21 March 2007
Kingston (Jamaica), March 21 (IANS) In the final posting on his website, late Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said that he was "disappointed" over reports in Pakistani media that tried to "disrupt team spirit" during the World Cup.
"We are also very disappointed by the articles trying to disrupt team spirit appearing in our press in Pakistan, and would ask those who read this to ignore the drivel!" wrote Woolmer in his final 'Diary' item Friday - less than two days before he died in his hotel room in mysterious circumstances here.
Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in the bathroom of his hotel room Sunday morning, a day after Pakistan shockingly lost to minnows Ireland in Group D and crashed out of the cricket World Cup. The former England player was declared dead upon reaching a local hospital.
It match was the 1992 World Cup winners' second defeat in two matches, having lost to the West Indies in the 16-nation tournament.
Woolmer begins his final 'diary' with the description of the team's final net practice at Kensington Oval followed by a fielding session at Sabina Park here.
"... then I had lunch with Danish (Kaneria, the leg-spinner) next to the pool and then went back to the room to catch up with the 'Diary' and a couple of articles and our final preparations for the team meeting this evening," he wrote.
"We are aware of the importance not just of this game (against Ireland) but both (the third one against Zimbabwe) and we are very determined to do well."
It was not to be, as Pakistan lost by three wickets and were ousted from the tournament, though they are scheduled to play the inconsequential match Zimbabwe Wednesday.
Woolmer, however, lauds Ireland's gritty performance in their earlier match against Zimbabwe, which ended in a thrilling tie. It gave qualifiers Ireland an unexpected point.
"Wow, what a game between Zimbabwe and Ireland. While we did not need reminding we saw a very committed Ireland side and Zimbabwe, who were gutted that they did not beat Ireland when they had the game by the throat," he wrote.
"All credit to Ireland for sticking to their task," said the man who had, ironically, groomed the Irish team as the International Cricket Council-appointed High Performance Manager before becoming Pakistan coach.
Woolmer further wrote: "In the evening, I went out for supper with the leader of the Drum ensemble who played at the opening ceremony. Very interesting! We went to Courtney Walsh's restaurant and bar just down the road. We had some great food and a pleasant evening."
Always philosophical, Woolmer penned this thought March 14: "The Word Cup is about performance and losing leads to retrospection."
Three days after Woolmer's death, Jamaica Police and medical officials were still unable to pinpoint the cause of his death after a post-mortem Tuesday proved "inconclusive".
"We will conduct an investigation until such time as we find we no longer have to conduct an investigation," Jamaica's deputy police commissioner Mark Shields said at a press conference here Tuesday.
Shields said arrangements had been put in place to allow Woolmer's body to leave Jamaica Saturday with the Pakistan team, but it would not be released until all the test results were returned.
Pakistan are scheduled to play their final, inconsequential, Group D match against Zimbabwe Wednesday.
By Prasun Sonwalkar,
London, March 21 (IANS) The British government has for the first time admitted that as many as 10,000 passports were issued based on false information last year, including to two people convicted of terror attacks.
The Home Office revealed the figures while announcing new procedures for those applying for their first British passports. Such individuals will now need to attend an interview during which they would be probed from a bank of nearly 200 questions.
The figure of 10,000 wrongly issued passports has come as yet another embarrassment to the Labour government that has recently galvanised its immigration system and put in place new rules. Many of the new rules have been criticised by skilled immigrants - including a large number of Indians - and have been the subject of much litigation.
The two terror convicts, who were wrongly issued British passports, were Dhiren Barot, a person of Indian origin who converted to Islam and is reported to be a senior Al Qaeda terrorist, and Moroccan national Salaheddine Benyaich, who is currently in a Moroccan jail for terrorist offences.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) said that Barot and Benyaich received two passports each. Benyaich had two British passports in the name of a British citizen born in Brighton.
Home Office Minister Joan Ryan said the IPS had 16,500 fraudulent applications during the 12-month period to September 2006 - 10,000 of which went undetected.
In a written ministerial statement, she said "almost half" the applications were stopped by existing safeguards, but the remainder had gone undetected.
She said: "Our current estimate is, therefore, that the level of undetected fraud is about 0.5 percent, equivalent to 10,000 applications against the planned 6.6 million passports issued per year.
"Although precise figures are difficult to obtain, it appears that the level of attempted fraud is increasing and getting more sophisticated. Analysis of the frauds shows that the main fraud threat is from first-time adult applications, followed by first-time child applications."
Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesperson said: "It isn't just a matter of saying there's 10,000 (fraudulently obtained passports) out there and doing nothing about them. Each and every one of these is being followed up to ensure that those responsible are caught."
The shadow home secretary, David Davis, described it as a "shocking admission" that betrayed "chaos at the heart of the passport system".
He said: "This is the latest in a long line of shambles afflicting the passport service. Given this dire record, they have no chance of running the ID card project, which will cost up to 20 billion pounds and involve billions of pieces of data, effectively," he said.
IPS executive director Bernard Herdan said Tuesday that during interviews, applicants would be expected to know answers from a pool of around 200 questions about their ancestry, financial history and previous addresses.
Speaking of Barot, Herdan said: "He had two passports in fraudulent identities which would have been stopped if he had been interviewed."
Recently two Indian nationals were apprehended at the Birmingham airport while trying to board flights on the Birmingham-Toronto sector using false British passports.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) At least 12 people were killed and over two dozen injured when fresh violence broke out in the southern Terai plains Wednesday even as much of Nepal stayed paralysed by an indefinite strike called by traders to protest Maoists' atrocities.
A team of UN officers that rushed to investigate the violence in Gaur town in Rautahat district confirmed the deaths of at least 12 people, including two women, as people from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with Maoists.
Quoting hospital sources, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that some victims died as a result of head injuries caused by beatings with bamboo sticks.
The toll could rise further with dozens of people being admitted to hospital.
The district authorities declared an indefinite curfew in the violence-hit town after the clash between the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state, and the Madhes Rastriya Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists.
Violence had been anticipated since the morning when both groups began preparations to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight recently with its Terai movement forcing the seven-party government to concede its demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking their mass meetings.
The state-run Nepal Television channel said Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that turned into a stampede as people started firing.
It confirmed five deaths, saying they included women and children. Over 20 people were admitted to hospital after being injured in baton attacks.
Fresh violence comes as the Maoists and the seven-party ruling alliance began yet another round of talks in the capital Wednesday to discuss formation of an interim government in which the former rebels will be included.
The Kathmandu valley and key towns have been reeling under an indefinite strike called since Monday by Nepal's business community to protest against incidents of extortion and attacks on its members by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concern with the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday meeting Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
The traders have threatened to continue their protest until the government makes a commitment that it will provide them security.
Meanwhile, the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
Manila, March 21 (NNN-PNA) court of Appeals Presiding Justice Ruben T. Reyes is one of the 14 candidates vying for the post to be vacated by Supreme Court Justice Romeo J. Callejo Jr. who is due to retire on April 28.
On the other hand, 64 applicants are racing for one opening as CA Associate Justice which has been vacant since February 18 with the death of Justice Roberto A. Barrios.
Among the CA applicants are current Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, who was already Associate Justice of the CA before he was appointed to the Cabinet by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Despite his previous CA experience, Brion will still have to be interviewed, according to Atty. Annaliza Capacite of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
Another CA applicant is retired elections Commissioner Mehol K. Sadain, a Muslim lawyer and professor at the University of the Philippines. Of the 64 CA contenders, 17 are female.
The SC Judicial Bar Council (JBC) also announced that five senior applicants from the CA are already considered nominated to the position, including Reyes. The other four are Conrado Melchor A. Vasquez Jr., Portia Alino-Hormachuelos, Martin S. Villarama and Andres B. Reyes Jr.
Other candidates to the SC post include the Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan Teresita de Castro and the present SC Court Administrator, Christopher Lock.
Lock’s immediate predecessor, Presbitero Velasco Jr., moved up to become Associate Justice.
While CA Justice Elvi John Asuncion was dismissed this week for gross ignorance of the law and professional neglect of duty, still, he is technically not out of the service. So, this month’s batch of candidates does not include his possible replacement, it was learned.
In October, SC Associate Justice Cancio Garcia will retire, but applications for his replacement are not yet being entertained.
Interviews for SC applicants will be held on March 28 and 29 at the Division Hearing Room of the new SC Building which is open to the public.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-Bernama) The average life expectancy for Malaysians has risen to 74 years now compared with 55 years during the country's independence, said Health Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon.
He said the government was satisfied with the achievement because it showed that the standard of health for Malaysians had improved.
"Generally, the government is satisfied with the present status and will continue to raise the standard of health in the country to ensure a longer life expectancy," he said at the Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) sitting, here Wednesday.
He was responding to a question from Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh (BN-Gopeng) who wanted to know the life expectancy for Malaysians according to race and whether the government was satisfied with the existing average life expectancy.
Lee said that the average life expectancy for men was lower at 71.5 years compared with 76.2 years for women.
He said that the life expectancy for men among the Indian community was the lowest at 67.4 years, followed by the Bumiputeras (70.4) and Chinese (73.6).
As for the women, he said the Chinese community had the highest life expectancy at 78.8 years, followed by the Indians (75.4) and Bumiputeras (74.8).
Bhopal, March 21 (IANS) About 50 people were injured in a clash that occurred at Jabalpur town of Madhya Pradesh Wednesday between groups of lawyers and railway employees over imposition of fine on an advocate's son who was travelling without a ticket.
The injured include 19 lawyers, 22 railway employees and seven policemen.
"TTE (travelling ticket examiner) Kamal Patel had Tuesday imposed a fine for ticket-less travel on lawyer Suresh Mishra's five-year-old son who was travelling with him. Mishra in turn filed a complaint of loot with the GRP (government railway police) the same day," Jabalpur Superintendent of Police Makrand Deoskar told IANS by phone.
"On Wednesday afternoon, a group of lawyers reached the railway station to inquire about the action taken on Mishra's complaint. Though the GRP personnel told them that action will be taken as per the procedure, but the lawyers lost temper and ransacked the TTE's office," he added.
Seeing the situation going out of control, the GRP personnel used force and soon it was a free for all between the lawyers on one side and the GRP and the railway employees on the other.
Railway employees also stopped work to protest against the attack, leading to the delay of several trains including the Gondwana Express and the Mahanagari Express trains.
The Jabalpur Bar Association has called for a strike Thursday to protest the police action.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Seven espionage cases allegedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were detected in the Indian armed forces in 2005-06 for which 16 personnel have been arrested.
"A few cases of involvement of armed forces personnel in espionage activities have come to the notice of the government. The number of such cases reported in 2005 is two, in 2006 is five and nil this year," Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday.
"Pakistan's ISI is suspected to be involved in such espionage activities. Sixteen armed forces personnel have been arrested for involvement in these cases. Of these, 14 have been awarded stringent punishment," he added.
According to the minister, "comprehensive preventive measures based on modus operandi of hostile countries/organisations are being enforced and regular security review is carried out from time to time to sensitise the environment for making security apparatus foolproof.
"In addition, the existing counter intelligence setup in the armed forces is synergised on a regular basis to meet the new challenges," he added.
"Stringent action is being undertaken against the accused persons and exemplary punishment is being awarded," Antony said.
Rabat, March 21 (NNN-MAP) Seven investment agreements were signed here Tuesday by international companies for projects involving a total of 230 million USD and which will create some 5,786 job opportunities.
Five of the projects are in the tourism sector while the other two are in the metal-working industry and offshoring services.
A Spanish company, Iberostar Hotels and Resorts, will build a 3,000-bed residential complex in Marrakech, while United Arab Emirates (UAE) real estate giant EMAAR, through its local subsidiary EMAAR Morocco and Gilmaroc Seaside will establish two resorts in the province of Tangier-Tetuan in northern Morocco.
Leonard De Vinci International of Luxembourg will build a 585-bed capacity tourist resort in Marrakech, while the Moroccan group Addoha will build a resort in Plage des Nations close to Rabat.
In the metal working industry, Maghreb Steel will establish a metal rolling unit in Mohammedia, 25 km northern Casablanca.
The last agreement, signed with French computing company Logica CMG involves developing the company's activities in Morocco.
Morocco is keen on developing partnerships with foreign and offshore companies and mobilizing ways to implement the national plan to promote Moroccan industry in addition to its Vision 2010 to attract 10 million tourists by the year 2010.
Tehran, March 21 (DPA) Only a few days ahead of a key vote by the United Nations on sanctions against Tehran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted again Wednesday that there would be no concessions in Iran's nuclear dispute.
"The Iranian nation decisively stands behind its (nuclear) rights and (the West) is eventually forced to acknowledge Iran's legitimate rights," Ahmadinejad said in a speech on the occasion of the new Persian year (1386), carried on all five channels of state television.
In his, Ahmadinejad accused the West of trying to deprive Iran of technological progress and national development but insisted that all these efforts have so far failed and would continue to fail in the future.
Referring to sanctions or probable military strikes against Iran's nuclear sites, Ahmadinejad said there would be no way the West could harm Iran and termed any such threats as "psychological war."
A New Year speech delivered by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not directly refer to the nuclear issue but called on the Iranian nation to stay united and not allow "enemies" to sow discord between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told state news agency IRNA during his visit Tuesday in South Africa that Iran would under no condition give up its right to access nuclear energy, but would welcome talks to find a solution for the nuclear dispute.
The UN Security Council plans to meet Wednesday for a formal discussion of sanctions that were agreed to last week by the five veto-wielding permanent members - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Germany.
Ahmadinejad and more than 30 other Iranian officials plan to attend the voting session in New York - scheduled for later this week but not yet fixed - where the president reportedly wants to defend Iran's nuclear rights in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to reassure the world of the peaceful nature of Iranian atomic projects.
Tehran, March 21, (IRNA) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a message, congratulated the Iranian nation on the occasion of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year saying today Iran and Iranians are renowned worldwide as symbols of morality, faith, piety, kindness, unity and firmness.
Referring to measures taken by certain big powers and the
psychological warfare waged by them to obtain their illegitimate interests including distortion of history, making films to mar the image of Iran and Iranians and other nations, he said, "They have been defeated in the face of the strong logic of the Iranian nation and have been ostracized by other nations, too.
"They intend to prevent progress of the Iranian nation and other nations by waging psychological warfare and through efforts to misuse organizations they have created themselves and are ruling over them by way of monopoly."
The president said that the problem of the world today is ''a handful of racist Zionists who intend to keep the world in a state of hardship , poverty and hostility by appropriation of power and media centers in order to stabilize their rule.''
"The Iranian nation is opposed to this process and is firmly sticking to its legitimate stance. They, however, are not aware that they have risen to challenge human values, human civilizations and nations, the Iranian nation in particular, with their defeated mechanisms," he said .
The president stressed that the enemies are well aware that they cannot hurt the Iranian nation but are ''trying to force us retreat through ballyhoo and in this way prevent human evolution.
"Surely they cannot attain their wishes and the best way for them is to attest to the rights of the Iranian nation and giving in to law and justice.''
Ruksh Chatterji,
Mumbai,March 21(CNN-IBN) On January 29 this year, Air Deccan failed to report the exact number of passengers on board its flight DN 763 from Bangalore to Mumbai.
"They reported 161 passengers, but then the number of passengers who checked in were 170," a Bangalore Air Traffic Controller (ATC) source told CNN-IBN.
So, how does an aircraft takes off from Bangalore with a 161 passengers but lands here in Mumbai with 180?
CNN-IBN: You counted a 180 passengers?
AAI officer: Yes and even this list showed 180 passengers.
Air Deccan clearly under-reported the number of passengers to the Bangalore ATC, to cover up the fact that it had over-booked.
Says an off-loaded passenger, Louie Mathew, "Even though the capacity is 180, they over book to about 200 people. They reported 161 to the ATC in Bangalore to basically account for the fact that 15 to 20 people were stranded at the counters."
To cover up one lie, Air Deccan committed an even greater sin.
An Airports Authority of India Official was caught on hidden camera saying, "In case of an accident, we have to count the number of people, and I had told them this was against the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) law."
The passenger list or the Manifest, now in the possession of CNN-IBN for Januray 29 is full of irregularities. The document clearly shows that the total number of passengers on paper is 170 while the actual passengers on board was 180.
What's more, on the list, passenger number 14 and passenger number 15 are the same person. Instead of the fictitious passenger number 15, there was another person sitting on the plane.
What is even more surprising is that the names of the people who were declared "no shows" are not on the list at all.
By doing so, the Airline defrauded the over-booked passengers of a seat and a refund and by under-reporting, it broke international safety norms and also cheated the Government of the Passenger Service Fee.
The only thing common with the entire set of complaints is that all of these irregularities are happening out of Bangalore, which is also Air Deccan's headquarters.
"We feel that some of the Airports Authority officials are hand in glove with Air Deccan," an Airports Authority of India official was caught saying on hidden camera.
Meanwhile, the MD of Air Deccan, Captain G R Gopinath defended himself saying, "This is all baloney. I don't bribe people. I am known for not bribing!"
But what is certain is that the airline has found ways to bend the rules and is clearly interested not just in cutting costs but cutting corners as well.
(With inputs from Priyanjana Dutta in Bangalore)
Algiers, March 21 (NNN-APS) The fifth conference of Al Quds Foundation will be held here from March 26 to 28, Algerian Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdallah Ghlamallah said.
It will be attended by more than 400 Muslim and Christian personalities known for their support for the liberation of Palestine, he told journalists here Monday.
"Algeria will host this conference after Lebanon and Yemen as a response to a request from the Foundation's head, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in view of Algeria's unfailing support for the Palestinian people," he told a news conference.
The meeting aims to extend the support for the Palestinian people worldwide and to seek ways likely to help back up their struggle against Zionist colonialism, he said.
Ghlamallah added that, in this regard, Algeria's participation would be confined to the provision of accommodation for participants and their plane tickets.
"The Al Quds (Jerusalem) Foundation is the only organizer of this conference, and remains then free to choose participants and the topics to be submitted for debate," he said.
Meanwhile, visiting Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa said here Monday that he hopes to see the next Arab summit in Riyadh reach outcomes which match up to the current challenges facing Arabs, "whether in Iraq, Palestine or Darfur".
He told journalists after a meeting with President Bouteflika that the issue of the Arab national security remained the fundamental point on which all Arabs needed to face several challenges.
He was convinced the Riyadh summit would provide a favourable climate for bilateral meetings between President Bouteflika and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and for their meetings with other Arab leaders.
Al-Sharaa said his meeting with President Bouteflika was “positive, constructive and comprehensive" and that he had delivered a message to the Algerian president concerning the situation in the Middle East in general.
Algiers, March 21 (NNN-APS) Algeria's foreign exchange reserves soared to 77.78 billion USD as at the end of December 2006 from 56.18 billion USD a year earlier, Bank of Algeria Governor Mohamed Laksaci disclosed here.
Laksaci disclosed this during a meeting held at the central bank with chief executives banks and financial establishments on the presentation of monetary and financial tendencies during the second quarter of 2006.
He added the level of foreign exchange reserves represented 68 per cent of Algeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006.
The governor indicated that this constant accumulation of foreign exchange reserves constituted, in addition to the weak outstanding foreign debt reached by late 2006, a ''very important element of security for the national economy against possible external shocks".
Chandigarh, March 21 (IANS) A district and sessions court here Wednesday framed charges against all the 14 accused, including two sitting legislators, a serving top bureaucrat and police officers, in the Srinagar sex scandal case.
While seven of the accused have been charged with rape, all of them have been charged under various sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The charges were framed in the court of district and sessions judge B.S. Mehndiratta.
The trial of the case, that gave rise to bitter public outcry, was shifted from Srinagar to the city last year following orders of the Supreme Court.
Several influential people in Srinagar were arrested by police after their involvement was made out in the sex scandal in which young Kashmiri girls were forced into prostitution after they were blackmailed.
Those accused of rape include former Jammu and Kashmir additional advocate general Anil Sethi, Border Security Force deputy inspector general of police K.C. Padhi and suspended Jammu and Kashmir police official Mohammed Ashraf Mir.
Two sitting legislators, Raman Mattoo (independent) and Ghulam Mohammed Mir (Congress), principal secretary Iqbal Khandey and Riyaz Ahmed Kawa have been charged under PITA.
The kingpin of the sex racket, Sabeena - who was accused of running a brothel in Srinagar and used to supply the girls to influential people after getting their pornographic video films made - and her husband Abdul Hamid Bullah have also been charged under PITA and criminal conspiracy.
The case would now be heard April 7 when the victims would be examined.
All the accused were earlier sent to jail after their arrest.
Since no lawyer in Jammu and Kashmir agreed to defend the 14 accused due to emotions of people involved in this sex scandal case, the Supreme Court had transferred the case to the Chandigarh court.
Defence lawyers of the accused said here Wednesday that they would appeal against the charges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here.
Monaco, March 21 (IANS) Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand lost in the blindfold category to Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the fourth round of the Melody Amber Blindfold and Rapid chess tournament here Wednesday.
Kramnik kept his perfect record in blindfold and Anand with three points in rapid maintained his second position behind Armenian Lev Aronian, who has 3.5 out of four in the section.
After the fourth round the standings changed a little but the leader's consolidated their position.
Kramnik maintained the lead in the overall standings with 6.5 points ahead of Aronian, who had six points in his kitty.
The NIIT-sponsored Anand is second in rapid and tied for eighth spot in blindfold category and is fifth in the overall standings.
Kramnik's win also avenged the Russian's loss to Anand in the 2005 Amber Blindfold game.
Anand went on an all-out attack in rapid, which opened in the Ruy Lopez. He sacrificed a full rook and aimed as many pieces at the black king as possible. Kramnik survived the pressure and onslaught with some great defence and after 56 moves, the duo agreed to a draw with both attacker and defender playing superbly.
RESULTS:
Round IV (Blindfold): Radjabov drew with Ivanchuk; Kramnik beat Anand 1-0; Van Wely beat Morozevich; Vallejo lost to Svidler 0-1; Aronian beat Carlsen; Leko drew with Gelfand
Rapid: Ivanchuk beat Radjabov; Anand drew with Kramnik; Morozevich beat Van Wely; Svidler beat Vallejo; Carlsen drew with Aronian; Gelfand drew with Leko
STANDINGS:
Blindfold: 1. Kramnik 4.0; 2. Svidler and Ivanchuk 3.0; 4. Gelfand and Aronian 2.5; 6. Leko 2.0; 7. Morozevich and Radjabov 1.5; 9. Carlsen, Anand, Van Wely and Vallejo Pons 1.0;
Rapid: 1. Aronian 3.5; 2. Anand 3.0; 3. Morozevich, Kramnik and Ivanchuk 2.5; 6. Carlsen, Leko and Svidler 2.0; 9. Gelfand 1.5; 10. Vallejo Pons and Van Wely 1.0; 12. Radjabov 0.5
Combined: 1. Kramnik 6.5; 2. Aronian 6.0; 3. Ivanchuk 5.5; 4. Svidler 5.0; 5. Gelfand, Morozevich, Leko and Anand 4.0; 9. Carlsen 3.0; 10. Radjabov, Vallejo Pons and Van Wely 2.0
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) The Apollo Gleneagles Hospital has opened their haemato-oncology (blood cancer) clinic in Kolkata to cope with the increasing number of cancer patients pouring in from different parts of eastern India.
This specialty unit, opened Tuesday, will have all the state-of-the-art facilities to provide treatment for different types of haemato oncological disorder, commonly termed as blood cancer, said Soumya Bhattacharya, consultant haemo oncologist, Apollo Gleneagles.
He said the number of new cancer patients in West Bengal is increasing every year. "We receive more than 2,000 new cases of Acute Myleloid Leukemia (AML) in Kolkata. This apart, over 3,000 get affected by Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia (CLL) every year and come to Kolkata for treatment," he noted.
Bhattacharya said Kolkata had also become a place where many patients come to get better treatment for oncological disorder.
"We have seen that patients from Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and the northeast prefer to come to Kolkata for getting medical facilities here." he added.
Apollo Gleneagles Hospital is Kolkata's 325-bed multi-speciality tertiary hospital with comprehensive oncology services covering medical oncology and surgical aspects.
Buenos Aires, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Argentina’s Economy Minister, Felisa Miceli, left for Ecuador Tuesday to discuss the creation of the proposed Bank of the South.
The Bank of the South (BS) is regarded by several South American countries as a fair chance for underdeveloped countries to achieve financial independence from international bodies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Bank, according to its promoters, will be able to assimilate part of its members' hard currency reserves now stored in the United States and Europe and finance infrastructure projects in the region.
The project, devised by Venezuela and Argentina, was joined later by Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil.
The Bank will begin operations with ten per cent of the international reserves of Argentina and Venezuela, some seven billion USD.
At the Inter-American Development Bank annual meeting in Guatemala recently, Miceli discussed the project with Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela and arranged a technical meeting on Friday in Buenos Aires.
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner recently called the Bank a significant step in the process of integration and instrument to finance strategic projects.
New Delhi, March 21 (NNN-Bernama) Asean and India with trade volume on the rise need to shift away from traditional products and explore new sectors to enhance future trade, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said.
FICCI senior director and head of the Southeast Asia and Pacific countries Dr Manju Kalra Prakash said there were other potential areas where Indian and businessmen from Asean countries could venture that could benefit both trading partners.
"Indian and Asean trade is in the upbeat and we feel our businesses have a lot of synergies and we complement each other. To strengthen further this synergy we need to look at other traditional areas," Dr Manju told Bernama.
Asean and India, a dialogue member of the 10-nation grouping, trade largely on goods such as machinery, edible vegetable oils, coal and coke, wood products and electronic goods.
But businessmen from both sides are yet to fully tap into other lucrative sectors such as pharmaceutical products, cotton yarn, gems and jewellery, she said.
"India produces cheap drugs and if we can export them (to Asean) or set up investments there it will be an advantage to both of us. Similarly with cotton yarn, fabrics and apparel. Right now if you see the figures there is hardly 2.7 percent of our textile exports to Asean," she pointed out.
However, Asean-India trade have been chalking healthy figures with two-way trade rising by over 21 percent, exceeding RM75.6 billion (US$21 billion) between 2005 and 2006.
Over the last five years, according to FICCI, Indian merchandise trade with Asean concentrated mainly in five member countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Dr Manju said gem and jewellery was another potential area that could be explored by Asean members.
"We have the expertise and certain Asean countries too have the expertise and we can do third country exports," she added.
India exported jewellery worth nearly RM48.6 billion (US$13.5 billion) to the international market this year while gem stones amounted to RM730 million (US$203 million), making it a leading player in the global industry.
Dr Manju said food production was another area where Asean and India could cooperate as both parties have resources and expertise in the agriculture sector.
"We produce lot of vegetables but we do not process them and 30 to 40 percent goes to waste in India.
"If we can process them it will be useful for our people and we will also gain from the technology from Asean countries. It will be a win-win situation," she added.
Guwahati, March 22 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Wednesday welcomed a peace conclave aimed at restoring the deadlocked talks between the rebel group and New Delhi.
The People's Committee for Peace Initiative (PCPI), a conglomerate of 27 influential organisations, including powerful student and rights groups, is holding a two-day meeting beginning Thursday in Guwahati to find ways to put the failed peace talks back on track.
"We hope the convention is able to help facilitate a political solution to the India-Assam conflict. We express our sincere wishes to all those participating in the meet," ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement.
The ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979, has in recent weeks offered to hold talks with New Delhi. There has been no response yet from the central government.
The peace process broke down in September after New Delhi called off a six-week ceasefire and resumed military operations, blaming the ULFA for stepping up violence and extortions.
There were three rounds of preliminary talks between the ULFA-chosen People's Consultative Group (PCG) and New Delhi, including one with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The talks failed after New Delhi sought a letter of commitment from the ULFA for holding talks if five of their jailed leaders were released. The ULFA refused to give the letter saying the group had already committed to direct talks.
"The idea of this conclave is to find ways and means to bring the deadlocked peace process back on the rails. We shall be adopting some resolutions and put them before the ULFA and the government for a positive response in the greater interest of Assam," PCPI chief convenor Dilip Patgiri told IANS.
"Everybody is seeking peace and an end to the conflict through political dialogue and it is our sincere attempt to break the impasse."
Among those participating in the conclave are rebel leaders of four separatist groups who are on a ceasefire mode with New Delhi now - the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the Dima Halim Daoga (DHD), the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Cobra Force.
"The suggestions of the leaders of these four groups would be crucial," Patgiri said. "We have invited leaders of all political parties to the meet."
Islamabad, March 21 (DPA) At least 37 people were presumed killed in a series of landslides triggered by torrential rain in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a spokesman for military rescue units in the area said Wednesday.
A village in the area of Toba Syedan was buried late Tuesday under tonnes of mud, apparently killing 27 people, Major Farooq Nasir told DPA. Sixteen residents reportedly survived the accident.
Soldiers and locals recovered six bodies but further mudslides hampered rescue operations in the area, which was cut off by heavy rain and snowfall.
Meanwhile, doctors and paramedics arrived on foot with supplies of tents, blankets and food from the regional capital Muzaffarabad, located 60 km to the west.
"We are waiting for the weather to clear so a helicopter can be dispatched to airlift the injured, who are our top priority," Nasir said.
Some media cited almost twice the number of casualties but the spokesman said population data in the afflicted area was misleading or non-existent.
"People here exaggerate things a lot and declared a single room structure as a house and sometimes even a village," he added.
Meanwhile, 10 members of a family were killed and one was injured by another mudslide that engulfed their house in another district in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
The region was badly hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in October 2005 that left more than 73,000 people dead and rendered an estimated 3 million homeless. Most of the victims still live in makeshift structures.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) At least five people were killed in Nepal's Terai region Wednesday in fresh violence between Maoists and ethnic protesters, as the indefinite strike called by traders against atrocities by the guerrillas entered its third day.
People from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with the Maoists in Gaur town in Rautahat district in southern Nepal, and state-run Nepal Television channel said the toll could be as high as eight.
The area had been simmering with tension since morning with both the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state in the south, and the Madhes Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists, expressing their determination to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight with their Terai movement, forcing the seven-party government to concede their demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking mass meetings.
With the Forum fighting back, both sides have sustained casualties in the new movement in Nepal.
According to preliminary reports in the state-run channel, Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that saw both sides firing bullets.
The channel confirmed five deaths, saying they included a woman and a 15-year-old boy.
It also said three more people were feared to have been killed in the clashes, taking the toll to eight.
The fresh violence comes even as both the Maoists and Terai protesters have been accusing the government of being busy in squabbling over the division of ministries and paying no heed to the Terai impasse that has affected life in the plains for nearly three months.
Kathmandu valley and key towns have been paralysed by the double blow by Nepal's business community, who announced an indefinite strike from Monday to protest against growing extortion and attacks on traders by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concerns - chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday met Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
While the business strike entered its third day today with protesters saying they would keep it up till the government showed true power and commitment to provide security, the Maoist trade union responsible for the hotelier's abduction hit out.
The All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
Addis Ababa, March 21 (NNN-ENA) The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU) has appealed to the international community, including AU member states, to urgently provide financial and logistical support to the commission and to AU member states that have pledged troops to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
The council has also decided to fully endorse the Ouagadougou political Accord between Cote d’Ivoire political parties, it said in a statement received by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) following its meeting here Monday.
The council reiterated its appeal to member states, the United Nations and partners of the AU in a bid to facilitate the full deployment of AMISOM and to ensure its sustenance.
The council commended Algeria and other partners for their support for the deployment of AMISOM and it also applauded Uganda for its efforts and commitment to the promotion of lasting peace and reconciliation in Somalia
It commended the people of Somalia for having welcomed AMISOM and condemned isolated elements who carried out attacks against the mission.
The council welcomed resolution 1744 (2007) of Feb 20, 2007, by which the UN Security Council decided to authorize member states of AU to establish for a period of six months a mission in Somalia.
The council reiterated that AMISOM’s objective is to support the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and other federal institutions to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the council in its 73rd meeting held last Friday adopted a decision on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire, welcoming the signing of the Ouagadougou political accord between President Laurent Gbagbo and Guillaume Kigafori, the secretary general of the Forces Nouvelles, on March 4, 2007.
The Council recommended to the UN Security Council for the gradual drawdown of the impartial forces deployed in Cote d’Ivoire in line with the provisions for the implementation of the accord and the restoration of peace and normalcy in the country.
Melbourne, March 21 (NNN-BERNAMA) Australia may again call off a ministerial forum with Papua New Guinea (PNG) unless Port Morseby prosecutes those who helped fugitive Australian Julian Moti escape.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has used a business forum involving the two countries to issue the warning, the Australian Associated Press news agency said.
Downer said he was "personally hurt, and indeed the Australian Government and people were hurt" that some PNG officials had been involved in helping Moti escape from PNG to the Solomon Islands last October.
Moti was able to flee aboard a clandestine PNG military flight, despite Australia's efforts at the time to extradite him on child sex charges.
"That's not the sort of thing you expect from friends," Downer was quoted as saying at an Australia-PNG Business Council meeting in Cairns on Monday.
