 p.m. at the Raj Bhavan here.
"Only the chief minister would probably be sworn in. The council of ministers would take oath on a later date," a senior Congress leader said.
The Congress party pulled off an emphatic victory for the second successive term, winning 30 seats in the 60-member legislature for which results were announced Tuesday.
The Manipur People's Party that emerged as the main challenger received a shocking drubbing, winning just five seats.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) bagged five seats, independents won 10, Communist Party of India (CPI) got four and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the National People's Party won three seats each.
The RJD and the CPI have given written commitments to the governor to support the Congress party. "Technically speaking, we have now 37 legislatures with us and many others like the NCP and independents willing to support us," the Congress leader said.
The NCP and CPI were allies of the Congress in the last assembly. The Congress on its own had won 20 seats in the 2002 elections although its strength later rose to 35 with the NCP and candidates of a few smaller parties merging with the ruling party.
NEW DELHI, March 2 (NNN-APP) -- A meeting of anti-terror mechanism will be held in Islamabad on March 6, to discuss sharing of information on terrorist acts and other related matters between Pakistan and India.
Talking to APP, Afrasiab, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan here on Thursday said the High Commission is in constant touch with Indian Ministry of External Affairs in this connection.
When questioned about sharing of information with Pakistan by India on firebombing of Samjhauta Express, he said Indian External Affairs Minister Parnab Mukherjee and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have promised to share information on the tragic terrorist attack in which 68 persons were killed.
According to sources, another meeting on composite dialogue will be held in Islamabad on March 13-14, where eight subjects on composite dialogue will be discussed. -- NNN-APP
New Delhi, March 2 (Indianmuslims.info) Shia Akademy of India, in a meeting of its management committee held here Thursday with Syed Mahmood Naqvi in the chair, announced the names of Professor Nayyar Masood, Professor Gopi Chand Narang and Dr Taqi Abdi as winners of Anees-o-Dabeer Award for 2003, 2005 and 2007 respectively for their invaluable services to Rathai Adab.
Besides, the Akademy also announced the names of Khaja Hasan Thani Nizami, Dr Dharmendra Nath, Qamar Ahmad (Joint Commissioner, Delhi) and famous drama artist and director Aamir Raza Hussain as recipients of Nishan-e-Azmat for their distinguished services to literature and society.
The Akademy decided to confer such awards and honours every two years.
These awards and honours will be conferred in a programme at Imamia Hall here at 6 p.m. on March 6.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The Indian parliament was closed Friday for a three-day holiday after a week in session in which both the railway and the union budgets for 2007-2008 were presented, but little other business could be conducted due to acrimonious exchanges and stalling of house proceedings.
Both the Lok Sabha (lower house) and the Rajya Sabha (upper house) could not take up a single issue for debate.
While announcing a break for Holi, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee expressed his displeasure over the functioning of parliament. The MPs wanted Monday off too, to celebrate the festival of colours, which falls on Sunday.
"How can I say (Holi) mubarak (greetings) without doing any work. The greetings are worth it only if work is done here," he told the MPs, who wished him a happy Holi.
Both houses of parliament were stalled Friday too after Samajwadi Party members disrupted proceedings protesting the Supreme Court order initiating a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
While the Samajwadi Party MPs were shouting "Congress ki jhooti saazish nahi chalegi (The conspiracy by the Congress will not work)", the ruling Congress MPs reacted with "Remove Mulayam and save Uttar Pradesh".
The slogan shouting forced Chatterjee to adjourn the house thrice, third time till Tuesday.
Both houses have been witnessing similar scenes since Monday, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition created an unprecedented pandemonium during the budget speech of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.
The opposition was upset over the delay in seeking extradition of Ottavio Quattrocchi, the Italian businessman accused in the Bofors payoff scandal. The chaos over the Quattrocchi issue continued the entire week, except on the day the union budget was presented.
Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance that his government had done "no wrong" and wanted the law of the land to go its way on Quattrocchi for his alleged role in the Bofors payoff scandal ended the impasse Thursday for some time, the Samajwadi Party members did not allow any business to be transacted Friday.
As he was adjourning the house for the day, Chatterjee said: "Let me express my great agony. The house is not functioning day after day. People are criticising us.... I again appeal to all sides to extend their cooperation."
The country loses nearly Rs. 20,000 per minute when politicians stall proceedings in parliament.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Days after the government announced a duty cut on transport fuels in the union budget 2007-08, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora Friday clarified that there were no plans to cut retail prices of petrol and diesel.
"There is no such proposal before the ministry at the moment," Deora said on the sidelines of an event to sign production-sharing contracts for 52 hydrocarbon blocks awarded under the last round of exploration licensing policy.
The contracts were signed between the government and the consortiums, including those led by Oil and Natural Gas Corp, the Essars, Reliance Industries, British Gas, Cairn Energy, Geoglobal of Barbados and Oil India Ltd., which won the bids.
"The sixth round under the new exploration licensing policy will lead India into joining the league of nations which will have one of the most extensive deep water exploration programmes," Deora said.
He said under the sixth round, bids were received for 21 deepwater blocks and for all the 12 land blocks - the highest ever. Between 2000 and 2006, under the previous five rounds, a total of 110 contracts had been signed.
This had resulted in 32 discoveries of oil and gas and 400 million tonnes of oil and equivalent of gas. "Today the contribution of private, joint venture firms to India's oil and gas is a healthy 18 percent," the minister said.
India imports close to 70 percent of its crude oil need and the government is keen on encouraging new discoveries to ensure energy security.
Dubai, Feb 2 (IANS) No Indian umpire will officiate in the first round matches of the World Cup, and most probably in the entire tournament beginning March 11, as per the appointments announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) here Friday.
India has three umpires - Amish Saheba, Suresh Shastri, G.A. Pratapkumar - on the International Panel (IP), the second-rung of the three tiers, they have not been considered to officiate in any of the 24 first round matches that start March 13.
The closest an Indian has come to being appointed is Shastri, who has been named one of the three reserves for the first-round matches. The others are Nigel Short of England and Russell Tiffin of Zimbabwe.
ICC also announced that seven of its match referees will officiate, the only man missing out is former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who is now host's team manager.
Former Test fast bowler Javagal Srinath is the only Indian in this panel.
The others are: Chris Broad (England), Jeff Crowe (New Zealand), Alan Hurst (Australia), Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka), Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka) and Mike Procter (South Africa).
In all, 16 umpires, including nine officials from the ICC Elite Panel, the apex tier, and seven members of the International Panel have been picked to officiate.
Australia's Simon Taufel, named three successive times as the best umpire, leads those umpires who will officiate. The other are: Mark Benson (England), Brent 'Billy' Bowden (New Zealand), Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Aleem Dar (Pakistan), Steve Davis (IP/Australia), Billy Doctrove (West Indies), Ian Gould (IP/England), Daryl Harper (Australia), Tony Hill (New Zealand), Ian Howell (South Africa), Brian Jerling (IP/South Africa), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa), Peter Parker (IP/Australia), Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Asoka de Silva (IP/Sri Lanka).
The umpiring team is vastly experienced and it includes five men - Koertzen, Bucknor, Harper, Taufel and Bowden - who have each stood in more than 100 one-day internationals.
The three group matches Koertzen is due to stand in will take him to 166 matches, just six short of David Shepherd's mark for most umpired. Shepherd and Bucknor have stood together in the 1996, 1999 and 2003 World Cup finals.
Bucknor, who will be standing in his fifth World Cup, will read the officials' oath on behalf of all umpires and match referees at the opening ceremony in his native Jamaica March 11, said ICC.
Each umpire will also stand in two warm-up matches, starting Monday. The warm-up matches do not have ODI status and will not have match referees.
After the warm-up matches, the umpires and referees will attend the opening ceremony in Montego Bay March 11. But before that they will take part in a two-day training and preparation workshop on March 10 and 11.
Appointments for the Super Eight, the second round, and semi-finals and final will be announced later.
The umpires and referees will be divided into four teams for the group matches. They are:
Team A for Group A (in St Kitts and Nevis, involving Australia, the Netherlands, Scotland and South Africa): referees Madugalle and Srinath; umpires Bucknor, Benson, Hill and de Silva.
Team B for Group B (in Trinidad and Tobago involving Bangladesh, Bermuda, India and Sri Lanka): referees Crowe and Hurst; umpires Dar, Harper, Howell and Davis.
Team C for Group C (in Saint Lucia, involving Canada, England, Kenya and New Zealand): referee Procter; and umpires Doctrove, Koertzen, Parker and Rauf. Crowe will share the duties with Procter in Group C due to Lloyd's absence.
Team D for Group D (in Jamaica, that includes Ireland, Pakistan, West Indies and Zimbabwe): referees Broad and Mahanama; umpires Bowden, Jerling, Gould and Taufel.
Appointments for the group matches are:
* 13 March, West Indies v Pakistan, Sabina Park, Jamaica - referee Broad, on-field umpires Bowden and Taufel, third umpire Jerling, fourth umpire Gould
* 14 March, Australia v Scotland, St Kitts and Nevis - referee Srinath, on-field umpires Bucknor and de Silva, third umpire Hill, fourth umpire Benson
* 14 March, Kenya v Canada, St Lucia - referee Procter, on-field umpires Rauf and Parker, third umpire Doctrove, fourth umpire Koertzen
* 15 March, Sri Lanka v Bermuda, Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain, - referee Crowe, on-field umpires Harper and Howell, third umpire Dar, fourth umpire Davis
* 15 March, Zimbabwe v Ireland, Sabina Park - referee Mahanama, on-field umpires Gould and Jerling, third umpire Bowden, fourth umpire Taufel
* 16 March, South Africa v the Netherlands, St Kitts and Nevis - referee Madugalle, on-field umpires Benson and Hill, third umpire Bucknor, fourth umpire De Silva
* 16 March, England v New Zealand, St Lucia - referee Procter, on-field umpires Koertzen and Rauf, third umpire Parker, fourth umpire Doctrove
* 17 March, India v Bangladesh, Queen's Park Oval - referee Hurst, on-field umpires Dar and Davis, third umpire Howell, fourth umpire Harper
* 17 March, Pakistan v Ireland, Sabina Park - referee Broad, on-field umpires Jerling and Bowden, third umpire Taufel, fourth umpire Gould
* 18 March, Australia v the Netherlands - referee Srinath, on-field umpires Bucknor and Hill, third umpire de Silva, fourth umpire Benson
* 18 March, England v Canada, St Lucia - referee Crowe, on-field umpires Parker and Doctrove, third umpire Rauf, fourth umpire Koertzen
* 19 March, India v Bermuda, Queen's Park Oval - referee Hurst, on-field umpires Dar and Howell, third umpire Harper, fourth umpire Davis
* 19 March, West Indies v Zimbabwe, Sabina Park - referee Mahanama, on-field umpires Taufel and Gould, third umpire Bowden, fourth umpire Jerling
* 20 March, South Africa v Scotland, St Kitts and Nevis - referee Madugalle, on-field umpires de Silva and Benson, third umpire Bucknor, fourth umpire Hill
* 20 March, New Zealand v Kenya, St Lucia - referee Procter, on-field umpires Doctrove and Koertzen, third umpire Parker, fourth umpire Rauf
* 21 March, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Queen's Park Oval - referee Crowe, on-field umpires Davis and Harper, third umpire Howell, fourth umpire Dar
* 21 March, Zimbabwe v Pakistan, Sabina Park - referee Broad, on-field umpires Jerling and Taufel, third umpire Gould, fourth umpire Bowden
* 22 March, Scotland v the Netherlands, St Kitts and Nevis - referee Srinath, on-field umpires Hill and de Silva, third umpire Benson, fourth umpire Bucknor
* 22 March, New Zealand v Canada, St Lucia - referee Procter, on-field umpires Doctrove and Rauf, third umpire Koertzen, fourth umpire Parker
* 23 March, India v Sri Lanka, Queen's Park Oval - referee Crowe, on-field umpires Dar and Harper, third umpire Davis, fourth umpire Howell
* 23 March, West Indies v Ireland, Sabina Park - referee Mahanama, on-field umpires Bowden and Gould, third umpire Jerling, fourth umpire Taufel
* 24 March, Australia v South Africa, St Kitts and Nevis - referee Madugalle, on-field umpires Bucknor and Benson, third umpire Hill, fourth umpire De Silva
* 24 March, England v Kenya, St Lucia - referee Procter, on-field umpires Koertzen and Parker, third umpire Doctrove, fourth umpire Rauf
* 25 March, Bermuda v Bangladesh, Queen's Park Oval - referee Hurst, on-field umpires Davis and Howell, third umpire Dar, fourth umpire Harper
Warm-up matches:
* March 5: West Indies v Kenya, Greenfields Stadium, Trelawny - Bowden and Jerling; England v Bermuda, Arnos Vale, St Vincent - Koertzen and Hill; South Africa v Ireland, Frank Worrell Ground, St Augustine, Trinidad - Dar and Parker; Sri Lanka v Scotland, Three Ws Oval, Barbados - Simon Taufel and Ian Howell
* March 6: India v Netherlands, Trelawny - Bucknor and De Silva; Australia v Zimbabwe, St Vincent - Rauf and Doctrove; Pakistan v Canada, Frank Worrell Ground - Harper and Gould; New Zealand v Bangladesh, Three Ws Oval, Barbados - Benson and Davis
* 8 March: Kenya v Netherlands, Trelawny - Bucknor and Bowden; Zimbabwe v Bermuda, Arnos Vale - Koertzen and Rauf; Ireland v Canada, Frank Worrell Ground, St Augustine - Dar and Harper; Scotland v Bangladesh, Three Ws Oval - Taufel and Benson
* 9 March: India v West Indies, Trelawny - Jerling and de Silva; Australia v England, Arnos Vale - Hill and Norman Malcolm (West Indies); Pakistan v South Africa, Frank Worrell Ground - Parker and Gould; New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Three Ws Oval - Davis and Howell
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai, March 2 (IndianMuslims.info) "There is no relief for the Muslims in the Union budget 2007." These were the words of President of All India Muslim Education society, Bashiruddin Babu Khan, when IndianMuslims.info approched him to get his reactions.
"Even after the findings of the Sachar Commitee that has put the status of the Muslim community on par with the schedule caste, Mr Chidambram did not care how the concerns of the Muslim community could be met," Khan said.
Given the magnitude of the developmental work for the upliftment of the community as outlined in the 15 point programme of the Sachar Committe, the allocation of the Rs.63 crore for the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, in the Union budget is pittence, the AIMES president said.
Drwaing parallel with Andhra Pradesh, Mr Khan observe that the YSR government in AP has increased the budgetry allocation for Muslim minorities from Rs 69 crore last year to 123 crore for 2007-8 for self employment, poverty alleviation and scholarship schemes.
If we compare the hike with Mr Chidambram's hike from Rs.16.47 to Rs.63 crore for the wealfare of India's largest mibority community the double standards come out in the open, Khan said.
"I am not saying this, make the comparision yourself and draw out your own conclusions," he said very emotionally.
The AIMES president said, he had submitted a list of demands to the Tamil Nadu government's Backward Classes department seeking more budgetry allowances for the Muslims.
He alleged that sucessive governments in Tamil Nadu have ignored the Muslim community and the government schemes have remained inaccessible to them.
"We have demanded that the Tamil Nadu government consitute a seperate department for the welfare of the Muslims to ensure that education and employment opportunities reach them," Khan said.
The AIMES is planning to hold a symposium in Chennai on PM's 15 point programme and Sachar Committe's recomendations for the welfare of the minorities on March 11, he concluded.
Port of Spain, March 2 (IANS) A team from India's National Security Guards (NSG) is here to help the Caricom Operational Planning and Co-ordination Staff (COPACS) in providing security for the Indian cricket team at the World Cup starting this month.
The NSG team will be stationed at World Cup venues where India will be playing, according to reports here.
Speaking to the Trinidad Express, NSG's Col. Harjeet S. Pathania said that all cricket venues would be inspected before the start of matches and declared safe for patrons.
India will play all its preliminary group matches at the Queen's Park Oval here. Prior to that it will also play a couple of warm-up matches at the Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica.
In the interview to the Express, Pathania said that Trinidad & Tobago was ready for the World Cup and promised that just in case anyone plans to bring trouble, "we will resolve it".
If explosives are found during the event, NSG has the equipment to diffuse them from a distance, he said.
Describing local lawmen as professionals who would do their jobs in a wonderful way, he said that the current series of meetings with COPACS is to go into specifics, such as a plan of action detailing who will do what in case there is an incident.
The area around the Queen's Park Oval would be blocked off during the duration of the matches.
The World Cup is being seen as a potential target for terrorists, and India, England, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka are key security risks.
According to the newspaper, 29 potential troublemakers have been identified and prevented from entering the region.
Pathania said that he would ensure that no stone is left unturned as far as security for the Indian team is concerned before he leaves for India Thursday.
Islamabad, March 2 (DPA) Pakistani authorities have arrested a deputy to Taliban insurgent chief Mullah Mohammad Omar in the southwest city of Quetta, news reports said Friday.
Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, who is thought to be number three on the Taliban's 10-member leadership council, was picked up by agents in an operation this week, according to Pakistan's Geo news channel and CNN.
There was no official confirmation of the arrest, although Geo said nine suspects were arrested from a hotel in Quetta together with the owner.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper cited security sources saying that Akhund was detained Monday.
This coincided with an unannounced visit to Pakistan by US Vice President Dick Cheney to call for greater state efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The source said the arrest was planned in advance using good intelligence and that there was no link to the US official's consultations.
Akhund was the former defence minister of the Taliban before the radical Islamist militia was ousted from power in Afghanistan by US-led forces in 2001. He carries a US bounty of $1 million.
Two others taken into custody in the same operation may include a militant commander in Afghanistan's Zabul province and the former Taliban governor of Helmand province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent months, the source said.
While a number of Taliban commanders have died in operations in Afghanistan, Akhund's reported capture is the first among the Taliban's top circle.
But there was no lead in Quetta to Mullah Omar himself, the unnamed official told the newspaper.
Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province and is located 60 km from the border with Afghanistan. Taliban elements near the border are thought to recruit many fighters from local camps for Afghan refugees.
As international forces in Afghanistan prepare for an anticipated Taliban offensive this spring, Pakistan has come under mounting pressure from the US to seal off the border to insurgents operating on its territory.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Both houses of parliament were adjourned several times Friday as Samajwadi Party members repeatedly stalled the proceedings protesting a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe ordered against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The Lok Sabha was finally adjourned for the day after it was disrupted thrice over. When the house met, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav sought to suspend the question hour and discuss the "political conspiracy" against Mulayam Singh.
"There has been a political conspiracy to falsely implicate Mulayam Singh Yadav," he said.
The Supreme Court had Thursday directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary enquiry into charges that the chief minister had amassed fortune through corrupt means.
Although Speaker Somnath Chatterjee asked Ramgopal Yadav to raise the matter at 12 noon, his party colleagues gathered near the speaker's podium raising slogans like "Congress ki jhooti saazish nahi chalegi (The conspiracy by the Congress will not work)".
As Samajwadi Party members paid no heed to the speaker's request, Chatterjee adjourned the house for half an hour at 11.05 a.m. It was adjourned for a second time as soon as the house met with the party leaders continuing to create a pandemonium.
When the parliamentarians assembled for the third time, members of the Congress and Samajwadi Party raised slogans against each other, forcing the adjournment of the house for the day. The speaker, however, managed to allow the ministers to table the papers listed in the business.
The Lok Sabha will now meet Tuesday as parliament will observe a holiday Monday on account of Holi.
The Rajya Sabha too witnessed utter chaos as Samajwadi Party members termed the move against Mulayam Singh the "misuse" of the CBI to settle political scores.
Party leaders were on their feet, shouting slogans, as soon as the house assembled. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat adjourned the house till 12 noon after his pleas to restore order fell on deaf ears.
The pandemonium continued when the house reassembled with Samajwadi leaders led by Amar Singh advancing to the speaker's podium, while continuing their sloganeering.
In the midst of din, Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan called in the government to lay the papers on the table of the house. He then adjourned the Rajya Sabha till 2.30 p.m.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Pakistan are the worst affected of the 16 teams in this month's World Cup as their three automatic choices - fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq - have been ruled out due to various reasons.
Also, dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi will miss the first two Group D league matches of Pakistan, against the West Indies and Ireland, as he is under an International Cricket Council (ICC) ban for breaching its code on the South African tour recently.
Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood have replaced Akhtar, Sami and Razzaq, but they are unlikely to be as effective as their seniors.
Pakistan's other Group D opponent are Zimbabwe.
Following are the pen sketches of the 15 players (statistics include their last one-day international against South Africa in Johannesburg Feb 14):
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Born: March 3, 1970, Multan
Style: Right-handed batsman and occasional left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 375, Runs: 11,665, Average: 39.68, Highest score: 137 no out, 100s: 10, 50s: 83, Overs: 9.4, Wickets: 3, Average: 21.33, Best bowling: 1/0, Catches: 109
World Cup record: Matches: 32, Runs: 643, Average: 23.81, Highest score: 81, 50s: 4, Catches: 12
Younis Khan
Born: November 29, 1977, Mardan, North-West Frontier Province
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 148, Runs: 3,951, Average: 31.61, Highest score: 144, 100s: 2, 50s: 26, Overs: 15.1, Wicket: 1, Average: 101.00, Best bowling: 1/24, Catches: 77 (includes 5 as wicket-keeper)
World Cup record: Matches: 5, Runs: 84, Average: 21.00, Highest score: 32, Overs: 6, Catches: 4
Mohammad Yousuf
Born: August 27, 1974, Lahore
Style: Right-handed batsman
ODI record: Matches: 233, Runs: 7,853, Average: 41.77, Highest score: 141 not out, 100s: 12, 50s: 52, Over: 0.1, Catches: 58
World Cup record: Matches: 10, Runs: 331, Average: 36.78, Highest score: 81 not out, 50s: 2, Catches: 2
Danish Kaneria
Born: December 16, 1980, Karachi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 16, Runs: 6, Average: 3.00, Highest score: 3 not out, Overs: 129.2, Wickets: 12, Average: 49.17, Best bowling: 3/31, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Azhar Mahmood
Born: February 28, 1975, Rawalpindi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 142, Runs: 1,519, Average: 18.30, Highest score: 67, 50s: 3, Overs: 1,032.4, Wickets: 123, Average: 38.93, Best bowling: 6/18, Catches: 37
World Cup record: Matches: 11, Runs: 116, Average: 16.57, Highest score: 37, Overs: 84, Wickets: 13, Average: 26.85, Best bowling: 3/24, Catch: 1
Rao Iftikhar Anjum
Born: December 1, 1980, Khanewal, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 26, Runs: 89, Average: 44.50, Highest score: 19 not out, Overs: 200.5, Wickets: 19, Average: 48.68, Best bowling: 2/13, Catches: 8
World Cup record: None
Imran Nazir
Born: Dec 16, 1981, Gujranwala
Style: Right-handed batsman and leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 65, Runs: 1,484, Average: 23.56, Highest score: 105 not out, 100s: 1, 50s: 9, Overs: 8.1, Wicket: 1, Average: 48.00, Best bowling: 1/3, Catches: 19
World Cup record: None
Kamran Akmal
Born: January 13, 1982, Lahore
Style: Right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Matches: 62, Runs: 1,120, Average: 24.89, Highest score: 124, 100s: 3, 50s: 1, Catches: 54, Stumpings: 9
World Cup record: None
Mohammad Hafeez
Born: October 17, 1980, Sargodha, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 44, Runs: 819, Average: 19.05, Highest score: 92, 50s: 4, Overs: 253.5, Wickets: 33, Average: 34.09, Best bowling: 3/17, Catches: 17
World Cup record: None
Mohammad Sami
Born: February 24, 1981, Karachi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 79, Runs: 275, Average: 11.46, Highest score: 46, Overs: 651.2, Wickets: 111, Average: 29.16, Best bowling: 5/10, Catches: 18
World Cup record: Match: 1
Naved-ul-Hasan Rana
Born: February 28, 1978, Sheikhupura, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 61, Runs: 348, Average: 13.38, Highest score: 29, Overs: 466.4, Wickets: 95, Average: 27.17, Best bowling: 6/27, Catches: 12
World Cup record: None
Shahid Afridi
Born: March 1, 1980, Khyber Agency (Pakistan)
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 237, Runs: 4,982, Average: 23.17, Highest score: 109, 100s: 4, 50s: 27, Overs: 1,538.3, Wickets: 198, Average: 35.82, Best bowling: 5/11, Catches: 83
World Cup record: Matches: 11, Runs: 109, Average: 10.90, Highest score: 37, Overs: 48.3, Wickets: 4, Average: 64.75, Best bowling: 2/36, Catches: 5
Shoaib Malik
Born: February 1, 1982, Sialkot
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 134, Runs: 3,432, Average: 33.65, Highest score: 143, 100s: 5, 50s: 20, Overs: 794.4, Wickets: 103, Average: 34.48, Best bowling: 4/19, Catches: 47
World Cup record: No appearances
Umar Gul
Born: October 15, 1982, Peshawar
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 25, Runs: 34, Average: 11.33, Highest score: 17 not out, Overs: 192.1, Wickets: 30, Average: 29.43, Best bowling: 5/17, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Yasir Arafat
Born: March 12, 1982, Rawalpindi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 7, Runs: 48, Average: 12.00, Highest score: 27, Overs: 39, Wickets: 4, Average: 58.25, Best bowling: 1/28, Catch: 1
World Cup record: None
Bob Woolmer (coach)
Born: May 14, 1948, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 6, Runs: 21, Average: 5.25, Highest score: 9, Overs: 53.3, Wickets: 9, Average: 28.89, Best bowling: 3/33, Catches: 3
World Cup record: None
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Pakistan are the worst affected of the 16 teams in this month's World Cup as their three automatic choices - fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq - have been ruled out due to various reasons.
Also, dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi will miss the first two Group D league matches of Pakistan, against the West Indies and Ireland, as he is under an International Cricket Council (ICC) ban for breaching its code on the South African tour recently.
Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood have replaced Akhtar, Sami and Razzaq, but they are unlikely to be as effective as their seniors.
Pakistan's other Group D opponent are Zimbabwe.
Following are the pen sketches of the 15 players (statistics include their last one-day international against South Africa in Johannesburg Feb 14):
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Born: March 3, 1970, Multan
Style: Right-handed batsman and occasional left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 375, Runs: 11,665, Average: 39.68, Highest score: 137 no out, 100s: 10, 50s: 83, Overs: 9.4, Wickets: 3, Average: 21.33, Best bowling: 1/0, Catches: 109
World Cup record: Matches: 32, Runs: 643, Average: 23.81, Highest score: 81, 50s: 4, Catches: 12
Younis Khan
Born: November 29, 1977, Mardan, North-West Frontier Province
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 148, Runs: 3,951, Average: 31.61, Highest score: 144, 100s: 2, 50s: 26, Overs: 15.1, Wicket: 1, Average: 101.00, Best bowling: 1/24, Catches: 77 (includes 5 as wicket-keeper)
World Cup record: Matches: 5, Runs: 84, Average: 21.00, Highest score: 32, Overs: 6, Catches: 4
Mohammad Yousuf
Born: August 27, 1974, Lahore
Style: Right-handed batsman
ODI record: Matches: 233, Runs: 7,853, Average: 41.77, Highest score: 141 not out, 100s: 12, 50s: 52, Over: 0.1, Catches: 58
World Cup record: Matches: 10, Runs: 331, Average: 36.78, Highest score: 81 not out, 50s: 2, Catches: 2
Danish Kaneria
Born: December 16, 1980, Karachi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 16, Runs: 6, Average: 3.00, Highest score: 3 not out, Overs: 129.2, Wickets: 12, Average: 49.17, Best bowling: 3/31, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Azhar Mahmood
Born: February 28, 1975, Rawalpindi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 142, Runs: 1,519, Average: 18.30, Highest score: 67, 50s: 3, Overs: 1,032.4, Wickets: 123, Average: 38.93, Best bowling: 6/18, Catches: 37
World Cup record: Matches: 11, Runs: 116, Average: 16.57, Highest score: 37, Overs: 84, Wickets: 13, Average: 26.85, Best bowling: 3/24, Catch: 1
Rao Iftikhar Anjum
Born: December 1, 1980, Khanewal, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast-medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 26, Runs: 89, Average: 44.50, Highest score: 19 not out, Overs: 200.5, Wickets: 19, Average: 48.68, Best bowling: 2/13, Catches: 8
World Cup record: None
Imran Nazir
Born: Dec 16, 1981, Gujranwala
Style: Right-handed batsman and leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 65, Runs: 1,484, Average: 23.56, Highest score: 105 not out, 100s: 1, 50s: 9, Overs: 8.1, Wicket: 1, Average: 48.00, Best bowling: 1/3, Catches: 19
World Cup record: None
Kamran Akmal
Born: January 13, 1982, Lahore
Style: Right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Matches: 62, Runs: 1,120, Average: 24.89, Highest score: 124, 100s: 3, 50s: 1, Catches: 54, Stumpings: 9
World Cup record: None
Mohammad Hafeez
Born: October 17, 1980, Sargodha, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 44, Runs: 819, Average: 19.05, Highest score: 92, 50s: 4, Overs: 253.5, Wickets: 33, Average: 34.09, Best bowling: 3/17, Catches: 17
World Cup record: None
Mohammad Sami
Born: February 24, 1981, Karachi
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 79, Runs: 275, Average: 11.46, Highest score: 46, Overs: 651.2, Wickets: 111, Average: 29.16, Best bowling: 5/10, Catches: 18
World Cup record: Match: 1
Naved-ul-Hasan Rana
Born: February 28, 1978, Sheikhupura, Punjab
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 61, Runs: 348, Average: 13.38, Highest score: 29, Overs: 466.4, Wickets: 95, Average: 27.17, Best bowling: 6/27, Catches: 12
World Cup record: None
Shahid Afridi
Born: March 1, 1980, Khyber Agency (Pakistan)
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 237, Runs: 4,982, Average: 23.17, Highest score: 109, 100s: 4, 50s: 27, Overs: 1,538.3, Wickets: 198, Average: 35.82, Best bowling: 5/11, Catches: 83
World Cup record: Matches: 11, Runs: 109, Average: 10.90, Highest score: 37, Overs: 48.3, Wickets: 4, Average: 64.75, Best bowling: 2/36, Catches: 5
Shoaib Malik
Born: February 1, 1982, Sialkot
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 134, Runs: 3,432, Average: 33.65, Highest score: 143, 100s: 5, 50s: 20, Overs: 794.4, Wickets: 103, Average: 34.48, Best bowling: 4/19, Catches: 47
World Cup record: No appearances
Umar Gul
Born: October 15, 1982, Peshawar
Style: Right-handed batsman and right-arm fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 25, Runs: 34, Average: 11.33, Highest score: 17 not out, Overs: 192.1, Wickets: 30, Average: 29.43, Best bowling: 5/17, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Yasir Arafat
Born: March 12, 1982, Rawalpindi
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 7, Runs: 48, Average: 12.00, Highest score: 27, Overs: 39, Wickets: 4, Average: 58.25, Best bowling: 1/28, Catch: 1
World Cup record: None
Bob Woolmer (coach)
Born: May 14, 1948, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (India)
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 6, Runs: 21, Average: 5.25, Highest score: 9, Overs: 53.3, Wickets: 9, Average: 28.89, Best bowling: 3/33, Catches: 3
World Cup record: None
Mumbai, March 2 (IANS) Pune police commissioner Dhananjay Jadhav will take over as police chief of Mumbai next week.
The appointment was cleared by Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh late Thursday at a meeting with Home Minister R.R. Patil.
Jadhav, a 1973 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is likely to take charge on March 7, replacing A.N. Roy, who will be shifted on promotion as director general of police (civil defence and home guards).
In the third change in the top echelons of the state police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Jayant Umranikar will take over as Pune police commissioner.
"Though the proposal has been cleared by the home minister, the government has sought permission of the state election commissioner Nand Lal to announce the transfers since the model code of conduct is in force in the state in view of the local self government elections in the rural belts," said an official.
Sources in the state home department added that Jadhav would have a short tenure of nine months as he is sue to retire in November this year
By Manish Chand,
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) A former Indian ambassador to Sweden says that if Ottavio Quattrocchi is extradited to India to face trial, his revelations may "create a storm" as he was brought into the multi billion dollar Bofors gun deal at the behest of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"Quattrocchi was brought into the picture by Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi discussed the Bofors gun deal with the then Swedish prime minister Olof Palme on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Oct 24, 1985," B.M. Oza, India's ambassador to Sweden between 1984 and 1988 when the Bofors controversy erupted, told IANS in a telephone interview.
"When Rajiv Gandhi met Palme, he said India would give the gun deal to Bofors provided they agreed to four conditions," Oza said.
"These were: first, it should match the French offer in terms of price. Second, it should offer export credit, and third it should sign a memorandum of understanding with India that it will continue to supply ammunitions and spare parts even during the event of a war.
"The fourth condition was that Bofors should change its India agent, who was Win Chadha at that time.
"Subsequently, Palme invited me for a meeting to his office. He referred to his meeting with Rajiv Gandhi in New York and told me about the new conditions," said Oza, who has detailed what he calls "incontrovertible evidence" about the complicity of Rajiv Gandhi in the Bofors scam in his book "Bofors: The Ambassador's Evidence".
"Palme asked me to help Sweden's vice minister of foreign trade with his programme as he was going to India. Accompanied by the chief of Nobel Industries Anders Carlberg and Bofors chief Martin Ardbo, he came to meet me," he said.
Later on, Bofors terminated its contract with Chadha and appointed in his place AE Services, a Britain-based company with a nominal capital of 100 pounds, which was later found by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to be a front for Quattrocchi.
Bofors and AE Services signed a six-month contract with Bofors, part of the Nobel group of companies, for the period November 1985-March 1986 with the stipulation that it will get around 1.5 percent of the $2.1 billion gun deal as commission.
"Quattrocchi had no experience or background in armament business. Yet he was paid money for pushing the gun deal. Why?" asked the former envoy, who had also served as ambassador to South Korea and Singapore.
"His calling card was his free access to top ministers and bureaucrats owing to his proximity to Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi," Oza said.
"It's a deliberate cover-up. They don't want any investigation into this matter for obvious reasons," Oza said while referring to the attempts by the Indian government to extradite Quattrocchi from Argentina where he was detained as a fugitive following an Interpol red corner notice.
"Besides, what is he going to be tried for in India? He is required to depose in an Indian court and say whether he paid bribes out of huge commission money he was paid to important people to fix the gun deal," he said.
"If he does reveal names, it's going to create a storm in India," he stressed.
Although then defence secretary S.K. Bhatnagar had told representatives of the bidders of the gun deal tender that no Indian agent will be allowed, the contract signed with Bofors had no such stipulation about the role of middleman in the deal.
Finally, the contract for the supply of 410 Bofors 155 mm gun was signed March 24, 1986 - a date that was very close to the expiry of AE Services' contract with Bofors.
When the tender for buying the howitzer guns was opened and evaluated, nearly a week before Indira Gandhi was assassinated Oct 31, 1984, the French Sofma gun's offer was found to be the best. It had the lowest price and also had some extra incentives which none else was willing to offer.
"What was scandalous and unethical was that Bofors was later allowed to change its bid without re-tendering the contract," said Oza.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Global software solutions provider Zensar Technologies Ltd. Friday said India's leading industrial conglomerate RPG Group will buy Japanese firm Fujitsu's stake in it.
The RPG Group has signed an agreement with the Japanese company and the deal will soon come into effect. The amount of the deal, however, had not been disclosed.
"We expect to achieve and exceed our performance guidance this year and are targeting a 50 percent plus growth for the coming fiscal," Ganesh Natarajan, vice chairman and managing director, said in a statement.
RPG Group's Jubilee Investment and Industries Ltd. will buy the shares of Fujitsu.
Moscow, March 2 (RIA Novosti) Russia wants Israel, which has never admitted its nuclear status but is believed to possess nuclear weapons, to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, the Russian foreign minister has said.
"We believe that the practical implementation of a nuclear-free zone will become possible only when all countries in the region, including Israel, join the NPT and subject their activities to the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Syrian Arab News Agency, published Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The issue of nuclear arms has became topical in the Middle East ever since the US began accusing Iran of pursuing a covert nuclear arms programme and demanding that it cease its uranium enrichment activities.
Unlike Iran, Israel, a traditional ally of the US in the region, has not signed the NPT.
"Russia's principled position that Israel should join the NPT and all Arab countries should join the Chemical Weapons Convention remains unchanged," the Russian minister said.
Siwan (Bihar), March 2 (IANS) A special Bihar court Friday sentenced Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammed Shahabuddin to two years' imprisonment a day after he was convicted in a case related to assaulting and abducting a political activist in Siwan in 1988.
Shahabuddin had abducted Communist Party of India - Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) secretary Keshav Baitha in Siwan, about 150 km from state capital Patna, in 1998.
The court also pronounced a fine of Rs.1,000 on him.
It is for the first time that Shahabuddin, who faces charges in over 40 criminal cases of murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms and stolen vehicles, has been convicted.
A Lok Sabha member from Siwan since 1996, he is currently lodged in Siwan jail.
The special court convicted him on the basis of circumstantial evidence, public prosecutor Ravilas Mahto told newspersons here. The hearing in the case was concluded Feb 26.
According to a police complaint lodged on Oct 7, 1998 by Baitha, Shahabuddin along with his 20 unidentified supporters attacked the party's office in Siwan and ransacked it.
The complainant said Shahabuddin had beaten and abducted him for several hours.
Shahabuddin was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement and house trespass.
He was arrested in New Delhi over a year ago in a case related to the seizure of arms from his ancestral house in Siwan district.
Last month, the Patna High Court had directed that a special court constituted by the state government in Siwan Jail would try all pending cases against him.
Following the verdict, the CPI-ML demanded the cancellation of Shahabuddin's Lok Sabha membership. The party also challenged RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to take action against Shahabuddin.
"We demand that the Lok Sabha speaker cancel Shahabuddin's membership on the ground of conviction in a criminal case," the CPI-ML state secretary Ramjatan Sharma told newspersons here.
"We will demand Lalu Prasad to oust Shahabuddin from the RJD," he added.
Welcoming the judgment, Sharma said it was a big day for his party that had been fighting against Shahabuddin's "muscle power" in Siwan. "It is for the first time he has been convicted by a court," Sharma said.
San Francisco, March 2 (IANS) Silicon Valley is seeing a dramatic rise in the number of home-based Indian cooks - to serve the numerous IT professionals from India the cuisine they crave for.
About 10 percent of Silicon Valley's population is Asian Indian, and the hunger for Indian food in insatiable.
Not surprisingly, e-mail lists of Indian women advertising home cooked regional specialties such as idli, dhokla and paratha circulate among Indian engineers at companies such as Oracle and Cisco.
Similar lists can also be found at the desks of Indians working with Microsoft, according to insidebayarea.com.
New cooks crop up daily, posting their contact numbers and specialties on South Asian web portals or at Indian grocery stores around the Bay Area. The cooks include new arrivals from the sub-continent or wives of taxi drivers who need that extra dollar.
The kitchens are mostly unlicensed as they operate from homes. In California, licensed catering kitchens must meet stringent food safety requirements including one that they be independent and separate from daily use kitchens.
Nonetheless, Indians freely advertise within the South Asian community.
"The rise of Indian cooks came with the influx of Indian software engineers in the 1990s," said Jaya Iyer, a longtime Bay Area resident originally from South India.
Kokila Kanakia, a pioneer in the homemade Indian food business, now runs her own restaurant and has been making and selling Indian food to the community for 18 long years.
"We make 3,000 chapatis a day, and most are sold before they are made," said Kokila's husband Prakash.
"The chapatis are picked up by Indians coming from as far as San Francisco and are shipped to customers in San Diego, Seattle and even Alaska," he said.
Despite an abundance of Indian cooks around Silicon Valley, the demand is still rising.
"The demand for homemade Indian food is clearly unmet," said Padma Subbaraya, a Microsoft consultant.
New York, March 2 (IANS) Deprivation of sleep could affect your judgment, suggests a new study.
Earlier studies have shown that it can adversely affect brain function. Now William Killgore and colleagues at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland, US, studied 26 healthy adults, all of whom were active-duty military personnel.
The researchers found that sleep deprivation has a particularly debilitating effect on decision-making processes that depend heavily on emotion, said the online edition of New Scientist
"When people go for more than 24 hours without sleep there are dramatic decreases in brain activity in the prefrontal cortex [the area of the brain involved in processing emotions and decision-making]," says Killgore. "It basically goes to sleep."
Sleep deprived participants also showed slight shifts in what they deemed appropriate actions compared to when they were well rested. The changes were more pronounced in individuals who scored lower in "emotional intelligence" tests.
Killgore believes that those with a lower emotional capacity to begin with may have less resistance to the affects of sleep deprivation.
The findings could have implications for people in positions of responsibility, whose decisions often have life or death consequences, such as overworked medical professionals and sleep-deprived soldiers.
"We don't want tired irritable soldiers making bad decisions that endanger themselves or others that are not a threat to them. Nor do we want health care providers who are unable to make quick medical decisions on behalf of their patients," the researchers say.
Researchers, however, note that further research, including brain imaging, should be conducted as laboratory results do not always translate to real world situations.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) In what could be one of the fastest verdicts in a murder trial, an army court has sentenced a soldier to death for killing his commanding officer in cold blood - the verdict coming within four months of the incident.
On Feb 26, a summary general court martial (SGCM) found gunner operator S.C. Behara guilty of "pre-mediated" murder of Lt. Col. Saket Saxena, commanding officer of the 28 Rashtriya Rifles counter insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, on Oct 31 last year. The incident had occurred at 11.30 a.m.
In delivering the verdict, the three-member SGCM noted that Behara had fired a full magazine of 22 rounds from his 5.56 service weapon at Saxena a few moments after the officer had reprimanded him for "hobnobbing" with civilians while on sentry duty at Harwan on the outskirts of Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar.
The SGCM, which is distinct from a general court martial (GCM), also kept in mind a Supreme Court directive that the death sentence should only be awarded in the "rarest of rare cases".
SGCMs are ordered if the "exigencies of the situation" so demand and all three members have to deliver a unanimous verdict. In the case of the five-member GCMs, the verdict has to be delivered with at least a two-thirds majority.
The verdict, the fifth such in two decades, will now travel up the chain to the Udhampur-based Northern Command and thence to the Army Headquarters here and finally to the Defence Ministry.
This process will take up to six months and if the ministry confirms the sentence, Behra will be handed over to the civil police of his home state Orissa. The soldier will then have the option of appealing to the Orissa High Court, the Supreme Court, and finally to the president of India if the sentence is upheld.
"The verdict can be overturned at any stage of the process even before it reaches the defence ministry, but its word would be final from the services' point of view," the official pointed out.
Behara's trial, which began Jan 31, was held under Article 69 of the Army Act that relates to "acts prejudicial to good order and military discipline", the official explained.
"The court was of the view that using force against colleagues is just not acceptable. It said the reprimand Behara earned would not have entailed too great a penalty. But he chose to exacerbate matters by taking the law into his own hands and shooting dead his commanding officer," the official elaborated.
The verdict comes in the wake of a staggering 23 cases of fratricidal killings that were reported in the Indian Army during 2006. None of the previous sentences have, however, been executed as the appeals in them are pending at various states in civil courts, officials here said.
The killings had prompted Defence Minister A.K. Antony to task a high-powered panel that included representation from the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) to examine the malaise and suggest remedial measures. This report is believed to have been received and is being examined by the defence ministry.
Simultaneously, Antony has taken two other steps.
He has urged the armed forces to re-look leave rules and other benefits for soldier to make them more humane and to enable them spend more time with their families.
Antony has also written to all the state chief ministers and union territory administrators to ensure that land-related and other problems that soldiers face back home are speedily addressed so that the men in uniform can focus on the job at hand.
Among the other death sentences handed down, a havildar of the 75 Armoured Regiment, whose name was not immediately available, was held guilty of killing two of his officers in 1984-85.
In 1990, Sepoy D.N. Roy of the Corps of Signals was held guilty of murder, while in 2000, Havildar Surendra Singh of the Regiment of Artillery was sentenced on a similar charge.
In 2005, havildar Jagtar Singh, also from the artillery, was awarded the extreme punishment for killing two of his colleagues.
Seoul, March 2 (Xinhua) South Korea's first domestically made amphibious tank, featuring an auto loaded 120 mm cannon, rolled off the assembly line in the south-eastern city of Changwonon Friday, the South Korean Defence Ministry said.
According to the South Korean Yonhap News Agency, the new model, code named "XK2" and nicknamed "Black Panther", can reach speeds of up to 70 km per hour and can move across rivers as deep as 4.1 meters using a snorkel.
The Defence Ministry said "XK2" will replace the older K1 and American M47/48 tanks from 2011. South Korea plans to commission the tank after preparations for
mass production and aims to export the tanks with the price tag of $8.5 million per unit, Yonhap said.
New Delhi, March 2 (Indianmuslims.info) Senior Police officer Syed Iftikhar Sultan Ahmad took over as Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Thursday. He succeeds GK Sahnai, who had retired from his services three months ago, and in whose place JK Dutt had been working as stopgap arrangement.
Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Mr Ahmad, 59, told the presspersons here that he will take up on priority basis modernisation of 250000-strong central reserve force and minimising mental strain of troops.
Mr Ahmad, IPS officer of 1970 batch of West Bengal cadre, had been rendering his services as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) since May 2005.
Earlier, he worked as Additional Director General of Border Security Forces (BSF), and was leading the BSF command at India-Bangladesh border strip from 2003 to 2005. He had also been in-charge of anti-insurgency missions in Asansol, Meghalya, Manipur and Tripura.
Mr Ahmad is also the recipient of Police Medal and President’s Police Medal for his distinguished services to the nation.
Pune, March 2 (IANS) Abdul Karim Telgi, the prime accused in the multibillion rupee stamp paper scam, has repeated his offer to disclose all information he has provided he is pardoned.
Telgi's lawyers Harshad Nimbalkar and Milind Pawar submitted an application in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here Thursday along with his letter seeking to turn approver in the case.
The special court magistrate Chitra Bhedi has posted the matter for hearing April 4 and asked the special prosecutor to submit his say on the application.
Known to have enjoyed proximity with several politicians in the state, Telgi has created a sensation several times in the last two years by dropping names of a few political bigwigs and then retracting his statements.
Reacting to Telgi's application, leading lawyer Ujjwal Nikam said it would be dangerous to grant pardon to Telgi in exchange for the promised disclosures as he is likely to settle scores against other accused and suspects in the case.
According to unofficial estimates, Telgi is suspected to have amassed anything between Rs.170 billion and Rs.220 billion by printing and selling fake stamp papers - used to file legal affidavits - through the 1990s.
The racket apparent spread across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. A lot of the money was allegedly used to bribe police officials and politicians and obtain favours from political parties.
Karnataka Police arrested Telgi at Ajmer in Rajasthan in 2000 in a surprise raid at one of his hideouts.
Brussels, March 1(IRNA) A Palestinian national unity government provides the international community with an important opportunity for a much-needed change in policy towards the Palestinians, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Failure to do so risks provoking greater internal Palestinian strife as well as Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warns the Brussels- based think tank.
In its latest report after Mecca: Engaging Hamas, the ICG examines the Saudi-brokered Mecca Agreement between rival Palestinian organizations Hamas and Fatah.
The report concludes that there are significant challenges but also the chance of a fresh start: for the Palestinians to restore law and order and negotiate genuine power-sharing arrangements; for Israelis and Palestinians to establish a comprehensive cessation of hostilities; and for the international community to focus on a credible peace process.
"A year of pressure and sanctions has extracted little from Hamas," said Mouin Rabbani, ICG Analyst. "The Quartet - the U.S., EU, Russia and UN - needs to adopt a pragmatic approach that judges a new government by its conduct and seeks to influence its deeds, not its members' ideology. The alternatives are either illusory or worse".
Without a Hamas-Fatah power-sharing arrangement and as long as the Islamists remain marginalized and unable to govern, there can be no sustainable diplomacy, underlined the Report.
Madrid, March 2 (DPA) Spanish authorities have arrested three additional suspects of the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist attacks in Madrid three years ago.
The two Morrocans and a Spaniard, detained Thursday, are accused of helping the bombers flee, the interior ministry here said.
Two of the men were arrested in the Spanish capital and the third in Algeciras in southern Spain.
The attacks on four commuter trains in 2004 killed 191 people and injured over 1,800. A trial against 29 people accused in the case is currently underway.
Jammu, March 2 (IANS) A top militant and his associate were killed in a joint operation by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the mountainous Rajouri district late Thursday night, authorities said.
The two guerrillas, who belonged to the Hizbul Mujahedeen Pir Panjal Range (HMPPR) outfit, have been identified as Mohammad Yasin, divisional commander of HMPPR and his associate Shafaat.
The security forces had received intelligence reports about the presence of the militants in Morha Daraj area of Rajouri, 190 km from here. The troops of 48 Rashtriya Rifles and the state police then cordoned the area.
"Contact with the hiding militants was established Thursday evening, leading to a fierce gun fight," said Farooq Khan, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajouri. The two ultras were killed in the late night operation.
Khan said that Yasin had been a special police officer (SPO) - an adhoc employee helping the police - who had deserted over two years ago and joined the militant outfit.
He added that Yasin was one of the 'most wanted' rebels in Rajouri and was involved in over 35 killings, including that of 16 Hindus in two massacres.
He was carrying a reward of Rs.500,000.
Arms and ammunition, incriminating documents, and a list of members and financiers of the militant outfit were recovered from them, Khan said.
The killing of Mohammad Yasin is a "crippling blow to HMPPR in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri", Khan remarked.
Abu Talla, a top commander of the Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT), was killed by police forces earlier this week in Kathua district. Talla had planned and executed of two massacres in which 35 Hindus were killed in Doda and Udhampur districts last year.
Washington, March 2 (DPA) A powerful tornado hit the US state of Alabama, killing at least 18 people as severe storms crossed the country's southeast. A high school was one of the worst hit.
The tornado Thursday caused a roof to collapse at Enterprise High School in Alabama, leaving several students trapped inside, the Enterprise Ledger newspaper reported on its website.
Yasamine Richardson, a spokesperson for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, said there were at least 18 deaths and another 35 people were hospitalised statewide. The death toll included 15 at the high school, two others in Enterprise and one from a nearby county.
The high school was still being searched for more possible victims, Richardson said.
Power companies reported at least 20,000 customers with outages.
Storms spawned apparent funnel clouds across the region. The same storm system was blamed for at least one death from a tornado earlier Thursday in southern Missouri, a midwestern state on the Mississippi River.
The National Weather Service said that conditions were ideal for the dangerous funnel clouds, especially in the southern US states of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Residents of the region were advised to listen for storm warnings and take shelter if necessary.
The storms were part of a huge storm front crossing the eastern half of the US in a line stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. The front was causing heavy snow in the Great Lakes states of the Upper Midwest.
Agartala, March 2 (IANS) A group of tribal refugees in Tripura have gone on an indefinite hunger strike Friday demanding repatriation to their homeland in adjoining Mizoram.
"We have started a fast unto death programme," said Elvis Chorkhy, president of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF).
The 300 tribal refugees had earlier resorted to a weeklong sit-in demonstration near the Raj Bhavan here.
Over 33,000 Reang (locally called 'Bru') tribal refugees have been living in six north Tripura camps since October 1997 after they fled Mizoram following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos.
"We have sent a series of letters to union Home Minister Shivraj Patil during the past week explaining our miserable life at the camp and requested him to take immediate steps for early repatriation. We haven't received any response yet," Chorkhy told newsmen.
Groups of other Reang refugees also began a sit-in demonstration Friday in each of the six relief camps in north Tripura over the same demand.
"The government of India and the Mizoram state government would be responsible for any future consequences if they deprived the Reangs of their legitimate rights," the tribal leader said.
Meanwhile, following a meeting with four major non-government organisations (NGOs) the Mizoram government has decided to undertake the verification of the refugees to ascertain if they are all from Mizoram.
"The state government has requested these NGOs, including the powerful Young Mizo Association (YMA), to verify whether all the refugees were bona fide residents of Mizoram," state home secretary Ropianga told IANS over phone from Aizawl.
In April 2005, the Mizoram government and the militant Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF) signed an agreement after 13 rounds of talks to solve the decade-old ethnic crisis, leading to the surrender of about 1,040 rebels belonging to BNLF and Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM).
Both the rebel outfits have been fighting for setting up an autonomous council for the refugees. The memorandum presented to the home ministry team demands, among other things, immediate four-corner talks between the Centre, the Mizoram and Tripura governments and the MBDPF.
"The Mizoram government had earlier insisted that the repatriation of Reang tribal refugees would not begin until Bru militancy was wiped out completely," Chorkhy said, adding that the state government was yet to fulfill the assurances given to the surrendered Bru militants.
Reacting to Mizoram's assertion that it would take back only "genuine citizens" of that state, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said: "Let the repatriation first start, then we would see how it can be solved."
"Due to the long stay of the tribal refugees (since October 1997), Tripura is facing serious socio-economic problems," Sarkar said. The central government has so far spent around Rs.900 million for their upkeep.
Islamabad, March 2 (DPA) A judge of an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan's central city of Multan was injured and two escorts died Friday when an apparent suicide bomber targeted the official's car, news reports said.
Judge Bashir Ahmed was among five people injured when a man on a bicycle reportedly detonated explosives near his vehicle as police were escorting the judge to work, the Geo news channel reported. A driver and a bodyguard later died in hospital.
Over 45 people have been killed in a spate of suicide bombings across Pakistan so far this year. Some attacks have been linked to revenge threats from militants in Pakistan's tribal region after a government operation killed at least 10 people.
DPA
London, March 1(IRNA) The British government confirmed Thursday that most of the UK's remaining troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina are to be withdrawn as part of a larger reduction of international forces from 6,000 to 2,500.
But the announcement made in the House of Commons by Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram raised concern that the decision was linked with freeing troops to be deployed in Afghanistan and follows plans to also reduce forces in Iraq.
Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox also said that Bosnia "is indeed a different place today, and the Balkans are calmer although not calm" and that neighbouring Serbia was still unstable.
"If Bosnians are incapable of taking more control of their own affairs at a political level, how confident are you that they can do it at a military level?" Fox asked.
In his statement, announcing the freeing more than 600 troops, Ingram admitted there were still high levels of small arms and light weapons in the country.
But he insisted it is "clear that the Bosnia-Herzegovina is becoming increasingly safe." In recent years, he said, there have been "increasing indications of a security situation approaching normality."
The minister said that a small number of staff officers will remain in Sarajevo, and Britain will contribute to the pan-Balkans Operational Reserve Force.
The announcement comes after the EU said the Eufor deployment, responsible for safeguarding peace in Bosnia, would be reduced but a "robust military presence" would remain and troop levels would be increased "if needed" over the next six months.
At its peak, there were some 60,000 soldiers based in the country, including 12,000 from the UK. Initially British troops served with the United Nations, and then under Nato command until Eufor took over.
It is estimated that around 250,000 people died in the inter- ethnic war of 1992-95 until the eventual signing of the Dayton Peace Accords.
Jaipur, March 3 (indianmuslims.info) Rajasthan zone of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind hosted a discussion on the Union Budget 2007-08 at its office here Friday with JIH Rajasthan president Er. Mohammad Salim in the chair. The consensus emerged in the meeting was that the budget was highly disappointing for the Muslim community.
The meeting, attended by dignitaries of the city from various walks of life , dubbed the budget ‘highly disappointing’ when seen in the light of the recommendations of Justice Sachar Committee Report
“Only 63 crore rupees aid was increased for the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, which is so meagre that it amounts to around Rs 4 per head. It seems to be ridiculous when compared to the Muslim population,� it said.
“The total allocation for scholarships for Muslim students and development in the Muslim concentration districts is Rs 381 crores. This amount is so small as compared to the demand of Rs. 10,500 crores. This scanty amount of allocation shows that the government is not serious about the betterment of the Muslims,� rue the Muslims attending the meeting.
The meeting expressed surprise on not mentioning of any increase of amount for the corpus fund of Maulana Azad Foundation, established by the government for the educational uplift of the Muslim community. “A demand has been continuously put before the government to increase this corpus fund at least to Rs. 1000 crores,� it noted.
It however welcomed the overall increase in the budget for education and health, but said the budget is ‘quite disappointing for urban educated youth’.
Washington, March 2 (IANS) The United States says it takes Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf at his word that disgraced Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan sold nuclear secrets without the knowledge of Islamabad.
"President Musharraf has said that he (Khan) was acting without the knowledge of the highest levels of the Pakistani Government, and we take him at his word," State department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters here Thursday.
He said this in response to a question that did US still believe that A.Q. Khan, who is known to have sold nuclear material to a number of countries, including Iran and North Korea, really acted on his own without the knowledge of the government as it still has no access to him.
Turning to Sri Lanka, McCormack said Washington wanted to see the Tamil Tigers and the government get back to a ceasefire and then engage in a real dialogue where they can resolve their differences across the negotiating table, as opposed to resort to the use of force.
Describing it as "a tough issue," he noted that, "there have been efforts in place led by the Norwegian Government to try to bring the two sides together. And there have been various agreements at ceasefires and a peace process that have stopped and started over the years."
"A lot of other people are concerned about this issue. And we're going to do what we can to participate in this group, this international effort to try and bring the two sides together," McCormack added.
Asked if he thought the situation has come to the point where US wanted UN to send international forces there, he said, "I can't speak to that."
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 2 (IANS) Faced with a shortage of highly skilled workers, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Guttierrez wants the cap on H1B visas raised to let more students from India and China stay and add to America's competitiveness.
"We have students come over from the world: India, China, primarily. They get the best education money can buy, and then they have to go back home; they can't stay here and apply their skills," he told a Senate panel Thursday.
"We believe that we should be able to do better than that in order to serve our competitiveness needs as a nation," he said, appearing before the Judiciary Committee discussing Comprehensive Immigration Reform.
Endorsing a suggestion by Republican Orin Hatch to raise the current cap on H1B visas, Guttierrez noted that businesses in high-tech and other fields "cannot fill their high-skilled engineering, science-based jobs as quickly or as readily as they would like".
"The Chinese are educating 300,000 engineers a year. We educate 60,000, half of whom are foreigners, and many of whom then go home to their countries and educate their people in competition with us where they'd love to stay here and work as maybe not citizens, but at least as people who have the credentials to work," Hatch observed.
Raising H1B visa caps formed part of the Senate package on immigration reform that fell through in the last Congress with the House of Representatives and Senate failing to reconcile their widely varying Immigration bills.
A new comprehensive immigration reforms package is still elusive, but the Senate version in the last Congress had called for nearly doubling the cap on H1B visas from the current level of 65,000 with additional annual increases.
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) In the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Election Commission has banned people with state security cover from becoming polling or counting agents of candidates.
The order issued by the poll panel seeks to indirectly curb the tendency of ministers and legislators - with security personnel in tow - from throwing their weight around at polling booths or counting centres, said commission sources Friday.
The poll panel, in a letter to the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, said: "It has often been observed that some candidates appoint a sitting minister or a member of the legislative agency or parliament as their polling and counting agent, while these persons generally have security cover provided by the state government or security agencies."
In the letter, the poll panel pointed out that the Representation of the People Act, 1951, bars security personnel from moving around polling stations or counting stations.
This, in turn, also restricts the movement of dignitaries like ministers and legislators (as they would have to leave behind their security) and also defeats the very purpose of their appointment as polling or counting agents by candidates, the commission said in its letter. It asked returning officers to refrain from approving their appointment as polling or counting agents.
Pointing out that many a times VIPs having state security cover even request returning officers to allow them to double up as polling or counting agents of their party candidates, the commission said this cannot be allowed as it jeopardizes the security of the dignitaries.
"The commission cannot allow ministers, legislators and other persons to surrender their security, which was provided to them by the state or security agency after duly assessing the need of such security cover," the poll panel said.
By Brij Khandelwal,
Agra, March 2 (IANS) The continuing wet spell in many areas of Uttar Pradesh has dampened the spirits of Holi revellers. The chill has forced people to pull out their woollens once again.
This time of the year, it usually gets warm in Mathura, Agra and adjoining areas that see nature smiling in a riot of colours. But sudden showers Tuesday and overcast skies Wednesday have cast a spell of doom on Holi celebrations Sunday.
"In Vrindavan we have been waiting so long for Holi but the weather gods seem to be in a bad mood. Let's hope the clouds clear off in a day or two," says a worried Pandit Mahesh Chand Shukla.
In Barsana, the Lathmar Holi, when women (gopis) of the village use lathis to beat up the colour throwing men, luckily got over on Ekadashi two days ago when the sun was still smiling.
"This year the celebrations had many more visitors and pilgrims from all parts of India, some foreigners too," said a Barsana pandit.
Holi in the area known as Braj mandal comprising six districts of Agra division is time for celebrations and fun.
This festival is more socio-cultural than religious as all communities join the festivities, sing, dance and throw colours and occasionally let out excess steam through violence.
Agra and the surrounding rural hinterland will be soaked in colours.
In the Braj area, because of the Sri Krshna-Radha folklore, Holi is indeed a fascinating, colourful cultural exposition.
The festival of Holi continues for almost a fortnight from Ekadashi. In the rural areas it is a free for all with men and women joining in the throwing of mud, dancing -- and naughty tricks too.
In Agra, Holi has moved away from streets to clubs and banquet halls, as society gets more urbanised and perhaps more civil.
This year a special programme involving residents of two colonies, one representing Sri Krishna's gang and the other Radha's group, will have a real showdown in Kamla Nagar, a posh colony of Agra.
"Earlier it used to be impossible to move out of the house. We have gradually become urbane. But rural areas continue to engage in full-throated singing and dancing to the beat of dholaks and nagadas," says old-timer Surendra Sharma.
Agra being a quintessential Mughal city, one cannot overlook the rich tradition of Holi celebrations set by Akbar and Jahangir. Both indulged in the merriment and showered gulab and colours on the revellers. Musical mehfils were held all night and community bhang drinking was the order of the day.
Urdu poets Nazir Akbarabadi, emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and so many others have penned special Holi songs including "phags" to be sung during celebrations. Sufi saints Amir Khusrau and Nizammuddin Aulia also sang Holi songs in pure Persian.
Contemporary paintings show Jahangir playing Holi with his wife Noorjahan. The Holi carnival lasted several days even during the time of Bahadur Shah Zafar who had special arrangements made for the celebrations.
Bangalore, March 2 (IANS) IT bellwether Wipro Technologies has tied up with the US-based Apriso Corporation to jointly execute projects for global manufacturing firms seeking operational excellence.
According to a company statement here Friday, the clients will benefit from its system integration and implementation expertise to manage their manufacturing operations in multi-site locations efficiently.
"Discussions are underway with multiple customers in the two verticals of mill products and automotive industry for implementing their projects. With plants located over dispersed geographies, our global footprint will ensure their entire lifecycle of operations are supported fully," Wipro Technologies vice-president N.S. Bala said.
Wipro will deploy consultants focused on manufacturing in major markets. Its applied knowledge of supply chain, plant floor operations, enterprise technologies and business processes will enable productive deployment of Apriso's software (FlexNet). With consultants across automotive, aerospace, industrial manufacturing and pharmaceutical practices, the deployments will be represented across industrial verticals.
"Instead of an MES (manufacturing execution systems) application, manufacturers are looking for integrated suites of applications that can be deployed for logistics, maintenance, quality, tracking, reporting, and visibility needs in all operations and across multiple plants," Apriso vice-president Greg Gorbach said.
As a leading provider of adaptive software platforms for global operations execution, Apriso will implement and support manufacturing plants in multi-locations with Wipro as its system integrator.
"We will leverage Wipro's enterprise relationships to expand our sphere of influence and meet customer demand for roll-outs where operations are integrated across several locations," Apriso's CEO Jim Henderson said.
Apriso serves over 150 customers in 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, powering about 550 installations worldwide. Its customers include General Motors, Lear, Honeywell, Microsoft, L'Oreal, Lockheed Martin, Becton Dickinson, Rubbermaid, Saint-Gobain, Novelis and Essilor.
Berlin, March 2(IRNA) At least 220 people were detained during Thursday night's riots in Copenhagen which also spilled over to two German cities, Hamburg and Hannover, media reports said Friday.
Danish protestors set several cars and garbage cans on fire and errected street barricades in Copenhagen after riot police and anti-terror units moved in to evict a popular youth center in the Danish capital.
At least five people were injured in the melee including a police officer.
The youth center was occupied by mainly radical leftist and anarchist teenagers in 1981 and has meanwhile been sold to a church.
Police had to use tear gas to disperse the rioting crowd who hurled stones, chairs and firecrakers at the security
forces.
Copenhagen had already been last December the scene of intense street clashes between police and demonstrators over the issue of the youth center.
Meanwhile street protests in Hamburg and Hannover, voicing solidarity with the Copenhagen demonstrators, turned also violent.
In Hamburg, police prevented 800 protestors from moving towards the Danish consulate based in the north German port city.
At least 14 people were arrested following scuffles with security forces.
Demonstatrators lobbed bottles and stones at police, slightly injuring an officer.
In Hannover, some 20 masked protestors smashed the windows of a police car and private vehicle.
Several other peaceful demonstrations in support of the Danish youth center occupiers took place in German cities among them Braunschweig, Goettingen, Flensburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz und Frankfurt on the Main River.
03 March 2007
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday dismissed as "speculative" Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq's claim that India and Pakistan have agreed to cut down on the deployment of troops in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
"These are all speculations," the prime minister told reporters when asked to comment on Mirwaiz's statement in Srinagar Thursday that the two countries have agreed to withdrawal of troops from either side of the Line of Control in Kashmir.
Singh made it clear that security forces had been deployed only to protect citizens and the government would reduce their levels only after cessation of terrorism.
"We will be happy to reduce troops if terrorism ceases as our army is not an army of occupation. They are there to protect the lives and liberties of law-abiding people," Singh said on the sidelines of a book release function here.
His statement came close on the heels of Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partner People's Democratic Party making a strong pitch for demilitarisation by citing an improvement in the security situation.
Moscow, March 2 (RIA Novosti) Deployment of a US anti-missile radar system in the Caucasus would not affect Russia's defence capabilities, but the country could respond to the move nevertheless, the Russian Air Force commander Vladimir Mikhailov said Friday.
"Let them deploy (a radar)," he said. "It is their decision. Unfortunately, we have also heard of plans to place US missile shield elements in countries like Ukraine and other states, including former Soviet republics." Mikhailov said Russia was capable of offering an adequate response to the deployment.
Washington said the defences would be designed to counter possible strikes from North Korea and Iran, which are involved in long-running disputes with the international community over their nuclear programs.
Russia, which has been anxious about NATO bases that have appeared in erstwhile communist-bloc countries and areas that had formed the now dismembered Soviet republic, has blasted the plans to deploy anti-missile systems in Central Europe as a national security threat and a destabilising factor for Europe.
Batam, Mar 3 (NNN-ANTARA) National education and tourism minister Bambang Sudibyo said here on Friday that 8.07 percent of around the 200 million people in the country were still illiterate.
"That is a shame, but data said so," he told a national working meeting of Indonesian Moslem Students (PII).
He said compared to 2004, when he first assumed the ministerial post, the percentage had dropped by more than two percent. "It stood at 10.2 percent at the time," he said.
He said the highest rate of illiteracy was found in East Java with reaching 30 percent of the province’s total population.
Central Java was second, followed by West Java, he said.
He said the illiteracy rate in West Java reached only 10 percent, but as the province has a large population, the number of illiterates in the province was quite high.
He said other provinces with low rates of illiteracy include Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, West Kalimantan and Papua.
The minister said he had set a target that by the end of 2009 or the conclusion of his tenure, the illiteracy rate in the country would drop to only five percent of the total population.
"I am committed to reducing this percentage," he said.
He said illiterates were usually ignorant and therefore they had no self-confidence.
He said illiteracy rate in the country however was still lower than those in China, India and Pakistan.
"In China the rate stands at 9.1 percent, India above 30 perccent and in Pakistan even higher," he said.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) A week after banning the export of nuclear material to Iran, India's Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed leaves Monday on a crucial four-day visit to Tehran during which he is expected to hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
"I am representing the government at a three-day conference of Indian Ocean Rim countries in Tehran," Ahamed told IANS Saturday.
Ahamed said the meeting with Mottaki would be an opportunity for New Delhi to reiterate the need for strengthening its traditional relations with Iran.
The bilateral meetings will take place on the sidelines of the conference of 18 Indian Ocean Rim countries, which is aimed at exploring ways to promote cooperation, particularly trade and commerce, among them.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had visited Tehran in February during which Mottaki announced that there would be a trilateral summit to finalise the proposed 2,700-km-long gas pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan.
New Delhi last week banned the export of any material and technology to Tehran that could help in the development of its nuclear weapons programme.
The ban was in compliance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737, imposed last month, which mandated economic and other sanctions till Iran stopped its nuclear enrichment and activities related to the development of research reactors.
Ranchi, March 3 (IANS) Former union minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren, serving a life imprisonment term for murder, will be shifted to a hospital in Ranchi after he complained of chest pain.
Soren, who is presently lodged in Dumka Central Jail, has not been keeping well.
The JMM chief is serving life imprisonment after he was convicted in December last year for involvement in the 1994 murder of his personal secretary Shashinath Jha. He was convicted by the Tis Hazari Court of New Delhi and brought to Jharkhand for trial in another murder case.
A medical board checked Soren and referred him to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi.
"We have taken permission from the Jamtara district court to shift Soren to RIMS for better treatment," an official told IANS.
Due to his ill health, Soren could not appear in the Jamtara court during the last four hearings. The court constituted a medical board to examine his condition. It found that his health was deteriorating and suggested that he be shifted to RIMS.
Soren was brought in January from New Delhi to be produced in the Jamtara district court, which is hearing the 1975 Chirudih massacre case relating to the killing of 11 people, including nine Muslims. Soren is accused of inciting a mob to kill the people.
A third murder case trial against Soren is also under progress in the Giridih district court.
Baghdad, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) US army asserted Saturday it arrested Al-Mahdi militia leader who is accused of killing three US soldiers in Iraq and that Iraqi military choppers participated in implementing the law for the first time.
The relevant US army statement said Multi-National Force troops arrested the militant leader during the incursion in Babel province, south of Baghdad.
The detained leader is implicated in six attacks using explosive devices since last November, killing three US soldiers and Iraqis working for the MNF.
The forces arrested five other suspects for questioning, the statement added.
Fallujah police is meanwhile reported to have arrested three members of Al-Qaeda organisation, one of which is suspected of attacking the Saqlawiyah Police station.
The other suspects are implicated in recording insurgent attacks against MNF forces on video and selling them to an Iraqi television station.
Iraqi television said Iraqi military choppers participated for the first time in implementing law along with US troops.
Jordan recently sent the first dispatch of five choppers out of 16 to Iraq.
Los Angeles, March 3 (DPA) Former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith was finally buried in a melodramatic ceremony that reflected her life of tainted glamour, 22 days after her fatal collapse in a Florida hotel.
The funeral Friday followed a protracted legal battle over the rights to her estate and body and came after a last ditch appeal by her mother to delay the burial was rejected.
The bitterness of the fight spilled over in a eulogy by Smith's partner Howard K. Stern. "The truth, there's only one truth, and it's not what people say in court, even if those people are your blood relatives," said Stern. "It's not what people who claim to be your friends say to the media."
The service took place under tight security, with the celebrity TV show Entertainment Tonight reportedly paying around $4 million for the rights to the press coverage. Pictures posted on the website showed the church decorated with pink flowers and a closed mahogany coffin draped in a pink shawl.
Smith was reportedly dressed in a pink couture gown emblazoned with a heart to signify that she died of a broken heart.
Smith, 39, collapsed and died Feb 8 in a Florida hotel. She was buried next to her son Daniel in Nassau's Lakeview cemetery. She wore a tiara and clutched an urn containing the ashes of her late husband, oil tycoon J Howard Marshall II, whom she married in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
Daniel tragically died at age 20 in his mother's hospital room, where he was visiting her two days after Smith gave birth to her daughter Dannielynn in September.
Legal action will continue over custody of Dannielynn, who stands to inherit a fortune if courts uphold Smith's claim to half of Marshall's $1.6 billion estate.
The key players in the custody battle are Arthur, Howard K Stern - Smith's companion in recent years who is listed as the father on Dannielynn's birth certificate - and photographer Larry Birkhead, a former lover of Smith who also claims paternity of the child.
Cairo, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) Arab Foreign Ministers are arriving in Cairo for the 127th ministerial session due to kick off at the Arab League headquarters on Sunday. The session will address a host of issues relevant to joint Arab action.
Arriving in Cairo early Saturday were the Foreign Ministers of Yemen, Abu Bakr Al-Kerabi; Tunisia, Mohammad Abdul-Raouf Al-Basti, and Somalia, Ismail Mahmoud Herri, in addition to the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Political Department, Farouk Kaddoumi.
Arab Foreign Ministers who arrived in the Egyptian capital yesterday included Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Ben Aissa, Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zibari, and Qatari Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, together with the Sudanese President's Advisor, Moustafa Osman Ismail, Djibouti Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ahmed Ali Youssef, and the Algerian Minister of Labor and Social Security, Tayeb Louh.
The Arab Foreign Ministers are due to hold a consultative meeting later today upon request of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul-Gheit to discuss a number of issues on the agenda of the Sunday meetings.
The agenda comprises 20 items covering all aspects of the Arab joint action topped with the "draft agenda" of the Arab 19th Summit due in Riyadh on March 28-29.
Chaired by Tunis, the session will address the latest developments in the region especially in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Darfur, and Somalia, besides arrangements for the Riyadh Summit.
The Arab Ministerial Committee on Iraq is also due to meet Sunday on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers' meetings to discuss future Arab action on Iraq in light of the Iraq neighbors' meeting due in Baghdad.
The Baghdad meeting will also be attended by Egypt, Bahrain, the UN, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and the five permanent UN Security Council member states.
The permanent delegates to Arab League had submitted a number of draft resolutions covering various political and economic issues to the Sunday ministerial meeting, which is part of the arrangements ahead of the Riyadh Summit.
By Anil Sharma,
Jaipur, March 3 (IANS) Hollywood actress Ashley Judd will be here on a three-day visit to see an NGO's activities in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention and maternal and child health.
The star of such thrillers as "Kiss the Girls", "Double Jeopardy" and "High Crimes" will be visiting the Rajasthan capital as part of an initiative by PSI/India.
Ashley is a board member of PSI (earlier known as Population Services International) and is the global ambassador for YouthAIDS, an education and prevention initiative of PSI. A not-for-profit organisation, PSI/India works in the areas of health and women's empowerment.
Ashley will be here March 22-25 and during this period, besides going to field areas, will also meet Rajasthan's Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.
She will also travel to Mumbai and Delhi.
Speaking about the forthcoming visit, Tim McLellan, managing director of PSI/India, said in a statement said: "PSI/India is greatly excited about Ashley Judd's visit.
"After several years of effort, and with the support of the government of India and our donor partners, we have been able to run programmes, which have demonstrated impact. As our board member, Ashley Judd is keen to see the success of the various programmes that PSI/India and other partners have implemented."
Ashley will address women's issues that are close to her heart. She will see how families can be empowered to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies. India has 5.1 million HIV/AIDS patients.
PSI/India is an NGO registered in 1980 with a mandate to assist the government in the fields of reproductive health, HIV prevention, and maternal and child health. It harnesses the vitality of the private sector to address the health problems of the low-income and vulnerable populations.
Amritsar/Anandpur Sahib (Punjab), March 3 (IANS) A day after assuming office, new Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his entire team of 17 cabinet ministers and several Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators spent the day Saturday visiting religious shrines and paying obeisance.
Badal and others went to the holiest of Sikh shrines - the Golden Temple - in Amritsar followed by a visit to famous Hindu temple Durgiana Mandir in the same city.
"We have come here to seek blessings. We will try our best to provide good governance," Badal said as his political heir and MP son Sukhbir Badal, ministers and several legislators and senior Akali-BJP leaders, escorted him.
They also paid their respects at the Jallianwala Bagh, close to the Golden temple, where British bullets killed nearly 2,500 innocent Indians during a pre-Independence protest in 1919.
At the Golden Temple, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee - the mini-parliament of Sikh religion - joined Badal and others in thanksgiving to celebrating the Akali-BJP's return to power in Punjab.
Badal was greeted with Sikh religious war cry "Bole so nihal, Sat Sri Akal" at he entered the Golden temple complex.
He also prayed at the Akal Takht - the temporal high seat of Sikh religion - located inside the temple complex.
The Sikh clergy gave the new chief minister 'siropas' -a religious honour with a sword and a scarf -.
Badal and other Akali leaders later paid obeisance at another important Sikh shrine - Takht Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib town, 100 km from Chandigarh, on the occasion of Hola Mohalla festival celebrated there annually.
Hola Mohalla is a Sikh religious gathering at Anandpur Sahib to coincide with the Hindu festival of Holi.
Addressing a congregation of hundreds of supporters, Badal thanked them for reposing faith in the Akali-BJP alliance and said that his government would do everything to mitigate the problems of poor people and farmers.
New Delhi, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) Insisting that no camps of Indian insurgents were present on its soil, Bangladesh today said it will not provide refuge to ultras fleeing from the North East and assured to take steps to check infiltration from its side.
It also agreed to allow developmental activities taking place within 150 yards of the border, tea plantations till the zero line barring certain stretches and offered cooperation in tackling cross-border smuggling of drugs and cattle.
The significant understandings came through after four days of discussions between the Director Generals of BSF and Bangladeshi Rifles here as part of the Indo-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference.
"We are determined to do the utmost to see to it that miscreants from India do not get a breathing space in Bangladesh," BDR Director General Major Shakil Ahmed said at a joint media interaction with his BSF counterpart A K Mitra after conclusion of talks.
He said Dhaka had investigated on the lists, though "outdated" and "old", given by India from time to time about the presence of insurgent camps in the country and promised to take action against ultras taking refuge in Bangladesh.
"Any insurgent from India taking sanctuary in Bangladesh will be arrested and put through the law," he said noting that BDR has detained eight people who have entered the country from North-East in the last two months.
India had handed over a list of 176 camps of various insurgent groups like ULFA, National Liberation Front of Tripura, All Tripura Tiger Force, National Democratic Front of Bodoland and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation in Bangladesh.
New Delhi, March 3, (IRNA) Bangladesh while assuring India to take steps to check infiltration from its side, on Saturday said it will not provide refuge to ultras fleeing from the Northeast.
It also agreed to allow developmental activities taking place within 150 yards of the border, tea plantations till the zero line barring certain stretches and offered cooperation in tackling cross- border smuggling of drugs and cattle.
The significant understandings came through after four days of discussions between the director generals of Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) here as part of the Indo-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference.
"We are determined to do the utmost to see to it that miscreants from India do not get a breathing space in Bangladesh," BDR Director General Major Shakil Ahmed said at a joint media interaction with his BSF counterpart A K Mitra after conclusion of talks.
He said Dhaka had investigated on the lists, though 'outdated' and 'old', given by India from time to time about the presence of insurgent camps in the country and promised to take action against ultras taking refuge in Bangladesh.
"Any insurgent from India taking sanctuary in Bangladesh will be arrested and put through the law," he said noting that BDR has detained eight people who have entered the country from the Northeast in the last two months.
India had handed over a list of 176 camps of various insurgent groups like ULFA, National Liberation Front of Tripura, All Tripura Tiger Force, National Democratic Front of Bodoland and Kamtapur Liberation Organization in Bangladesh.
Mitra said the list was drawn up on the basis of 'intelligence inputs' and 'we would not be able to say emphatically that it is accurate. Besides there are mobile camps also which keep shifting'.
The bi-annual meeting of the border security officials also decided to take a host of Confidence Building Measures including increasing the area and frequency of simultaneous joint patrolling and discussing the feasibility for starting a joint retreat ceremony at Patrapole in West Bengal on the lines of that takes place in Wagah border.
Asked specifically about ULFA leader Anup Chetiya, Ahmed sought to sidestep the question saying a writ petition in this regard was pending in a High Court in Bangladesh and 'we could not do much about it'.
On allowing construction work near the border, Ahmed said it will allow developmental works as any hindrance to such activities will bring unnecessarily suffering to people in the region who are generally poor.
This assurance is a significant climb down as the BDR had been opposed to construction of structures within 150 yards of Zero Line and barbed fire fencing of the 4096-km porous border.
BSF has often claimed that BDR personnel opened fire to stop construction activities near the border, a charge time and again denied by Dhaka.
Mitra said both the sides 'displayed constructive and positive attitude while discussing some of the most complex problems' and could break grounds on certain issues, which would help strengthen mutual trust.
NEW DELHI, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) -- Insisting that no camps of Indian insurgents were present on its soil, Bangladesh today said it will not provide refuge to ultras fleeing from the North East and assured to take steps to check infiltration from its side.
It also agreed to allow developmental activities taking place within 150 yards of the border, tea plantations till the zero line barring certain stretches and offered cooperation in tackling cross-border smuggling of drugs and cattle.
The significant understandings came through after four days of discussions between the Director Generals of BSF and Bangladeshi Rifles here as part of the Indo-Bangladesh Border Coordination Conference.
"We are determined to do the utmost to see to it that miscreants from India do not get a breathing space in Bangladesh," BDR Director General Major Shakil Ahmed said at a joint media interaction with his BSF counterpart A K Mitra after conclusion of talks.
He said Dhaka had investigated on the lists, though "outdated" and "old", given by India from time to time about the presence of insurgent camps in the country and promised to take action against ultras taking refuge in Bangladesh.
"Any insurgent from India taking sanctuary in Bangladesh will be arrested and put through the law," he said noting that BDR has detained eight people who have entered the country from North-East in the last two months.
India had handed over a list of 176 camps of various insurgent groups like ULFA, National Liberation Front of Tripura, All Tripura Tiger Force, National Democratic Front of Bodoland and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation in Bangladesh.
--NNN-PTI
London, March 2(IRNA) The BBC was accused Friday of banning an anti-war video song, mocking Prime Minister Tony Blair, because of fears that it will offend the government.
Leader of the anti-war Respect Party, George Galloway, said he would be raising the issue in parliament and would also be writing to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, according to the Campaign for Broadcasting Freedom (CBF).
"This lickspittle BBC has a deplorable record of toadying to the government," said Galloway, who plays a cameo role in the song, a cover version of War (What Is It Good For?) by the Ugly Rumours, named after Blair's band when he was a university student.
"Let's not forget that only three people have lost their jobs over the war, two of them BBC employees, and not one government minister has paid the price for sending us into this illegal and immoral war," he was quoted saying.
BBC chairman Gavyn Davies and director general Gregg Dykes were forced to resign from their posts after the state-funded broadcaster was castigated in a report into the death of former Iraq arms inspector David Kelly.
Kelly was identified as the source of the claim in a BBC report that the government exaggerated Saddam Hussein's arms threat to justify the Iraq war.
CBF reported that the anti-war video had risen to sixth in the UK's pop single charts and was vying to be number one, even though it is only available as a download.
The song has already been publicized by the BBC, but only on a regional news program and as a last item on Independent Television News on Thursday, CBF said.
The BBC's pop station Radio One was due to broadcast a package about the single for its Newsbeat program on Friday, but was pulled at the last minute because it was not newsworthy, according to the campaign group.
Respect claimed that it had been told privately from within the highest sources at the BBC that a banning order had been instituted against the anti-war song.
But a spokesperson for the BBC confirmed to the CPBF that the decision was taken on `newsworthy grounds' and that two other stories also had not been included.
Stop the War Coalition, which is promoting the song, was hoping that the anti-war song would be in the UK pop charts at the time of the fourth anniversary of the war in March.
"Make history and get a British prime minister into the charts singing for peace, instead of making war," the peace group network said.
Bhopal, March 3 (IANS) Hundreds of Bhopal gas tragedy survivors here Saturday -the tenth day of their 'Jeene Ka Haq' (Right to Live) campaign - staged a "die-in" at the Chief Minister's House to draw the attention of Shivraj Singh Chouhan towards their plight.
Demanding proper healthcare and economic rehabilitation from the state government, the survivors, most of who were women wrapped in white saris (coffin wear), lay outside Chouhan's residence from where they were taken away to jail by the police.
The disaster occurred on the night of Dec 2, 1984, when over 40 tonnes of lethal Methyl Iso-Cyanate (MIC) spewed out of the American multinational Union Carbide Corporation's (UCC) pesticide plant instantly killing over 3,000 people and maiming thousands for life. More than 15,000 people affected with exposure to the toxic gas have died since then.
The survivors have been staging demonstration for the past nine days to mark the first anniversary of their protest march from Bhopal to New Delhi in support of their demands.
The campaign has been launched to push for the resolution of their long-pending demands including healthcare, economic rehabilitation and social support for the survivors and their families, availability of safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the UCC's now-defunct plant.
Leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations -- including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha (BGPMPSM), Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz (BKA) -- condemned what they called the state government's indifference towards the suffering of affected survivors.
"Madhya Pradesh government's criminal indifference towards the plight of those poisoned by the Union Carbide gas leak was prolonging the suffering of the victims and causing untimely deaths. The die-in would serve as a stark reminder to the chief minister about the state government's duties towards the victims," said Rashida Bee, Golden Peacock award winner, fighting for the cause of survivors.
Rashida, who has lost six members of his family to cancer and is herself undergoing treatment for exposure-related illnesses, further said: "I and my fellow activists are prepared to die to assert the right to life of the victims of Union Carbide."
Sangharsh Morcha president Syed M. Irfan said: "The state government was ignoring the decisions of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal set up by the prime minister last year for relief and rehabilitation of Bhopal victims. It was also guilty of not following the directions of the Supreme Court regarding supply of safe water to the communities next to the abandoned Union Carbide factory that are affected by ground water contamination."
The organisations also announced a "Black Holi" Sunday as a mark of condemnation against the state government's apathy. They have urged survivors of the disaster to play Holi with black colour keeping in mind the fact that a group of survivors and their supporters will begin an indefinite fast from March 5.
"The state government is not only negligent towards the victims but it is also colluding with the corporations responsible for the disaster by attempting to incinerate part of the hazardous waste kept within the UCC factory. It has even sought Rs.20 million from the central government for the purpose," alleged Champa Devi, who was awarded the Golden Peacock for her services to the victims.
Patna, March 3 (IANS) In a bid to woo tourists from Europe and America, Bihar will showcase its famed Buddhist and Jain tourism circuits at the World Tourism Festival being held in Berlin next week.
"The Bihar pavilion at the Berlin festival from March 7-11 will display the Buddhist circuit to attract tourists," Tourism Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, who is leading a three-member delegation to the festival, said Saturday.
The Buddhist circuit of Bihar comprises shrines in Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir. Vaishali and Kesaria.
The World Tourism Festival is a big opportunity for Bihar to showcase its Buddhist sites at the international level, said Yadav.
"We hope that our efforts will bear positive results," he said.
State tourism secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, who is also part of the delegation, said: "Tourism, particularly Buddhist destinations, will promise a turnaround for the state if properly marketed."
The importance of the Buddhist circuit was witnessed last month when Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, consecrated the Buddha's relics at a newly built temple in Bodh Gaya, considered the birthplace of Buddhism. The relics were brought from Sri Lanka.
Hundreds of Buddhist monks and devotees took out a colourful procession in the holy town on the occasion.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing last month opened a hall built in memory of seventh century Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang in Nalanda district.
Recently the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) also offered to provide funds worth Rs.56 billion for the construction of four-lane roads in the Buddhist circuit of Bihar.
Jakarta, March 3 (Xinhua) At least 12 people were wounded in a bomb explosion in Indonesia's Ambon sea port early Saturday, police officials said.
The assembled bomb was planted near the exit way of the port in Maluku province and exploded when passengers of a ship began leaving the port, said Abu Ba'us, a district police officer.
"Twelve people were wounded, two of them seriously," he said, adding the explosion occurred at around 9.00 a.m. (local time).
Further investigations are underway, Ba'us said.
Sydney, March 3 (DPA) A blind British pilot is to take off this weekend in a bid to fly his microlight plane to Australia, news reports said Saturday.
Miles Hilton-Barber, 55, will be sitting alongside sighted pilot Storm Smith in his attempt to become the first blind pilot to fly from London to Sydney, a distance of 21,700 km.
Hilton-Barber, who has climbed Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro and run a marathon in Russia, told Australia's ABC Radio that he expected the trip to take 55 days.
The pair are following a route made famous in the 1919 air race from London to Sydney and will fly over the Middle East, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) By-elections for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Punjab and Haryana, which fell vacant following the death of candidates, will be held March 29, the Election Commission said Saturday.
Announcing the poll schedule for the seats, the poll panel Saturday fixed March 12 for issuing notifications by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and March 19 as the last date for filing nominations by candidates.
The last date for the withdrawal of candidature was slated on March 22, and March 29 as the date for voting. The result of by-elections would be out by 5 p.m. same day.
The two Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab and Haryana fell vacant following the death of Congress member from Punjab Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder Dec 15 last year and that of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member from Haryana Sumitra Mahajan Jan 19. While Bhinder's term was to expire April 9, 2010, Mahajan's was to last till April 9, 2008.
The terms of the two members elected to Punjab and Haryana seats of the Rajya Sabha would be till April 2010 and April 2008 respectively.
Georgetown, March 3 (IANS) As in India, Holi is also celebrated with great enthusiasm in the Caribbean -- where it is better known as Phagwah.
Indians who went to the Caribbean as labourers in the 19th and early 20th centuries took along the festival to Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad. Phagwah has become one of the important festivals in Guyana and Surinam and is celebrated by both the Hindus and the non-Hindus.
Holi or Phagwah is a national holiday in Guyana, as Hindus constitute about 33 percent of the country's population.
It is quite common to see young boys and girls playing with coloured powder and water here.
In fact, celebrations in Guyana have already begun, with the Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra, a prominent Hindu group, organising the annual pre-Phagwah mela (fair) and bazaar.
The Kendra is also hosting countrywide chowtal sammelans, a form of traditional Indian singing.
There are several Hindu groups and cultural organisations in the Caribbean that celebrate Phagwah through songs, music, dance and cultural events.
In Trinidad and Tobago the festival is celebrated much like it is celebrated in India. In recent years, however, the traditional chowtal singing in Trinidad and Tobago has been replaced by 'chutney' a localised English-Hindi style of music.
Celebrations are often televised live.
Chennai, March 3 (IANS) Expressing solidarity with the victims of the 1984 gas leak tragedy in Bhopal, activists Saturday organised a rally here to protest the Tata group's offer to pay up for and clean up toxic waste left by the disaster.
At least 100 supporters and campaigners participated in the rally to oppose the Tata offer to facilitate the re-entry of Union Carbide, in whose Bhopal plant the disaster tool place, and its new owner Dow Chemical into India.
The campaign comes in the wake of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's letter to the Indian government in January offering to set up a trust fund with contribution from other corporations to clean up the contamination in Bhopal, thereby freeing Union Carbide and its parent firm Dow Chemicals of the US of its legal responsibility.
In December 1984, a poisonous gas leak from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, claimed at least 22,000 lives and caused injuries to many more over the years later.
Several thousand tonnes of the toxic waste abandoned at the factory site has contaminated the groundwater in the area.
The survivors and campaigners have opposed the Tata plan as they insist that Dow Chemicals itself should clean up the site, as required under the law. They have also been demanding punishment for Union Carbide officials for one of the biggest industrial tragedies of the 20th century.
The Chennai rally that began at the Monroe Statue in Anna Salai was led Tamil Nadu Women's Collective members who carried placards and banners condemning Tata.
The Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangam (Tamil Nadu Merchant's Association) also joined the rally and condemned Ratan Tata and the Tata group companies.
"Union Carbide is a criminal corporation that is absconding from Indian courts. Its new owner is sheltering it. It is disgraceful to see Ratan Tata openly serving as an agent to a company that ran away after causing the world's worst industrial disaster," said Sheelu of Tamil Nadu Women's Collective.
"Like Union Carbide, there are numerous places in India where the Tatas have contaminated and failed to clean up. If Ratan Tata is serious about his claims to ethical behaviour, he ought to clean up the contamination caused by the Tata companies before doing anything else," said Dharmesh Shah, a volunteer with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.
Participants in the rally also included members of fishing groups, youth organisations and unorganised labour unions.
Beijing, March 3 (Xinhua) The Fifth Session of the Tenth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) started in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Saturday afternoon.
Some 2,144 CPPCC National Committee members will underline discuss the major areas of concern in the nation's development during the 12-day annual meeting.
Top party and state leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan were present at the inaugural session.
CPPCC National Committee Chairman Jia Qinglin delivered a keynote address.
Founded in 1949, the CPPCC is the think tank for the government and for the country's legislative and judicial organs.
As an open forum where the ruling Communist Party, the non- Communist parties of China and people with no party affiliations discuss state affairs freely, the CPPCC National Committee has been the manifestation of China's socialist democracy.
Kunming, March 3 (Xinhua) Southwest China's Yunnan Province, which has a large number of people living with the HIV/AIDS, plans to provide free treatment to more HIV/AIDS victims this year with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Addressing a provincial health meeting that ended Friday, Yang Hongsheng, deputy chief of Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Health, said the province would build more infrastructures, bringing the number of TCM AIDS treatment centres to seven.
He did not disclose the size of the investment.
"We hope more than 1,500 HIV/AIDS victims will be able to get free medical treatment at TCM centres this year," said the official.
Yunnan, bordering Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar in the south and west and near the notorious "Golden Triangle", has China's worst HIV/AIDS figures. HIV/AIDS cases have been found in all of the province's 129 counties, according to the provincial health bureau.
The province had 48,591 people living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2006, accounting for 26 percent of the nation's total. A total of 1,768 people have died from the disease in the province.
China is at a key stage in its fight against AIDS/HIV. A report from the International Labor Organization estimates that China could lose five million labourers by 2015 if it fails to take effective measures to counter the scourge.
China reported 183,733 HIV/AIDS cases at the end of October 2006.
Washington, March 3 (IANS) CMP Technology, a $3 billion targeted US media and marketing solutions company, plans to publish two of its leading channel and enterprise properties - CRN and Network Computing - in India from April.
CMP Technology will create magazines, websites and email newsletters at editorial operations in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, supported by sales offices there, the Fremont, California, based company announced Friday.
These two titles were previously published by Jasubhai Digital Media under licence.
The Indian edition of CRN, part of a network of 17 editions worldwide, will be published bi-weekly. CRN will offer Indian solution providers and valued added resellers the crucial information and analysis they need to drive their company's revenues.
Network Computing, currently available in six countries, will help India's technology leaders implement their business strategies. India's Network Computing will be published monthly, it said.
"This is an exciting first step in CMP Technology's entry into India," said Steve Weitzner, CMP Technology's president and CEO.
"We plan to build a full suite of media products including face-to-face events, websites and publications, all created by local editors and our international reporting staff for India. And we are pleased to welcome the Indian business community into our worldwide media network."
CRN provides solution providers and technology integrators with information and analysis to drive sales. Network Computing is an information source for technology companies.
CMP Technology is a subsidiary of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalisation of more than $3 billion.
Kingston, March 3 (IANS) Colombia has joined India, US and a number of other countries in providing security for the ICC World Cup in the West Indies starting this month.
The South American country is sending a 14-member team from its army and navy to assist in counter-terrorism activities, according to a press release issued out of the Colombian embassy in the Jamaican capital.
The Colombian team would support the security force put in place across the nine countries in the Caribbean where the World Cup would be held, the release stated, adding that it would also assist with canine-explosive detection and events protection.
The team will comprise four officers, five corporals, two supervisors, one soldier and two scuba divers.
The Colombia Air Force will also provide airlift facilities for the event, the release stated. This comes after an agreement signed between the Colombia's Ministry of National Defence and Trinidad & Tobago's National Security Ministry in March last year.
The World Cup is being seen as a potential target for terrorists, and India, England, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka are the key security risks.
A 16-member team from India's elite National Security Guards (NSG) will be flying in next week to carry out anti-sabotage checks at all cricketing venues and will stay here in the West Indies right through the course of the World Cup.
NSG's Col. Harjeet S. Pathania was already in Port of Spain on a reconnaissance mission tying up details with the Caricom Operational Planning and Co-ordination Staff (COPACS) in providing security at venues for the Indian cricket team.
Earlier, the US, with the World Cup happening on its backyard, had pumped in $3 million for training, largely of security personnel.
The money was used in providing 80 training classes on port security, airport security, bomb detection, healthcare sector management, resource management, traffic management, VIP protection and disaster management.
The US Department of Homeland Security has also facilitated the installation of the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) for the purposes of ensuring greater security during the World Cup.
Australia, Canada, China, France, South Africa and Britain are also helping the West Indies in successfully holding the world of sport's third biggest event after the Olympics and the football World Cup.
Kolkata, March 2 (IANS) In an unprecedented order, the Calcutta High Court Friday sentenced the West Bengal Director General of Police, a legislator and two top district administration officers of Jalpaiguri to six months' in jail for contempt of court.
Anup Bhushan Bhora, the state's Director General of Police (DGP), Jalpaiguri district magistrate (DM) and the district's police superintendent (SP) were sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of court.
Congress representative in the West Bengal Assembly from Jalpaiguri, Debaprasad Roy, and 14 others, were also sentenced to the same term.
The court gave a 21-day stay order on the implementation of the sentence to enable the guilty to appeal the verdict in the supreme court.
In its ruling, the bench cited the "unprecedented breakdown of constitutional machinery" in the district for one month from Dec 15, 2006, to Jan 15, 2007 when no court was able to function.
Court in the district was totally paralysed for a month in the wake of an agitation by local people and lawyers who boycotted the court and stopped its functioning to press their demand for a circuit bench of the high court in Jalpaiguri.
The court said in its suo motu ruling, "In the past 57 years since the country has a constitution, nowhere has it been violated like this", lawyer Kalyan Bandhopadhyaya quoted it as saying.
The division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice K.K. Parasad gave the verdict against the DGP and other officials for their responsibility in the "constitutional breakdown" in Jalpaiguri.
The court also imposed a penalty of Rs.2,000 each on the DGP, DM, SP and another police officer or another month in jail in case of default.
"We will appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court," said West Bengal Law Minister Robilal Moitra.
Following the verdict, an emergency meeting was held in West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's room at state secretariat Writers' Building with Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb, Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy and Law Minister Rabilal Moitra, besides the convicted DGP.
New Delhi, March 3 (Indianmuslims.info) A delegation of All India United Muslim Morcha headed by its national spokesman Kamal Ashraf called on senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and its Polit Bureau and Rajya Sabha member Brinda Karat here to discuss the issue of reservation for Muslims, said Morcha president of Delhi Pradesh Er. Fayyaz Ali here Friday.
Mrs Karat informed the delegation members that reservation for Dalit Muslims is on the agenda of her party and that CPI(M) MPs will raise this issue in the current budget session of both Houses of Parliament.
She added that her party would hold a meeting with the CPI(M) members belonging to the minority community and then raise the issue in the meeting of United Progressive Alliance as well.
The delegation comprised Dr MI Ansari, Asif Mustafa, Ayyub Ansari and Safi Khan Madari besides Kamal Ashraf.
By Syed Zarir Hussain,
Guwahati, March 3 (IANS) Indian peace negotiators are beginning fresh peace talks in New Delhi Saturday with leaders of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in the presence of a Dutch mediator.
A group of ministers led by Oscar Fernandes and New Delhi's main peace interlocutor K. Padmanabhaiah are meeting top leaders of the NSCN-IM, the main rebel group in Nagaland state.
"We want the government to come up with a response to our demands and help expedite a solution to the longstanding problem. The ceasefire is now on for 10 years and people are getting edgy," a senior NSCN-IM leader told IANS by telephone on conditions of anonymity.
The NSCN-IM, led by guerrilla leaders Isak Chishi Swu and T. Muivah, had entered into a ceasefire with the Indian government in 1997.
The two sides have since held at least 50 rounds of peace talks aimed at ending one of South Asia's longest running insurgencies that claimed an estimated 25,000 lives since India attained independence in 1947.
The NSCN-IM is one of the oldest and most powerful of about 30 rebel groups in India's northeast and wants to create a "Greater Nagaland" by slicing off parts of neighbouring states that have Naga tribal populations. The three regional governments of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have already rejected the NSCN-IM's demand for unification of Naga-dominated areas.
"Unification of Naga inhabited areas is our historical right. This is the main bone of contention where the government is dithering," the rebel leader said.
Joining the peace talks will be Michael C. van Walt van Praag from the Netherlands as a 'third party mediator'.
"Praag would be playing the role of a facilitator or a peace broker and he is expected to submit a list of independent proposals to resolve the problem in the fresh talks," the rebel leader said.
"The proposals may not be acceptable to us or to the Indian government, but his impartial role, we believe could bring in positive results and also help patching up differences between our group and New Delhi."
Praag is currently the executive president of a Hague-based non-governmental organisation called Kreddha, which works for the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts within existing states. Praag has been unofficially assisting the NSCN-IM and New Delhi in the talks since 2001.
An internationally acclaimed rights campaigner, Praag was earlier the general secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). The UNPO claims the support of over 100 million people in 52 member countries and works for protecting the human rights of nations, peoples and minorities not represented in international forums such as the UN.
"This would be a very crucial round of talks and could determine which way the peace process moves from here on," another NSCN-IM leader said.
Managua, Mar 3 (NNN-Prensa Latina) The Cuban literacy method "Yes I Can"
(Yo Si Puedo) willbe used to teach nearly 500,000 blind, deaf and disabled Nicaraguans to read and write in the literacy campaign beginning March 23.
Orlando Pineda, coordinator of the literacy crusade begun in 2006 that today spans 100 of the 153 Nicaraguan municipalities, said Nicaragua has more than 120 delegations of disabled who asked for support to teach illiterate blind members Braille.
Nicaragua successfully introduced the Cuban literacy program following arrangements by the Carlos Fonseca National Teachers Association with support from Sandinista Councils that Pineda leads.
After the Sandinistas won the November elections, President Daniel Ortega renewed the drive to declare Nicaragua illiteracy free by August 2008, with logistic support from Cuba and Venezuela.
This time it will include indigenous communities on the Atlantic Coast (to be taught in their mother tongues Misquito and Mayangna).
The previous Sandinista government ran the first National Literacy Crusade in 1980 and reduced the illiteracy rate to 12 percent.
Today, after the neoliberal governments, 35 percent of the 5.1 million populace over 16 years cannot read or write.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) The domestic help who allegedly killed an old woman and a boy in southwest Delhi was Saturday sent to one-day police remand by a city court.
The accused, Mithilesh, was produced in the Patiala House court that sent him to police remand for further investigations.
"We are cross-questioning the accused and verifying the other details provided to us," a senior police official who didn't want to be named, told IANS.
Police arrested the accused soon after the murder of retired army colonel Aman Preet Singh's son Karan Singh, 11, and mother-in-law Surjeet Kaur, 60, at their residence in the capital's upscale Vasant Kunj locality Friday.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) An 18-year girl allegedly committed suicide in southwest Delhi Saturday after failing thrice in Class 12 board exams, police said.
Sakhshi jumped to death Saturday afternoon from the third floor of Welcome Apartments in Sector-3 in Dwraka, police added.
According to the suicide note recovered by police, she had failed in the board exams three times and was living in stress and tension.
In her suicide note, the girl had also mentioned that as her friends had moved on in their lives. So she didn't want to live anymore, police said.
Police are yet to identify the address and other details of the deceased, as there was no mention of it in her suicide note. The body has been sent for post-mortem.
Jammu, March 3 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Saturday said that the party could very well see a "silver lining on the horizon" for demilitarisation of the state.
Sayeed also dismissed the suggestions that its alliance with Congress was in trouble on its demand for troops withdrawal from the state and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The party had stayed away from a cabinet meeting Wednesday to express its discontent that the agenda did not include the issue of revocation.
"I said this is an issue of our party and that's all," said the former chief minister.
"We are serious about it," he added. "This is our answer to all those saying that PDP was enacting drama. We don't play gimmicks, we work in style and deliver in substance."
Sayeed was talking to the media Saturday after welcoming his one time rival from National Conference (NC), Rafi Ahmad Mir, to the PDP. Mir had fought elections against him and his daughter and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in Pahalgam Assembly constituency in south Kashmir.
"We welcome him. I am sure he is going to be an asset for the party."
Rafi Mir is the latest in the line of the NC leaders who have crossed over to PDP. Earlier, several NC leaders like Mohammad Dillawar Mir, Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Nissar Khan and M.S. Tariq had joined the party.
Mufti, however, refused to comment on NC and Congress joining hands in elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
"It (the PDP demand) cannot be spurned by the central government," he said, adding that troops will leave the state soon and Kashmir resolution will pick up the pace.
Chennai, March 3 (IANS) A devotee in Tamil Nadu has offered a diamond-studded sacred golden thread worth about Rs.5 million to the Tirupati Tirumala deity.
The 'poonal' (sacred thread), made of 3.5 kg gold, has 450 diamonds studded on it, has been donated by K. Mohanraj of Cheyyaru, in the state's Vellore district, to the Renganaryana Jeeyar Mutt at Srirangam, which maintains close ties with the Srirangam temple and the Tirupati temple, Renganaryana Jeeyar told reported here Saturday.
The family of Mohanraj are disciples of Jeeyar, a Hindu religious leader from the temple town of Srirangam.
Hundreds of devotees have lined up to see the gift kept now at the mutt premise before it is taken to the Tirupati temple March 6, when it will be presented to the deity in a ritual offering.
Raipur, March 3 (IANS) Disqualified MP Pradeep Gandhi, one among the 10 MPs allegedly caught accepting cash for a price to raise questions in parliament, has sought a ticket from Chhattisgarh's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to retain his Rajnandgaon seat.
The polls for Rajnandgaon is scheduled March 29. He had won the seat on a BJP ticket in May 2004 and is considered one of the top aides of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Before being elected to the Lok Sabha, Gandhi had represented Dongargaon assembly seat but vacated it in favour of Raman Singh, who won it. Dongargaon assembly seat forms part of the Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat.
"Gandhi has been lobbying hard to get a BJP ticket again to enter Lok Sabha. It will be shameful if the party awards him a ticket as he was caught on camera accepting money for raising questions in the Lok Sabha," a BJP insider told IANS Saturday.
"Gandhi not only put the BJP to shame but also undermined the reputation of parliament. I'm really taken aback that he is confidently seeking a party ticket again to retain the seat," the BJP source said.
"Most of the senior BJP leaders here were surprised when Gandhi contacted them and sought their support for a party ticket. But even more surprising is that some party veterans are advocating for Gandhi. He surely will not manage a ticket but he will campaign for the BJP candidate unofficially," the source added.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) India's chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar has disclosed that Virender Sehwag was picked for the upcoming cricket World Cup on captain Rahul Dravid's insistence.