Downer said the Australia-PNG ministerial forum -- an annual review of bilateral relations and programs -- could again be called off if PNG does not move to prosecute those involved in Moti's escape.
Canberra has already called the summit off once. It had been due to go ahead in November, but Australia was so incensed at the way in which Moti fled that it pulled the plug.
Australia also cancelled planned visits by PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare and his then Defence Minister Martin Aini, who was sacked last month when he publicly stated that Somare had pressured him into signing documents to disband a PNG Defence Force inquiry into Moti's escape.
Downer said Canberra was keen to see the recommendations from the inquiry. Australia "expected some people to be brought to justice" because PNG's laws were broken, he added.
Somare took over the defence portfolio after he sacked Aini, and has since received the inquiry's final report, AAP said.
Moti's escape also damaged Australia's relations with the Solomon Islands, where Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare wants Moti, a lawyer, as his attorney-general. Moti's appointment to the post was suspended by the country's Public Service Commission because of the gravity of the Australian charges against him.
Australian police want him to face charges of repeatedly raping a child in Vanuatu in 1997.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Bahrain Wednesday opened a new chapter in its relations with India by inaugurating its embassy here and sought Indian cooperation in developing the technology sector in the Gulf country.
"This visit marks the opening of Bahrain's embassy in India. It's truly a valuable opportunity to reach out to people and businessmen here," Bahrain's Crown Prince Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad al Khalifa said in his address at the Indian Council for World Relations - India's premier think tank.
"I am surprised why we didn't have a full-fledged embassy in India all these years," Shaikh Salman said after opening Bahrain's embassy in the upscale Vasant Vihar area here that houses many other embassies.
"We can learn a great deal from India when it comes to the transfer of technology. The technology sector is a significant opportunity for cooperation between the two countries," he said.
Tracing ancient ties between India and Bahrain, Shaikh Salman said the two countries have exchanged goods and services for generations. He lauded the 260,000-strong Indian diaspora for its "substantial and much recognised contribution" to the growth and development of Bahrain.
Describing his country as "a pioneer and outward looking nation" with a business-friendly culture, Shaikh Salman sought intensification of trade and investment with India. "Bahrain is ready for rolling out the red carpet and cutting down on red tape," he said.
Enunciating his country's perspective on major regional issues and the Middle East peace process, Shaikh Salman called for "an equitable solution" to the Palestinian issue, which he described as the most "emotive issue" in the region.
"The way forward is through dialogue and discussions," he stressed as he called for the development of a "more integrated, productive and prosperous Middle East".
The crown prince, who began his four-day visit to India Monday, spoke of the "intense change" his country is undergoing and ongoing efforts to implement democratic reforms as he conjured the picture of a vibrant nation confident of playing its due role in the region.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world," he quoted Mahatma Gandhi to illustrate Bahrain's approach to domestic and regional issues.
The crown prince and his delegation left for Agra in the afternoon to see the Taj Mahal. He will fly to Mumbai in the evening where he will have meetings with the city's business elite.
On Thursday morning, Shaikh Salman will visit aircraft carrier INS Virat at the Naval Dockyard. He will also visit the Bombay Stock Exchange and IT major Tata Consultancy Services' office before returning to Bahrain Thursday evening.
India and Bahrain Tuesday signed two pacts in the area of media and cultural cooperation. The crown prince held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his senior ministers and discussed with them a wide array of bilateral and regional issues.
United Nations, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the establishment of the new Palestinian government but warned that he will be monitoring its actions to see whether it will abide by the Quartet principles, his spokesperson said.
"The Secretary-General views the establishment of a new Palestinian Government as an important and positive step forward and he wants to encourage that process," spokesperson Michele Montas told the daily press briefing Tuesday.
At the same time, she added, he expressed "disappointment because he would like to see the programme of National Unity Government fully reflect Quartet principles." They are recognition of Israel and previous signed agreements and rejection of violence.
Montas said Ban "would be watching very carefully the new government action and hope to see further positive movement in that direction."
Ban is leaving New York later this week to visit Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Saudi Arabia, where he will attend the Arab Summit, and Lebanon.
New Delhi,March 21 (Ibnlive.com) Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar asked Sri Lanka to bat first on winning the toss in a Group B match at Queen's Park Oval at Port of Spain, Trinidad on Wednesday.
Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya took first guard with Upul Tharanga, while Bangladesh’s pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza took the new ball in the battle of the teams from the sub-continent.
Sri Lanka survived an early scare in the fourth over as Bangladeshi bowler Syed Rasel couldn’t hit the stumps to get Tharanga out, who was backing up a fair distance for a sharp single.
From then on, the Sri Lankans raced away during the field restrictions, with Jayasuriya coming into his own and Tharanga holding fort.
Jayasuriya got stuck into the Bangladeshi bowlers, hitting five fours and four sixes to bring up his 50 from 43 balls, but left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique’s introduction got the first breakthrough with the score on 98, Tharanga getting out for 26.
Captain Mahela Jayawardene joined Jayasuriya in the middle only to keep the scoring ways going. But heavy showers intervened after 24 overs with Sri Lanka on 136 for one in what has been the best start so far in the tournament.
Though play resumed, Jayasuriya’s surge was halted once again as he left the field in great discomfort after twisting his knee while taking a run in the 25th over. He was on 83. But fielding lapses from the Bangladeshis were abundant, letting the Lankans loose thereafter.
Jayawardene was out trying to go for a heave one too many for a laborious 46, Chamara Silva, along with Kumar Sangakkara, upped the tempo with a flurry of boundaries. But some tight bowling by the Bangladeshis towards the end of the innings pegged them back as Sangakkara went back for 56 from 55 balls.
Bangladesh are coming from the back of an upset win over the more fancied Indians, while Sri Lanka trounced opponents Bermuda by 243 runs.
After India's shock five-wicket loss to Bangladesh, the results of other matches hold as much interest for India as those featuring their own teams.
Teams:
Bangladesh: Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Habibul Bashar (captain), Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Rafique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel.
Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Chamara Silva, Tillekeratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, M Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga.
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Daryl Harper (Australia).
TV umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa); Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand); Reserve umpire: Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), March 21 (IANS) Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar won the toss and decided to bowl against the 1996 champions Sri Lanka in a crucial Group B match of the World Cup here Wednesday.
Both teams have played one match each, and have won both. But Sri Lanka are ahead on net run rate.
Teams:
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Kumar Sangakkara (wicket-keeper), Upul Tharanga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Muttiah Muralitharan
Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicket-keeper), Shahriar Nafees, Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Saqibul Hasan, Moahmmed Ashraful, Mohammed Rafique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak and Syed Rasel
Umpires: Steve Davis (Australia) and Daryl Harper
Third umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa)
Match referee: Jeffrey Crowe
New Delhi, March 21 (Hindustan Times)Observing that terrorists primarily use hawala channels to route their funds, Government on Wednesday said even the banking channels were a 'significant route' for movement of money by these elements.
"As per available reports, terrorists and terrorist organisations active in India are using different channels to fund their operations. They route their funds mainly through hawala and other informal means.
"Banking channels are also a significant route for movement of funds by such elements," Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said in reply to questions in the Rajya Sabha.
He said the government was pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to deal with terrorist operations and supporting states to neutralise their activities.
To a question on the recent observations of National Security Advisor MK Narayanan on the matter, Jaiswal said the NSA had recently recounted the methods adopted by terror outfits to generate funds and had pointed towards the reported 'misuse' of the formal financial system by them.
He said the revenue, security and law enforcement agencies were regularly sensitized to pursue an inter-agency approach to detect these channels the use of funds received by the terror groups.
"There is continuous coordination between Home, Defence, Finance and other Ministries, which are the administrative ministries of security sensitive sectors," he said, adding that proposals relating to such sectors were referred to the Home and Defence Ministries for vetting from the security angle.
London, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has welcomed the formation of a Government of National Unity in Palestine.
Beckett told the House of Commons Tuesday she hoped to "see it move clearly" in complying with the principles of non-violence, recognition of Israel and accepting previous agreements.
The Foreign Secretary also welcomed the latest round of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
She told MPs: "The peace process will only move forward through constructive dialogue".
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn said the Israeli policy of "illegal settlements" and the controversial construction of the West Bank wall was a "major cause" of the problems between the two communities.
The Foreign Secretary said: "We do continue to have dialogue with the Israeli government to press them on the issue of settlements, which of course we opposed, and also on the wall".
She said she believed the measures were "counter-productive" to the peace process.
Meanwhile, Beckett said the British Government was "using every channel and opportunity" to secure the release of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston.
Johnston, 44, disappeared last week, reportedly snatched by four masked gunmen in Gaza City.
The Foreign Secretary said she had raised the issue with the Palestinian President.
"Im assured by President Abbas that it is very much a goal of the Palestinian government and authorities.
"It is extremely important that we try to secure this and I think it is particularly sad when someone who has been a long-standing friend of the people of Palestine suffers in this way and it does nothing to help," Beckett added.
Bhopal, March 21 (IANS) The representatives of the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, who ended a 14-day hunger strike Monday, plan a "public action" if the Madhya Pradesh government fails to keep its promises.
"Public actions have been planned in India and abroad in April and May if the state government fails to honour its commitments. This would include indefinite fasts by supporters at the Indian embassy in Washington," Rachna Dhingra, a member of the Bhopal Group of Information and Action (BGIA), told IANS.
The agitation, which many gas-survivors' organisations had joined, ended Monday only when the state government gave a written assurance that their demands would be met soon.
The survivors are demanding healthcare and economic rehabilitation for those affected by the toxic fumes that leaked from the now-defunct Union Carbide pesticide plant 22 years ago on Dec 2, 1984. Over 3,000 people died instantly and more than 15,000 affected people died later.
"The decision to end the fast and the 27-day sit-in was taken after the state government accepted key demands and district collector S.K. Mishra, authorised by the chief minister to look into our problems, handed over a written response to each of the demands raised by us," said Rachna, who participated in the strike with five others.
The other participants in the strike were Rashida Bee, who had lost six family members to cancer after they inhaled the noxious fumes, Guddi Bee, Jabbar Khan, Shehazadi Bee, all of who were exposed to the toxic gases in 1984, and BGIA activist Satinath Sarangi.
The strike was part of a 'Jeene Ka Haq' (right to live) campaign, which began Feb 20 to demand social support for the survivors and their families, safe drinking water and removal of hazardous waste from the plant site.
The leaders of various gas-survivors' organisations, including Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh (BGPMSKS), Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) and Bhopal Ki Aawaaz (BKA), want the state government to ensure that toxic waste is not allowed to contaminate surrounding areas and the survivors are provided safe drinking water, as directed by the Supreme Court.
As per the agreement reached with the state government, immediate steps will be taken to fill vacant posts in hospitals meant for the affected and to improve the quality of medicines and facilities for investigations there.
The government has also agreed that the doctors and specialists at the gas relief hospitals will now be contracted for five years and an office of the Coordination Committee on Bhopal would be constituted. Besides, sub-groups on medical care, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation with the participation of survivors' organisations, too, would be formed.
The state government, according to the survivor organisations, has also agreed to provide all information on soil and ground water contamination in and around the Union Carbide factory and to build a wall around the factory to protect children and cattle from the hazardous materials therein.
The state has also promised that 50 additional tanks will be provided in a month's time for provision of safe water around the abandoned factory.
Jammu, March 21(IANS) Warning against demilitarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for governor's rule in the state even as Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Sayeed and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were due to discuss troop reduction Thursday.
"We will take to the streets if troops are reduced in the state," BJP vice president Hari Om told reporters here Wednesday after submitting a memorandum to Governor S.K. Sinha, who himself voiced his opposition Tuesday to demilitarisation, as demanded by the PDP.
Om said the party has demanded governor's rule in the state under article 92 of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of political turmoil in the state, arising out of a confrontation between the two ruling coalition partners - Congress and PDP.
The BJP, which has been supportive of the governor and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in their stand against demilitarisation, also demanded dismissal of the coalition government in which PDP is a major partner.
"The current government has no locus standi to continue, as there was too much contradiction between the coalition partners who had turned their internal bickering into a street fight," Om added.
BJP members have ridiculed the PDP for voicing an "anti-national" demand that runs against the interests of the state and the people.
Almost all Jammu-centric parties, including the Jammu State Morcha, the Jammu Mukti Morcha and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers' Party (JKNPP), have voiced their strong opposition to demilitarisation demand.
"PDP is voicing Pakistan's demand. It has become Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's mouthpiece and the party should be thrown out of the coalition government," JKNPP chairman Bhim Singh said. JKNPP is also a constituent of the multi-party coalition government in the state.
Patna, March 21 (IANS) It can happen possibly only in Bihar. The names of more than 100 dead figure in the below poverty line (BPL) list in the state, exposing the irregularities in the official list of the poorest of the poor.
After the inclusion of names of a minister, legislators, rich contractors and officials in the BPL list prepared by the Nitish Kumar government, the dead are now turning up on the list.
At the same time, hundreds of landless poor, who live below the poverty line, do not figure in the list, leading to widespread protests across the state.
The names of 101 dead people are in the BPL list under the Charpokhri block in Bhojpur district, about 60 km from here. "We will look into it," said a district official.
According to official sources, the names of dead included even those who passed away a decade ago.
However, officials at the Charpokhri block development office downplayed the issue by saying it was a clerical error.
"Some names of dead people figured in the BPL list due to errors in the computer. The officials concerned have been directed to remove the names and correct the list," an official said.
In November, state Rural Development Minister Baidyanath Prasad Mahto, who owns a house in West Champaran district, land as well as a jeep, found his name in the BPL list. The list was being prepared under Mahto's supervision.
Last month it was reported that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Rameshwar Prasad Chaurasia and a former legislator from Nokha in Rohtas district also figure in the BPL list.
Two people were killed and nearly six injured in the Matihani block of Begusarai district three days ago when the police fired to quell a mob that attacked the block office there alleging irregularities in the distribution of food stamps for those in the BPL list.
This gave the opposition an issue to attack the government.
The government has decided to prepare a fresh BPL list by deleting the names of undeserving beneficiaries and adding names that had been left out.
London, March 21 (DPA) Britain's chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown Wednesday laid the foundations for taking over the government by presenting a tax-cutting budget that focused on increased social spending and environmental perks.
Brown, 56, is expected to take over the Labour Party leadership to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair later this year.
While Blair has not named an exact date for his departure, it is widely expected that he will do so in early May in order to clear the path for a handover of power by the end of June.
In his 11th budget, a visibly relaxed Brown gave an upbeat assessment of his record 10-year tenure at the treasury, saying that the British economy was now growing faster than all other economies in the G8 group of industrial nations.
Brown predicted that the UK economy would grow by between 2.5 and 3 percent in 2008 and 2009, and that inflation would fall "under 2 percent this year."
Inflation stood at 2.8 percent in February, well above the government's 2 percent upper limit.
Brown's stewardship at the treasury won praise from Blair Wednesday who said the chancellor had delivered the "longest period of economic growth in our history."
"We should be proud of that," said Blair.
A buoyant Brown, who earlier this week was accused of portraying a "Stalinist ruthlessness" in his leadership style, laughed off the suggestion saying that he welcomed the "forthright advice" he received from civil servants - "or should I say comrades."
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Butterflies and vegetable colours dominated the ramp as designer duo of Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna and Ritu Kumar showcased their collections at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) Wednesday evening.
Inspired from the 1970s' stylised wallpapers and fashion diva Maggie of the 1960s, Rohit-Rahul's collection marked butterfly prints and retro look.
"The butterfly prints are inspired by the wallpapers of 70s and the collection is inspired by what the fashion diva of the 60s Maggie wore today. There is simplicity and use of non-colour," the designer duo told IANS.
Experiments rule the collection where frosted canvases, linen wool, lurex, Banarasi silk, cotton and fabrics with metallic lacquer find a home. The palette possessed all shades of gray, charcoal and black.
The line offers boxy jackets, peg skirts, kimono sleeves, skinny trousers, wallpaper stockings, knee skimming dresses, embroidery veiled with tulle and sheeted fastenings emphasising very high waist.
Meanwhile, with a concern for the ecology, Ritu Kumar's collection "Urban Roots" splashed vegetable colours on the ramp.
Traditional Kangra paintings lending foliage and colour to camouflage prints resulted in fusion of distinct styles.
The colour palette includes earthy shades of browns, forest greens and rich ochres. The drama of these pieces is epitomised in fluid skirts and jersey tops.
Cotton and wring spun denims infused with various bleaching techniques and embroidery to create the dramatic look.
"Through the collection we are looking at our roots and our ecology. Keeping in mind the ecology I have only used vegetable colours and natural fabrics like cotton in my collection. I think the girls were looking really great in them," said Ritu.
By Chie Matsumoto
Tokyo, March 21 (DPA) Cherry blossoms are serious business in Japan. They signal the onset of spring and provide important social opportunities. The entire nation takes sakura cherry blossoms seriously and all eyes are fixed on the blossoming predictions that the Japanese Meteorological Agency releases in March.
Japan's weather office doesn't limit its forecasts to the rain and sun but extends them in spring to reports of the so-called sakura front, which monitors the buds' development starting from a warmer region of southern Japan and onto the northern area.
So much expectation centres on the dates when flowers blossom in full that the agency was recently under attack for giving a forecast a few days off.
The head of forecast department bowed and apologized at a press conference, which was broadcast on a national television last week, saying that the agency betrayed Japanese people. The season starts this week.
"The responsibility was enormous," Keiichi Kashiwagi said. "We would like to send our wholehearted apology to the people who rely on our forecast."
The agency also posted a written apology on its website: "We deeply apologize for having caused inconveniences by releasing wrong information. We will revise our computer system and try our best to prevent any further mishaps from happening again in the future."
Inconveniences would have caused problems for businesses, party organizers and partygoers alike.
Millions of Japanese people flock to parks and gardens nationwide and get together with their co-workers and neighbours at picnics under cherry trees when the flowers are in full bloom.
Newspapers run front-page stories on how and where cherry blossoms are blooming, televised news programms show buds that are about to burst, and mobile phone users coordinate to conduct the Sakura Project to report on the development of flowers in their region.
Magazines, meanwhile, print special features on the best places to view the flowers for readers planning parties and picnics.
Weekend daytime hours bring millions of Japanese out with their sake Japanese rice-wine bottles, feasts of sushi and barbecue chickens and even portable karaoke machines to enjoy sitting under the cherry trees.
Freshmen employees are usually given the responsibility to pick the best spot in nearby parks and secure prime viewing space for the after-work parties. The day of the party might be the only chance employees are allowed to get out of work earlier than their bosses, so as to set up their picnic sites.
Food and alcohol sales also blossom during the season.
Alcohol sometimes takes attention away from cherry blossoms, when the priority shifts and public drunkenness becomes more acceptable than usual.
Aside from the busy singing and dancing drunks, food-delivery scooters are also witnessed weaving through patches of blue tarpaulin sheets handing over pizzas, fried chicken and Bento boxed lunches.
The young delivery staff can manage to spot their clients out of hundreds of people, thanks to mobile phones.
The cherry blossom period lasts for only about two weeks, but for the Japanese, the lure of this season lies exactly in its short-lived nature.
During the Middle Ages, Japan's samurai warriors particularly identified themselves with the fleeting beauty and fragility of the sakura as a symbol of their own lives.
Kamikaze pilots during World War II adorned themselves with sakura flowers before they plunged their bomb-laden planes onto Allied warships in suicide attacks.
The lives of the cherry blossoms are likewise brief. But the Japanese find beauty in the fragile pink petals blown by the wind, delicately landing on plates of food or in sake cups, to delicately proclaim the arrival of spring.
Mexico City, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The visit here by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet as part of a regional tour is seen as cementing a Latin American strategic society as platform to approach international scenarios.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon admitted that he shares views on the challenges and tasks ahead so both countries agreed to boost integration with new development opportunities for the region.
Both heads of state signed several co-operation agreements on government purchases, forestry and phyto-sanitary and founded the Council of the Agreement for Bilateral Strategic Association (CABSA).
The CABSA, in force since Dec 20, will supervise enforcement of economic, commercial, political and co-operation accords, and will monitor bilateral ties via special commissions.
Over three billion USD in bilateral trade has turned Chile into Mexico's second most important business partner in the region.
After Mexico, Bachelet will head to Panama to complete a tour, which started in Guatemala.
Chennai, March 21 (IANS) India's leading IT services provider Cognizant Technology Solutions Wednesday announced an IT contract with New York-based publishing major Simon & Schuster Inc (S&S) for providing technology support from three locations in the US.
Simon & Schuster, which is a part of US media giant CBS Corp, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing and is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and non-fiction across all print, electronic, and audio formats. It has decided to have an Indian publishing arm this year.
Cognizant will provide S&S with end-to-end information technology infrastructure management services including, helpdesk, network management, server management, application infrastructure support and desktop support.
It will provide delivery of services to the publishing major from New York, Parsippany and Riverside (both in New Jersey), as well as from its Bangalore facility in India.
The agreement for end-to-end infrastructure management and data centre operations services will include the management of 200 servers, 1,400 desktops, as well as the management of Simon & Schuster's mission critical applications.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 21 (IANS) A Commonwealth Study Conference team visited the Technopark campus here to study the impact of industry on people and their living environment in the area of IT, tourism and healthcare.
The 15-member delegation Tuesday held discussions on Technopark's development plans, the modus-operandi adopted in issues related to its developmental activities and also reviewed various policies related to the development of the park vis-à-vis competition.
The 10th Commonwealth Study Conference 2007 theme - 'Working together for inclusive growth and development' - hopes to bring together young achievers and future decision makers in industry and government from different parts of the world.
The project include visits to leading global business institutions, top ranking government and educational institutions, social entrepreneurs, healthcare facilities, giving a wide perspective of the changing and growing times in India.
The visit was under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and comprised Juliet Kabonesa, MP from Uganda, Anthony Segako, from the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority, and Tanzania Education Authority IT manager Elizabeth Mkoba, besides trade union, industry and NGO representatives from Canada, Australia and Britain.
The delegation, headed by CII executive officer Lakshmi Sampath, later visited the premises of Infosys and US Technology in the campus. The delegation will also visit Munnar and Kochi.
The Commonwealth Study Conference was initiated by the Duke of Edinburgh at Oxford University in Britain in 1956 as a means of examining the human aspects of industrial issues in Commonwealth nations.
It aims at balancing short-term and long-term goals of nations by analysing the role of the corporate sector and NGOs in creating sustainable models of development and addressing issues of cultural diversity.
Over the years, the conference has been held in Canada in 1962, 1980 and 1998, Britain in 1974 and 1992 and Australia in 1968, jointly between Australia and India in 1986, Australia and New Zealand in 2003 and now the 10th conference jointly between India, Singapore and Malaysia.
Dhaka, March 21 (Xinhua) Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon Wednesday said the state of emergency and suppression of political activity in Bangladesh should be lifted without unnecessary delay.
He also called for a road map leading up to inclusive and credible elections as soon as possible for a new parliament, with time-lines attached.
McKinnon told at a press conference here that at the moment there is no parliament in Bangladesh where the voice of the people can be heard.
"No people should be deprived of such a forum any longer than absolutely necessary. This is a fundamental right," he said.
The state of emergency and ban on political activities was imposed on Jan 11 by the military-backed transitional government of Chief Advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed to quell political turmoil over the general elections and the scheduled Jan 22 general elections were indefinitely postponed.
McKinnon had a series of discussions with the chief advisor, political party leaders and the election commission of Bangladesh.
He urged all political parties to work together with the Election Commission to enable the production of the new voters' list.
McKinnon said the Commonwealth will remain engaged with the Bangladeshi government and do all it can to assist in creating a genuine and sustainable democracy in the country.
Hyderabad, March 21 (IANS) Peeved by the denial of ticket for legislative council polls, ruling Congress party leader and former legislator D. Nagender Wednesday resigned from the party and also announced retirement from politics.
"I am unhappy with the present day politics," said Nagender, the general secretary of the Andhra Pradesh state unit of the party.
Nagender, who represented Asifnagar constituency for two terms, sent his resignation both from the post of general secretary and party membership to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and president of the state unit of the party K. Keshava Rao.
Nagender had quit Congress before the 2004 elections in protest against the party's decision to field him from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency. He then joined the ruling Telugu Desam Party to contest from Asifnagar assembly constituency. Though he won the seat, TDP lost to Congress. He rejoined Congress but was defeated in by-elections to the Asifnagar seat.
Considered close to the chief minister, Nagender was hoping that he would be fielded for the legislative council, which is being revived after two decades. However, his name did not figure in the list of ruling party candidates.
Nagender, however, said he was retiring from politics as vested interests dominated politics. He denied that his decision had anything to do with not being fielded for council polls.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court, hearing a public suit by an NGO Wednesday, took strong note of an allegation made by a tobacco firm that the petition was aimed at promoting business interests of another tobacco firm.
"This court could not be utilised by somebody for furthering its business and personal interest. The court would take it to its logical end," it said.
It was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Tobacco Control Foundation of India (TCFI), an NGO, seeking directions to the government to impose tax on cigarettes in accordance with the tobacco contents in each product.
Appearing before a bench of Chief Justice M.K. Sarma and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, tobacco major ITC's counsel Arun Jaitley submitted that the PIL should be dismissed, as there was a nexus between TCFI and Golden Tobacco Company (GTC) Ltd.
By filing the public suit, TCFI and its president Sajeela Maini were promoting 'low tobacco cigarette' of GTC, he alleged.
He said Maini had also addressed a press conference jointly with the president of Mumbai-based GTC to promote that firm's tobacco product.
The court said: "If the allegations were found to be correct, serious action would be initiated against the Foundation.
"There appears to be a nexus between the petitioner and the company."
Adjourning the matter till April 25, the court asked ITC to file an affidavit detailing its allegation with photographs so that the court can examine the facts.
It also asked the government to give its opinion in a week on implementing Section 5 of the 2003 act which prohibits all surrogate advertisements promoting tobacco and its products.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed a subordinate court to take note of the additional evidence submitted by the government against Indian-born Maninder Singh Kohli to face trial in Britain for alleged rape and murder of teenager Hannah Foster in 2003.
With the additional direction to expedite the trial, Justice Reva Khetrapal said the trial court was at liberty to take cognisance of the logbook of a van reportedly driven by Kohli on the night of March 14, 2003 - when Foster was murdered in Southampton - as supporting evidence for his extradition to Britain.
The parents of the murdered teenager were in India for the third time last month to expedite Kohli's extradition.
Kohli is currently lodged in Tihar jail here.
As Britain's prosecuting agency, the Crown Prosecution, submitted to the trial court the logbook, Kohli's counsel Charanjit Singh contested that the photocopy of the page of the logbook did not show the date. He contended that his client did not drive the van on the day.
The Crown Prosecutor of England had subsequently sent a photocopy of the logbook with the date visible on it, but the lower court again did not take cognisance of it. This prompted the government to approach the high court for a suitable direction to the lower court.
Kohli had allegedly fled England on March 16, 2003, two days after the 17-year-old's body was found. He was brought here from Chandigarh where he was lodged after his arrest on July 15, 2004 from Kalimpong in West Bengal.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Travelling 5,084 km in 26 days across deserts and mountains, a group of National Cadet Corps (NCC) students undertook a cross-country motorbike expedition to spread awareness about issues like AIDS, road safety and solar energy among the masses.
Starting Feb 26 from Bangalore, Karnataka, the group of 11 completed their educational journey in New Delhi Tuesday.
Said Lt Shyamala R, one of the two girls in the expedition: "I have participated in other such expeditions before but they have been within my state Karnataka. This is the first time that an expedition has been undertaken at a such a big scale and I am proud to be part of it."
The states they journeyed through included Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. They rode right till the Wagah border with Pakistan.
With 10 states to cover, the trip was a challenge that these youngsters, all in the age group of 19-21, took up with confidence. They travelled 300 km every day and enjoyed it thoroughly, not letting the climatic barriers dampen their spirits.
"I remember when we were travelling through Himachal Pradesh there was a heavy downpour. We slowed down but didn't stop in order to keep up with the time," Shyamala said.
They were especially thrilled by the fact that people, no matter which part of the country they were in, recognised the fraternity they belonged to.
"Wherever we went people came to us saying that they knew we belonged to the NCC. That helped us bond easily with them and spread our message," said a cadet.
Organising street plays, distributing pamphlets and giving talks on varied issues of concern were the tools the cadets used to hit home the message.
Narrating one incident, Shyamala said that while delivering a talk on AIDS awareness among a group of young married women in Rajasthan, some said that they would like their daughters to grow up to be like her.
"I was touched, at the same time glad that they realised the importance of education," said Shyamala.
The group is scheduled to head back home March 23.
Lt General Prakash Chaudhury who was here to receive the students in Delhi said: "At NCC we encourage students to undertake such expeditions, which not only helps build their confidence but also helps them grow as socially conscious individuals".
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday gave its approval of the Delhi government's suggestions to take over all municipality-run schools in a move to bring about qualitative improvement in teaching in those schools.
A division bench of Chief Justice M.K. Sarma and Justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the government to take a formal decision in this regard and submit a plan-of-action by March 28.
"Taking over all the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) schools would not be enough. In order to provide quality education to the children, it would be necessary for the state government to run all these schools on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalaya," the judges said.
MCD director (education) Indira Yadav in an affidavit last week had said the authorities were initiating steps to improve the conditions in the schools.
The MCD has 1,810 primary schools and 519 of them are operating in double shifts. There are also 33 independent nursery schools in the city.
The total number of students studying in these schools are 9,55,391 in 2006, Yadav said the affidavit.
The bench had earlier banned opening any government school without providing basic amenities such as concrete buildings, urinals, potable water and hygienic atmosphere.
While hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction for better education for children in schools, the court had observed: "Why make a mockery of the education without providing basic amenities to the children?"
Education Department officials should be sensitised for providing congenial atmosphere in the schools where hundreds of thousands of students were getting education, the court said.
The court had observed earlier that it was a pity that even after 59 years of independence, the government could not provide basic amenities and facilities to the students in the state-run schools in the capital.
There were about 4,254 vacancies of primary teachers in the MCD schools, lack of drinking water facilities in 30 schools, no blackboard, power and toilet in many schools, claimed the petition.
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) A Delhi-Bangkok flight of Indian Airlines made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport Wednesday afternoon after a passenger reportedly claimed to be carrying explosives.
The passenger, a foreign national, was arrested and handed over to the police after the flight landed here, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport director V.K. Monga told IANS.
The plane was being checked for any explosives, said the official, adding that all passengers were safe.
Ottawa, March 21 (Xinhua) Canadian researchers have found a key protein to treat metastatic breast and ovarian cancers, making "smart" therapies possible for these diseases.
A protein called podocalyxin, which hides on the surface of tumour cells, may be an accurate predictor of metastatic cancer, researchers from University of British Columbia (UBC) said.
Metastatic cancer is invasive cancer that spreads from the original site to other sites in the body.
"Since it lies on the surface of cells we can target the antibodies to, or find a way to prevent its action," said Dr. Kelly McNagny, a stem cell expert with the UBC Biomedical Research Centre.
McNagny said the finding is a "small but important step" to develop so-called "smart" molecules in blocking the protein's function.
The researchers said information from this discovery might speed up the development of new therapies within 10 years.
"The ultimate goal is to generate new targeted, non-toxic treatments, different from the standard slash and burn chemotherapy," said Calvin Roskelley, an associate professor of cellular and physiological science.
The Public Library of Science has published the findings online.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that approximately 2,300 new cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed and about 1,600 women died of the disease last year.
Pretoria, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) Regional economic integration is one of the issues on the agenda of the Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Council of Ministers meeting in Lesotho later this week.
South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad departs for Maseru, Lesotho, on Wednesday, to join Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, as part of a senior South African government delegation to the meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
"Although the March session of the Council of Ministers is customarily of a predominantly administrative and financial nature, foreign ministers are expected to deliberate on the review of operations of the Integrated Committee of Ministers (ICM) as well as progress made in the regional economic integration process following a report from the Ministerial Task Force on this issue," the Department of Foreign Affairs here said in a statement Tuesday.
Pahad will participate in this meeting within the context of South Africa's commitment to consolidate the African developmental agenda by promoting the integration and development of SADC, the department added.
The ministers will consider, among other things, progress in the establishment of the new SADC headquarters including its design, financing and construction. They are also to discuss financing SADC projects, including the HIV and AIDS project, the Hashim Mbita project, and the food security training programme.
Outcomes of the SADC-European Union Joint Ministerial meeting are also on the agenda, as is the proposed SADC Conference on Poverty and Development and the proposed membership of the Seychelles in the regional body.
Ministers will also receive reports from the Executive Secretary, the SADC Troika and the organization's Finance Committee.
The ministerial meeting will be preceded by meetings of the Standing Committee of Senior Officials and the Finance Committee.
Pahad is scheduled to return to South Africa on Saturday.
New Delhi, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) United Arab Emirates Vice President Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid AL-Maktum will embark on an official two-day visit to India on Sunday to bolster bilateral relations with India.