Asked in a television interview whether Dravid wanted an out-of-form Sehwag, Vengsarkar said: "Definitely, yes."
When asked, had Dravid not demanded Sehwag would the swashbuckling opener have been dropped, the former India captain said: "Definitely, I agree with you. He (Dravid) made the difference."
The interview, conducted by Karan Thapar for "Devil's Advocate" programme, will be telecast on CNN-IBN Sunday night.
Before leaving for the West Indies, Sehwag gave hints of getting back into form as he scored 46 in the fourth and final one-day international against Sri Lanka at Visakhapatnam. He also spent long hours at the nets in Delhi polishing his batting.
Vengsarkar said he would always back the captain as he should get the team of his choice.
After the team selection, Dravid, when asked at a press conference, had not entirely denied that he did not want Sehwag, India's only triple centurion in Test cricket.
Giving his reasons and his own example, Vengsarkar said during the interview that when he was the India captain in 1989 he never got some of the players he was keen on.
"...when I was captain, they (selectors) never gave me players on whom I was keen. It was always 3-2 in selection committee meetings. I didn't want Rahul to go through the same thing. That is why I backed Sehwag, on whom Rahul insisted that he should be there," he said.
"It is a bit of a gamble, definitely, but in cricket you have to take these gambles."
Describing Sehwag as a match winner, Vengsarkar said that the Delhi player has "done exceedingly well in the past".
On India's prospects in the World Cup, starting in the West Indies March 11, Vengsarkar was optimistic.
"If they go till the last four (semi-finals), it could be anybody's cup. All eight sides in the fray are good sides. If India does not enter semi-finals, of course, I will be very, very disappointed," he said.
"They have the ability. They have to believe in themselves that they are the best team in the world. And they ARE the best in the world."
Talking about team coach Greg Chappell's role, the Mumbai-based Vengsarkar said that his "inputs are quite important" for the team's success in the 16-nation World Cup.
"I hope he remains with the team beyond the World Cup," he said, adding that the board would have the final word whether to extend the former Australia captain's contract or not.
India are placed in Group B and play their opening match against Bangladesh March 17. Sri Lanka and qualifiers Bermuda are the other teams in the pool.
The final will be played April 28.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Michael C. van Walt van Praag, the Dutch executive president of a Netherlands-based NGO, is the third party mediating in the peace talks between the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the Indian government since 2001.
Kreddha, the NGO, describes itself as committed to the "prevention and resolution of violent conflicts between population groups and states" and on its website says it "specialises in and limits its activities to intrastate conflicts".
The only Indian member on its council is Nirmala Deshpande, a former member of the Rajya Sabha and president of the Gandhian Harijan Sewak Sangh.
Praag himself is a former general secretary of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), a global umbrella body of groups seeking self-determination.
Kreddha's involvement in the Naga talks first came to light in December 2005, when Kraibo Chawang, the NSCN-IM's 'deputy information minister', said his group and New Delhi had agreed on "third party mediation", and that Praag was going to be the "pointsman".
At that time, even R.H. Raising, NSCN-IM's 'home minister', was quick to explain that Praag had been associated with the talks since 2001, but no decision had been taken officially yet to have him as a mediator.
"But I must tell you that he is a well-wisher of the Nagas and a good friend of both our group and the government of India," he explained then.
Highly placed officials said New Delhi has been reluctant on giving Praag a label in the 50 rounds of peace talks negotiations that the two sides have had aimed at ending one of South Asia's longest running insurgencies.
Even Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes, who is one of the principal interlocutors in the negotiations, has acknowledged that Praag had been mediating unofficially since 2001.
Chawang has been quoted as saying that Praag's "contribution towards salvaging the peace process has been acknowledged by both" the NSCN-IM and New Delhi.
Kreddha further goes to say on its website, "We carry out our dialogue facilitation activities behind the scenes, often in a confidential manner, and don't publish, engage with the press or otherwise make public where and how we are involved or what is happening in a particular process, unless the parties so require."
"Confidentiality is not only a requirement by one of the parties in some of the processes Kreddha facilitates, it also gives the organisation's facilitators more freedom and access, and allows parties to be forthcoming in sharing their interests."
Brussels/Washington, March 3 (DPA) European and US negotiators have reached a tentative civil aviation deal, hailed by the European Commission as a "decisive progress".
The so-called open skies agreement - the first of its kind - will expand transatlantic travel and is needed to allow unobstructed access for airlines to airspace over the 27-member bloc and the US. The deal would replace bilateral agreements between the US and EU countries.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called the deal "very positive", and said it would likely be presented at an upcoming EU-US summit in May.
"It is potentially very important for ... the airline industry, but also for all those millions of passengers that transit back and forth between the United States and EU countries," McCormack said.
The provisional deal also covers ownership and control rights over US airlines by EU investors - a major sticking point in past talks between the two sides - and also allows the EU to restrict US investment in European airlines, the commission said.
EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that the breakthrough in the talks could be worth up to 12 billion euros ($15.8 billion) in economic benefits and would also lead to the creation of up to 80,000 jobs.
If approved by EU transport ministers at a meeting later this month, the deal would go into force in October, Barrot said.
The EU and the US have long struggled to make progress in the talks, which stalled most recently in December after Washington withdrew a plan to give European airlines more freedom to invest in US airlines and to participate in management decisions.
The EU had made the investor rule a condition for putting in place the open skies agreement.
Air travel in Europe and the US accounts for 60 percent of global air traffic. The commission said it expects transatlantic travel to increase by 34 percent to 26 million people annually in the coming years.
By Shyam Pandharipande,
Deoli (Maharashtra), March 3 (IANS) Even as rural India tries to grasp the chimerical implications that the 2007-08 budget has for it, banking giant State Bank of India (SBI) has already set out to include the teeming millions in the country's hinterland hitherto left out of the credit loop.
Reaching out to more than 10,000 new families in three tiny blocks of Wardha district, SBI aims to replicate the pilot project first in three adjacent blocks of the district near Nagpur and then all over the country.
With over 20,000 households already covered under its priority sector in the Deoli, Samudrapur and Arvi blocks of the western Vidarbha district, SBI has promoted and credit-linked 25,000 all-women self help groups (SHGs) there in just three years.
The 25,000 SHGs, accounting for 97 percent of SHGs promoted and credit-linked by all commercial banks in the three blocks, are among 55,000 such groups financed by the bank in Maharashtra and Goa, touching more than a million lives in the two states, bank public relations manager Moin Qazi told IANS.
The feat has won the 9,500-branch strong SBI the NABARD best linkage award for three consecutive years, chief general manager Narayan Raja said, adding that the self-confidence and enthusiasm that the micro finance scheme has generated was more inspiring than the award.
SBI's micro-credit programme that has facilitated involvement of thousands of women in gainful activities and triggered a new wave of prosperity is a commercial opportunity for the bank though it is running it as a part of its social commitment, Raja said.
The CGM, accompanied by the bank's general manager Sharad Sharma and other officers, attended a huge get-together of SHGs here to listen to success stories of the village women engaged in a range of activities -- from pickle making to embroidery.
Standing out among the SHGs at the Deoli congregation was the honey exporting Anshara Mahila Bachat Gat (women's savings group) set up by Muslim women. The women, who hardly ever ventured out of home till a year ago, now run four stalls in as many weekly markets in the block selling a range of food items, detergents and clayware, Namrata Kolhatkar, who controls 900 groups in the block, told IANS.
"Each of the 15 members in our group earns at least Rs.2,000 a month and saves a part of it," said Anshara Begum, the group leader. Four other women of the group, freely interacting with visitors at their stall, smiled out of their upturned burqas even as Anshara was talking about their collective venture.
While the men folk of the Anshara group families go to the forest to cull honey, women back home do the processing from filtration to bottling before it is exported to Singapore, China and some European countries, Kolhatkar said, adding this was just a small beginning of the export activity.
Nitin Narlawar of Kelapur tehsil in the suicide-prone Yavatmal district of debt-trapped farmers controls 700 SHGs in 125 villages in his block involving 10,000 tribal women. Attending the Deoli gathering as a special invitee, Nitin said that the farmers in the Kelapur block were not troubled by moneylenders, thanks to the SHGs being run with the help of SBI micro-finance.
Qazi claimed that the SHG micro-finance activity in the three blocks of Wardha district too has liberated villagers from the trap of moneylenders. SBI accounts for 85 percent of all SHGs credit linked by commercial banks in Maharashtra. This is against the bank's share of 47 percent at the national level.
The bank, which had helped set up a village resource centre (VRC) at Waifad in the same block last year, went a step ahead with the establishment of a village knowledge centre (VKC) in village Sonegaon. A venture of Jamshedji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA), the VKC is equipped with Internet facility.
"It has become an instant hit with villagers including young boys and girls who have started coming to get useful information from 50 information packages on a range of subjects related to agriculture, agro-processing and marketing as well as environment and other sciences," project coordinator Vishwanath Palled said.
VRC also brings out a journal "Aamchi Gram Varta" (Our Village News) packed with information about 50 villages in the block, he said.
Running the VRC and the village knowledge centre are the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation with the support of SBI. A VKC is functioning at Anandvan, Warora (the leprosy asylum set up by Baba Amte) in Chandrapur district of eastern Vidarbha.
Jaipur, March 3 (IANS) Bollywood actor and MP Govinda seemed to be on a religious tour of Rajasthan, having visited a Sufi shrine and two temples in the state in the past few days.
He offered prayers at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti's Dargha in Ajmer, over 140 km from here, Friday.
"Govinda, accompanied by his wife and children, spent over 20 minutes at the shrine and offered a chadar and flowers," a shrine committee member told IANS.
After visiting the shrine Govinda drove to the Hindu holy city of Pushkar in the same district and offered prayers at Lord Brahma's temple.
On Thursday, Govinda along with his family had visited the Salasar temple in Churu district, over 170 km from here.
Dressed in a golden kurta-pyjama and a red colour stole, Govinda first chanted Vedic mantras with the pundits after which he was given prasad or holy offering.
Salasar Balaji being a shrine dedicated to Lord Hanuman, a photograph of the monkey god and a shawl were presented to Govinda, a local priest at the temple said.
"During the prayers Govinda also offered a coconut at the temple premises to make his wishes come true," the priest said.
He said the film star also expressed his desire to revisit the temple soon. Govinda was also given a traditional welcome and was garlanded by the temple administration.
Huge crowds had gathered at temple premises to have a glimpse of the film star. People started gathering as news spread of Govinda's visit. Of course, he didn't dishearten his fans and gave them an opportunity to click pictures with him.
Santo Domingo, Mar 2 (NNN-Prensa Latina) At least 54 Haitians are missing and presumed lost at sea, after their boat exploded 25 nautical miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic.
Two of the 56 people trying to illegally reach Turcos and Caicos islands were picked up by a Dominican boat and brought to a medical center in northern Montecristi Province.
According to the survivors, each of the illegal immigrants paid 505 dollars to the smugglers in Cape Haiti on the early morning of February 25.
Shimla, March 3 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh economy is growing at a healthy rate of 9.3 percent, as compared to last year's growth rate of 8.5 percent, says the latest state economic survey report.
"The growth rate of 9.3 percent is higher than the national growth rate of 9.2 percent," said Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio.
The report was tabled in the state assembly Friday.
Singh said the per capita income for the current financial year in the state is Rs.36,783, which is 26 percent higher than the national level. In the last fiscal year it was Rs.33,805.
The gross state domestic product (GSDP) on current prices is likely to be Rs.282.98 billion as compared to Rs.254.35 billion last year and Rs.230.24 billion two years ago, Singh added.
The economic survey says the primary sectors, including agriculture and allied services, also witnessed a growth rate of 2.6 percent.
"The secondary sectors, including manufacturing, construction and electricity, gas and water supply too registered a growth rate of 14.1 percent, which is again higher than the national level," the report finds.
Referring to inflation management, the chief minister said the consumer price index for the state had gone up by five percent during April and November last year as against 5.3 percent at the national level.
By Sanjay Sharma,
Bhopal, March 3 (IANS) Love, romance and even marriage is in the air for the Bhil tribals of Madhya Pradesh as Holi approaches. For, just preceding the festival is the weeklong event of Bhagora Haat.
The 'haat', or country fair, is special for Bhils because that is the time when many of them look for soul mates. This year Holi is being celebrated March 4.
At the heart of the festival is the uninhibited mingling of the sexes, which men and women celebrate by dancing to the beat of dhols and thalis and the sweet melody of the shehnai and bansuri.
Bhagordev or the tribal god of dance is worshipped during the fare, which is celebrated at west Nimar and Jhabua districts. The most respected village elder presides over the ceremony and offers sweets to the god.
As the fragrance of tadi and mahua (two types of locally brewed liquor) intoxicate the ambience, tribal boys and girls gather from far and near in large numbers to choose their partners. They eat, drink, dance and elope, as elopement is an important precondition to their marriage.
Young men go around applying gulal (red powder) on the girls they like. If a girl reciprocates the sentiment then she too applies gulal and that is all the permission a young man needs to marry her.
The mutual exchange of paan or betel leaf also signals a declaration of love.
"The boy applies gulal on the girl's face and if she does the same then they move towards a lonely place in the deep forests for some moments of utmost intimacy and celebrate Holi in their own way," said Digraskar, who himself chose his life partner at the Bhagora Haat.
The couples who run away as per the Bhagoria custom - 'bhag' means to elope - are then accepted in the Bhil society.
"A woman and a man who decide to elope soon come back to a tumultuous welcome and are pronounced man and wife by their elated families," said Digraskar, who works as a supervisor at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
The festival provides an institutionalised framework for announcing the alliance publicly though in Hindu mythology the eight days preceding Holi, known as Holika Ashtak, are considered inauspicious for marriages or any good work.
The important thing is that unlike in most other cases, the boy here has to pay the dowry for his would be partner to her father.
The festival, which coincides with the end of the harvest season, is celebrated with even more gaiety if the crops are good.
"The better the crop, the better the dowry. These days, however, it is really low - between Rs.40,000 and Rs.50,000 - because of a not-so-good crop this year," said Deenu, a prospective groom.
The changing times have also caught up with this quaint festival. Whereas earlier they would dress up in all their tribal finery, today the Bhil males wear shirts and trousers to the haat. Even the women have started applying lipstick and talc in a nod to modernity.
By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, March 3 (IANS) Tradition triumphed over politics in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal with ethnic dissidents pledging to suspend all disruption and strikes for three days to allow the nation celebrate Holi, the festival of colours.
"The government has still not created a conducive atmosphere for talks," said Upendra Yadav, chief of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group that has been spearheading a protest movement in the Terai plains in southern Nepal for greater representation, effectively cutting off all food and essential goods supplies from India to Nepal.
"However, we are withdrawing our protests for three days from Saturday for Holi." From Monday, the Forum started enforcing a chakka jam - transport strike - in the plains as well as a blockade of the trading points on the Indo-Nepal border.
The Birgunj customs office, the main trading point between India and Nepal has been losing crores of rupees daily since then with no cargo passing through. It also means a similar loss for the Indian customs office on the Indian side of the border.
However, the three-day respite will still not bring any joy to traders on both sides of the border and the two governments as Yadav said the blockade will continue.
Nepal celebrates Holi Saturday, a day ahead of India.
After the three-day respite ends, more severe disruptions threaten the plains with the Forum declaring an indefinite closure of the Terai region.
"We want to begin dialogue with the government," Yadav said.
However, as a precondition, the Forum is demanding the resignation of Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula for the 31 deaths caused so far during the Terai protests.
It is also demanding the formation of a probe panel to bring to book the culprits, including Maoist guerrillas.
In the capital, the Forum's ally, a federation of nearly 60 ethnic and indigenous communities, also pledged to call off its protest programmes till Monday.
The Nepal Adivasi Janajati Mahasangh, that successfully enforced seven major general strikes in Nepal last month, said it will not call any strike for three days for Holi.
Both the Forum and Mahasangh are demanding autonomous states for the communities they represent and greater representation in parliament.
Though Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in an unprecedented move, made two addresses to the nation within a week asking the protesters to withdraw strikes and begin talks, his plea has gone ignored.
London, March 3 (IANS) Actress Liz Hurley and Indian millionaire Arun Nayar took paparazzi and guests by surprise by going through the wedding rituals Friday evening - a day earlier then expected - at the Sudeley castle in Gloucestershire.
On Saturday several guests arrived at the venue but refused to speak to the media as all of them had signed secrecy agreements that prevented them from giving out any details of the event. Hurley and Nayar have signed a million-pound agreement with the HELLO! magazine for exclusive rights to the event.
Security guards were surrounding the venue while police were monitoring all routes leading to the Sudeley Castle. The castle belongs to the family of Hurley's close friend, Henry Dent-Brocklehurst, who is also godfather to her four-year-old son, Damian.
The guest list includes Sir Elton John, supermodel Kate Moss, the Beckhams, fashion designer Donatella Versace and some of Nayar's friends from Mumbai. Hugh Grant, Hurley's lover for 13 years, was not included in the guest list.
On Friday evening, the civil ceremony took place in a licensed room in the castle, and celebrated their marriage with a church service in a building adjacent to the stately home on Saturday.
Local residents are excited about the attention the town of Winchencombe has attracted due to the wedding. The vicar of Winchencombe, Rev John Partington, officiated at the wedding. Anne Williams, county superintendent registrar for Gloucestershire, conducted proceedings in one of the castle's licensed rooms.
Hurley and Nayar were expected to travel to India for a re-enactment of their wedding in Indian tradition at Jodhpur.
Cape Town, March 3 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) for the second time in less than two years for its failure to adopt the new constitution.
As a result, the annual ICC grant to the USACA has been withheld and the US team withdrawn from the World Cricket League Division 3 Series, to be held in Darwin, Australia, in May, the game's world governing body announced here after its board meeting Saturday.
"It gives the ICC Board no pleasure to re-enact this suspension but given the lack of progress towards a functioning administration of USA Cricket it has been left with little alternative," ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said.
"The ICC recognises that the US has vast potential as a cricketing nation but without a functioning administration that potential is likely to remain largely untapped."
The suspension has been enacted on the basis of USACA's failure to meet the agreed and subsequently extended deadlines for the adoption of the new association constitution and the holding of elections.
Under the terms of the suspension - which is with immediate effect and confirmed in a letter to USACA president Gladstone Dainty Friday - the annual ICC grant that would otherwise have been paid April 15 will be withheld.
Additionally, the national team preparation grant for that event and direct funding support from the ICC Americas Region Development Program will also be withheld, said ICC.
"The West Indies, as the ICC Full Member in the region, has been asked to play a lead role in monitoring progress in the USA. The suspension will stand until such time as the West Indies Cricket Board recommends and the Executive Board agrees that it should be lifted," said ICC in a statement after the two-day meeting.
The last time USACA was also prevented from attending the 2005 annual conference on the basis that the ICC was unable to determine a legitimate governor of cricket in the US.
That suspension was lifted by the ICC board in March 2006 subject to meeting of certain conditions that included fresh elections for the USACA board of directors under a new constitution by last Nov 30 and appointment or reconfirmation of all USACA executive positions by Dec 31 the same year.
"By November's ICC board meeting progress had been minimal but, following a request from USACA's directors the deadline for conditions to be met was extended to this March 1," said ICC.
This extension was granted on the basis that if the new deadline was missed then the ICC would revert to its previous position of withholding funds, not recognising USACA at ICC meetings or US teams in ICC competitions.
Patna, March 3 (Indianmuslims.info) Idara Shariah Bihar has expressed its deep sense of concern and resentment over the anti-Muslim provocative speeches made by VHP ‘aggressive’ and ‘firebrand’ leader Praveen Togadia at different places in the State.
The Idara has strongly demanded from the government to arrest Togadia immediately for destroying peace and poisoning the atmosphere of brotherhood and communal harmony in the State.
The organisation’s chief Maulana Ghulam Rasool Balyawi and another functionary Syed Sanaullah Rizvi, in a joint statement released here Friday, said, “If Togadia is not arrested for his inflammatory speeches, it is feared that communal violence will erupt all around the State.�
Earlier, Imarat Shariah Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Bihar also took serious notice of Togadia’s diatribe, drew the attention of the government towards it and urged the government to arrest this communal and fascist VHP leader.
Ha Noi, March 2 (NNN-VNA) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently proposed the State Securities Commission (SSC) of Viet Nam adopt measures to limit risks arising from the country's stock market, which has grown rapidly over the last year, with new listings and greater investor activity.
In recommendations sent to the commission, the IMF surmised that a large part of the rapid growth was due to optimistic assessments on the economy and integration into the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has led to growing foreign direct investment since last November.
As a result, certain shares are currently overvalued amid high investor demand. Although some Asian countries have experienced similar price spikes in the past, no country has an average price-earnings ratio as high as Viet Nam.
The IMF warns that indirect investment in the country has created a current account surplus, which could easily become a deficit in the near future when demand for imports rises due to WTO-backed tariff cuts.
IMF officials therefore suggest that authorities tighten controls to limit risks in the securities market, especially those related to commercial banks that, for example, accept stock as collateral for loans.
In principle, only banks with sound risk management regimes and well-educated staff should be licensed to trade securities, said the IMF.
Now that the trade deficit is under control and capital is still being pumped into the economy, Viet Nam should consider increasing its foreign reserves so as to satisfy balance of payment needs in case money begins flowing in the opposite direction, said the IMF.
To this end, the international organisation suggested that the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) tighten monetary policy and curb lending growth among commercial banks.
The SBV should be more flexible in managing the dong, allowing its value to fall if investment begins flowing away from the market, said the IMF.
Officials also said that the Government should make further efforts to improve transparency to ensure the reliability of the stock market, and maintain strict regulations on how material information is publicly disclosed.
The IMF support punitive measures being taken against those participating in inside trading. -- NNN-VNA
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 3 (IANS) Immigrant women from India and other parts of the world are one of the fastest-growing segments of small business owners in the United States, according to a new study.
These women can expect to be a sizeable portion of small business owners by 2017 with 36 million immigrants of either sex having higher rates of starting new businesses than native-born Americans, according to Intuit Inc.'s Future of Small Business Report, co-authored by the Institute for the Future.
Robert Fairlie, an economist who produces the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, notes that each month over the last three years, 310 of every 100,000 immigrant women created a business, while 220 of 100,000 native-born women did so.
In other words, immigrant women are starting businesses at a rate 41 percent higher than native-born women.
They do it for a variety of reasons: for flexibility to raise children, to avoid barriers that come with traditional jobs, or because their skills do not translate well into corporate America.
Small businesses employ slightly more than half of all US private-sector workers, and these women are staking their place in the economy as job creators.
Asa Kalavade, raised in India, for one co-founded Tatara Systems Inc., a Massachusetts-based technology business that employs 65 people. Kalavade said in India she felt societal pressure to study something more "woman-friendly" than engineering.
After earning a graduate engineering degree at University of California, Berkeley, she stayed in the United States to work at Bell Labs Research before setting off on her own.
Starting her own business was not easy. Kalavade estimates that from 1999 through 2001, some 40 venture capitalists turned her down when asked if they would exchange startup money for equity in the company.
She and her co-founder, a woman from China, did not give up, and, eventually, investors helped them start Tatara. Fairlie would say Kalavade is daring by nature. "To leave your own country and come at great cost to another country, that's self-selecting" for entrepreneurial spirit, he said.
Today, Kalavade holds eight patents for wireless technologies. One of her patents is for technology that allows consumers to receive phone calls to their mobile phones on their computers. "I didn't want to do pie-in-the-sky research," she said.
Immigrant women are "prone to taking risks," said Farhana Huq, of CEO Women, a San Francisco nonprofit that helps low-income immigrant women start businesses. "They really just put themselves on the line."
Immigrant women have advantages in a global marketplace, the Intuit study says; language skills and relationships from home countries help them find suppliers and customers.
Even though only two out of 10 of all small businesses succeed in their first year, immigrants might have an advantage, said Steve King, senior advisor at the Institute for the Future and study co-author.
"Immigrants are more attuned - often more than natives - to the opportunity in America," he said, "and women increasingly start businesses to avoid the corporate 'glass ceiling.' These motivating factors lead to a higher rate of success."
The report identifies three major trends: the changing face of small business, the rise of personal business and the emergence of entrepreneurial education. Those trends led to five major findings:
* Entrepreneurs will no longer come predominantly from the middle of the age spectrum, but instead from the edges. People nearing retirement and their children just entering the job market will set the bar as the most entrepreneurial generation ever.
* American entrepreneurship will reflect a huge upswing in the number of women. The glass ceiling that has limited women's growth in traditional corporate career paths will send a rich talent pool to the small business sector.
* Immigrant entrepreneurs will drive a new wave of globalisation. US immigration policy and the outcome of the current immigration debates will affect how this segment performs over the next decade.
* Contract workers, accidental and social entrepreneurs will fuel a proliferation of personal businesses. Economic, social and technological change - and an increased interest in flexible work schedules - will produce a more independent workforce seeking a better work-life balance.
* Entrepreneurship will be a widely adopted curriculum at educational, trade and vocational institutions. As a result, artists, musicians and others not traditionally exposed to business education will learn not just their trade but small-business management skills as well.
New Delhi, March 3 (Indianmuslims.info) Out of the 272 new wards re-constituted by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Muslim factor matters in as many as 52 wards, in which Muslim candidates are expected either to emerge as winners or help the desired candidates win.
In 16 out of the 52 wards Muslim population is 50% or even more than that; in 19 wards Muslims constitute 30-45% of the population, and in 17 wards their ratio comes at 15-25%.
However, as the powers-that-be would have it, in 7 out of the 52 wards Muslim candidates cannot try their luck as these 7 wards have been reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) women. So Muslims can participate in the election fray in only 45 wards.
In the last 134-ward MCD elections, the Congress had fielded about a dozen Muslim candidates and 5 out of them could win the elections. And the total number of successful Muslim councillors was eight: 2 on Janta Dal (Secular) tickets and 1 independent besides 5 on Congress tickets.
Whether or not the representation of Muslims in MCD will increase in the forthcoming elections depends entirely on the policy adopted by the political parties. It is indeed testing time for political parties to show their secular credentials and keep their promise to give Muslims due participation in power. Muslims here are yet to see whether the political parties will give Muslims tickets at least in 45 wards where Muslims are in decision-making position.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Finnish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are planning to invest 200 million euros in India by the end of this year in areas such as technology, healthcare, wellness and tourism.
"Currently investments by Finnish companies are to the tune of 50 million euros and we intend to take it up to 200 million euros by 2007", Seppo I.Keranen, head, Finpro India, a Finnish trade and industry body.
"There are many small and medium Finnish companies that want to do business in India and same with Indian companies, but they are not being able to communicate with each other properly, so Finpro acts as a facilitator," Keranen added.
Some of the big Finnish companies that have operations in India are Nokia, Kone, Sandvik and Wartsila.
"Big companies can come and do business on their own but we are facilitating business opportunities for the smaller companies."
Finpro will hold the first Indo Finnish Business Meet - FIND 2007 - in Goa from April 24 to 26 to connect Finnish and Indian companies in an informal environment.
"We will help them find new clients, new business partners. This will be something like a matchmaking process," he stated.
"We want to also promote Finland as the most preferred tourist destination in India," he said.
"Currently the size of Indian tourist arrivals in Finland is very small. In the year 2005, less than 4,000 visas were issued for Indians travelling to Finland, in 2006 more than 8,000 visas were issued and our target is to take it up to 20,000 visas this year," Keranen said.
According to Keranen, Finpro is also bullish on India's movie industry and he wants Indian movie directors to shoot films in scenic locales of Finland.
"India is like a hot potato, India is now hungry and we want to take advantage of this opportunity."
New Delhi, Mar. 2(IRNA) India's Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has said that reprocessing rights of plutonium was crucial as it would help in dealing with problems of proliferation as well as nuclear waste.
Present nuclear power plants utilise only 0.7 per cent of uranium and the remaining 99.3 per cent is the spent fuel Plutonium, which remains highly radioactive for over 10,000 years in the storage.
This Plutonium can be reprocessed to generate power, PTI reported here quoting BARC director Dr S Banerjee.
It was this consideration that led India to take up a three-stage nuclear power program where in the stage II--fast breeder programme- - uses the spent fuel from pressurised heavy water reactor (thermal).
The fast breeder reactor which uses highly radioactive plutonium generates manageable waste and most plutonium is converted into useful energy, said Banerjee.
It was this reason that India has been insisting on right to reprocess in the current Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.
If plutonium is not reprocessed, "then we will be doing injustice to mother earth by storing highly radioactive spent fuel in underground water storage."
That is, plutonium which is a proliferation material is made into an almost non-proliferating one.
This process is known as the "closed" nuclear fuel cycle and has been adopted by a number of countries, the United Kingdom, Japan and France among them.
The energy tapped from plutonium in fast breeder reactors is several times than the thermal reactors and even US wants to enter into it with a realisation after three decades.
Banerjee said, 97 per cent of spent fuel can be re-used.
India has already established its capability on fast breeder technology by running a fast breeder test reactor for almost two decades and began constructing the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) of 500 MWe at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, Banerjee said.
FBR requires large quantity of plutonium and therefore there should be no restrictions on reprocessing of plutonium generated from thermal n-plants.
By 2050, India has to increase its energy needs atleast 10 times the current production to take the per capita availability of 600 kwh (kilowatt per hour) per person to 6000 kwh.
To meet Indian nuclear industry's ambitious projected target of 40,000 MW clean energy by 2020, "we need to import from outside but at the same time it should not be attached with any strings, as India is also committed to its agenda of closed fuel cycle (converting plutonium into useful energy)," Banerjee said.
The choice of closed fuel cycle adpoted by founding father of Indian nuclear program was with a clear mandate not to give back highly radioactive waste to mother earth and if reprocessing is not allowed (as per the recent US Hyde Act), it is unethical, he warned.
Technology denial to India by US has been continuous since 1974 (after Pokhran Nuke test I) and not just from 1998 after Nuke-test II.
According to Banerjee, if the US wishes to assist India, then the technology denial, in place since seventies, should be lifted.
New Delhi, March 2(IRNA) Indian Ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and American Ambassador James Moriarty met various political leaders separately on Thursday urging the interim government not to admit the Maoists because of their intimidatory statements and `understating' of arms in the registration process carried out by the United Nations.
According to a report published here Friday in an english daily, "Indian Express", Press officer of the Indian Embassy Gopal Bagalay said Mukherjee discussed Nepal's current political scenario during his meeting with Prime Minister Koirala but refused to give details.
Moriarty, on the other hand, met with Speaker Subhash Nembwang a day after his meeting with Communist Party General Secretary Madhav Nepal, saying that the reported understating of arms by Maoist cadres needs to be taken seriously.
The perceived under-reporting of arms comes in the wake of Maoist parliamentarian Lokendra Bista daring the government on the floor of the House to take away the arms in his possession.
Home Minister K P Sitaula not only refused to act, but also apologised for privete security personnel of two Maoist MPs being forced to deposit their arms before they entered the House last week.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) India has emerged as Dubai's largest export destination, outpacing Pakistan, Iran and Kuwait, according to a Dubai industry body.
Trade between India and Dubai has reached the $10.9 billion mark from $2.5 billion five years ago, showing a growth rate of 336 percent, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said in a release Saturday.
In 2005-06, total exports from India to Dubai were $6.4 billion, while imports from Dubai clocked at $4.5 billion and, according to the statement, Dubai has gained importance as a trans-shipment point and logistics hub for Indian goods.
"More than 80 percent of trade between India and the UAE is routed through Dubai," it said.
It said the highest number of foreign investors in Dubai in the first half of 2006 came from India, with 1,152 licenses issued.
Out of 85,000 companies registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, almost 11,200 companies have a partnership with Indian firms.
In the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai's largest commercial hub having operations of over 5,500 companies, India has a strong presence with 600 companies.
Moreover, the 22 Indian state-run firms that are operating in the UAE have offices in Dubai.
Kathmandu, March 3 (IANS) India's newly unveiled budget for 2007-2008 has created a furore in Nepal after a local Nepali daily said New Delhi has cut its assistance for its northern neighbour while increasing it significantly for Bhutan and the Maldives. However, the Indian embassy here said the daily was jumping to conclusions.
Quoting an Indian news agency, the Kathmandu Post daily Friday said in a front-page report that the budget tabled by Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in parliament earlier this week reduced its allocation to Nepal to $31 million from last year's $47 million.
"The budget however has significantly increased the aid amounts for Bhutan and Maldives," the Post report said. "It has allocated $171 million for Bhutan, up from $134 million last year."
"Likewise, Maldives will have a more than double allocation of $3 million, up from the previous year's $1 million."
Reacting quickly to the report, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu issued a statement Friday, saying the Post had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
"The Ministry of External Affair's budget for Nepal represents only one mechanism through which the government of India resources are allocated for economic cooperation with Nepal," the statement said.
"Other government agencies and mechanisms also significantly contribute to large cooperation programmes with Nepal, such as the recent and ongoing supplies to support the peace process in Nepal (Rs.800 million), $100 million line of credit, waiver of defence purchase dues (over Rs.1 billion), etc.
"The MEA's aid to Nepal segment (in the budget) is thus just one part of the entire Indian assistance to Nepal."
Last month, the same publishing house had carried another front-page report where it said India's importance in Nepal's eyes had diminished with priority being given to appointing ambassadors in other countries.
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) -- The Indian cricket team arrived here with hopes of reclaiming the World Cup after nearly a quarter century when the ninth edition of the quadrennial event starts in the Caribbean on Mar 13.
The 15-member squad led by Rahul Dravid reached the picturesque sea resort Thursday (early hours of Friday in India) accompanied by support staff and officials.
After playing two warm-up matches, India kick-off their campaign with their opening Group B encounter against Bangladesh on Mar 17 at Port of Spain, Trinidad.
India's two practice matches would be against The Netherlands (Mar 6) and hosts West Indies (Mar 9) at the Trelawny stadium here.
The league opener is slated to be held at India's happy hunting Test ground, Queen's Park Oval.
India are scheduled to play their remaining two Group ties also at the same venue, on Mar 19 (v Bermuda) and Mar 23 (v Sri Lanka).
The top two teams from each of the four preliminary groups advance to the Super Eight stage from Mar 27.
India won the game's biggest prize in 1983 under Kapil Dev in England.
They reached the semi-finals in 1987 and 1996, both in the sub continent, and were finalists in 2003 in South Africa.
The Indian squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-captain), Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthick, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan and S Sreesanth.
Coach: Greg Chappell.
--NNN-PTI
Jakarta, March 3 (Xinhua) At least 16 people were killed and 43 reported missing in landslides triggered by heavy rains in Indonesia early Saturday, an official said.
The Indonesian Disaster Management Agency (IDMA) reported that the torrential rains since Thursday triggered heavy landslides Saturday morning in six districts of Mangarai regency, destroying houses and disrupting road connectivity.
The heavy rains hampered rescue efforts in the isolated areas, an IDMA official told Xinhua.
The rains have also triggered floods in Reok district.
Landslides and floods occur frequently in Indonesia because of inadequate forest cover, resulting in soil erosion and water overflow.
Jakarta, March 3 (DPA) At least 34 people were killed and 20 were missing in landslides triggered by heavy rains in Indonesia early Saturday, a health official said.
At least 34 bodies were recovered so far and 20 more were still missing, Rustam Pakaya, chief of the Indonesian Health Department's Crisis Centre in Jakarta told DPA.
There are two villages buried by tons of mud, so numbers of victims might increase, he said.
It was the latest disaster in a series of rain-triggered catastrophe in Indonesia.
Torrential rains since Thursday triggered heavy landslides Saturday morning in six districts of Mangarai regency, destroying houses and disrupting road connectivity.
The heavy rains hampered rescue efforts in the isolated areas, an IDMA official told Xinhua.
The rains have also triggered floods in Reok district.
Landslides and floods occur frequently in Indonesia because of inadequate forest cover, resulting in soil erosion and water overflow.
Hyderabad, Mar 3 (IANS) Tennis star Sania Mirza, who sustained injury to her right knee during the Qatar Open, was Saturday admitted to a private hospital here for treatment, which could last four weeks.
Doctors at Apollo Hospitals said Sania, who hurt her knee's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), would undergo an intense four-week physiotherapy and rehabilitation regimen.
"She will be reviewed after four weeks before taking a decision on the further course of action," said K. Hari Prasad, chief executive officer of Apollo Hospitals.
Doctors, however, said she need not undergo surgery and would be discharged from hospital in a couple of days.
Sania, ranked 46th on WTA tour, sustained a hyperextension injury to her right knee during her match against Italy's Romina Oprandi in the first round match at the Qatar Open Feb 26. She won the match.
The 20-year-old was brought to the hospital Friday with pain and swelling in the joint. Physical examination and an MRI indicated an ACL injury. She was admitted to the hospital for further evaluation Saturday morning.
"This examination reconfirmed the possibility of an ACL injury and it was decided to proceed further. Arthroscopy was done and this revealed a stretched ACL. The ligament was assessed for its functionality and it was found that the ligament's function was adequate," said a medical bulletin.
According to doctors, the two ligaments inside the knee - anterior and posterior - play a crucial role in mobility. Injury to either of them will weaken reflexes.
The injury, which had forced Sania to pull out of the Qatar open, could keep her away from action for some time. The doctors said recovery time would be known only after four weeks.
Sania has also been forced to skip the Pacific Life Open, beginning in US from March 5.
Tokyo, March 3 (DPA) China has become an overseas market for Japanese patients looking for organ transplantation.
Although Japanese make up less than five percent of foreign patients in Chinese hospitals, more people, frustrated with years of waiting and agony and not sure of receiving transplants in their homeland are turning to the neighbouring nation where surgeries are less costly and quicker.
Kenichi Hokamura, 63, of the southern Japanese province of Miyazaki had to wait only a week to be invited to Shanghai for his kidney transplant after calling a broker. "I would have died had I waited here," said Hokamura.
Hokamura was among more than 12,000 patients waiting in Japan for healthy organs. There are only a few donors in Japan where people hesitate to donate their organs for religious beliefs, forcing patients to move to other countries, including the US and Southeast Asia.
The shortage of donors drives patients to other destinations, including the US and Southeast Asia even though the cost comes out of their own pockets for surgeries that health insurance would pay for in Japan.
The number of Japanese undergoing liver and kidney transplants in China is difficult to gauge because many don't wish official record keepers to know. But last year the health, labour and welfare ministry recorded at least 120 such patients.
Hokamura was one of them. Frustrated with the Japanese system, he ultimately decided on surgery in China rather than another country because he was more confident with China's medical advancement.
The same concerns over the medical expertise of other Asian nations as well as the 10-million-yen cost of the surgeries in the West have brought a growing number of transplant patients to China.
BUENOS AIRES, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) -- The judgements given in India in the Bofors cases and the failed extradition attempt in Malaysia will form the basis for the defence of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi should the extradition case initiated against him by the CBI proceeds to a hearing, his Argetinian lawyer Alejandro Freeland has said.
Freeland, who claimed that both he and Quattrocchi are "confounded" at the turn of events that resulted in the Bofors-accused's arrest in Argentina told PTI that he has not been contacted by the CBI, nor had access to the papers that have been supplied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Buenos Aires.
He, however, has been researching past precedents in cases involving the Bofors arms deal and believes that "there is significant evidence that the case being brought against Quattrocchi is based on fictitious events, this view being supported by a judge in the New Delhi High Court in rulings in 2004 and 2005 during the Hindujas brothers' Bofors trial."
"It is likely that these cases, and the failed Malaysian extradition attempt will form the basis of Quattrocchi's defence should the case proceed to a hearing," he said.
According to Freeland, Quattrocchi was a resident "in India until 1993, seven years after the Bofors disposal, and was never questioned or approached by the CBI during this time. Following the last extradition attempt in Malaysia in 1997 Quattrocchi returned to Italy and again, no attempt was made by the CBI to begin extradition proceedings there."
Kuala Lumpur, March 3, (IRNA) Iran's Judiciary chief Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Shahroudi, heading a judiciary delegation, is to start a three-day visit to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Shahroudi, during his visit, will meet with Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Senate speaker and several other senior officials of the country.
Ayatollah Shahroudi is scheduled to address students of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) on Tuesday.
His entourage includes Justice Minister Gholam-Hossein Elham.
He and his delegation will proceed to Indonesia on Wednesday morning.
London, March 2(IRNA) The delayed inquest into the 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is now to be heard in front of a jury after the High Court in London overruled the coroner's decision to sit alone.
Three senior judges ruled that concurrent inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi al-Fayed, the son of an Egyptian businessman who was also killed in the 1997 Paris car crash, will be heard by a jury.
Dodi's father, Mohamed al Fayed, who challenged the original ban, welcomed the court's decision and called for senior members of the royal family, including Diana's former husband Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, to be questioned at the inquest.
"It's a good victory but it's just the start of my battle for the last 10 years to find justice," al Fayed told reporters after the court's ruling.
Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, who has been appointed as coroner for the inquest, said in January that she had decided to hear the case alone after scrutinizing legal arguments on whether to appoint a jury made up from the public.
She previously rejected holding the case with a jury made up of members from the Queen's household, as is usual for inquests on members of the royal family.
Dodi's father has long argued in favor of a public jury after claiming that the deaths of his son and Diana were the result of a conspiracy by the British establishment.
He said his lawyers would now need time to prepare their case but hoped the inquests would take place before the 10th anniversary of their deaths in August.
Reports that Butler-Sloss would stand down as coroner for the case as a result of the High Court's decision were said to have been dismissed by the Royal Courts of Justice.
The former senior judge will sit as coroner of "some sort," a spokeswoman was quoted saying, but added that it was still assessing part of the ruling on her status in the case. A pre-inquest hearing is due to take place next Monday.
Last month, a three-year police inquiry into the deaths dismissed allegations that the divorced wife of Price Charles, was part of any conspiracy.
The inquiry, led by former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens, also concluded that claims were not founded that Diana was pregnant and planned to marry the Egyptian businessman's son.
"There was no conspiracy to murder any of the occupants of that car," Stevens said in reference to their deaths in a car crash. "This was a tragic accident," he insisted.
A two-year investigation in France has previously blamed the chauffeur, Henri Paul, who was also killed in the crash, for losing control of the car because he had been drinking alcohol, taking prescription drugs and was driving too fast.
Srinagar, March 3 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered an identification parade of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel allegedly involved in the disappearance of a local youth six years ago.
Hearing a petition filed by the family of the victim, Muhammad Ashraf Koka, son of Gulam Hassan Koka of Verinag village in Anantnag district in south Kashmir, Justice Bashir Ahmad Kirmani directed the government to produce 12 personnel of the ITBP for identification parade before Ashraf's family members.
Ashraf was reportedly arrested by the ITBP from his village in 2001 but efforts by his family to locate him in any of the security forces' camps and interrogation centres had drawn a blank.
The family had unsuccessfully tried to get a missing person complaint filed in the Bijbehara police station in Anantnag district and it was only after the court intervention that it was lodged.
Police charged the ITPB personnel for the disappearance following a probe into the matter.
Since the battalion responsible for the youth's arrest has already moved out of the Kashmir Valley, the public prosecutor Friday sought six week's time from the court to produce the accused ITBP men for identification.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Cracking a case of abduction for ransom, Delhi Police Saturday rescued a 16-year old mentally challenged school student from northeast Delhi and arrested two people in this connection.
According to police, the accused Noor Mohammed and his accomplice Arif Rahim allegedly abducted Fateh Khan Thursday from outside Divya Public School at Nand Nagri locality in northeast Delhi and demanded a ransom of Rs.100,000 from the boy's parents.
The duo hails from Ghaziabad, a satellite town of the national capital. Mohammed, the main accused, is a relative of the boy's family and had asked his parents to bring the money near the Apsara border in Uttar Pradesh, police said.
During investigations, both the accused revealed that the ransom call was made from a public telephone booth near Apsara border area. However, police did not get any clue from the booth owner.
Police said they had also questioned the family members of the kidnapped boy. Later they pin pointed on Mohamed, as he was absconding for the past 15 days.
"Acting on a tip-off, we arrested the duo and during interrogations they confessed to their crime and revealed the address where the boy had been kept," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rupinder Kumar said.
Kathmandu, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has rejected Maoist chief Prachanda's proposal to immediately declare Nepal a Republic by abolishing the monarchy, saying the former rebel should wait until the constituent assembly elections expected in June.
During a high-level meeting here with the Prime Minister yesterday, Prachanda asked Koirala to immediately abolish the monarchy and convert Nepal into a republic through a Parliamentary declaration.
However, Koirala rejected the proposal and asked Prachanda to have patience until the constituent assembly elections, Nepali Congress central committee member Arjun Narsingh K.C. Said.
During the meeting, Prachanda also asked Koirala to immediately form an Interim government inclusive of the Maoists so that election to the constituent assembly polls could be held on time.
Nepal's Seven Party Alliance have agreed to decide the fate of the monarchy through the constituent assembly polls to be held by mid-June this year.
Koirala is learnt to have told Prachanda that the government has to take into account the national and international situation before taking such decisions.
Prior to the meeting, Prime Minister Koirala met Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping, who said that the Maoists must change their current behaviour before they could be included in the government.
Heping welcomed the government's peace initiative and said the move to bring the Maoists to the political mainstream was positive. He also reiterated China's continued support to Nepal's peace and development, sources close to the Prime Minister said.
Patna, March 3 (IANS) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, euphoric over the "dream" Railway Budget he presented this week in parliament, played with colours Saturday afternoon on the eve of Holi and used the opportunity to attack his political foe, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Clad in his usual white kurta and pyjama and surrounded by media persons and party workers at the 10, Circular Road, residence his wife Rabri Devi, who is the state's Leader of Opposition, Lalu Prasad was in his elements while playing with colours despite initial reluctance to celebrate the festival a day ahead.
Lalu was drenched with coloured water as wife Rabri Devi looked on amusingly.
"He is in the mood to play, but let's wait for Holi," Rabri Devi told IANS.
At a formal press conference, Lalu Prasad said he would celebrate the festival of colours Sunday, but when one of the press photographers drenched him with colour, Lalu was sporting enough to participate.
"Wait for the real Holi, I will play in style," he said.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader also released a Hindi satirical booklet titled "Shushashan Gutkha" written by poet Virender Vachaspati in Magahi dialect, spoofing the claims of Nitish Kumar's 16-month-old 'sushashan' (good governance).
"Whatever is written by this old poet about the Nitish Kumar government is true. There is no law and order, only announcements and promises. Nothing happens on the ground," Lalu Prasad said.
"The poet requested me to release the book since I am available in Patna and I honoured him with a shawl and a bunch of flowers," he said.
Lalu Prasad was also elated over his railway budget. "After presenting my dream Railway Budget, which has shown a profit of Rs.200 billion, I'm now in a mood to celebrate Holi in my very own style," he said.
Lalu Prasad boasted how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had praised his railway budget, apart from many other people.
Sources at the residence said Lalu Prasad has given instructions for a grand party this Holi. "There will be different herbal colours, thandai (drink), bhang and sweets," the source said.
Lalu Prasad is known for playing particularly robust Holi - literally tearing off the clothes of the participants, during the festivities.
During their 15-year-long rule in Bihar, the couple would host big Holi parties every year, except the year when Lalu Prasad was in jail for his alleged involvement in the multi-million-rupees fodder scam in the late 1990s.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will celebrate Holi in a simple and low-key fashion Sunday.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi Saturday greeted the nation on Holi, saying the festival of colours should help to strengthen fraternal bonds and bring peace among the people.
Kalam said: "The festival of colours highlights the multi-religious harmony that has existed in our country for centuries and the spirit of tolerance that has been the essence of our culture and civilisation.
"May this year's festival strengthen fraternal bonds amongst our people and bring peace and prosperity to our nation."
Manmohan Singh too extended his wishes and said: "The festival of colours not only spreads cheer in our lives but also goes a long way to strengthen bonds amongst the people."
The prime minister expressed hope that the change of season would usher in new hope for a brighter future and a new resolve to forge ahead as a nation.
In her message, Gandhi said: "Let this festival of colours bring peace, joy and prosperity among our people."
Holi, the festival of colours, will be celebrated Sunday across the country.
BEIRUT, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) -- Lebanese security sources said Saturday police found a cache of explosives in south Lebanon, in working order.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the sources said security forces found fake explosive devices in a wooden box on the highway leading to Sidon.
Lebanese civilians meanwhile found seven mortar shells places in a bag near the road between Ansar and Al-Zrariya southern villages.
The sources said the security forces immediately showed up and found out that there are three live 120mm mortar rounds and four grenades.
The authorities fear more such discoveries in Lebanese districts, especially after advanced shells and explosives were found recently in Sidon, Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp, Akar, and Al-Ashrafiyah in Beirut.
Beirut, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) Lebanese security sources said Saturday police found a cache of explosives in south Lebanon, in working order.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the sources said security forces found fake explosive devices in a wooden box on the highway leading to Sidon.
Lebanese civilians meanwhile found seven mortar shells places in a bag near the road between Ansar and Al-Zrariya southern villages.
The sources said the security forces immediately showed up and found out that there are three live 120mm mortar rounds and four grenades.
The authorities fear more such discoveries in Lebanese districts, especially after advanced shells and explosives were found recently in Sidon, Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian Refugee Camp, Akar, and Al-Ashrafiyah in Beirut.
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said on Saturday that administrative skills should focus on the 20-Year Strategy Plan for Economic, Cultural and Social Development (2005-2025).
Speaking at a Conference on 'Prospects of the Strategy Plan in the Year 2025), Haddad Adel admitted that attaining the goals of the plan is not something which lies only on the shoulder of the government.
In the meantime, he expressed concern about absence of mechanisms in the administrative system to ensure that the goals of the Strategy Plan would be materialized.
"For example, currently, the next (Iranian) year's budget bill is being debated in Majlis. The question is that to what extent the bill has been correlated to Strategy Plan," Haddad Adel said.
The Majlis speaker said that implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution would be effective. So, the requirement for the progress and development of the nation is that both the 20-Year Strategy Plan and the Constitutional Article should be put into operation instead of remaining only on the papers.
He called for mechanisms to be devised to oblige managers to implement the programs and said that successful implementation of the long-term program needs coordination among the three branches of government.
He called on senior officials to mobilize resources of the nation for implementation of the development plans.
Pekan, Mar 3 (NNN-Bernama) Malaysian laws does not shield wrongdoers and whoever breaks the law will not escape punishment, no matter what influence they use to secure their release, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said today.
The deputy prime minister said a criminal was still a criminal and the law would not let him escape punishment even if he used the influence of certain people.
He told reporters this when asked to comment on a news report Saturday that a high-ranking politician had allegedly received at least RM5 million to assist in the release of several men detained under the Emergency Ordinance.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Musa Hassan in confirming the matter, was reported to have said that the suspects linked to the politician were believed to be involved in crimes like vice, prostitution, gangsterism, illegal money lending and extortion.
Najib called on the police to take appropriate action against any party involved in the matter even if the individual was a politician or an influential figure.
"I hope that the police will investigate and take action against those who try to do such things...action can be taken against them, no one is above the law in our country," he said.
Berlin, March 3(IRNA) Copenhagen Friday night became the scene of new riots for a second consective day as police led fierce streets battles with mainly youthful rioters following the closure of a youth center, media reports said Saturday.
Police reported 130 arrests, among them many Germans, according to witnesses.
At least one person was injured in the nightly clashes.
Police was forced to use massive tear gas after an inital illegal protest action of around 1000 demonstrators turned violent.
Radical leftists and anarchist militants pelted police with cobbles, set cars and garbage cans on fire and errected street barricades.
Protestors also stormed a school, wrecking the interior of the building.
Earlier on Friday, demonstrators occupied the headquarters of the Danish Socialist Party in protest against the closure of the youth center, which was occupied by mostly radical leftist and anarchist teenagers in 1981 and has meanwhile been sold to a Christian church.
At least 220 people were detained during Thursday night's riots in Copenhagen which also spilled over to German cities.
The Danish capital had already been rocked last December by riots over the issue of the youth center.
Meanwhile, street protests in Hamburg and Hannover, voicing solidarity with the Copenhagen demonstrators, turned also ugly late Thursday night.
In Hamburg, police prevented 800 protestors from moving towards the Danish consulate based in the north German port city.
At least 14 people were arrested following scuffles with security forces.
Demonstatrators lobbed bottles and stones at police, slightly injuring an officer.
In Hannover, some 20 masked protestors smashed the windows of a police car and private vehicle.
Several other peaceful demonstrations in support of the Danish youth center occupiers took place in several German cities, including Braunschweig, Goettingen, Flensburg, Karlsruhe, Mainz und Frankfurt on the Main River.
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) The Meteorological Organization of Iran (MOI) announced on Saturday that Bandar Abbas in Hormuzgan province with a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, and Mashhad in Khorasan Razavi province, with a maximum temperature of five degrees Celsius will be respectively the country's warmest and coldest major cities during daytime on Sunday.
The MOI also announced the maximum temperatures of other major cities in Iran for the same period as follows:
Name of City Maximum
------------ -------
Abadan 25
Abu Mousa 23
Arak 13
Ardebil 14
Orumiyeh 15
Isfahan 16
Ahvaz 23
Ilam 13
Babolsar 16
Bojnourd 11
Bandar Abbas (26)
Bushehr 23
Birjand 13
Tabriz 14
Tehran 15
Khorramabad 14
Ramsar 15
Rasht 15
Zahedan 23
Zanjan 08
Sari 16
Semnan 14
Sanandaj 13
Shahroud 13
Shemiran (N.of Tehran) 13
Shahr-e Kord 10
Shiraz 16
Qazvin 17
Qom 19
Kashan 16
Karaj 08
Kerman 19
Kermanshah 14
Kish 23
Gorgan 15
Garmsar 12
Mashhad [05]
Mahabad 15
Nowshahr 15
Hamedan 10
Yasouj 12
Yazd 22
Jakarta, March 3 (XINHUA) A moderate quake measuring 5.3 on the vector scale hit eastern Indonesia Saturday, damaging some buildings and a television tower. There were no reports of casualties or injuries.
The quake, with its epicentre near Manukwari in Papua province, hit the region at 11.04 a.m. (local time), the Indonesian meteorology and geophysics agency said.
Indonesia is placed on a vulnerable quake-hit zone called 'Pacific Rim of Fire', where continental plates cause frequent seismic and volcanic activities.
London, March 2(IRNA) A coalition of environmentalists, scientific groups, non-governmental organizations, trade unionists, peace campaigners and research institutes Friday joined the growing calls on the UK government to delay upgrading the country's nuclear arms.
"We believe parliament should not be rushed into a premature decision to replace our nuclear weapons system and that more time should be taken for parliamentary and public scrutiny and debate," said the coalition, which included London mayor Ken Livingstone.
Their joint call comes after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said on Thursday that he will urge his party's 63 MPs to join backbench Labour rebels in opposing Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear missiles.
In a joint letter to the Guardian, the coalition urged the British public to lobby their local MPs to support a delay amendment when Blair calls for a parliamentary vote on his controversial plans on March 14.
"The priority for the government should be launching a renewed diplomatic initiative to seek a breakthrough in disarmament and non- proliferation negotiations, as it has taken a lead in relation to such global challenges as climate change and acute poverty," it said.
The coalition included leading members of Friends of the Earth, CND, Greenpeace, War on Want, People and Planet, Scientists for Global Responsibility, Medact, One World Trust, the British American Security Information Council, the Oxford Research Group, the United Nations Association and National Union of Students.
A poll carried out for Channel Four television on Thursday showed that up to 75 per cent of British voters were opposed to renewing the submarine-based nuclear weapons or in favour of delaying the decision.
A non-binding House of Commons Early Day motion calling on the government to extend its "insufficient" consultation period of three months has already been signed by 142 MPs from seven political parties, including 78 Labour backbenchers out of the party's total of 352.
According to Labour deputy leadership contender Jon Cruddas, that the backbench revolt against Blair's plans for a new generation of nuclear weapons was likely to include moderate MPs as well as left- wingers.
The Daily Telegraph reported Friday that the British premier was increasingly relying on the main opposition Conservatives, who favour retaining nuclear weapons, to secure parliamentary backing for his Trident replacement bill.
Blair has insisted that a decision is needed now because it will take 17 years to design, build and deploy a new Trident system, but critics have accused him of rushing plans to secure his legacy before he steps down from power in the next few months.
Colombo, March 3 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan Tamils affected by the conflict in the north and east moving to the neighbouring south India is on the increase, Sri Lankan Naval authorities said Saturday.
Some 327 residents from Mannar and Talaimannar arrived at the southern Indian city of Rameshwaram travelling by fishing boats Friday, officials said. Among them were 39 children and 121 women.
Naval authorities said the Indian coastal guard had informed both the Sri Lankan Navy and the Sri Lankan government on the arrival of Sri Lankan refugees in Rameshwaram.
The escalation of the armed conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and government troops in the north and east has caused a large influx of Tamil civilian refugees across the waters to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which is home to some 65 million Tamils.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, some 128,000 Sri Lankan refugees are currently in 122 camps in south India. The UN-assisted program to repatriate and resettle them in their place of origin has been hampered by the escalation of conflict since Dec 2005.
Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in the violence seriously jeopardising the Norwegian-backed effort to bring peace to the island's north and east.
Riyadh, March 3, (IRNA) On the sidelines of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's meeting with the Saudi King Abdullah here Saturday, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki conferred with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal on matters of mutual concern.
At the meeting the two foreign ministers discussed expansion of cooperation and regional issues, including Lebanon and Iraq.
Ahmadinejad, accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, arrived in the Saudi capital of Riyadh this afternoon and was welcomed by a number of Saudi political officials.
The president is scheduled to participate in the banquet given in his honor by King Abdullah, during which the two sides are expected to exchange views on major Middle East issues.
On his one-day tour to Saudi Arabia, the chief executive is being accompanied by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei and a number of other Iranian political figures.
Guwahati, INDIA, Mar 3 (NNN-IRNA) Myanmar Saturday sought Indian technology to help boost its tea production, besides collaborating with the regional governments in the northeast to promote medicinal herbs in the junta-ruled country.
"We are keen on importing the best of tea technology available here to boost production of the beverage in our country. We are already in touch with the Indian tea industry to help us in producing more tea and also improving quality," Thung Kyaw, Myanmar's deputy director for border trade, said.
Kyaw is currently in the northeastern state of Assam leading a 31-member business delegation to study prospects of trade and commerce in sectors like tea, herbal medicines, textiles and fish farming.
The Myanmarese business delegation is visiting a number of tea gardens and herbal medicine farms in Assam as part of a three-day visit that ends Sunday.
"We have had a very good meeting with traders of the northeast and want India to help us promote our tea interests," Kyaw said.
Myanmar produces about 90 million kilograms of tea annually with about 65 percent of the crop grown in northern Shan state and the remainder in southern Shan state, Sagaing and Mandalay divisions and Kachin state.
Myanmar produces three types of tea -- green, black and pickled.
Green tea accounts for 52 percent of its production, black tea 31 percent and pickled tea 17 percent, which is an essential ingredient of a popular national snack. Tea is also used in various religious and social functions, including royal ceremonies.
"Assam tea is known worldwide and hence our interest in borrowing methods and techniques from this part of the world," the Myanmarese official said.
The northeastern state of Assam is considered the heart of India's tea industry with the state accounting for about 55 percent of the country's total annual tea production of 955 million kilograms last year.
By Syed Zarir Hussain,
Guwahati, March 3 (IANS) Myanmar Saturday sought Indian technology to help boost its tea production, besides collaborating with the regional governments in the northeast to promote medicinal herbs in its country.
"We are keen on importing the best of tea technology available here to boost production of the beverage in our country. We are already in touch with the Indian tea industry to help us in producing more tea and improving quality," Thung Kyaw, Myanmar's deputy director of Border Trade, said here.
Kyaw is currently in the northeastern state of Assam leading a 31-member business delegation to study prospects of trade and commerce in sectors like tea, herbal medicines, textiles, and fish farming. The Myanmarese business delegation is visiting a number of tea gardens and herbal medicinal farms in Assam as part of a three-day visit that ends Sunday.
"We have had a very good meeting with traders of the northeast and want India to help us in promoting our tea interests," Kyaw said.
Myanmar produces about 90 million kilograms of tea annually with about 65 percent of the crop grown in northern Shan State and the remaining in southern Shan State, Sagaing and Mandalay divisions and Kachin State.
Myanmar produces three types of tea - green, black and pickled. Green tea accounts for 52 percent of the production, black tea 31 percent and pickled tea at 17 percent - which is an essential ingredient of a popular national snack.
Tea is also used in various religious and social functions, including royal ceremonies.
"Assam tea is known worldwide and hence our interest in borrowing methods and techniques from this part of the world," the Myanmarese official said.
The northeastern state of Assam is considered the heart of India's tea industry with the state accounting for about 55 percent of the country's total annual tea production of 955 million kilogram last year.
New Delhi, March 3, (IRNA) Nepal has introduced a far-reaching reform bill in Parliament that will discipline political parties by banning frequent strikes and making their financial dealings more transparent.
"The bill prohibits any political party or organization from holding strikes that would be detrimental to national economy," Nepali Congress chief whip in Parliament Ananda Prasad Dhungana said, Doordarshan News reported here.
"The bill aims to discipline political parties and make them more responsible and make it mandatory to audit their accounts," he added.
"The bill prohibits the parties from collecting any sort of donations from foreign individual, organization or government and makes it mandatory to keep their accounts relating to donations received from within the country transparent," said Dhungana.
If passed the bill will also prohibit the use of minors in protest programs.
State Minister for Labor Ramesh Lekhak presented the bill in the Parliament on Friday.
As per the bill, parties are entitled to receive funds from the state to run its activities in proportion to the votes they receive in election.
In addition, the parties must audit their income and expenditure and submit an annual report before the Election Commission.
"The bill aims to make the political parties more transparent, responsible and democratize their operation," Dhungana said.
The bill also stipulates that parties other than those represented in the parliament must submit a minimum of 10,000 signatures to the Election Commission to be recognized by the elections body.
It prohibits the members of parties from displaying and possessing illegal fire arms and explosives. As per the bill if a political party is found responsible for the destruction of state or national property, the concerned party must pay the reparations for the damages inflicted.
Similarly the proposal also makes it mandatory for the political parties to have an inclusive representation in its executive committee.
The bill will be discussed in the state affairs committee before being taken up for voting in Parliament.
New Delhi, March 3, (IRNA) Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has rejected Maoist chief Prachanda's proposal to immediately declare Nepal a republic by abolishing the monarchy, saying the former rebel should wait until the constituent assembly elections expected in June.
During a high-level meeting in Kathmandu with the prime minister, Prachanda asked Koirala to immediately abolish the monarchy and convert Nepal into a republic through a Parliamentary declaration, a PTI report said here today.
However, Koirala rejected the proposal and asked Prachanda to have patience until the constituent assembly elections, Nepali Congress central committee member Arjun Narsingh said.
During the meeting, Prachanda also asked Koirala to immediately form an interim government inclusive of the Maoists so that election to the constituent assembly polls could be held on time.
Nepal's Seven-Party Alliance have agreed to decide the fate of the monarchy through the constituent assembly polls to be held by mid-June this year.
Koirala is learnt to have told Prachanda that the government has to take into account the national and international situation before taking such decisions.
Prior to the meeting, Prime Minister Koirala met Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Sun Heping, who said that the Maoists must change their current behavior before they could be included in the government.
Heping welcomed the government's peace initiative and said the move to bring the Maoists to the political mainstream was positive. He also reiterated China's continued support to Nepal's peace and development, sources close to the prime minister said.
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) The proposed budget for next year will meet demands of the people, particularly those in the low income stratum, a Majlis representative said on Saturday.
The Iranian Consultative Assembly (Majlis) started debates on the proposed budget for Iranian fiscal year 1386 (March 21, 2007-March 20, 2008) this morning.
The rls 2,290,000 billion budget for Iranian fiscal year 1386 was proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis) on January 21,2007.
Addressing today's open session of Majlis, Tehran MP Fatemeh Alia said that unlike previous budgets proposed by past governments, the present budget bill puts emphasis on meeting the demands of low-income families.
She said that it also gives great attention to the needs of the cultural sector.
Meanwhile, the MP from the western province of Hamedan, Ebrahim Karkhanei, speaking in support of the budget bill, called on his fellow MEPs to support the government of President Ahmadinejad in light of the increasing conspiracies of the US against Iran.
He said that he supported the bill as it "focuses on a justice-oriented, sustainable development which gives equal opportunities to people from all walks of Iranian society." The proposed budget shows a 19.6 percent increase over this year's budget (1385).
Majlis has a period of 10 days to study the proposed budget and forward its proposals to the pertinent specialized commissions.
The expert commissions are to submit their reports to the Budget Commission 10 days after considering various views and proposals.
After receiving the reports of the expert commissions, the Budget Commission is to review them and give its final report to the Majlis within 15 days from receipt of the reports.
According to the constitution, the president proposes the budget and the Majlis either adopts it in its entirety or proposes necessary amendments.
Srinagar/Jammu, March 3 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Saturday dismissed prospects of an immediate demilitarisation of the state even as ruling coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said a "silver lining on the horizon" could be seen.
Speaking to mediapersons at Salamabad village in the Uri tehsil of the Baramulla border district Saturday, Azad said: "Nobody would be allowed to exploit the idea of demilitarisation for vested political interests.
"The idea of demilitarisation is directly linked to the improvement in the situation in the state. Once the ground situation improves to such an extent, demilitarisation and withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act would automatically follow."
The chief minister also said an immediate withdrawal of security forces would allow militants to regain their lost foothold.
"We have reached a stage where militancy would either completely vanish in the coming days or else increase as part of desperation among the militants' ranks. It is a crucial stage where we cannot afford withdrawal of troops," Azad said.
The chief minister's remarks were prompted by the concerted campaign started by the PDP, whose leaders have been demanding demilitarisation and withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act as definitive and formative processes linked with the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan.
Azad also addressed a public meeting in Uri Saturday where he had gone to accept a donation of Rs.280 million for the relief of the victims of the October 2005 earthquake by the chief justice of the state High Court Justice Bashir Ahmad Khan.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) No metro trains will ply in the capital during the first half of Holi Sunday due to security reasons, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said.
"On the day of Holi, metro services would not be available till 2 p.m. across its network of three lines. It's a security decision," a DMRC spokesman said Saturday.
"On such an occasion, people generally enter the stations in inebriated conditions and may misuse the metro property," the official told IANS.
Authorities said the move would also prevent the metro stations and trains from getting dirty.
Officials added that since Holi is a national holiday and falls on a Sunday this year, it would not create a problem for people.
"Holi is generally a lean day and till afternoon no one would like to come out of their home. Revenuewise, it is not a great day too," he said.
The world-class mass transit system in the Indian capital currently carries over 525,000 passengers on a weekday giving a dramatically new dimension to the city's traffic. Comprising three lines - Shahdara to Rithala, Vishwa Vidyalaya to Central Secretariat and Indraprastha to Dwarka - the network stretches over 65 km.
To increase the passenger inflow, Delhi Metro will soon have new feeder buses on 36 routes to connect 27 metro stations across the city.
To begin with, CNG-operated mini buses would be introduced to connect the stations. The proposal is likely to be finalised within six months.
Kingston, March 3 (IANS) The three official airlines of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 have promised that intra-island flying all through the 49 days of the mega event would be smooth.
Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT would be providing specially chartered flights for all teams and their kit as well as match officials throughout the tournament.
"It has been five months of preparations and we are very excited to be involved in the cricket World Cup in such an integral way," local media reports quoted Richard Lue, director (Special Projects), Air Jamaica, as saying. "All of our staff and crew are looking forward to doing the best job we can."
Cricket's biggest showpiece, being held in the West Indies for the first time, has 16 teams in four groups participating. The inaugural ceremony will be held March 11 in Jamaica while the final is slated April 28 in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Nine countries in the Caribbean - Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago - are playing hosts to this quadrennial extravaganza.
Lue said that Air Jamaica has been working in close coordination with both Caribbean Airlines and LIAT to move not only the participating teams and their cargo, but also supporters across the region.
"We have done a lot of work and we're going to deliver in a manner that makes everybody proud," he said.
LIAT's director (Schedules & Special Projects) Lesroy Browne expressed confidence that the three airlines would be able to deliver what is expected of them.
"The flight schedules have been well coordinated for us to move teams, their luggage and gear bags around the Caribbean," the Caribbean 360 website quoted Browne as saying.
"We have things worked out so that some bags will go directly on to the team's group stage location after the warm-ups while the teams go to Jamaica for the opening Ceremony."
He said that the three airlines have requested the airports in the nine host venues to operate almost 24 hours a day to accommodate the traffic during event.
World Cup cricket operations director Michael Hall said that the terms and conditions of the charter services would see tailor-made flight schedules in operation for the teams, according to the Caribbean 360 report.
"The schedule of flights provides for team departures which minimise the instances of pre-dawn wake-up calls and flights which take off before sunrise, and which also facilitate arrival in each host venue at times more in keeping with regular check-in times at various team hotels. We have already received positive feedback from some teams about the in-tournament flight programme," he said.
He added that another regular feature of the travel arrangements is the scheduling of special baggage flights, which would leave just ahead of the team flights.
A number of team-specific personnel such as liaison officers, baggage masters, assigned drivers and close protection officers have also been appointed. Police outriders will escort teams between the airports and their hotels and vice versa, Hall said.
"Special procedures will also be in place for teams and match officials where immigration and customs are concerned," he said.
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) Former Lebanese cabinet minister, Naji al-Bustani, on Saturday welcomed Iran's active and serious role in solving the political crisis of his country.
Speaking to Al-Alam News Network in Beirut, he said that Iran's mediation between Syria and Saudi Arabia plays a serious role in advancing the trend of developments in the next Arab heads of states summit in a way acceptable to all parties.
"High hopes are placed on the meeting between Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Saudi King Abdullah, which is expected to leave a great and positive impact on the trend of Middle East developments, including the upcoming Arab heads of states meeting," he added.
Arab heads of state summit is expected to be held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh in the near future.
President Ahmadinejad and King Abdallah are scheduled to meet in Riyadh today.
He noted that any meeting between regional officials will contribute to solidarity and unanimity of views, adding that making the regional states play a role in solving Lebanon's crisis should not be considered as making deals and reconcilement with them.
About bringing up the late prime minister, Rafik Hariri's, assassination at a special international court, he declared general agreement with such a hearing.
"But the trend of investigation on the incident over the past 17 months has caused concern over the issue, based on which we have called for assessment of the court's constitution to ensure that it is not misinterpreted," he concluded.
Shimla, March 3 (IANS) A school near a village in Himachal Pradesh has a 1:1 student-teacher ratio -- the school has just one student and a lone teacher.
The primary government school in Mandhali near Rohru some 120 km from here was opened 10 years ago and the highest number of students the school has had in a year has been 13 in the past decade. Last year the school had three students and two teachers.
"Though just one student and one teacher remain, there are no orders to close down the school," said Rajkumar Jinta, an official of the state education department at the nearby Rohru town in Shimla district.
There is another government school some 2 km away, which attracts many more students from the village.
At over 77 per cent, Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest rates of literacy in the country.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Saturday reserved its verdict on a petition challenging the method of reserving constituencies for women and scheduled caste candidates by the Delimitation Commission for the coming election of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
Justice B.D. Ahmed reserved his order for Monday after hearing the arguments from the petitioner, a municipal councillor, and the State Election Commission.
Justice Ahmed held the court Saturday, a holiday due to urgency of the matter as the election process for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) with 272 ward had already begun.
Senior Counsel B.P. Chaudhury appearing for Minto Road Councillor Ramesh Dutta submitted that the Delimitation Commission had reserved the constituencies without assigning any reason.
"There are at least 36 discrepancies in the report which had reserved one third of constituencies for women candidates," said counsel Chaudhury.
The government recently notified the commission report increasing the wards to 272 from 134 in the present Council, said Chaudhury.
But according to the law, the methodology adopted for the reservation too had to be notified along with the notification of the constituencies, he said.
During the arguments, Justice Ahmed asked counsel for the State Election Commission, A.K. Tripathy, to explain why the commission has not given reasons for reserving the constituencies.
"Can you also determine the manner on what basis you are going to rotate the constituencies next time?" questioned the judge.
Tripathy said that one third of the constituencies had been reserved in accordance with the provisions of the 74th amendment of the constitution and would be rotated next time.
The state election commission is the authority which looks after the delimitation of the constituencies. The state election commissioner acts as the Delimitation Commission chairman.
The petitioner has sought direction to quash the notification of the commission saying it was arbitrary and mala fide, which denied him an opportunity to contest from either the Minto Road or Darya Ganj ward by reserving both for women.
The Commission has split the Minto Road ward into Minto Road and Darya Ganj, said the petitioner adding that this has deprived him of his right to contest from a seat of his choice.
No rational principle was applied for reservation of the seats and the manner, in which wards were reserved, has defeated the purpose of rotating reserved seats, the petitioner contended.
Subsequently six more petitions were also filed by sitting councillors and aspirants seeking the same directions.
Islamabad, March 3 (Xinhua) Pakistan has arrested 12 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters, officials in Islamabad said.
The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) of Pakistan apprehended the Indian fishermen on Friday and also seized five fishing boats.
The arrested Indians have been handed over to police.
The MSA sleuths were on routine patrol Friday in the Eastern Maritime Region when they spotted the Indians fishing 'illegally' around 23 nautical miles inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Pakistan, the statement said.
Pakistani and Indian fishermen often find themselves in troubled waters in the absence of properly demarcated maritime limits in the Arabian Sea.
ISLAMABAD, Mar 3 (NNN-APP) -- Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Friday said that investigation was moving ahead in the right direction to unearth the real organisers of recent suicide attacks in the country.
In an interview to a private television channel, he said technical information gathered through the investigation showed that same mechanism was adopted in almost all the incidents.
He said except the person who had launched an attack at Islamabad Airport the body of no other attackers involved in recent incidents had been identified. Their bodies were mutilated to the extent that it was almost impossible to identify them, the minister said.
He however said that the investigation was going ahead on many angles and hopefully the masterminds of such inhuman acts would be uncovered. While not ruling out the possibility of the linkage of such acts with elements beyond the borders, he said the investigation would reveal everything.
To a question he said political parties are part and parcel of the country and they have a role to play to eliminate terrorism, adding that difference of opinion should not come in the way on matters of national interest.
He said the government seeks cooperation of people everywhere to maintain law and order and cited the North Waziristan agreement as a vivid example of this approach and the population in that area had committed not to shelter any foreigners or miscreants.
The agreement was a step forward in combating terrorism and cross-border movement of undesirable elements and the feed-back was being monitored, he said. Any violation of the agreement would be monitored and due action would be taken wherever required, he added.
Islamabad, March 3 (DPA) Pakistan Saturday emphatically rejected statements made in the Senate in Washington that US troops in Afghanistan were authorised to pursue Al Qaeda and Taliban elements inside its territory.
"No one is permitted to cross our territorial borders," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in response to comments by US Lieutenant General Douglas Lute that US troops could target terrorist sites inside Pakistan.
"There is no such understanding," Aslam said, adding that mechanisms like the tripartite US-Afghan-Pakistani commission and the newly opened joint intelligence-sharing centre in Kabul dealt with the question of militant incursions.
But Lute was categorical that engagement rules allowed US forces to pursue insurgents or any one "demonstrating hostile intent" into Pakistan in certain circumstances.
"We have all the authorities we need to pursue, either with (artillery) fire or on the ground, across the border," Lute told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington Thursday.
Commanders on the ground could respond if they meet an imminent threat, he said, referring to a corresponding agreement with Pakistani authorities. But permission would be needed to go after a munitions factory further inside the border.
The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad noted that such cross-border operations were political decisions that could not be taken by the military alone.
As US-Pakistani relations show growing signs of strain over Afghanistan-related security issues, ministry spokeswoman Aslam reminded that the two countries were "partners and not adversaries in the war against terrorism."
Meanwhile, chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad stressed that only Pakistani armed forces can take action inside the country.
"There is no agreement or arrangement whereby US troops can cross wherever they want to," he told DPA.
Some 80,000 Pakistani troops are positioned down the largely tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, where there have been incidents of fighting that spilled into Pakistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan received visits in recent weeks by Vice President Dick Cheney and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Both are thought to have applied pressure on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to step up control of the border and also stamp out Al Qaeda elements, which, Washington says, are now running some of their global operations from Pakistan's tribal areas. The claim is hotly disputed by Islamabad.
Islamabad, March 3 (Xinhua) Pakistan Saturday test-fired a short-range surface-to-surface missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, a military statement said.
The Hatf-II Abdali missile with a range of 200 km was launched from an unnamed location, said a statement by Pakistan's military Inter-Services Public Relations.
The statement said that Hatf-II is an "indigenously developed" short-range ballistic missile, capable of carrying all types of weapons including, nuclear warheads.
Abdali was last time test-fired in February 2006.
According to a 2005 agreement, Pakistan and India give each other prior notification of their missile tests.
The two countries have been routinely carrying out missile tests since they conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998.
ISLAMABAD, March 2 (NNN-APP) -- Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam, highlighting Pakistan’s efforts for Middle East peace, said Islamabad is pursing a realistic approach based on principles.
Talking to PTV late Thursday, she said further deterioration of the situation in Iraq and Palestine and use of military force against Iran would have adverse impact on the entire Muslim Ummah and Pakistan would be no exception.
She said that Pakistan being an important Muslim country is deeply concerned and it cannot watch the happenings as a silent spectator.
A number of leaders from Middle East states as well as from other Muslim countries were of the opinion that Pakistan should play a role for a collective initiative by Islamic nations for solution of the problems.
It was under this urge that President General Pervez Musharraf first visited five neighboring Arab sates of Palestine and later Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and Turkey, the spokesperson said.
She said the leadership of all the countries the President visited showed concern that the Middle East situation is very critical.
It was agreed that some leaders should sit together and seek ways and means to address the situation, she said adding that the meeting of Foreign Ministers of seven like-minded Islamic countries held in Islamabad and the forthcoming summit in Saudi Arabia were the steps forward in this direction, she said.
The spokesperson said non of the seven countries shares border with Israel and is in a direct conflict situation with it. All of them support the earlier initiatives for the solution of Palestine dispute and want to play a supportive role.
Since they are not directly involved in conflict with Israel, they have the space to engage all the sides, she said.
To a question, Tasneem Aslam said Pakistan would never like the situation between Iran and United States developing towards a military action.
Pakistan has a very clear position that use of force is not an appropriate way to settle the issue, she said. “We do not want another conflict in a region which already has a lot of turmoil.�
To a question about Kashmir issue, the spokesperson said the issue has been under discussion with India for two to three years and such focus on it was not witnessed in the past.
She said the process of composite dialogue is moving forward at a slow pace but it is continuing.
The exchange of views on possible solution is underway, she said and referred to Indian prime minister’s public statements wherein he has welcomed the proposals put forth by President General Pervez Musharraf.
The Indian PM has committed that he will consider these proposals open mindedly, Tasneem Aslam said.
Responding yet to another question, she said India has not shared any information with regard to Samjhota train incident and they may bring something in this regard to the meeting of anti-terrorism mechanism.
She suggested that Railways authorities of both the countries should sit together to devise ways to ensure secure travelling through this route in the future.
On fencing selected portions of the border with Afghanistan, she said in the first phase this would be done in the northwest and later in Balochistan.
She said that the Canadian foreign minister during his visit to Pakistan had requested that if mining was deferred for the time being they may propose an alternative in this connection.
Subsequently, a Canadian team visited Pakistan and held detailed meetings with the concerned quarters. It has gone back with a promise to come up soon with alternate proposals, the spokesperson said.
She said the German government and the European Union have also promised to extend cooperation in this regard.
Pakistan will see how useful the alternate proposals are to serve the purpose, Tasneem Aslam added.
She also said that North Waziristan accord had been welcomed by the United Kingdom and subsequently the British had made a similar agreement in Musa Qillah in Afghanistan.
The spokesperson pointed out that official stance of the Western countries regarding the agreement in the tribal district was quite different from what appeared in the media.
The accord may not be a 100 percent success but it is a way forward and the loopholes if any would be plugged with the passage of time, she said. -- NNN-APP
By Binoo Joshi,
Jammu, March 3 (IANS) A business delegation from Pakistan-administered Kashmir will visit Jammu and Kashmir March 16 to discuss the possibilities of mutual trade - a sign of the increasing people-to-people contact between the divided parts of Kashmir.
The 26-member delegation of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by its president Zulfiqar Abbasi, will be on a three-day visit here. The group were invited by the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
Ram Sahai, chairman of JCCI, said their trip would be a "big event in the ongoing process of people-to-people contact between the two countries and especially the people of Jammu and Kashmir".
Sahai told IANS: "The delegation will discuss the prospects of mutual trade, transactions and communication between the two parts of the state to boost the economy."
This will pave the way for the start of trade between the two sides - a move that the governments of India and Pakistan have already agreed to. Two routes across the Line of Control (LoC) have been identified - the Srinagar-Muzzaffarabad road and the Poonch-Rawlakote road.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri had discussed the possibility of opening these routes for trade during his recent visit to India.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said he would extend all support to boost trade between the two sides.
"Ties between the two countries are improving. The visit of the delegation from Pakistan administered Kashmir would be a major milestone in our quest for mutual trade and building stakes in our economy."
GAZA, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) -- The Palestinian Unity Government is expected to be announced by end of week, even prior to the scheduled meeting between Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, a senior Fatah parliamentarian has said.
"The Unity Government can be announced by the end of the week, most likely before the meeting between Abbass and Olmert," Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of Fatah parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council told reporters following a meeting for a Fatah delegation with the Palestinian prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniyeh, in Gaza late Friday night.
He added that Abbass "would come to Gaza on Sunday for more consultations with the Prime Minister-designate for crystallizing the final formula of the Unity Government."
He pointed out the problem that some Palestinian factions had refrained from taking part in the government.
"The need has emerged for a solution to this problem." Al-Ahmad noted that Haniyeh had not received during Friday's meeting Fatah nominees for cabinet as was expected "but this can happen any time. It is no problem."
He expressed hope "to resolve the problem of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which is not participating in the government" saying that "other powers expressed readiness to take part.
This requires some agreement." "Such problems have to be settled prior to submitting the nominees for the government," Al-Ahmad said, adding that Fatah was ready to give up some positions for other powers committed to the Makkah agreement, recently concluded by Fatah and Hamas movements in Holy Makkah.
Referring to the dispute between Fatah and Hamas as to who should take over the Ministry of Interior in the proposed government, Al-Ahmad said "This topic is up to Abbass and Haniyeh and it will be settled during their meeting in Gaza Sunday." Head of Hamas Parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council Khalil Al-Hayya, told reporters that his movement would submit nominees for the Cabinet on Saturday.
Al-Hayya who took part in the meeting referred to it as "serious and brotherly ... It helped resolve all differences." He denied there were any obstacles facing the government.
Gaza, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) The Palestinian Unity Government is expected to be announced by end of week, even prior to the scheduled meeting between Palestinian Authority (PA) president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, a senior Fatah parliamentarian has said.
"The Unity Government can be announced by the end of the week, most likely before the meeting between Abbass and Olmert," Azzam Al-Ahmad, head of Fatah parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council told reporters following a meeting for a Fatah delegation with the Palestinian prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniyeh, in Gaza late Friday night.
He added that Abbass "would come to Gaza on Sunday for more consultations with the Prime Minister-designate for crystallizing the final formula of the Unity Government."
He pointed out the problem that some Palestinian factions had refrained from taking part in the government.
"The need has emerged for a solution to this problem." Al-Ahmad noted that Haniyeh had not received during Friday's meeting Fatah nominees for cabinet as was expected "but this can happen any time. It is no problem."
He expressed hope "to resolve the problem of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which is not participating in the government" saying that "other powers expressed readiness to take part.
This requires some agreement." "Such problems have to be settled prior to submitting the nominees for the government," Al-Ahmad said, adding that Fatah was ready to give up some positions for other powers committed to the Makkah agreement, recently concluded by Fatah and Hamas movements in Holy Makkah.
Referring to the dispute between Fatah and Hamas as to who should take over the Ministry of Interior in the proposed government, Al-Ahmad said "This topic is up to Abbass and Haniyeh and it will be settled during their meeting in Gaza Sunday." Head of Hamas Parliamentary bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council Khalil Al-Hayya, told reporters that his movement would submit nominees for the Cabinet on Saturday.
Al-Hayya who took part in the meeting referred to it as "serious and brotherly ... It helped resolve all differences." He denied there were any obstacles facing the government.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Fourteen of the 15 players in Zimbabwe's World Cup cricket squad have never played in the biggest tournament and the only one who has -- Stuart Matsikenyeri - appeared in only one match.
Zimbabwe's most experienced World Cup players is their coach Kevin Curran, who played all 11 one-day internationals in the 1983 World Cup in England.
The 16-nation World Cup starts in the West Indies March 11.
Zimbabwe is one of the weakest teams, thanks to the political turmoil in the African country that has badly affected cricket administration too. Players' contracts with their board have been the cause of a big controversy, with allegations of racial bias thrown in.
All this has affected the national team, which has lost all the experienced players because of the contracts controversy. As a result, a weak Zimbabwe team has lost 15 of their last 16 one-day internationals - an extremely poor record to go into a World Cup.
Zimbabwe is expected to badly struggle to enter the second round from Group D as they will confront hosts West Indies, Pakistan and qualifiers Ireland.
Two top teams from each of the four groups advance to the second round called Super Eights.
Following are the pen-sketches of the 15 players (statistics include their last one-day international against Bangladesh in Harare Feb 10):
Prosper Utseya (captain)
Born: March 26, 1985, Harare
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 59, Runs: 326, Average: 10.19, Highest score: 31, Overs: 505.1, Wickets: 37, Average: 54.08, Best bowling: 3/35, Catches: 18
World Cup record: None
Gary Bazil Brent
Born: January 13, 1976, Chinhoyi, Mashonaland
Style: Right-hand batsman and medium-fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 57, Runs: 260, Average: 10.00, Highest score: 24, Overs: 451.1, Wickets: 64, Average: 34.25, Best bowling: 4/22, Catches: 16
World Cup record: None
Chamunorwa Justice 'Chamu' Chibhabha
Born: September 6, 1986, Masvingo
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 22, Runs: 609, Average: 27.68, Highest score: 67, 50s: 4, Overs: 43, Wickets: 4, Average: 72.75, Best bowling: 2/39, Catches: 8
World Cup record: None
Elton Chigumbura
Born: March 14, 1986, Kwekwe, Midlands
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 53, Runs: 1,060, Average: 25.24, Highest score: 77 not out, 50s: 6, Overs: 125.3, Wickets: 15, Average: 56.00, Best bowling: 3/37, Catches: 17
World Cup record: None
Keith Mbusi Dabengwa
Born: August 17, 1980, Bulawayo
Style: Left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 12, Runs: 146, Average: 24.33, Highest score: 32, Overs: 52.3, Wickets: 7, Average: 38.29, Best bowling: 3/19, Catches: 6
World Cup record: None
Terry Duffin
Born: March 20, 1982, Kwekwe, Midlands
Style: Left-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 22, Runs: 534, Average: 24.27, Highest score: 88, 50s: 3, Catches: 6
World Cup record: None
Anthony Ireland
Born: August 30, 1984, Masvingo
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 25, Runs: 30, Average: 3.75, Highest score: 8 not out, Overs: 214, Wickets: 37, Average: 29.11, Best bowling: 3/41, Catch: 1
World Cup record: None
Friday Kasteni
Born: March 25, 1988, Kadoma
Style: Left-hand batsman and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Match: 1, Runs: 9, Average: 9.00, Highest score: 9
World Cup record: None
Stuart Matsikenyeri
Born May 3, 1983, Harare
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 60, Runs: 1,046, Average: 19.37, Highest score: 89, 50s: 4, Overs: 125, Wickets: 13, Average: 50.38, Best bowling: 2/33, Catches: 18
World Cup record: Match 1, Run: 1, Average: NA, Highest score: 1, Overs: 2, Best bowling: 0/13
Christopher Bobby Mpofu
Born: November 27, 1985, Plumtree, Matabeleland
Style: Right-hand batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 18, Runs: 17, Average: 3.40, Highest score: 4, Overs: 138.1, Wickets: 21, Average: 33.71, Best bowling: 4/42, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Tawanda Mupariwa
Born: April 16, 1985, Bulawayo
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 19, Runs: 149, Average: 13.55, Highest score: 33, Overs: 170.3, Wickets: 33, Average: 26.21, Best bowling: 4/61, Catches: 5
World Cup record: None
Edward Rainsford
Born: December 14, 1984, Kadoma, Mashonaland
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast medium bowler
ODI record: Matches: 23, Runs: 37, Average: 5.29, Highest score: 9 not out, Overs: 196, Wickets: 23, Average: 38.13, Best bowling: 3/16, Catches: 4
World Cup record: None
Vusimuzi Sibanda
Born: October 10, 1983, Highfields, Harare
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 46, Runs: 1,008, Average: 23.44, Highest score: 116, 100s: 1, 50s: 7, Overs: 15, Wickets: 2, Average: 43.50, Best bowling: 1/12, Catches: 18
World Cup record: None
Brendan Taylor
Born: February 6, 1986, Harare
Style: Right-handed batsman, wicket-keeper and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 60, Runs: 1,514, Average: 28.04, Highest score: 98, 50s: 10, Overs: 35, Wickets: 8, Average: 28.00, Best bowling: 3/54, Catches: 36 (includes 7 as fielder), Stumpings: 11
World Cup record: None
Sean Colin Williams
Born: September 26, 1986, Bulawayo
Style: Left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 13, Runs: 261, Average: 23.73, Highest score: 68, 50s: 3, Overs: 68.3, Wickets: 5, Average: 61.60, Best bowling: 3/23, Catches: 7
World Cup record: None
Kevin Curran (coach)
Born: September 17, 1959, Rusape, Manicaland
Style: Right-handed batsman and fast bowler
ODI record: Matches: 11, Runs: 287, Highest score: 73, Average: 26.09, 50s: 2, Overs: 84.2, Wickets: 9, Average: 44.22, Best bowling: 3/65, Catch: 1
World Cup record: Same as above
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) Stressing that the creation of an inclusive society and culture in India owes itself to openness to ideas from across the globe, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday called for strengthening that attitude of syntheses to defeat "exclusivist" forces.
"I have often stated that India is a living example of the confluence of civilisations. For thousands of years we have remained open to ideas, thoughts and influences from all over the world," he said while releasing a book titled "Cultural Heritage of India", edited by Kapila Vatsyayan and published by the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture.
"The creation of an inclusive society and culture in this sacred land owes a lot to this basic synthetic approach. We need to strengthen such an approach to defeat forces that believe in an exclusivist culture," he said.
Urging people to take a more liberal view of the outside world, he added: "I have seen it remarked in the media that some think China is a closed society but with an open mind and we are an open society with a closed mind. This should not be the case.
"We must derive confidence from the greatness of our past to be able to deal more confidently with the present and the challenges of the future. Why should we be inward looking and suspicious of foreign influences when we have so much to offer to the world?"
Paying tributes to Ramakrishna Paramhansa, the illustrious spiritual figure who lived in 19th century Bengal, and the organisation inspired by him, the prime minister said: "The Ramakrishna Mission is one of the finest examples and the embodiment of the spirit of that composite culture."
Riyadh, March 3, (IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Riyadh Saturday afternoon, met and conferred with Saudi King Abdullah here Saturday evening.
Lebanon, Iraq and Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear dossier are among the issues discussed between the two leaders.
President Ahmadinejad is accompanied by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and some other senior officials in his one-day trip to Saudi Arabia.
Political analysts believe that meetings between leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia can have an effective role in solving problems and controlling the increasing crises in the region.
This is President Ahmadinejad's second visit to Saudi Arabia during the past year.
On the sidelines of the president's meeting with the Saudi monarch, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki conferred with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal on issues of mutual concern.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday greeted the nation on the occasion of Holi, saying the festival of colours should help strengthen fraternal bonds among the people.
Kalam said: "The festival of colours highlights the multi-religious harmony that has existed in our country for centuries and the spirit of tolerance that has been the essence of our culture and civilization.
"May this year's festival strengthen fraternal bonds amongst our people and bring peace and prosperity to our nation."
Manmohan Singh too extended his wishes and said: "The festival of colours not only spreads cheer in our lives but also goes a long way to strengthen bonds amongst the people."
The prime minister expressed hope that the change of season would usher in new hope for a brighter future and a new resolve to forge ahead as a nation.
Holi, the festival of colours, is celebrated Sunday across the country.
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) A total of 12 venues will host cricket World Cup matches beginning March 13 with a West Indies-Pakistan clash at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. However, practice matches begin from Monday.
The opening ceremony will be held at the Greenfields Stadium in Trelawny, near Montego Bay, Jamaica, March 11. The final will be played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, April 28.
All 51 matches of the 49-day tournament are day affairs.
Following are profiles of the 12 venues:
* Kensington Oval (Bridgetown, Barbados)
MATCHES: Final and six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: The historical Kensington Oval was closed down after the end of the 2004-05 season and completely demolished to make a new stadium at a cost of $135 million for the World Cup. Home to the Pickwick Cricket Club since 1882, the stadium has a seating capacity of 28,000. The venue is steeped in history as it hosted the first England touring side in 1895 and the first combined West Indies side against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1910-11. It was also the scene of West Indies' first Test match in 1930. The stadium is just 600 yards from the coast and has grown into one of the most impressive venues in the Caribbean. The pitches at Bridgetown are generally fast and bouncy, but they might have changed character.
* Sabina Park (Kingston, Jamaica)
MATCHES: First semi-final, the opening match and five other first-round matches.
PROFILE: The historical Sabina Park is home to the Kingston Cricket Club and is well known for its fast and bouncy pitch. But that was years ago. In recent years, the surface has slowed down, despite repeated attempts to restore its old character by re-laying it on more than one occasion. In terms of size, it is a relatively small stadium, but like other major grounds in the Caribbean, it also underwent major renovation recently. The seating capacity has been raised from 15,000 to 21,000. The breathtaking Blue Mountains -- home to the world famous Blue Mountain coffee -- forms a spectacular backdrop. Sabina Park's greatest moment was an unbeaten 365 by Sir Gary Sobers in a Test against Pakistanis in 1957-58.
* Beausejour Stadium (Gros Islet, St Lucia)
MATCHES: Second semi-final and six first-round matches.
PROFILE: It is situated on the outskirts of the tourist resort area of Rodney Bay in the north east coast of the islands. The stadium is one of the Caribbean's newest major venues that was completed in 2002. In 2006, it became the first ground in the West Indies to stage a one-day international, against Zimbabwe, under the floodlights. Constructed on 22 acres land, the stadium can hold 20,000 spectators. The capacity includes 18 hospitality suites. It also has a modern pavilion.
* Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: The stadium is named after the island's most famous son, former West Indies captain Sir Vivian Richards, and replaces the Antigua Recreation Ground as the major international venue in this island. The ground is dominated by two large stands, the five-story southern section housing the pavilion as well as corporate suits. The northern side hosts the media box. The architects wanted the venue to retain a more casual Caribbean flavour by having terraces on the eastern and western sides. The seating capacity is expected to be around 20,000 and the design in many ways is similar to the Warner Park in St Kitts.
* Queen's Park Oval (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago)
PROFILE: It is considered as one of the most picturesque of the old grounds and is also one of the largest with a seating capacity of 17,000. The old pavilion was built in 1896 and has been the home of Queen's Park Cricket Club since then. It remained unchanged until 1952 when it was replaced by a two-tiered structure. It has been described as a classic ground with picturesque backdrops, most notably the northern hills. Like most grounds in the Caribbean, Queen's Park Oval also underwent a facelift ahead of the World Cup.
* Providence Stadium (Providence, Guyana)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: Located in Providence, about nine kilometres south of Guyana capital Georgetown, the stadium has three major stands and a grass mound that can accommodate 4,000 people. The overall capacity is around 16,000. The stadium has been built with approximately $30 million, with much of the funding coming by way of loans and grants from India.
* National Cricket Stadium (St George's, Grenada)
MATCHES: Six Super Eight matches.
PROFILE: The ground's metamorphosis from a basic venue to an international one came about as part of the region's build up to the 2007 World Cup. Grenada has benefited greatly from the investment. Around $5 million have been pumped into the ground that can accommodate 17,000 people. The stadium, which is next to a football and athletics ground, has changed the face of the game in Grenada. The presence of St George's University, which is now home to the West Indies' Cricket Academy, has also helped in making the ground a high profile one. It became the 84th Test venue in 2002 when West Indies played New Zealand.
* Warner Park (Basseterre, St Kitts)
MATCHES: Six first-round matches.
PROFILE: It was the first of the Caribbean's seven new World Cup stadiums to become functional when it staged its one-day international in May last year, and the first Test match a month later. The stadium has been largely funded by the Taiwanese government, which provided $7.1 million of a total $10m spent on the venue. The stadium was built entirely by locals and not like many other stadiums that took help from Indian and Chinese labourers. It is not a big ground and can accommodate 10,000 spectators. Not surpassing, given the fact that the island itself has a population of only 35,000 people. The eastern side of the stadium has been left vacant to allow the prevailing easterly wind to leave its cooling effect.
Warm-up matches will be played at the following venues:
* Arnos Vale Sports Complex (Kingstown, St Vincent)
PROFILE: The renovated world-class venue is to be opened before the World Cup starts March 11. The picturesque ground is situated between the E.T. Joshua Airport and the Caribbean Sea. The additions to the ground, mainly on the eastern side, features a two-tier stand that can accommodate more than 5,000 spectators. There is also a four-tier media centre, a four-storey venue operations centre and a two-floor pavilion. The stadium has a seating capacity of 12,000 spectators. The biggest match will be a warm-up clash between Australia and England March 8.
* Three Ws Oval (Bridgetown, Barbados)
PROFILE: This stadium, two kilometres away from the historic Kensington Oval, has been named after legendary West Indies players Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Everton Weekes and Sir Clyde Walcott, and is situated at the centre of the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies. The sculpture in the shape of three large wickets at the edge of the field attracts attention. The Oval has been totally overhauled and can accommodate approximately 4,000 spectators.
* Greenfields Stadium, (Trelawny, Jamaica)
PROFILE: Formerly known as Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium Complex, the Greenfields Stadium is located some 40 km east of Montego Bay. It was built as a 'gift' to Jamaica by the Chinese government last year. After no country bid to host the opening ceremony for the World Cup, the Jamaican government stepped in and the construction work for the new ground was started in November 2005. An almost entire team of Chinese labourers involved was in the project that finished in June last year. It has 10,000 permanent seats but the capacity can be raised to about 25,000 using temporary seats.
* Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground (St Augustine, Trinidad)
PROFILE: The ground is situated inside the campus of the University of West Indies and was given a $1.5-million facelift for the World Cup since it was allocated the warm-up games. It can accommodate 17,000 people.
Jakarta, Mar 3 (NNN-ANTARA) The Jakarta regional government’s proposal to build a deep tunnel sewerage system to cope with the capital city’s annual flood problem must be studied carefully because it might not be suitable for Jakarta, a technology ministry official said here on Friday.
"Though Singapore, Hong Kong and Chicago built the tunnel system, there is no guarantee that it is also suitable for Jakarta to cope with its annual floods," Teddy W Sudinda, head of the public needs division at the Research and Technology Ministry, said.
He said the structure of Jakarta’s soil and other conditions were different from those in the foreign cities.
The Jakarta City administration is planning to build 17 km of tunnels with a diameter of 18 meters, 100 meters under the ground, capable of absorbing some 30 million cubic meters of water.
The tunnel system would follow a route under the following areas : Bukit Duri, Kampung Melayu, Manggarai, Pintu Ai Karet in east Jakarta and end in the Grogol-Banjir Kanal Barat and Muara Angke in west Jakarta.
Jakarta is prone to annual flooding. Early last month, the capital city and environs were hit by floods which were mainly attributed to the overflowing of rivers whose upper reaches in the Bogor region south of the capital absorbed excessive volumes of water during prolonged torrential rains.
In the floods, at least 80 people in the capital and its surroundings were killed and 400,000 others were forced to evacuate to safer places.
Some 70 percent of Jakarta’s territory was inundated, which caused a total of 392 units of state-owned electricity company PLN`s power relay stations to be affected.
The floods also cut off about 132,000 of telecommunications company PT Telkom`s telephone lines (SST).
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Saturday that the Iranian nation and the country's officials should exercise vigilance to foil plots hatched by the enemies, specially in light of current global developments.
According to the Public Relations Department of the Expediency Council, Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with a group of youth in Tehran.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a hub for material and spiritual demands of Islamic countries, the reason why the enemies seek to halt our development," he said.
"Unity is the most vital need at this sensitive juncture as this will help thwart enemies' plots," underlined Rafsanjani.
The enemies even try to sow seeds of discords among Shiites and Sunnis and incite sectarian violence among Islamic Ummah, warned Rafsanjani.
On importance of political parties in the society, he said without their presence, governments face much more problems in administering affairs of the state.
Tehran, March 3, (IRNA) Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Saturday that the Iranian nation and the country's officials should exercise vigilance to foil plots hatched by the enemies, specially in light of current global developments.
According to the Public Relations Department of the Expediency Council, Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with a group of youth in Tehran.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a hub for material and spiritual demands of Islamic countries, the reason why the enemies seek to halt our development," he said.
"Unity is the most vital need at this sensitive juncture as this will help thwart enemies' plots," underlined Rafsanjani.
The enemies even try to sow seeds of discords among Shiites and Sunnis and incite sectarian violence among Islamic Ummah, warned Rafsanjani.
On importance of political parties in the society, he said without their presence, governments face much more problems in administering affairs of the state.
Central Board, Mar 3 (NNN-Prensa Latina) Leaders from 20 nation members of the Rio Group, meeting in Guyana summit Friday, will focus on discussing urgent regional social problems.
Guyana is the group s pro-tempore secretariat and representative in the Caribbean, an area "that has great disparity in levels of profit and peoples lives." That was stated by Guyana Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally, who said the meeting will be a wonderful opportunity for the mechanism of agreement to recover its central role in Latin America.
The need to invigorate integration processes in line with economic complementarity and solidarity were debated on Wednesday at a level of coordinators and foreign ministers.
The focus of attention is the analysis of regional advances in the fulfillment of the so-called Millennium Goals, which among other aims include the reduction of poverty and starvation by 2015.
The Group was created in 1986, to strengthen political and economic cooperation, and solve problems affecting members.
The Group is made up of Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela and Guyana.
Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo trusted that his position inside the Group will encourage current efforts to boost trade and create a sound regional market for goods and services.
Geneva, March 3 (RIA Novosti) Russia is optimistic about the results of a regular round of talks in Geneva Friday on the country's accession to a global trade body.
To join the 150-nation WTO, Russia must sign bilateral protocols and complete multilateral talks with all its trading partners in the organisation.
"The good news is that all these meetings have clarified the tasks we must solve in the coming month or month and a half in order to advance to the final stage of Russia's accession to the WTO," said Maksim Medvedkov, who heads the trade negotiations department in Russia's economics ministry.
Throughout the week, multilateral consultations have been held to settle differences on agriculture and sanitary measures, along with around 30 bilateral meetings on separate issues, including intellectual property protection.
The official session of the Working Party on Russia's accession to the WTO is unlikely to be held earlier than April.
Russia's economics ministry expects the multilateral talks to complete by mid-2007. Russia held bilateral meetings in Geneva with many WTO members, including the US, Brazil, Canada and the EU. Russia had completed talks with all 58 members of the Working Party, when Cambodia, which became a WTO member in 2004, required bilateral talks with Russia.
The Cairns Group, which unites the world's leading exporters of agricultural products, have called on Russia to maintain the current level of state subsidies of agriculture at around $3.5 billion, without raising them to the targeted $9.5 billion.
A number of WTO members, particularly the United States, have demanded that Russia improve the enforcement of copyright laws and that proper amendments be introduced to the Civil Code, which comes into effect Jan 1, 2008. The parties considered Part-4 of the Civil Code during the talks, with calls for more effective amendments.
In November, Russia secured a long-desired bilateral agreement with the US, removing the last major obstacle to its WTO membership.
BEIRUT, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) -- High hopes are attributed to the Sunday summit between Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin-Abdelaziz and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad that it could settle the situation in the Middle East in general and the Lebanese political standoff in particular.
In the absence of signs of solution of the standoff between the Lebanese government and opposition blocs over the issues of the international tribunal and the formation of national unity government, the Lebanese people look forward to the summit with great optimism.
The summit will have positive results regarding the Lebanese crisis and the Arab League initiative for Lebanon, Lebanese diplomats told KUNA Friday under the condition of anonymity.
It is part of Saudi, Iranian, Egyptian and Syrian contacts to work out a solutions for the Lebanese issues of the international tribunal and the national unity government on the basis of neither-winner-nor-looser principle.
It crowns intensive Saudi-Iranian contacts to ward off the risks of potential Lebanese civil war and stop the ever-widening sectarian division in the Arab country.
The summit also follows positive developments on the regional situations after Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad was invited to the Arab Summit, due in Riyadh on Mar 28, and Syria and Iran were invited by the United States to a meeting on Iraq on Mar 10.
Any solution for the Lebanese standoff will depend on intensified contacts with Syria rather than excluding it.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started such contacts with Syria after his meeting with King Abdullah recently.
Mubarak is trying to hold a tripartite summit with Al-Assad and King Abdullah before the coming Arab summit with a view to reaching a solution for the Lebanese standoff, the diplomats added
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) A delegation of senior citizens from Mauritius called upon Nirmal Singh, secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) here, and submitted a request for obtaining Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards gratis.
The members of the Senior Citizens Council of Mauritius (SCCM) were accompanied by the Senior Citizens Council of Delhi (SCCD) when they called on the Indian official Friday.
Singh assured the delegation that the ministry was working on expanding the PIO scheme and said that their request would be considered.
He added that the MOIA would look forward to interacting further with the senior citizens from Mauritius.
Several members of the delegation spoke about the facilities given to senior citizens in Mauritius including pension after 60 years of age, free medical health check-up, free public transport, and recreational facilities.
SCCD had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Senior Citizens Council of Mauritius last year. The Mauritian delegation is in India on the invitation of the SCCD.
Chennai, March 3 (IANS) Seven activists who were protesting against the Tata group's offer to pay up for and clean up toxic waste left by the 1984 gas leak disaster in Bhopal were Saturday arrested here for demonstrating outside the Tamil Nadu chief minister's house.
At least 100 supporters and campaigners, expressing solidarity with the survivors of the gas leak tragedy, participated in a rally to oppose the Tata offer to facilitate the re-entry of Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical into India.
The campaign comes in the wake of Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata's letter to the Indian government in January offering to set up a trust fund with contribution from other corporations to clean up the contamination in Bhopal, thereby freeing Union Carbide and its parent firm Dow Chemicals of the US of its legal responsibility.