An official spokesman for the Indian government said Sheikh Mohammad, also Premier and Dubai Governor, will visit India accompanied by a delegation of senior officials and businessmen.
He will meet with Indian President Abdul Kalam, Premier Manmohan Singh, and other senior officials in the Indian government, the spokesman said.
Sheikh Mohammad will discuss means to bolster cooperation on all levels, especially on economy and trade, while the Indian government is keen on discussing financing of terrorism that passes through Dubai.
Addis Ababa, March 21 (NNN-ENA) A senior Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi lesves here Thursday for Algeria to participate on New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) extraordinary summit.
During the meeting, African leaders are expected to review the implementation of NEPAD since it’s launching in 2001 and discuss ways of strengthening it on a firm and cohesive African position.
Meles, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other African leaders as well as NEPAD executives are expected to participate in the meeting.
It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Meles has been elected NEPAD chairman during the 6th regular session and peer review mechanism meeting of NEPAD held in Addis Ababa recently.
Meles will be assuming the chairmanship of NEPAD as of May 29 this year.
Brussels, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) A spokesperson for EU Commissioner for External Relations Beneta Ferrero-Waldner has said the EU has not taken a final position on the new Palestinian government up till now.
Emma Udwin told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) by phone here Tuesday that the EU was still assessing the situation, so it needed enough time to take a final decision on the new Palestinian national unity government.
During her recent visit to the Middle East region, the EU commissioner for external relations met the new Palestinian foreign, finance and information ministers, vowing that they would meet the Quartet's conditions and terms, she said.
During an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers to be held in Germany in late April, they would mull over a European uniform position on the new Palestinian government, she said.
The EU is now split over the new Palestinian national unity government. Some countries call for restoring political and economic ties with the Palestinian government, while others are opposed to dealing with Hamas ministers.
Brussels, March 21 (IANS) The European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) Wednesday adopted a report on Kashmir in a move seen by observers as a victory for Indian diplomacy.
Sixty members of the AFET voted in favour of the report following 28 compromise proposals, only one voted against and 11 abstained. The amended report will now go before the plenary of the European Parliament (EP) for approval in May.
"I am very pleased indeed that we succeeded in having the vote,'' rapporteur of the report 'Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects', Baroness Emma Nicholson, told INEP in an interview.
She noted that that some British Members of European Parliament (MEPs) were against a vote.
"They had declared the vote will not happen, it will not happen in two months or three years and that the report will be crushed completely and I will be dismissed," said Nicholson, herself a British Liberal MEP.
"Today's vote is a triumph and exactly correct. Now we look forward to the plenary session," she said.
"The report has been battered but I think it has emerged stronger.
It had a fantastic majority,'' said Nicholson.
She noted that the draft report has been modified by a number of amendments but the substance of the report remains unchanged.
The most controversial clause in the report on plebiscite in Kashmir, however, appears to have been diluted.
"I am checking now what exactly has happened. We have put in that the conditions for the plebiscite have not been met," said Nicholson.
Pakistan and Pakistani-backed Kashmiri groups had been intensely lobbying to amend the report that criticized the democracy-deficit in Pakistan and the human rights situation in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir.
Islamabad was particularly irked over the report's dismissal of calls for plebiscite to resolve the Kashmir issue.
The original draft report had said that "continuing calls for a plebiscite on the final status of Jammu and Kashmir are wholly out of step with the needs of the local people and thus damaging to their interests."
"We support the peace process, we are against the plebiscite in principle but we believe in the right of self-determination," said Nicholson.
Charles Tannock, spokesperson for the British Conservative party and shadow rapporteur of the Kashmir report, said he has been in "favour of changing the tone of the report to get rid of the more offensive and insulting part, but I see the essential substance of the report is in tact."
The report, he said, condemns cross-border terrorism and says that conditions for plebiscite have not been met so there cannot be a plebiscite on this issue.
"I am absolutely sure that those who lost today, particularly lobbies and people who feel strongly about the report tried to kill the report. It was a disgrace that in the Pakistani press it was reported that there will not be a vote today and that they are going to kill the report," Tannock told INEP.
He noted that till the last moment there were moves to postpone the voting.
Tannock, who described himself as a friend of India said, "I am 75% satisfied, not 100 percent" with the adopted report.
According to EP sources, British MEP Richard Howitt of the Socialist Group had done intense lobbying in the last two days to postpone the voting and kill the report.
Most of the MEPs interested in the Kashmir report are British who have large Pakistani, Indian and Kashmiri communities in their constituencies back home.
Sajjad Karim , Liberal British MEP, said there has "been some movement in the right direction".
"We have the plenary to vote yet to take place in May. I think there is a need to bring further amendments. It is for that reason that I abstained from voting in support of the report," said Karim who is of Pakistani origin.
He said that his amendment proposal to include plebiscite is the main ambition of the people of Kashmir was rejected.
Karim said he will try to include this amendment during the plenary vote in the EP in May.
Barrister Majid Tramboo, who heads the Brussels-based Kashmir Centre, said there "is some improvement and some grey areas which we will clean up during the plenary period."
The text has been improved dramatically so our right of self-determination has been mentioned, said Tramboo who has been leading the campaign to get the report changed.
Sunil Prasad, president of the Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin in Belgium (GOPIO) and Europe India Chamber of Commerce general secretary, said, "the passing of the report itself is a big achievement for India."
"It is a victory for the people of Kashmir and their aspirations. It is a victory for Indian diplomacy," he told INEP.
The report was to be adopted by AFET in January but following a record 450 amendment proposals the vote was postponed.
The Pakistan Observer newspaper in a news item published on Jan 16 reported that a vast majority of the amendments received were from Pakistan-backed Kashmiri groups.
"The EU report on Kashmir triggered an immediate response from Pakistan, which set up a high-profile team to tackle the situation... the job of lobbying to seek amendments in the EU draft report was handed over to ISI "(Pakistan's intelligence service), said the paper.
Majid Tramboo was assigned the task of lobbying by Pakistan, wrote the paper.
By Lavinia Mahlangu
Zurich, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) In its first meeting of 2007 later this week, the Executive Committee of world football governing body, FIFA, will discuss a variety of issues including the 2010 FIFA World Cup IN South Africa.
The meeting, to be chaired by President Joseph Blatter, will take place on Thursday and Friday and will be discussing the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in addition to other FIFA competitions.
Time is running out for national football associations who have not enrolled for the 2010 World Cup preliminary round as yet, because they had been given until mid-March to do so.
The preliminary draw is due to take place in Durban, South Africa, on Nov 23, 2007.
South Africa will host 2010 FIFA World Cup games at ten stadia in nine cities, in what is billed to be a truly African World Cup, and the best FIFA World Cup ever.
There will be five new stadia, and five existing stadia will be refurbished and upgraded for the world's most popular sport.
Three existing stadia in South Africa's major metropolis, Gauteng, will be upgraded. These are FNB stadium, Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld.
The Royal Bafokeng stadium in North West province will be upgraded, as will the Vodacom Park in Mangaung (Bloemfontein) in Free State province.
Five new stadia will be built or rebuilt.
In Limpopo, the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane will host 2010 games while a new stadium will be built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga, as well as in the Nelson Mandela Metro (encompassing Port Elizabeth) in Eastern Cape.
Kings Park stadium in the eThekwini Metro (encompassing Durban) will be rebuilt for the event, becoming also a multi-sports facility.
In the Western Cape, Cape Town's Green Point stadium will be rebuilt, becoming a "totally new" multi-purpose sports facility complete with a dome, which will be able to open and close as a precaution against the city's unpredictable weather.
FIFA said that the most important issues under discussion would be the upcoming World Cup as well as the 57th FIFA Congress and the final financial accounts for the 2003-2006 period.
Other topics for discussion will be sports political and legal issues and FIFA's development initiatives such as Win in Africa with Africa and Football for Hope as well as a project in India.
"As already announced, this year's FIFA Congress will be held in the Hallenstadion, Zurich, on Wednesday, 30 May and Thursday, 31 May," FIFA said in a statement.
The first day's opening ceremony will be dedicated to welcome addresses, award presentations and a programme of entertainment. The second day will deal with the items on agenda in accordance with the statutes and the election of the president.
With regard to the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA executive committee will be required to deal with various proposals for amendments and approve the Congress agenda. Furthermore, the new Home of FIFA is due to be officially opened on May 29.
Regarding the 2003-2006 financial period ended on 31 December 2006, the governing body said after closing the accounts for this period, its administration submitted them for approval to the bodies responsible for examining them.
"As the final such body before the Congress, the Executive Committee will be informed of the detailed Financial Report. The salient figures and further financial information will also be made known during the media conference held immediately after the Executive Committee."
In addition to discussions of issues at hand, FIFA's Executive will be welcoming a new member to the "football family" as the governing body often refers to its members and affiliates. Marios N. Lefkaritis of Cyprus will be taking his place on the committee for the first time as a UEFA representative.
Lefkaritis will be replacing Michel Platini, who, as the newly elected President of the European confederation, UEFA, will automatically assume the position of FIFA vice-president.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) The Latin American diplomatic community in this city is making final preparations for the first Latin American Festival in Malaysia, to be held this Sunday, it was revealed here Tuesday.
The embassies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela are sponsoring the event, hoping this first annual party will grow in the future.
Cuban Ambassador Pedro Monzon Barata noted that the one-day event, which includes music, dances, food, and handicraft typical of these Latin American peoples, would be a great opportunity for all Latin American residents in Malaysia to come together and celebrate.
Profits from the festival would be donated to social welfare programmes, it was revealed.
Havana, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Challenges of horizontal and far-reaching perforation are among issues of the First Congress on Oil and Gas, Petrogas 2007, which began in this capital on Tuesday.
According to organizers, this meeting will be run due to the importance of both resources for the country's economy.
Among issues to be analyzed are exploration in deep waters, production of heavy crude oil in fields with carbonated reserves, and treatment, transport and refining heavy crude oil.
The expansion of the Cuban oil industry has among its fundamental bases the contributions of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, an integrationist project that places social aims first and assume true economic complementation.
Being held in parallel to the congress is the Second Earth Sciences Convention, Geociencias 2007, with forums on geology, geophysics and the mining industry and attended by 20 nations, among them Canada, Venezuela, Chile, Spain, China, Italy and Mexico.
Algiers,March 21 (Islamic Voice) In an effort to promote Islam among the sizable Berber community, Algerian authorities have released a new translation of the Qur’an in the Berber language, Tamazight. The Algerian Religious Affairs Ministry funded the printing of 6,000 copies of a full translation carried out by its experts, while Saudi Arabia financed the printing of 5,000 more copies. All copies were distributed for free and the ministry plans to print more. Berbers form around 20% of Algeria’s 33 million population. Most live in the northern region of Kabylie. Berbers were the original inhabitants of North Africa before the arrival of Arabs in the seventh century. There are around 20 million speakers of Tamazight across North Africa. Algiers says the move came in response to the increasing need of the Berber community to fully understand the meanings of the Quran.
Baghdad, March 21 (Xinhua) Two roadside bombs targeting police patrols went off in quick succession in eastern Baghdad Wednesday, wounding two policemen and three civilians, an Interior Ministry source said.
The blasts, detonated at about 7.40 a.m. (local time) near the Beirut Square, also damaged a police vehicle and several nearby civilian cars.
Source said that the police patrols found 31 unidentified bodies in different parts of Baghdad on Tuesday, adding that some of the bullet-riddled bodies were found blindfolded, showing signs of torture.
Two US soldiers were killed and a third wounded in a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad Tuesday, military sources said Wednesday.
Violence persists in Baghdad despite the presence of tens of thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers across the capital in a major security crackdown aimed at curbing insurgency and sectarian violence in the war-torn country.
Sydney,March 21 (Islamic Voice) Senior Muslim leaders have called for the Australian flag to be flown outside the nation’s mosques as an expression of the Muslim community’s “loyalty� and commitment to the country. Muslim clerics urged Australia’s 300,000 Muslims to back the idea as a symbol of “integration� and pride. “Even in Muslim countries in the mosque, they fly the national flag, such as in Pakistan. If that can be done in a Muslim country, why not in Australia?�, said former chairman of the Prime Minister’s Muslim reference group, Dr. Ameer Ali. “We are Australian Muslims,� he said. “And it (the flag) is a symbol of our national identity.� Muslim leader Keysar Trad said some community members would consider the idea of displaying the flag as “politicising a place of worship�. “I have no problem with the flag being at Muslim schools, but a place of worship is for all people to be equal and as such I believe places of worship should maintain the tradition of not raising the national flag,� he said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) India has vegetation cover of only 23.68 percent of land as against a required 33 percent and there is a need to plant trees in additional 31.5 million hectares, Minister of State for Environment and Forest N.N. Meena said Wednesday.
While celebrating the World Forestry Day here Wednesday, Meena said: "We are aware, the national goal as per the national forest policy is to bring one-third of the country's land area under forest and tree cover. There is a need for bringing additional 31.5 million hectares under forest and tree cover."
"It's a herculean task. Since there is a limited scope for increase in forest cover within recorded forest area, it's imperative to involve the public in tree planting outside these areas," the minister said.
He asserted that the joint forest management scheme of his ministry would help in this endeavour, as community participation is the key to the initiative.
"Communities at the village, block and district levels have been roped in to both safeguard the existing forest cover and expand it by planting trees," Meena said.
Highlighting the pressure on forest, the minister said that it (pressure) would continue to increase vis-à-vis the rising population.
"Increasing population and economic growth means more people will be demanding more things from a fewer forests. It seems certain that plantation and trees outside forest will take on an increasing role in meeting these demands," he added.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Environment and Forests A. Raja said empowering people, particularly assigning the ownership of minor forest produce for the purpose of access, processing and trade would definitely enhance their livelihood.
"It would be a milestone in reducing the poverty of the people living in and around forests," the senior minister added.
Guatemala City, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Guatemalan security forces apprehended four people, three men and a woman, on Tuesday for possible links to the Feb 19 murder of three Salvadoran deputies and their driver.
The arrests were part of operations in Jutiapa Department (province) near El Salvador, and in the capital itself, Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann told reporters.
Vielmann said Mario Javier Lemus, Obdulio Waldemar de Leon, Carlos Orellana and Linda Castillo Orellana were active participants in the deaths of the Salvadoran deputies, allegedly purchasing the fuel, and they are believed to have disarmed the deputies car in a search for money or drugs.
The minister said the investigators have verified that the four suspects are involved in drug trafficking.
On March 26, representatives of the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador will meet to analyze the course of the investigation into the crime and the subsequent execution of four police officers arrested for being presumably responsible for the murders.
Paris, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) -- Despite European Union reservations about the new Hamas-Fatah national union government, France has said it was in favour of resuming aid to the new Palestinian executive authority, a position that contradicts that of Israel and also differes from that of the United States.
"France is prepared to resume political contacts with those members of the Palestinian government who are not drawn from Hamas," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said at a press briefing Tuesday.
He said that France considered "direct financial aid to the new government should be resumed" and France is "currently defending that position with our European counterparts".
Discussions among the 27 EU nations are ongoing on the subject of aid, which was suspended after the surprise election of Hamas in January 2005.
Already France last week said it would resume contacts between Foreign Ministers and invited the Palestinian Foreign Minister to visit Paris. Failing that, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy vowed to visit his counterpart, Ziad Abu Amro, in Palestine.
Abu Amro is an independent and not from either Fatah or Hamas, which France and its EU partners have been boycotting because Hamas refuses to renounce violence, recognise Israel and adhere to agreements signed by the PLO in 1993.
Hamas argues it cannot renounce violence unless Israel stops attacking it and forcing it to resist and it says it cannot recognise the Israel that is developing as this is not the Israel that is supposed to exist within the 1967 borders in line with earlier accords.
As for the 1993 accords, Hamas says that Israel is constantly violating these accords through its settlement policy, the construction of the separation wall, the ongoing economic stranglehold on the Palestinian economy and the policy of targeted assassination against alleged militants and the destruction of Palestinian property.
Israel's policy towards Jerusalem is also a flagrant violation of the accords signed between the two sides, Hamas maintains, noting that Israel's policy in this area has been internationally condemned.
France on Tuesday adopted a median line with the new Palestinian government, saying it would cooperate with ministers who were not part of Hamas.
Despite the boycott of Hamas for direct aid, the EU says it has tried to maintain indirect humanitarian aid since the Hamas election and sought innovative ways to get aid to the Palestinians, but the EU action, along with a US aid freeze and Israel's refusal to hand over tax duties to the Palestinians, paralysed the government and caused major disruptions to the economy and to the civil service, in particular.
The European aid, estimated at close to one billion euros annually, is vital to the Palestinian executive and it is unlikely the new national union government can survive without a fast influx of fresh cash from the Europeans.
By Nozipho Dlamini
Durban, South Africa, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) The eThekwini Metropolitann Municipality, in conjunction with several stakeholders, have set up a Disaster Management Joint Operations Committee (DM-Joc) after freak massive waves that caused damage along the beach in the early hours of Monday morning.
The establishment of the committee follows damage to infrastructure along the coastline and national warnings from the South African Weather Services that high seas with wave heights in excess of seven metres were expected along the southern KwaZulu-Natal province coastline.
The committee consists of Metro Police, South African Police Services, Emergency Services, Electricity, Water, Roads, Engineering and Parks and Recreation.
According to eThekwini Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo, the situation had prompted the municipality to closed off all entrances to local beaches until further notice. "The city's emergency services are on standby for further wave activity along the eThekwini coastline,� he said.
He said there was no need for panic as a plan was in place to anticipate further storm impact.
Due to extreme weather conditions, a culmination of the highest astronomical tide as a result of the alignment of the sun, moon and earth and a cyclone around the coast of Madagascar, Durban has been experiencing unusually high tides and damage has been experienced all along the coastline, with Umdloti being the worst hit.
On Monday, a huge tidal wave of up to six metres in height hit the Durban beachfront, causing immense infrastructural damage along the coast and Naidoo warned people to stop parking their vehicles and walking onto the beaches to witness the wave damage.
Lyon,March 21 (Islamic Voice)A French court in Lyon has overturned a decision by the city’s top educational authority to close a Muslim secondary school. “Justice is served,� the school’s principal Nazir Hakim said. The school’s administration had decried the closure decision as indicative of rising Islamophobia in France. The school is to open three classes by March 2007 and will mainly teach state curricula in addition to Quran, jurisprudence, Islamic civilization and history. Private Muslim schools are an urgent demand by many Muslim families in France, especially after the state banned hijab and religious symbols at public schools. In July 2003, the French government approved the establishment of Ibn Rushd school in Lille, which became the first secondary Muslim school in France. France is home to some six to seven million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.
New Delhi,March 21 (ibnlive.com) The filing of nominations has begun for only 120 of the 403 seats in the UP Assembly polls, and there are already over two dozen people with criminal backgrounds trying to enter the 15th UP Assembly as Independents.
Leading the pack is Mumbai blasts accused Abu Salem, who was in fact the first one to announce his candidature from Mubarakpur Assembly seat in Azamgarh district even though his name does not figure in the voter's list.
And then there is another don, Om Prakash Srivastava alias Babloo Srivastava, who has joined the fray in the Lucknow (central) seat.
Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya, too, is back in the poll field as is Seema Parihar, the female accomplice of slain dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar; Mukhtar Ansari and Dhananjay Singh.
The filing of nominations for 62 Assembly seats concluded on Tuesday while the process is on full flow for 58 seats, which go to polls in the second phase. The poll notification for the second phase was announced on Saturday.
But the number of criminals that have entered the fray has already raised many an eyebrow among political observers.
Salem’s candidature is still in doubt. The don is currently lodged in the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai. While he can contest the elections under the prevalent law, the district authorities of Azamgarh and the Chief Electoral Officer have rejected his appeal to include his name in the voter's list.
The mafia gangster has now moved the Allahabad High Court, challenging the non-inclusion of his name in the voter's list in his own home district. The status of his candidature will be clear only after the high court gives its verdict on the same.
His lawyers are hopeful of a favourable verdict. Azamgarh goes to polls only in the seventh and last phase on May 8. Salem's lawyer says the gangster actually wanted to contest Assembly elections from Sarai Meer, but his name was not included in the voter's list there too. Also, the constituency has been declared a reserved seat this time.
Babloo Srivastava had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Sitapur seat in 1995. Now he is back to try his luck in the Assembly polls from the Kayasthya-dominated Lucknow (central) seat. He is lodged in the Barielly Central Jail at present and is fighting several criminal cases in the Lucknow court.
Mukhtar Ansari, the don of Mau who is charged with crimes like murder and dacoity, was an Independent MLA in the outgoing UP Assembly.
He is back in the same seat as an Independent candidate. Ansari is also planning to field a few candidates in various other constituencies. "If some of his candidates win, it would push him into a bargaining position," PTI quoted a senior police officer as saying.
So are Dhananjay Singh (Rari, Jaunpur) and Raja Bhaiyya (Kunda, Pratapgarh), who have already crossed over to politics. There are strong chances that they will may it to the next Assembly as well.
Mohammad Ashraf, the main accused in the murder of Raju Pal, the BSP MLA from Allahabad (West), will be contesting from the same constituency. His elder brother Atiq Ahmed is a Samajwadi Party MP from Phoolpur. Ashraf, who has several criminal cases against him, was defeated by Raju Pal in the last Assembly elections.
Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, another accused in the BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder case, is also planning to contest from Muzzafarnagar. Jeeva is currently lodged in jail, but continues to run his extortion racket from there, Special Task Force sources said.
Seema Parihar is contesting from Mirzapur on a Indian Justice Party (IJP) ticket. She said she chose this constituency as Phoolan Devi had contested (for Lok Sabha) from here.
Abhay Singh, another criminal who is close to Mukhtar Ansari, had contested from Ayodhya, Faizabad, in the last elections and will be contesting this time too. Sushil Mooch, a small-time criminal, is likely to fight the elections from Muzzafarnagar.
Mahendra Singh Bhatti, a convict jailed in Bulandshaher in a murder case, is also planning to contest from the district. He was in the news recently when his fake phone conversation with Union Minister of State for Home, Manikrao Gavit, hit the headlines.
Even the lists of candidates announced by various political parties till now have many candidates with criminal antecedents despite claims to the contrary by party leaders.
Some of the criminals are contesting by proxy as their relatives have been given the tickets. For example, Banda dacoit Dadua's brother, Bal Kumar, will contest the elections. Another relative of Dadua may also get a ticket.
Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) Ailing hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was Wednesday admitted to a city hospital following deterioration of his health.
"The ailing Hurriyat Conference leader, whose visa to travel to the US for treatment is still to come, was admitted to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital here following deterioration of his health Wednesday evening," said sources at the hospital.
Official sources here said that the Hurriyat leader, along with his son Naseem-uz-Zaffar, had applied for the US visa earlier this week for his treatment. Geelani has been suffering from cancer.
"We have been waiting for the visa formalities to be over but we have been informed that the case would be sent to Washington for clearance by the US state department," a TV channel said quoting Naseem.
Hamburg,March 21 (Islamic Voice) German authorities have given the go-ahead to German sculptor Gregor Schneider to showcase a cube reminiscent of Kabah, in Hamburg. Schneider’s replica is 13 meters long and wide. “I wanted to introduce to people worldwide the oldest place of worship,� Schneider said, referring to it as one of the most breathtaking buildings worldwide. The sculptor said he made several attempts to take his cube to the Venice Biennale and St Mark Square in Italy, but authorities rejected his requests for “security and political reasons.� There are some 3.2 million Muslims in Germany and Islam comes third after Protestant and Catholic Christianity. Some German Muslims have hailed Schneider’s work and refused to call it offensive. “Islam is not against such pieces of art,� Chairman of the Higher Council for Muslims in Germany, Nadim Elias said. “Muslims will not consider this work offensive,� added Ahmed Yazgi, a member of the Federation of Muslim Communities in Northern Germany.
By Sharat Pradhan,
Lucknow, March 21 (IANS) A whopping Rs.275.5 million. That is the difference between assets declared by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav before the returning officer and the figure submitted in the Supreme Court.
The declaration made by him before the Etawah returning officer Tuesday ahead of the assembly polls from April 7 to May 8 has become questionable as a number of properties listed in a public interest litigation (PIL) before the apex court are missing in it.
Vishwa Mohan Chaturvedi, who moved the PIL before the apex court seeking a probe into his disproportionate assets, says: "This declaration is absolutely false."
"The affidavit sworn by him before the Supreme Court barely two months back clearly admits assets of the order of Rs.308 million - in sharp contrast to Tuesday's declaration of assets worth only about Rs.32.5 million."
"In fact, as per authenticated documents attached by me before the apex court, properties and assets owned by Mulayam's family are of the order of more than a billion rupees."
While the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been asked to probe his assets following the PIL, Mulayam Singh in his latest declaration has sought to impress upon the electorate in his hometown Etawah that he does not even own a car.
If the asset returns filed by him before the returning officer are to be believed, then the only car owned by his family is a Toyota purchased in the name of his second wife, Sadhana, against a bank loan.
There is no mention about the high-speed vehicles openly used by his dependent younger son (from the second marriage), Pratik, who keeps changing these luxury cars.
Besides the lone house owned by him in Etawah, the ownership of two houses in Lucknow is also shown in the name of his wife Sadhana and younger son Pratik.
This is again in sharp contrast to the number of other properties owned in the name of different family members in Lucknow, as brought forth before the apex court.
Another huge family-owned building on Lucknow's posh Mahatma Gandhi Marg, opposite the governor's house, which is currently hired by the ABM Amro Bank, has not been revealed in the declaration.
Similarly two huge plots on Lucknow's prime Vikramaditya Marg also do not find mention in his latest declaration.
Only a modest 14.5 acre agricultural land has been shown under his ownership in his native village Saifai.
The chief minister has declared bank deposits worth about Rs.3.5 million in his own account and about Rs.1.5 million in his wife's name.
Properties held in the name of elder son Akhilesh Yadav have not been revealed.
A bureaucrat close to Mulayam Singh, however, said: "Akhilesh is an independent tax payer and an MP, so how could properties owned by him be mentioned under the assets owned by the chief minister?"
Hualapai Reservation (Arizona), March 21 (DPA) The Hualapai tribe of American Indians have formally thrown open a controversial glass viewing platform suspended over the Grand Canyon, the country's most famous natural monument, enlisting the help of two men accustomed to being airborne in outer space.
The two former US astronauts - Buzz Aldrin, 77, the second man to ever walk on the moon, and John Herrington, 48, the country's first native American astronaut - casually walked out on the platform that juts out 20 metres over the Grand Canyon Tuesday.
Members of the impoverished Hualapai tribe, who hope the skywalk will attract 600,000 visitors each year paying $25 each for the view 1,200 metres above the canyon floor, followed them. The walk will be opened to the public on March 28.
The project represented a "vision towards the future of hope" for the poverty-stricken tribe, Aldrin said.
The 453-metric-tonne, $30-million platform is fastened to the rock by a complicated system of metal cantilevers. It was built by a Las Vegas tour operator in conjunction with the tribe, whose reservation rims the remote western edge of the canyon.
The structure has sparked controversy with some tribe members saying it violates sacred ground and environmentalists charging that it demeans the area's natural beauty.
"Our ancestors roamed this land before us," tribeswoman Leatrice Walema was quoted as saying by the Arizona Republic newspaper recently. "This is holy ground. Most of our elders disapprove of this, but the council members approved it before the community voted on it. It was hidden (from us). This should never have been done."
Environmentalists are also up in arms about the horseshoe-shaped structure. Robert Arnberger, who was superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park from 1994 to 2000, told the newspaper it was a "travesty".
"I understand the need for the tribe to consider the economics of the tribe, but ... it desecrates the very place the Hualapai hold so dear," he was quoted as saying.
Herrington is a Chicksaw Indian from Oklahoma. Aldrin was the second man, behind astronaut Neil Armstrong, to set foot on the moon when the two landed on the moon in July 1969.
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) Sporting Clube de Goa sent East Bengal crashing to a humiliating 2-0 defeat in their backyard in the National Football League (NFL) here Wednesday.
Though the match began on equal footing, Sporting players soon took over the reins. The first goal came in the 20th minute when a freak clearance from Felix Gomes saw Jeremiah collect the ball in the rival box, shrug his markers off with a half-turn and dribble past goalkeeper Rajat Ghosh Dastidar.
Sporting went up by 2-0 in the 50th minute when Bello Rajjak's clearance was collected by Dudu Omagbeni, who sprinted down the ground and offered a fine cross to Jeremiah. The burly forward only had to tap to score his second goal of the evening.
Meanwhile, East Bengal got only one clear look at the goal in the 32nd minute when Alvito offered a through pass to Ambani and Edmilson. But the duo wasted enough time in deciding who would do the honours of shooting and the Sporting defence regrouped.
Dejected East Bengal fans later pelted stones at the bus carrying the team's players, shattering one of the glass panes.
The Bengal club's chance of making it to the top of the league table now looks blurred following this embarrassing defeat.
Dhaka, March 21 (Xinhua) Seven people died of drinking rectified spirit in Bangladesh's eastern Comilla district, about 100 km from here.
The daily Ittefaq reported Wednesday that the victims bought rectified spirit from a medical store in Burichang sub district and they died after drinking the spirit.
Rectified spirit is high concentration alcohol purified by the fractional distillation. It is used for medicinal purposes also.
Selling alcohol in the open market is illegal in Muslim majority Bangladesh.
Dozens of people die annually in Bangladesh of drinking rectified spirit.
Police arrested the doctor of the medical store on charges of selling the spirit.
Shimla, March 21 (IANS) Giving in to pressure from farmers, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to ease its law against killing wild boars and even consuming their meat. Now a person can kill up to 10 boars in the state.
Farmers will be allowed to consume the meat of the dead animal but won't be allowed to sell the carcass, said an official of the state's wildlife department.
"The changes in the law of hunting of wild boars have been made due to growing incidents of boar-human conflict," said state wildlife chief Vinay Tandon on Wednesday.
According to the earlier law, the shot animal was the property of the state and the farmer had to hand over the dead animal to the authorities for autopsy.
Farmer groups have been protesting against the rising menace of wild boars to standing crops in the lower hills of the state. They have been urging the government to make the law more liberal so that they can eliminate the animals.
Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) Idea Cellular, one of India leading mobile telephony service providers, will outsource some of its operations to global IT giant IBM in a 10-year $800 million deal.
"The Indian unit of IBM will manage and support Idea's IT infrastructure and other services including billing and customer management on a revenue-sharing basis," Idea Cellular managing director Sanjeev Aga told a news conference here Wednesday.
"We will harness IBM's power to support Idea's explosive growth with robust best-in-the-class solutions. It will give us business focus, apart from containing costs," Aga said without giving any details on the cost savings.
Idea Cellular, part of the Aditya Birla Group, is the country's fifth largest mobile service provider with a subscriber base of 13.6 million at the end of February.
"IBM will bring its deep global expertise in business transformation and innovation to enable Idea to meet its customer value, business growth and productivity objectives," said IBM South Asia and India managing director Shanker Annaswamy.
Asked if IBM would work with the London-based telecom major Vodafone that is acquiring Hutchinson's stake in Idea's competitor Hutch India, IBM's vice-president (communication sector for Asia-Pacific) Ramesh Awtaney said: "Globally, IBM has over 100 telecom clients big and small including Vodafone and Telstra of Australia. IBM is free to strike similar alliances in India."
"IBM can also work with Vodafone in India but we are yet to receive such an offer.
As with Idea, IBM had in 2004 signed a 10-year, $750 million revenue-sharing deal with India's top mobile firm Bharti Airtel to manage its core IT infrastructure.
"That deal is now estimated to have gone up to more than $1.5 billion, helped recent robust growth in Bharti's subscribers base and increasing revenue," an IBM official told IANS.
Bridgetown (Barbados), March 21 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has credited former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer with much of the development that has occurred in the Associate cricket nations.
Woolmer, also a former ICC high performance manager, died Sunday in Jamaica hours after Pakistan were eliminated from the tournament following a three-wicket loss to Ireland.
"From an ICC perspective, we owe Bob a huge debt of thanks as he played a pivotal role in the development of cricket below ICC Full Member level as the organisation's first high performance manager (HPM)," said Percy Sonn, the ICC's president.
"Bob was a passionate advocate of spreading the game as widely as possible and giving every one of our members whatever building blocks they needed to be the best they could be.
"The continuing growth and improving standards of play among the top Associates that we have seen over the past few years are a fitting tribute to Bob's work for the ICC," he said.
Sonn also praised Woolmer's contribution to the sport, noting that he had a genuine love for the game and had adopted a "free-thinking approach" to coaching, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported.
"I knew Bob for many years through our roles within cricket in South Africa and it is difficult to think of a man who was more committed to the betterment of the sport than him," said Sonn.
"He combined a detailed technical knowledge of the game with a free-thinking approach and he was always one prepared to push the envelope and experiment to see if things could be done better.
"Bob was an outstanding human being who loved the game and always tried to instil that love and passion for our great sport into anyone he came into contact with. He will be sorely missed."