In December 1984, a poisonous gas leak from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, claimed at least 22,000 lives and caused injuries to many more over the years later.
Several thousand tonnes of the toxic waste abandoned at the factory site has contaminated the groundwater in the area.
The survivors and campaigners have opposed the Tata plan as they insist that Dow Chemicals itself should clean up the site, as required under the law. They have also been demanding punishment for Union Carbide officials for one of the biggest industrial tragedies of the 20th century.
The Chennai rally that began at the Monroe Statue in Anna Salai was led Tamil Nadu Women's Collective members who carried placards and banners condemning Tata.
The Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangam (Tamilnadu Merchant's Association) also joined the rally and condemned Ratan Tata and the Tata group companies.
"Union Carbide is a criminal corporation that is absconding from Indian courts. Its new owner is sheltering it. It is disgraceful to see Ratan Tata openly serving as an agent to a company that ran away after causing the world's worst industrial disaster," said Sheelu of Tamil Nadu Women's Collective.
"Like Union Carbide, there are numerous places in India where the Tatas have contaminated and failed to clean up. If Ratan Tata is serious about his claims to ethical behaviour, he ought to clean up the contamination caused by the Tata companies before doing anything else," said Dharmesh Shah, a volunteer with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.
Participants in the rally also included members of fishing groups, youth organizations and unorganised labour unions.
London, March 3 (IANS) Former West Indies captain Alvin Kallicharran believes that teams from the Indian subcontinent would play a big part in the ICC World Cup 2007 in the West Indies starting this month.
"This is going to be a very open World Cup, because the wickets are slow and teams from the subcontinent will play a big part," he told BBC in an interview.
"Australia know what it's all about, England are peaking at the right time and New Zealand are a dark horse."
Talking about the prospects of the home team, Kallicharran said that home advantage would play a major role in the West Indies' campaign.
"It's a long time since we dominated world cricket but you can see the excitement," he said.
Kallicharran was part of the West Indies team that won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979.
"I hope it (the World Cup) is going to rejuvenate our players playing at home in front of big crowds in new stadiums," he said.
West Indies captain Brian Lara has also said that the West Indies would be banking on home adavantage, though no host team has ever won the World Cup.
"I think we have a good chance of doing well at home. People don't understand just how important home advantage is and we have this in our favour," Lara had said.
Stating that winning the World Cup would be a great thing for the West Indies, Kallicharran told BBC, "We are not a bad one-day team, the batting order is good and the bowling is not as quick as it was but they are good enough to bowl 10 overs."
"If they create an impact early in the tournament that means they are going to create a buzz."
West Indies is placed in Group D with Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland.
Though the renovation work in the stadiums had come under much criticism, Kallicharran, who played 66 Tests and 31 ODIs for the West Indies between 1972 and 1981, said that he was impressed by what he saw.
He described the Kensington Oval in Barbados, where he recently appeared for a West Indies XI against a Rest of the World side, as "as good as any". The Oval will host the final April 28.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 3 (IANS) This capital city of Kerala came under an umbrella of smoke belching out from hundreds of thousands firewood burning ovens that were lit to cook the pongal feast.
Over two-and-a-half million women lined up Saturday on the streets leading to the famous Attukal Bhagavathi temple in the capital city of Kerala, cooking an offering of rice around the temple premises.
The event takes place on the penultimate day of the 10-day long pongala festival and is a local holiday in the district.
Attukal Bhagavathi is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki and is referred to in the Tamil epic "Silappathikaram".
Also referred to as the Sabarimala, the temple attracts not just Hindu women who come here to offer pongala, but foreign women as well.
The unprecedented rush for the pongala festival began a few years back after the "Guinness Book of World Records" listed it as the only event where over a million women get together to take part in the festivities.
"Since then, the numbers have been increasing every year. This year we were expecting two million devotees, but more than 2.5 million women arrived here," said Attukal temple secretary K.P.Ramachandran Nair.
Women who arrive at least two days before pongala day manage to get their cooking place near the temple, while latecomers line up for miles to offer pongala. This year the queue stretched to almost 15 square kilometers in and around the temple.
Women arrive with bricks, firewood and raw materials including rice, jaggery and coconut. They light their ovens from the fire provided by the chief priest of the temple after he lights the oven in the temple compound at 10.45 a.m.
According to the legend, after destroying Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Kannaki travelled to Kerala, where she rested for a while at Attukal. Women are said to have cooked pongala to appease Kannaki.
Shyamala Kumari, a housewife from Kollam, said, "This is the first time I am visiting the temple for the festival and I am having a great time. My relatives have told me that the goddess is very powerful and fulfills all your wishes."
Like every year, this time too film actresses and leading personalities turned up to prepare the pongala offering.
A large number of foreign mediapersons, mostly women, came here to cover the festival.
The festival has become a subject for academic research in some foreign universities.
By Faraz Ahmad,
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) The central government is planning to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Andhra Pradesh even as it has decided to upgrade two other technical institutes in the state to IIT level.
Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh informed the Rajya Sabha this week that the Andhra Pradesh government had offered 1,000 acres of land free of cost along with civic amenities at Basara in Adilabad district if the centre agreed to its proposal to set up an IIT there.
He was answering a question by Adilabad MP Nandi Yelliah.
Arjun Singh had told Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy last year that the central government was willing to set up an IIT if the state was ready to provide 500-600 acres of land free of cost with necessary social and physical infrastructure, including good road, rail and air connectivity.
The Andhra Pradesh government was responsive to the precondition of the human resource development ministry and immediately wrote back that it is "in the process of finalising a suitable piece of land with good infrastructure facilities, for the setting up of an IIT in Andhra Pradesh".
Arjun Singh also said the centre on the basis of the recommendations of an experts committee had identified seven institutions in the country for upgrading to IIT level. Two of these are in Andhra Pradesh - the Osmania University College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, and the Andhra Pradesh College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam.
The upgradation process has already begun and the central government has released Rs.70 million for Osmania College and Rs.80 million for the Visakhapatnam college in the last financial year 2006-07, said Singh.
Orissa, however, has had no such luck.
Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeshwari informed the house that "the chief minister of Orissa has written to the prime minister for establishment of a Greenfield IIT in Orissa and for upgradation of the extension campus of IIT, Kharagpur, at Bhubaneswar.
"The government has decided to set up three new IITs in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh."
Patna, March 3 (IANS) Hundreds of trees have been either pruned or cut down in Bihar -- a state with a fragile 6.07 percent forest cover -- in the name of bonfires (burning of Holika) Saturday night to mark the festival of colours Sunday.
In a mockery of forest laws, people, particularly youth, from villages to small towns and cities like Patna have been felling trees in last few days.
According to Hindu mythology, bonfires are lit on the eve of Holi to signify the destruction of evil.
"We watched people in the city and its outskirts felling trees indiscriminately in the name of Holi even as forest officials looked the other way," Arun Singh, an environmentalist said here.
Another green activist Guddu Baba said: "Patna is a city with little green cover but people are still cutting trees. It will add to the pollution in the city."
"People start making arrangements for a huge bonfire called 'holika dahan' or 'agja' days ahead of Holi, collecting wood by pruning big branches or felling small trees," Guddu Baba added.
"There are over 200 places in Patna alone where bonafires will be to lit to mark the festival," said Singh.
Rameshwar Prasad, 75, a retired government employee, recalled that till the 70s waste material was collected for the bonfires. "We never pruned trees or cut them. Now the situation is different. People seem to enjoy cutting tress for the bonfire," said Prasad.
However, forest officials are maintaining a complete silence despite the fact that the Bihar government has set an ambitious plan to increase the state's forest cover from the existing 6.07 percent to 35 percent, within a decade.
Forest officials admit that Bihar lost most of its green cover when the state of Jharkhand was carved out of it three years ago. Undivided Bihar had a forest cover of 17 percent.
Jammu, March 3 (IANS) A trooper of the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) was Saturday caught selling a rifle to militants in Jammu and Kashmir.
The senior superintendent of police (SSP) in Rajouri, Farooq Khan, told IANS that the BSF soldier Javed Iqbal had been under watch for suspected "illicit trade of selling arms to militants".
Iqbal was posted in Manjakot area of mountainous and border district of Rajouri and was native of Khanetar village of the same district.
"We laid a trap posing a 'militant' to whom he agreed to sell one AK rifle for Rs.65,000. Iqbal got trapped and was caught red-handed. Police have arrested him and a registered a case of illicit arms trade," Khan said.
The official said the accused was being interrogated on the source of the weapons he sold to militants. "It appears he would pilfer them (weapons) from the recoveries (and sell these to the militants)," he said.
Bangkok, March 3 (Xinhua) Two girl students were killed in a shootout in violence hit Yala province of Thailand Saturday.
Suspected insurgents riding on a motorcycle at around 8.30 a.m. (local time), shot dead Kanokkarn Khumvaen 15, and Sukanda Srichan 17, in Si Sakhon district of Yala, News network The Nation reported.
The slain students were to appear in an examination in a nearby institute.
The incident followed a shootout in which suspected insurgents shot dead a middle-aged Muslim man in Raman district of Yala Zone at around 3.30 a.m Saturday.
Kabul, March 3 (DPA) Two civilians were killed and 11 wounded in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan Saturday, officials said.
The explosion in Herat province at around 9.45 a.m. (local time) Saturday was triggered by a remote control device minutes after two NATO vehicles drove by the area, a police spokesman told DPA.
The killed and the injured were all civilians, Nikzad said.
The area is frequently used by Afghan and foreign troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Earlier in a separate incident Friday night in the eastern province of Kunar, one policeman was killed and two others wounded when heavily armed gunmen attacked their post in Sirkanay district, Zemaray Bashary Interior Ministry spokesman said.
London, March 2(IRNA) Students at the University of Manchester in northern England are backing the Palestinians right to education by seeking links with al-Najah University in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
The right to education is being led by Birzeit University in the West Bank, which has been closed down by Israeli military forces 15 times in its history.
In a motion to be debated next Wednesday, the University of Manchester Students Union (UMSU) is proposing to send a twinning invitation to their al-Najah counterparts and erect a plaque `Palestine and the Right to Education' in its Steve Biko building.
Over one third of the Palestinian population are students in full-time school or university education, but the Israeli army has shelled and destroyed eight of the 11 universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since September 2000, the motion says.
According to a copy obtained by IRNA, it also points out that students are prevented from attending al-Najah University by Israel's illegal barrier wall and two major checkpoints that enclose the entire city.
Students from Gaza are already banned from reaching the eight Palestinian Universities in the West Bank.
In the case of Birzeit, the number of Gazan students was reduced from 350 to only 35 by April 2005, UMSU said.
The motion warns that the future of many Palestinian universities are at "grave risk" due to the blanket curfews, 700 Israeli army roadblocks and other military obstacles, including the recently constructed barrier wall.
These "violate international law, including provisions against collective punishment and guarantees for the protection of civilian populations under military occupation, students' right to education and fundamental rights of human beings," it said.
UMSU said it was raising the concerns with colleagues in the National Union of Students to encourage further support for the right to education for Palestinian students.
It warned that a whole generation of Palestinian students were denied an education when Israel closed down all Palestinian universities and the majority of schools by military orders between 1988 and 1992.
New York, March 3 (NNN-PTI) United Nations agencies have asked governments worldwide to include refugees in their national HIV/AIDS policies and programmes and give them the same access to treatment as their own citizens.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) also urged civil society to tackle popular misconceptions about refugees and the spread of the disease in a policy brief focussing specifically on actions needed to address the spread and effect of HIV on refugees and their host communities.
"Far too often refugees face an untenable situation: they are no longer guaranteed the protection of their country of origin and do not receive assistance from host countries," the brief said, noting that they often face the stigma of both their status as refugees and the common misconception that HIV prevalence is higher among them than in host communities.
"Stigma and discrimination need to be tackled as an integral part of responding effectively to HIV among refugees and host communities," it adds.
"We advocate for refugees to access HIV services in the same manner as that of the local population," UNHCR HIV/AIDS unit head Paul Spiegel said, noting that some southern African countries already provide both refugees and the host population free antiretroviral drugs using government services.
United Nations, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) The United Nations refugee agency has resumed the voluntary repatriation of Afghans in Pakistan after a winter break, the sixth year of the largest such operation in the agency's history that has already seen over 2.87 million Afghans return from Pakistan, and another 1.5 million from Iran.
The resumption Thursday follows a recently-concluded registration that counted over 2.1 million Afghans still living in Pakistan, many of whom fled their homeland decades ago in the face of the Soviet invasion and subsequent factional fighting as well as the more recent Taliban regime that was ousted by a United States-led invasion in 2001.
The agency expects some 250,000 Afghans to return from Pakistan and Iran during this year's repatriation season which will extend until November 15.
The operation is largely funded by the European Commission.
After passing the standard iris-verification test to ensure they have not previously received assistance from the agency, they will receive the package of travel and reintegration assistance at an encashment centre in Afghanistan.
Last year, each returning Afghan family received between US$4 and US$37 dollars in travel grant depending on the distance home. Each individual received US$12 dollars in reintegration assistance.
Beirut, March 2(IRNA) Prominent Lebanese Shi'a Alim, Allameh Muhammad-Hussain Fazlallah said here Friday Lebanese nation expect UNIFIL to represent the UN in southern Lebanon, not the US officials.
Speaking with political advisor of the UN peace keeping forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) Guiseppe Cassini, he added, "We wish the UNIFIL forces to perform their duties free from any political tendency, and that they should truly act as UN, and not US representatives in Lebanon."
Fazlallah emphasized, "The Lebanese nation asks the Italian forces within the UNIFIL and the others there to expand the level of their cooperation with the Lebanese nation and army based on humanitarian and cultural activities."
He meanwhile emphasized, "So long as UNIFIL continues its role as a peacekeeper and an assistant of the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon we the Lebanese nation is ready to assist them."
Cassini, too, assured Nasrallah that UNIFIL forces are determined to remain committed to their duties based on UNSC Resolution 1707 and to cooperate with the Lebanese Army and people in safeguarding peace in that region.
Some 11,000 UN peacekeepers from various countries, led by Italy are now guarding southern Lebanon against probable Israeli violations of peace and stability.
Washington, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) The US has finalised a design for a new generation of nuclear warheads in a major step toward construction of the first new atomic weapon after the Cold War with the former Soviet Union came to an end in the early 1990s.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the new approved design for replacement of warheads for a portion of the nation's sea-based weapons that will provide a more secure, smaller and safer stockpile.
"The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) design concept utilizes modern technology that was not available during the Cold War when our nuclear weapons were designed and built. This will permit significant upgrades in safety and security features in the replacement of warhead," said Thomas P. D'Agostino, NNSA's acting administrator.
The Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories were selected to develop the RRW and the selected design can be certified without requiring underground nuclear testing.
The selection of the new design comes at a time when the Bush administration is trying to control the nuclear programmes of both Iran and North Korea and critics have been saying that it sends the wrong signals.
"The minute you begin to put more sophisticated nuclear warheads on the existing fleet, you are essentially creating a new nuclear weapon. And it's just a matter of time before other nations do the same," Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said.
"This could serve to encourage the very proliferation we are trying to prevent" she added.
Non-Proliferation advocates have made the point that the latest move could lead to proliferation and that there is no need to replace the Cold War era stockpile.
Baghdad, March 3 (Xinhua) A US air strike killed key members of the Al Qaida in Iraq north of Baghdad Friday, the U S army said Saturday.
Based on intelligence, US aircraft conducted an air strike west of Taji area, some 20 km north of the capital, the military said in a statement.
The statement said that the military believed key members of the Al Qaida in Iraq were killed and anti-aircraft artillery destroyed in the air strike.
In an another statement, the military said that US forces detained nine suspected "terrorists" in a raid in Baghdad targeting the Al Qaida network Saturday morning.
Two of the detainees were believed to be foreign fighter facilitators, the statement added.
Washington March 3 (DPA) US Army Secretary Francis Harvey stepped down from his post amidst a widening scandal over health care management for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
While Harvey's resignation Friday appeared to be connected to an immediate crisis over care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in the nation's capital, US President George W Bush ordered wide investigations into possible problems at other facilities.
In an unusual move, Bush released his weekly radio address nearly a day early to announce the probe and lament the "bureaucratic delays and living conditions" that have been uncovered at Walter Reed.
The facility came under intense scrutiny after a series of articles in the Washington Post newspaper showed decrepit conditions in the walls at a building that houses outpatients and detailed the problems of some soldiers seeking treatment.
"This is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to our country, and it's not going to continue," Bush said, adding: "This country has a moral obligation to provide our servicemen and women with the best possible care and treatment."
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced Harvey's resignation and expressed his disappointment in the leadership at Walter Reed, one of the country's main health care centers for the military.
"From what I have learned, the problems at Walter Reed appear to be problems of leadership," he added.
On Thursday, the man in command of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command that includes Walter Reed, Major General George W Weightman, was relieved of his duties.
Since the US invaded Iraq four years ago, nearly 24,000 soldiers have been wounded. The death toll stands at 3,160.
Gates also established an independent panel to investigate conditions at the US military hospitals and deliver a report in 45 days. It was not clear if that panel's work would be included in the commission Bush announced.
Bush said his panel would "find out whether similar problems have occurred at other military and veterans hospitals."
Harvey was appointed by US President George W Bush in 2004 to oversee the army's one-million-strong manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapon systems and equipment acquisition, communications and financial management.
A special commission has agreed with the Pentagon's proposal to close Walter Reed, as part of modernization moves but US Congress has not yet approved shutting the storied facility.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 3 (IANS) A jumbo-sized 38-company US business mission, including nuclear power firms, high technology contractors and equipment suppliers will visit India Mar 5-9 to prepare a roadmap for "future engagement".
Led by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), comprising top 230 US companies with investment interests in India joined by a dozen top Indian global companies, the four-city visit marks the first anniversary of president George Bush's path-breaking trip to India.
USIBC "is pleased to accompany America's finest companies to India, where we can demonstrate our desire to participate in the India growth story across every sector. We are here to take stock of the progress made thus far and chalk the roadmap for our future engagement," Ron Somers, president of USIBC, said.
The mission will attend a US-India Economic Summit organised by CII in New Delhi Mar 6 to take stock of the progress achieved in the US-India Strategic Partnership over the last year and meet government leaders and captains of Indian Industry.
The nuclear power companies and high technology contractors will then peel off from the USIBC Executive Mission and head to Mumbai to meet with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and the Indian private sector to discuss collaborations and opportunities in India's nuclear power industry.
Investing across all sectors of the Indian economy, the mission will also travel to Kolkata to meet West Bengal government and UPA coalition leadership Mar 7. This visit will mark USIBC's first foray into West Bengal in ten years. CII will organise a conference in Kolkata, highlighting the "View from the East: Opportunities and Promise."
The mission will travel to Chennai to meet Tamil Nadu government leaders and captains of south Indian industry to learn more about opportunities in India's infrastructure and manufacturing sector.
The USIBC mission will be co-led by General Dan Christman, and AMEX's Tom Schick, member of the USIBC's Executive Committee.
Companies that will be represented on the mission include Best Buy, Parsons Brinkerhoff, The Wire Group, Amex, AIG, Cargill, Max New York Life, Dow Chemicals, Exceed International, Lighthouse Funds, Emergent Biosolutions, The Chatterjee Group, eFunds, General Electric, Westinghouse, Edlow Corporation, US Enrichment Corporation, Bechtel, Cognizant, ITT and PSEG.
Formed in 1975, USIBC hosts Indian government officials and business leaders visiting US and conducts Executive Missions to India to discuss economic issues important to industry, and provides briefings to US government officials in support of the growing Indo-US strategic partnership.
WASHINGTON, Mar 3 (NNN-PTI) -- The US has finalised a design for a new generation of nuclear warheads in a major step toward construction of the first new atomic weapon after the Cold War with the former Soviet Union came to an end in the early 1990s.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the new approved design for replacement of warheads for a portion of the nation's sea-based weapons that will provide a more secure, smaller and safer stockpile.
"The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) design concept utilizes modern technology that was not available during the Cold War when our nuclear weapons were designed and built. This will permit significant upgrades in safety and security features in the replacement of warhead," said Thomas P. D'Agostino, NNSA's acting administrator.
The Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories were selected to develop the RRW and the selected design can be certified without requiring underground nuclear testing.
The selection of the new design comes at a time when the Bush administration is trying to control the nuclear programmes of both Iran and North Korea and critics have been saying that it sends the wrong signals.
"The minute you begin to put more sophisticated nuclear warheads on the existing fleet, you are essentially creating a new nuclear weapon. And it's just a matter of time before other nations do the same," Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said.
"This could serve to encourage the very proliferation we are trying to prevent" she added.
Non-Proliferation advocates have made the point that the latest move could lead to proliferation and that there is no need to replace the Cold War era stockpile.
--NNN-PTI
Port of Spain, March 3 (IANS) Workers of Trinidad Hilton here, where teams participating in the ICC World Cup 2007 are lodged, staged a two-hour long protest at the entrance of the hotel Friday, demanding among other things, higher wages.
The protests took place even as the teams were settling in after long journeys, local media reported.
The teams of Pakistan, South Africa, Canada and Ireland are lodged in the hotel. They are scheduled to play a series of warm-up matches at the University of West Indies ground near here prior to leaving for Jamaica for the inaugural ceremony.
The workers, reports said, are angry that the negotiations for the agreement between their bargaining body, the Communication Workers' Union (CWU), and the hotel management have not been settled and the issue is now pending with the industrial court.
"We had raised objections to the negotiations being sent to the industrial court, as there were a number of issues Hilton management had been reneging on," one of the workers told the media.
While the workers claim that a 22 percent hike in salaries would be fair, the hotel has proposed a nine percent increase.
04 March 2007
By Papri Sri Raman,
Chennai, March 4 (IANS) From Karnal to Coimbatore, genetically modified (GM) crops are becoming a matter of great concern for Indians worried about safety as well as loss of biodiversity.
Various groups in Tamil Nadu, such as Pasumai Thayagam, an NGO supported by the PMK party, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) and Socio Education Trust, are protesting against GM crops.
They have the support of Greenpeace India, Care Earth, Eco-Science Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu Farmers' Technology Organisation, Erode District Organic Farmers' Association and several others that have launched a week-long campaign for a Tamil Nadu free of GM crops.
CASA is the official arm of 24 Orthodox and Protestant churches in India with 57 years of humanitarian aid experience. It has a vast following in southern India.
The PMK too has a sizeable following across the state, especially among the farming and trading communities in northern Tamil Nadu.
A Pasumai Thayagam official said Friday: "Tamil Nadu must be kept free of all genetically modified crops."
"Rice is Tamil Nadu's main crop and Monsanto (a major producer of GM seeds) is now trying to capture this crop," a PMK leader said.
Quoting a popular Tamil proverb 'If you sow one kind of seed, you reap only one kind of harvest' the PMK leader said: "Research in England has shown that Bt crops yield less, need more pesticide, are bio-pollutants and poisonous." He alleged that Bt cotton leaves have killed goats.
The protesters demanded that Tamil Nadu farmers suffering losses from the cultivation of Bt cotton should be compensated.
They noted that seeds for one acre of Bt cotton cultivation cost as much as Rs. 1,250 and that Tamil Nadu farmers would have to pay such large sums for seeds if they cultivated genetically engineered (GE) rice.
On Nov 10, more than 200 farmers led by the Tamil Nadu Farmers' Association (TNFA) and the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Protection Group, destroyed crops in a rice field in Coimbatore district where field trials of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) rice by the controversial company Mahyco were in progress.
The protest came barely two weeks after agitating farmers burnt down a GE basmati rice trial field in Karnal, Haryana.
"Genetically engineered seeds are detrimental to sustainable agriculture and food security and harmful to people and the environment. We will agitate to prevent GE seeds from being used in the state," said V. Duraimanickam, general secretary of the Communist Party of India-affiliated TNFA.
"We will not allow a Vidarbha to happen in Tamil Nadu," added TNFA president K. Chellamuthu, in a reference to the large number of farmers who have committed suicide in that part of Maharashtra following failed crops.
In 2005, Bt rice field trials were conducted in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. In 2006, trials were carried out in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
"They just want to destroy the traditional varieties of seeds and promote the sale of hybrid varieties developed by foreign companies," said Chellamuthu.
Greenpeace India, supporting the campaign, noted that rice has been the staple diet for man for 10,000 years and is cultivated in 113 countries. Ninety percent of rice is grown in Asian countries.
"Biotech giants like Beyer have let loose untested and potentially harmful strains of GE rice into the environment," said a Greenpeace spokesperson.
Vietnam and Thailand recently rejected GE rice completely. Greenpeace India today called upon Indian rice exporters (world's third largest) to press for a ban on GE rice "to stop flooding vulnerable markets with GE rice".
"If India is serious about protecting at least its export, it needs to put some serious laws in place and stop field trials of GE crops now," the group said.
The 'Save the Rice' campaign from March 2-9 will comprise street corner meetings and hall meetings at different venues across the state.
Experts like Sulthan Ahmed Ismail and Ranjit Daniels spoke on the dangers of introducing GM crops to India at a time when most of Europe has opposed them on its shelves, even blocking imports from the US.
Raipur, March 4 (IANS) Eleven of the 12 state ministers in Chhattisgarh celebrated Holi in their native places Sunday. Only Revenue, Forest and Law Minister Brijmohan Agrawal was present here in the capital.
Chief Minister Raman Singh left for his native town Kawardha by road Saturday evening to celebrate the festival of colours with his family and relatives. He will return to Raipur late Tuesday.
Home Minister Ramvichar Netam is celebrating Holi in Surguja region, the state's tribal stronghold and his native district.
Panchayat and Higher Education Minister Ajay Chandrakar is in Dhamtari district, and Public Health Engineering Minister Kedar Kashyap in Bastar for holi functions.
Most ministers will return to work Wednesday evening to attend the assembly session that will resume Feb 8.
Addis Ababa, Mar 4 (NNN-ENA) Education Minister Dr. Sintayehu Wolde-michael said most of the 13 universities under construction in the country have started operation in the current month admitting over 11,000 students.
In a news conference he gave here on Saturday Dr. Sintayehu said the construction of the universities is expected to be fully finalized on September 2002.
He said Adama, Dilla, Axum, Debremarkos, Wollega universities have already started the teaching -learning process in their respective campuses as their constructions are sufficiently completed.
He said though their constructions are not finalised, the Medawelabu, Debrebirhan, Dessie/Kombolcha and Mizan Tepi Universities have also started operation.
The Dire Dawa University has also called for admission of students assigned in the university, he said, adding, the Sodo and Jijiga Universities will shortly call for their assigned students.
The new universities will have the capacity to admit 121,000 students when their construction is fully finalised, he said.
Dr. Sentayehu said instructors have already been assigned to all the 13 new universities.
He said the objective of expanding various universities in the country is to reduce poverty and backwardness in the country and build a better Ethiopia.
He said the new universities eye at speeding up economic growth, democracy and good governance in the country.
Dr. Sintayehu said private educational institutions on their parts should focus on building responsible citizens.
He assured support from the government in doing so.
The number of students attending undergraduate program is expected to reach 150,000 by 2002, he said, adding, 112,000 of them would be enrolled in governmental and the remaining in private educational institutions.
The construction of the new universities will increase country’s total number of universities to 21.
Kabul, March 4 (DPA) Sixteen Afghan civilians were killed and another 25 wounded when they were caught in the cross fire between coalition forces and suspected Taliban militants after a military vehicle was targeted by a suicide attacker, officials said.
The incident took place just outside the city of Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province, where a US-led coalition convoy came under attack by suspected Taliban rebels.
"Sixteen people were killed and other 25 were wounded in a suicide attack and in the following exchange of fire," Noor Agha Zewak, spokesman for provincial governor told DPA.
It was not immediately clear whether the civilians were killed by US-led coalition fire or by the rebels.
Although there were no reports of damage or injuries to the soldiers, the troops opened retaliatory fire against a crowd, killing at least 16 civilians and wounding another 25.
Coalition officials were not immediately available for comment on the incident, which took place between the provincial capital, Jalalabad, and the town of Torkham, bordering Pakistan.
Local residents closed the highway, which links Jalalabad to neighbouring Pakistan and chanted slogans against the foreign forces.
In another incident, which took place Saturday, two NATO soldiers were killed while on a combat operation in the southern province of Kandahar, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement Sunday.
"These soldiers sacrificed their lives to ensure a more stable future for the people of Afghanistan," said Col Tom Collins, ISAF spokesman.
ISAF policy withholds the soldiers' identities and nationalities until their families have been notified.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Despite a backlog of over 40,000 civil and criminal cases in the Supreme Court - up by 25 percent over 2006 - the apex court continues to oppose the establishment of its new benches elsewhere in the country, parliament was told.
Minister for Law and Justice H.R. Bhardwaj told the Lok Sabha that, according to statistics, as recent as those of Jan 31, 2007, a total of 40,243 civil and criminal matters were pending in the Supreme Court.
The apex court registered an increase of at least 25 percent in the number of pending cases in the last year alone. The figure was reported to be around 29,000 at the beginning of 2006.
In response to another question, Bhardwaj told thehouse that the apex court has been consistently opposing the proposal to set up new benches in the southern and other regions of the country, despite receiving regular representations by the government.
He added that various parliamentary panels have also been consistently recommending the establishment of new Supreme Court benches outside Delhi.
Replying to a question on workload in various courts, the minister said data valid till Dec 31, 2006, shows a total of 3,991,251 cases were pending in 21 high courts of the country.
The backlog in high courts includes 3,287,037 civil cases and 704,214 criminal cases, the minister added.
According to official statistics, posted on the website of the Department of Justice, the pendency of cases in the apex court had substantially reduced from 104,936 in 1991 to 19,806 in 1998.
The law minister said the backlog of cases in the higher judiciary has shown an increasing trend despite various corrective measures being taken for their speedy disposal by courts.
The measures include increasing the number of judges from time to time, besides grouping together cases involving common questions of law, and constitution of specialised benches to facilitate faster disposal.
Pune, March 4 (IANS) A boisterous Holi party of young IT professionals and students, including 29 girls and 12 foreign nationals, was cut short by undercover policemen in a neat predawn swoop Sunday that landed 251 people behind bars, police said.
Among those arrested from a country villa near the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla, 30 km from here, were nine organizers of the rave party and two DJs. All of them were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act as some of them were found to be in possession of drugs and most others under its influence, police said.
Two of the foreign nationals were German and three Palestinian, Patil said.
Receiving information from various sources, including SMS and Internet invitations, police were hot on the revellers' trail and busted the high voltage binge.
Even as a city police inspector passed on to the rural police information about invitations for the party being sent out from www.isratrans.com, NDPS and Anti-Terrorist Squads in the city too received tip-offs and independently reached the spot, a crime branch inspector said.
Plainclothes police, including some women officers, joined the party after buying tickets and arrested the merrymakers after finding that drugs were being freely distributed and consumed, Superintendent of Police Vishvas Nangre Patil told reporters.
A total of 42 cars and 40 two-wheelers were parked outside the venue of the party deep inside the main road in village Donje. The secluded venue was chosen by the revellers apparently to escape the police vigil on Holi-eve. Some of them had come from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.
Some quantity of crushed marijuana leaves, as also a powdered drug and a liquid suspected to be California drops, was seized from the arrested youth, additional superintendent of police P.C. Patil told IANS. The youngsters have been subjected to medical tests and the reports are awaited, he added.
Thimphu, March 4 (IANS) Bhutan's transition from monarchy to parliamentary democracy got yet another boost, with the country announcing it will have 47 constituencies whose members will be elected to the National Assembly in the first general elections in 2008.
"The Delimitation Commission of Bhutan is pleased to announce that ... the total number of National Assembly seats in the 20 dzongkhags (districts) is 47," Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, Bhutan's chief election commissioner, said Saturday.
The district of Trashigang has the highest number of constituencies, with five seats in the National Assembly, followed by Samtse with four seats, Mongar and Pema Gatshel with three seats each.
The remaining 16 districts will have two seats each. There would be an estimated 10,000 voters in each of the constituencies.
The completion of the delimitation exercise has formally set the ball rolling for registration of political parties for the elections. The kingdom will shift from monarchy to parliamentary democracy after the elections in 2008.
"Those joining politics can now nominate their candidates and plan their strategies according to the constituencies. On the basis of the constituencies, political parties will also be formed," said the Kuensel, Bhutan's national newspaper.
Former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne in December in favour of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, 26.
The transition began six years ago when the former king handed over the powers of daily government to a council of ministers and empowered the National Assembly to force a royal abdication if three quarters of its membership backed the motion.
Bhutan in 2004 year unveiled a 34-point constitution and the same was sent to some 530,000 citizens for their views. The constitution is to be ratified after a referendum.
Once adopted, the constitution will replace a royal decree of 1953 giving the monarch absolute power.
Jammu, Mar 04 (ZEE News) Security forces smashed two militant hideouts in Doda and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir and recovered a big cache of arms, including 51 explosive devices and 523 rounds of ammunition, official sources said today.
Acting on a tip-off, Army troops searched Sona-Gali forest belt of Poonch district last night and busted a hideout, they said.
Troops recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including 18 improvised explosive devices, 23 Chinese grenades, one AK rifle with its eight magazines and 261 rounds, two pistols with its four magazines and 18 rounds, one wireless set, one rifle belt and one satellite phone, the sources said.
Army and police personnel smashed another hideout in soil top area in Doda district and recovered one 12-bore rifle, one double-bore gun, 174 rounds of AK rifle, 70 rounds of self-loading rifle, four magazines of AK and other rifles, one IED and 190 kgs of ration.
However, no one was arrested from the two hideouts, they said.
Gaza, Mar 4 (NNN-KUNA) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will stay in Gaza for several days, until the new Palestinian national unity government is formed, Fatah announced Sunday.
Speaking to Palestinian radio, spokesman of Fatah Ahmad Abdulrahman said Abbas will head to Gaza Sunday and will discuss, in a meeting with acting Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, issues related to the formation of the new government.
Abdulrahman warned delay in setting up new government might bring conflict among Palestinian groups on ministerial positions, stressing unity in essential to achieving "national independence" and liberation of territory.
Whoever is to take up the critical post of interior minister must be of proven national integrity and of suitable qualifications that can win the public's trust.
Kuala Lumpur, Mar 4 (NNN-Bernama) Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Saturday called on the international community to respect the will of the Palestinian people in electing their leaders in free, fair and democratic elections.
In this regard, he welcomed the Makkah Declaration adopted by the Palestinian leaders and expressed support for the establishment of the Palestinian unity government in Palestine.
The Prime Minister said this in his meeting with the Hamas' head of Political Bureau Khalid Meshaal who paid a courtesy call on him in Putrajaya.
Meshaal, who was leading a delegation from Palestine on a visit here, also called on Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, said the minister in a statement released here today.
The statement said Meshaal briefed Abdullah on the current situation in Palestine, including the recent meeting of Palestinians in Makkah, which led to the agreement to establish the Palestinian unity government.
He (Meshaal) also discussed the peace process, in particular issues relating to the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.
Syed Hamid said Abdullah reiterated Malaysia's commitment to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for a free and independent Palestinian state.
Abdullah also called on the international community to support the Palestinian unity government and to lift the economic and financial sanctions imposed on the Palestinian National Authority.
The statement said Abdullah reaffirmed that the Malaysian Government would continue to provide whatever assistance, within its means, to the Palestinian unity government.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Former Algerian minister of national and higher education, during a visit to Iran's National Library here Saturday, said cultural and scientific cooperation between Iran and Europe will make nations closer to each other.
Professor Ahmed Jabbar, who is visiting Iran upon an invitation extended by culture and civilization committee of the Cultural Revolutionary Supreme Council, in a meeting with the Head of Iran's National Library and Documents Organization Ali-Akbar Ashaari said, such cooperation creates proximity between other nations and Iranians.
Professor of the French Sciences and Technology University "Lille" noted that French professors who visit Iran for their scientific or cultural works can be Iranian cultural and civilizational envoys to improve the views of the French and the other European nations concerning Iran.
Ahmed Jabbar said the most important priority in cooperation between Iran and French cultural centers is research, scientific and cultural cooperation concerning resources and existing potentials in Iran National Library.
Ashaari, for his part, said he would like to see European scientists in Iran adding, cultural cooperation is the only way of achieving real acquaintance between nations in the current politicized world.
Today's mankind needs spirituality and science together which could be possible through scientific and cultural cooperation among nations, he underlined.
Aceh, Mar 4 (NNN-ANTARA News) The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) provincial administration will soon declare a moratorium on logging in an effort to preserve the province`s forest ecosystem, Governor Irwandi Yusuf said here on Saturday.
"We are going to declare a moratorium on logging as soon as possible because most of the land in this province was deforested in the past decade," Irwandi said in his address at the installation of Tagore and Sirwandi as Bener Meriah district head and deputy district head respectively.
The governor said the provincial administration was committed to stopping both legal and illegal logging activities in Aceh.
"Logging is not the only way to feed the 4.2 million people of Aceh," Irwandi said.
Irwandi had on various occasions repeatedly stated that the natural disasters that had hit Aceh many times in the recent past, especially the recent massive flash floods that swept through seven districts in January, were the result of uncontrolled logging.
Therefore, he pledged the provincial government would take serious action against whoever was engaged in illegal logging.
According to Irwandi, forest resources in Aceh, including Leuser National Park that covers the districts of Bener Meriah, Aceh Tengah, Aceh Tenggara, Gayo Lues, and Aceh Selatan, should be protected and preserved for the welfare of the Acehnese people.
He said the way to improve the local people’s economy was developing the potentials of the province`s natural resources.
Therefore, the governor called on the new Bener Meriah district head and deputy district head to invite investors to develop plantations, agriculture and tourism in the district.
Irwandi also expressed hope that Tagore and Sirwandi would be able to preserve and protect the forests in Bener Meriah from illegal loggers because they were part of Leuser National Park.
Luanda, Mar 4 (NNN-ANGOP) The Angolan Audit Court will organise as from Monday, in Luanda, the annual meeting of the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI).
The meeting, which will take place in the Talatona Conventions Hall, will discuss among other aspects issues relating to the strategy of communication among the supreme chambers of control and governmental local auditing.
The gathering that will go up to 09 March is to be attended by delegates from 25 African countries, it will also serve to prepare and concert, at regional level, the meeting of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), scheduled for October, in Mexico.
The Angolan Audit Court was elected in March 2006 to host this event, during the annual meeting of AFROSAI held in Tanzania.
Cairo, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) Arab Foreign Ministers are arriving in Cairo for the 127th ministerial session due to kick off at the Arab League headquarters on Sunday. The session will address a host of issues relevant to joint Arab action.
Arriving in Cairo early Saturday were the Foreign Ministers of Yemen, Abu Bakr Al-Kerabi; Tunisia, Mohammad Abdul-Raouf Al-Basti, and Somalia, Ismail Mahmoud Herri, in addition to the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Political Department, Farouk Kaddoumi.
Arab Foreign Ministers who arrived in the Egyptian capital yesterday included Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Ben Aissa, Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zibari, and Qatari Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, together with the Sudanese President's Advisor, Moustafa Osman Ismail, Djibouti Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ahmed Ali Youssef, and the Algerian Minister of Labor and Social Security, Tayeb Louh.
The Arab Foreign Ministers are due to hold a consultative meeting later today upon request of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul-Gheit to discuss a number of issues on the agenda of the Sunday meetings.
The agenda comprises 20 items covering all aspects of the Arab joint action topped with the "draft agenda" of the Arab 19th Summit due in Riyadh on March 28-29.
Chaired by Tunis, the session will address the latest developments in the region especially in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Darfur, and Somalia, besides arrangements for the Riyadh Summit.
The Arab Ministerial Committee on Iraq is also due to meet Sunday on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers' meetings to discuss future Arab action on Iraq in light of the Iraq neighbors' meeting due in Baghdad.
The Baghdad meeting will also be attended by Egypt, Bahrain, the UN, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and the five permanent UN Security Council member states.
The permanent delegates to Arab League had submitted a number of draft resolutions covering various political and economic issues to the Sunday ministerial meeting, which is part of the arrangements ahead of the Riyadh Summit.
Cairo, March 3 (KUNA) Arab foreign ministers met here Saturday to discuss issues to be tackled in their meeting, due in the Arab League headquarters on Sunday.
The meeting, in which Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa and visiting Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul participated, touched on a host of Arab issues, an official source said.
The talks centered on the developments in the Palestinian territories, how to unite the Arabs to support the Palestinians following the Mecca agreement, as well as the political program of the upcoming Palestinian government of national unity, said the source.
He said the ministers discussed how to persuade capitals worldwide to lift the siege on the Palestinian government, the Iranian nuclear file and the situations in Iraq and Lebanon.
Miri, Mar 4 (NNN-Bernama) Asean has launched a fund to control transboundary haze with an initial sum of US$500,000 (about RM1.7 million).
The agreement on the fund was reached at the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution on the final day of the 12th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Haze (AMMH) held last week in Bandar Seri Begawan, according to a statement faxed to Bernama here.
The statement did not specify, however, how much each member country would have to contribute to the Asean Transboundary Haze Pollution Control Fund.
It said the ministers had also discussed strategies to encourage contributions from other countries beyond the regional association as well as organisations and the private sector.
The statement said Malaysia had also indicated its willingness to assist Indonesia with capacity building by undertaking a number of projects, including working with plantation companies to implement zero burning practices and other preventive measures.
Dhaka, March 4 (IANS) A high court judge in Bangladesh has had his law degree cancelled for tampering with his mark sheet.
The Chittagong University Saturday cancelled the Bachelor of Law and bachelor's (pass course) certificates of Justice Faisal Mahmud Fayezee, in the case first brought to light by two newspapers.
Other judges refused to share the bench with him and lawyers refused to appear before him once the decision of the Chittagong University Syndicate became known, media reports said Sunday.
Some lawyers entered his courtroom Saturday and asked him to resign.
"New Age" newspaper said President Iajuddin Ahmed had confirmed Fayezee's judgeship last year, ignoring recommendations of the then chief justice.
Fayezee is one of the 100 former students whose certificates have been cancelled following recommendations of a five-member probe committee.
The mark sheet scandal broke out when Fazaeyee was appointed an additional judge, along with 18 others in 2004.
Two national dailies, "Prothom Alo" and "Bhorer Kagaj" had published reports on October 30, 2004, saying that Justice Fayezee, who was then an additional judge of the high court, had obtained his Bachelor of Law certificate through unfair means.
The judge had then denied the allegations.
According to the reports, Fayezee had tampered with the marks certificate in the Muslim Law examination in 1989.
The Bangladesh Bar Council, the statutory regulatory body for lawyers, on April 24, 2004 cancelled the advocateship licence of Fayezee on the allegation that he had obtained the licence producing doctored results and false date of birth.
However, the high court on May 7, 2005, stayed the operation of the Bar's decision and issued a rule asking it to explain within eight weeks why the cancellation of the advocateship certificate of Justice Fayezee would not be declared illegal. The rule is yet to be disposed of.
Amid protests of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the then chief justice put Fayezee out of the bench on October 31, 2004 and he had been out for a long time. He was, however, later allowed to perform judicial functions.
His service as a high court judge was confirmed by the president on Aug 22 last year, reportedly ignoring the chief justice's recommendations, "New Age" newspaper said on Sunday.
London, Mar 3 (NNN-IRNA) The BBC was accused Friday of banning an anti-war song, mocking Prime Minister Tony Blair, because of fears that it will offend the government.
Leader of the anti-war Respect Party, George Galloway, said he would be raising the issue in parliament and would also be writing to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, according to the Campaign for Broadcasting Freedom (CBF).
"This lick-spittle BBC has a deplorable record of toadying to the government," said Galloway, who plays a cameo role in the song, a cover version of War (What Is It Good For?) by the Ugly Rumours, named after Blair's band when he was a university student.
"Let's not forget that only three people have lost their jobs over the war, two of them BBC employees, and not one government minister has paid the price for sending us into this illegal and immoral war," he was quoted saying.
BBC chairman Gavyn Davies and director general Gregg Dykes were forced to resign from their posts after the state-funded broadcaster was castigated in a report into the death of former Iraq arms inspector David Kelly.
Kelly was identified as the source of the claim in a BBC report that the government exaggerated Saddam Hussein's arms threat to justify the Iraq war.
CBF reported that the anti-war video had risen to sixth in the UK's pop single charts and was vying to be number one, even though it is only available as a download.
The song has already been publicised by the BBC, but only on a regional news program and as a last item on Independent Television News on Thursday, CBF said.
The BBC's pop station Radio One was due to broadcast a package about the single for its Newsbeat programme on Friday, but was pulled at the last minute because it was not newsworthy, according to the campaign group.
Respect claimed that it had been told privately from within the highest sources at the BBC that a banning order had been instituted against the anti-war song.
But a spokesperson for the BBC confirmed to the CPBF that the decision was taken on `newsworthy grounds' and that two other stories also had not been included.
Stop the War Coalition, which is promoting the song, was hoping that the anti-war song would be in the UK pop charts at the time of the fourth anniversary of the war in March.
"Make history and get a British prime minister into the charts singing for peace, instead of making war," the peace group network said.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) Belarus has designed a new energy security concept, first vice-premier of this country Vladimir Semashko has said today at a meeting of the board of the energy efficiency department of the State Standard Committee of Belarus.
The concept aims to adapt the economy to the new energy prices. The energy sector of the country consumes the biggest share of energy resources. Gas accounts for 95 per cent of the total energy resources consumed.
According to Vladimir Semashko, the government should bring order to its energy industry and enhance efficiency of the work of CHP plants.
Implementation of large-scale investment projects at Minsk CHP plants #3 and #5 as well as several other projects will help considerably reduce the volumes of fuel consumed to generate energy, he is convinced.
The new concept proposes to implement projects on upgrading the energy system in the shortest possible time. For this purpose Belarus may need 1.5 times more investments than it was planned earlier (the program by 2010 provides for attracting investments worth of US$2.6 billion).
To diversify its energy resources Belarus will build a nuclear power station and several coal-fired power stations. The share of local fuels, first of all wood and peat, in the energy balance will be increased.
The level of fuel consumption in Belarus makes 410 kilos in oil equivalent per $1 thousand of the GDP, while in Poland this index makes 210 kilos, in several other European states 140-150 kilos.
By 2010 Belarus plans to reach the level of 280-290 kilos per $1 thousand of the GDP.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) Belarus plans to obtain a stabilisation loan from Russia in the second half of the year, Belarus finance minister Nikolai Korbut told media today.
According to the official, it is difficult to obtain the loan in H1 2007, because the procedure is quite time consuming.
The sides have not held any negotiations on this issue yet, said Nikolai Korbut. The final sum and terms of the loan agreement will mostly depend on Russia.
BelTA reported earlier, in January 2007, the Belarusian government requested the Russian Federation government to appropriate a stabilisation loan as large as US$1.5 billion to Belarus. The request was put down to the need to finance additional state budgetary expenses caused by the sharp increase in energy prices.
Nikolai Korbut also reminded, this year’s national budget deficit is expected to total Br1.4 trillion, or 1.5% of the GDP. To finance the deficit, the government plans to borrow Br1.256 billion.
The finance ministry is now studying ways of getting the investments, considering both forms of the borrowing (syndicated borrowing, flotation of securities) and terms (long-term and short-term borrowing).
Proposals of the world’s five largest banks, which offer untied loans to Belarus, are under consideration. This year’s state budget law envisages the borrowing of around $500 million of foreign loans. The finance ministry is now working on borrowing a more substantial sum - about $1 billion.
Apart from that, the necessary measures have been taken to float Belarusian government bonds in Russia.
The finance minister also noted, the choice of the country’s rating consultant is at the examination stage. In accordance to the plan of cooperation with international agencies for assigning a sovereign credit rating to Belarus, the country is expected to get the rating in the first half of 2007.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) Belarus plans to obtain a stabilisation loan from Russia in the second half of the year, Belarus finance minister Nikolai Korbut told media today.
According to the official, it is difficult to obtain the loan in H1 2007, because the procedure is quite time consuming.
The sides have not held any negotiations on this issue yet, said Nikolai Korbut. The final sum and terms of the loan agreement will mostly depend on Russia.
BelTA reported earlier, in January 2007, the Belarusian government requested the Russian Federation government to appropriate a stabilisation loan as large as US$1.5 billion to Belarus. The request was put down to the need to finance additional state budgetary expenses caused by the sharp increase in energy prices.
Nikolai Korbut also reminded, this year’s national budget deficit is expected to total Br1.4 trillion, or 1.5% of the GDP. To finance the deficit, the government plans to borrow Br1.256 billion.
The finance ministry is now studying ways of getting the investments, considering both forms of the borrowing (syndicated borrowing, flotation of securities) and terms (long-term and short-term borrowing).
Proposals of the world’s five largest banks, which offer untied loans to Belarus, are under consideration. This year’s state budget law envisages the borrowing of around $500 million of foreign loans. The finance ministry is now working on borrowing a more substantial sum - about $1 billion.
Apart from that, the necessary measures have been taken to float Belarusian government bonds in Russia.
The finance minister also noted, the choice of the country’s rating consultant is at the examination stage. In accordance to the plan of cooperation with international agencies for assigning a sovereign credit rating to Belarus, the country is expected to get the rating in the first half of 2007.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) Belarus has been thoroughly studying issues on setting up the Parliamentary Assembly of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)/, chairman of the permanent commission on international affairs and national security of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of this country Nikolai Cherginets told BelTA.
On Thursday, president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has conferred an Order of Fatherland 3rd class on Nikolai Cherginets.
The senator stressed the importance of Belarus activities within the NAM framework and noted that the speech delivered by the Belarusian leader at the NAM summit in September 2006 in Havana had a wide public response.
The Belarusian initiative to set up the NAM PA was supported by many members of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Belarus has been pursuing a multi-vector policy aimed at promoting cooperation with many countries, Nikolai Cherginets said.
Moscow, March 1 (NNN-BELTA) Belarusian and Russian foreign ministers Sergei Martynov and Sergei Lavrov Wednesday exchanged ratification instruments of their bilateral social security co-operation agreement, representatives of the information and press department of the Russian foreign ministry told BelTA.
The ceremony took place in Moscow as part of Sergei Martynov’s working visit to the Russian capital.
The agreement was signed by the presidents of Belarus and Russia at a session of the Union State Supreme State Council in Saint Petersburg in January 2006. The document will come into force on the 30th day after the ratification instruments have been exchanged.
The source noted that the agreement secures equal social security rights of Belarus and Russia citizens. The agreement regulates the payment of insurance contributions of the state mandatory social security. The agreement allows paying pensions to retired Russians and Belarusians if they migrate within the Union State.
The agreement is expected to resolve problems with the payment of retirement pensions, disability pensions, bereavement pensions, length-of-service pensions, social security pensions, temporary disability benefits, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits, employment injury benefits, occupational disease benefits, children’s allowances and funeral grants.
Pskov, Russia, March 1 (NNN-BELTA) Belarus and Russia are drafting an inter-governmental agreement on mutual supplies of military products in wartime, the deputy chairman of the Russian-Belarusian inter-governmental commission for military-technical co-operation, Vladimir Drozhzhov, stated Tuesday at a seminar of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus-Russia Union State in Pskov, northwest Russia.
According to him, the agreement will be drafted on the initiative of the Belarusian side. The document has already been co-ordinated in the Russian Federation and has been submitted for consideration of the government of the Republic of Belarus. “The necessity to conclude the agreement arose during the joint command-headquarters game played by the defense ministries of Belarus and Russia,� Drozhzhov said.
At present the level of integration between the two states in the military-technical field is rather high. Belarusian companies are involved in executing the Russian state defence orders.
According to Drozhzhov, the current Belarusian-Russian agreement of 1994 on mutual supplies of military component parts and equipment has become outdated.
“That is why we have drafted a corresponding agreement on inter-action in designing, exploiting, repairing, modernizing and destroying military equipment. The agreement is of a multi-sided format bearing in mind the fact that it will be signed by all members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO),�, he said.
According to him, the document has already been considered by all CSTO countries and will be included in the agenda of the meeting of the interstate commission for military-economic cooperation, scheduled for March this year in Moscow.
Meanwhile, Belarus has suggested to Russia that a Union State programme on designing future weapons and materials covering the 2008-2010 period should be worked out. The statement was made by Sergei Turbin, head of the defence support agency of the State Defence Industries Committee of Belarus, at the Belarusian-Russian parliamentary seminar on military affairs in Pskov on Wednesday.
He said Belarus and Russia were working hard to build up the existing legal base of the military and technical cooperation. In particular, a new agreement was being developed to replace and expand clauses of the 1994 treaty on mutual supplies of military hardware components.
“Laws of Belarus and Russia allow supplying components only to produce military products. The option is not available for repairs, modernization and other kinds of work,� explained Turbin.
Therefore, it was decided to work out a new Belarusian-Russian agreement on cooperation for the design, exploitation, repair and modernization, extension of service life and utilization of military products.
According to the representative of the State Defence Industries Committee of Belarus, the Belarusian side is revising a draft bilateral agreement, which regulates the supply of military products in a period of threat and wartime.
“The problem is when the military and political tensions are escalating and the military threat is on the rise, a state’s demand for arms, materials and other defence products soars. We used a war game training plan to prepare a list of such products,� he said.
“Certain problem aspects have been unearthed. For example, the Russian Federation does not manufacture certain products, as several assembling lines have been put in dead storage.� Turbin said next week the Belarusian government would complete revising the agreement.
Regulations have been developed to fulfil the agreement: it has been defined who compiles lists of defensive products each side needs in a period of threat, who is contacted for adjusting these lists, how these demands meet the production capacity of defence industries, what decisions need to be taken if these or those products are not manufactured and some other aspects, added Turbin.
In addition, the problem of providing Belarusian defence industries with military standards of Russia is being resolved. “These military standards are not supposed to leave the country of origin. It was decided to handle the problem within the CSTO framework,� he added.
“A session of the interstate military and economic cooperation commission took place in Bishkek to consider the development of regulations concerning the provision of CSTO member-states with military standards of Russia. It was decided that Russia together with Belarus would develop a simplified procedure for supplying defence industries fulfilling the CSTO’s defence contracts with Russia’s military standards.�
Brussels, March 4, (IRNA) The Belgian parliament's Commission on National Defense will vote on Wednesday on a law proposal that would prohibit the manufacture, use, storage, sale, acquisition, supply and transit of projectiles and armour that contain depleted uranium (DU) or other industrially manufactured uranium.
According to the "Belgian Coalition: Stop Uranium Weapons," a political majority has been reached in favour of banning uranium weapons in Belgium.
Nineteen countries have DU weapons in their arsenals. According to the Belgian government, Belgium has never bought or possessed such weaponry.
Belgian and international coalitions of scientists, war veterans, military trade unions, ecological and human rights organizations, are working for a global ban on uranium weapons.
A model international convention banning DU weapons has also been developed. It is hoped that the Belgian ban on DU weapons will be an important step towards achieving an international ban, said the Belgian coalition in a statement.
Investigations at the U.S. Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute have demonstrated that exposure to DU oxide particles can induce irreversible damage to the genetic material, that they accumulate in the lymph nodes and that they induce cancers.
Though there exists a consensus in the scientific community about the health hazards from exposure to the mainly ceramic DU particles when ingested, there remain scientific uncertainties due to a lack of sufficient research regarding the environmental behaviour of DU.
Brussels, March 3, (IRNA) Iran was one of the topics Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt discussed with Russian President Valdimir Putin during their meeting at Putin's country house outside Moscow on Friday, Belgian media reported Saturday.
Belgium is currently member of the UN Security Council and chairs the SC sanctions committee on Iran.
Lebanon and Kosovo were reportedly also raised during the 3-hour meeting.
Russia and Belgium want the Russian energy giant Gazprom and the Belgian energy suppliers to co-operate closely and want to turn Belgium into the focal point of Russian gas.
Verhofstadt wants the use of the Belgian port of Zeebrugge as the centre of Gazprom's gas export. He said Belgium wanted to diversify its supply. At present, Belgian gets its gas from Norway, Algeria and Qatar.
By Arpana,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) The Indian film industry is unhappy that the latest budget has once again failed to address its demands of curbing piracy and uniformity in entertainment tax in different states.
"I think the finance minister is clearly stating in last year's and this year's budget that please don't expect any radical changes, breaking news and do not expect it to be 'an event'," said Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of production house UTV.
"Specifically for the media there is nothing, though. We were looking for some parity between the print media and the electronic media."
Budget 2007-08, which was presented Feb 28, has only come up with one significant announcement for the entertainment industry - a reduction in customs duty on digital cinema infrastructure equipment imports from 12.5 percent to 7.5 percent.
This is expected to boost the adoption of digital technology in theatres.
However, many in the industry are saying that key issues have not been addressed.
"We were looking forward to the budget and hoping that government would focus on the entertainment business but once again it was ignored. Of course, we are disappointed," Sandeep Bhargava of production house TV18 told IANS.
"Also, we wanted the government to help bring uniformity in entertainment tax. In some states it is 25 percent, in others it is 100 percent or more," added Bhargava.
But Amit Khanna of Adlabs rules out government's interference in the Indian entertainment Industry.
"The industry is doing so well. We don't need government's interference. Having said that, we were expecting government to do something for the broadcasting sector especially when we have these set top boxes," Khanna told IANS.
"As far as the entertainment tax is concerned, it has nothing to do with the union budget. It is a matter to be sorted by all the states individually," added Khanna.
The Indian entertainment sector, which is almost synonymous with the Mumbai-based film trade better known as Bollywood, had witnessed phenomenal changes after it was granted "industry" status by the government in 2001.
The size of the entertainment and media sector in India is currently estimated at Rs.353 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19 percent over the next five years.
The entry of financial institutions like IDBI Bank, Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore and IndusInd Bank-Hinduja TMT combine for funding and multiplexes, which are flourishing, are the best example of the growth.
The sector was, however, hoping for the removal of policy-related impediments to its growth. But this, say insiders, has not happened in the latest budget.
The imposition of service tax on development and supply of content for use in advertising agency services is not expected to have any significant impact on the sector.
Screwvala said: "The introduction of service tax for content related to advertising agencies and telecom needs to be studied in the fine print."
By Kul Bhushan
India's latest budget has little to offer to NRI investors. If anything, the tax burden on them has only gone up.
More Indians are paying more taxes, the economy is growing at over nine percent, exports are booming and foreign reserves have touched a new record of $180 billion. So Finance Minister P. Chidambaram focused on the poor to lower prices, provide better education and healthcare, offer selected insurance cover and improve infrastructure.
Now that foreign companies are rushing to India and Indian companies are buying out foreign companies, new investment incentives take a back seat. Thus it is no wonder the budget did not have any special provisions to attract NRI investors. However, NRIs, like all Indians, will pay less income tax but also get lower returns on Indian stocks.
NRIs who file income tax returns in India will benefit marginally as the tax exemption has been raised by Rs.10,000 to Rs.110,000; to Rs 145,000 for women and Rs.195,000 for senior citizens. However, the education cess has increased from two percent to three percent on all direct and indirect taxes to finance higher education.
NRIs will get lower returns from their investments in stocks. The budget raised the dividend distribution tax from 12.5 to 15 percent on dividends paid by a domestic company from April 1, 2007. When the education cess of three percent is added, it amounts to over 18 percent. This means the dividend is reduced by over 18 percent on Indian stocks. Similarly, NRIs investing in a money market mutual fund or a liquid fund would pay 25 percent dividend distribution tax. But not many NRIs invest in these very short-term funds and the return is negligible.
NRI tenants occupying any property for commercial use will now have to pay service tax of 12.5 percent. This increases their cost of doing business in India. NRI landlords will not be affected, as they will collect this service tax from their tenants.
The budget did not make any provisions for greater individual real estate investment. To attract NRIs to invest in real estate, the stamp duty should be uniform across the country and reduced considerably. NRIs remit funds through legitimate banking channels and so they are at a disadvantage when the seller demands the majority of the price in cash as the sale price is a fraction of the total price paid for a property. This will bring down, if not stop, cash changing hands when buying and selling property that is commanding steep prices in India today. Since this is not strictly a budgetary provision, the finance minister can issue guidelines to the state governments on this matter.
As avid collectors of Indian art, if NRIs sell their art pieces in India, they will have to pay a capital gains tax. An NRI selling any work of art in India including drawings, paintings, sculptures or archaeological collections will now pay capital gains tax of 20 percent on the net gains or 10 percent on the total price.
NRI promoters can enjoy a five-year tax holiday if they invest in economy hotels and convention centres in and around Delhi provided that these facilities are completed before March 2010 in time for the Commonwealth Games in the capital.
NRI financiers of venture capital funds in India enjoyed tax benefits known as Pass Through Status for all knowledge-intensive ventures. Now the NRI promoters of these venture capital funds will get tax exemptions only in "truly deserving" ventures such as in biotechnology, IT relating to hardware and software development, nanotechnology, seed research and development, research and development of new chemical entities in the pharmaceutical sector, dairy industry, poultry industry and production of bio-fuels.
NRI promoters may also be taxed depending on their country of residence and its tax treaties with India. If an NRI takes over an infrastructure company through merger or acquisition, he/she will lose the exemption benefit granted earlier.
In addition to their bank accounts in major cities with major banks, NRIs can now open NRE/FCNR deposit accounts in selected foreign currencies or in rupees with Regional Rural Banks that are making good progress.
NRIs can heave a sigh of relief that their cash withdrawals under Rs.50,000 will not be notified to the authorities. To keep track of cash transactions and 'black money', a banking cash transaction tax was introduced last year for all cash withdrawals above Rs.25,000 and these transactions were reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit. This led the Income Tax Department to many money-laundering and 'hawala' transactions. This year, the limit of withdrawals has been raised to Rs.50,000.
The budget follows the old saying, "If it's working, don't fix it". India is progressing well so the poor should benefit. And NRIs are welcome to contribute - without VIP treatment.
(Kul Bhushan previously worked abroad as a newspaper editor and has travelled to over 55 countries. He lives in New Delhi and can be contacted at kulbhushan2038@gmail.com)
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) In a bid to create awareness among people to save sloth bears that face torture in the name of public entertainment, a group of hotels and tour operators in Delhi and Agra have joined a campaign initiated by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
In the "Say no to Bear Dancing" campaign, some bookstores and a few popular tourist destinations are also included apart from 41 hotels and 19 tour operators.
The campaign is a part of the Integrated Sloth Bear Conservation and Welfare Project (ISBCW) initiated by the WTI and the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) in 2005 across India.
The initiative is aimed at creating awareness among people - mainly tourists - to discourage bear shows that often turn barbaric, as the animal is forced to dance by inflicting pain, which is a major welfare issue.
Delhi, Jaipur and Agra - the three historic cities in north India, are popular for historical monuments that are visited by thousands of tourists from India and abroad every year. In these cities, 'kalandars' (bear owners) make sloth bears dance for public entertainment.
"The aim of the campaign is to reduce human atrocity on sloth bears," Mandeepa Ahluwalia, Director Marketing of WTI said.
Posters, bookmarks and literatures are placed in five-star and budget hotels in Delhi and Agra to attract attention of the visitors to spread awareness of the atrocity meted out on the bears.
Tour operators - Cox and Kings, SITA, Le Passage to India, Travel Inn, India Safari, Asian Adventures, Travel Corporation of India, Mercury Travels, Tour Aids and Travel Bureau are carrying the campaign literatures in their coaches and taxies.
"Next time you visit any of those hotels or travel in any of their cars, you may come across these literatures," Twinkle Dahiya, assistant project officer of the campaign, said.
Posters are also seen in hotels and shops at important tourist hubs in the national capital including Pahar Ganj, Janpath, Dilli Haat and Karol Bagh.
"Foreign tourists at India Gate, Red Fort, Dilli Haat, Connaught Place, Qutab Minar, Lotus Temple, Priya Cinema Complex and Raj Ghat have signed pledges in support of the campaign." Dahiya said.
Sloth bear is protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
Bears are captured from the wild at a young age by kalandars who train them to dance, for livelihood. The sloth bear (melursus ursinus) is a nocturnal animal, inhabiting the lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In circuses, they are known as the "dancing bears".
Some popular travel and business magazines - Outlook Traveller, Business India, Namaste (ITC Welcome Group), Swagat (Indian Airlines), and Xpressions (Air Sahara) - have published complimentary advertisements for public awareness as part of their contribution to the campaign.
The project is also aimed at providing alternative livelihoods for kalandars.
WTI sources said they have helped the bear owners in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in procuring bank loans, facilitated meetings with government officials and advice from experts for setting up enterprises for alternative livelihoods.
As part of the WTI initiative, many of the kalandars have now successfully set up alternative professions -- load autos, poultry farming, waste disposal, tailoring, embroidery among others. "The success of these kalandars will encourage others to form self-help groups, which will eventually reduce their dependency on bear dancing," Aniruddha Mookerjee, senior director of WTI, said.
Earlier, Wildlife SOS, a New Delhi-based non-government organisation, had issued grants worth Rs.170,000 to 15 kalandars, who agreed to give up using sloth bears to make a living.
Kabul, March 4 (Xinhua) At least five Afghans were killed and 11 others were injured by a suicide bombing and ensuing fire in Nargahar province of eastern Afghanistan Sunday, an eyewitness Mohammad Asif told Xinhua.
The incident took place when a suicide car bomber blew himself up to target a US military convoy on Torkham-Jalalabad road at around 9.00 a.m local time (0430 GMT), he said.
"I saw five dead bodies and 11 injured men had been taken to a hospital in Jalalabad city," Asif told Xinhua.
However, Hazrat Khan, the commissioner of Mohmandara, where the incident happened, said 10 Afghans could have been killed.
It wasn't clear how many Afghans were killed by the suicide blast and how many were killed by the US gunfire.
More than 400 persons have been killed in violence and clashes in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year.
Beijing, March 4 (DPA) China said Sunday that it had increased its military budget for this year by another 17.8 per cent, following similar large increases in recent years.
The draft defence budget for 2007 is set at 350.92 billion yuan (44.94 billion dollars), up 52.99 billion yuan (6.79 billion dollars) from 2006, said a spokesman for the National People's Congress (NPC), China's nominal parliament.
This year's defence budget accounts for 7.5 percent of total expenditure in China's draft budget, compared with 7.7 in 2004, 7.3 in 2005 and 7.4 percent in 2006, said a spokesman for the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC).
The 3,000-member NPC is scheduled to discuss and approve the national budget during its 10-day annual session beginning Sunday.
Many Western critics claim China's real military spending is much higher than its budget figure, with some US analysts estimating actual military spending at up to three times the budget figure.
China defends the regular increases in spending as necessary to keep up with rapid economic development by paying for higher salaries, rising oil prices and technological upgrades.
This year's increase is nearly 24 percent higher than the figure announced at last year's NPC, apparently reflecting the fact that China's 2006 military spending exceeded the original budget.
China defended its military spending against Western critics last week, saying it was "firmly committed to the path of peaceful development".
"China maintains a rational level of national defence strength completely for the sake of safeguarding its own sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and national unity, instead of expansion or waging any foreign aggression," foreign minisry spokesman Qin Gang said.
Much of China's military hardware is deployed against Taiwan, the island that Beijing regards as a renegade province.
Islamabad, March 4 (Xinhua) Coalition forces in Afghanistan opened gun and artillery fire at a security post in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region Sunday, the Geo Television reported.
The international forces targeted a Pakistani post in Lawara Mandi area from Afghanistan's border region with 12.7 mm guns and artillery shells, which landed near the target, said the report. No casualties were reported.
An earlier newspaper report said a post of the Pakistan forces in the same area also came under attack Feb 27 by Afghanistan-based coalition forces.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Armed with water guns and with myriad hues of reds, pinks and blues smeared on their faces, their clothes in the manner of rainbows, millions of Indians Sunday celebrated Holi, even as the mood seemed subdued in parts of the capital.
In New Delhi, the celebrations began early with squeals of laughter resounding from various households as the "colourful attacks" started with dry colours. But soon buckets full of coloured water and 'pichkaris' came out for the wet spell, spraying everyone in sight.
In the university's north campus, young boys thronged the terraces of their houses and aimed balloons filled with water at passers by, especially at girls. Not to be left behind, the girls retaliated in an equally colourful manner.
"I was not very keen on playing Holi this time but my friends simply refused to take no for an answer. They dragged me out of my room and poured two buckets of coloured water on me!" said a drenched Sujata, who then decided to join in the fun.
"My wife and I look forward to Holi every year. And like every time this time too we invited our close friends for a terrace Holi party at our place. Biryani, sweets, colours and of course the ritual Bhang is on the house!" said Prakash Jha, an engineer living in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj area.
Narayani Basu, however, preferred celebrating the festival with her family members.
"My husband and I celebrate Holi every year with my parents and younger brother. But among all of us, my father is the most enthusiastic player. He can outdo all the rest of us put together.
"After we are finally done with the playing and we have had a good wash, we sit and have a lavish lunch prepared by my mother. She makes excellent mutton curry and gujjias," she said.
There was the "public" element of the celebrations, with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam accepting the greetings of the public at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and a host of ministers doing so at their sprawling residences in the heart of the capital.
Revellers joined the fun at the offices of political parties here.
However the mood seemed subdued in many parts of the capital - perhaps because of the stiff breeze that blew through the morning or because of the increasing burden of rising prices that almost everyone has to contend with.
Then, there was the shadow of the lunar eclipse Sunday that made many believe it would be "inauspicious" to celebrate on such a day.
The large police presence on the streets ensured that these were by and large free on the lumpen elements who tend to race around on two-wheelers.
For the non-revellers, this meant a dream drive on the broad roads of the city, while those who had to travel to work or on other errands had a comparatively easy time.
While the ubiquitous auto rickshaws were out in fair numbers, commuter buses were out from around noon -- a departure from the past when they used to start plying only around 2 p.m.
Reports from across the country spoke of Holi being celebrated peacefully from Jammu and Kashmir to Andhra Pradesh and from Gujarat to the northeast.
Kashmir celebrated Holi on Saturday but the revelry also spilled over into the early part of Sunday.
The legend of King Hiranyakashipu is associated with the festival of Holi, signifying the victory of good over evil.
Meerut, March 4 (Indianmuslims.info) Communal tension has been prevailing in the Panchli village of this district since Friday when, on the discovery of a piece of meat in the premises of a temple, a mob of Hindutva activists made attempts to demolish Idgah, a mosque and a madrasa and desecrated and threw into the well the copies of the sacred book found in the madrasa.
On getting the news of a piece of meat found in the premises of an under construction temple, activists of various Hindutva organisations held a meeting at about 10 a.m. Friday to hatch a plan to take a revenge of the act. Then two teams were reportedly set off to carry out the retaliation.
While one team moved toward the Idgah, the other toward Madrasa Islamiya Arabi Riyazul Uloom. The former made an attack on the Idgah, beat and tortured Maulvi Abdullah S/o Abdul Azeez and his guest Yaseen S/0 Abdul Lateef there. Simultaneously, the latter demolished the small dome of the madrasa, desecrated the sacred books and threw them into the well. Then they also attacked the mosque situated at a distance of about 200 feet of the Durga Temple.
The rioters also attacked some houses belonging to the minority community. Though no case of loot or arson has been reported, stone-pelting from both sides have injured some people.
After some time SP Sheo Sagar Singh and SDM Guru Dayal reached the village and tried to bring the situation under control. Many battalions of PAC and RAF are camping in the village. They have arrested as many as seven persons of both the communities.
Various organisations including National Minority Front (NMF) as well as concerned individuals have expressed their grave concern over the incident, calling it ‘an act of mischief-mongers’. They have appealed to the District Magistrate to punish the guilty and maintain law and order in the area. They have also appealed to the majority community members to maintain peace and law and order in the village and the adjoining areas to help Hindu-Muslim solidarity flourish over there.
A delegation of NMF led by former minister Dr Merajuddin Ahmad called on the District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram here Saturday to apprise him of the details of the incident and seek his intervention.
Naib Qazi Zain al-Rashideen also appealed to the people to maintain communal harmony and brotherhood and particularly the Non-Muslim brethren to exhibit a strong sense of Hindu-Muslim unity by protecting the places of worship including the Shahi Jama Masjid.
By Amitabh Sharma,
Montego Bay (Jamaica), March 4 (IANS) The Indian team is prepared to meet the challenges of the upcoming cricket World Cup, said captain Rahul Dravid Sunday, while coach Greg Chappell was confident that having a good mix of youth and experience, they will reach the semi-final stage.
After a long flight and a round of practice, Dravid was relaxed at his first press briefing before the start of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2007.
"We are prepared for the challenges of the ICC Cricket World Cup," he said at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay shortly after an early morning practice session at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.
Dravid was flanked by teammates Zaheer Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, coach Chappell and team manager Sanjay Jagdale.
Upbeat after the team's recent performance against Sri Lanka, he said: "Over the next two months we want to be able to take part in the sights and sounds of the Caribbean while playing some good cricket."
Responding to questions, Chappell said: "I am convinced that the team will be in the semi-final. We have a good mix of youth and experience."
Since their arrival in Jamaica, the Indian players have been going through practice sessions. They play two warm-up matches here against the Netherlands and the West Indies on March 6 and 9 respectively, before heading to Trinidad and Tobago for group stage matches.
India are in Group B with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda. The World Cup starts March 11.
India would return to Sabina Park in Kingston for the semi-final, should they sail through the Super Eight.
New Delhi, March 4 (Indianmuslims.info) A delegation of concerned Muslims led by vice president All India Momin Conference and secretary Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee Imran Ansari called on Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit here Saturday and submitted a memorandum to her, suggesting that Congress should field Muslim candidates at least in 40 wards in the forthcoming elections of Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD).
The delegation members said, “These are the constituencies in which Muslims are in decision making position as there are 25-98% Muslim population in these municipal wards. Congress should field only Muslim candidates in these constituencies so that the party may win the confidence of Muslims.�
The Chief Minister assured them to consider their demand.
The Muslim concentration wards as mentioned in the memorandum are Chauhan Nagar, Jafrabad, Osmapur, Welcome Colony, Mustafabad-I, Mustafabad-II, Karawal Nagar-I, Karawal Nagar-II, Babarpur, Janta Colony, Brahampuri, Maujpur, Nai Seemapuri, Lakshmi Nagar, Okhla, Zakir Nagar, Nabi Kareem, Ballimaran, Eidgah Road, Turkman Gate, Deputy Ganj, Qamruddin Nagar, Nangloi East, Sultanpuri South, Jahangirpuri, Malkaganj, Bhalsawa Jahangirpuri, Khajauri Khas, Karawal Nagar-III, Kardampuri, Nizamuddin, Daryaganj, Qasabpura, Minto Road, Bazar Matia Mahal, Chandni Chowk and New Ranjit Nagar, etc.
The members of the delegation include Anwar Ahmad, Akhlas Ahmad Advocate, Dr Shafeeq Ahmad Islahi, Haji Mohammad Iqbal, Haji Mohammad Sayeed, Mohammad Yusuf Malik, Abdur Razzaq Siddiqui, Haji Abdur Rasheed, Haji Mohammad Shahid, Haji Mohammad Ilyas, Haji Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Aleem Khan, Mohammad Akram Mirza, Mohammad Shamim Ansari, Mohammad Nafees Salmani, Mohammad Tahir Ansari, Mahboob Ahmad, Abdul Jabbar Ansari, Sarfraz Ahmad, and Mohammad Shakeel, etc.
Agartala, March 4 (IANS) A head constable of the Border Security Force (BSF) has been awarded death sentence for gunning down two officers of the paramilitary force at a border outpost (BOP) in Tripura last year, officials said Sunday.
"A BSF court found Balbir Singh guilty of murdering the officers during a trial that concluded Saturday at the 22nd Battalion's headquarters at Fatikcherra in West Tripura," BSF spokesperson J.C. Pandey said.
"Police filed a case in the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate at Belonia in South Tripura district that was subsequently transferred to the BSF for trial by the General Security Force Court." Singh was found guilty of killing deputy commandant Kameswar Singh and assistant commander Alok Ranjan June 7 at the Rajnagar BOP in south Tripura district.
"The deputy commandant got angry and reprimanded Singh for dereliction of duties while on duty. The head constable snatched a rifle from one of his colleagues and shot dead the officer on the spot," Pandey said.
"Balbir then gunned down the assistant commander as he had witnessed the killing of the other officer."
London, March 4 (IANS) Moisture in the air and mould-infested houses may cause asthma in children, according to a latest research that has asked doctors to be aware of the link while treating young patients.
Poor housing conditions are already linked to the illness but there is debate whether they cause asthma, or simply trigger attacks.
A team of Finnish researchers including Juha Pekkanen from the National Public Health Institute in Kuopio surveyed the homes of more than 300 children, reported the online edition of BBC News.
Writing in the European Respiratory Journal, the researchers say they have found a clear evidence that mould and damp could cause asthma in children, as opposed to worsening or triggering attacks in children whose asthma had another underlying cause.
However, experts in Britain are still not convinced mould can cause asthma. Asthma is now the most common chronic disease among school-age children, and rates have risen steadily in recent years in industrialised countries.
Narathiwat, Mar 4 (NNN-TNA) Thai Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said Saturday that pro-active measures are needed against the continuing insurgency in restive south as defensive strategy alone could not cope with almost daily violence.
Gen. Boonrawd told the press in Bangkok that he went to Pattani Friday to boost morale of security officials there as well as to learn about their problems to report to the cabinet in considering solutions.
The minister said part of the problem in the three southern border provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani was due to widespread narcotics consumption, as the militants offered drugs to young men.
He said the violence problem in the region must be considered from both security and drug-related perspectives.
Security officials must from now on employ stringent measures and they must use more offensive measure through local villagers' cooperation in order to strengthen communities, he added.
In other developments, Army, police and administrative officials Saturday interrogated a suspected militant who was believed to have fled during a clash between army rangers and a group of militants on a mountain in Narathiwat Friday.
Thirty-year-old suspect Doramae Mudo-aceh was brought from his home in Joh I Rong district for interrogation at the district police station.
Upon learning that the man would be taken for questioning, a group of local women and children surrounded the officials as they escorted Mr. Doramae in a bid to prevent them from taking the suspect away. The village headman was later asked to explain to the protesters that the suspect would be released if he was found innocent.
After more than an hour of negotiations, the villagers let the officials lead him away.
Rumours circulating among villagers in two districts here state that the men who were killed by army personnel yesterday were not insurgents but were only illegal log poachers.
At least five suspected militants were shot dead in the clash with army rangers while an undetermined number were wounded in the encounter. The army also seized an militant training camp, the first since the violence was renewed in the three troubled southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat three years ago.
By Syed Zarir Hussain,
Murakata (Assam), March 4 (IANS) It was a gloomy morning. The sky was overcast with ominous clouds hovering over the village in Morigaon district, about 70 km east of Guwahati. A drizzle was sweeping the area, with the potholed road cutting through the village getting slushier by the minute.
Suddenly the shrill cries of men, women and children rent the air - a crowded passenger bus had plunged into the big pond located next to the main road.
In a matter of minutes, three villagers reached the scene and swung into action. They dived into the pond and began a brave rescue mission. All the three were trained search and rescue volunteers of the Murkata village under the Disaster Risk Management Programme (DRMP) of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Soon, scores of other trained volunteers descended on the spot to join the trio in a daring attempt to save the trapped passengers -- the bus, with 41 passengers, by then was sinking into the 25-foot-deep pond.
Some 30 people were rescued, most of them with injuries.
"I think all credit goes to the village disaster management volunteers who saved many lives on that day," says D. Nath, a retired schoolteacher, recalling that day on Oct 18, 2005.
In Morigaon district, the DRMP came into being in early 2004.
Apart the successful rescue mission under the DRMP, a Walking Blood Bank Programme has also been initiated by mobilising people, especially the youth, for voluntary blood donation and maintaining a database of volunteers in every village of the district along with their blood reports.
"This idea came to me when I saw scores of people injured in a bomb blast in Morigaon crying for help in hospitals. Since the preparedness was not there, the hospital staff was unable to cope," F.B. Manik Shah Mazumder, a DRMP district project officer.
Today, the flood-prone district has a Hospital Contingency Plan ready to manage mass casualties -- to be precise, 18 teams ranging from surgical units to paramedics and even sanitary workers all geared up to meet any eventuality.
More than 550 villages in the remote and inaccessible parts of the district, which has a population of 775,874 people, are covered under DRMP activities.
"We have about 50 trained volunteers in each village," Mazumder said.
"Major accidents apart, we in Morigaon district are prone to heavy flooding and erosion. Our volunteers are highly motivated and committed and we hope we would be able to do justice to the task assigned to us during any disaster," Mazumder added.
That fateful day in October 2005, they certainly did. Eleven people died in the accident. But till date, people here acknowledge that the toll would have been much higher but for the search and rescue volunteers.
"We must admit that the training imparted to us while we got enrolled as volunteers did help us to effectively carry out the rescue mission," said Lokendra, a volunteer who was part of the rescue team.
Once the passengers were rescued and brought to safety, the Health and First Aid Team of the village under DRMP started providing basic minimum first aid to the injured.
"The search and rescue volunteers played a commendable role during the accident although we must also appreciate the local villagers for their support and heroics," said Morigaon district magistrate Sabir Hussain.
The volunteers then followed the village disaster management plan and began mobilising conveyance -- from cars to motorcycles and even bicycles -- to carry the injured to the nearest hospital at Mayong, about four kilometres away.
This timely action by the volunteers came as an eye-opener for others in Morigaon and today, the response from locals to enrol as members of the village disaster management committees and teams has increased manifold.
"The response has been overwhelming, with people in large numbers willing to become volunteers," Hussain said.
"No doubt about it. I would like to become a volunteer myself now," said A. Das, a passenger who was on the bus.
By Faraz Ahmad,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Though there are still four months to go before he retires, lobbying for a second term for President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has begun.
The president is to retire in July, and the election notification is due to be issued some time in the latter half of June.
While sources in Rashtrapati Bhavan say that the president has expressed his desire to return to teaching once his term expires, political manoeuvring has begun to back Kalam for a second term.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader conceded off the record that the Samajwadi Party (SP) has already started sounding other parties, including the BJP, for a second term for Kalam, and the BJP may be inclined, depending on the situation.
According to the BJP, the Telugu Desam Party and the DMK too have been sounded on Kalam and both appeared to be in a mood to work for a second term for Kalam. "Even the Bahujan Samaj Party might be willing to back Kalam," the BJP leader said.
In 2002, it was Mulayam Singh Yadav, SP chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who had first mooted Kalam's candidature as president with the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Almost all the parties, with the exception of the Left, fell in line fearing that the BJP and SP together would campaign against them for not supporting a "nationalist Muslim".
Now, with the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls due (April 7-May 8) and with an eye on its Muslim vote bank, the SP would try to publicise its preference for Kalam, said a critic of Mulayam Singh.
Though political leaders maintain that the presidential elections are a long way off and they have no candidates in mind as yet, parties like the SP and BJP are apprehensive that attempts may be made to reduce and marginalise their vote value.
Fearing imposition of president's rule in Uttar Pradesh, SP general secretary Amar Singh had recently alleged that the Congress was trying to impose federal rule in the state to exclude the large number of his party legislators from participating in the presidential elections. This he had stated on the assumption that the Uttar Pradesh elections would take place only after the presidential elections.
On Friday, BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra echoed the same sentiment. He said that the Congress was "conspiring to impose president's rule in Uttar Pradesh to prevent the state's legislators from voting in the presidential elections".
Malhotra conceded though that the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections are not likely to make much of a difference to the Congress' fortunes, and therefore logically it has no stake in getting the elections postponed. He also insisted that the BJP has so far not made up its mind on any candidate.
Asked about Kalam, he said, "Let him first agree to it".
The presidential electoral college consists of all the elected members of both houses of parliament and of state legislative assemblies, including the assemblies of Delhi and Pondicherry. Nominated members of either of the two houses of parliament and legislative assemblies are not eligible to vote.
Mumbai,March 4(NDTV Correspondent) In Mumbai, people burnt effigies of Nithari accused Moninder and Surinder expressing anger over the murders of children in the Noida village.
Mumbaikars performed a symbolic protest.
Meanwhile in Nithari itself, the mood on Holi is that of mourning. The area saw no sale of Holi colour or toys.
The residents got together in grief, mourning the children they lost. Nithari residents have also decided to perform a dharna today.
London, March 4 (ZEE News) A confidential email from the Prime Minister's office was at the centre of the dramatic intervention by Britain's Attorney General into the cash-for-honours investigation, a leading newspaper claimed today.
Details of the email relating to one of Prime Minister Tony Blair's closest aides and a senior Labour Party fund-raiser has been obtained by the BBC which was preparing to read excerpts on air as evidence of a Downing Street "cover up", The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith had obtained an injunction against the BBC to prevent the broadcast of a programme on the cash-for-honours investigation.
The email is understood to relate to Ruth Turner, the head of government relations, and Lord Levy, Labour's chief fund-raiser, who were both arrested over the alleged awarding of honours in return for big loans to the party.
Scotland Yard sought the 11th hour assistance of Lord Goldsmith amid fears that its year-long investigation was about to be undermined by the television broadcast.
United Nations, Mar 4 (NNN-Prensa Latina) Eritrea has imposed new restrictions on the UN forces in this African country, limiting even more the already reduced capacity of monitoring the cease of fire with Ethiopia.
A UN spokesmen said the government of Asmara reduced the movement of the members of the mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Zone of Security.
With these new limitations, the effectiveness of UNMEE is much more reduced, said UN spokeswoman Michele Montas Saturday.
In January, the UN Security Council spread the UNMEE mandate until July, but reduced the number of members because the peace process between the two countries got stuck.
Ethiopia refused to follow the decision of the commission in charge of creating the border and give Eritrea the town of Badme, while Eritrea limits the work of UNMEE because it considers that UN does not make enough pressure on to government of Addis Abeba.
Raipur, March 4 (IANS) India's leading steel-maker Essar Steel has won the prospecting licence for Chhattisgarh's Bailadila deposits, which has one of the world's finest quality iron ore stocks. This happened after a state-run firm's lease expired unutilised.
The central government has approved the Chhattisgarh government's proposal to award the prospecting license to Essar Steel for a 2,285-hectare stretch in Dantewada district, officials said.
For three decades, the prospecting license for the iron ore reserves was kept reserved for the state-run National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC), which lost the lease in February because it had not begun excavations.
India's largest iron ore producer and exporter in public sector NMDC had got the mining lease right of an area of 3,308.04 hectares in Bailadila deposit no 3 on Feb 3, 1977 for a period of three decades. Its lease expired on Feb 8, 2007. Surprisingly, the NMDC did not excavate a single kilogram of iron ore," a senior industry department official told IANS.
"NMDC was stunned when it was formally informed that its mining lease has automatically lapsed under the Mining and Mineral Act. It was not renewed because NMDC failed to undertake any mining activity," the official added.
The hilly region of Bailadila, located in Dantewada district, has large reserves of high quality iron ore stocks, divided into 14 deposits. NMDC has been excavating mines in three bigger deposits for domestic supplies as well as for exports to China and Japan. "NMDC's loss is Essar Steel's gain," the official said.
Essar Steel will use the Bailadila iron ore to feed its Rs.70 billion greenfield integrated steel plant to be set up in two phases in Dantewada district with a capacity of 3.2 million tonne per annum.
Brussels, March 4 (IANS) India will get a taste of 'Tasty Europe' when European Union's Agriculture Commissioner Marianne Fischer Boel makes her first visit to the country this week.
Boel will be accompanied by a high-powered entourage of 28 CEOs from Europe's top food and beverage companies during her weeklong visit to the country beginning Monday.
"My expectations from this visit are high. My aim is to deepen the strong ties and close relations we already have between the EU and India," Boel told INEP in an interview.
The commissioner, who hails from Denmark, is sure that her visit will "prove mutually beneficial to the agricultural sector not only in Europe but also in India".
Enthusiastic and positive about a very significant first visit to India, Boel is focused on the possibility of exporting and importing agricultural products between the EU and India.
"I think the products Europe can deliver are of a high quality with these geographical indications."
"The products which we have an economic interest in do not hamper Indian farming areas. I think we complement each other instead of competing in certain areas."
Indian agricultural exports to Europe are worth 1.2 billion euro per year, while the EU exports of agricultural goods to India are valued at only 200 million euro.
"So we are far behind in the figures," she stated.
During her visit, the commissioner will tour some agricultural farms between New Delhi and Agra.
Boel will then meet Indian Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahay and Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.
"First of all we will discuss our mutual interest in achieving a positive outcome with the Doha round, that is clear, with Kamal Nath."
When asked by INEP if she would be checking on the Geneva negotiations to re-launch the Doha Development Round, she replied: "This trip is not to have bilateral negotiation on this issue."
"But since we have been so deep in this, it is quite natural that we will take a state of play. I have an understanding of the specific problems that India has."
Brussels is preparing for the launch of bilateral trade and investment negotiations with India, which will complement the Doha round, she noted.
Commenting on the EU's agricultural cooperation with India, Boel said, "We are natural partners and two big players in the agriculture sector globally. We seem to be cooperating quite well."
On the business side, the commissioner will look for investment possibilities in India and hopes to forge strong links between the delegation of the European CEOs and their Indian counterparts.
Meetings will take place on a vast range of agricultural commodities, from fruits, vegetables, dairy and cereals to wine as well as spirits and meat.
No official agreements will be signed during the visit. Nonetheless, the commissioner added, "I think the main purpose of this trip is to try to create good relationships between European and Indian companies in the agriculture and food sector."
After Delhi, Boel will be in Mumbai on March 9-10 where she will meet Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and inaugurate the Aahar food festival.
"This is the biggest show in Asia in food and I'm really looking forward to co-opening it with the local authorities."
The EU will have a stand at the show, she said, adding, "I've been told that I have to do a cooking demonstration so I will prepare myself on the plane."
Boel is already the third EU commissioner to visit India this year following the visits of Commissioner for Science Janez Potocnik and Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner - a sign of expanding EU-India relations.
Brussels, March 4, (IRNA) The European Union Foreign Ministers' Council will review the situation regarding Iranian nuclear program in its meeting in Brussels Monday.
The Council is expected to issues a statement on Iran supporting efforts to find a negotiated long-term solution and to call upon Iran to open the way by complying with the requirements set out in SC resolution 1737.
According to EU sources, the Council is expected "to deplore Iran's failure to comply with the terms of UN Security Council resolution 1737."
Iran has already protested against referral of Iranian nuclear program to the Security Council from the UN specialized agency, IAEA, and said that the Resolution 1737 has legal flaws.
Iran is signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and respects the Safeguards Agreement of the IAEA.
Iranian nuclear program has been designed to generate electricity from nuclear energy to meet the growing demand for electricity and that IAEA cameras have been installed on all Iranian nuclear sites monitoring them round the clock.
Ministers will discuss the Middle East peace process in the light of recent events, in particular the February 19 meeting between US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Zionist prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to facilitate discussions between the parties.
The Council will discuss developments in Uzbekistan and prospects for EU-Uzbekistan relations.
It is expected to call for an early, meaningful and regular human rights dialogue under the EU-Uzbekistan partnership and cooperation agreement.
The Council will review the latest political and humanitarian situation in Darfur, and will discuss the funding needs of the African Union mission in Sudan (AMIS).
It is expected to deplore the Sudanese government's
non-cooperation with the UN Human Rights Council high-level mission.
The ministers will discuss draft conclusions prepared by the current German EU presidency for the spring EU summit to be held in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.
The EU summit is expected to focus on energy and climate policy, as well as on its annual review of the strategy for growth and jobs in the EU.
On Monday evening an EU-Israel association council will be held and an EU-Egypt association council on Tuesday.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Director of an Iranian archaeological team has announced that research operations are being conducted on the southern banks of the Kor River in Fars province to find historical traces, an Iranian daily reported on Sunday.
The English-language 'Iran Daily' wrote that the operation had been made with an aim to identify human settlements and learn about irrigation systems and embankment networks during different periods of history.
It quoted Ali Asadi as saying that studies conducted so far have focused on the northern side of the river to determine the areas settled during the Achaemenid period (648-330 BC) as well as historical sites.
The expert added that further studies should be undertaken near the southern side of the river, which extends from the southern parts of Marvdasht to Bakhtegan Lake, northwest and west of the provincial capital city of Shiraz, the report said.
It further quoted Asadi as saying that earlier important relics such as Amir Embankment from the Al-e Bouyeh Era (934-1055 AD) as well as traces of four other embankments had been discovered in excavation operations so far.
The archaeological team has so far concentrated on the water reservoir of the embankments, he noted.
Results of earlier rounds of excavations revealed that most of the artifacts unearthed from the southern bank belong to the Sassanid (226-650 AD) and early Islamic eras, the paper quoted Asadi.
He added that few settlements pertaining to pre-history period had also been identified in the area.
A number of prominent sites with a culture called 'Lepoei' were also discovered in the process, Asadi said.
By Shinie Antony,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Robin Sharma, the India-origin author of the international bestseller "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", says he tries to enjoys the ride of success, but is not too attached to it.
"Success makes people and companies fall in love with themselves and grow complacent, inefficient and arrogant. So I try my best, as success grows, to become more humble. I try to enjoy my ride but not get too attached to it," said Sharma, who is all set to conduct a leadership workshop from March 5 in Delhi for corporate honchos.
"Failed personal relationships have been enormously helpful to my growth as a human being and as a leadership thinker. Business and life is really all about people and relationships. Failure is the highway to success," Sharma told IANS in an email interview.
"I've learned my greatest lessons from my greatest failures and biggest pain," he added.
On his Indian connection, he said: "My father is from Jammu and Kashmir. Both of my parents are of Indian origin and although I am a Canadian, I have an intense love of India. I am also so proud of my Indian culture and all that it stands for."
The author, who has written eight international bestsellers including "The Greatness Guide" and "The Saint, The Surfer And The CEO", said: "In my latest book 'The Greatness Guide', I write that nothing fails like success. Success is a little dangerous because it can cause a person to stop doing the very things that made them successful."
Sharma, who is also CEO of Sharma Leadership International Inc, is working on a sequel to "The Greatness Guide" and also on the next book in "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" series.
How did "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari", which describes the spiritual journey of a business tycoon who chucks up all his worldly possessions, originate?
"The idea for 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari' came to me very quickly - in a blinding flash of inspiration. I shared the title with some people. They laughed and said it was the silliest book title they ever heard. I thought differently and trusted my gut. The lesson for me: 'if you listen to your critics, you'll never get to your greatness'," said Sharma.
Dubai,March 4,(NDTV Correspondent)Roger Federer's amazing winning streak continues.
The World No 1 defeated unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-3 to win his 4th Dubai Open title in five years on Saturday night.
It was also Federer's 41st consecutive victory tying him up with legendary Bjorn Borg for the 4th-longest streak and leaving him five short of Guillermo Vilas' 1977 record.
The Swiss ace beat Youzhny, who upset defending champion Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, in straight sets.
The Russian, seeking his 2nd crown in two weeks after winning in Rotterdam, was unable to prevent Federer from claiming his seventh straight title.
Federer's last defeat was to Andy Murray in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters last August.
Meanwhile, India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic lost 7-5, 6-7, 10-7 to France's Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in a nail-biting doubles final of the same event.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) The first two Indian children to make it to Antartica and survive hair-raising episodes have come out with a fascinating account of their trip to the planet's last frontier besides a remote Indian temple.
Suravi Thomas and Rishi Thomas uncover in their "Adventures in Antartica" (Puffin) an eye-catching shrine with Hindu idols in the southernmost tip of Chile from where expeditions to Antartica sail out.
"This is the southernmost temple in the world," say the young authors, children of a top Indian diplomat and business executive who were 15 and 12 when they made the trip. Both are studying in Chile. Proceeds from the book go to a charity in India.
"The interior of the temple was richly decorated with mirror-work mosaics, beads, crystals, electric lights and other ornaments. Inside, on display were idols and symbols of all the different religions of India including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Buddhism."
The builder of the temple, the book says, is Dwarkadas, son of Bhai Bhojrajmal Hotchand Nandwani, who came to own a chain of stores in Chile, Argentina and Falkland Islands where he was once an employee.
Suravi and Rishi Thomas sailed to Antartica in February 2005 along with a group of international adult travellers including their parents, all proceeding to the Chilean station in the icy continent.
The young authors, who have peppered the book with amazing colour photographs they took, sailed through Cape Horn, a sheer 400-odd metre high promontory where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans merge violently to create a single sea and where many ships have found a watery grave.
As the ship with the authors entered the Drake Passage, it lurched alarmingly, hit by icy waves 32 to 50 feet high. "Not one of us had expected the full gale of 90 knots that hit us around two in the morning," Suravi and Rishi Thomas say. "The ship rocked so violently that not one of us felt inclined to make it for breakfast. We clung to our berths.
"The next morning, we learned that the ship had rolled over by 35 degrees during the night. The crossing of the Drake was a nail-biting, hair-yanking experience - howling winds, zero-visibility mist and fog, no sun, and enormous waves tossing and spinning the ship around like clothes in a washing machine."
At the Antartica's King George Island, where the ship halted, were the bases of many countries, "like a bustling miniature enclave of embassies". Also existing was a Russian Orthodox Church, built in Siberia and transported to the Antartica!
Near the O'Higgins Base in Covadonga Bay, a zodiac that took the authors and some others out in the water got struck between two icebergs.
"The icebergs had moved together and our little zodiac was tilting as it was squeezed between them," the authors recall. "The wind blew strongly, the cold was intense and we, the passengers, were wild with panic.
"In Antartic waters it takes hypothermia three minutes flat to set in, despite protective clothing. Our chests tightened with fear. We felt that even our thudding heartbeats would rock the boat. The zodiac driver paged for emergency help from our ship.
"Within minutes our zodiac was punctured by the heavy pressure of the icebergs. Just as we were sure we were going to sink into a frigid oblivion, a flatboat saw our predicament and came to our rescue, in the nick of time!
Shaken and scared, we had to jump from the zodiac into the flatboat." Later, a huge iceberg jolted the ship.
"In a few minutes, the entire boat rocked. We heard a giant boom and were knocked sideways in our seats. We struggled to our feet and peered out of the window. A gigantic iceberg had indeed hit the side of our ship."
In Chile, the children saw a unique signpost giving distances from the southern town of Punta Arenas to many cities around the globe. "There is a sign pointing to Agra too, with the Taj Mahal painted on it."
Berlin, March 4 (DPA) The main Muslim organisations in Germany are considering forming an organisation to represent Muslim interests in German society, the Sunday edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said.
Leaders of Muslim organisations such as the Turkish religious group Ditib, the Islamic Council, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany and the Association of Islamic Cultural Centres (VIKZ) said they were in favour of an umbrella organisation.
"We are determined to act as representatives of all Muslims in Germany," Bekir Alboga, spokesman for Ditib, said.
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble came out in favour of a Muslim umbrella organisation last year when he formed an Islam Conference.
Schaeuble said the German government needed a representative organisation to discuss issues such as religious education. The Islamic Council was founded last year to discuss precisely this issue with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Alboga said he expected an association to be founded by the summer, but spokesmen for all the organisations acknowledged problems over how the separate groups would be represented in an overarching body and over what it would be called.
The Frankfurter noted that the Muslim organisations could speak directly only for 300,000 of Germany's Muslim population.
Many of the 3.2 to 3.5 million residents originating from Muslim countries regard themselves as secular Muslims and do not belong to a Muslim organisation, the newspaper said.
DPA
Florence, March 4 (DPA) A hang glider pilot was plucked from a tree in Tuscany Sunday, three days after he crashed into a tree and just dangled there helplessly.
Antonio Montagno, 47, was hanging head down in the branches when a rescue team from the Italian fire brigade eventually located and freed him.
"He was completely weak and had to be taken to hospital," a spokesman for the rescue team told Italian television that featured the story of a 'Prisoner in the tree.'"
The experienced hang glider pilot had taken off from a hill in Florence Thursday.
After sailing for several hundred metres, he encountered a sudden gust of wind and got entangled in the branches of a tree.
Even though a friend had seen him take off and then start to go down, it took days before fire fighters, civil servants and volunteers finally managed to find him.
"The unfortunate victim was hanging at a height of about 10 metres and was practically completely entangled in his red and white hang glider," a fire fighter said.
Lahore/Karachi, March 4 (IANS) People from different faiths took part in colourful Holi festival at a Krishna temple in Lahore amid beating of drums, dancing and dazzling lights.
Christians, Muslims and Sikhs celebrated the event along with Hindus Saturday at the temple packed with Holi enthusiasts, said the Daily Times Sunday.
Boys and girls splashed colours on each other and presented dances and songs.
The newspaper carried a photograph of young girls, most of them attired in red, dancing away merrily in the precincts of the temple.
Basically a Hindu festival celebrated in spring, Holi takes place over two days in late February or early March.
Besides celebrating it with music and dances, Hindus prayed before the idols of Krishna, Ram and Hanuman, decorated with garlands. Lamps were lit. In the end prasad, or offerings, was distributed among the devotees.
Sonia Gill, a student, said: "On Holi, I pray for my country to prosper."
Rama Chand, another girl, said: "Holi gives us the message to share the moments of happiness and sorrow with others."
Sunil Kumar added: "We should participate in others' festivals as well. We need to promote peace, harmony, love, honesty and justice, the basic traits of every religion."
Pakistan Anglo Asian Friendship Society secretary Manohar Chand said: "Holi brings a message of joy and happiness. It is need of the hour that every citizen of Pakistan should celebrate not only Holi, but other events as well."
Hyderabad, March 4 (IANS) It was a riot of colours in the city and other parts of Andhra Pradesh as confusion over exact time of playing Holi led to people celebrating the festival for the second consecutive day Sunday.
Dancing to the tunes of popular numbers, young people and children played Holi drenched in the colours from head to toe.
Popular clubs buzzed with revellers who danced in artificial rain.
Some people celebrated the festival Saturday but others stayed away due to lunar eclipse, which is considered inauspicious. All the temples in the state were closed due to the eclipse and reopened only on Sunday.
However, there were many who enjoyed the festivities on both the days. "It is good that Holi is being celebrated for two days. We are all enjoying the extended festivities," said Mohan Reddy, a techie, while indulging in revelry with his friends in Himayatnagar neighbourhood.
In Telangana region, groups of youth took to the streets early Sunday after the traditional Holi bonfire Saturday night. Shouting 'Holi hai', they sprayed colours on their friends and passers-by. The 'bhang', folk songs and dance added to the revelry.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti, which is fighting for separate statehood for the region, organised 'Holi Milan' on the campus of Osmania University on both the days. Hundreds of its supporters including students, teachers, writers, intellectuals and singers gathered to play Holi. Folk singers and dancers performed on stage to add colour to the festivities.
Like in the past, the Rajasthani, Gujarati and Marathi families settled here and other cities like Vijayawada celebrated the festival with the locals.
Scenes of communal harmony were witnessed in the Muslim majority old quarter here as Hindus visited their Muslim friends to greet and smear them with colours.
The authorities had closed liquor shops for two days. Policemen were deployed to keep an eye on the revellers and to check drunken driving.
Political leaders too played Holi. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu was greeted by a group of tribal dancers at the TDP office while Bharatiya Janata Party state president Bandaru Dattatreya joined his party colleagues in the festivities.
Pune, March 4 (IANS) An all-night Holi binge by about 200 youngsters including 25 girls ended on a sour note when police arrested them Sunday morning under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The young men and women, including seven foreign nationals, had chosen a secluded farm deep off the main road in village Donje near here. Police, aided by the local crime branch, however, went on the revellers' trail following a tip-off and arrested them in an inebriated condition.
Some crushed marijuana leaves, a powdered drug and a liquid suspected to be California drops were seized, additional superintendent of police P.C. Patil told IANS. The youngsters, who included college students and professionals, have been subjected to medical tests and the reports are awaited, he added.
Of the foreign nationals, two were German and three Palestinian, Patil said.
New York, March 4 (IANS) A community centre is coming up in Houston to promote India's heritage, tradition, culture and values.
On Saturday, India House received a $1 million donation from city-based real estate developers Chowdary and Angela Yalamanchili at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the proposed centre.
"I hope a lot of you take this challenge and do whatever you can for the community and for the city of Houston," Chowdary Yalamanchili was quoted as saying by Houston Chronicle.
"I believe we should give back to the community," he added.
Houston Mayor Bill White said: "I want to offer thanks on behalf of all Houstonians for what the Indian-American community does here in this great city and for what it offers in additional services for other Houstonians here in this great India House."
The centre, which will cost between $18 million and $20 million, will promote Indian-American culture and provide social, healthcare and referral services for everyone - regardless of their ethnicity.
The first phase is expected to be completed by the year-end and will be named the O.P. Jindal Community Center. The India-based Jindal Steel had earlier donated $1 million for the project.
When fully completed, the centre will have retail shops with Indian crafts and products, Indian restaurants and a food court.
Brussels, March 4, (IRNA) The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) has called upon the European Union to lift the sanctions imposed against the Palestinian Authority since March 2006.
"These sanctions merely contribute to increase poverty and extremism within the Palestinian Occupied Territories," said the EMHRN in a statement on the eve of the EU-Israel Association Council which will convene in Brussels on Monday.
"On that occasion, it is of the utmost importance that Europe remembers that it has a major responsibility in the settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict," noted the statement.
It demanded from Israel that it abides by its commitments in the field of human rights and put an end to the restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of Palestinians.
It called on the Zionist regime to suspend the construction of the wall and demolish those portions that have already been built, put an end to expansion of settlement and end the use of torture and maltreatment during the interrogation of Palestinians.
ENHRN is a network of 82 human rights organisations, institutions and individuals based in 30 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region. It was established in 1997.
Addis Ababa, Mar 4 (NNN-ANGOP) The International Criminal Court (ICC) is working to help African leaders end impunity and contribute to the prevention of serious crimes of concern to the international community, the Court`s Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has told African diplomats based here.
"Our current focus on Africa is a result of the strong African leadership and determination to end impunity," said the prosecutor during an interactive session with the diplomats at the African Union (AU) headquarters.
"Africa is not only leading in establishing the law but also in its implementation," said Moreno-Ocampo, citing the AU decision that in July 2006 mandated Senegal to prosecute ex-Chadian president Hissen Habre for crimes against humanity.
He said the ICC respected the decision because it was exemplar in showing that Africa emphasized accountability rather than tolerating impunity.
At the same session the ICC President, Judge Philippe Kirsch said many of the court`s field activities were currently in Africa.
The Court maintains field offices in Kinshasa and Bunya (DR Congo), Kampala in Uganda and Abeche in Chad to carry out investigations of alleged serious crimes against humanity and war crimes.
"Our activities must be carried out in such a way as to ensure the safety of the Court staff, victims, witnesses and others at risk," he said.
Kathmandu, March 4 (IANS) Thieves broke into the Pashupatinath temple here, one of the most revered Hindu shrines in the world, stealing an idol and other valuables.