As a mark of respect for Woolmer, the ICC requested teams involved in matches on Monday to wear black armbands.
Flags at both venues - Sabina Park and the Queen's Park Oval - were also flown at half-mast. There was also a moment's silence before both matches.
This mark of respect will also be repeated for Pakistan's final match of the tournament against Zimbabwe at Sabina Park Wednesday.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) As much of Nepal stayed paralysed Wednesday by an indefinite strike called by traders to protest atrocities by Maoists, at least five people were killed and over two dozen injured when fresh violence broke out in the southern Terai plains.
The state-run Nepal Television channel said the toll could be as high as eight, as people from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with Maoists in Gaur town in Rautahat district.
The district authorities declared an indefinite curfew in the violence-hit town after the violent clash between the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state, and the Madhes Rastriya Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists.
Violence had been anticipated since the morning when both groups began preparations to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight from this area with their Terai movement, forcing the seven-party government to concede their demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking their mass meetings.
The state television channel said Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that turned into a stampede as people started firing.
The channel confirmed five deaths, saying they included mostly women and children. Over 20 people were admitted to hospital after being injured in the baton attacks.
The fresh violence comes as the Maoists and seven-party ruling alliance began yet another round of talks in the capital Wednesday to discuss the formation of an interim government in which the rebels are also to be included.
Kathmandu valley and key towns have been reeling under an indefinite strike called from Monday by Nepal's business community to protest against growing extortion and attacks on traders by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concern with the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday meeting Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
While the business strike entered its third day today with the protesters saying they would keep it up till the government showed true power and commitment to provide security, the Maoist trade union responsible for the hotelier's abduction hit out.
The All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to the exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) India will host the first summit of an expanded SAARC April 3-4 that will see Afghanistan joining the regional grouping as its eighth member and the participation of five observers for the first time in the history of the 22-year-old bloc.
Connectivity - physical, economic and emotional - will be the binding theme of the 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.
New Delhi last hosted the eighth SAARC summit in 1995.
A joint declaration at the end of the summit will formalise Afghanistan's entry into the regional body, external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna told reporters here Wednesday.
The US, Japan, China, the European Union and South Korea will also attend the SAARC summit as observers for the first time.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher have already confirmed their attendance. China and South Korea are likely to be represented by their foreign ministers.
The observers will be present at the opening and closing session where they can make a brief speech.
The focus at the 14th SAARC summit is on energising SAARC and converting it from what is seen as a document-producing talk shop into an action-oriented instrument for creating a South Asian identity through a slew of collaborative projects.
"The time has come to move from confabulations and deliberations to the implementation of collaborative projects," Preeti Saran, joint secretary in the ministry of external affairs, told reporters here.
India will push for greater connectivity in South Asia in terms of enhanced rail, road and air links, the elimination of trade barriers and freer flow of ideas, she underlined.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had presented a set of concrete intra-regional projects at the 13th SAARC summit in Dhaka in 2005 that included South Asia Development Fund, Disaster Management Centre, Regional Food Bank and SAARC museum of textiles and handicrafts.
The priority of the South Indian leaders at the 14th summit here will be to give flesh and blood to these innovative ideas.
Preparations for the SAARC summit - a major regional event - are already underway with diplomats working overtime to see everything is in place and working out arrangements for a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the meet.
A series of events will be held in the run-up to the summit that includes the meetings of the council of ministers (March 30-31), standing committee at the level of foreign secretaries (March 31-April 1) and the programme committee on March 30.
A cultural programme that will showcase performances by artistes from all eight countries will be organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) April 2.
A group of prominent editors from the region has also been invited by the government for a conversation with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The SAARC car rally flashing the motto "Connecting people and Strengthening ties", which was launched March 15 from Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh, re-entered India Wednesday and headed for a night halt at Guwahati on way to Nepal.
A reception will be organised to welcome the rally at India Gate here April 2 and will be flagged off from Vigyan Bhavan next day.
United Nations, March 21 (IANS) India has called upon the international community to maintain a robust response to terror while focusing upon rapid expansion of capacity to deliver effective governance, development and the dividends of peace in Afghanistan.
"India has consistently held that one cannot negotiate with those who choose the path of terror," Vikram Doraiswami, counselor, told the UN Security Council Tuesday on behalf of India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nirupam Sen.
Three months ago, India had noted that it was not evident that efforts to find ways of negotiating peace in the more troubled provinces of Afghanistan were succeeding," he said.
The secretary general's latest report and the increasing trend of suicide attacks by terrorists only reinforced this point, Doraiswami said. "Tolerating the spiral of violence is not an option, and a strong, unified international voice condemning international terrorism is the need of the day."
While the secretary general's report accorded well with India's own assessment of the situation on the ground, New Delhi was dismayed at the frequent use of the term "insurgents".
"To us, this is a euphemism that does not begin to describe extremists and terrorists of the most vicious sort," Doraiswami said noting that the report also throws Afghanistan's steady slide into violence into sharp relief.
"Until there is predictability and irreversibility of this process, it is unlikely that efforts to disband illegally armed groups will be taken forward meaningfully. Until Afghan forces of law and order are not fully empowered, the nexus between drug trafficking and terror cannot be broken."
Reiterating India's abiding commitment to support reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, Doraiswami said it would endeavour to help in every possible way to buttress peace there. "We see this as an investment in our region, and as a means of assisting a fraternal people."
In all its efforts aimed towards reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, India has ensured close involvement of the Afghanistan government and the welfare of its people, he said.
Doraiswami said ongoing effort to help Afghanistan emerge from war, strife and privation remains the responsibility of the international community, in particular, the states of the region.
"Hence, consolidation of the hard-won gains since the fall of the regressive Taliban regime must be a long-term strategic objective for all of us; not merely a tactical manoeuvre for the present," he asserted.
Stressing the need for closer and more effective coordination between international organisations and stakeholders in Afghanistan, Doraiswami said India is ready to continue to contribute to such an effort.
"In this context, it is essential to underline that despite the myriad challenges before us in Afghanistan, the countries of the region cannot but play a larger and more direct role in reintegrating Afghanistan into the region," he added.
Indeed, lasting development in Afghanistan will eventually be based on a revival of the age-old commercial, social, cultural and political ties that made Afghanistan the cross-roads of East and West Asia, South Asia and Central Asia, Doraiswami said.
Bilaterally, India has continued to make strenuous efforts to support reconstruction in the widest possible spectrum of activities in Afghanistan, he said noting New Delhi's current commitments exceed $750 million and cover a gamut of activities.
By Devendra Khurana, Bhopal
India is in a precarious position at the cricket World Cup with a victory over Sri Lanka a necessity, that too in a convincing manner. India had earlier put up a dismal performance against Bangladesh and that is the reason that they find themselves in a difficult position. So much hype had been created by the media about the Indian team that Indian team is now finding it difficult to come to terms with the expectations of its large number of supporters.
One can only hope that India comes out of this rough patch.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) India needs to be more "open and transparent" in order to attract increased investments in the energy sector, US Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said here Wednesday.
Such a market-based system will pull in large-scale investment as well as technical know-how and expertise from the private sector, Bodman said at a seminar on 'Emerging investment opportunities in the South Asian power sector' here.
"The US proudly stands as your partner... For this region to grow to its full economic potential, critical investments in energy infrastructure, diversification, clean energy and energy efficiency must be made," Bodman said.
"Such investments on the scale required would need stable regulatory frameworks, open investment climates, adherence to the rule of law, transparency in decision-making and market-based pricing of energy resources," he added.
Referring to the potential that India and other SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries can take advantage of, Bodman said: "This part of the world is blessed with an extraordinary talented pool of scientists and engineers."
He also urged the South Asian countries not to rely on fossil fuels and outdated technologies and encourage investments that enhance global economic growth.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Welcoming formation of a National Unity Government in Palestine, India Wednesday offered to help the new regime in its reconstruction efforts and hoped for resumption of the peace process in the Middle East.
"India welcomes the formation of the Palestinian National Unity Government as a result of the efforts by all the parties directly involved," external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said in a statement.
"India is ready to assist the Palestinian National Unity Government in its reconstruction and rebuilding efforts," he said, reiterating India's support for "legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people" and their efforts to reconstruct their nation.
New Delhi also hoped that the new government "will help in alleviation of the suffering of the common man and in the resumption of peaceful dialogue under the peace process."
The new Hamas-Fatah coalition was sworn in Saturday.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Leander Paes will lead a five-member Indian team for the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I tie against Kazakhstan next month, it was announced here Wednesday.
The team, which will play Almaty, Kazakhstan, from April 6-8, also comprises Rohan Bopanna, Karan Rastogi, Divij Sharan and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya, said the All India Tennis Association (AITA) in a statement.
Team: Leander Paes (captain), Rohan Bopanna, Karan Rastogi, Divij Sharan and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya
Coaches: Nandan Bal and Sandeep Kirtane
New Delhi, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) India and Bahrain have signed two pacts in the fields of media and culture as part of efforts to expand bilateral ties.
The two pacts were signed here Tuesday in the presence of India's Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Bahrain's Crown Prince Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad al Khalifa.
Earlier in the evening, the Bahraini Crown Prince held discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues including international terrorism and the peace process in West Asia, officials in India's External Affairs Ministry told KUNA after the meeting.
The Crown Prince, on a four-day visit to India, also called on India's President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and discussed their vision of India and Bahrain in 2020, the officials said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) India's efforts to bridge the digital divide in the Commonwealth will get an impetus at an international e-partnership summit here Friday that will be attended by Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon.
"The convening of the international e-partnership summit in New Delhi is a reaffirmation of India's strong commitment to bridging the digital divide within the Commonwealth," the external affairs ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will inaugurate the partnership summit at Vigyan Bhavan here.
McKinnon, who begins his three-day visit to India Thursday, will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and other senior ministers.
Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed will host a dinner in honour of McKinnon.
India has been proactively involved in a series of Commonwealth initiatives including the Commonwealth Connects programme launched at the last meeting of heads of government in Malta in November 2005.
The Commonwealth of Nations, better known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom, except for Mozambique and the UK itself.
India will host the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune in 2008 and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.
India will also host the 53rd annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference in September 2007 and will also organise the conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers in 2010.
New Delhi had pledged the single largest contribution of 1 million euros to this programme, out of which 350,000 euros have already been paid.
India has also enhanced its contribution to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation to one million pounds in 2009-10.
By R Kaushik :
Port of Spain,March 21 (DH News Service) The business end of Group “B� is almost upon us. The stage is set for a fascinating few days culminating in the Bangladesh-Bermuda game, originally dismissed as a match of little consequence but now the potentially decisive one.
India's commanding rout of debutants Bermuda has brought them back into the frame, but they must beat Sri Lanka on Friday. That is non-negotiable.
The net run rate will not be such a massive consideration if Sri Lanka score a convincing victory over Bangladesh on Wednesday.
The picture will be much clearer by Wednesday evening because at this early stage the net run rate presents a very misleading picture, with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh having played just one game apiece. Notwithstanding the record 257-run triumph, India's net run rate stands at 2.507.
The net run rate is calculated by deducting the bowling runs per over from the batting runs per over, or, the batting run rate minus the bowling run rate over the duration of the group matches.
If Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh by a mile, then India will, most likely, need just a simple win over the Lankans, because Bangladesh might be left with way too much to do in their last game against Bermuda.
Should India and Sri Lanka go through at Bangladesh's expense, it will mean that teams will carry two points with them into the Super 8s.
India will watch the Lanka-Bangladesh game with no more than passing interest, because their primary goal now will be to beat the Lankans. Should they fail to secure victory against Sri Lanka on Friday, the net run rate won't even be a consideration.
Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell have repeatedly stressed on the need to focus on the controllables. That line of thinking is bound to stand them in good stead now.
New York, March 21 (IANS) An Indian American fast food restaurant manager has been handed an 18-month prison term after he was found guilty of tax fraud.
Delivering the verdict Tuesday, US district Judge S. Arthur Spiegel ordered Ashfaque Patel, the former manager of Burger King, Greater Cincinnati, to pay over $50,000 compensation to the internal revenue service (IRS).
Federal prosecutors found that Patel was among several employees of the restaurant who helped Angelo DeSimone, managing director of the outlet, to steal money from the branch, according to The Enquirer newspaper.
Prosecutors said Patel and other managers covered up the thefts by not maintaining proper sales registers, voiding sales that had been completed, altering monthly sales figures and changing inventory reports.
The fraud continued from 1996 through 2000.
Patel became the 10th person convicted in the conspiracy and the eighth ordered to serve time in federal prison.
DeSimone was sentenced to three years in prison in 2004 and ordered to pay $370,000 in restitution. Other employees received sentences ranging from probation to five months in prison.
London, March 21 (IANS) An Indian pizza chef has been recognised as the fastest chef in Britain and is in the running for the top prize in an international contest.
Prem Singh, 32, worked for Domino's Pizza in India before moving to Leicester, a town in the east Midlands with a large Indian population. His speed in rustling up pizzas has grown far and wide since his recent arrival. He can prepare three pizzas at the same time - in less than 90 seconds.
Singh displayed his skills at the UK qualifying round of the Fastest Pizza Maker contest. Judged by two experts in the field, Singh prepared a trio of large pepperoni, mushroom, and cheese and tomato pizzas in a sizzling one minute and 23 seconds.
The competition was devised by fast-food giant Domino's Pizza 25 years ago to keep their staff on their toes. But now chefs from stores across the world take each other on in a bid to be crowned world champion.
Strict competition rules require that every dough base be free from holes and that all toppings be evenly distributed on each slice, piling the pressure on perfectionist pizza makers.
In 2006, Singh, who is also the area store director for Leicester's Domino's Pizza stores, was the second-fastest pizza creator in Europe, and this year he was just 24 seconds short of the world record.
He will now test his skills against seven other margherita masters in a UK final at Alton Towers March 26. The winner will jet off to the US to compete in the world final later this year.
Singh told Leicester Mercury, a leading local daily: "The competition is designed to make sure you make really good pizzas as quickly as possible. Each one must be able to be given to a customer.
"The quickest person in the UK for six years in a row has been Pali Grewal, who owns a lot of stores in the London area. He can do it in about one minute. Last year, I was one of the quickest in Europe, but this year I just hope I make the qualifiers."
Patricia Thomas, operations director of Domino's Pizza and a past judge of the World Final in the US, said the competition was a true test of pizza mastery.
She said: "As Prem's phenomenal performance proved, Domino's Pizza employees are showing no signs of slowing up."
Singapore, March 21 (DPA) Headhunters scouting for airport talent are eyeing staff at Singapore's Changi in hopes of luring qualified people to fill key positions in India, media reports said Wednesday.
Infrastructure giant GMR Group, leading the consortia tasked with building and running new airports in New Delhi and Hyderabad, has hired a recruitment firm in the city-state to fill 15 key positions in airport management, operations and ground handling, according to The Straits Times.
While foreign carriers such as Emirates regularly conduct pilot and cabin-crew recruitment exercises in Singapore and elsewhere, GMR is believed to be the first foreign airport operator to advertise for staff in the city-state in a significant way.
With Changi's reputed brand name and many more airport development projects in India, the Middle East and China coming up, keeping good people will be a growing challenge for the airport, said analyst Shukor Yusof of Standard & Poor's Equity Research.
Middle East companies have demonstrated they are prepared to "over-pay" to attract good people, Yusof said.
GMR's recruitment drive coincides with a pay-structure review by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
A CAAS spokesman told the newspaper that salary reviews are done regularly to ensure that remuneration packages "are competitive in order that we can attract and retain talent."
Talent will flow to where the grass is greener, said analyst Andrew Miller with the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Any airport that has good talent and does not understand this will see some of that talent depart offshore, he said.
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) A Delhi-Bangkok flight of Indian Airlines made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport Wednesday after a false bomb alarm by a drunken Mexican passenger caused a flutter on board.
"The plane landed here safely at around 3 p.m. as a precautionary measure and all 83 passengers are safe," Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport director V.K. Monga told IANS.
The passenger on the flight IC-854, described as a middle-aged Mexican, was arrested and handed over to the police after the flight landed here, he said.
The person was sloshed and created a ruckus inside the plane, fighting with co-passengers and claiming that he was carrying explosives. He was overpowered by the air marshals and in the way he got injured, Monga said.
He was given medical treatment upon arrest, he said.
The plane was thoroughly checked by the security staff and the bomb squad but no explosives were found.
Police said the details of the passenger and the incident would be made available later.
The flight would leave for Bangkok after the search operation was over, airport sources said.
On March 11, a flight of private domestic carrier IndiGo was forced to return to Kolkata soon after leaving for New Delhi following a hijack scare.
London, March 21 (IANS) Indian investment in Britain is poised to outstrip British investment in the subcontinent, reversing the flow of capital for the first time since the days of the Raj, says a new study.
According to exclusive research by Close Brothers Corporate Finance for The Sunday Telegraph, by 2010, Indian companies will buy up 150 British businesses a year, while British companies will acquire just 138 in India.
India's booming companies are increasingly willing to spend money abroad with Britain being a favourite target. Of 12.4 billion pounds in deals announced in the last five years, more than half - 6.8 billion pounds - was spent in Britain.
The research showed that other European countries lagged far behind for Indian investment with the next most popular, Germany, picking up just a billion pounds worth.
Close Brothers Corporate Finance managing director Richard Grainger, who recently signed a deal to add Bangalore boutique Allegro Capital Advisors to Close's international network, says the still-strong cultural ties between Britain and India encourage investment.
He told the Daily Telegraph: "We have a linguistic advantage here and in the US, while in countries like France and Germany there are employment issues around investing."
Grainger points to Tata's 2005 acquisition of British technology business INCAT as a turning point in the investment trend. "That was the first sign of the wall of money coming out of India," he said.
Tata eclipsed its own deal earlier this year when it won the 6 billion pounds battle for Corus, formerly British Steel and a one-time bastion of the FTSE's industrial core. Indian tea company Apeejay International also picked up Britain's Typhoo in 2005, taking tea back to India.
The research showed that if India's acquisition spree continues on trend, it will buy 31 British companies this year, almost double that to 52 next year, then push up to almost 90 corporate raids in 2009.
In the same period, British companies will also increase investment in India, but by nothing like the same rate. From 50 acquisitions this year, British firms are expected to pick up 99 companies in 2009.
Grainger said: "There is a tipping point where things could start to move the other way again. India is growing rapidly and will soon need serious investment in its infrastructure. I can see at that point that British companies will start buying up assets there to be part of that investment."
Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) The Indian stock markets closed at their highest levels in more than a week after the third successive day Wednesday, as a benchmark index rose 1.89 percent riding on gains by blue-chip shares.
The Sensitive Index (Sensex), the 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), closed 239.94 points or 1.89 percent higher at 12,945.88, the highest close since March 13.
Similarly, the broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed 66.74 points or 1.81 percent higher at 3,764.55.
Banking shares led the market bounce-back as index heavyweight and India's top private lender ICICI Bank rose 5.64 percent at Rs.870.35. Leading public sector firm State Bank of India was up 3.10 percent at Rs.982.15.
The other index gainers included top consumer goods maker Hindustan Lever, up 3.67 percent at Rs.190.75, followed by leading telecom service provider Bharti Airtel, up 3.15 percent at Rs.761.75, and top private energy producer Reliance Energy, up 3.14 percent at Rs.491.10.
State-owned heavy engineering firm BHEL, tobacco major ITC, leading two-wheeler maker Hero Honda Motors, state-run oil and natural gas producer ONGC and Reliance Communication were the others ending in the green.
Gujarat Ambuja Cements, down 4.01 percent at Rs.106.45, led the losers, followed by Housing Development Finance Corp, down 1.44 percent at Rs.1,543.40 and pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories, down 1.23 percent at Rs.332.20.
Grasim Industries, drug maker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Bajaj Auto were the other losers of the day.
Jakarta, March 20 (NNN-ANTARA) The government is estimating that Indonesia`s economic growth in 2008 will continue to be around 6.6 percent as many quarters have projected, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
"This is still an initial exercise. We hope we can see the range of economic growth in 2008 after we see the realization of economic growth in 2007 which is projected at 6.3 percent," the minister said after attending a meeting at the presidential office here on Tuesday.
The minister said many circles doubted the government`s target could be achieved but in her view it was better to see first how economic growth developed in the first semester of 2007.
"We want a higher economic growth but we need to be realistic as well. Therefore, we will set our temporary target at 6.6 percent for 2008," she said.
She said the government had set its 2007 economic growth target at 6.3 in but many circles such as eonomic observers, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Citibank and Deusthe Bank had set it at a range of 5.5 to 6.5 percent.
"My estimate is that economic growth in 2007 will be between 5.9 percent and 6 percent," she said.
Jakarta, March 21 (Xinhua) Indonesian boxer Anis Dwi Mulya died in a hospital in Jakarta, five days after he received injuries in a fight, media reported Wednesday.
Mulya, 27, was being treated for head injuries he suffered last Thursday during the junior-lightweight bout, which had to be called off at the sixth round after he collapsed.
Anis is the 22nd casualty connected to the sports in the country since 1948.
Doctors said he suffered epidural bleedings in the head and underwent two surgeries last Friday, Indonesian language newspaper Kompas reported.
"The thrombocyte level in his blood dropped indicating he did not only suffer bleeding but also another illness, very likely dengue," Tunggul Marpaung who led the surgery team was quoted as saying.
Ramadi,Iraq,March 21 (Islamic Voice) Along with maths, science and geography, Iraqi children are now required to learn a vital subject that could save their lives in the war-torn country: hiding and taking precautionary measures when a bomb hits their seats of learning. The raging violence and sometimes indiscriminate bombings have made such lessons a must. A report published by UNICEF says: “The current insecurity is making the choice for families to send their children to school a life-threatening one in some areas.� “Children need more protection, both within and outside of school walls,� the report said, warning that “Iraq’s school system is now dangerously vulnerable. Many children have been killed, traumatized or maimed for life. More than 2,00,000 children have left school in Iraq since 2004.
Kuala Lumpur,March 21 (IINA) Malaysia’s northern state of Kelantan has offered to sponsor an Islamic attire for Malaysian women taking part in the upcoming Malaysian Games. “The sports attire will be an alternative to the ones worn by Muslim athletes presently,� said State Women, Youth and Sports Committee chairman, Abdul Patah Mahmood. He added that the outfits will encourage more Muslim women to take part in sports. Kelantan’s chief minister, Nik Abdul Aziz said Islam encourages women to practice sports. “As long as navels are not exposed and they are clad in decent Islamic attire, there is no issue,� he said. “I want women here to become torch-bearers for Muslim women globally,� said Abdul Aziz. “If Kelantanese women can qualify for the Olympics, why not? We should encourage it. However, if they are Muslims, they must don the proper attire,� he said. Kelantan recently hosted the first Malaysian All-Women Games and 1,200 women athletes participated in the events.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Seeking to expand its robust ties in defence sector to other fields, Israel has sought large Indian investments in its infrastructure and transportation sectors, saying this would greatly contribute to its economy.
"We have very good relations in the military and defence industries' sphere. We need to enhance this with your investments in our infrastructure and transportation sectors," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, a retired lieutenant general, said during an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
"Both countries have tremendous potential to grow in the economic field," added Mofaz, who was chief of staff of the Israel Defence Force 1998-2002 and till last year was the country's defence minister.
"You are the world's greatest democracy. We are the only democracy in the Middle East. That is the basis of our looking at strengthening bonds with businesses. We need credible and reliable partners like you," he contended.
During his visit, Mofaz met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu.
According to a senior official accompanying Mofaz, Israel hoped to spend $6 billion on improving its ports, $10 billion on enhancing its highways and roads, and an unspecified amount on building an airport in the sea off capital Tel Aviv, as also $50 million on an airstrip at the southern port town of Eliat.
"India and Israel can serve as the base of a triangle for attracting additional investments from third countries," explained Gideon Siterman, director general in the country's transport ministry.
Speaking about the individual sectors, Siterman said Israel was focusing on developing new ports and enhancing existing ones as 99 percent of its trade was through the sea.
This apart, Israel was also mulling an ambitious 940-km railway line from its Haifa port to Baghdad via Jordan for exports aimed at Europe and other destinations and vice versa.
"The existing journey from Basra, via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean means travelling some 6,000 km. So the benefits of an overland link are obvious. Of course, it depends on a number of (political) matters," Siterman maintained.
"Investing in ports on a BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis is an option Indian companies should look at," he added.
The airports and roads projects would also be public-private partnerships, the official said.
Answering a question on the security that would be provided to Indian companies if they opened shop in Israel, he pointed out that a number of international companies and "thousands of workers from abroad", were already present in the country.
"Just a few weeks ago, hundreds of Chinese workers have arrived to build a metro railway system in Haifa. There is no specific (security-related) problem. What you see and read about is more a perception rather than a reality," Siterman maintained.
Ramallah, March 21 (Xinhua) Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian in a military operation in the West Bank city of Nablus Wednesday, medical and security sources said.
The sources said that Fadi Abu Keshek, 22, was killed during a predawn operation in Askar refugee camp east of Nablus.
Palestinian security sources denied that Abu Keshek was holding any weapon, while Israeli sources said that he was killed in an exchange of fire with the army.
After midnight, tens of Israeli tanks and jeeps stormed Nablus and headed to the refugee camp where Israeli soldiers arrested five people.
In recent weeks, the Israeli army has frequently rolled into Nablus to search for wanted Palestinian militants.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrested 20 Palestinians in West Bank cities in overnight raids, Israel Radio reported, adding that most of them were members of Palestinian factions.
Port of Spain (Trinidad & Tobago), March 21 (IANS) A fine 109 by Sanath Jayasuriya helped Sri Lanka post 318 runs for four wickets in 50 overs against Bangladesh in a Group B World Cup match at the Queen's Park Oval here Wednesday.
Ranchi, March 21 (IANS) A poverty-stricken couple in a Jharkhand village who sold off their new-born twins is now seeking police help to get them back.
Ganpat Pandit, a resident of Alpito village of Hazaribagh district, about 130 km from here, became a father of twins on Jan 25. But soon after, he and his wife Amia Devi decided to sell both the babies to two families for Rs.3,000 in total.
The couple have now written to the police, asking for help to get back their infants, local media reports said Wednesday.
Ganpat sold his first baby to Narayan Sao, a resident of Vishungarh locality of Hazaribagh, and another baby to Krishna Paswan, a resident of Sirsi village of the same district, after getting Rs.1,500 from each.
Both the buyers were childless while Ganpat already has five children.
"I want my kids back. It was my fault that I sold them," Ganpat said.
Sao, to whom a baby was allegedly sold, said: "I had not purchased the child. Ganapat had expressed his inability to look after them and I took one of the twins as I have no child."
Police are investigating the case.
In poverty-stricken Jharkhand, selling of babies by poor couples is not uncommon. More than 20 such cases are reported on an average ever year.
In Jharkhand, 52 percent of the population live Below Poverty Line (BPL) and many parents find it difficult to look after their children.
Ranchi, March 21 (IANS) The Jharkhand government plans to come out with a new industrial and rehabilitation policy in April.
"The industrial and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy draft has almost been completed and will be announced by the second week of April," Deputy Chief Minister and Industries Department In-charge Sudhir Mahto informed the house Tuesday.
Jharkhand currently has no R&R policy and the industrial policy that was announced in August 2002 has already lapsed.
The deputy chief minister also informed the house that the government signed 64 MoUs in the last six years.
"Seven companies purchased land and started production work by setting up industries in the state. Of the 26 companies that applied for land, 10 applications have been sent to the district administration to arrange for the land," Mahto said.
To translate the MoUs into reality, the state government has to acquire more than 100,000 acres of land.
Jharkhand is drafting a lucrative R&R policy to attract landowners and convince them to voluntarily part with their plots to facilitate industrialisation in the state as land acquisition has emerged as a major bottleneck.
"Many changes have been made in the previous industrial policy. The previous one talked about incentives to investors who will pump Rs.500 million into the state. Now we have investors who are ready to pump a billion rupees at one go. The incentive level has been changed," an industry department official said.
He added: "The new industrial policy has been drafted considering the competition among the Indian states to attract investors."
In Jharkhand, 20 percent of the population was displaced over major industrial projects, including those of the Tata Steel, the Bokaro Steel Plant and the Heavy Engineering Corporation besides coal mining and other projects.
Amman, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) The Arab League and Jordan have rejected introduction of amendments to the Arab initiative on peace in the Middle East, affirming that the initiative is a collective Arab effort that needs more highlight.
The remarks were voiced during a joint news conference Tuesday following talks that brought together Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Al Khatib and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on developments in the region, ways of dealing with the challenges facing the Arab nation and preparations for the Arab Summit which will be held in Riyadh later this month.
Khatib told reporters after the talks that the visit of the secretary general was within consultation with King Abdullah II to prepare for the upcoming Arab summit.
He expressed hope that the summit would contribute to enhancing joint Arab action.
The minister, who reviewed with Moussa preparations for the Arab summit, voiced satisfaction over these preparations and hoped the summit will be a success.
The Arab region, he said, was passing through a critical and complicated stage, stressing the need for a unified Arab stance to protect Arab interests.
On the Israeli requests to made amendments to the Arab peace initiative, he said the King's recent address at the US Congress clearly expressed the Arab stance on the peace initiative, which is based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, ending the Israeli occupation of Arab lands and providing security to countries of the region including Israel.
The peace initiative, he added, needs a mechanism for implementation and the goal was reaching a comprehensive peace that restores Palestinian rights.
The minister said the summit would discuss the Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi files as well as efforts to improve the joint Arab stance.
Moussa for his part said everyone was looking for the Arab summit and its results in light of the developments in the region.
The secretary general stressed the importance of King Abdullah's speech at the US Congress, adding it reflected priorities of the Arab world.
He said the Israeli request to make amendments to the Arab peace initiative was not acceptable, adding that Israel has either rejected or ignored the Arab peace initiative since it was approved during the 2002 Arab summit in Beirut.
On the Palestinian unity government, he said there was not an international rejection of this government but rather an Israeli rejection, adding there was an increasing international willingness to deal with this government.
"We welcome the national unity government and there was a need to end the blockade imposed on the Palestinians now," the secretary general added.
London, March 21 (IANS) Eating junk food may increase chances of cancer in women, says a new study that, however, found no cancer link in men.
Scientists, led by Par Stattin, from Umea University Hospital in Sweden, studied around 65,000 adults for 13 years and identified 2,478 cases of cancer.
The study highlighted the dangers of a diet that includes high levels of fat and processed foods, reported the online edition of Daily Mail.
It found that women with raised levels of blood sugar face significant extra risks of suffering from cancers of the pancreas, skin, womb and urinary tract.
Further, older women with fat-rich diets have a 15 percent increase in their chances of developing breast cancer. The study found that fat intake levels of 40 percent of diet put women most at risk.
High blood sugar levels are linked to unhealthy diets, including fatty and processed foods, and can lead to Type 2 diabetes.
Previous research has shown an increased risk of cancer in patients with this form of diabetes, which usually occurs in middle age.
But the new findings demonstrate that rising blood sugar levels also increase the cancer risk in women.
It shows that the 25 percent of women with the highest blood sugar readings had a 26 percent greater chance of developing cancer than those with readings in the bottom quarter bracket.
There was also an increase in breast cancer risk for women with high blood sugar before menopause.
Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) A keen contest is on the cards in Maharashtra's Jalgaon, Erandol and Ramtek constituencies with brewing dissidence spicing up the forthcoming by-elections.
Prakash Jadhav of the Shiv Sena has been nominated as party candidate for the Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency in the by-election scheduled for April 9 in Maharashtra.
The decision to field Jadhav from the parliamentary seat in Vidarbha, vacated by sitting MP Subodh Mohite who recently joined Congress, has ended weeklong speculation over who would be the party candidate against Mohite, now the Congress candidate in the by-poll.
While Vasant More will be the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate from Erandol in Khandesh, Arjun Bhangale is likely to get Congress nomination from Jalgaon, where by-election is being held the same day.
By-elections in Erandol and Jalgaon were necessitated by the expulsion of sitting MPs Y.G. Mahajan and M.K. Anna Patil from the Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query scam in December 2005.
The expulsion of the two parliamentarians, along with nine others in the case, was stalled till January because of a legal challenge posed by them in the Supreme Court.
In Ramtek, veteran Congress leader Ranjit Deshmukh has upset the calculations of the party by announcing his resolve to contest the by-election, while in Erandol, NCP legislator Sureshdada Jain has posed a serious challenge to party nominee More by opposing him openly.
Two-time Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Deshmukh enjoys considerable support in Saoner, Kalmeshwar and Katol assembly constituencies that fall within the Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency.
Jain, a senior politician known for his clout in Khandesh, has virtually handed down a fait accompli to the Congress, which he is set to join, by dictating his preference for Bhangale against party veteran Madhukarrao Choudhary in Jalgaon.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 21 (IANS) The Congress party in Kerala will launch a fund collection drive on April 2 for those killed in the Nandigram violence in West Bengal on March 14.