By Sunday the Kathmandu police had arrested 10 people over Friday night's theft at the temple, regarded as a world heritage site by the Unesco.
"We are holding a meeting today to discuss the theft," officials at the Pashupatinath Area Development Trust, entrusted with the upkeep of the temple, told IANS Sunday.
According to officials, thieves broke into the Laxmi Narayan temple near the main temple that houses the Pashupatinath icon and made off with a Ganesh idol as well as other valuables in the temple.
Theft from temples and the smuggling of priceless Nepali statues and other icons is on the rise.
Last month, a temple in the Bhaktapur district had its deity and other valuables stolen.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam joined the rest of India Sunday to celebrate Holi, as millions splashed rainbow hues on each other's faces and clothes to mark the festival of colour.
And although large numbers in India stayed away from the festival for a variety of reasons, non-Hindus in Pakistan joined their Hindu compatriots to celebrate in the cities of Lahore and Karachi.
The spirit of Holi was evident all over the Indian capital, including the Rashtrapati Bhavan where Kalam received a group of children and used the event to press the need for them to do community service.
He accepted greetings of the public while a host of ministers marked the festival at their sprawling residences.
Kalam also administered a five-point oath to his young visitors enjoining them to, among others, visit a sick neighbour, to help a handicapped person cross the street - and to keep smiling.
Fortunately, Sunday turned out to be a perfect day to play with water and colour, with the sun shining brightly after a week of chilly and cloudy weather that raised fears of possible rains during the festival.
Authorities heaved a sigh of relief as the day passed off without any major unpleasant incident though many on the streets had consumed liquor and other intoxicants.
In New Delhi, the celebrations began early with squeals of laughter resounding from various households as the "colourful attacks" started with dry colours. But soon buckets full of coloured water and 'pichkaris' came out for the wet spell, spraying everyone in sight.
In the university's north campus, young boys thronged the terraces of their houses and aimed balloons filled with water at passers by, especially at girls. Not to be left behind, the girls retaliated in an equally colourful manner.
"I was not very keen on playing Holi but my friends simply refused to take no for an answer. They dragged me out of my room and poured two buckets of coloured water on me!" said a drenched Sujata, who then decided to join in the fun.
Revellers thronged offices of political parties here too.
Reports from across the country spoke of Holi celebrations from Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh to Andhra Pradesh and from Gujarat to the northeast.
Kashmir celebrated Holi Saturday but the revelry spilled over into the early part of Sunday too.
In Andhra Pradesh, confusion over exact time of playing Holi led to people celebrating the festival for the second consecutive day Sunday.
Dancing to the tunes of popular numbers, young people and children played Holi drenched in colours from head to toe. Popular clubs buzzed with revellers who danced in artificial rain.
In Patna, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, upbeat over his "dream railway budget", played Holi in his inimitable style by splashing coloured water and singing songs while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar celebrated it in a low-key manner.
Holi celebrations also took place in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, where the festivities have been on for days in some parts including Mathura region.
In Chhattisgarh, 11 of the state's 12 ministers celebrated Holi in their native places Sunday. Only Revenue, Forest and Law Minister Brijmohan Agrawal was present here in the capital Raipur.
In Pakistan, people from different faiths Saturday participated in a colourful Holi festival at a Krishna temple in Lahore amid beating of drums, dancing and dazzling lights. Christians, Muslims and Sikhs celebrated the event along with Hindus at the temple packed with Holi enthusiasts.
Boys and girls splashed colours on each other and presented dances and songs.
The Daily Times newspaper carried a photograph of young girls, mostly attired in red, dancing away merrily in the precincts of the temple.
The mood was subdued in parts of Delhi. This was perhaps in equal measure due to health concerns, a stiff breeze for part of the morning and the burden of rising prices that almost everyone has to contend with.
Then there was the shadow of the lunar eclipse Sunday that made many believe it would be "inauspicious" to celebrate on such a day.
The large police presence on Delhi's streets ensured that these were by and large free on the lumpen elements that tend to race around on two-wheelers on Holi.
For the non-revellers, this meant a dream drive on the broad roads of the city, while those who had to travel to work or on other errands had a comparatively easy time. By early evening, Delhi returned to its near normal self.
While the ubiquitous auto rickshaws were out in fair numbers in the morning, commuter buses were out from around noon - a departure from the past when they used to start plying only around 2 p.m.
Bollywood might continue to generate immense hype about Holi but over the years, the festival has increasingly raised health concerns - with experts warning that the colours that people splash on each other contain toxins that would harm the skin and other parts of the body.
There are others who would rather do without the messiness of first turning into goblin-like creatures and then spending hours trying to rub the colours off.
Across the country, state governments and NGOs touted the benefits of playing Holi with herbal and other natural colours but there were many who couldn't be bothered with the distinction and preferred to stay at home - at least for the first half of the day.
The legend of King Hiranyakashipu is associated with the festival of Holi, signifying the victory of good over evil.
By Manish Chand,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) India has not only stepped up its diplomacy with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) countries to allow it to access civil nuclear technology and fuel but may also become a supplier of low-cost nuclear reactors to other countries by joining the NSG.
India's nuclear establishment is riding high after the Kaiga 3 nuclear power reactor in Karnataka, developed by Indian engineers, achieved criticality early this week. The 220 MW pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) will start delivering power at the end of this month.
Glowing in the success of this venture, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, has said that completing the nuclear power plant, along with low costs, in five years has set an international benchmark.
Given the low costs - Rs 984 ($22.33) per installed KW - Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is now eyeing the export market for nuclear reactors. India is confident of exporting the design to countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam for just Rs 1,200 ($27.24) per KW, which is substantially less than the international average of $1,500 per KW, a senior NPCIL official told IANS over the phone from Mumbai.
With the lucrative export market for low-cost nuclear reactors in mind and its new international standing driven by its growing economy and a defining civil nuclear deal with the US, India also plans to make a pitch for joining the NSG at an appropriate time, reliable sources told IANS.
But before India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, actually starts exporting nuclear reactors, it must first win support of the 45-nation NSG that controls global trade in nuclear technology and fuel for the India-US civil nuclear deal.
The NSG will, however, take a call on India's case only after New Delhi and Washington have finalised a bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon presented a draft of the 123 agreement for discussions with US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns during his visit to the US last month. The US Congress has to approve the 123 agreements with an up and down vote to be followed by a nod from the NSG before actual nuclear commerce starts between the two countries.
The US and Russia have already announced that they would use their clout in the NSG to amend the cartel's guidelines in favour of nuclear commerce with India.
Shyam Saran, the prime minister's special envoy on the India-US civil nuclear deal, plans to visit all major NSG countries to garner support for the crucial nuclear deal that will open the doors of global nuclear commerce to India after nearly a three-decade hiatus.
Saran has already visited Japan, Sweden and Norway, known for their special sensitivities on nuclear non-proliferation and sought their support for the deal.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will go to Japan later this month with nuclear diplomacy on top of his mind.
India got a taste of Japan's continuing ambivalence on civil nuclear cooperation with India during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo in December last year.
Persuading Japan to back India in the NSG will be a breakthrough of sorts paving the way for other sceptics of the deal like the Scandinavian countries to come on board.
New Delhi, March 4, (IRNA) Energy Cooperation in the SAARC region will be high on the agenda at the conference of South Asia Energy Dialogue to be held in New Delhi on Monday.
Jointly organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Power, the dialogue will focus on areas like reforms in energy sector, development of grid connectivity and gas pipelines, universal access to commercial energy and development of hydro- electric potential, said an All India Radio (AIR) report here.
Union Minister of Power Sushil kumar Shinde will deliver the inaugural address, wherein energy-efficiency measures and
harmonization of standards in the SAARC region are likely to be the dominant concern.
Experts, academics and representatives of various organizations from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will participate in the Dialogue.
At the 13th SAARC Summit held in Dhaka in November 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed a South Asia Energy Dialogue to recommend measures to tap vast and latent potential for energy cooperation.
Montego Bay (Jamaica), March 4 (IANS) India will not be complacent and will grab all the opportunities that will come their way in the upcoming World Cup because there will be no second chances, Sachin Tendulkar stressed here Sunday.
"There are no easy games or difficult games in the World Cup. You don't get second opportunities here," he said at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton.
"We will grab with both hands whatever opportunity will come our way, and we will not leave any room for complacency."
Tendulkar, 33, will be playing in his fifth World Cup and probably his last one. He will be keen to help India win its first World Cup since 1983 - when Kapil Dev was the captain - as he has never been part of a cup-winning team.
He came tantalising close to being part of a winning team, but India lost the 2003 World Cup final to Australia in Johannesburg. That Tendulkar failed in the final must be rankling him.
Tendulkar, however, had the consolation of winning the Man of the World Cup in 2003 for amassing 673 runs.
The 16-nation World Cup begins March 11 with the opening ceremony at Greenfields Stadium in Trelawny near here.
India are placed in Group B along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda.
Tendulkar, who has registered 40 one-day international (ODI) centuries, also reiterated that he would bat wherever the team management feels is the best suited in India's interest.
"Wherever the team decides I will be more effective I will bat there. There are no issues about it," he stressed.
He pointed out that in the eight ODIs played at home recently, against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, he got the opportunity to settle down in his new role as a middle order batsman.
On his bowling, Tendulkar, who bowls a mix of leg-spinners and off-spinners, said that he would prefer to surprise the opposition by bowling as a part timer than a regular bowler.
"It helps being a part time bowler as it has that element of surprise for the opposition. Anil (Kumble, the leg-spinner) and me have different responsibilities," he pointed out.
Looking ahead to India's first match against Bangladesh March 17 at Queen's Parl Oval in Port of Spain, Tendulkar exuded confidence, saying he is not under any kind of pressure or worried about what happened in the past.
The maestro also said that it would be close competition in the 49-day tournament.
"As of now, the World Cup looks very close. Getting momentum early will be the key," he emphasised.
Since their arrival in Jamaica, the Indian players have been having net practice sessions.
The team plays two warm-up matches here, against the Netherlands and the West Indies, on March 6 and 9 respectively, before heading to Trinidad and Tobago for group stage matches.
Kathmandu, March 4 (IANS) Faced with growing demand for energy, neighbours India and Nepal are rushing to tap power ventures with a clutch of energy meets starting Monday.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs and federal energy ministry here are hosting a one-day meet in New Delhi Monday to discuss cooperation in the energy sector aming the seven members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
The meet will focus on promoting energy resources renewal, extension of gas pipelines, simplifying energy standards and promoting hydro-power ventures.
On Wednesday, SAARC energy and water resources ministers will meet in the Indian capital for another round of discussions.
Also during the week, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as well as US aid wing USAID will host an energy meet in New Delhi. From Tuesday, Kathmandu too is hosting a two-day seminar on investment in the hydropwer sector.
Organised by Nepal National Committee of International Association on Electricity Generation, Transmission and Distribution (Afro-Asian region) and Nepal Electricity Authority, the meet is sponsored by India's Jindal Power Ltd, that is bidding for several hydropower projects in Nepal.
Fourteen Indian companies are in the fray for nascent hydropower projects in Nepal.
On March 24, after the SAARC car rally has flagged off from Cox Bazar in Bangladesh and entered Nepal, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) is organising a mini meet in Kathmandu on energy efficiency and clean development mechanism.
Currently Nepal, one of the richest countries in the world in terms of hydropower potential, is passing through an acute power crunch with the imposition of a seven-hour daily power cut in the capital.
The FNCCI last week warned the government that if the bleak situation continued, most of the industries in the country would be forced to shut down.
By Sandeep Bamzai,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) In the quest for energy security and to be relevant in the great hydrocarbons game, Indian exploration majors could be headed for Norway next. Oil ministry mandarins confirmed that Indian exploration majors have been asked to examine opportunities in the Scandinavian country.
Norwegian offshore exploration involving North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea was the scene of heightened interest in the bidding round of pre-defined areas in 2006. Now the 2007 edition is up for grabs and the Government of India's diplomatic and petroleum ministry officials are sensing an opportunity.
"Our government wants to give the industry access to new prospective acreage," says Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy Odd Roger Enoksen.
In the last round, 48 exploration licences were given for 85 offshore blocks. Out of that, 33 companies that were awarded, as many as eight were new to the country. The 2007 version announced last week includes 13 new blocks and the deadline for the same is Sep 28, 2007.
It is pertinent to mention that no Indian company has ever explored oil or gas in Norwegian offshore areas, but with both public and private sector now scouring the world for assets, there is great interest now.
The top brass of two state-run oil majors, ONGC Videsh - the overseas exploration arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp - and Oil India Ltd have been asked to study and participate in Norway's awards in pre-defined areas (APA).
Late last month, the Norwegian cabinet cleared the APA 2006. There is large potential in proving new, smaller resources close to existing infrastructure in the mature areas of the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea, industry experts said.
The Norwegian government wants to develop Barents Sea as a petroleum province and prioritise an expansion in this Sea, they added.
It is believed that value creation is a central issue in the Norwegian oil and gas policy. Private sector Indian companies have evinced interest in bidding for these assets. This is a good example of the Indian government's calibrated plan to indulge in economic diplomacy to counter the overpowering presence of Chinese oil majors around the world.
The great oil hunt has seen China's economic and military diplomacy best the Indians time and again in Africa and Central Asia. India and China have been jousting over oil and gas assets all across the globe, with India more often than not finishing second best.
India has invested billions of dollars in acquiring oil and gas assets in diverse geographies like Russia (Sakhalin) to Sudan and Libya to Vietnam and even far away Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba.
But ONGC Videsh, India's oil acquiring arm has been wrong-footed by Chinese majors like CNOOC and Sinopec. In Angola, for instance, China provided not just financial aid, but clinched the deal with a gargantuan military package even as OVL waited for cabinet approval.
Almost parallel, the petroleum ministry in conjunction with the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation has asked Indian exploration majors to participate in the India Show that begins in Sao Paulo, Brazil's commercial capital, on March 6 to showcase the capabilities of their companies in the petroleum sector.
Mota Ain, INDONESIA, Mar 4 (NNN-ANTARA News) Indonesian security forces at the border with Timor Leste are ready to arrest Alfredo Renaldo, a man wanted by the neighboring country`s authorities for stealing weapons, if he crosses over into Indonesian territory, the commander of the Indonesia-Timor Leste Border Security Task Force, Lt Col Hotman Hutahaen, said.
"If he dares to enter Indonesian territory we will seize him. There is no tolerance in this case and we will hand him over to the authorities concerned," Hotman told ANTARA News.
Alfredo and his group are wanted by the Timor Leste government after they raided a security post and ran away with 19 rifles and 16 light arms in Salele, Covalima, not long ago.
The group was reported to have been encircled by UN forces from Australia in Tenubibi in the district of Bobonaro.
It was first feared the group would try to escape into Indonesia but this did not happen. Foreign media reported recently Alfredo had set up a base in central Timor Leste.
Alfredo had denied he had stolen the arms saying they were given to him by border officers.
The Indonesian government had earlier closed all the checkpoints at the border with Timor Leste following a request from the Timor Leste government.
"Until now there has been no order for the reopening of the border checkpoints," Hotman said.
Port of Spain, March 4 (IANS) Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed confidence that his team will do well in the ICC World Cup despite the loss of pace duo Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq.
Speaking at a press conference here Saturday, Inzamam admitted that the loss of Akhtar, Asif and Razzaq definitely dimmed the team's chances but added that the team drew inspiration from their replacements - Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood.
While Akhtar and Asif, who had earlier come under the dope scanner, were ruled out at the last moment, officially for failing to recover from knee and elbow injuries, Razzaq was dropped because of a knee injury.
Inzamam, who was a member of the 1992 World Cup winning Pakistan team, said that the players must believe in themselves and the team would try to do well in the cricket's biggest event.
"In one-day internationals, every team is tough but one man can change the outcome of a game and one good game can change the whole scenario," the Pakistani skipper said.
Asked about his own form, he said: "I am not worried about it, I am confident and I have worked hard in the nets and I am looking forward to the World Cup and I will do my best at this level."
He also added that this might well be his last World Cup along with other great players like Brian Lara.
Pakistan are placed in Group D along with the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland. They will play a couple of warm-up games at the University of West Indies ground in Trinidad prior to leaving for the inaugural ceremony in Jamaica March 11 where they will also play their preliminary group matches.
Tehran, Mar 4 (NNN-IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wound up his day-long visit to Saudi Arabia and returned home early Sunday.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at the airport, he said Iran and Saudi Arabia enjoy friendly relations.
"We should have consultations with Saudi officials on ongoing developments in the Islamic world," he added.
Pointing to efforts aimed at creating discord among Muslims, he called for Muslims vigilance.
On the outcome of his Saudi visit, President Ahmadinejad said that during meetings with Saudi officials, the Palestinian and Iraqi issues were discussed in details.
The two sides share identical views regarding the latest developments in both Palestine and Iraq, he added.
The Iranian president further noted that the two sides underscored the need for strengthening unity in the Islamic world.
Ahmadinejad paid a visit to Riyadh on Saturday and held talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin-Abd al-Aziz as-Saud.
He also attended a dinner banquet hosted by King Abdullah Saturday night.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki were also present at the dinner banquet.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini here Sunday voiced Iran's readiness to hold talks with all members of the Group 5+1 on its peaceful nuclear case with no preconditions.
Hosseini was answering a question raised by reporters at his weekly press conference on whether an upcoming security meeting to be held in Baghdad would open doors to negotiations.
"The venue is not the question that we lay emphasis on Baghdad meeting. We are ready to negotiate with all members of the Group 5+1 -- the permanent members of the UN Security Council including China, Russia, France, Britain, the US plus Germany -- without any preconditions," he said.
In response to a question on whether he had any recommendations to the Monday meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, the spokesman said, "The solution to this case is negotiations and anything else will make the case more complicated."
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Iran exported the highest amount of non-oil commodities in terms of value to Italy from among the European states during the first eight months of current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2006), an official said here Sunday.
Director-general of the planning department of the Trade Development Organization Mehdi Fathollah made the remark while speaking to IRNA.
In the list of Iran's non-oil exports to European countries, he added, the Netherlands stood eighth while Germany, Spain and Belgium ranked 12th, 18th and 30th, respectively in terms of value.
He said various liquefied natural gas, pistachio, carpet, iron, fish, ferro molybdenum, saffron and oxides were among main goods Iran exported to the European Union.
Baghdad, Mar 4 (NNN-KUNA) The Iraqi national conciliation conference for officers of the disbanded army will kick off here on Sunday under the auspices of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
Chairman of the conference's organising committee Dr. Rasheed Al-Nasseri told reporters many former soldiers would participate in the meeting to discuss their role in achieving national conciliation and combating terrorism.
He added the conference would be attended by representatives of the prime minister, parliament, conciliation committee, Defense Ministry, and Finance Ministry.
Al-Nasseri pointed out the conference would focus on ways to achieve national conciliation, forming the army, combating terrorism, developing the economy, and rebuilding the country.
Baghdad, March 04 (ZEE News) Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al -Maliki on Sunday offered an olive branch to Iraqi insurgents waging war against his government and said he would announce a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle within two weeks.
Speaking at a Baghdad conference aimed at speeding up reconciliation among Iraq's warring communities, Maliki said a new U.S.-backed security plan launched in the capital last month would be extended to "every inch" of Iraq.
"We do not need to implement security measures except against those who reject the language of reconciliation and dialogue, those who insist on restoring the past," Maliki said, in a reference to Sunni Arab insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein.
"We present in our hand a green olive branch, and in the other hand we present the law."
Shi'ite officials have said his government could collapse if the crackdown fails to put a brake on sectarian violence that threatens to plunge Iraq into full-scale civil war.
Maliki has pledged to tackle Shi'ite militias as hard as Sunni insurgents, although some Sunni leaders are skeptical. He did not say if any insurgents who stopped fighting would be given an amnesty.
The Prime Minister is expected to replace under-performing ministers in the reshuffle, which he has promised for months.
Jamshedpur, March 4 (IANS) Six people, including Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) member and Jamshedpur Lok Sabha MP Sunil Mahto, were killed Sunday in a Naxalite attack near Pakuria village in Jamshedpur, police said.
According to police, security personnel were also among those killed.
Ranchi, March 4 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda Sunday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the killing of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Sunil Mahto by suspected Maoists even as the JMM called for a statewide shutdown Monday.
Condemning the incident, Koda announced the inquiry after hurriedly calling a cabinet meeting here late Sunday.
Almost all political parties have extended their support to the call for Monday's strike against the killings of Mahto and four others, including three security personnel.
Mahto, a Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur, and his bodyguards were attacked Sunday afternoon when he was watching a football match at Narshimgh village near steel city Jamshedpur, around 140 km from here, police said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately condemned the incident.
"The prime minister has condemned the killing of JMM MP Sunil Mahto," a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) late Sunday said.
Mahto, 41, was brought to Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur where he was declared brought dead. He was a second time MP of the JMM.
Reacting to the killing, Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi said: "The incident is shocking and it indicates security lapses. Neither Sunil had ever raised his security issue nor intelligence agencies had given any input regarding the security threat. We are shocked by the incident and we will review the security of VIPs in the state."
Jamshedpur, March 4 (IANS) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Sunil Mahto was shot dead by suspected Maoists Sunday as he was watching a football match near here. Four more people, including three security personnel, were also killed in the attack by 15 ultras.
Mahto, Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur, and his bodyguards were attacked when he was watching a football match at Narshimgh village in steel city Jamshedpur, around 140 km from state capital Ranchi, police said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately condemned the incident.
"The prime minister has condemned the killing of JMM MP Sunil Mahto," a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) late Sunday said.
Mahto, 41, was brought to Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur where he was declared brought dead. He was a second time MP of the JMM.
Reacting to the killing, Deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi said: "The incident is shocking and it indicates security lapses. Neither Sunil had ever raised his security issue nor intelligence agencies had given any input regarding the security threat. We are shocked by the incident and we will review the security of VIPs in the state."
Chief Minister Madhu Koda has called for an emergency meeting of police officials and ministers to discuss the incident and review law and order situation in the state. Senior police officials have rushed to the spot.
Baghdad, March 4 (DPA) In yet another attack on the Iraqi press, gunmen shot down prominent journalist Mohan al-Zaher near his home in western Baghdad, the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate said Sunday.
It said the gunmen attempted to kidnap the journalist but when he resisted he was shot. Al-Zaher died instantly.
Al-Zaher was a columnist with several regional and local newspapers. Currently, he was working at al-Mashreq, a daily independent newspaper.
Al-Zaher's column "In the Goal: Democracy the Indian way", which appeared in the newspaper's Sunday issue, criticised the amount of funds allocated by the Iraqi ministers council to those fully displaced from certain areas in Iraq, adding that the number of families who are being relocated across Iraq has crossed 6,000.
It questioned at the end "if this is the democracy that we (Iraqis) dreamt of."
At least 170 journalists and media workers have been killed in violence since the US-led invasion in 2003.
On Saturday, an Iraqi journalist who disappeared last week was found dead in Baghdad, according to a report by Voices of Iraq news agency.
The agency quoted the Iraqi Association for Defending Journalists' Rights which identified the journalist as Jamal al-Zubaidi, the managing editor of Baghdad's al-Safir newspaper. He was apparently shot in the head.
According to Voices of Iraq, the editor-in-chief of al-Safir was previously targeted by gunmen and was severely wounded.
Nairobi, Mar 3 (NNN-KBC) Kenyan exporters will be able to sell their products duty free in the European market even if the Economic Partnership Agreements- EPAs negotiations are not concluded this year.
New Economic Partnership Agreements between African Caribbean and Pacific- ACP countries are expected to take effect next year but Trade and industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi says a meeting in Brussels this week agreed to allow ACP countries to export to the EU duty free until the negotiations are concluded.
The new Economic Partnership Agreements are expected to replace the current preferential treaties with the European Union in 2008 to conform to World Trade Organization requirements on trade equalities.
ACP countries have been negotiating with the EU for a platform that will maintain their preferential market access while observing the new trade arrangements.
Trade and industry minister Mukhisa Kituyi says Kenya, which is not classified among the Least Developed Countries, risked paying duty on export to the European Union if the negotiations are not concluded this year.
Kituyi said even though the European Union was offering 5 billion euros in exchange for ACP countries opening up their markets, ACP countries are concerned that this may undermine the development of regional trade and lead to the loss of both local and regional markets to the EU.
Nairobi, Mar 4 (NNN-KBC) Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Dr. David Nalo has called on potential research institutions such as universities to intensify industrial research in the sugar sub-sector.
Speaking Friday during the stakeholders' workshop on Industrial Research and Development needs of the Kenya Sugar Industry in Kisumu, Dr. Nalo said technologies that are used in the sugar industries were still very low.
He added that the use of obsolete technologies and aging equipment had resulted into breakdowns and closures of some sugar factories.
Dr. Nalo said Kenya is still ill prepared to face competition upon expiry of the COMESA safeguard period in February next year.
He called on Kenyans to prepare and face up to the reality of the threat posed by opening of borders to the cheap COMESA sugar.
Baghdad, March 4 (NNN-KUNA) Iraqi Army forces succeeded Sunday in rescuing the adviser to the Iraqi defense minister who was kidnapped Saturday, an official said.
Spokesman of the law enforcing plan Brigadier General Qassem Atta told reporters Lieutenant General Thamer Sultan was freed after Iraqi forces surrounded Al-Jamia district in Baghdad and clashed with the kidnappers.
Intelligence information helped to locate the exact place where Sultan was being held, and the operation led to the arrest of four of his kidnappers only four hours after he was kidnapped, he added.
Atta said Sultan was in a good condition.
Sultan was kidnapped Sunday while in Al-Jamiaa, unaccompanied by bodyguards.
Kuwait, Mar 4 (NNN-KUNA) The Minister of Education Dr. Adel Tabtabae on Saturday underscored the significance of the Integrated School Initiative (ISI) in promoting the human resources necessary to enable Kuwait enhance its competitive potentials worldwide.
Addressing a news conference after the conclusion of an agreement with a private company on the ISI, Tabtabae, who is also minister of higher education, said the agreement would allow for the preparation of a skillful generation able of confronting future challenges.
He said the one-year agreement was a pioneering step in the moving of the educational process to a better level.
The ministry aims at providing students, teachers and school administrators alike with fast network communication solutions, he said, adding that the move involves linking up the educational institutions in the country for better contact and provide high standard educational opportunities.
On his part, education undersecretary assistant for planning and information Dr. Abdullah al Hayyan said that great importance was attached to use of communication and information technology by introduction of computers to schools around the country.
He said schools in Kuwait are linked by one computer network, the most giant in the region.
The ministry provides support to more than 700 schools where more than 300, 000 students are enrolled, he said, noting that it is a great challenge before workers in the information technology field.
Kuwait City, March 4 (DPA) The Kuwaiti cabinet submitted its resignation Sunday to Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah, the official Kuwaiti News Agency quoted the deputy prime minister as saying.
According to Ismail al-Shatti, who is also a minister of state for cabinet affairs, the ministers stepped down because of "the government's inability to carry out its duties with the current parliament."
According to the news agency, in response to questions on whether the resignation was caused by "the parliament's lack of cooperation with the government," al-Shatti only said that this is "a phrase usually used by MPs."
Kuwait City, March 4 (DPA) Kuwaiti ruler Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah Sunday accepted the resignation of the emirate's government, but asked Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Sabah to form a new cabinet, official spokesman Jassem al-Khorafy said.
The Kuwaiti cabinet stepped down early Sunday because of "the government's inability to carry out its duties with the current parliament," said Ismail al-Shatti, a minister of state for cabinet affairs.
According to news agency reports, in response to questions on whether the resignation was caused by "the parliament's lack of cooperation with the government," al-Shatti only said that this is "a phrase usually used by MPs."
A report by Kuwait-based al-Qubs newspaper had expected the resignation and said the ministers wanted to avoid a no-confidence vote on Health Minister Ahmad al-Abdullah, a member of the ruling family, scheduled for Monday.
The resignation however, automatically cancels Monday's session.
On Feb 19, 10 Kuwaiti policy makers had tabled a no-confidence motion against al-Abdullah, accusing him of incompetence and corruption.
Patna, March 4 (IANS) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, upbeat over his "dream railway budget", played Holi Sunday in his inimitable style splashing coloured water and singing songs.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, celebrated the festival of colours in a low-key manner.
Lalu Prasad, in a bright colourful cap, was in high spirits as he sang songs and enjoyed a session of 'launda nach' (male dancing in female attire).
"Lalu Prasad, euphoric over his record-surplus railway budget, celebrated his trademark 'kapdaphad' (cloth tearing) Holi, dancing to drum beats and Bhojpuri songs," a reveller at his party said.
Clad in white kurta and pyjama, he was drenched with coloured water by his supporters at the 10 Circular Road residence of his wife Rabri Devi, the state's leader of opposition.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief did not miss his annual date with people. "Lalu Prasad becomes a common man when he plays Holi. It is his uniqueness," said Ravi Singh, a businessman and Lalu supporter.
Rabri Devi also played with colours and served sweets and traditional dishes to the revellers.
"It is a Holi with a difference. You can see it only here because of Lalu's style of Holi revelry," said Chandeshwar Prasad, a youth who was present at the grand carnival at the Lalu-Rabri residence.
Lalu Prasad tore clothes of a few people while scores of others including his party leaders indulged in tearing each other's clothes.
Lalu Prasad did not miss the opportunity to attack his political foe, Nitish Kumar.
On Saturday, he released a Hindi satirical booklet titled "Sushasan Gutkha" written by poet Virender Vachaspati in the Magahi language, spoofing the claims of Nitish Kumar's 16-month-old 'sushasan' (good governance).
"Whatever is written by this old poet about the Nitish Kumar government is true. There is no law and order, only announcements and promises. Nothing happens on the ground," Lalu Prasad said.
He was also elated over his railway budget, presented Feb 26. "After presenting my dream railway budget, which has shown a profit of Rs.200 billion, I'm now in a mood to celebrate Holi in my very own style," he said.
Nitish Kumar celebrated the festival in a simple fashion Sunday.
"It was a dry Holi as Nitish Kumar permits only dry herbal colours and not coloured water to drench him," a supporter of his Janata Dal-United party said. Unlike Lalu's folk dance and songs, Nitish Kumar enjoyed classical songs and dance at his 1, Anne Marg official residence.
Mumbai, Mar 04 (ZEE News) After the drubbing in the urban municipal polls, Maharashtra Congress has stepped up its campaign for NCP's merger with it even while insisting that there could be friendly fight between the two parties in the coming panchayat polls.
"NCP is our natural ally. They are part of the family... Part of congress. Their main family is congress. They parted ways...Formed their separate party. But after some time... After some years, if they have to return. This is the only party", Chief Minister Deshmukh told a reporter in an interview.
Stating that the issue which led to formation of NCP has ceased to exist, Deshmukh said the Sharad Pawar-led party would have to "eventually" merge with Congress.
"There are no ideological differences. They had one issue (Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin). The issue doesn't exist any more", he said adding "we are running a coalition government in the centre and in Maharashtra. So NCP is our natural ally."
Asked if there would be a "unified" Congress in the next assembly elections in Maharashtra, Deshmukh said "let us hope. I am not a political astrologer'.
About the March 11 elections to 27 zilla parishads and 310 panchayat samitis, where the two parties are vying for dominance of rural Maharashtra, Deshmukh said "we did not force any alliance (with NCP) at local level in districts'.
"We told them to sit together and decide. But for both the parties, it (alliance) is very difficult as there will be a lot of rebels", he said. "Let there be a friendly fight", he added.
Naigaon,March 4(NDTV Correspondent) About 6,000 villages in Maharashtra have developed a scheme to save power and ensure uninterrupted supply.
At least 30,000 villages in the state are facing power cuts for up to 14 hours a day.
"Earlier, we would not have power for 5-7 hours everyday. We did not have enough water to farm. Now, we have enough water and light," ex-sarpanch of Naigaon Pandurang Jejurkar said.
After much persuasion from local leaders and state energy officials people in Naigon gave away electric water heaters and stoves.
Under the Akshay Prakash Yojana farmers also stopped drawing power illegally and do not use irrigation pumps and flour mills after five in the evening.
In return, the state provides them with enough electricity to light up their homes through the night.
Two million units
Under the plan Naigaon and nine neighbouring villages manage to save nearly two million units a year.
"About 5,700 villages have become a part of this scheme and they're saving the state 400-450 mega watts of electricity every day. It's a fantastic result," line foreman Diwanji Pawar of the state electricity department said.
Big cities like Mumbai that face the threat of power cuts can learn a lesson from the scheme.
Naigon is an example of how a little discipline can go a long away and ensure that young students don't have to do their homework in candlelight.
Addis Ababa, Mar 4 (NNN-ENA) A federal security official said members of French tourist team who were on a visit in Afar State were not abducted.
The official told Ethiopian News Agency through telephone on Saturday that five European citizens and 13 Ethiopians were abducted by unknown armed men last Thursday at Hamed-illa, 57 kms east of Berhale near the Eritrean border.
The official said a team of federal security force has been sent to the area for investigating the case.
French tourists who were on a visit to Hamed-illa near Eritrean border are now heading peacefully for Mekalle Town after concluding their visit in the area in accordance with their schedule, the official added.
According to the official, five of the 13 Ethiopians abducted by armed men last Thursday have joined Ethiopian security forces in the area after they reached the Eritrean border by walking 3-4 hour distance from Hamed-illa.
Kolkata, March 4 (Indianmuslims.info) All India Milli Council West Bengal has welcomed the formation of a ‘Task Force’ headed by Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to consider the problems and issues confronting the minorities nowadays.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister through Minister for Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Dr Abdus Sattar here Saturday, State general secretary of the Council Shahood Alam said, “We welcome the formation of a Task Force to consider the problems of minorities. Your right decision is on the right time. The whole Muslim community welcomes your decision and is ready to play a positive and constructive role in solving these problems.�
The Council considers education the most important issue to be dealt with on priority basis.
It expects the Left Front government in the State to cooperate with the Council in solving the following educational issues of the community: (1) Establishment of primary and secondary schools in proportion to Muslim population in the State, and paying special attention to girls schools and hostels in this regard; (2) Recognising educational institutions run by non-governmental Muslim organisations as minority institutions; (3) Establishment of professional colleges for higher education and opening of technical institutions in districts like Murshidabad and Malda where Muslim population is more than 25%; (4) Cooperation with Muslim NGOs in establishing higher educational institutions; and (5) recognition of educational institutions run by Muslim NGOs.
The Council will organise a seminar on “Educational Problems of West Bengal Muslims and Their Solution� on March 24. Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development AA Fatmi, chairman National Commission for Minority Institutions SA Siddiqui, general secretary All India Millia Council Dr Manzoor Alam and Minister for Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education Dr Abdus Sattar are expected to participate in the seminar.
In another development former Chief Minister and noctogenarian Communist leader Jyoti Basu said here Saturday soon after emerging from a party meeting that the State government would special attention to budget allocation for equipping madrasas with modern education.
New Delhi,March 4(NDTV Correspondent) Skywatchers watched the first total lunar eclipse in three years, which lasted for six hours and five minutes.
The eclipse was visible from Europe, Africa, South America, eastern parts of the US, Canada and also Greenland.
The lunar eclipse was clearly visible from Delhi thanks to clear and crisp weather.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, an uncommon event because the moon spends most of its time either above or below the plane of the Earth's orbit.
Sunlight still reaches the moon during total eclipses, but it is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) The Republic of Belarus Code of Administrative Violations (CAV) as well as the Administrative Procedure Code (APC) come into force on Mar 1.
The legislation will introduce a new type of administrative sanction - deportation - which can be used against a foreign citizen or a stateless person for committing several administrative violations.
Earlier the procedure was regulated by the Immigration Law of Dec 29, 1998.
We learnt from representatives of the information and public relations department of the Belarusian interior ministry, deportation can be applied against a foreign citizen or a stateless person not only for breaking the Belarusian rules of stay and transit, but also for an illegal crossing of the state border, breaking border regulations or regulations at a border checkpoint.
The measure will be applied taking into account the nature and consequences of the violation as well as the identity of the perpetrator.
The Code of Administrative Violations provides an improved mechanism to ensure the right of protection of the natural person, who faces administrative proceedings, as well as the procedure of appealing and protestation of deportation verdicts.
The code has been corrected to specify the list of documents (a Belarusian visa, a migration card, a valid passport, a temporary stay permit or a registration, and others), absence of which is regarded as an administrative violation.
Besides, the deportee is forbidden to enter the country for a certain period of time.
According to the new regulations, the term is defined taking into account circumstances, which caused the deportation, and can vary between one year and ten years.
By M.R. Narayan Swamy,
Agra, March 4 (IANS) Thousands of Muslim families here are diligently keeping alive the delicate craft of carving on marble that contributed to making the Taj Mahal a global marvel.
The secrets of their work have been handed down from one generation to another ever since Mughal emperor Shah Jahan decided to build the imposing monument in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in the 17th century.
Hundreds of years later, an estimated 7,000 families spread all over Agra are engaged in bringing out marble works of all sizes and shapes and for all purses with eye catching and often very intricate stone carving.
It is an art that never ceases to amaze tourists - Indians and foreigners alike.
"The people who work on marble are descendents of those who helped build the Taj," explained Abhinav Jain, one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of marble products here whose products sell heavily in the West.
Jain, 42, should know. A ninth generation member of an Agra family who loves marble as much as he adores the works of Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, Jain says it's a pleasure to watch his Muslim craftsmen at work.
"Muslims on the whole are completely committed to this art form," Jain told IANS at his plush office a stone's throw away from the outer parameters of the Taj Mahal. "It is 'tapasya' (devotion) for them."
Hundreds of marble products get sold all around the Taj every day. Many more are sent out to all parts of India and abroad. Topping the list of favourites are Taj Mahals in countless sizes.
There are boxes of all shapes, chessboards, penholders, floorings, tabletops, coasters, tiles, vases, statues and wall hangings.
While some of the products are simple and easily affordable, many are so finely made that not many can afford them. The craft includes shaping and cutting marble rocks to make the products with floral designs or other patterns.
Jain says his craftsmen paint the marble surface with red ochre, then engrave patterns and designs, inlay semi-precious stones and rub the surface with zinc oxide and muslin to give a fine gloss.
Among the semi-precious stones Jain's marble products have are black onyx, carnelian, coral, jasper, lapis lazuli, malachite, moss agate, smoky agate and turquoise. These come in a variety of colours from jet black to bright read as well as deep blue, brownish white, milky blue, coffee brown and parrot green.
The products look simple and easy to make. But they are not.
"They involve tremendous concentration, to start with," points out Jain. "I am not exaggerating if I say that the kind of work being done in Agra by our Muslim artisans is unmatched in the world, in any country.
"It is intricate work. The slicing of marble, the inlay work, the stone cutting, the correct placement of semi-precious stones, everything demands absolute and total concentration. Nothing should go wrong even by a millimetre. And this they do day after day."
So how do the Muslim artisans do it?
"First, they learn the craft in childhood. They work on it. And then the art form never leaves the households. Mind you, there is no cataloguing of the craft. It is passed on from one generation to another, through word of mouth.
"The work demands creativity, which the artisans are able to provide. In the process, they are never short of work. There is work 365 days of the year. Even mediocre artisans earn up to Rs.150-200 a day. The best ones earn in thousands of rupees."
All this takes place in the shadow of the magnificent Taj Mahal, India's best tourist draw and a creation of a huge mass of craftsmen including those who came from Persia. It has no match anywhere in the world.
Minsk, Mar 3 (NNN-BELTA) The deployment of elements of the US ABM system in the vicinity of the Belarusian border is just the beginning of the build-up of the NATO military potential eastwards, the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said today in an interview with Qatari satellite TV channel al Jazeera, the presidential press-service told BelTA.
As for contacts with the US, the president said Belarus is ready for a dialogue: If the Americans deem it appropriate to establish normal relations with Belarus, we are ready for this.
We are ready for any initiatives, for any conditions but they should be acceptable and they should allow for Belarusian interests. No absurd conditions should be set out; certainly we will not satisfy such.
The Belarus president also said he believes the Iraq scenario of the American aggression will not be repeated in Iran.
Speaking about the present situation around Iran, the Belarusian head of state underlined, an attempt to use force to resolve the crisis would be a grave mistake.
During the interview, which lasted an hour and a half, the president was asked over 20 questions concerning Belarus foreign policy, the country’s relations with the neighbouring states, the Middle East, the US, the European Union, the domestic political situation, relations between the authorities and the opposition.
In particular, the president voiced his attitude to the execution of Saddam Hussein, the present situation in Iraq, the problem of air defence systems being deployed near the Belarusian border.
The Belarusian head of state also answered several personal questions.
Kathmandu, March 4 (IANS) More things are wrought by prayers than the world dreams of - even achieving the perfect putt on golf links.
"It's a known fact that golf maestro Tiger Woods meditates and does yoga for concentration," says Ajay Kumar, director of sales and marketing at Le Meriden Gokarna Forest Golf Resort and Spa, Kathmandu's pride and one of South Asia's finest golf resorts. "Golf is very much a mind game."
So to help golfers hone their concentration - at a price - the resort has tied up with Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar, the proponent of a meditation technique known as the Art of Living, to offer a unique "Spirit of Golf" camp.
Teeing off from April 19, the five-day camp is eyeing expatriate golfers from the Middle East, India, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea and Bangladesh.
The package, including accommodation, golfing and attending the camp as well as airfare, is roughly $1,500. For Indians, taking into account the cheaper airfare, it will be a little less.
The unique idea of starting an Art of Living camp for golfers evolved when Le Meridien director Suman Sachdev met a senior teacher of the course, Rukmini Prabhakar, in Dubai.
For the first camp - which will lead to others in future, targeting the European market as well - Kumar anticipates about 120 participants.
Set in the sprawling Gokarna forest that was once the hunting grounds of the royal family of Nepal, the resort, operated by Le Meridien, runs 16 luxury cottages, complete with a spa, health club and of course golf course.
The golf course attracts players from the SAARC countries during an annual tourney sponsored by ITC's joint venture in Nepal, Surya Nepal, and is frequented by ambassadors based in Nepal including the American and Indian envoys.
Sri Sri Ravishankar's Art of Living focuses on breathing techniques complemented by music. The camp will also have fusion music for non-golfers, helping them to unwind, Kumar said.
However, the high-flying guru, who has followers all over the world and was seen putting at the Gokarna golf course during a two-day private visit last week, will initiate golfers only on the first day.
After that, senior teachers from the Art of Living Founation will conduct the course.
Interestingly, news about the Spirit of Golf camp comes at a time Nepal's Crown Prince Paras, a golf aficionado, has shifted from the capital to Gokarna with his family, reportedly for better security.
With the crown prince seen frequenting the links with his bodyguards, the question everyone is bound to ask is: will he too enrol for the camp?
New York, March 4 (IANS) American children joined their Indian American friends in playing with colours as a New Jersey school celebrated Holi, the festival of colours, for the first time.
Dressed in white T-shirts, the children at the Goddard school, Iselin city, celebrated the festival Friday.
"We are celebrating Holi for the first time," said Linda Cruz, a teacher at the school.
She said her class has 16 children of which 11 are from India and so is one of her assistant teachers.
"The celebration of Holi was my idea. I find it both creative and fun, playing with colour and face painting," Cruz said.
Noel Wortman, director of the school, said he likes to celebrate all festivals and added that the school also celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, according to Home News Tribune newspaper.
Many American kids of the school had fun playing Holi with their Indian American friends.
Meanwhile, Jagjeet Singh, manager of an Indian store in Edison, said this year he bought colour powder pouches from a local distributor because his shipment from India failed to arrive in time.
"Every year I sell 400 to 500 pounds of colour powder," Singh said.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said here Sunday that trend of talks on Iran's peaceful nuclear case has not reached a deadlock.
Speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, he added, "A logical solution based on regulations can be achieved to the case through negotiations."
In response to a question on whether he had any recommendations to the Monday meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, the spokesman said, "The solution to this case is negotiation and everything else will make the case more complicated."
Thiruvananthapuram, March 4 (IANS) There is no rift in the Kerala cabinet on the issue of taking a loan from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said here Sunday.
His clarification came in a terse statement denying press reports that there were differences over the issue in Friday's cabinet meeting that cleared the loan.
The media had gone to town saying that Achuthanandan who, as leader of opposition during 2001-06, was against the ADB loan, wanted his dissent note recorded in the cabinet minutes on going ahead with the loan.
Reports indicate that Local Self-Government Minister Paloly Mohammed Kutty and Finance Minister Thomas Isaac expressed strong dissatisfaction with the chief minister's demand.
Achuthanandan's reported stand, which he later denied, has to be viewed in the backdrop of the decision made by a group of activists who have formed an Anti-ADB Campaign Committee and decided to observe March 8 as 'Black Day' when the government puts its final signature on the ADB loan.
The committee, headed by writer-activist Sara Joseph, has the support of personalities like Medha Patkar and other social figures.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government gave its nod for accepting the ADB loan Thursday last, reversing its earlier stand on the issue when it was in the opposition.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led LDF had taken out several violent protest marches during 2001-06 when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government decided to go ahead with the loan.
Achuthanandan, who leads one faction of his party and is considered a hardliner, faces heat from another faction led by party secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan who belongs to the new school of Communists.
Achuthanandan gained the reputation of being a fighter when he managed to ensure that Kutty and Isaac, who belong to the Vijayan faction, were criticised by the party for signing the first agreement with the ADB in December without the cabinet's concurrence.
Much to Achuthanandan's joy, this action by the two ministers drew flak from party general secretary Prakash Karat who publicly admitted there had been a lapse and the issue should have been discussed.
The Vijayan faction, which is doing its best to show Achuthanandan in a poor light, is expected to bring up the issue of his defiance on the ADB loan at their next party meeting later this week at which Karat would be present.
With the assembly session beginning and the opposition waiting to tear Achuthanandan's double stand to pieces, it remains to be seen if the faction war within the CPI-M would deepen.
All eyes will be on the Vijayan faction to see if it comes to the aid of the chief minister when the opposition goes hammer and tongs against him.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 4 (IANS) Would he run or would he not? That's the question everyone is asking since the man who finished first, but lost the 2000 presidential race thanks to a few hanging 'chads', won an Oscar for filming "An Inconvenient Truth".
No, the documentary that "The Goracle" as Al Gore, Bill Clinton's vice president is sometimes called, is not about the race he lost to George Bush despite winning the popular vote, but about global warming. But an Oscar for the movie that has already earned a cool $45 million at the box office to become the third highest grossing documentary ever, right behind blockbusters "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "March of the Penguins" has put him in the limelight.
It also saw the man who came so tantalisingly close to the Oval Office "taking a little global heat" as Emmy-winning American comedian Jay Leno put it after it was revealed that his big house in Tennessee uses 20 times the energy of the average household.
Yet there have been several calls since from former president Jimmy Carter down to other Democratic politicos asking him to run again given his new found celebrity status, the "sympathy factor" and the fact that Democrats wrested the Congress last November. Others have advised him to do so only if he doesn't mind another heartbreak.
But Gore, who came to take his Academy Award in a hybrid eco-limo, hasn't said 'yes', nor has he said 'no'. No wonder, his rivals in the Republican and Democratic camps alike are taking a measure of the man in the middle or rather the middle of the man.
Everyone seems to be watching the global warming warrior's girth. A svelte Gore is a presidential Gore, they reason. They might not have much to worry about right now, judging from the stressed seams on Gore's Ralph Lauren tuxedo Oscar night.
"Judging from where he is now, I'd say he's not running. ... But that could change fast," said one political watcher. Meanwhile, Gore girth-gazing goes on!
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Made to order "Macaca moments"
Former Republican Senator George Allen learnt the value of "YouTube", the web video-sharing site best known for short, amusing videos made by users at home, the hard way.
He lost a closely fought election after getting some unwanted publicity as a video of him calling a rival's Indian American staffer "macaca"- an African monkey - perceived as a racial slur, showed up on the web.
That "macaca moment", as the incident has come to be known in the political lexicon, has given birth to a string of YouTube video channels exclusively for top White House candidates.
Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson have signed up to have their own channels on "You Choose '08" on YouTube, now owned by Google. So have Republicans John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani.
McCain also launched a channel on Veoh Networks, a smaller online video rival site to YouTube that other politicians may also join soon.
The candidates can post a video of their own on the new channels and so can the voters with a response or questions for them. Politicians can control what appears on their channels, but not on the others' channel. Looks like just the recipe for made to order "macaca moments"!
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SAO says so
When US Vice president Dick Cheney went to Pakistan to deliver "an unusually tough message" to President Pervez Musharraf, he wouldn't talk to reporters accompanying him on Air Force Two. But a "senior administration official" (SAO) agreed to brief them about Cheney's tête-à-tête with the general.
The SAO came and quickly laid out the ground rules, so said frustrated reporters who had no more than 20 minutes access to the vice president on the nine-day trip.
"Let me just make one editorial comment here," said the SAO as he began. "I' ve seen some press reporting saying, 'Cheney went in to beat up on them, threaten them'. That's not the way I work. I don't know who writes that, or maybe somebody gets it from some source who does not know what I'm doing, or isn't involved in it. But the idea that I'd go in and threaten someone is an invalid misreading of the way I do business."
The SAO also said that "I was very careful" in choosing words to criticise the Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosy on Iraq strategy.
Later the White House released a transcript of the conversation with all the "I" references intact. That gave the game away, but spokesman Tony Snow insisted that the rules were rules and the reporters must play the game by them.
So they did with all the "I"s thrown in. A blogger called the transcript "as blatant as birdshot in the face" - a reference to Cheney's accidental shooting of a hunting companion last year.
But why blame him? Wasn't it the SAO who did it this time!
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A three-in-one choice
As the 2008 US presidential race warms up, a clever quote is making the rounds in Washington:
"There's no doubt history is in the making with the 2008 presidential race. We may have either the first Black president, the first Woman president, or the first Mormon president. Why not kill three birds with one stone - elect Gladys Knight president and call it a day."
No one knows who said it first. Nor does one know if she'll be persuaded to run. For those who don't know, Gladys Knight is the famed black singer who sang for many years at the head of "Gladys Knight and the Pips". She is also a Mormon as adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement are known.
Islamabad, March 4, (IRNA) The opposition in Pakistan on Saturday asked the government to tell the nation as to who has given permission to the U.S military to carry out operation against Taliban inside Pakistan.
Lt general Douglas Lute told the Senate Armed Forces Committee that the U.S forces have the authorities they need to pursue either with artillery fore or on the ground across the border, according to reports.
This is negation of the government's stand that foreign forces cannot operate on Pakistani soil.
The government should tell the nation if the parliament, cabinet or the so-called National Security Council has approved any such operation, Secretary Information Pakistan Muslim League (PML) (Nawaz group) Ahsan Iqbal said.
The people want to know who has given permission to General Pervez Musharraf to sell out honor of the country, Iqbal told a news conference.
In another development, members of the US Senate have urged the Bush administration to launch military strikes at alleged Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, according to reports.
We will protest in the parliament and at every level, the PML leader said, adding that his party will seek cooperation of other parties on the issue.
The opposition will seek clarification from the government as any permission to American forces to operate on Pakistani soil will be an act against the sovereignty of the country.
General Musharraf is doing so just to prolong his illegal rule, Iqbal said.
He said General Musharraf has been claiming for seven years to fight against terror but Pakistan is being considered world over as the country sponsoring terrorism.
He said that General Musharraf is misleading the world that extremists will grab power if he has been removed.
This is propaganda from General Musharraf to remain in power as there is no possibility for years of extremists taking control in Pakistan, he argued.
Addis Ababa, Mar 3 (NNN-ENA) Over 30,000 Jamaicans are expected to come to Ethiopia to celebrate the Ethiopian Millennium, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced here on Saturday.
More than 115,000 tourists visited Ethiopia during the second half of last Year.
Public relations and information department coordinator with the ministry, Dr. Solomon Ali told Ethiopian News Agency that the Jamaicans have informed the Ministry that they have begun preparations to come to Ethiopia.
The Ministry is undertaking activities aimed at making the tourists stay in Ethiopia comfortable.
The Jamaicans are believed to attract tourists from other Ethiopian loving countries, he added.
Dr. Solomon urged the public to demonstrate the usual hospitality to tourists coming to celebrate the Millennium.
Meanwhile, over 115,000 tourists visited Ethiopia from January to May 2006, he said.
Dr. Solomon said over 600 million Birr revenue is expected to be secured from tourists visiting the country during the period reported.
Some 1.2 billion Birr revenue was obtained from more than 227,000 tourists who visited Ethiopia in 2005, he said.
Ethiopia is securing a considerable amount of revenue from the tourism sector next to coffee and oil seeds’ export.
The Ministry is engaged in wide-ranging activities of increasing the revenue the country obtains from the tourism sector through promoting its tourist attractions, he said.
Ethiopia is among the 10 major tourist destinations in Africa, he said, and added that the tourism sector in the country registered a remarkable growth over the past decade.
Islamabad, March 3, (IRNA) Pakistan on Saturday played down remarks from senior U.S military officials that American forces in Afghanistan routinely pursue and fire upon Taliban enemies into Pakistan.
Lt general Douglas Lute told the Senate Armed Forces Committee that the U.S forces in Afghanistan have the authorities they need to pursue either with artillery fore or on the ground across the border, according to reports.
"It is not the job of generals to make decisions. The decisions are taken at political level and commanders cannot take decisions," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.
She told TV channels that remarks from American generals about operations inside Pakistan do not have much importance.