This was announced after a four-member Congress team, led by its state president Ramesh Chennithala, returned from Nandigram Wednesday.
"The fund collection would take place in all the 140 assembly constituencies in the state and the entire proceeds would go to the victims killed in the police firing," Chennithala told reporters here.
"We visited Nandigram and also a few hospitals where the injured are convalescing. It was a brutal attack launched by the police and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) supporters dressed in police uniform," he said.
He lashed out at the CPI-M top brass, including party secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, for "defending police brutality by saying that it was done to disburse an irate mob".
The Congress leaders also asked CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat to visit Nandigram and demanded that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddadeb Bhattacharaya take moral responsibility for the incident and resign.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 21 (IANS) Kerala's temple festivals may no more see elephants, with their angry owners protesting against criminal cases the police slap against them whenever the animals run amok.
"The Kerala Elephant Owners Association has decided that with no proper set of rules to decide what needs to be done when elephants run amuck, we will not send any elephants to take part in temple festivals," P. Sasi Kumar, joint secretary of the group, told IANS.
Kerala has nearly 900 captive elephants that are booked in advance by temple authorities for festivals. April and May being the peak season for temple festivals, the revelry associated with the carnivals will be lost if the government does not respond soon to the elephant owners' grievance.
The owners are upset because the police implicate them in criminal cases when the elephants turn violent - the number of such cases has gone up in recent times.
"We want the government to set up a panel of experts to decide what needs to be done. We agree that elephants under 'musth' should not be allowed but how can we be implicated when an elephant runs wild? This is not fair, hence the boycott," said Kumar.
However, Kerala Forest Minister Binoy Viswam said the government had received complaints from wildlife enthusiasts on how elephant owners treat these animals. "Elephants certainly deserve to be treated better," he said.
"We have come out with guidelines on how the owners should manage elephants. Just because they are animals they can't be treated roughly. There are clear-cut guidelines on what needs to be done when elephants are taken for festivals," the minister said.
Riyadh, March 20 (NNN-IINA/ANTARA) King Abdullah Mosque, situated on the 77th floor of Riyadh's landmark Kingdom Tower entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest mosque in the world.
This was for the second time in a row the mosque finds a place in the Guinness Book. The mosque, built in 2004, lies at a height of 600 feet. There are two other mosques in the tower.
Kingdom Tower, a project of Prince Waleed bin Talal, is the tallest skyscraper in the Saudi capital city. The 971-feet tower incorporates a unique 60 meter sky bridge spanning the top, and it includes an enormous 625,000 sq. feet retail component.
It combines the most modern of space age aesthetics and technology with the ancient and revered customs of the Islamic world, IINA reported.
Wellington, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has left for a two-week tour of Brazil, Argentine and Uruguay as part of the government’s plans to increase links with that region.
Peters said he would visit priority countries in the framework of Wellington’s strategy towards Latin America to establish stronger political, economic and private links.
The minister expects to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his counterparts, Argentinean Jorge Taiana and Uruguayan Reinaldo Gargano.
As part of the programme Minister of Defence and concurrently Minister of Trade Phil Goff is in Mexico to study the possibility of signing a free trade treaty with that country.
Mexico is New Zealand’s biggest partner in Latin America, and its imports from New Zealand has grown to 294 million USD.
Islamabad, March 21 (Xinhua) Rain-triggered landslides killed at least 12 people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, police said Wednesday.
At least 20 more are reported missing.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Left Front Wednesday reiterated its opposition to the government's move to hike the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector after Finance Minister P. Chidambaram made a presentation before senior Communist leaders.
"Our objections to raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector remain. The government has not put forward any new argument to help us change our view," said Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Dasgupta after the meeting.
Chidambaram shared with the Left leaders details of a bill proposed to be introduced during the current budget session of parliament when it resumes after the recess, raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector from the existing 26 percent to 49.
He told them that high growth in the insurance sector would require an infusion of Rs.50 billion that could be brought in only by risk-taking foreign investors.
Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury and leaders of the RSP and Forward Bloc attended the meeting, chaired by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Left conclave, which a part of the ruling coalition outfit United Progressive Alliance (UPA), supports the Manmohan Singh government on the floor of parliament but keeps away from the government.
Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj, Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia were also present.
Yechury, however, opposed the proposal saying the sector has the personal savings of a large number of Indians.
"It is the biggest financier of your plan packages. (But) The FDI might not be ploughed back into the country... could be siphoned off," he said.
By M. Hanif Lakdawala
Commercially, the Muslim consumers constitute the core of what is perhaps the largest market sector in the food industry. It’s high time Muslim groups and NGO’s start demanding halal food.
• Aftab Ahmed, 21, regularly consumed non-vegetarian food in the restaurants. He is not aware whether the food served was halal or not.
• Rubaida Khan, 29, loves cake and pastries. She regularly consumed them without knowi-ng that most of them which are sold in posh outlets are prepared by adding wine and brandy to make them soft.
• Javid Alam 18, loves sweets and candies oblivious of the fact that most of them contain pig fat as an ingredient.
Many of us waiting anxiously in line at the posh fast food joint may wonder whether the food we are about to eat is halal. With fast food, the answers are not so cut and dry. It is not simply an issue of avoiding pork or meat. For example, there may be bread and vegetable products fried in animal fat. That is why it is a good idea to choose a purely vegetarian or vegan diet if you have to eat at a fast food joint.
Many Muslims are ignorant about the food being served in the restaurant or sold in super market. They have no idea if it is halal or not. In determining whether a food is halal or haram (forbidden), various verses of the Quran are frequently referred to: “He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits - then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful� (Quran 2:173).
“O you people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good (wholesome)...� Quran (2:168).
This means that the food must be:
a. Permitted, i.e. not pig, blood, carrion, having claws or talons, killed by strangulation, a violent blow or a fall, gored or killed by wild animals.
b. If it is animal, it must be slaughtered according to specific parameters of Islamic law.
c. Be it animal, vegetable, fruit, grain or seafood, it must be good, wholesome, healthy, and untainted during the stages of processing, packaging, storage, transportation or transaction.
These parameters define the eating habits and by extension, the purchasing preferences of Muslim around the world. These parameters are, essentially, non-negotiable, they are unmoved by fad or fashion, they are not subject to age, income or geography, and are all the more powerful by not being enforced. They are the parameters of a people who choose, freely, to eat what is lawful.
Unfortunately, a cursory visit to shopping malls or markets reveals that Muslim families flood local fast food restaurants and junk food joints. What most people do not know is that junk food refers to foods containing high contents of saturated fat, sugar and salt and very low levels of proteins, vitamins and roughage. Basically, fast food is processed food, but what is processed food to begin with? Processed food is simply food that has been altered in a factory from the way in which nature presented it, as part of a bulk process where natural and chemical food additives are added.
This leaves the final product without its naturally created nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Besides giving the food its delectable taste, food additives keep it lasting and unspoilt for a long time, which means that processed food is usually stored for a long time before it is purchased and eaten! The oldest natural food additives are salt, sugar, and vinegar, and although these are natural, an excess in their amounts seriously endangers the health.
Junk foods characteristically contain high amounts of salt (sodium chloride). Sodium is necessary for various metabolic functions; too much of it, however, is associated with an increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is a known risk factor for heart disease.
With the advent of processed foods in the past 30 years, there has been a massive explosion in the chemical adulteration of foods with additives. The western influence reached Muslim families through the electronic media and our middle class started considering it fashionable to eat junk food. This led to a mushrooming of fast food restaurants all over the country attracting even Muslims from all spheres of life.
Thus dietary habits changed and people, instead of taking a normal balanced diet as prescribed by Islam, are now frequently opting for sodas, burgers, French fries and other oily foods without realising that they can suffer from obesity, nutritional deficiencies, diabetes mellitus and even heart diseases.
There is a need for the Muslim NGOs to organise public health campaigns emphasizing the benefits of taking a balanced diet and restricting consumption of fast foods. People should be made aware that this costly junk food having absolutely no nutrition is not only harmful for their body, but also creates a hole in their wallets. Also it is against the spirit of Prophet Muhamm-ad’s (Pbuh) teachings.
Commercially, the Muslim consumers constitute the core of what is perhaps the largest market sector in the food industry. Thus Muslim groups and NGO’s should start demanding halal and wholesome food. The industry must take notice and provide Muslims with halal and wholesome food.
It is not just the Muslims who purchase and consume halal food. Significant and so far un-quantified numbers of non-Muslims eat halal food, partly by coincidence, but increasingly by choice. Food producers from all parts of the world have made the conscious decision to ‘go halal’ with their product range. And why not? A huge sector of the market insists on it, and the rest are all happy to eat it as well.
(The writer can be reached at mhl@rediffmail.com)
Colombo, March 21 (DPA) Fierce fighting between army troops and Tamil rebels killed 12 and injured more than 80, including civilians, in the eastern part of Sri Lanka, military officials said Wednesday.
The fighting broke out when rebels opened artillery and mortar fire at five military camps in Batticaloa district, 240 km northeast of Colombo in the early hours of Wednesday, prompting security forces to retaliate.
Eight rebel bodies were recovered, four soldiers were also killed and 14 were injured in the battle.
More than 40 civilians were injured as some of the mortars and artillery fell on civilian areas, military officials in the area said.
The fighting came as government troops were continuing their efforts to recapture more rebel-controlled areas including a jungle base located in Thoppigala in Batticaloa district.
In the northern Jaffna peninsula, five rebels were killed Wednesday. Details of the incident were not known immediately.
By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) In the 70s, he was notorious for escaping from the toughest prisons in Asia and being one step ahead of law-enforcing agencies. But three decades later, luck seems to be running out for "bikini killer" Charles Sobhraj with sheer circumstances upsetting his final bid for freedom.
Sought by the police of several countries, Sobhraj, who has been involved in jewel heists, drug smuggling, passport forgery and alleged killings of 20 tourists, was arrested from a casino in Kathmandu four years ago.
Since his imprisonment in 2004, Sobhraj has hired top-notch judges both in Nepal and abroad to fight his legal battles. However, he lost his first appeal and since then, his final appeal in Nepal's Supreme Court has been delayed repeatedly.
Strikes, a common occurrence in Nepal, and long public holidays caused the hearing to be deferred in the past. Then an error by court clerks who put his case before the wrong bench added to the delay. Finally, the hearing, scheduled to start Wednesday, is once again likely to be delayed.
By a strange quirk of fate, the public prosecutor fighting the case on behalf of the government was sent abroad for training. Tika Bahadur Hamal, the state attorney, is scheduled to return from Australia Wednesday.
It is unlikely that he will be able to arrive in court in time to plead the case, which means the hearing will be delayed yet again.
Court sources said if deferred, the trial would start only after a month.
With Nepal in fresh turmoil and traders calling an indefinite strike since Monday, it remains to be seen if Sobhraj's trial will begin even next month.
The chips have been steadily piling up against the wily and charismatic French crime maestro ever since his arrest. In 2004, the Kathmandu district court found him guilty of the murder of Connie Jo Bronzich, an American backpacker who came to Nepal from India in 1975.
According to police, Sobhraj, who was living in Bangkok, murdered a Dutch tourist and used his passport to come to Kathmandu, where he killed Bronzich.
Despite Sobhraj's assertion that he had never come to Nepal earlier, the court gave him a life sentence, putting him behind bars for 20 years.
"I blame no one," a downcast Sobhraj had told IANS after a similar delay in the past. "It's my luck."
Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) The murder trial of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, allegedly killed at point-blank range by brother Pravin, began here Wednesday with the prosecution examining the police officer who had registered the first information report (FIR).
In a crime that stunned the nation, Mahajan was shot in his Worli home here on April 22 last year, allegedly by his younger brother after a heated argument. At the end of the argument, Pravin is said to have pulled out his licensed revolver and pumped three bullets into his brother, who died on May 3.
While the grievously wounded BJP leader was rushed to the hospital, Pravin, who has since been lodged at the high-security Arthur Road jail and whose bail applications have been repeatedly rejected, took a taxi to the Worli police station and surrendered.
And it is at this point that the trial began at the sessions court.
"The trials are being conducted by sessions judge Srihari Davare and there will be three hearings per week," said Ujjwal Nikam, one of the two special public prosecutors.
The other is high-profile criminal lawyer Nitin Pradhan.
Nikam disclosed that the prosecution had lined up 58 witnesses, who have already submitted relevant documents as part of evidence. These include Mahajan's widow Rekha, son Rahul and brother-in-law and senior Maharashtra BJP leader Gopinath Munde.
"The servant Mahesh Wankhede, who was present at Mahajan's residence in Worli when the murder took place, is also listed as a witness along with Pravin's wife Sarangi," Nikam told IANS.
As far as the defence strategy goes, Harshad Ponda, who is defending Pravin, is likely to challenge the video recording taken at the police station during the surrender.
Legal sources here said that the prosecution might find the going tough, as the investigating team did not record Pravin's confessional statement before a magistrate.
"The defence would also argue that so far no motive on the part of Pravin has come to light," said a legal expert.
"The VCD only shows visuals of Pravin surrendering to the police at Worli police station," Ponda added.
By Pat Reber
Washington, March 21 (DPA) US investors who control $4 trillion in assets have added their voice to a growing crescendo of demands that Washington act quickly to mandate controls on carbon emissions blamed for global warming.
The group of 65 institutional investors and major corporations said they were alarmed by the financial risks of global warming and worried that US companies cannot compete with technology initiatives in countries like Germany, where strict regulations are already in place.
The group includes companies like Allianz, which manages $1.6 trillion in assets, Merrill Lynch, Alcoa, DuPont, BP America and other companies, and dozens of pension funds, labour groups and state employee pension funds.
The initiative, organized by a coalition that operates the Investor Network on Climate Risk, represented one of the highest profile bids yet to put pressure on the White House and Congress to limit carbon emissions blamed for rising Earth temperatures.
Among other proposals, the network is demanding laws to reduce emissions by 60 to 90 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
Ten US companies in January made headlines with similar urgings, but the bid lacked the investor focus. Some of the same companies signed on to the current effort.
"Global warming presents enormous risks and opportunities for US businesses and investors," said Fred Buenrostro, who heads the $230 billion pension fund for retired California public employees, in a statement. "To tap American ingenuity and drive business to a leadership position in the low-carbon future, we need regulations to enable the markets to deploy capital and spur innovation."
In addition to the call for 60 to 90 percent reductions, the network's statement, issued at an annual meeting of the Council of Institutional Investors in Washington, called for the US stock regulatory agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to build climate change measures into annual financial reporting requirements.
It also called for a "realignment" of national energy and transportation policies "to stimulate research, development and deployment" of clean technologies.
The prospect of investors speaking with an ever-more unified voice on any issue of global consequence is nearly unprecedented in US history, but comparisons could be made to the divestment initiative during the 1970s and 80s to force an end to apartheid in South Africa, or to pacifist initiatives that boycott military investments.
But Mindy Lubber, the network's executive director, said in a telephone interview that it was the bottom financial line, and not social conscience, driving the issue.
"This is not a social battle, not even an environmental battle," Lubber said. "We are looking at financial numbers and saying companies that ignore climate change are the ones that will suffer at the share value level at some point."
Conspicuously missing from the statement was any mention of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change that was sidestepped by US President George W. Bush when he took office in 2000.
Bush was severely criticized abroad for his stance, which he said was necessary to protect the interests of US businesses. The exemption of developing countries like Brazil and China from the accord, he said, put the US at a special disadvantage.
But investors and big companies are now saying that federally mandated controls on carbon emissions and the establishment of a carbon trading market would actually promote development of clean technologies.
In the absence of federal action, at least 12 states led by California are enacting their own carbon emission limits - a prospect that discourages any technical progress.
"No business wants to work with such a patchwork of demands," Lubber said. "Businesses want controls because they provide certainty and send the right market signals to innovators."
Such controls also guarantee a market for new products, she said.
The network has already been pushing at the individual investor level for companies to improve their focus on the business risks of climate change. Last month, it formed a Climate Watch List to identify companies lagging behind industry peers on the issue.
The list includes ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips in the oil sector, Massey Energy and Consol Energy in the coal sector, Wells Fargo, ACE insurance and several electric power companies and retailers.
Investors have filed climate change shareholder resolutions with 42 companies in the 2007 proxy season - nearly double the number of such moves as three years ago, the group said.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) Malaysia has announced it will submit a resolution to the United Nations (UN) and to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) condemning the Israeli diggings in the Aqsa Mosque area.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters Wednesday the resolution shows the Malaysian stance on the Palestinian issue and is an effort to realise and uphold regional and international justice and humanity.
The minister's statements followed the Malaysian parliament's condemnation of the Israeli diggings which constitute both threat to the holy structure and violation of the holy place's sanctity.
MP Dr Abdulrahman Ismail has submitted a proposal on issuing an urgent release on the excavations.
He said these "acts of provocation" must be stopped instantly, as they offend the sentiments of Muslims around the world and are a step back in Middle East peace efforts.
He recalled the clashes that erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces when Israel conducted similar diggings in 1996, which lead to the killing of 80 people.
He stressed that great powers like the UN, the European Union (EU), the United States and Russia should pressure Israel to stop excavation work immediately.
Malaysia has earlier urged the UN to demand Israel halt excavation works. The Malaysian Prime Minister sent cables to all permanent members in the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General asking them to take action to stop the excavation work that is compromising the foundations of the Aqsa Mosque.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (DPA) Two Malaysian sniffer dogs on loan from Ireland helped police make a major seizure of 1 million pirated optical discs worth some 10 million ringgit ($2.85 million), Star daily reported Wednesday.
Dogs Lucky and Flo, who had been flown into Malaysia last week, led trade enforcement officers to an office in the southern Johor state where they sniffed through locked doors and indicated to police the presence of materials used to make the discs.
The raid was the first involving the dogs since their arrival, said Neil Gane, an official of the Motion Picture Association from which the dogs were on loan for a month-long period.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) A 52-year-old man died after jumping from an elevated metro station in the national capital, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said Wednesday.
The incident occurred at around 11.20 a.m. at the Shastri Nagar metro station in Line-1, in north Delhi.
"Preliminary investigation suggested that Singh jumped from the non-passenger area in the rear side of platform number one of the station. He fell down on the road outside the station premise," said a DMRC official.
He said the metro service was not affected because of the incident.
Though the reason for the death is yet to be ascertained, Delhi Police said: "Suicide could be the motive behind Singh's drastic step."
The world-class mass transit system of the Indian capital is spread over 65 kilometres and ferries nearly 525,000 passengers daily.
Mexico City, March 21 (EFE) Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet inked a joint declaration reiterating their commitment to "strengthen cooperation for the development and integration" of the Latin American and Caribbean regions.
The two leaders met at the Los Pinos presidential residence on the second day of Bachelet's three-day official visit to Mexico, Tuesday.
They also agreed to establish an advisory council for the Strategic Association Agreement.
"(It is) one more step to contribute to strengthening relations in all areas," Calderon said.
Calderon and Bachelet agreed to instruct their economic officials to "resume negotiations immediately" and finalize the financial services section of the free trade pact and obtain the possible results that favour the business area in the shortest time.
Calderon held Bachelet's trip to Mexico as the beginning of "an era of close collaboration" between his country and the rest of Latin America, despite Mexico's tight NAFTA- and immigration-based links with the US.
"We can and must undertake this association from a regional and at the same time global perspective," Bachelet said.
She said that Chile takes seriously Calderon's desire to maintain Mexico's strong presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
By Chetan Chauhan
New Delhi, March 21 (Hindustan Times) More than 50 per cent of India’s 30.17 crore people below poverty line (BPL) live in just five states of the country, the Planning Commission’s poverty estimates for 2004-05, released on Wednesday, say.
BPL families are identified on basis of monthly spending, which is Rs 356 for rural India and Rs 538 for urban India.
Among the five states, Uttar Pradesh has been found to be biggest contributor to the 17.34 crore figure of poor people. Other states loaded with poor are Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, whose poverty figures have not shown a huge variation as compared to 1993-94 figures. The states having done well on poverty indicator are southern states and Himachal Pradesh.
At the all India level, Orissa has earned the dubious distinction of having highest percentage of poor (46.4 per cent) in the total population of the state, followed by Bihar (41.4 per cent), Chattisgarh (40.4 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (38.3 per cent) and Maharashtra 30.7 per cent. “We need specific schemes for these poor states other than the backward regions fund and national employment guarantee scheme,� a commission official said.
On poverty ratio comparison with past figures, the commission’s estimates are mired in controversy. The commission questions the methodology of 1999-2000 estimates during the NDA regime, which showed poverty figures at 26.10 per cent as compared to 27.5 per cent in 2004-05. After deliberating on the upward trend noticed in poverty ratios, the commission said the 1999-2000 deviated from the Expert Group Method creating a ‘flaw’.
The commission has officially taken 1993-94 estimates as the base for comparison and thereby stating that poverty ratio has fallen from 36 per cent to 27.5 per cent. The Expert Group Method of 30-day recall period to estimate poverty was adopted in 1973 when poverty ratio was estimated to be 54 per cent. The methodology had remained same except in 1999-2000, a commission official said.
Rural India continues to house over 72 per cent of the country’s poor (22.09 crore) even though the percentage of poor has fallen by nine percent since 1993-94. “It clearly shows that many of the government’s poor empowerment policies are not having the desired impact in rural parts,� a commission official said, emphasising on a need to conduct a mid-term appraisal of these policies.
But, Urban India appears to have benefited from economic reforms, as per-month expenditure limit for identifying BPL families has risen to Rs 538, much more than for rural India. Despite the increase in the limit, the poverty ratio has fallen by seven percent.
The poverty estimates were also released for 365 days recall period, which put the figures for 2004-05 as 21.8 per cent as compared to 26.1 per cent in 1993-94.
Email author: chetan@hindustantimes.com
Rabat, March 21(NNN-MAP) Morocco's central bank, Bank Al Maghrib, Tuesday unveiled a set of Sharia-(Islamic law) compliant banking products in order to bring banking services to more people.
Lenders will offer leasing (Ijara) products whereby they rent an asset to a customer who may later be able to buy it at a fixed date.
Moucharaka products will involve lenders taking shares as partners in a company's equity while Mourabaha will allow a lender to buy an asset and re-sell it to a client at a margin decided in advance.
Lending companies will market these products. The services are regulated by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, a Bahrain-based organization that includes 130 members from 29 countries.
PP Wangchuk
New Delhi, March 21 (Hindustan Times) The Bhutias in India are a worried lot. Their problem: The Central government has 'slept' over their two-decade-old demand for the inclusion of Bhoti in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Now, the Trans-Himalayan Parliamentary Forum and the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association have revived their demand.
Bhoti, the language spoken by 16 million Bhutias – Buddhists from J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – has rich literature about Indian culture and history.
The main Bhoti 'sastras' – Kangyur and Stangyur - in over 300 volumes, are translations from the original Sanskrit shastras, most of which are no more existing today. Bhoti shastras are safely preserved in over 1,000 monasteries all over the world.
Apart from Bhutias, Bhoti is also spoken by over one lakh Muslims in Ladakh. Kiren Rijiju and Thubstan Chhewang, MPs from Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, respectively, told the Hindustan Times that inclusion of Bhoti in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution was in the interest of the nation because that would help preserve valuable literature on Indian culture and history.
They said the Himalayan belt MPs were chalking out a plan to get their long-pending demand fulfilled. They would take up the issue repeatedly in Parliament and, if needed, 'all other means would be resorted to'.
Ven Lama Zotpa, Member of the National Minorities Commission, said that Bhoti language’s recognition and its inclusion in the 8th Schedule would 'strengthen the country’s composite culture'.
He said it would go a long way in absorbing the linguistic minorities into the national mainstream. He said, in this regard, a two-day seminar on the government’s education policy and the Bhoti language, was held in the capital.
Buddhist leaders stressed that the Bhoti language 'could not be kept excluded any more from the 8th Schedule as the Constitution provided for the right to seek recognition', the Lama said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Several MPs led by veteran Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande Wednesday protested against the "rampant caste-based discrimination" at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.
"For the last two years, we have been observing developments in AIIMS and it is shameful to see caste-based discrimination. We are protesting to bring to notice the injustice being done to the scheduled caste students," said Deshpande, a Rajya Sabha member.
Holding banners like "MPs against Casteism" and "Don't insult Constitution: SC/STs are also Indians", five MPs and scores of AIIMS students held a demonstration for over 30 minutes near the institute's main gate.
A.R. Shaheen, a Lok Sabha MP from Jammu and Kashmir, said that AIIMS' authorities should have a unilateral approach towards all students and keep the importance and prestige of the institute intact.
"Some reserved students are being treated badly in their hostel and some resident doctors are not getting due promotion due to this deliberate disparity," Shaheen pointed out.
Apart from Shaheen and Deshpande, other MPS who participated in the protest included Mangani Lal Mandal, R. Prasad and Praveen Rashtrapal (all Rajya Sabha).
They also circulated a letter signed by 14 MPs, addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, highlighting the plight of some students and residents who belonged to the reserved category.
AIIMS has been mired in controversy for over a year, ever since the central government proposed to reserve 27 percent quota for other backward classes (OBCs) in institutes of higher learning.
It was also the epicentre of anti-quota agitation that left thousands of patients unattended for over two weeks.
Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum, a pro-quota lobby in the capital, had earlier written to both the prime minister and the president highlighting the disparity faced by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students.
Ajay Kumar Singh, a final year MBBS student at AIIMS, said upper caste professors had deliberately failed him because he was lobbying against discrimination.
"They deliberately failed me to malign my career," said Singh.
Endorsing Singh's concern, these MPs had written to the prime minister on March 12.
"Mr. Ajay Singh, a good student was deliberately failed because he was opposing caste-based discrimination. The AIIMS governing body ordered re-examination under the supervision of Dean (Academics), with independent observers and different team of examiners. But the director declined to implement the unanimous decision of the governing body and Ajay Singh was again failed by the same set of examiners," the letter said.
Bangalore, March 21 (IANS) Infosys Technologies Ltd chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy Wednesday criticised acquisition of agricultural lands for setting up special economic zones (SEZs) and expressed concern over the raging controversy on the issue.
"Farmers should not be deprived of their lands. It is better to allow the earlier practice of firms building campuses than taking away farmlands for setting up SEZs on a large scale," Murthy told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
Cautioning against roping in real estate players in the SEZs, Murthy said such a practice would be detrimental to all stakeholders. The policy of allowing firms to deal directly with farmers for setting up their facilities after acquiring their lands was fair and just.
To let real estate developers in the picture was not the right thing to do, as evident from the protests against the land acquisition for building SEZs.
Referring to protests in Nandigram in West Bengal, where 14 people were killed in police firing last Wednesday, Murthy said such incidents would have to have repercussions on industry, including the IT sector.
The acquisition of farmlands for setting up SEZs has turned into a major controversy in the wake of widespread protests in West Bengal and the government's policy drawing flak from political parties, NGOs, farmers and articulate sections of society.
Though the central government has put the SEZ policy on hold, a committee set up by the union commerce ministry had approved 237 SEZ proposals across the country, with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka bagging most of the zones.
The existing SEZ policy allows only 25 percent of the land area in the zone for setting up manufacturing and processing facilities, with the remaining 75 percent of the land for infrastructure and real estate development.
Islamabad, March 21 (IANS) The Pakistan government may not press any corruption charges against suspended Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry who is being accused only of "professional misconduct and misuse of authority".
President Pervez Musharraf's reference to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which meets next month, does not include charges of financial corruption. All allegations in the reference are based on his "professional conduct and misuse of authority", starting from facilitating his son's admission to a medical college and his appointment to the police department, the Daily Times said quoting unnamed law ministry sources Wednesday.
The sources said the reference was based on four main issues -- the admission and appointment of Chaudhry's son Dr Arslan, the "misuse of official cars", the demand for protocol and his "conduct".
The reference alleges that Chaudhry pressured various officials to get his son recruited in the police department. Arslan had also applied for admission to Bolan Medical College, but fell short in the merit category. The Balochistan chief minister was contacted to ensure Arsalan's admission in 1996, it is alleged.
Then, on May 19, 2006, the interior ministry wrote a letter to the National Police Academy directing it to train Arsalan for becoming an ASP (additional superintendent of police). On May 24, 2006, the ministry again wrote a letter about Arslan's posting as ASP and he was appointed to Punjab police on June 27, 2006.
Chaudhry is also accused of using seven cars, although he was entitled to only one. His persistent demand was that senior officials be present at airports for his arrival/departure and he asked for helicopters or planes for various functions, although he was not entitled to them.
About his conduct in court, it was alleged there was discrepancy in his verbal orders in open courts and written judgments.
Chaudhry, who has been in the eye of a nationwide storm that could have serious repercussions for Musharraf and has made international headlines, begins his counter campaign Thursday.
He is expected to address the Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Peshawar bar councils. And lawyers in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have invited Chaudhry along with the other eight judges who resigned last week to an All Pakistan Lawyers Convention.
Chaudhry's defence lawyers claim that the government had failed to produce concrete allegations. The "frivolous allegations" provided proof that the reference was "mala fide and biased".
The Foreign Office has advised international media and human rights organisations not to comment on Chaudhry's suspension the matter was sub judice.
"I cannot comment on that and we would not like others to comment on it," spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said when asked about critical comments by various international media and human rights organisations on the suspended judge's manhandling by the police.
A NGO affiliated to the opposition People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Tuesday called for the presence of the representatives of international bodies associated with the judiciary in the SJC proceedings against Chaudhry.
The People's Democracy Institute (PDI) of the Shaheed Bhutto Foundation (SBF) has also written to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and to the UN Rapporteur on Judges and Judiciary, urging them to play their role in ensuring the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan.
New Delhi, March 21 (Indianmuslims.info) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s remark that the Babri Masjid would not have been demolished had his family been leading the government, has earned wide criticism from the various quarters, including Muslim ones.
Reacting sharply to the ‘half-baked’ Congress leader, Shahi Imam Jama Masjid Delhi Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari said here Tuesday that late Prime Minister and Rahul’s father Rajiv Gandhi was “wholly responsible� for getting the lock of Babri Masjid unlocked and the shilanyas performed there.
“All this he did on the advice of his cousin and then Union Minister of State for Internal Security Arun Nehru, who later joined the BJP,� he added.
Coming heavily down upon the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Maulana Bukhari alleged that the Congress is responsible for the present socio-economic condition of the minorities.
“Congress is exploiting Muslims as mere vote bank. That is why when the election time comes, such statements are made to win the confidence of Muslims. But such political game-plan will not work now. Muslims now stand politically awakened and they know which party would take care of their interests,� he said.
Meanwhile, All India Minority Front president SM Asif also held late Rajiv Gandhi “particularly responsible� for the demolition of Babri Masjid.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s above mentioned statement, Mr Asif raised many questions like who got the door of Babri Masjid unlocked, who got the puja started there, who facilitated the shilanyas near the mosque, and who launched his election campaign from Ayodhya with the slogan of “Ram Rajya�. Mr Asif then said that that the answer to all these questions is one and the same: Rajiv Gandhi.
“Had Rajiv Gandhi not got Babri Masjid unlocked, the mosque would not have been demolished,� Mr Asif stressed while terming Rahul’s statement as one based on little knowledge.
Kolkata, March 21 (IANS) After a brief lull, Nandigram witnessed fresh tension Wednesday as Trinamool Congress supporters ransacked an office of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) at a marketplace here after bombs were allegedly hurled at their procession.
In Kolkata, amid widespread speculations about the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report on the Nandigram carnage, West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy said Chief Minister Budhhadeb Bhattacharya was aware of the contents of the intelligence report on Nandigram situation prior to the March 14 mayhem.
Reports from Nandigram said the CPI-M supporters allegedly hurled crude bombs on a procession taken out Wednesday by the Trinamool Congress at Tekhali bazaar near Gokulnagar in Nandigram.
Trinamool processionists retaliated by ransacking the CPI-M office. A local businessman received injury in the bombing.
"An untoward incident took place there sparking tension in the area. But we haven't received any details about the incident so far," Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told IANS.
East Midnapore Superintendent of Police Anil Srinivasan also declined to comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, the home secretary said the contents of intelligence report on Nandigram (prior to the carnage) were discussed with the chief minister.
"The contents of the intelligence report were discussed with the chief minister," Roy said.
To a query on the findings of the home department on Nandigram mayhem, he said: "I will not make any comment on our findings. We have been asked to submit a report (an affidavit) by the Calcutta High Court and we will do that. The matter is now under the submission of the court."
Meanwhile, a 30-member team of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) is visiting Nandigram Wednesday. The team will meet the injured villagers admitted to Tamluk and Nandigram hospitals.
However, the state assembly continued to witness bedlam over the demand for the chief minister's resignation.
Congress and Trinamool Congress legislators boycotted the house and staged a noisy walkout.
Trinamool members are also going on with a signature campaign across the state protesting the police firing.
In a separate incident, a section of Calcutta University students boycotted their class on Alipur campus Wednesday condemning the Nandigram episode.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) With growing uncertainty looming over Nepal's 238-year-old snake throne, Crown Princess Himani is contemplating taking up abode in India for the security of her three children, a report said.
The crown princess, who unlike her husband - controversial Crown Prince Paras - is still popular with the public and is regarded as a devoted mother, wants to leave Nepal with her children fearing for their security following an unpleasant incident a month ago, the Ghatana R Bichar weekly reported Wednesday.
Himani, who comes from a former royal family in India, has a son, Prince Hridayendra, who till last year was regarded as his father's heir and the future king of Nepal. She also has two daughters, Princess Purnika, the eldest of the three siblings, and Princess Krittika, the youngest.
All three children go to Roopy's International School in Kathmandu, breaking away from the tradition in the royal family that send its princes to study in missionary schools in eastern India.
Since the fall of King Gyanendra's government last year and mounting unpopularity of the monarch and the crown prince, there have been rumours that both could abdicate in favour of Hridayendra to save the endangered crown.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who has been advocating ceremonial monarchy, added to the speculation recently by saying that a new avenue would be opened if the king and the crown prince abdicated.
Though Nepal still has a soft spot for the young prince and princesses, a minor accident last month created a tense situation in the capital.
The car carrying the young prince had a brush with a motorcycle, triggering public anger. A mob began shouting slogans against the royal family and blocked the road for several hours.
Since then, the crown prince and his family have shifted from their palace in the city to a former royal hunting lodge on the outskirts, considering that a more secure and inaccessible place.
Troubled by the incident, Himani remains tense till the children return from their school, the weekly reported.
She has requested her husband to allow her to move to India with the children, it said. However, the crown prince himself has apparently no desire to live anywhere else, other media reports added.
Paras faces losing the throne after a crucial election in June when voters will choose between the crown and a republic. He is now engaged in building a swimming pool in the Gokarna resort, where he is currently living, the Jana Aastha weekly said.
Forced to keep a low profile due to the prevailing animosity against the royal family, the crown prince has reportedly been keeping himself busy by playing golf and throwing parties for family members.
By Ryan O\'Brian
Gros Islet (St Lucia), March 21 (IANS-CMC) New Zealand completed a clinical 148-run victory over Kenya Tuesday to stay top of Group C and qualify for the next round of the World Cup here.
Responding to the Kiwis' 331 for seven off 50 overs, the Kenyans were dismissed for 183 in 49.2 overs at the Beausejour Cricket Ground. The win took New Zealand to four points and the security of a place in the Super Eight segment of the tournament.
Sent in by Kenya, the Kiwis got half-centuries from Ross Taylor, Craig McMillan, Scott Styris and captain Stephen Fleming, as they reached their eventual total, reports Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
Kenya's reply started disastrously, losing four wickets with just 29 runs on the board after 12 overs.
David Obuya was lbw to Michael Mason for one, Morris Ouma was run out for four while main batsman Steve Tikolo was caught by Daniel Vettori off fast bowler Michael Mason for seven, attempting a pull in the 11th over.
Tanmay Mishra followed soon afterwards, pushing at a wide ball from pacer James Franklin and was caught by Fleming at first slip for two.
Ravindu Shah (71) and Collins Obuya (21) then featured in the best partnership of the innings, 47 for the fifth wicket, which kept the Kiwi bowlers at bay.
Shah struck eight fours and two sixes from 89 balls while Obuya faced 31 balls before being run out looking for a second run in the 21st over.
Shah added a further 46 for the sixth wicket with Thomas Odoyo who hit 42 from 67 balls with four fours and one six. However, Vettori eventually removed Shah, caught and bowled in the 30th over.
Vettori, who also accounted for Jimmy Kamande bowled for 12, finished with two for 45 while Franklin claimed two for 20 and Mason, two for 29.
Earlier, Lou Vincent's poor run continued when he fell without scoring, flirting at a wide delivery and offering a low catch to Tikolo at second slip, with New Zealand yet to score.
Fleming then stroked 60 from 61 balls and Taylor hammered 85 from 107 balls, in posting 105 for the second wicket to put their side back on course.
The picture could have been different had Tanmay Mishra held on to a catch at backward square leg when Taylor had scored three.
The partnership ended when Fleming was run out while going for a quick single on the on side after he had hit seven fours and three sixes.
Taylor, later named Man-of-the-Match, continued to dominate the Kenyan attack and then featured in a third wicket stand of 87 with Styris who hit 63 from 62 balls with three fours and sixes.
Taylor was eventually outdone by Tikolo, who held on to an easy return catch after the batsman had hit eight fours and one six.
Styris then put on 82 for the fourth wicket with Craig McMillan who slammed 71 from 48 balls, counting three fours and five sixes in being severe on anything loose.
Thomas Odoyo finished with two for 55 and Peter Ongondo two for 64 to be Kenya's most successful bowler.
SCOREBOARD
Match No. 14, Kenya vs. New Zealand, Group C, Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
New Zealand:
Lou Vincent c Tikolo b Odoyo 0
Stephen Fleming run out (Ouma/Collins) 60
Ross Taylor c & b Tikolo 85
Scott Styris c Mishra b Onyango 63
Craig McMillan c Tikolo b Ongondo 71
Jacob Oram b Odoyo 3
Brian McCullum c Varaiya b Ongondo 6
Daniel Vettori not out 14
James Franklin not out 0
Extras: (lb 3, w 21, nb 5) 29
Total: (for seven wickets in 50 overs) 331
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Vincent, 0.4 overs), 2-105 (Fleming, 20.1), 3-192 (Taylor, 33.4), 4-274 (Styris, 43.1), 5-280 (Oram, 44.4), 6-307 (McCullum, 47.6), 7-321 (McMillan, 49.2 ov)
Bowling:
Thomas Odoyo 10-0-55-2 (1nb)
Peter Ongondo 10-0-64-2 (3nb)
Lameck Onyango 8-0-63-1 (1w)
Jimmy Kamande 9-0-61-0 (2w)
Hiren Varaiya 7-0-40-0 (1w)
Steve Tikolo 6-0-45-1 (5w)
Kenya:
Maurce Ouma run out (Vincent) 4
David Obuya lbw Mason 1
Ravindu Shah c & b Vettori 71
Steve Tikolo c Vettori b Mason 7
Tanmay Mishra c Fleming b Franklin 2
Collins Obuya run out (Franklin/Oram) 21
Thomas Odoyo c Oram b Bond 42
Jimmy Kamande b Vettori 12
Lameck Onyango run out (Vincent) 6
Peter Ongondo c & b Franklin 4
Hiren Varaiya not out 1
Extras: (lb 2, w 2, nb 8) 12
Total: (all out in 49.2 overs) 183
Fall of wickets: 1-4 (David, 2.3 overs), 2-8 (Ouma, 5.2), 3-26 (Tikolo, 10.5), 4-29 (Mishra, 11.4 ov), 5-76 (Collins, 20.3), 6-122 (Shah, 29.6), 7-149 (Kamande, 35.3), 8-167 (Onyango, 41.6), 9-179 (Odoyo, 44.2)
Bowling:
Michael Mason 9-0-29-2 (1nb, 1w)
Shane Bond 8-2-19-1 (1w)
James Franklin 7.2-2-20-2
Craig McMillan 10-0-39-0
Daniel Vettori 10-0-45-2 (4nb)
Jacob Oram 5-0-29-0 (1nb)
Result: New Zealand won by 148 runs
Man of the Match: Ross Taylor (New Zealand)
Umpires: Billy Doctrove (West Indies) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa)
Third umpire: Peter Parker (Australia)
Match referee: Mike Procter (South Africa)
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday arrested a suspended woman officer of the Uttar Pradesh Police in the national capital for her alleged negligence in investigating the infamous Nithari serial killings.
Simranjit Kaur, who was suspended as a sub-inspector of Noida police, was the investigating officer to probe the killings of children and women in Nithari village in Noida.
She will be produced before a court here Thursday, a senior CBI official said. "We have arrested the suspended sub-inspector to examine her alleged role in the killings."
Kaur was summoned to the CBI headquarter here Wednesday for interrogation and was arrested later.
Kaur was suspended in January for allegedly ignoring the complaints of parents of the missing children over the last two years.
The investigating agency also questioned her over her alleged attempt to scuttle a probe in the murder of a woman named Payal last year, who was allegedly sexually exploited by Pandher.
Earlier CBI had raided Kaur's house in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, after taking charge of the investigation from Noida police Jan 10.
They also recovered incriminating documents from her, including some of the complaints of hapless children, that should have been in the Nithari police post, instead of her house, and she should have registered criminal cases against Pandher, said a CBI officer.
So far, five Noida police officials have been dismissed from service and another three, including former Noida senior superintendent of police Piyush Mordia and superintendent of police Soumetra Yadav, had been suspended for their inaction.
On Dec 29, skeletal remains were discovered from a sewer behind the Noida villa of businessman Pandher. In the next few days, more than 20 skulls and several bones were discovered from the drain.
Chennai, March 21 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Wednesday added yet another twist to the vexed Cauvery waters dispute by ruling out talks with his Karnataka counterpart H.D. Kumaraswamy, who is scheduled to visit the state this week.
Karunanidhi further revealed to journalists here that apart from exchanging pleasantries "there was nothing politically significant in the telephone conversation" he had with Kumaraswamy and his father, former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
"Both of them happen to be my long-time friends. On Monday they called me to exchange pleasantries on the occasion of Ugadi, the Kannada New Year. Since we did not have anything in common on the Cauvery issue, we did not discuss the matter at all," Karunanidhi said.
Kumaraswamy had indicated Monday that Karunanidhi had evinced interest in deliberating on the Cauvery tangle and expressed hopes of a dialogue.
"As there was no scope for that, obviously there was nothing politically significant in the telephone conversation," Karunanidhi pointed out.
The two neighbouring states are locked in a bitter battle over the sharing of the Cauvery river waters.
Bringing their differences to the fore is the Cauvery Waters Disputes Tribunal's final ruling of Feb 5 - giving a lion's share to Tamil Nadu.
Karunanidhi was elated at the award at the initial stages but retracted his stand following political turmoil in the state as it became clear that the actual amount of water that would flow into Tamil Nadu was less than 50 percent of the total award.
Reacting to the state's opposition leader and AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa's demand for the notification of the award in the gazette, Karunanidhi said: "I am not for gazetting the final award as it contains some points, which are not favourable to the Tamil Nadu.
"If it is notified, there will not be any scope for filing a review petition or seeking any clarification."
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) While the West Indies police are investigating the cause of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's death, his wife has ruled out "any conspiracy" and said the family had never received threats.
Woolmer, 58, died in his hotel room Sunday in Kingston, a day after former champions Pakistan lost to minnows Ireland and crashed out of the World Cup.
"No I don't see any conspiracy in his death. I am aware that his death is being viewed as a suspicious death," Woolmer's wife Gill told a television channel from her South Africa home.
"He had nothing to do with the match-fixing controversy and any such person being involved is highly unlikely. We never got any threats as far as I know," she told NDTV in an interview that will be telecast at 7.30 p.m. Wednesday.
Jamaica police officials said Tuesday night that they were now treating Woolmer's death as "suspicious".
Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields told a hastily arranged news conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel Tuesday night that the police were treating Woolmer's death as suspicious.
"Having met with the pathologist, other medical personnel, and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Woolmer which we are now treating as 'suspicious'," he said.
Gill also confirmed that Woolmer was writing two books - a fact that was disclosed by IANS Monday.
"I am writing two books, one is called 'Discovering Cricket'. It is about my experiences with cricket," Woolmer had told IANS at the Le Meridian hotel when he was here for the Champions Trophy in October last year.
Woolmer was to touch upon the match-fixing controversy also, and for this he sought - and got - details of the Hanside Cronje case from Delhi police commissioner K.K. Paul here in April 2005.
Woolmer was coach of the Cronje-led South African team that toured India in 2001. Cronje's conversation with a bookie was tapped by Delhi Police while he was allegedly trying to fix a One-day International during that series.
Gill denied that Woolmer, who played 19 Tests and six one-day internationals for England in 1970s, was alcoholic.
"He had Type 2 Diabetes. He was not prescribed any drugs for it. All that reports about the drinking are also rubbish. He was taking prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and that's it," she said.
Type 2 Diabetes can create several health complications including cardio-vascular disease, blindness, and nerve and kidney damage.
She, however, admitted that her husband was under pressure due to Pakistan's defeat by the West Indies and then Ireland, and was tired.
"He didn't say anything specifically but I could see him on the TV and I know him well enough to guess that he was under pressure. I could read the expression on his face," she said.
"He shared his experiences with me all the time. He was very tired. All that cricket, living out of a suitcase, the time difference and the travelling was tiring."
"The Pakistani team's poor performance affected him as any other big tournament that he lost as a coach (like to South Africa). He believed that what happened, happened, one has to move on," Gill said.
"I didn't speak to him after the (Ireland) match but he emailed me the following morning. He did mention that he was really depressed and could not believe how this could have happened. We discussed some personal issues apart from this."
She, however, said that Woolmer enjoyed a fine relationship with the Pakistani players.
"He had a very good relationship with the team. They had a lot of fun together and put in a lot of handwork too. All the boys are very friendly, they are nice boys and I enjoyed their company."
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Subsidised agricultural products from the developed countries will not be allowed to access Indian markets, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said.
"We (developing countries) cannot negotiate the livelihood of our farmers. It is for the developed countries to come forward with credible and meaningful offers to cut subsidies and open market access," the minister said while addressing a ministerial meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"Asking us for flexibility is fine, but asking us for access to Indian market to subsidised agricultural products is just not acceptable," Kamal Nath added.
The minister is attending a crucial G-33 ministerial meeting of the developing nations, which is taking place at the Indonesian capital, which will discuss their position in the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) stalled Doha round of negotiations.
Reiterating his stand on pushing for development agenda, he said: "There can be no departure form the mandate."
Stressing the fact that large-scale subsidies from developed countries like EU and US on their agricultural produce have led to distortion of global trade, Kamal Nath said: "This has to change."
The five-year-old Doha round of global trade talks, which was stalled on the issue of agricultural subsidies by US and EU, were resumed this year in January in Davos.
DOHA, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) -- Qatari Energy Minister Abdallah Al-Attiya has ruled out the chance of launching an OPEC-like gas cartel.
Al-Attiya, who was speaking to reporters Tuesday following the opening by Qatar's Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani of the fifth line of production by the RasGas Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) company, said that the conference of gas-producing countries would take place here on April 9.
The volume of the new line of production was estimated at 4.7 tonnes of LNG annually.
He also stated that RasGas would be involved, in 2009, in other gas-related projects earmarked for local consumption. The new projects include the Gulf 2, the Barzan, both of which are aimed at power generation using natural gas.
He said that natural gas was needed locally to produce electric energy and for water purification projects and also for local industry, which was growing at a fast rate.
He predicted that the local requirements of natural gas could reach 4.3 billion cu ft daily in 2010 due to the growth of the various industries, specifically those associated with the demographic and population growth.
He added that RasGas and QatarGas had achieved significant growth and could reach between 77 and 80 million cu tonnes annually before 2012 through long contracts with Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom in addition to other EU countries as well as the US.
Jaipur, March 21 (IANS) A new Rajasthani jewellery art form that is gaining popularity in India and abroad is inspired by Victorian designs.
Called Sozo, this involves the blending of traditional Rajasthani jewellery art Thewa and Minakari with British designs of the Victorian era.
The name Sozo is derived from the Greek word for 'wholeness'. With this art, jewellers aim to create a new fashion trend while preserving the age-old crafts of the state.
"It is a wholehearted endeavour to preserve the glorified art of jewellery making and to enliven the bygone era by popularising the Thewa," said Justin Varkey, CEO of Jewel Ace International, the company responsible for creating Sozo.
Thewa, which is over 350-years-old, is an art form that fuses 23-carat gold with multi-coloured glass. A Thewa piece could take up to a month to complete. The motifs used reflect the culture and heritage of Rajasthan.
Minakari is another traditional type of jewellery where intricate and colourful enamel work is done on gold.
Sozo, which is available in over 75 designs, combines 14-carat gold, diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones, Varkey told IANS.
Varkey said the new form of jewellery was catching up fast with customers in India and abroad.
"We are getting enquiries not only from different parts of the country but from places across the world as well," he said. Varkey added that people in the US and the Gulf countries were expressing keen interest in his creations.
Said Khushboo Singh, an MNC executive here: "This style of jewellery which mixes traditional Indian art with the British style looks really good. It blends the mystical and the modern beautifully. It has designs inspired from natural forms and these collections are very elegant and feminine."
The Sozo pieces that are particularly popular are pendants, earrings, bracelets and cuff links, Varkey added.
Sozo can be enhanced with pearls, diamonds and other precious stones. The price ranges from Rs.4,000 per piece onwards, depending on the enhancements and embellishments.
"I love this style as the work on the mirror looks good and it is not that expensive too," said Radhika Jain, a jewellery lover.
Beijing, March 21 (DPA) Six-party negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme remained stalled Wednesday as North Korea was waiting for the transfer of frozen funds before resuming talks, officials said.
South Korean negotiator Chun Yung Woo said the problems over the transfer of $25 million from the Macao-based Banco Delta Asia were "minor technical issues" and that it was "just a matter of time" before they were solved.
"We are waiting for the Chinese to come up with a solution," Chun told reporters, referring to China's agreement to transfer the North Korean funds to a Bank of China account in Beijing.
US negotiator Christopher Hill said North Korea's insistence on moving the funds before resuming talks had brought a "real opportunity cost" to the six-party process.
Bank of China officials said a transfer of funds would normally take one to two working days, irrespective of the amount.
A decision on whether to continue the dialogue Thursday was expected at a plenary meeting scheduled for late Wednesday afternoon between the six delegations from North Korea, the US, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Hill said he believed the six-party process was "still on track" and that North Korea was committed to a Feb 13 agreement to dismantle its nuclear programme.
The delegations had been scheduled to discuss steps required by North Korea to meet its obligation to shut down its main nuclear reactor and allow UN inspections within 60 days of the Feb 13 agreement.
Despite the delay this week, Hill said Wednesday he believed the six nations would still meet the 60-day deadline.
The six nations agreed in February that North Korea would shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in exchange for energy supplies, normalised international relations and the lifting of US economic sanctions.
US sanctions against Banco Delta Asia began in Sept 2005 when Washington accused the bank of handling illicit North Korean funds linked to money laundering, drug trafficking and counterfeit currency.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) A nurse was arrested Wednesday for stealing a two-day male baby from a government hospital in the Indian capital, police here said. The infant has been handed back to his parents.
The accused, Sunita Pawar, a staff nurse with Bada Hindu Rao Hospital in north Delhi, was arrested for allegedly stealing the newborn Sunday. She said she didn't have a baby and wanted to raise the infant as her own, police said.
Shobha and Sanjay, the parents of the baby, complained to police that a staff nurse had taken away the newborn from them saying he needed to be put in ICU for two days.
When they inquired about their baby two days later, he could not be found, police said.
"We immediately launched a probe into the matter and found Pawar's activities suspicious. She was immediately detained for questioning," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North District) Divesh Srivastva.
"Pawar, on sustained interrogation, revealed that she had been married for the past 14 years and had suffered miscarriages four times. So, she stole the baby," he said.
By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) Though money sent home by relatives working abroad has kept Nepal's economy alive for nearly a decade, only 26 percent Nepalis have bank accounts due to lack of access to financial services, say a survey.
Family and friends are by far the largest loan providers since formal financial institutions do not serve the needs of people, especially low-income households and small businesses, World Bank's country director for Nepal Ken Ohashi said while launching the "Access to Financial Services Survey: 2006" report in Kathmandu.
The report, co-authored by the World Bank and Department for International Development, the British government's international aid wing, says access to financial services has declined in Nepal in recent years.
According to the survey, only 26 percent Nepali households have a bank account since bank procedures are seen as being the most cumbersome.
However, families and friends do not give loans altruistically. They charge interest on loans.
Private money-lending organisations and cooperatives are the second choice for Nepalis, serving 18 percent households that include both low-income and wealthier groups.
Microfinance and regional rural development banks come a distant third, serving only four percent, mainly the rural poor.
Most households do not bother trying to borrow from financial institutions because the latter can't meet needs in time. Also, informal lenders ask for less or no immovable collateral.
"Even among the wealthiest households, half of those with a bank account prefer informal lenders because of their rapid delivery," said Aurora Ferrari, World Bank Private Sector development specialist and author of the report.
Government efforts to increase access to formal financial services have not been successful since lending profitably to small businesses requires a high level of efficiency, minimised transaction costs and large numbers of high-quality loans.
"The country needs to develop an environment where small business lending is safer, cheaper, and faster," Ferrari said.
"Access to financial services plays a crucial role in poverty reduction," Ohashi said. "For example, access to savings helps poor people cope better with shocks such as health care emergencies. Through access to credit, they can invest in income-generating activities or in the future, by obtaining education or migrating. Financial services also play an important role in supporting the growth of small businesses -- crucial for creating jobs for low-skill workers."
The World Bank is asking Nepal government to urgently help banks and microfinance institutions develop appropriate products and procedures for profitable lending to small businesses and low-income households
The report suggests secured transactions laws, promoting the industry by upgrading technical skills and reforming state-owned providers. It also urges the government to create a legal and regulatory environment that protects microfinance consumers and promotes stability.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) It's becoming increasingly easy to "communicate with computers in mother tongues" with free and open source software solutions now working better with a range of languages from Asia.
Bigger language groups are especially better off, like Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu, according to an article in the New Delhi-based trade magazine Linux For You.
"Localisation is one subject that interests all Linux enthusiasts," says technocrat Ravishankar Srivastava. Srivastava is among those credited with having contributed significantly to the spurt of interest in local language computing in the free and open source software world in India.
Open-source, the opposite of closed source or proprietary software, is software whose source code is available under a license that permits users to study, change and improve the software and to redistribute it in a modified or unmodified form. It is often developed in a public, collaborative manner.
Srivastava says Indian languages in the desktop computing environment is now available with open source options like SUSE Linux, Ubuntu Linux and the OpenOffice suite.
But a few additional settings and configuration are needed to get the Indian-language solutions working, he says. Ubuntu Linux also requires installing an additional 'language pack' to get it going with Indian languages.
Ubuntu, sponsored by Canonical Ltd - a private firm founded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, is a widely used Linux distribution targeted at personal computers. It has gained market-share because of usability, regular releases, installation ease and freedom from legal restrictions.
So far Indian languages have received a rather step-motherly treatment in computing - a field created largely for the 26 alphabets of the Roman script rather than more complex Asian scripts.
"Installing an additional language like Hindi now needs a mere 15 minutes (of internet connectivity) with a 256 kbps broadband connection," says Srivastava.
"OpenOffice.org is a free office suite that also comes in many languages other than English. OpenOffice is available in almost all platforms - from Windows to Linux and from Intal to Sparc," he said.
"Installing additional languages is obviously not a Herculean task in Linux. Following some simple steps, we can configure our desktops as well as the OpenOffice suites," he adds.
Bhubaneswar, March 21 (IANS) Opposition parties in Orissa Wednesday boycotted Governor Rameswar Thakur's speech on the opening day of the budget session, demanding Speaker Maheswar Mohanty quit office over a criminal case against him.`
The disruption began just as the governor began his speech at 11 a.m. with opposition legislators, including those from the Congress, rushing to the floor to demand Mohanty's resignation.
According to the opposition, police has registered a criminal case against Mohanty after poll material of the ruling Biju Janata Dal was found in an assembly vehicle during the recent local bodies polls in his home district Puri.
The Congress, which has already served an impeachment notice against the speaker, walked out of the house led by former chief minister J.B. Patnaik.
They were joined by others, including the Left parties and the Orissa Gana Parisad.
Yangon, March 21 (Xinhua) Over 3,600 lots of precious and semi precious gems were sold during the just concluded annual gems exposition in Myanmar.
Without disclosing the sale value, Myanmar Emporium sources Wednesday said that a total of 3,652 jade, gems and pearls were sold during competitive bidding at the exposition.
The 44th annual gem show at the Myanmar Gems Emporium Hall and Myanmar Convention Centre was sponsored by the state-run Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE) and ended late Tuesday. The event saw participation from 3,421 merchants, including 2,069 foreign traders mainly from China, Hong Kong and Thailand.
In March last year, the 43rd annual exposition broke the sales record since its introduction 42 years ago with a sale value of $101 million.
Myanmar started to hold gem shows annually in 1964. These shows have earned a total of over $600 million for the country, according to official statistics.
Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, is home to nine gems -- ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnets tinged with yellow.
Kingston,Jamaica,March 21(ibnlive.com) Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya won the toss and elected to field in their World Cup Group D game against Pakistan on Wednesday at Sabina Park.
Following the sudden death of their coach Bob Woolmer on Sunday, Pakistan are playing their final match at the tournament as they have already been eliminated after losing their first two games.
Zimbabwe must win the match to maintain their hopes of progressing ahead of Ireland from the group into the Super Eights stage.
Pakistan made two changes from the team that suffered a shock defeat by Ireland last Saturday.
Shahid Afridi was included in the team after a four-match ICC ban in the place of Mohammad Hafeez and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria replaced all-rounder Azhar Mahmood.
Zimbabwe made one change from Monday's defeat to West Indies, with Gary Brent replacing Anthony Ireland.
Teams:
Pakistan: Inzamam-ul Haq (C), Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Danish Kaneria.
Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya (C), Vusi Sibanda, Chamu Chibhabha, Friday Kasteni, Brendan Taylor, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Gary Brent, Tawanda Mupariwa, Christopher Mpofu.
Islamabad, March 21 (IANS) The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) of Pakistan will observe a countrywide strike on April 3 to coincide with the hearing of presidential reference on ousted chief justice Ifitkhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
SCBA president Munir A. Malik announced this while addressing a huge protest demonstration of lawyers outside the Supreme Court building here Wednesday.
Lawyers demand that there should be open proceedings of the presidential reference against the chief justice and hearing should take place on a day-to-day basis, he was quoted by Online news agency as saying.
"If the government announces that there is no restraint on the free movement of chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry then we announce that he would address the Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association on March 28 and Peshawar High Court Bar Association on March 30 at every cost", Malik underlined.
He said lawyers will boycott proceedings in all the courts in the country on April 3.
"We slam the baton charge on lawyers and want to tell the government in unambiguous terms that we will take the lawyers struggle to its logic end," Malik said.
Saying that attempts to subjugate the judiciary would not be allowed to succeed, he said Pakistan needs an independent judiciary.
The lawyers hold that the presidential reference was baseless and Chaudhry had been punished for upholding the truth.
Islamabad, March 21, IRNA
Latest clashes between Pakistani tribesmen and foreign militants have killed at least 46 people, including 35 militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, it was reported on Wednesday.
The al Qaeda-linked militants, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, have clashed with the members of the pro-government peace committee near Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan over the last two days, the reports said.
Reports by Pakistan's TV channels said that 11 local tribesmen including four children were also killed in the clashes, the most severe in recent months, which have started since Monday when the two sides confronted each other.
Both sides used heavy weapons and one mortar shell has landed in a school, killing four children and injuring 30 others, added the reports.
At the end of the clashes, the Uzbek militants blocked roads linking Wana to the border town of Angor Adda.
This is the second time in less than a month that the two sides fought in the tribal region, the reports added.
An early clash on March 6 between the militants and the members of tribal peace committee had killed at least 13 Uzbek militants.
Since then, the situation is tense in the area despite a ceasefire rooked between the two sides earlier this month by local tribesmen.
Lahore, March 21 (IANS) The man who allegedly shot dead a woman minister in Pakistan's Punjab province during a meeting last month now says he was not present at the venue and had been picked up from his shop after the incident.
Punjab's Social Welfare Minister Zile Huma actually died of "a stray bullet", accused Muhammad Sarwer told the Anti-Terrorism Court Number 2 that has completed recording evidence and is likely to give its verdict next week.
Recording his statement in the court, Sarwer denied the charges levelled against him. He claimed that the minister had fallen victim to a stray bullet and said police had arrested him from his shop in Daal Bazaar on the day of the incident.
According to the prosecution, however, Huma, 35, was about to address an open court at the Muslim League House in Satellite Town on Feb 20 when Sarwer, part of the audience, rose and opened fire. The minister died while being taken to a hospital in Lahore.
During the hearing, the court recorded the statement of two inquiry officers and 15 prosecution witnesses, The News said.
A strong supporter of President Pervez Musharraf's social liberalisation policies, Huma had earned the ire of the conservatives in traditional Punjab by her outspoken advocacy for women. She was also reported to have organised a fashion show.
Reports appearing in the wake of Huma's killing had said that Sarwar had been charged with murdering four prostitutes but was let off for want of evidence.
He was initially described as a maulvi, a cleric, but this was vehemently contested by the clergy who joined in his condemnation in the Punjab Assembly.
By Shaun Benton
Cape Town, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) A netwok of international parliamentarians has been told that Africa needs two to three decades of sustained economic growth to make a substantial dent in the level of poverty on the continent.
South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel impressed upon the MPs meeting in the South African Parliament here at the weekend the need for a system of improved global governance that is representative and effective as the effects of world economic integration reach deeper into the social, economic and political lives of billions of people.
The MPs were gathered here as part of the annual conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank, which was hosted by South Africa's Parliament, making it the first time that this gathering of MPs and officials from the leading international financial institutions had met outside Europe.
Created in 2000, the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank is an independent and non-partisan network of 800 parliamentarians from 110 countries concerned about fighting poverty and promoting transparency and accountability in development, providing a platform for policy dialogue and officials from the World Bank and IMF.
Also present were the President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rodrigo de Rato, who joined Manuel in a panel discussion on economic issues facing Africa and the developing world and the role in this of the international financial institutions (IFIs).
In a wide-ranging speech that appeared to be well-received by the delegates who ranged from as far afield as Paraguay and the Philippines, Manuel also emphasized the need for governments of developing countries to continue creating fiscal space through reducing debt service costs and other means, which would allow more resources to be spent on social services and economy-boosting infrastructure.
"Our multilateral institutions have tended to dissuade us from focusing too much on fiscal space issues, but I think it is critical to moving African economies and governments from a condition of dependence to one of independence," Manuel said.
"It's very important that elected governments -- and with all the elements of democracy -- can account to their people for their decisions -- it's fundamental to sustaining peace in the world."
Recently, many African governments including South Africa have recorded surpluses or moderate deficits, said Manuel. This ocurred in the context of Africa's economic growth averaging 5.2 per cent last year.
Manuel said "the efforts of recent decades to improve governance needs to be strengthened, accelerated and made irrevocable, in large part by ensuring that we make major strides forward to improve global governance."
Increased aid to Africa continues to support poverty alleviation as it creates new employment opportunities, said the Finance Minister, adding, however, "the volatility and unpredictability of aid flows presents a significant obstacle to proper budgeting and quality spending".
Aid to Africa, he said, began rising after the early 1970s, growing from 16 per cent of global aid in 1974 to 28 per cent in 1992.
After this, however, the continent experienced a sharp downturn in aid that lasted until 2000, followed by a recovery but one which has recently been affected negatively by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have put pressure on donors to support redevelopment there.
As a result, the share of aid going to sub-Saharan Africa declined, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), from 35 per cent in 2003 to 30 per cent in 2005.
"I think one needs to take it a bit further and recognize that if the donor aid were driven to deal with deficits of the budgets, where there is public accountability for the way in which money is spent, the world could make very significant advances," Manuel said.
International development aid should be raised substantially higher, he said, reminding delegates that agreements on international partnerships -- particularly North-South partnerships -- made at a landmark international conference on financing for development held in Monterrey, Mexico in 2002, still needed to be met.
Another area where international co-operation needed to be deepened was in the multilateral forum governing trade. The collapse of the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was "a serious indictment on the intention of developed countries to increase market access to the developing world", Manuel said.
Trade-distorting agricultural subsidies and other non-tariff barriers -- practised largely in the North -- remained "significant obstacles to increased trade between Africa and the developed world", said Manuel.
Half of the continent remains poor, said Manuel, using IMF data to point out that Africa's aggregated gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 was only about 2.0 trillion USD. This compares poorly with India's contribution of 4.0 trillion USD to world GDP of 65 trillion USD, China's 10 trillion USD share and the United States at 13 trillion USD.
On a per head basis, Africa's GDP based on a purchasing-power-parity comparison ranged from a low in 645 USD in Malawi to a high of 17,426 USD in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, one of the oil-rich economies on Africa's west coast.
The billions of dollars pouring into the continent from oil money has in turn raised concerns among the elected representatives, with Wolfowitz later agreeing with one senator, that more transparency was required over the destinations of the 300 billion USD in oil money that had been poured into the continent in recent years.
An MP from Denmark later acknowledged the danger to Africans of the agricultural subsidies, asking whether, with 80 per cent of Africans engaging in subsistence agriculture, it was really to the benefit of consumers in developed countries to continue to see these subsidies in place.
Wolfowitz agreed that the agricultural trade subsidies "are hurting the poorest people in the world ... the people we care most about", and that they might not eventually be in the interests of people in the developed world.