"We are partners in war on terrorism and we have a mechanism to deal with such matters," the spokesperson said.
Tasnim Aslam referred to a recent statement from the U.S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Washington has not made any decision to carry out any strike inside Pakistan.
The tripartite commission comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States is in place.
A joint intelligence center has been established in Kabul which functions 24 hours, she said.
She was of the view that statements from the U.S generals about operations inside Pakistan do not reflect official policy of the United States.
In another development, members of the US Senate have urged the Bush administration to launch military strikes at alleged Al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, according to Pakistani Dawn newspaper.
Pakistani envoy in Washington Mehmood Ali Durrani has been quoting as saying that such attitude of U.S generals could bring down the present set-up in Islamabad.
Islamabad, Mar 4 (IANS) Three journalists in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), accused of having 'links' with the government's intelligence agencies, have received death threats from Islami Mujahideen, one of the many militant groups operating in the province.
The journalists say the government knows the source of the threat, but is inactive.
The Tribal Union of Journalists (YUJ) Saturday asked the government to protect three, Munawar Afridi of The News, Nisar Afridi of Khabrian and Wazir Afridi of Daily Akhbar, after local Taliban in Darra Adam Khel threatened to kill them on Friday.
TUJ President Sailab Mehsud told the Daily Times that the death threats came in the form of pamphlets calling on the "faithful to kill the trio". These were distributed in Darra Adam Khel Bazaar and surrounding areas.
"We are like dead people now after the distribution of he pamphlets," Nisar Afridi told the newspaper over the telephone.
Journalists who have been reporting the militants' activities are among several others, including tribal elders and clergy, whose social boycott has been ordered by the militant group.
Militants Friday beat up a cameraman working for Pushto TV channel AVT Khyber in Swat valley, detaining him for more than three hours.
Shaheen Buneri, the bureau chief of AVT Khyber in Mingora, said that cameraman Taj Rehman, who was covering a demonstration by supporters of a local cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, was badly beaten up before being taken away.
Fazlullah has led a successful campaign against the viewing of TV in the district by paying money to people who bring their TV sets to him to be destroyed.
Buneri said the bureau was closed after supporters of the cleric tried to damage the building.
Barbers, video shops and those who sell prize bonds are among the other targets of the militants.
Gaza, Mar 4 (NNN-KUNA) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to meet on Sunday with Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, assigned with the formation of the national unity government, to discuss Arab and European support for this government.
Abbas had embarked on an Arab-European tour to rally support for this unity government, led by Hamas.
Israel had declared it would not deal with the unity government.
Palestinians hope the formation of this government would help lift economic sanctions imposed on them after the election of Hamas in the legislative elections held in January, 2006.
Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Ismail Radhwan said in a statement to local radio his party had submitted to the prime minister yesterday a list of its cabinet nominees, saying Haniya would present Abbas with a full list of nominees once all factions made a final decision on their representatives.
He refused, however, to name representatives of Hamas.
Radhwan said today's meeting between Abbas and Haniya would be decisive in announcing the national unity government.
For his part, Fatah spokesman in Gaza Abdulhakim Awadh told the radio, "New problems have risen of late and have hindered reaching a final agreement on the unity government." Naming an interior minister is one problem, he said.
Hamas had nominated Major General Hamoudah Jarwan and Nasser Musleh for this position, but both names were rejected by Fatah.
Essen, March 4 (DPA) People whose spouse or partner spends increasingly more time in a pub are often tormented by the question: Is he or she an alcoholic?
It's a real issue for many people, men and women alike. They live with alcohol as a third party in their relationship and are often completely overburdened by it. They feel the need to pull their partners away from their addiction and at the same time hide it from their mutual surroundings, and that can put a great deal of strain on the relationship.
When this agonising concern for a partner or other relative is finally expressed, it's usually quite legitimate, said Hartmut Grosse of an Essen, Germany-based Al-Anon group that focuses on family. Many would prefer to ignore alarm signals for as long as possible.
"When the suspicion finally emerges, the signs usually are so obvious that an alcohol problem, if not addiction, already exists," said Grosse.
In such situations it's important to raise suspicions as quickly as possible and as often as possible.
"Every delay in spelling out scepticism about someone's behaviour smooth the path toward dependence on alcohol and in serious cases extends the addiction," said Christa Merfert-Diete of the German centre for addiction questions in Hamm.
When there's no longer any doubt that there is a problem, relatives can't do much to help - but they can do many things wrong.
"Alcoholism is an illness for which there is no cure and it can only be stopped through abstinence, and that can occur only if the alcoholic has the will to do it," said Grosse.
Relatives can provide details about self-help groups or addiction counsellors, said Marita Voelker-Albers of the German centre for health education in Cologne.
"You have to make this clear: 'I am ready to support you,'" said Merfert-Diete. But it's just as important from the beginning not to leave any doubt that the support has limits. Experts say this is where many people fall into a trap: they try with all their might to get their loved-one to stop drinking. The attempt nearly always runs aground.
"It can be a serious mistake to help an alcoholic with a problem caused solely by his drinking," said Merfert-Diete. Someone who calls his or her drunken partner's office to lie about why he or she is absent cannot hope that in the future he will easily return to pulling his own weight. Many people do such things on behalf of their alcoholic partners, stretching their resilience beyond its limits and further enabling their partner's alcoholism.
Al-Anon is a possible place to turn to for assistance. The group helps the families and friends of alcoholics find themselves again, explained Grosse. Many relatives of alcoholics have forgotten how to think about their needs. And if there's no other way, they must leave their partner. At the same time they must consciously acknowledge that they are not guilty of causing their partner's addiction.
"For an alcoholic, it's always someone else's fault," said Grosse.
Despite all the necessary consequences and all feelings of helplessness, relatives should not give up hope.
"Week in, week out people meet in self-help groups that have successfully fought together against alcohol," said Merfert-Diete. And one thing that's cleared, according to the centre for health education, an alcoholic is not a bad, weak-willed person. He is simply addicted.
Jammu, March 4 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP) is in a quandary following Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's categorical assertion that troops will not be pulled out of the border state for now, knocking down foundations of its hype on the issue.
PDP is faced with a piquant situation - to pull out of the government and deliver on its pledge that the issue was an "article of faith for it" or to stay in power to keep the party together.
There are fears that once out of power, PDP may disintegrate. On the other hand, it has to consider replying to its opponents and people whom it had been telling that it was "serious" on the issue of military pullout.
"PDP doesn't believe in gimmicks. We don't play gimmicks," PDP patron and former chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed told reporters here Saturday. "It is an article of faith for us," he said, referring to the demand for demilitarization.
However, late Saturday, the prime minister ruled out demilitarization in Jammu and Kashmir. "We will be happy to reduce troops if terrorism ceases as our army is not an army of occupation. They are there to protect the lives and liberties of law abiding people," he told reporters in New Delhi.
Although Manmohan Singh made the assertion in the wake of All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's claim that India and Pakistan had agreed to go in for demilitarization from both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the message was equally loud and clear for PDP.
Sayeed has held discussions with senior party leaders on the prime minister's remarks though the party is yet to come out with a statement.
"That is indicative of the situation in which the party finds itself on the issue," a Congress minister, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.
Sayeed has exchanged notes with his daughter and party president Mehbooba Mufti, who is in New Delhi. She has been at the forefront of a campaign for reduction of troops and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Jammu and Kashmir.
She has met the prime minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony. She has argued that troops cut and quashing of the special powers of security forces would energize the peace process and bring more confidence among the people.
The PDP chief was challenging Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's statement that the situation was not ripe for demilitarization or doing away with special powers given to security forces to fight separatists.
However, with the prime minister endorsing the chief minister's stand, the PDP will have to rethink its strategy.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Bangladesh go into the World Cup in fine form, though short on the cup experience as 10 of their players have not played in the biggest tournament. Their 13 wins in the last 14 one-day internationals, however, make up a bit for the lack of experience.
Young wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim has replaced veteran but out-of-form Khaled Mashud in the 15-member squad for the World Cup beginning in the West Indies March 11.
Experienced batsman Habibul Bashar is captain of the team that has eight specialist batsmen.
Bangladesh is in Group B along with India, Sri Lanka and Bermuda. Their first match is against India at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, March 17.
The final will be played April 28.
Following are the pen sketches of the 15 players (statistics include their last one-day international against Canada in Antigua, West Indies, Feb 28):
Habibul Bashar (captain)
Born: Aug 17, 1972, Nagakanda, Kushtia (Bangladesh)
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 100, Runs: 2,020, Average: 22.44, Highest score: 78, 50s: 14, Overs: 29.1, Wicket: 1, Average: 142.00, Best bowling: 1/31, Catches: 21
World Cup record: Matches: 2, Runs: 0
Shahriar Nafees (vice-captain)
Born: Jan 25, 1986, Dhaka
Style: Left-handed batsman
ODI record: Matches: 41, Runs: 1,495, Average: 40.41, Highest score: 123 not out, 100s: 4, 50s: 7, Catches: 6
World Cup record: None
Abdur Razzak
Born: June 15, 1982, Khula (Bangladesh)
Style: Left-handed and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 38, Runs: 142, Average: 15.78, Highest score: 21, Overs: 340.4, Wickets: 60, Average: 20.97, Best bowling: 5/33, Catches: 10
World Cup record: None
Aftab Ahmed
Born: Nov 10, 1985, Chittagong
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 55, Runs: 1,414, Average: 28.86, Highest score: 92 not out, 50s: 12, Overs: 108, Wickets: 11, Average: 50.00, Best bowling: 5/31, Catches: 13
World Cup record: None
Mohammad Javed Omar Belim
Born: Nov 25, 1976, Dhaka
Style: Right-handed batsman and leg-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 53, Runs: 1,166, Average: 23.80, Highest score: 85 not out, 50s: 9, Overs: 1.2, Wickets: 0, Catches: 10
World Cup record: None
Mashrafe Mortaza
Born: Oct 5, Norail, Jessore (Bangladesh)
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 56, Runs: 557, Average: 16.38, Highest score: 51 not out, 50s: 1, Overs: 485.5.5, Wickets: 79, Average: 28.03, Best bowling: 6/26, Catches: 20
World Cup record: Matches: 2, Runs: 28, Average: 14.00, Highest score: 28, Overs: 13, Wickets: 2, Average: 38.00, Best bowling: 2/38
Mohammad Ashraful
Born: July 7, 1984, Dhaka
Style: Right-handed batsman and leg spinner
ODI record: Matches: 90, Runs: 1,608, Average: 20.88, Highest score: 100, 100s: 1, 50s: 10, Overs: 56.4, Wickets: 10, Average: 34.40, Best bowling: 3/26, Catches: 16
World Cup record: Matches: 5, Runs: 71, Average: 17.75, Highest score: 56, 50s: 1, Overs: 6.3, Catches: 2
Mohammad Rafique
Born: Sep 5, 1970, Dhaka
Style: Left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 112, Runs: 1,123, Average: 13.70, Highest score: 77, 50s: 2, Overs: 956, Wickets: 108, Average: 38.90, Best bowling: 5/47, Catches: 23
World Cup record: Matches: 8, Runs: 71, Average: 11.83, Highest score: 41 not out, Overs: 44.1, Wickets: 4, Average: 51.25, Best bowling: 1/22
Mushfiqur Rahim
Born: Sep 1, 1988, Bogra (Bangladesh)
Style: Right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper
ODI record: Matches: 11, Runs: 151, Average: 30.20, Highest score: 57, 50s: 1, Catches: 8, Stumpings: 5
World Cup record: None
Rajin Saleh
Born: Nov 20, 1983, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Style: Right-handed batsman and off-spinner
ODI record: Matches: 43, Runs: 1,005, Average: 23.92, Highest score: 108 not out, 100s: 1, 50s: 6, Overs: 89.5, Wickets: 15, Average: 30.60, Best bowling: 4/16, Catches: 10
World Cup record: None
Saqibul Hasan
Born: March 14, 1987, Magura, Khulna (Bangladesh)
Style: Left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner
ODI record: Matches: 20, Runs: 665, Average: 55.42, Highest score: 134 not out, 100s: 1, 50s: 2, Overs: 166.3, Wickets: 22, Average: 26.64, Best bowling: 3/18, Catch: 4
World Cup record: None
Shahadat Hossain
Born: Aug 7, 1986, Dhaka
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 20, Runs: 15, Average: 5.00, Highest score: 5 not out, Overs: 146.4, Wickets: 24, Average: 30.08, Best bowling: 3/34
World Cup record: None
Syed Rasel
Born: July 3, 1984, Jessore (Bangladesh)
Style: Left-handed batsman and left-arm pacer
ODI record: Matches: 19, Runs: 30, Average: 5.00, Highest score: 15, Overs: 165.3, Wickets: 27, Average: 25.37, Best bowling: 4/22, Catches: 2
World Cup record: None
Tamim Iqbal Khan
Born: March 20, 1989, Chittagong
Style: Left-hand batsman
ODI record: Matches: 4, Runs: 57, Average: 14.25, Highest score: 30
World Cup record: None
Tapash Kumar Baisya
Born: Dec 25, 1982, Sylhet (Chittagong)
Style: Right-handed batsman and medium pacer
ODI record: Matches: 55, Runs: 336, Average: 12.00, Highest score: 35 not out, Overs: 431.5, Wickets: 59, Average: 40.97, Best bowling: 4/16, Catches: 8
World Cup record: Matches: 4, Runs: 7, Average: 3.50, Highest score: 5, Overs: 22, Wickets: 2, Average: 62.50, Best bowling: 1/22, Catch: 1
Dav Whatmore (coach)
Born: March 16, 1954, Colombo
Teams: Australia, Victoria
Batting: Right-handed
Lone ODI: vs. West Indies, Sydney, 1980
ODI record: Match: 1, Runs: 2, Average: 2.00, Highest score:
World Cup record: None
Kingstown (St Vincent & the Grenadines), March 4 (IANS) A small plane crash-landed Saturday near a field here where the Australian cricket team was training for the ICC World Cup 2007.
The single-engine plane, a Cessna 172, was coming from Barbados and the incident happened when it was attempting to land at the ET Joshua Airport here.
Though there were no serious injuries, the pilot, co-pilot and two passengers from St Vincent sustained minor injuries, local media reported.
Australian squad spokesman Phillip Hope told reporters that the players, who were training at the Arnos Vale ground, were not affected by the incident. The Arnos Vale ground will host four warm-up matches prior to the inaugural ceremony of the World Cup March 11.
Australia will warm up with a tie against Zimbabwe March 6.
Mumbai, Mar 4 (NNN-PTI) Few know that Rudyard Kipling, the English author whose wolf-boy Mowgli of "Jungle Book" epitomised his love for India, was born in a large two-storeyed bungalow here.
Fewer still may know that the bungalow has for years been home to deans of city's one of the most prestigious institutes -- the J J School of Art.
If discussions with authorities bear fruit, Rudyard's birthplace may end up being more than just his once-home and transform it into a museum, exactly 100 years after he received the Nobel prize for literature.
Even though official were tight-lipped about the issue, several alumni and artists have been pressing to establish a museum in the bunglow, nestled in the lush green of the art school.
The large-leafy house has an ornate metal plaque at the entrance, which presents a proud reminder - "Rudyard Kipling, son of Lockwood Kipling, first principal, was born here on 30.12.1865".
Its porch bears a bust of the great author amidst verdant surroundings.
The 140-year-old wood and stone structure was once home to his father Lockwood Kipling (1837-1911), the school's first principal.
Imtiaz Jaleel
Pune,March 4 (NDTV) In Pune, some 200 youngsters have been arrested while partying at a farmhouse near Sinhgadh Fort, 40 km from Pune.
According to the police, drugs were being used at the party.
The police raided the place after an undercover operation. Among those arrested are 25 girls - most of the arrested are college students and IT professionals.
Police have seized hashish, charas, ganja, and california drops. A number of foreign students too were at the party.
"They were using drugs in cigarettes. We had concrete information. The police also mixed up with them. We danced for 15 minutes and when the party was in full mood, we raided the place and found charas, ganja, hashish and california drops. Our search is on," said Nangre Patil, SP, Pune (Rural).
The party invitation was extended to youngsters via the internet through a popular website.
Luanda, Mar 4 (NNN-ANGOP) Angola`s National Police will invest in the staff`s professional, technical and intellectual level in order to better handle crime in the country Saturday in Luanda pledged the second commander general of the National Police for Public Order, Gaspar de Almeida.
The officer was opening the the Operative and Patriotic Instruction year of Luanda`s provincial Command (CPL) for 2007.
"We will improve our functional organisation, our techniques and the handling of the means at our disposal, in order for our action to be fair and loyal and transmit, in fact, the true sentiment of security to citizens," he said.
He added that the corporation will improve its operation capacity in response to the rate of crime facing Luanda and have an effective relationship with the citizen.
According to Gaspar de Almeida, the operative and patriotic instruction is a boost in the operational, organising and functional dynamics of the forces of order.
He said he hopes that during the period of instruction the effectives will grasp all subjects administered to them and have a more actual, ready and effective police in responding to the various missions.
Meanwhile, comissioner Paulo de Almeida admitted that while under police control, crime in Luanda is worrying, with cases of armed robbery, street mobile phone snatching, murder and other crimes that disturb the society.
The National Police officer also voiced concern at the capital city`s road traffic that is becoming more and more complicated.
Riyadh, Mar 4 (NNN-IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Riyadh Saturday afternoon, met and conferred with Saudi King Abdullah here Saturday evening.
Lebanon, Iraq and Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear dossier are among the issues discussed between the two leaders.
President Ahmadinejad is accompanied by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and some other senior officials in his one-day trip to Saudi Arabia.
Political analysts believe that meetings between leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia can have an effective role in solving problems and controlling the increasing crises in the region.
This is President Ahmadinejad's second visit to Saudi Arabia during the past year.
On the sidelines of the president's meeting with the Saudi monarch, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki conferred with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal on issues of mutual concern.
Riyadh, Mar 4 (NNN-IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who arrived in Riyadh Saturday afternoon, met and conferred with Saudi King Abdullah here Saturday evening.
Lebanon, Iraq and Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear dossier are among the issues discussed between the two leaders.
President Ahmadinejad is accompanied by Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and some other senior officials in his one-day trip to Saudi Arabia.
Political analysts believe that meetings between leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia can have an effective role in solving problems and controlling the increasing crises in the region.
This is President Ahmadinejad's second visit to Saudi Arabia during the past year.
On the sidelines of the president's meeting with the Saudi monarch, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki conferred with his Saudi counterpart Saud al-Faisal on issues of mutual concern.
Rome, Mar 3 (NNN-KUNA) The Italian government led by Prime Minister Romano won easily Friday the confidence vote in Italy's lower house of parliament, but still the coalition which Prodi is leading is leading remains.
The confidence motion given to the centre-left's out of the 630 seats parliament was 342 in favor, 253 against and two abstentions.
This voting ended the crisis in the country. Prodi resigned abruptly last week after two communist senators in his coalition torpedoed a vote of confidence in his foreign policy.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) An earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale jolted outskirts of the city of Faryab in the southeastern province of Kerman Sunday.
The seismological base of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, registered the quake at 08:12 hours local time (0442 GMT).
The quake was epicentered in an area measuring 57.28 degrees in longitude and 28.23 degrees in latitude, the report added.
There are no reports of any casualty or damage to property caused by the quake.
Iran is often hit by quakes of varying magnitudes as it sits on some of the world's most active seismic fault lines.
Islamabad, March 4 (IANS) "Bolan", "Mehraan" and "Abaseen" are among the new television channels being launched by Pakistan's official network PTV to make the media "more dynamic and informative", according to Pakistan Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani.
Deposing before the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, Durrani said the channels would be "independent" and deal with news and current affairs.
The minister claimed that Pakistan Television (PTV), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corp (PBC) were "the most responsible institutions and credibility was the top priority for them".
"As the most credible institution, Pakistan Television will soon launch an independent news and current affairs channel as more current affairs programmes are in the pipeline," he said.
Jakarta, Mar 4 (NNN-ANTARA News) Rescue workers battled blocked roads Sunday to resume their search for nearly 50 people buried alive in landslides that swept through several villages on an eastern Indonesian island, officials said.
The landslides, triggered by several days of torrential rains, struck several villages in four districts of Manggarai regency on the island of Flores, about 1,500 kilometres east of Jakarta, on early Saturday, chief regent Christian Rotok said.
"By this morning, 21 bodies had been founded, while at least 48 others remained missing and feared dead," Rotok said by telephone.
"Rescue workers, comprising of military and police personnel, joined by volunteers, were continuing their search for the missing persons."
Rotok said that Cibal sub-district was the worst-hit area with 16 bodies recovered and 27 others still missing. Also badly hit was Lamba Leda sub-district, where landslides occurred at six villages and buried dozens of homes when locals were still asleep.
Continuing heavy downpours and a lack of heavy road-clearing equipment hampered search operations and efforts to deliver emergency aid to affected regions, he said.
"We badly need more heavy machinery to help clear off the roads.
Many parts of the roads also collapsed, cuting off land communication to the disaster-hit areas," Rotok said.
He said four other residents were injured in the disaster, the worse to hit the regions in many years.
Rustam Pakaya, the chief of the Health Department's Crisis Centre in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, said emergency food supplies were sent to the disaster-hit area by air, along with scores of body bags.
Other agencies gave slightly different figures on the number of dead and missing, a common occurrence during natural disasters in Indonesia. The agencies rarely attempt to reconcile their figures.
Antara, Indonesia's state-run news agency, reported that landslides in at least 15 villages or districts, leaving some houses buried and vehicles damaged. It said roads were blocked in 20 places.
It was the latest in a series rain-triggered disasters archipelago nation of more than 17,000 islands during the current wet season.
Torrential rains caused rivers to breach their banks in Jakarta two neighbouring provinces, flooding tens of thousands of homes and displacing more than 400,000 residents while killing more than 90 people.
Landslides and flash floods in Aceh and nearby North Sumatra in December killed more than 100 people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
Georgetown, March 4 (NNN-GINA) The 19th summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Rio Group concluded Saturday at the Guyana International Conference Centre, after deliberations and caucus were held to chart a plan for expansion and preservation of the 20-member Group.
The summit was characterised by the issuance of the Declaration of Turkeyen that outlined the major issues to be addressed to further development and integration of the Group’s members. There were other statements on relevant areas and interactions at the bilateral level.
A meeting between Guyana and Chile highlighted the need to advance social and human issues, specifically with countries that have asymmetries and inequalities.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, the first female leader of the country, said the meeting focused on social and human issues which plague development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been advocating for these issues to be addressed, she said.
resident Bachelet said.
They also sought a common ground on how both countries can collaborate in order to access funding for the proposed programmes to combat the issues identified.
On CARICOM, she noted that there were some specific cooperation programmes ongoing between Chile and regional bodies.
She said the interest expressed by some CARICOM countries to integrate the Spanish language into their societies which could boost tourism and other economical areas.
President Bachelet explained that last year Chile had started a pilot programme for 30 teachers to undergo training in Spanish for a six- month period.
A programme with the Organisation of American States (OAS), CARICOM and Chile is forthcoming that will result in a fund being created to propel economic productivity in CARICOM countries, she said.
The agreements concluded between the two Heads of State underscored the thrust of the Declaration of Turkeyen and the new objectives outlined by the Heads of State of the 19th summit of the Rio Group.
The Declaration reflected the objectives that have emanated from the discussions of the National Coordinators, the Foreign Ministers and ultimately the Heads.
Special emphasis was placed on social issues, such as poverty, health and education to improve the lives of citizens in member States and advance the development process.
The importance of strengthening relations between Latin America and the Caribbean was recognised as a favourable step towards greater inclusiveness resulting in a stronger voice at the global level.
Attending the historic summit were: Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Dominican Republic President Dr. Leonel Fernandez Reyna, Honduran President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos Espino, Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos, Ecuadorian Vice-President Lenin Moreno and Peruvian Second Vice-President Lourdes Mendoza del Solar.
Guyana has relinquished its chairmanship of the Group to the Dominican Republic whose President stated that his country would be happy to host the 20th Rio Group summit in March 2008.
Moscow, March 4 (Xinhua) Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal constitutional law Saturday, banning government members from joining foreign nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
"The federal constitutional law sets additional restrictions for Russian government members," the presidential press service said Saturday.
"In particular, the law stipulates that members of the Russian government cannot join boards of directors, guardians and supervisors and other bodies of foreign non-profit, nongovernmental organisations and their offices operating in Russia," the press service said.
"Meanwhile, tutorial, scientific or other creative activities by a Russian government member cannot be financed only by foreign states, foreign and international organizations, foreign and stateless citizens," it said.
Ludhiana, Mar 4 (ZEE News) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday said his government was committed to provide an efficient and corruption-free administration in the state.
"People of the state would be able to judge the difference between the present and the previous Congress government," he told reporters after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Nanaksar at Kaleran near here.
Accelerating the pace of development and fulfilling all the promises made to people during elections are the top priorities of the government, he said.
He also said he would establish rule of law and not pursue politics of confrontation.
Badal was accompanied by his son and SAD general secretary Sukhbir Singh Badal and other members of the family.
London, March 4 (IANS) Eating excessive salty bread could increase blood pressure and may put heart at a greater risk, according to a latest study that recommended avoiding bread with more than 1.1g of salt per 100g.
Researchers from the Consensus Action on Salt and Health, a pressure group in Britain, surveyed 138 widely available loaves.
They found that more than one in three contained salt levels above the government's target of 1.1g per 100g, reported the online edition of Daily Mail.
The highest level was found in Morrison's The Best Farmhouse Malted Bread, which had a salt level of 1.5g per 100g or 0.7g per slice.
Just over four slices would put a child of six over the maximum daily recommended salt intake of 3g. Nine slices would take someone over the adult threshold of 6g.
The second highest salt reading was found in several Asda loaves, which had a level of 0.6g per slice. Eating just five slices of these would put a child over the recommended limit.
A total of 15 out of 18 Warburton products had a salt content higher than the government's target, while all of Sainsbury's and Waitrose breads surveyed were below the level.
"This research shows that despite some progress in reducing salt levels in bread, there remain wide variations in how much is contained across similar products," a spokesman for the British Heart Foundation, Ruairi O'Connor, said.
"The BHF would like all breads to contain as little salt as possible, in order to reduce the nation's salt intake.
"People who are at risk of heart disease caused by high blood pressure need to reduce salt in their diets, and need to be able to quickly and accurately choose lower salt options when shopping."
The organisation has called for the industry to adopt the traffic light labelling system developed by the Food Standards Agency. This uses red, amber and green logos to tell shoppers whether products are high, medium or low in salt, sugar and fat.
Bangkok, March 3 (TNA) Security measures at Thailand's showcase Suvarnabhumi Airport were tightened Saturday -- Makha Bucha Day, an important Buddhist religious occasion -- following earlier warnings by security officials that an unprecedented bombing could take place in Thailand.
Suvarnabhumi Airport director Serirat Prasutanont said some airport exits were closed and added security personnel are patrolling the area. In addition, some passengers were being searched more thoroughly on a random basis before they entered the airport building.
Mr. Serirat said he was aware that the random searches might have caused inconveniences to passengers but he said such security measures were needed to prevent an untoward incident during the Makha Bucha Day, celebrated by Buddhists all over the country.
Despite today's stricter security measures, the airport is still very busy with many people were seen leaving for upcountry and overseas.
Vut Kiendee, a native of the central province of Suphan Buri, said he was not worried about the bomb threats during the festival as he had full confidence in the security officials.
Mr. Vut was boarding an aircraft bound for the Hat Yai in Songkhla province. Security officials earlier warned the public that a similar bombing to the New Year's Eve could take place at key places on Makha Bucha Day and during Songkran – Thailand's traditional New Year and water festival April 13-15.
Three persons were killed and 42 wounded on New Year's Eve in a series of explosions in Bangkok and its neighbouring province of Nonthaburi.
Kolkata, March 4 (IANS) Are sex workers 'entertainment workers'? At the end of a seven-day all-India conference of sex workers, this is what women who refuse to accept old tags are asking.
"For more than a decade we have been striving for our rights as entertainment workers. We work hard to entertain our clients as everyone does. We do it in our own way and at the end of the day we earn our livelihood," said Mira Malik, a Sonagachi-based sex worker here.
The All India Conference of Entertainment Workers 2007, which kicked off Feb 25, concluded March 3 - the International Sex workers' Day - with the sex workers demanding a specific identification for themselves.
"If any other entertainment worker - like singer, dancer, magician, actor - can get social recognition, why not the sex workers? We also entertain people and we think it's the highest form of pleasure," Mira said.
The representatives from the sex workers community of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh attended the conference to voice their demands.
There are 70 "red light areas" in West Bengal with 14 in Kolkata alone, and the conference provided sex workers, both male and female, with a common platform while they rubbed shoulders with actors, dancers, singers and others.
"Thousands of participating sex workers - both organised and individuals - from across India met here to press their demands for the same labour rights, social assistance and recognition," said Smrajit Jana, chief advisor of the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) (The Committee for Indomitable Women), an apex body of about 65,000 sex workers that organised the meet.
"On behalf of DMSC we are preparing a list which will include our demands like new labour law and a self regulatory board for the sex workers," Bharati Dey, the programme director of DMSC, told IANS.
She said the list was being prepared on the basis of the discussions and problems of all sex workers who participated in the conference.
"We have started a signature campaign for setting up a cultural academy in Kolkata. We will give this proposal to the union government and to the ministry of social welfare of the West Bengal government for the betterment of our community," Bharati said.
DMSC had started off in 1992 with only 12 sex workers and got registered in 1995. It has also expanded outside West Bengal to bring the sex workers under a single forum and help them to fight for their own rights.
It has also ventured into other welfare activities like formation of Usha Multi Purpose Co-operative Society Ltd - the largest co-operative society for the sex workers in Asia with annual transactions worth over Rs.900 million.
Festival of Pleasure, Entertainment in Development, Mehboob Ki Mehendi (Colours of Love), Sexual Rights and Relationship, Entertainment in Revolution, Rang De Basanti (Coloured with Spring) were the various sessions of the meet in which the sex workers gathered in a sprawling park beside Sonagachi in north Kolkata.
Dhaka, March 4 (DPA) At least six factory workers were killed and five others injured in two separate explosions in Bangladesh Sunday, officials said.
The first blast occurred in the garrison town of Jessore in western Bangladesh when a gas cylinder exploded in an ice factory, killing three workers instantly.
The explosion shook houses and shops in the town, about 290 km west of the capital Dhaka.
In another incident, three workers were killed and five others were hurt when a gas cylinder exploded in a cold storage facility in southern Patuakhali district, local police said.
By Azera Rahman,
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) Snake charming, one of the oldest professions of India and the 'mystic' factor that people all over the world are fascinated by, was dying a slow death until recently.
Armed with their 'beens' (flutes), these charmers sans their snakes are now hypnotising audiences with their tunes and inviting serpentine queues for their performances.
Take the case of Patram Nath Sapera. This 60-year-old man from Gogameri Gaon in Rajasthan, dressed in a typical snake charmer's attire - orange robe and turban - and carrying his been, says he was stripped of his daily income when his snake was taken away from him five years ago because of strict wildlife laws.
"I didn't know what to do. This is what I have been doing for ages just like my father and my grandfather did. Without my snake, I started coming back home empty handed. Earlier on I used to earn at least Rs.100-150 a day and I could buy food for my family.
"My kids had to drop out of school. With no other option I had to do odd jobs like rag-picking," he told IANS.
But thanks to the Jeevika Trust, an NGO promoting biodiversity conservation and promising rehabilitation to this community of snake charmers, Patram Nath's life is back on track.
Today he and many like him who are part of the Sarprakshak Group (or protectors of snakes) project mesmerise people with their unique brand of music as they play handcrafted instruments like the been, khanjari (tambourine) and tumba (string instrument).
The community was dealt a hard blow following severe criticism by wildlife conservationists and stringent laws like the Wildlife Protection Act, which came into force in 1972 and ended in the snakes being rescued from the snake charmers.
According to the Jeevika Trust, 80 percent snakes die due to shoddy handling by these charmers. However, simply by rescuing the snakes, without giving the snake charmers an alternative means of livelihood - as they didn't know any other skill - only resulted in nearly 200,000 snake charmers becoming jobless.
Understanding the deep-rooted problem, wildlife conservationist Bahar Dutt formed an NGO, Friends of Snakes.
"Several groups have tried to rehabilitate them by teaching them to be drivers or tailors but that hasn't worked because there was either too much competition or they simply didn't have the right skills," she said.
The way out of this convoluted problem was devised in the form of the Sarprakshak Group.
"We, with the help of snake experts and wildlife scientists, started training snake charmers about identifying different species of snakes, how to take care of them in captivity et al," said Raju Paswan, project officer of the Sarprakshak project.
"So now they go around educating people about snakes, about their ecological value and saying they are harmless. This training has enhanced their on-field knowledge and they can be absorbed in zoos, ecological parks etc for regular employment."
But that's not all. "Earlier on we thought that without our snakes, the been has lost its worth. But then we realised that we can still create music and enthral people," said Mani Ram Nath, another snake charmer from Rajasthan.
And that's what they did. From Hindi movie numbers to folk songs to self compositions, this talented lot can make real music on their been, khanjari and tumba.
Some of them even went to Scotland and gave a performance there. As they perform back home they don't forget to play the Scottish tunes they picked up there.
Starting with 20 snake charmers a year ago, this group has now grown to a hundred. Hailing from various parts of the country like Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, these snake charmers have surely had a melodious revival.
New Delhi,March 4 (Press Trust of india) Congress President Sonia Gandhi celebrated Holi with a group of special children at her residence on Sunday.
A small function was organised at 10-Janpath this morning, where she met some mentally-disabled children and greeted them.
With some pink gulal on her face and a tilak on the forehead, she also enjoyed a dance performance by them and distributed sweets.
"She was extremely happy and even took some of them in her lap," said Nafis Khan of the NGO 'Masoom'.
She then received office-bearers and wellwishers, many of whom carried huge bouquets of flowers.
Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit also extended her greetings to her on the occasion.
Trelawny,March 4 ( NDTV Correspondent ) He's considered by many to be the greatest player of his generation inspiring thousands to follow in his footsteps.
There's no doubt that a billion eyes will be on Sachin Tenbdulkar when the World Cup gets underway for India on the 17th of this month as the master blaster looks to fill the one trophy that's missing from his cabinet.
Sachin was without a doubt the star at the 2003 World Cup ending up with the award for the player of the tournament despite India's loss in the final.
This time he wants to make sure he once again lets his bat do all the talking. Holland are India's first opponenets on the 6th of March and the master blasters want to get into the groove from the world go.
"I would want to get into a good rhythm as early as possible and through out the tournament there are no easy games. Whatever opportunities we get we want to make the most of it. We do not want to leave any room for complacency," Tendulkar, who is the vice captain of the Indian team said.
Bowling
Another area that Sachin hopes to contribute with will be the ball. He already has close to 150 one-day wickets and he knows on the slow and flat tracks of the Carribean Rahul Dravid will depend quite a bit on his bowling experience to unnerve opposing batsman.
"It kind of helps to be an irregular bowler. You can always be unpredictable. As a part time bowler I want to introduce and element of surprise. My responsibilities are totally different from Anil's so I can afford to do that," Tendulkar said.
Sachin Tendulkar has played International Cricket for close to 20 years.
He has played five World Cups and broken records galore but the one thing missing from his CV is a World Cup title.
West Indies 2007 could prove to be the last chance for the Bombay Bomber to get his hands on the Holy Grail and he knows too well that the hopes and aspirations of a billion people rest on his shoulders.
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) As a large number of children flocked to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on the occasion of Holi, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam urged them to "spread happiness" among people.
"We blossomed together, to give fragrance on this beautiful Holi day," Kalam said in a specially composed poem, copies of which were distributed to school students, specially-abled children, orphans and those suffering from thalassaemia, who visited him Sunday.
The President also administered a five-point oath to the youngsters asking them, among other things, to give flowers to a sick neighbour.
The children pledged to:
* Visit a hospital and give sweets to some of the inmates.
* Help a visually handicapped person to cross a road or listen to his problem.
* Call a relative or a friend whom they had not talked to for a long time.
* Take a decision to always smile from now onwards.
Khartoum, Mar 4 (NNN-KUNA) Sudanese President Umar Al-Bashir vowed on Saturday not to hand over any national to be prosecuted outside of the country.
During a televised in South Kordofan state, Al-Beshir said Sudan's legal system had the ability and integrity to punish all human rights violators in Sudan.
While saying all criminals will be punished without any leniency, he rejected any foreign attempts to dictate his nation's policy.
Last Tuesday, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) named Sudan's secretary of state for human rights Ahmad Haroun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kosheib as the first suspects they want to try over the conflict in Darfur.
In another development, US envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios met with Sudanese officials to peacefully settle Darfur's crisis.
In a press statement, Natsios said the talks focused on boosting the peace process to end the suffering of Darfur's residents and means relevant to implementing Abuja peace agreement that was signed in Nigeria.
As this is his third trip to Sudan, Natsios said it was necessary to"broaden the search for peace" to all rebel groups, noting he will meet the officials of south Sudan and Darfur as part of his mission.
On his part, one of Al-Bashir's aides, Nafee Ali Nafee said both sides share similar views regarding expediting the peace process in light of Abuja agreement.
"We hope for further efforts to unify the rebel groups so that talks can take place with a single entity without conditions," he noted.
Natsios arrived in Sudan on Friday for this one-week visit.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Syria on Sunday praised efforts made by Iran and Saudi Arabia and a number of Arab and Islamic states to settle the political crisis in Lebanon.
Syrian Minister of Information Muhsin Bilal was commenting in an interview with Al-Alam on the meeting between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi King Abdullah bin-Abd al-Aziz as-Saud, held in Riyadh on Saturday.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional and political developments and the Lebanese crisis in particular.
Tehran and Damascus have a common stance on settlement of the Lebanese crisis, he said.
He added that the common stance between the two sides was well demonstrated during the recent visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Iran, which was among the most successful meetings in the history of relations between the two countries.
Bilal stated that various sides continue their contacts to find a solution to the crisis in Lebanon, although there were certain plots to weaken the efforts, separate Lebanon and cause discord in the country.
Taipei, March 4 (DPA) Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, in a sudden move Sunday, declared that Taiwan had to seek independence.
"Taiwan must seek independence, must rectify its name, must have a new constitution and must seek development," Chen said at the dinner party marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
Chen's statement is expected to draw sharp reactions from China, because it sees Taiwan as its breakaway province and has warned that it would use force to recover Taiwan if Taipei declared independence or indefinitely delayed reunification with the mainland.
Tehran, March 4, (IRNA) Iran on Sunday said talks with the US on the sidelines of an upcoming security meeting in Baghdad is not on its agenda at the present.
Talking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini further said, "The US has recently made proposals through different channels to negotiate with Iran on Iraq's developments, its security situation in particular.
"We will examine the case," Hosseini said.
As the Baghdad meeting is to discuss security issues, he said, Iran supports any effort aimed to restore security to Iraq and strengthen its government.
He stressed, "We will take part in the meeting, if we deem so." 2327/1414
Nikhil Naz, Jaideep Bhandarkar
Montego Bay,March 4(NDTV) The Indian cricket team held their first practice session at the newly built Trelawny Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Saturday.
India's first match of the World Cup against Bangladesh may be still two weeks away but when it's a World Cup at stake you can never get enough of practise to get ready for the big show.
"I think it was good relief for us to get away for it. There is so much debate and talk in India around the tournament. It gives us a chance to get closer and the boys to relax as well. We don't often get a chance to sit around a pool and have lunch without the pressure so it's been good for us," said Rahul Dravid, captain, Indian cricket team.
Lets hope that time away from home can get the players in the right frame of mind for the tournament in the West Indies.
India's one and only World Cup win had come way back in 1983. Since then it's somehow always been a case of so close, yet in the end so far.
Chance to repeat history
However, the general belief this time around is that India may just have the team to lift the trophy on April 28 in Barbados, add to that the recent dip in form of World Champions Australia.
"I am very confident with the team we have and the group that we have and we believe that if we play good cricket we can go a long way in this tournament. Having said that I believe that there are eight teams that have come to this competition believing the same things and believing that they want to make the semi-finals," Dravid said.
"So I think it's going to be a close contest, a close competition. We are very confident and happy in the position that we are in, but we know we will also have to play some good cricket in the competition," he added.
Good cricket won't be tough especially when you have batsmen of the caliber of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in your ranks.
With over 30,000 runs in the one day game and close to 75 one day 100's, India without a doubt have one of the best batting line ups on paper at the tournament. But what adds to the captain's confidence is the bowling attack.
"We have been very happy with our bowling especially in the last 16 months. In the last 50-60- games we were making a calculation and we only gave away 300 runs on a flat wicket in Nagpur," Dravid said.
"Our bowling has been a standout for us in that period. The boys have been bowling well and that has given us a lot of competition," he added.
World Cup 2007 will prove to be the biggest test of Rahul Dravid's 18 month long tenure as India Captain.
Having fought tooth and nail to get the team he believes that can win the World Cup for India, Dravid now has his task cut out not only to prove the doubters wrong but to get the team into a winning mood and get them onto the winning road.
Ambon, Maluku, Mar 4 (NNN-ANTARA News) Two children were among 12 people injured in a bomb blast at the gate of Yos Soedarso seaport in Ambon, Saturday morning.
The two children were identified as Martia (9 years old) and Yunus (2),a balloon vendor. Other people injured included motor-taxi drivers and a few passengers of the MV Siguntang
The bomb exploded after the MV Siguntang which had just arrived from Bau Bau, Southeast Sulawesi, had docked at one of Ambon harbour`s piers.
Ambon Island Police Head Adjunct Senior Commissioner Trilulus Raharjo told ANTARA several people, mostly motor-taxi drivers, were taken to the police station for questioning.
When the explosion occurred, there were many motor-taxi drivers offering services to passengers from the MV Siguntang which had sailed from Jakarta, Surabaya (East Java), Makassar (South Sulawesi), Bau Bau (Southeast Sulawesi) to Ambon (Maluku) and would later continue to Tual, Southeast Maluku district, also in Maluku province.
"I was offering my services to a passenger when suddenly I heard a very load explosion," Roy Haumahu (30), a motor-taxi driver, who was injured in his nose, told ANTARA, at Al-Fatah Hospital, Ambon.
The 12 injured people were treated at the hospital. One of them, identified as Anthon Hatalabessy (25), also a motor-taxi driver, was seriously wounded by the bomb blast.
Several witnesses suspected the bomb was hidden in a wooden handcart which was left near the seaport`s gate where motor-taxi drivers used to wait for passengers.
Shimla, March 4 (IANS) A five-year-old boy and a 50-year-old man who were stranded for 10 long days in a snow-covered valley in Himachal Pradesh despite being ill have died, authorities said Sunday.
The two were waiting to be evacuated from the Lahaul Valley, some 400 km from here, and died hours before a government helicopter landed Saturday, after a gap of over 10 days due to inclement weather.
The mountainous valley remains cut of from the rest of the country for months in winter due to heavy snow over the high passes.
A not so frequent helicopter service is the only source of link with the outer world, bringing in supplies and medicines and airlifting the seriously ill.
Heavy snowfall and blizzards have hit Himachal Pradesh this year. Large areas in the mid and high hills continue to be cut from the rest of the country.
Bhubaneswar, March 4 (IANS) A Central Reserve Police Force trooper and a police sub-inspector were injured in a clash between the two wings of security forces Sunday in Orissa's Malkangiri district.
R. Sabara, a sub-inspector in Kalimela police station, was riding a motorcycle that hit a boy at Malkangiri town, some 350 kilometers from here, officials told IANS.
A group of CRPF personnel at the spot got into a row with Sabara, who fired from his revolver, injuring one of the troopers in both the legs, a police officer said. The CRPF men then beat up Sabara, injuring him seriously.
The police registered cases against both the CRPF men and the policeman, who was also arrested.
Kabul, March 4 (DPA) Two ISAF soldiers and eight civilians were killed in separate incidents in southern and eastern of Afghanistan since Saturday, officials said.
Two NATO soldiers were killed in the southern province of Kandahar on a combat operation, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement on Sunday.
"These soldiers sacrificed their lives to ensure a more stable future for the people of Afghanistan," said Col Tom Collins, ISAF spokesman.
ISAF policy withholds the soldiers' identities and nationalities until their families have been notified.
In a separate incident, eight civilians were killed and at least an equal number injured Sunday when coalition troops opened fire on a crowd after a suicide bomber targeted one of their vehicles in the eastern province of Kunar, Abdul Ghafour Khan, spokesman for the provincial police force said.
There were no reports of casualties among NATO or coalition forces in the incident.
ISAF and coalition officials were not immediately available for comment on the incident, which took place between the provincial capital, Jalalabad, and the town of Torkham, bordering Pakistan.
United Nations, Mar 4 (NNN-Prensa Latina) The UN has warned Somalia that the country had reached a point which demanded efforts to restore stability, otherwise it might be plunged into chaos for another 16 years.
"We should convince the people that things can change in Somalia," UN humanitarian coordinator, Eric Laroche, told journalists at the UN headquarters.
Late last year, Somalia fell into a serious violence, when the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) militias were about to disrupt the federal transition government (ftg).
As of Thursday, the African Union (AU) started deploying the first units of a military contingent expected to replace Ethiopian troops in the southern city of Baidoa, a main ftg's stronghold.
At least 8,000 troops are needed for deployment by the AU in Somalia, as approved by the UN Security Council, in order to protect the transition government and stabilize the country..
In Laroche's opinion, if the AU country members fail to mobilize these forces, an Ethiopian withdrawal would be meaningless.
According to reports, at least seven people were wounded in new mortar attacks blamed on insurgent groups in Mogadishu, the capital.
Since mid-February, mortar and firearm attacks have been witnessed in Mogadishu on a daily basis. However, Laroche told journalists that "this is no reason for doing nothing."
The main task of the peacekeeping mission in Somalia includes providing security, creating a police force, demobilizing militias and reintegrating former militia members into society.
Minsk, March 2 (NNN-BELTA) A new project started by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Belarus aims to secure the constitutional rights of the Belarusian citizens, to promote principles of responsibility and openness in the work of the state bodies of authority.
The project, “Contributing to improvement of the administrative procedures in the Republic of Belarus�, has been designed for a two-year period and will be implemented by the National Centre of Law Making Activities under the president of Belarus, BelTA was told by project manager Dmitriy Frischin.
The new UNDP project provides for a multilateral approach to the administrative procedures based on enhancing the potential of the state bodies of authorities and fostering awareness of citizens about their rights. The international experience in this field will be widely used.
According to Frischin, the project also provides for rendering assistance to draw up a legal enactment on administrative procedures, for carrying out a poll and integrating proposals of citizens into the text of the document.
Information inter-active training is planned to be provided for various groups of the population in the regions.
According to UNDP Programme Officer in Belarus Alina Ostling, “the establishing of efficient co-operation between citizens and state bodies is one of the main objectives and one of the most urgent problems all governments face in the whole world�.
�The project is rather well-timed,� said Liudmila Panferova, deputy director of the National Centre of Law Making Activities. “It has been designed to render the government assistance in drawing up the law on administrative procedures and will help train representatives of the state bodies to apply modern administrative procedures in everyday life.�
Representatives of the key ministries and departments involved in the work with citizens and individual entrepreneurs as well as organizations introducing the administrative reform -- the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the justice and economy ministries, the state property committee and the Minsk City Council -- are members of the co-ordination council. --NNN-BELTA
By Soudhriti Bhabani,
Kolkata, March 4 (IANS) If Kolkata and its vicinities are an area of surging humanity, they are also a happy hunting ground for langurs (long-tailed monkeys) these days -- courtesy the rapid urbanisation and rampant deforestation of rural areas.
With the increasing number of shopping malls, restaurants and housing projects coming up, Kolkata and its outskirts are becoming a hunting ground for langurs as they come out in search of food, posing a serious threat to humans.
"Human settlements are slowly devouring far flung areas and more and more trees are being cut. The langurs which inhabit rural areas are forced to venture into human settlements due to the loss of habitation and destruction of food sources," said Col. Shakti Ranjan Banerjee, director, World Wildlife Federation (WWF), West Bengal.
"Langurs are creating problems in Kolkata, Howrah, South 24-Parganas, Hooghly, Birbhum, Burdwan and Nadia districts," said Banerjee.
Experts say the situation is getting out of control, especially as there's no comprehensive study available on the population of langurs in south Bengal.
"Neither the state forest department nor any other organisation has the exact figures of the langur population in south Bengal, so nobody can take any action to control the menace," Banerjee claimed.
Banarjee earlier said the langurs were used to getting their food from agricultural land but the excessive use of pesticides and fertiliser prevented them from surviving on agricultural crops.
To control the menace, WWF had sent a proposal for an extensive study on the langur population to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests through the state forest department.
"We had asked for a fund of Rs. 650,000 from the union ministry for conducting a study but nothing has happened in the past one year," Banerjee said.
"To find out the reasons behind this human-langur conflict we need to conduct the survey in three stages -- assessment, analysis and management. There's no base-line data available with us.
"There could be other reasons behind this langur invasion too. For instance, if a langur gets separated from its mother or from the group, it can turn violent and cause immense trouble to the people," he said.
Sangita Mitra, senior project officer, WWF, added: "Artificial feeding (people feeding animals) is another bad practice that lures langurs into human settlements. Sometimes they go on a rampage if they don't get food in the locality."
According to her, the population of langurs in south Bengal increased after 1976 when langurs were banned for laboratory tests and research purposes. Mitra is doing research on south Bengal's langur population.
"But before knowing the exact number of langurs we cannot sterilise the male members of the group," explained Mitra.
V.K. Yadav, chief conservator of wildlife in West Bengal, however, felt that the incidents of langur invasion are sporadic. "But whenever we are informed about any such incident we immediately rush to the spot and try to capture the animal," he said.
A langur injured 12 people at Sankrail, about 20 km from Kolkata, in early February.
Police had to be deployed and the entire locality wore a deserted look till the forest department captured the simian.
Allahabad, March 4 (Indianmuslims.info) Uttar Pradesh Urdu Development Organisation has suggested to the patron United Democratic Front (UDF) and Shahi Imam Jama Masjid Delhi Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari to issue a directive to Uttar Pradesh UDF candidates, who are going to fight Assembly elections in the State, to obtain the nomination papers in Urdu from returning officers and fill them up in Urdu before filing them.
The organisation also appeals to Maulana Bukhari to ensure that all posters and banners for campaigning of UDF candidates in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State are printed in Urdu and Hindi both. “This move will create awareness among other parties also to print their publicity material in Urdu. It will help promote Urdu as well as national integrity,� it said.
Founder and convenor of the organisation Bahrul Uloom, in a statement released here Saturday, said “The UDF flags and banners remind us of the days of British slavery as ‘UDF’ is written there in English only. So we suggest that all the flags, stickers and banners of UDF should be written in Urdu so that Urdu public may recognise it as their own party.�
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 4 (IANS) As US set out to reassure Russia and China that its first new nuclear weapon in nearly two decades, if built, would pose no new threat to them, it ran into strident criticism at home.
Once President Bush decides to authorise production of the winning design of a competition and Congress agrees, the research could lead to a long, expensive process to replace all American nuclear warheads in the next few decades. Changeover to the new Reliable Replacement Weapon (RRW ) would begin with the W-76, a warhead for missiles deployed on submarines.
The replacements will have the same explosive yields and other military characteristics of the current weapons, officials said, arguing as they have with Moscow that the new weapons do not represent an expansion of the American arsenal.
The potentially expensive initiative ran into criticism at home with Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, a group in Washington, calling it "a solution in search of a problem,"
"There is an urgent need to reduce these weapons, not expand them. This will keep the Chinese, the Russians and others on guard to improve their own stockpiles," he said.
Another critic, Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein, was worried "that the minute you begin to put more sophisticated warheads on the existing fleet, you are essentially creating a new nuclear weapon. And it's just a matter of time before other nations do the same thing."
The replacement warhead would be designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California based on previously tested components, officials said, suggesting that no new underground tests would be necessary before deploying the new weapon. However, the Livermore design might eventually draw on technical contributions from a more novel approach on the drawing boards at Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, Livermore's longtime rival, they said.
The surprise choice of a single laboratory reversed an earlier decision to combine elements of the Livermore and Los Alamos designs. A few nuclear experts had faulted the hybrid approach as unusual and technically risky, with some calling it a "Frankenbomb."
Officials said the Livermore design had won primarily because its main elements were detonated beneath the Nevada desert decades ago, making it a better candidate under the nuclear test ban treaty, which the United States has signed but not ratified.
Thomas P. D'Agostino, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) at the Energy Department, said the Livermore design was "the most conservative approach."
The announcement seemed to find initial favour on the Capitol Hill with the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee's Democratic chairperson Ellen Tauscher and Ranking Republican Terry Everett extending a cautious welcome.
"There is much to be evaluated about this announcement, but we are encouraged that in making this decision, NNSA and the Nuclear Weapons Council appear to have followed Congress' clear direction to seek a design that would, among other considerations, minimise the likelihood that the warhead will ever have to be tested," they stated.
"Neither the mission, yield, nor delivery platform has, or will change. Instead we will replace or upgrade components that increase the safety, security, reliability, and certifiability of an existing weapon, with a commitment not to test," Tauscher and Everett said.
They said RRW programme will be judged overall by a simple test:"how effectively does it move us toward the objectives Congress has laid out, and toward a sound US nuclear weapons policy?"
Codified in 2006,the RRW programme's Congress set objectives included increasing the reliability, safety, and security of US nuclear weap