He added that 260 billion USD in agricultural subsidies were coming out of the pockets of consumers and taxpayers in the United States, Europe and Japan, saying the World Bank would do anything it could to help push "for more effective trade negotiations".
He added that lack of accountability around oil revenues coming into Africa meant that these resources could "more often than not turn out to be a curse rather than a blessing", saying that a move towards getting all the oil companies and all the countries they operate in to declare what the revenues from oil were "would be a start".
Wolfowitz also suggested that MPs in developed countries could increase pressure for stronger legislation combating bribery, pointing out "every corrupt transaction has at least two parties" and that bribe-payers in multinational companies could be more effectively prevented from such actions.
The IMF’s de Rato said unless Africa's economic growth was actually accelerated over the next 10 to 15 years rather than sustained at current levels, "things will not change".
If Africa continues to grow at its current rhythm it would not achieve the Millennium Development Goals, "so the challenge is not small", the head of the IMF added.
New Delhi, March 21 (HT) Amid the simmering controversy in Nandigram over acquisition of farm land, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday opposed using government agencies for the purpose and said companies should deal with farmers directly.
"We should avoid using government machinery for acquiring land," he told reporters here when asked about his views on the violence at Nandigram in West Bengal over land acquisition for Indonesia's Salim Group's proposed special economic zone.
"My ministry would be happy if instead of using government machinery to acquire land, we encourage dialogue directly from farmers and if farmers and entrepreneurs come to an understanding, then we have no objection," he said.
Pawar said he was not against industry or industrial growth, but it must be ensured that the land to be acquired for such projects is not fertile irrigated land.
"If we have to set up some project we will require land... But this should not be fertile irrigated land which is giving one, two or three crops to farmers," he said.
"We should see that the land is essentially barren and non-fertile," he added.
At least 14 people were killed and nearly 100 injured at Nandigram when police opened fire on a violent crowd of about 5,000 early this month. Villagers have been protesting for the past three months against the acquisition of land.
The Nandigram incident followed similar protests at Singur in West Bengal over land acquisition for Tata Motors' car project. In both cases, land was being acquired by West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation.
Lima, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Coca growers in Peru have asked the parliament of this Andean nation to support the international legalization of coca leaves as fostered by the Bolivian government of President Evo Morales.
This is the main conclusion of a forum that analyzed the topic Monday, and supported a project in favour of the legalization, which will be presented by Peruvian representative Elsa Malpartida.
Malpartida and Bolivian Constituent Assembly member and vice-president of the Coca Leaf Commission, Sabino Mendoza, took part in the forum.
A consensus around the topic seems to be supported by an agreement between the coca growers and the government, which postponed a compulsory eradication programme, excluding those near drug production installations identified by police.
The government said the pause will last only two weeks, but coca growers said the time limit is not part of the agreement and the suspension should be maintained.
Growers at the forum rejected the time limit and supported Agriculture Minister Salazar, adding they would once again block roads and take other kinds of actions if Salazar is replaced through any kind of pressure.
Chennai, March 21 (IANS) Cooped up inside a cage and saying "KFC tortures chickens", members of an animal rights NGO here Wednesday protested the condition of the birds killed for the fast food chain's Indian outlets.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India members distributed leaflets to passers-by and gave details of how every bird killed for KFC has led a miserable life and met a frightening death.
The Chennai protest is one of 12,000 plus that have occurred internationally since 2003 when PETA launched its campaign urging KFC (the brand name for the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain) to stop abusing its chickens.
"KFC imprisons chickens in filthy disease-ridden warehouses where they never have the chance to breathe fresh air or see the light of day," PETA India's KFC action coordinator Roshni D'Silva said.
"To 850 million chickens and countless kind people worldwide, KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Cruelty," the PETA leader added.
PETA says KFC's suppliers worldwide drug and breed chickens to grow so large that many get crippled from the weight of their massive upper bodies.
Chickens in KFC's slaughterhouses have their throats slit while they are still conscious, and many are also scalded to death in de-feathering tanks, it said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Manmohan Singh was doing a good job as prime minister, but his government's performance was "disappointing and worrying", said senior communist leader Sitaram Yechury here.
"Considering the fact that the Congress does not have the culture of leading a coalition, I think Manmohan Singh is doing a good job. He is doing a fairly competent job as prime minister as he is leading a collective cabinet," Yechury told IANS.
"But the government's performance, especially its economic policies, have been disappointing and worrying," said the Left leader, a politburo member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - the leading party of the Left Front that extends crucial outside support to Manmohan Singh's government.
Yechury, known as the architect of the Left's economic agenda, also fears that the "dangers of the government would rub off" on the Left. "Dangers of the present situation are that the general discontent over the government's performance may rub off on us also."
However, the CPI-M MP is upbeat. "People are perceiving that whatever good happening in this government is happening because of us. After all, the same Manmohan Singh was the one who started the privatisation process in the country (during his tenure as finance minister in 1991-96). And today he is keeping it on hold.
"Obviously, there is a change of heart. There are programmes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee (the scheme to provide 100 days of work for one able bodied person in rural families). It is the only government that has brought down the price of petrol," Yechury said.
"People would also see us as responsible for something good," he added.
The CPI-M leader, however, added that the Left still prefers an anti-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alternative.
"The CPI-M always wanted a third alternative. It has to be built from the ground with those who are ready to work with us against negative impacts of economic policies and communalism.
"But it will take time. In the absence of that, we would always prefer an anti-Congress, non-BJP alternative if it can be built up before the next elections. The priority would be to keep communal forces out," he said, adding that one cannot forget that 54 of the 61 Left MPs in the Lok Sabha had defeated Congress candidates.
The CPI-M-led Left Front is in direct fight with the Congress in party-ruled states West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.
Yehcury, however, ruled out a third front. "We were always against a front, particularly after the UF (the United Front, which was in power in 1996-98) experience. A front is essentially a cut and paste job. Neither is it durable, nor is it credible for shifting the policy directions in the country," he said.
Chennai, March 21 (IANS) The Congress and the PMK seem to be coming closer in Tamil Nadu.
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) of S. Ramadoss has several times allied with former chief minister J. Jayalalitha's AIADMK. Now it is with the DMK in Tamil Nadu besides being a part of the Congress-led coalition in New Delhi.
Although the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ruling India includes the DMK, the PMK and the Congress, the last two are forging new ties in Tamil Nadu, clearly upset by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's refusal to take them into the state government.
Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and PMK MPs met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week to invite her to accept facilitations from their party for her support to reservation of seats for backward classes in education and jobs.
Ramadoss says the backward classes consider Gandhi "as the torchbearer of social justice and a crusader for the downtrodden".
State Congress president M. Krishnasamy is Anbumani's father-in-law, and no one here is surprised by the Congress-PMK bonhomie.
The PMK with 18 seats in the state assembly has been criticizing the DMK over issues like special economic zones (SEZs), satellite towns, GM crops, Cauvery water award and even liquor sales through government outlets.
The DMK government supports the development of 44 SEZs in Tamil Nadu. And backed by PMK-led NGOs, people on Chennai's western outskirts have flooded the chief minister's office with telegrams to stop expanding the airport at Meenambakkam.
The PMK and the DMK have also found themselves on the opposite sides of the fences over the sale of liquor through the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corp.
Like the AIADMK in Kerala and Karnataka, the PMK has plans to field candidates for civic body elections in Delhi. Ramadoss says that if a "north Indian party" BJP can contest elections in Tamil Nadu, why not the PMK in the north?
PMK legislators from northern Tamil Nadu have accused Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister Veerapandi Arumugam and his son V.A. Raja, also a legislator, of "misappropriation of funds" allocated for social welfare.
Relatively, the Congress is not that anti-DMK, mainly because of the personal equation Karunanidhi enjoys with Sonia Gandhi.
As one Congress MP from Tamil Nadu put it: "If the chief minister has to convey anything to the Congress, he dials Sonia and speaks to her. He does not care for us. What can we do?"
It is disquiet of that kind that may be bringing disgruntled Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu closer to the PMK.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Expressing grave concern over electricity shortage in the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday called for introspection by policy-makers and stakeholders on how best to address the situation.
"The fact that less than half of the capacity we have planned is, in fact, being created during the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-2007) is a matter of deep concern to us in the government as well as to the country at large," he said.
"I sincerely hope all those who are involved in planning and in the execution of power sector will do some introspection as to what's gone wrong and how to make up for the loss," Manmohan Singh told an awards function for power units here.
"When a premier state like Maharashtra, day after day, month after month, faces the trauma of power shortages even during the days when children have to prepare for school, I think that's a measure of gap in our performance," he added.
According to the prime minister, while the installed capacity in the country was 130,000 megawatts, the accelerated economic growth had resulted in the demand far outstripping supplies.
"We need to do much better if we have to ensure that electricity does not become a constraint on our economy. The sector must grow to meet the needs of industry and agriculture, urban and rural areas and households, farms and factories."
The prime minister also recalled the days when he used to visit the former Soviet Union and saw billboards saying: 'Communism is sine qua non for electricity'.
"We do not need the Soviet Union, but certainly, if we have to make progress, social or economic, electricity and power is a prime requisite. That's the measure of challenge in all states tackling the problem," he added.
According to Manmohan Singh, just like generation, distribution of electricity was also a vital area for the commercial viability and development of the energy sector in the country.
"We have not paid adequate attention to this fact. Reforms in power distribution and pricing are a vital to the quest for energy security. High transmission and distribution losses and constant theft are unacceptable propositions."
Nairobi, March 21 (NNN-KBC) President Mwai Kibaki Tuesday opened the sixth and last session of Kenya’s Ninth Parliament and assured that the government would facilitate dialogue on the nature and extent of reforms needed in the constitution review process.
Speaking at Parliament, he said the government would table before the House the necessary legislation that would define the way forward on the review process so as to build strong and durable national institutions and political parties.
"I urge the Honorable Members to participate actively in debating these Bills in order to ensure that what is enacted into law reflects unanimity on the way forward in completing the review of the constitution," he added.
On women empowerment, he reiterated that the government would continue to reserve a minimum of 30 per cent of all new public service jobs for women while a women enterprise development fund would be established this year to assist hawkers, most of whom are women.
On the Youth Enterprise Fund, President Kibaki said the government had already released the first disbursement of 210 million shillings (one USD = about 69.3 shillings) to all constituencies while the balance of 790 million shillings will be disbursed through other financial intermediaries.
The president said the laws that had been passed and enacted in the last four years formed the basis on which Kenyans could realize the dream of a well-governed country that is prosperous, just and equitable.
On education, he noted that the reforms implemented by the government had increased primary school enrolment to above 83 per cent with the target of achieving 100 per cent enrolment by 2007.
Given the success of the Free Primary Education, he added, the government would be focusing more attention on secondary school education which provides the critical mass for the technological advancement of the country.
Noting that affirmative action was being taken in places that had been neglected in the past, President Kibaki said the Government had invested 12 billion shillings for the development of Arid and Semi-Arid districts in northern Kenya.
He said that the government was in the process of formulating an economic recovery programme to cover all districts of the Coast Province, adding that eight billion shillings had been spent in the province on completed projects in the last four years.
President Kibaki expressed satisfaction that sustained prudent fiscal and monetary policies in the last four years have resulted in lower interest rates and a stable exchange rate providing a conducive macro-economic environment for investment. "As a result of these predictable, consistent and stable policy measures, business confidence is at an all time high among the local and international investors."
He observed that foreign direct investment increased to nearly 80 billion shillings last year, while the overall economy is estimated to grow by a minimum of 6 percent for the year 2006.
President Kibaki also said the government would increase the capacity for the national food reserves by one million bags of maize to four million bags while an additional 1.8 billion shillings would be spent to purchase maize and 600 million shillings to buy milk from farmers this year.
He reiterated that the government was formulating the Vision 2030 as the basis for the country's medium to long-term growth, saying the Vision was projected to raise economic growth from the current 6.0 per cent to 10 per cent for the next 25 years.
Islamabad, March 21 (DPA) Hundreds of lawyers and political activists rallied outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad Wednesday ahead of an expected change of Pakistan's acting chief justice.
Pakistan is facing its worst judicial crisis after President Pervez Musharraf on March 9 referred Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to a panel of senior judges over numerous allegations of misuse of authority.
Rana Bhagwan Das arrived in the port city of Karachi in the afternoon and was expected to be sworn as soon as he reaches the capital.
Bhagwan Das should have taken over as acting chief justice after Chaudhry was rendered "non-functional" but his immediate subordinate was temporarily appointed as caretaker.
Crowds carrying placard and flags of opposition political parties marched to the court building in Islamabad after security officials desisted from stopping them to avoid violent clashes.
"The government has to go, as there is no other solution," said Shafqat Khan Abbasi, a Supreme Court advocate and parliamentarian affiliated with Benazir Bhutto's party.
Commenting on the involvement of opposition parties in the whole episode, President Musharraf earlier told a private television channel that "the government will not let you to politicise and take political advantage in this very judicial and constitutional case."
"We are here today to save parliament and the judiciary from the cruel authority of President Musharraf," Khalid Mehmood Arif of Jamaat-i-Islami religio-political party said outside the Supreme Court.
Similar non-violent protests were reported from across the country in which lawyers staged hunger strikes. Court proceedings also remained suspended in the wake of a complete boycott.
Pakistan's controversially suspended top judge is primarily accused of "employing his position to gain undue advantage" for his son, the Dawn newspaper reported Wednesday, citing leaked documents.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry also used his position to "influence, harass and intimidate all concerned and compelled them to act in an unlawful manner," according to presidential reference published in the paper.
The panel will next take up the case on April 3 following two earlier hearings and scenes of violence as lawyers and opposition forces clashed with police in Islamabad and other cities. Chaudhry's supporters say the case has been fabricated to silence him after he ruled against the government on a number of occasions.
The chief justice is alleged to have engineered his son's enrolment in a medical college and subsequent postings in health department and security agencies in violation of rules.
Arsalan Iftikhar, who on three occasions failed examinations for induction into the country's civil services, began his professional carrier as a medical doctor in June 2005. He then joined the National Police Academy in the capital Islamabad following an order issued by the Interior Ministry in May 2006.
The chief justice also secured the use of a fleet of cars despite being entitled to just one vehicle, and on a number of occasions asked top government officials to provide their cars and aircraft for his official travel and private visits, the leaked document said.
Concerning his judicial conduct, Musharraf's reference against Chaudhry to the Supreme Judicial Council cited complaints that the judge had issued written orders that varied from verbal instructions given in court.
One such case involved the sum of 55 million rupees ($909,000 dollars), the text said without giving details.
Chaudhry will formally retain the title of chief justice until the five-member Supreme Judicial Council submits its report to Musharraf to either endorse or reject its recommendations.
Chaudhry's lawyers have challenged the constitutionality of the council and alleged that some of the members had personal grudges against the judge.
Islamabad, March 21 (DPA) Thousands of Pakistani lawyers and political activists renewed street protests Wednesday before the appointment of a new acting chief justice amid the judicial crisis.
Judge Rana Bhagwan Das arrived in Karachi from leave in India and was due to be sworn in as caretaker replacement for Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom President Pervez Musharraf suspended March 9 for alleged misuse of office.
"The oath will be taken when a presidential order is issued," Bhagwan Das told journalists. "Everything will be in accordance with the constitution and law and it will be in written, not verbal form."
The judge - who is the only Hindu in the top judicial hierarchy - declined to comment on the situation that escalated during his absence. Protests erupted into violent clashes with riot police in Islamabad and Lahore in recent days.
As Pakistan's second most senior judge, Bhagwan Das should have taken over as acting chief justice after Chaudhry was rendered "non-functional", but his immediate subordinate was temporarily appointed.
A five-member panel of senior judges will next take up the case against Chaudhry on April 3 following two earlier hearings.
Demonstrators carrying placards and opposition party flags were allowed to freely assemble at the building of the Supreme Court here in an apparent bid by authorities to avoid a repeat of the clashes last Friday.
"Musharraf has to go, as there is no other solution," said Shafqat Khan Abbasi, a Supreme Court advocate and parliamentarian affiliated with exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
But supporters of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) kept their distance from other opposition groups Wednesday, fuelling speculation that it still hopes to strike a deal with the president before elections this year or early 2008.
Musharraf earlier told a private TV channel that people were entitled to protest but issued a warning to anyone seeking to take advantage of the crisis.
"The government will not let you politicise and take political advantage in this very judicial and constitutional case," said the president, who claims he has become the object of "conspiracies" over the Chaudhry case.
Protesters gathered at the court Wednesday said the assault on the chief justice could only be a political issue.
"We are here today to save the parliament and judiciary from the cruel authority of President Musharraf," said Khalid Mehmood Arif of the religious party Jamaat-i-Islami.
The professor in Islamic studies said he travelled with 500 others from the Punjab province to mount a one-day march in the capital and stressed that their intent was peaceful.
Non-violent protests were reported from across the country as lawyers boycotted court proceedings and observed hunger strikes for the 12th day.
Chaudhry is primarily accused of "employing his position to gain undue advantage" for his son, the Dawn newspaper reported Wednesday, citing leaked documents that formed the basis for his suspension.
According to excerpts from a 17-page presidential reference, he engineered his son's enrolment in a medical college and subsequent postings in health department and security agencies.
He used his position to "influence, harass and intimidate all concerned and compelled them to act in an unlawful manner", and made excessive use of state transport for his official and private travel.
There were also complaints that he issued written orders that varied from verbal instructions given in court. One such case involved the sum of Rs.55 million ($909,000), the leaked documents said without giving details.
Chaudhry's supporters say the allegations were fabricated to silence him after he ruled against the government on a number of occasions since taking office in 2005.
His lawyers have challenged the constitutionality of the adjudicating panel and claim that some members harbour personal grudges against the judge.
Chandigarh, March 21 (IANS) Hundreds of people in various areas of Punjab and Chandigarh spent several hours sitting out in the open Wednesday morning following rumours that an earthquake had occurred in north India.
People in many Punjab cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala and Chandigarh came out of their homes early Wednesday after rumours of a tremor and expected aftershocks spread.
"We were sitting outside our home in Chandigarh for nearly five hours since morning. All people in our neighbourhood also sat outside," said Sunita, a maid, who reached her employer's home two-hours late.
People in many localities in Jalandhar also spent several hours in the open following the rumours.
Local authorities at most places dispelled the quake rumours and asked people to return to their homes.
"I was shocked to see so many people sitting in the park early morning in front of my uncle's house. I was later told that they were out not for morning exercises or fresh air but due to the fear of an earthquake," said Vishal, a resident of Jalandhar.
By Faraz Ahmad,
Muzaffarnagar, March 21 (IANS) Oodles of charisma, some charm and a dash of controversy, Rahul Gandhi got the recipe just right when he made a three-day road trip through western Uttar Pradesh to boost the Congress' chances in the elections beginning April 7.
With the Gandhi-Nehru halo firmly around his head, Rahul wowed locals, who turned up in their thousands to see the Congress star in Bareilly, Muradnagar, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Deoband. Whether the stardom translates into votes in the state is still to be seen, but he also managed to unnerve his political adversaries.
In the third year of his entry into politics, Rahul has learnt the tricks of the trade -- fully utilise personal charisma to build direct rapport with the masses and make carefully worded statements aimed at newspaper headlines, but in his trademark earnest, non-aggressive style without naming anybody.
He made ripples in the caste and communal ridden politics of western Uttar Pradesh. This seemed to have shaken his political opposition vying for power in the state currently run by the Samajwadi Party. On Tuesday morning, his prescheduled rally at Bareilly was cancelled by the district magistrate despite thousands of people gathering at the venue.
With an eye firmly on the crucial Muslim vote bank, 'Hindustan ka bhavi pradhan mantri' (future prime minister) as state Congress Committee president Salman Khursheed called him, made a carefully calculated statement saying that a Gandhi would have never let the Babri Masjid fall.
Touching on the emotive topic of the 1992 demolition of the mosque, Rahul was careful not to name then prime minister and party leader P.V. Narasimha Rao.
But determined to make up for that one single act that robbed the Congress of its long-standing Muslim support base, the young Gandhi distanced his party from the destruction of the 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya: "Babri Masjid (destruction) would not have happened had any Gandhi family member been there," he told reporters.
The opposition may raise any number of fingers at Rahul Gandhi but he knows that the Muslims of the state hold Rao responsible for the demolition and whoever verbalises this goes up in their esteem.
A statement from the Nehru-Gandhi family scion in consonance with their thinking, he knows, is bound to touch a chord in the hearts of Muslims, the largest religious minority in Uttar Pradesh.
Similarly, as he mentioned a Congress "sellout" to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the 1996 assembly elections -- when the Congress under Rao's leadership reached a first alliance in the state and allowed the BSP to contest 300 seats, leaving only 125 for the party -- he struck an instant chord with grassroots leaders.
Initially, as his motorcade sped towards Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Deoband, it appeared as an act of bravado on Rahul's part as the Congress has virtually no presence in the area.
Till the first public meeting held at Muradnagar Sunday, the general view was that Rahul Gandhi had bitten off more than he could chew. Come Modinagar though and the crowds started swelling, slogans were louder and shrill cheers could be heard from even rooftops flying Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party flags.
This expectedly gave Rahul a high and he got out from his Prado SUV, driven by old time loyalist Satish Sharma, and walked across to shake hands with truck drivers.
The frenzy continued all the way, with a charged Rahul on the roof of the jeep, reaching out to people and exchanging greetings.
Could it work?
"Rahul's initiative has certainly caused Muslims and perhaps even Jats to think about the Congress," said Nasiruddin, an electrician in Khatauli.
However, Om Singh, a Jat farmer standing next to him, seemed disappointed because the Congress could not strike an alliance with Ajit Singh.
Nobody, not even key Congress leaders or Rahul himself, believes that this three-day trip will make a major difference to the Congress' electoral fortunes.
But the point is that he has managed to leave an impression on the people of this region in general and the Muslims in particular.
Though students at the Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband refused to raise any slogans despite repeated pleadings from the dais at the rally -- many are not willing to dump Mulayam Singh Yadav as yet -- they did wait for over five hours to attend the public meetings and were anxious to shake hands with him.
Who knows, if not right now, they could consider Rahul and the Congress as a serious contender for their support if the sincerity is shown to be genuine.
On his part, Rahul is ready to wait. Putting the blame for the state of affairs on "organisational weakness of the Congress party", he said of Congress prospects: "If not this election, maybe next or the one after that. I will continue coming here and working with you."
The ballot box holds the answers.
Bangalore, March 21 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday rapped the public sector banks for not making optimum use of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) systems to help customers and increase business.
"The biggest challenge faced by the banking system is the effective payment and settlement system. A viable and robust payment and settlement system is the strength of banking system in the country," RBI deputy governor V. Leeladhar Leeladhar said after inaugurating 125 new ATM (automatic teller machines) set up by Canara Bank here.
Lamenting that the state-owned banks were not implementing the technology measures initiated by the regulator (RBI), he said while Indian IT firms were helping the whole world by providing banking software to move from cash payment to electronic payment, the public sector banks were not taking advantage of the same technology.
"There is an urgent need to leapfrog in making use of the technology. I regret to inform the banks have failed to explain to their customers the benefits of using the RTGS for payments unlike foreign banks operating in the country. As a result, customers of Indian banks are not fully aware of the advantages of the system," Leeladhar pointed out.
The RBI had invested Rs.1.5 billion in setting up the RTGS facility for use by the banks free of cost to help transfer of funds electronically in just two hours in place of the traditional system that takes about 15 days. The system helps banks to electronically transfer funds up to Rs.1,000 billion every day.
"Though the RTGS system can execute about 100,000 transactions a day, banks are currently doing only 15,000 transactions per day, of which 13,000 are inter-bank transactions. Transactions through NEFT are about 18,000 per day," Leeladhar said.
The RTGS system is operating in about 28,000 branches located in 3,200 cities and towns across the country.
Calling for a change in the mindset to make best use of the technology and help customers to use the facility, Leeladhar said the banks should stop worrying about losing 'float money' in implementing the RTGS and provide the benefit to customers.
The float is the time lapse between the issue of a bank draft and its encashment by the beneficiary.
The deputy governor said the RBI was hopeful of implementing the cheque truncation system in six public sector banks from next month. A pilot project is underway in the national capital region (NCR) to test the system wherein a transparent cheque is transferred electronically and its amount is verified by the issuing bank in five minutes.
"The truncation system will ensure cheques are not lost or misplaced in transit by post or courier. The transaction time is also reduced to minutes as against the current practice, which takes more than a fortnight to realise the outstation cheque payment," he added.
Colombo, March 21 (DPA) Fighting between army troops and Tamil rebels killed 21 dead and more than 80 injured, including civilians, in the north and eastern parts of Sri Lanka, military officials said Wednesday.
Fierce fighting broke out when rebels fired artillery and mortars at five military camps in Batticaloa district, 240 km north-east of Colombo, just before dawn Wednesday, prompting security forces to retaliate.
Eight rebel bodies were recovered, but the military claims that as many as 30 rebels were injured and the casualty figure could be more than the number of bodies recovered.
At least four soldiers were also killed and 14 injured in the battle.
The pro-rebel Tamilnet website confirmed that the rebels had mounted the attacks on the security forces in the eastern province and claimed they had inflicted damage on the army positions in the area.
Over 40 civilians also have been injured due to the shelling as some of the mortars and artillery fell on civilian-populated areas, military officials in the area said.
The fighting in the eastern province cAme as government troops were continuing their efforts to recapture more rebel-controlled areas including a jungle base located in Thoppigala in Batticaloa district.
In a separate incident in Vavuuniya, 240 km north of the capital, four suspected rebels were shot dead by the army after they came under attack by the rebels, a military spokesman said.
Five more rebels were shot dead as they attempted to infiltrate the forward defences in Muhamalai, 380 km north of the capital at dawn on Wednesday.
A military spokesman said that rebels appeared to have made simultaneous efforts to attack the security forces in the north and eastern province, but had failed in their attempts.
Fighting in the north and eastern parts of Sri Lanka has escalated during the past 15 months, claiming more than 4,000 lives.
London, March 21 (IANS) Over two-thirds of British Asians think that reporting child abuse would have a negative affect on the honour of the child's family, a survey revealed.
The survey conducted by the charity National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) questioned over 500 Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. A majority of them rated sexual abuse of a child as having the most negative effect on family honour, followed by physical abuse and then emotional abuse.
"Child abuse happens in all communities and there is no evidence that it is greater amongst British Asians. However, cultural issues and the importance placed on family reputation could mean that it is being hidden away," said Saleha Islam, NSPCC Asian helpline manager.
The NSPCC is a national charity that works to protect children from abuse. Their purpose is to end cruelty to children and protect their rights.
The survey also revealed that 37 percent of the sample had suspected a child was being abused, and half of them knew the child personally. However, 42 percent of those who suspected child abuse did nothing about their concerns, according to information posted on NSPCC website.
Of those who did act, fewer than four percent reported the abuse to the police and only three percent reported it to social services. The majority chose to deal with their concerns themselves.
Respondents also felt unable to turn to their own community. Two-thirds said they did not think their community was open to talking about child abuse. This was reflected in the fact that only three percent told a community leader, a religious leader or someone in a community organisation.
Kuala Lumpur, March 21 (NNN-Bernama) A sum of RM23.66 billion has been collected by 19 highway concessionaires since the introduction of the highway privatisation concept until last year, Malaysian Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Tuesday. (rm1=0.2860usd)
He said the amount included toll collections on two bridges -- the Penang bridge and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing (Linkedua).
In written answers at the Dewan Rakyat Parliament) Tuesday, Samy Vellu said that until the end of last year, an average of RM41 million was spent to maintain all the highways and bridges concerned.
Samy Vellu explained that about RM5.9 billion was spent to build the North-South Highway and RM27.83 million was the monthly cost of maintaining it.
The 50-year concession period for that highway began in 1988.
He further said that the amount of toll collected for the Penang bridge was RM1.7 billion while that of the North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite) stood at RM1.05 billion.
Vientiane, March 20 (NNN-VNA) Final work on construction of a road linking Laos, Thailand and China is undergone for opening to traffic in June.
The road from China’s Kunming to Thailand’s Bangkok via two provinces of Laos is being built with jointly investment by the three countries at a total of 1 billion baht (28.6 million USD).
The road named R3 has a 222-km long section running through Bokeo and Louang Namtha provinces in Laos, said Loa Dounheun, Director of the Bokeo Post, Telecommunications, Transport and Construction Department.
The Lao government gave financial priority to the construction of R3 and considered it a chance for the two northern provinces to boost trade and economic development with neighbouring countries and other regional countries.
Moscow, March 21 (RIA Novosti) Russia will not back excessive sanctions on Iran, suspected of secret plans to build nuclear weapons, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
"We agreed earlier to influence Iran gradually, taking account of the present situation, and we will not back excessive sanctions," Lavrov said, referring to a new resolution on Iran being drafted at the UN Security Council over Tehran's defiance to stop the enrichment of uranium.
Lavrov also said Wednesday that Russia saw no connection between its completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran and work on a UN Security Council resolution on its nuclear program.
The UNSC will hold initial consultations Wednesday on a draft resolution to toughen sanctions on Iran for its refusal to end uranium enrichment activities and adhere to the previous resolution.
Last week, the five permanent members of the UNSC - France, Russia, UK, US and China - and Germany said they would impose a ban on Iranian arm exports and arm sales to Iran, restrict foreign trips for officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite military unit commanded by the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They also recommend countries and international financial organisations not to issue loans and grants to Iran, except for humanitarian purposes, and to freeze accounts of listed individuals and companies involved in nuclear and missile project program development. It believes that a vote on the Iran resolution could be taken later this week.
Simultaneously, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday Iran would not cede its right to develop peaceful nuclear technologies even under threat of new sanctions.
By Thapelo Sakoana
Pretoria, March 21 (NNN-BUANEWS) South African Minister of Safety and Security Charles Nqakula left for the Netherlands Tuesday on an official visit aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries in various sectors.
The minister is expected to hold discussions with the Dutch Ministers of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Defence as well as Interior and Kingdom Affairs.
Relations between South Africa and the Netherlands stretch back to the creation of a trading post by the Dutch East India Company in Cape Town in 1652. However, further impetus was given to bilateral relations by the South African referendum in 1992 and the inauguration of the Government of National Unity.
Since South Africa became a democracy, the Dutch government has reiterated its support for the representative regime. Bilateral agreements include Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed in 1997 for co-operation in different fields such as social welfare, sports and housing.
In 1999, another agreement was entered into regarding a project called "Housing for a Healthier Future for South Africa" as part of activities implemented in line with the objectives of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
The two countries also signed a protocol on co-operation in the fields of transport and infrastructure development in 2000 and in 2001 an agreement was signed concerning the donation of funds for the South African National Defence Force's deployment in Burundi.
Nqakula is expected to consolidate relations and further explore other areas of bilateral co-operation and is also expected to address a seminar organized by the South African Embassy in the Netherlands on Wednesday, Human Rights Day.
He is expected to give the South African perspective on investment and business development within the context of human rights.
He will return to South Africa on Saturday.
In South Africa, various events have been planned to commemorate Human Rights Day on Wednesday.
North West province Premier Edna Molewa will address the residents of Mazista near Swartruggens, an area where reports of human rights abuse have often emerged. The event would allow residents to voice their grievances and concerns in this regard.
In Mpumalanga province, Premier Thabang Makwetla is expected to officiate at the commemorations in Leandra while Limpopo province Premier Sello Moloto will also address residents in the Greater Sekhukhune District.
Gauteng province Premier Mbhazima Shilowa is also set to speak at a similar event in Sharpeville and his Northern Cape counterpart Dipuo Peters will address residents in Springbok.
In 1966, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21, the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In the Sharpeville massacre on March 21, 1960, 69 people were killed by apartheid security forces.
Those who died include eight women and ten children while 180 people were wounded, of whom 31 were women and 19 were children. The police opened fire on approximately 300 demonstrators, who were protesting in Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, against the pass laws.
On March 30, 1960, the apartheid government declared a state of emergency, detaining more than 18,000 people.
In its report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission found the police had deliberately opened fire on an unarmed crowd that had gathered peacefully there to protest against the pass laws.
Lusaka, March 21 (NNN-ZANIS) -- President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia SAYS the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will soon convene a foreign ministers meeting to discuss the political situation in neighbouring Zimbabwe where an opposition political party leader was recently arrested and beaten by police.
The foreign ministers meeting would make recommendations to the regional body on the way forward regarding the political challenges in that country, the president told journalists at Lusaka International airport Tuesday shortly before his departure for a four-day state visit to Namibia.
He, however, declined to comment on the prevailing political situation in Zimbabwe until he received a full report from Zambia's envoy in Harare.
Civil society organizations and international human rights bodies have condemned SADC leaders for being silent on the political crisis in Zimbabwe, which is a member of the regional body.
Zambia assumes the chairmanship of the regional body in August this year when the country hosts the annual SADC heads of state summit.
On his visit to Namibia, President Mwanawasa said the countries enjoyed strong bilateral relations and shared a lot in common. Zambia and Namibia also collaborated in many areas, particularly in mining as the two countries are both big copper producers.
He said the two countries had also embarked on a joint agriculture venture in order to boost food security for the benefit of the people in the two nations.
The president also said since coming to power in 2001, he has enjoyed a lot of support from his Namibian counterparts.
President Mwanawasa is accompanied by First Lady Maureen, Mines Minister Kalombo Mwanawasa and other senior government officials. He is expected back home on Saturday.
Guwahati, March 21 (IANS) Healthcare authorities in Assam Wednesday warned of an epidemic if parents do not get their children immunised against the fatal Japanese encephalitis, which claimed 119 lives in the state last year.
"Children are vulnerable to the disease and unless parents get their wards immunised against Japanese encephalitis, the situation could be frightening,"Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told IANS.
A massive vaccination programme launched by the state over the weekend has been affected with media reports about children falling sick after the immunisation drive in the eastern districts of Jorhat and Golaghat.
"These are absolutely false propaganda and such baseless news stories would do more harm than good. The stories have already led to panic with parents not willing to vaccinate their children," the minister said.
The disease, transmitted from pigs through mosquitoes, strikes during the peak breeding period from April to September.
Japanese encephalitis is a potentially severe viral disease spread by infected mosquitoes in the agricultural regions of Asia and affects the central nervous system and can cause severe complications and even death.
The Japanese encephalitis virus has a complex life cycle involving domestic pigs and a specific type of culex mosquito that lives in rural rice-growing and pig-farming regions.
Japanese encephalitis usually starts with flu-like symptoms, with fever, chills, tiredness, headache, nausea and vomiting.
"We have targeted to vaccinate 700,000 children in the districts and so far we have been able to immunise just about 200,000," Sarma said.
There is no medication for curing Japanese encephalitis other than the vaccination developed by China.
"A total of 16 districts in India were provided with the very costly vaccination from China made available by the central government. Two of the 16 districts are in Assam," the minister said.
There are six districts in Assam vulnerable to Japanese encephalitis - all in eastern Assam.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Delhi Police Wednesday busted a sex racket operating in a plush area in south Delhi and arrested five call girls and a pimp.
The racket was unearthed after a raid on a residential flat of Sarita Vihar. The girls were arrested along with the pimp - named Rahul.
A decoy customer, who was sent to fix a deal, informed the police party after paying the money to the accused. A raid was then conducted to nab all the six people, police said.
"We are interrogating about their customers in the city," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south Delhi) Anil Shukla said.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Indian government is in the process of assessing all special economic zone (SEZ) related issues to give farmers a fair deal, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Ashwani Kumar said Wednesday.
Land being a state subject it comes under the jurisdiction of the state governments. Every state acquires land for its individual needs. Hence, the relief and rehabilitation measures will be based on its own necessitates, the minister said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Issues related to SEZs have also been placed before the empowered group of ministers (EGOM).
He said through its new National Rehabilitation Policy the government was trying to reduce displacement and promote non-displacing alternatives. According to Kumar, the government is also considering rehabilitation packages and implementation of rehabilitation process.
The minister also mentioned the recent cases of protests by farmers from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra against acquisition of land by state governments for setting up industries including SEZs.
Adding that SEZs are expected to bring overall development, Kumar said the main aim of setting up SEZs is to generate economic activity and promote export of goods and services.
This, he said, will attract more foreign investment, besides capital from domestic sources, resulting in employment generation.
New Delhi,March 21 (CNN-IBN) As Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf battles to contain the protests over the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, former Pakistani prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have decided to meet in London.
The meeting will discuss the ongoing crisis in Pakistan and chalk out the Opposition strategy.
The Pakistan People's Party spokesman confirmed that Bhutto will travel from Washington to London to meet Sharif on Thursday.
The two would finalise a strategy in the light of increasing protests against the Chaudhary’s suspension.
In December last year, Musharraf had said that Bhutto and Sharif will not be allowed to contest elections in the country that are likely to be held between November 2007 and January 2008.
"If they come to Pakistan, Nawaz will be sent on next flight back out and Benazir will have to stand trial... Firstly, one of them is convicted. The other also is convicted. Both of them are convicted actually. One of them has gone out for 10 years for an agreement, by himself. And the other is out since...," Musharraf was quoted as saying by agencies.
On March 10, a local court in Pakistan had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari in assets declaration case for the fourth time.
The case against the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders is being tried by the district and sessions court on a petition filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which had claimed that Bhutto and Zardari had made false assets declaration before the Election Commission of Pakistan during the general elections in 1993.
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Indian double trap shooter Ronjon Sodhi bagged the bronze medal in the shotgun World Cup at Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic Wednesday, but missed an Olympic berth narrowly.
According to information received here, Sodhi shot a total of 187 points out of a possible 200 to finish third, and missed a berth in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by two points.
The gold went to Sweden's Hakan Dahlby who shot 192 while Italian Daniele Di Spigno bagged the silver with 188 points.
Sodhi started a little shakily in the morning when he shot 43 out of 50 in the first of the qualifying rounds.
But followed it up with two excellent rounds of 49 and 48 to end up with a total score of 140 out of 150 in the qualifiers, where he was tied with Richmond Joshua of the US and Chinese Nan Wang after the qualifying rounds.
In the finals, Sodhi shot a brilliant 47 out of 50.
This was Sodhi's first individual medal in the World Cup. He also won the Asian Games silver medal recently.
The other two Indian shooters in the event, Vikram Bhatnagar and Moraad Ali Khan, shot 134 and 125 respectively.
Basseterre (St. Kitts), March 21 (IANS-CMC) Man-of-the-Match Graeme Smith fell nine runs short of a century as South Africa eased to a comfortable seven-wicket win over minnows Scotland in Group A Tuesday and into the next round of the World Cup here.
The South Africa captain lashed 91 from just 65 balls with 13 fours and a six as his team successfully chased Scotland's 186 for eight in 50 overs, reaching their target from 23.2 overs at Warner Park.
Smith and fellow opener A.B. de Villiers, who hit a 45-ball 62 with nine fours and two sixes, tore into the Scotland bowling attack to post 134 from 15.5 overs, reports Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
The first 50 runs came from just 39 balls as the duo took a liking to opening Paul Hoffman and John Blain, both of whom were expensive.
The left-handed Smith, using his feet well, drove and cut with power and timing to quickly despatch the deliveries that strayed on the leg-side. His half-century came from just 36 balls and included 10 fours and he moved into the 90s by hoisting off-spinner Majid Haq into the stand at long-on.
He was dismissed two balls later off the same bowler when he gave an easy catch to mid-on with nine runs needed for victory.
The right-hander de Villiers, who swung left-arm spinner Glenn Rogers for two sixes in the same over he was dismissed, reached his 50 off 41 balls with nine fours. Attempting another big hit, de Villiers was caught at long-off off.
Haq, who also dismissed Ashwell Prince for 21, finished with two for 43 from six overs.
Earlier, former England one-day player Dougie Brown, top-scored with an unbeaten 64-ball 45 with three fours, to help his side after they slipped to 84 for five in the 30th over.
Brown and John Blain, who hit 23 off 35 balls, added 50 for the seventh wicket to revive Scotland who were asked to bat after losing the toss.
Stand-in captain Ryan Watson played well for 31 off 50 balls with four fours before he was run out by de Villiers' accurate throw from short cover to be fifth out.
Fraser Watts, who did not field in the South African innings because of cramps, made 24. Medium pacer Andrew Hall captured three for 48 and Charl Langeveldt, two for 48.
Scotland and The Netherlands meet in their final group match Thursday before South Africa and Australia clash in the marquee match-up Saturday.
SCOREBOARD
Match No.15, Scotland vs. South Africa, Group A, Warner Park, Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 20
Scotland:
Fraser Watts c Smith b Langeveldt 24
Majid Haq c Boucher b Hall 13
Ryan Watson run out (de Villiers) 31
Gavin Hamilton c de Villiers b Hall 4
Neil McCallum b Langeveldt 1
Dougie Brown not out 45
Colin Smith b Pollock 15
John Blain c Kemp b Hall 23
Paul Hoffmann run out (Boucher/Hall) 18
Extras: (b 2, lb 4, w 5, nb 1) 12
Total: (for eight wickets in 50 overs) 186
Fall of wickets: 1-35 (Haq, 11.2 overs), 2-43 (Watts, 14.1), 3-63 (Hamilton, 19.1), 4-71 (McCallum, 24.2), 5-84 (Watson, 29.3), 6-113 (Smith, 38.4), 7-163 (Blain, 47.4), 8-186 (Hoffmann, 49.6)
Bowling:
Shaun Pollock 10-1-25-1
Makhaya Ntini 9-0-25-0 (1nb)
Andrew Hall 10-2-48-3 (2w)
Charles Langeveldt 10-1-48-2 (3w)
Jacques Kallis 8-0-21-0
Graeme Smith 3-0-13-0
South Africa:
Graeme Smith c Rogers b Haq 91
Abraham de Villiers c Brown b Rogers 62
Ashwell Prince c McCallum b Haq 21
Justin Kemp not out 12
Shaun Pollock not out 0
Extras: (b 1, w 1) 2
Total: (for three wickets in 23.2 overs) 188
Fall of wickets: 1-134 (de Villiers, 15.5 overs), 2-162 (Prince, 20.6), 3-178 (Smith, 22.6)
Bowling:
Paul Hoffmann 3-0-21-0
John Blain 4-0-32-0
Dewald Nel 3-0-24-0
Dougie Brown 2-0-20-0
Majid Haq 6-0-43-2
Glenn Rogers 5.2-0-47-1 (1w)
Result: South Africa won by seven wickets
Man of the Match: Graeme Smith (South Africa) Umpires: Mark Benson (England) and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka)
Third umpire: Steve Bucknor (West Indies)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Seoul, March 21 (IANS) South Korea and India began bilateral talks here Wednesday on cooperation in weapons sales, particularly in shipbuilding.
Led by India's Secretary for Defence Production K P Singh and South Korea's Commissioner of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Lee Sun-hi, the talks are a follow-up of a memorandum of understanding on defence acquisition cooperation signed in September 2005, the WAM news agency reported.
"The two sides will discuss ways to cooperate on the development and export of 5,000-ton frigates, armoured vehicles, military trucks, K-9 howitzers and so on," a DAPA spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
The two countries will also address issues regarding cooperation on procurement systems and defence technology, particularly in Korean expertise in shipbuilding.
Currently, South Korea and India are conducting joint research on K-9 self-propelled artillery and mine countermeasure vessels.
Seoul holds arms sale meetings with 24 countries around the world annually.
"Korea-India cooperation will bring a synergy effect," the spokesman said, because "because Seoul sees India as a strong trading partner for arms sales, and India has also shown keen interest in our country's high-end defence technologies such as shipbuilding."
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court Wednesday referred to a larger bench the issue of a high court's power to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe without the permission of the state concerned.
A bench comprising Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice P. P. Naolekar and Justice H.S. Bedi referred the question to a five-judge constitution bench while dealing with a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the West Bengal government in April 2001.
The state had questioned the powers of the Calcutta High Court to order a CBI inquiry into the death of 11 Trinamool Congress workers at Gabreta in Midanapore district in which the workers of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) were allegedly involved.
The state contended that according to a 1946 act, under which the CBI was constituted, the agency could take up investigations only with the prior consent of the state government.
In November 2006, a two-judge bench, while hearing the matter, felt that the question needed examination by a bench comprising three judges.
The bench said: "In our opinion the question of law involved is of great public importance and frequently coming before the courts and therefore, it is necessary that it is settled by a larger bench."
In a related development Wednesday, advocate Bijan Ghosh filed a caveat representing advocate Kalyan Bandhyopadhyay in the Supreme Court apprehending that the West Bengal government might prefer an appeal against the Calcutta High Court order for a CBI probe into the March 14 killings in Nandigram.
The caveat said that let nothing be done in the matter without notice to him to represent the respondent.
Manila, March 21 (NNN-PNA) Lawmakers on Wednesday called on the Supreme Court (SC) to conduct lifestyle check on judges and justices as part of the judiciary’s own anti-corruption drive.
Reps. Douglas Cagas and Edwin Uy made the call amid reports of corruption in many trial courts handling electoral protests and the sale of temporary restraining orders (TROs).
Cagas, House Contingent Court Head to the Electoral Tribunal, said problems regarding hoodlums in robes have been prevailing over the years, making it imperative for the SC to address the issue.
“The issue on TRO for sale was recently exposed. Now, election lawyers are complaining about corrupt judges handling poll protests. These problems put rule of law and law and order in danger,� he said.
“The sense of integrity and honesty of our justices and judges must at all times be beyond reproach. The SC should conduct lifestyle checks on them to prevent or stop the commission of graft,� he added.
Uy, for his part, said members of the judiciary should be models of honesty in their actions and decisions.
"They should always live within their means. They should be at the forefront of fighting graft and corruption instead of aggravating this problem,� he said.
Tehran, March 21, (IRNA) In a message issued on the occasion of the New Year, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called the Year 1386 the year of ''national unity and Islamic solidarity''.
The Leader said the hope and aspiration of all Iranians is ''national independence, national honor and public welfare of the nation'' adding that all these goals would be accomplished under the blessing of ''Islamic faith, unity of expression, national hope and resolve'' as well as ''proper utilization of the country's potentials, and also prudence, vigor and hard work.''
The leader congratulated each and every member of the Iranian nation, all Iranians throughout the world and all other nations celebrating Nowruz on the occasion of the ''national festivity of Iranians.'' Referring to the abundant beauties of the national festival of Nowruz, the leader noted: ''Strengthening of emotional bonds, as well as exhilaration and freshness of hearts and enjoying a new living environment'' are among the ''beautiful, noble and kind features'' of Nowruz all of which have the backing of the sacred Islamic rites.
Recalling that the Year 1385 was named after the Holy Prophet of Islam )Peace Be Upon Him(, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Year 1385 was filled with the name and memory of the Prophet (S), however, to attain the wisdom of the great Prophet would require a long time. ''In fact, all our years are the years of the Prophet.''
In the opinion of the Supreme Leader, the successes and progresses of Iran in 1385 were bigger than its resentments and setbacks. ''The strong efforts in the various internal arenas, including science and economy, and manifestation of the national splendor of Iranians in the international scenes, were among the signs of Iran's eye-catching advancements in 1385. ''This national effort and movement will continue in the new year in proportion with the needs of the nation thanks to the strong resolve of all people and officials.'' Ayatollah Khamenei said ''hope, public resolution and national self- confidence'' were the ''driving force towards a bright and desirable future''.
He noted: ''With the start of the new year, the Iranian nation will renew its determination and continue its unambiguous path by entering new fields and through wise confrontation with challenges and hostilities.''
The leader said ''sowing discord and undermining the national unity of Iranians'' and ''creating economic problems to stop the progress of the country'' were two main methods used by the enemies to counter the Iranian nation and the Islamic Republic system.
Pointing to outlined general policies of Article 44 of the Constitution and that grounds were prepared for economic activities, he said economic endeavors by all the people, including national forces and those with faith in the sublime aspirations of the nation, as well as utilization of the country's huge potentials, would neutralize the enemy attempts to halt the trend of development and progress of the country.
Recalling the psychological warfare and devious attempts of the enemies to sow discord and division among the Iranian nation and Islamic world, he noted: ''The enemies, under such pretexts as ethnicity, religion and guild tendencies, intend to destroy the Iranian nation's unity of expression, fuel the fan of religious differences in the Muslim World and cause distance between the Iranian people and Islamic communities by waging a Shia-Sunni war.'' The Supreme Leader said the only way to disappoint the enemies and defuse their plots was through national unity and solidarity.
''With the Grace of the Almighty, in the Year 1386, all the members of the nation, as well as various ethnic groups and religions, will accelerate their promising movement towards a bright future through national unity, and all the Muslim nations too will show their unity of expression through Islamic solidarity and building up Islamic brotherhood.''
Pattani, March 21 (NNN-TNA) More than 100 family members of those who died in the Tak Bai incident in Narathiwat in 2004 received Bt42 million compensation on Tuesday. (BT1=0.03044USD)
Pattani provincial court Chief Justice Pirote Polem presided at a ceremony awarding compensation of Bt42 million to the families of 76 persons who died in the Tak Bai incident on October 25, 2004.
Relatives of the victims filed a civil lawsuit against the Ministry of Defence and other co-defendants demanding Bt100 million in damages.
The case was settled in a compromise with the ministry agreeing to pay compensation set at Bt 42,201,000 (US$1.3 million) to the families.
The Tak Bai incident occurred as hundreds of local people gathered at a police station demanding the release of six local men detained for questioning. The six were accused of supplying Thai military weapons to insurgents.
After some demonstrators attempted to storm the police station, security forces arrested hundreds of local residents, including otherwise uninvolved bystanders.
Those arrested were stacked in layers in trucks and taken to an army camp in Pattani, leading to deaths of many detainees, most of whom died of suffocation.
Meanwhile, in BANGKOK, an international human rights group on Tuesday charged Thai government security forces with responsibility for the "disappearances" of nearly two dozen victims in the insurgency, and asked for an end to alleged policies intended to intimidate suspected Malay Muslim separatists.
A Human Rights Watch report titled "Enforced Disappearances in Thailand's Southern Border Provinces" details 22 cases of unresolved "disappearances" based on interviews with witnesses, families of victims and Thai officials with evidence that government security forces were responsible.
Asia Director Brad Adams said Human Rights Watch found that the "disappeared" were usually suspected by the police or army of being separatist militants, supporting them or having knowledge of their attacks.
Government forces used 'disappearances' to weaken militants and spread fear among ethnic Malay Muslims, Adams said, as policy, "not simply the work of rogue elements." The true number of disappeared is probably much greater as families fear reprisals.
Ethnic Malay Muslims complain that the "disappearances" means a lack of justice as well. Anger against the authorities fuels the increasingly brutal insurgency with more killings and bombings of civilians during the past three years.
Thailand must clearly and publicly oppose the 'disappearances' and prosecute those responsible, Human Rights Watch said.
Most enforced disappearances took place during the rule of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The enforced disappearances of ethnic Malay Muslims thought to be participating in the insurgency as Mr. Thaksin pressured police and soldiers to quickly arrest those who attacked an army camp in Narathiwat in January 2004.
Most military and police officials who carried out the Thaksin policy remain on active duty, Mr. Adams said. "Thaksin acknowledged these abuses in 2005, yet nothing has been done to stop or punish those responsible."
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the insurgency is mainly rooted in the absence of justice, and pledged a more human rights-friendly approach, his government has failed to advance his promises, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in its report.
Government agencies – the police, the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation, the National Human Rights Commission and the reinstated Southern Border Provinces Administration Center – have not yet carried out full and impartial investigations, and the police and army have not prosecuted those responsible, the report said.
It said most of the 22 families said they received Bt100,000 (US$3,000) from the government, but said that money could not substitute for serious investigations to find missing fathers, husbands or sons, and prosecutions of those responsible.
Thailand has a responsibility to prosecute, Mr. Adams said. "Gen. Surayad vowed to make justice a priority, but his government still fails to hold officials accountable for these crimes."
Thailand must stop enforced disappearances, join the International Convention for Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and make such disappearances a crime, said the report.
In a related development, Queen Sirikit has ordered a special security unit in Yala to protect labourers at her royally-sponsored project after three women workers were shot dead by suspected insurgents on Monday.
The assailants opened fire on a pickup truck carrying 10 workers en route to work at the farm in Nong Jik district of Pattani province. Three women were killed and three others were wounded.
Admiral Eknakorn Piboonsawad, head of the working committee for royally-sponsored projects, said the Queen ordered officials meet to adjust security plans and ordered the Yala special task force to provide security for all workers in all farm projects.
Admiral Nakorn held a meeting on Tuesday to adjust security plans for workers in the farms.
He said the Queen is concerned about villagers in the violence-plagued provinces and that she initiated the model farm project in Yala to mitigate effects of the unrest.
The five-year project began in April last year and is half-way to completion, having already created jobs for 150 local people.
Gummidipoondi (Tamil Nadu), March 21 (IANS) More than 500 people Wednesday protested against a hazardous waste landfill site of the Tamil Nadu Waste Management (TNWML) coming up here.
Members of the S.R. Kandigai panchayat in the Gummidipoondi region forcibly stopped work at this contentious landfill site on Chennai's outskirts, saying the site was being built near their homes and fields without permission from local government bodies.
"We will move into the site with our children and families and physically block the location of the landfill and incinerator if the company and government decide to press ahead with the project," said S.R. Kandigai panchayat president T. Rosepillai.
The villagers want the company and the government to stop work on the landfill until the local bodies agree to it.
Villagers said they were stopping work at the site because "government agencies have failed to discharge their duty of protecting the law". Village representatives had moved the Madras High Court last year and obtained an interim stay on the work.
After a year-long legal battle, the court vacated the stay in December, stating that according to the Supreme Court's order, no high court in India has jurisdiction over issues relating to hazardous wastes and that the petitioners should take the matter to the apex court.
The predominantly agricultural community says the project violates Supreme Court-sanctified sitting guidelines. It "will poison subsurface water, affect agriculture and threaten the groundwater and public health in areas that lie about 500 metres from the project site".
At least 35,618 tonnes of total waste from 390 or more industries in three districts - Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram - will be buried, burnt or stored in the landfill every year, they said.
As much as 3,364 tonnes of incinerable waste, including spent solvents, waste oils, pesticide wastes, capacitors containing polychlorinated biphenyls, organic waste, will be burnt and the toxic fumes will be released into the neighbourhood from a 30-meter-high chimney.
Every year, 12,000 tonnes of waste will be buried in the landfill for 25 years. After that it will be covered with water-resistant layers.
TNWML is a subsidiary of the Hyderabad-based Ramky Associates, which began civil works on the site on March 8 despite being warned against construction without securing permission from the Panchayat Union Council, in accordance with the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994.
A Supreme Court Monitoring Committee had recommended the setting up of the facility in Gummidipoondi without evaluating its suitability, after an earlier site chosen by the state government in Melakottaiyur had to be abandoned due to public opposition.
In June 2005, the Gummidipoondi Panchayat Union had passed a resolution against the toxic facility. The S.R. Kandigai panchayat president also served a notice under the Panchayats Act to the project promoters, asking them to stop work and restore the site to its original condition, and filed a police complaint that is still pending.
The landfill site is at the State Industrial Promotion Corporation's (SIPCOT) export promotion industrial park near the Kulupacheruvu lake, Red Hills and Sholavaram reservoirs that supply drinking water to Chennai.
Kathmandu, March 21 (IANS) At least 25 people were killed and scores injured in renewed violence in southern Terai plains Wednesday between agitating ethnic groups and Maoists as much of Nepal stayed paralysed by an indefinite traders' strike to Maoists' atrocities.
At least 25 people were killed in Gaur in Rautahat district, the state media said quoting police authorities in the town.
Earlier, a team of UN officers that rushed to investigate the violence in Gaur confirmed death of at least 12 people, including two women, as people from the Terai plains demanding an autonomous state fought a pitched battle with Maoists.
Quoting hospital sources, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that some victims died as a result of head injuries caused by beatings with bamboo sticks.
The toll could rise further as dozens of people were lying in hospital with grievous injuries.
District authorities declared an indefinite curfew in the violence-hit town after the clash between the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the group demanding an autonomous Madhes state, and the Madhes Rastriya Mukti Morcha, the plains wing of the Maoists.
Violence had been anticipated since the morning when both groups began preparations to hold mass meetings at the same venue.
Since the Forum shot into the limelight recently with its Terai movement forcing the seven-party government to concede its demand for a federal system of governance, they have been at loggerheads with the Maoists trying to break their strikes and attacking their mass meetings.
The state-run Nepal Television channel said Forum activists tore down the dais constructed by the Maoists in Gaur, triggering retaliation that turned into a stampede as people started firing.
It confirmed five deaths, saying they included women and children. Over 20 people were admitted to hospital after being injured in baton attacks.
Fresh violence came as the Maoists and the seven-party ruling alliance began yet another round of talks in the capital Wednesday to discuss formation of an interim government in which the former rebels will be included.
The Kathmandu valley and key towns of the country have been reeling under an indefinite strike spearheaded since Monday by Nepal's business community to protest against incidents of extortion and attacks on its members by Maoists.
The growing turmoil has raised UN concern with the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin Wednesday meeting Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to urge action against people breaking the law.
"Any misconduct by any party should be properly investigated," Martin said, referring to the abduction of a hotelier by the rebels and his subsequent assault, allegedly for refusing to pay them Nepali Rs.2 million.
"If it involves criminal action, they should be prosecuted," Martin said.
The traders have threatened to continue their protest until the government commits itself to providing security to them.
Meanwhile, the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) began staging protests in the capital, demanding an end to exploitation of workers and immediate action against businessmen who had failed to repay bank loans.
Washington, March 20 (NNN-PTI) A second Al Qaeda terrorist with links to Pakistan has confessed to playing a key role in the deadly attacks in the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998 that claimed over 200 lives and bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen two years later.
Waleed bin Attash has long been suspected of playing a key role in the bombing of the American destroyer when it was refuelling in Yemen's port of Aden, killing 17 US sailors.
His statements to the military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay prison for terror detainees has shown his involvement in militant activities on a much broader scale, if the Pentagon transcripts released Monday are anything to go by.
Attash confirmed that he played a role in al-Qaida's deadliest attacks against US targets overseas, the near-simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998 that killed more than 200 people.
"Many roles," Attash said when asked what it was he did. "I participated in the buying or purchasing of the explosives. I put together the plan for the operation a year and a half prior to the operation. Buying the boat and recruiting the members that did the operation", he said in reference to the USS Cole attack.
Attash also described himself as "the link" between bin Laden and a top deputy at al-Qaida headquarters and al-Qaida's cell chief in Nairobi, Kenya.
"I was the link that was available in Pakistan. I used to supply the cell with whatever documents they need from fake stamps to visas, whatever," Attash told the tribunal, also suggesting he helped send African operatives to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
By Brij Khandelwal,
Agra, March 21 (IANS) A dozen forests and countless gardens of Braj Bhoomi - the land in a radius of 100 km around Lord Krishna's birthplace Mathura - are no more.
The ponds have dried up long ago and the Yamuna that flowed through a wealth of immortal Vaishnavite literature is dying a slow, poisoned death.
While forests have disappeared in this area at an alarming rate, new townships and concrete ashrams (spiritual retreats) have consumed all the land in Vrindavan, where real estate prices have skyrocketed in recent years, say ecology activists.
"The Braj culture was essentially a forest-oriented one," said Harsh Nandini Bhatia, a local, on World Forestry Day Wednesday - a day on which the absence of lush green forests in Braj is more conspicuous.
"The leelas (divine play) of Krishna and Radha like Cheerharan Leela, Nag Leela, Ras Leela etc centred around trees, flowers and meadows. Vrindavan itself was a dense tulsi (basil) forest," he added.
Vrindavan derives its name from two words vrinda or tulsi plant and van which means thick growth of vegetation indicating that Vrindavan had an abundance of the tulsi plants considered sacred by the Hindus.
With the passage of time, an increase in population and urban centres gobbling up land for civic infrastructure, the legendary forests of Braj were the first casualties, said Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society president Surendra Sharma.
Sharma is firmly opposed to the construction of multi-storey buildings and new townships in a town that houses a large number of spiritually significant centres. "What is the need for a golf course in Govardhan?" he asked.
Old records mention Vrindavan, Agravan (Agra), Kotvan, Mahavan, Kamvan, Bahulavan, Madhuvan, which were once dense forests constituting the 'leela bhoomi' of Krishna and his divine consort Radha.
"It was the attraction and spiritual pull of these forests that drew Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Vrindavan, Mahaprabhu Ballabhacharya to Goverdhan from Andhra Pradesh, Goswami Harivansh, Swami Hari Das, Soor Das, Ras Khan and Meera to Braj," said Gopi Ballabh Shastri, a Hinduism expert.
The Braj area used to have 12 big forests and 24 smaller forests, in addition to scores of sprawling gardens around temples.
"Today the whole ecology of the area has been imbalanced and disturbed. The desert is closing in from the western side as large-scale mining activity has denuded the hillsides of its dense forest cover. The Central Pollution Control Board's recent report presents a very gloomy scenario," B.B. Barik, a social forestry expert from the Bichpuri Rural Institute, told IANS.
A.K. Sinha, a professor, has also expressed concern over the loss of biodiversity in Braj Bhoomi. "So many species of plants and shrubs have vanished and nothing is being done," rued Sinha.
Ipe M. Ipe, a former principal of St John's College, said there used to be more than 50 varieties of butterflies, now hardly a handful remains. "It's really shocking how we criminally assault our natural resources that sustain us," he added.
Shravan Bharti, a member of the Yamuna Foundation for Blue Waters, said: "The original flora and fauna of Braj Bhoomi has to be saved from predators masquerading as developers."
Srinagar, March 21 (IANS) At least three people were killed and eight wounded Wednesday in flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir even as 11 houses were damaged and over 100 families shifted to safer areas.
Most of the damage was caused by the swollen mountain streams across the Valley. However, A 12-hour let-up in rains lowered the water level in the Jhelum river.
"The water level at Sangam in Anantnag district Wednesday was two feet below the danger level.
"Three people have been killed in the present flash floods and eight have sustained injuries. Eleven houses across the Valley were totally damaged while 65 houses suffered partial damage because of the flood waters," Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Kashmir divisional commissioner told IANS here.
He said 50 families had to be rescued from marooned low-lying areas in Machama village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district while 45 and 65 families were shifted to government school buildings in central Charar-e-Sharief town and Khansahib town respectively.
Dhar also said the Jhelum River overflowed its banks at Gandabal (Lasjan) and entered residential areas there last night.
Similarly, low-lying areas like Bemina, Gangabugh, Soiteng, Rawalpora and old Airport road have also been submerged partly by floodwaters resulting in hardships to the residents of these densely populated areas near the summer capital Srinagar.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who arrived here early Wednesday, took stock of the latest flood situation at a meeting here, which was attended by senior officers of the flood control department, police and the officials of the divisional administration.
Azad was told that the situation was under control and a high flood alert had been sounded across the Valley to meet any eventuality.
Meanwhile, the weather office here has forecast that the present conditions would continue for the next 48 hours with moderate to heavy rainfall at many places in the Valley.
Reports reaching here from the north Kashmir's Sogam village in the border district of Kupwara said it was snowing there even at 3 p.m. Wednesday as chilly winds continued to lash the Valley with intermittent rains.
New Delhi,March 21 (PTI) Tamil Nadu today ruled out talks with Karnataka on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and accused the neighbouring state of "obstructionist" attitude on its implementation. Tamil Nadu today ruled out talks with Karnataka on the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and accused the neighbouring state of "obstructionist" attitude on its implementation.
"Certainly not. Tamil Nadu is not in favour of talks with Karnataka on the issue," Tamil Nadu PWD Minister Durai Murugan told reporters when asked about Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's statement to this effect.
He said that the Cauvery issue did not figure when Kumaraswamy spoke to Karunanidhi over phone yesterday and they exchanged Ugadi greetings.
Murugan, who led a delegation of MPs belonging to the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament House, said that his State would be seeking clarifications from the Tribunal on the final award.
Asked whether Tamil Nadu wanted early notification of the final award, he said that after the stipulated 90 days time, the state would insist on the Tribunal for the speedy implementation of the final award.
Charging Karnataka with adopting an "obstructionist" attitude to arrive at any settlement in the water dispute, Murugan, joined by all Central Ministers from the state, said that the Centre should not yield to Karnataka pressure of not to notify the Award. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the delegation said that Karnataka was indulging in creating a law and order situation in its state and requesting the Centre repeatedly not to notify the award.
"Thus, the Government of Karnataka has deliberately resorted to dilatory tactics with a view to avoid the adjudication and the implementation of the award of the Tribunal," the memorandum said.
The request of Karnataka not to notify the award was against the legal processes contemplated under the Act, they said adding that order of the Tribunal which was placed on par with a decree passed by the Supreme Court could not be "forestalled, fettered or altered by political pleas and emotional entities."
The delegation also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister on the creation of Salem Railway Division by bifurcation of the Palakkad Division on which Kerala had expressed certain reservation.
Creation of Salem Division would not affect the Palakkad Division and it would rather be in the larger interest of the Indian Railways, PMK leader M Ramadoss said.
To a question on Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's statement on a joint meeting between two Chief Ministers to sort out the issue, he said there was no need for such a meeting. Ramadoss said that the Prime Minister's response on the issue was "positive"
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in an effort to benefit the end user, Wednesday announced slashing of the access deficit charge (ADC) paid by the service operators to access the services of another operator in domestic long-distance calls.
The ADC, which has been reduced to Rs.20 billion from Rs.32 billion, will be effective from April 1 to March 31, 2008, the telecom watchdog said in an official statement here.
According to TRAI, this move will enable more and more users to use the services due to lower and affordable tariffs. And with reduced burden on them, service operators will now bring out innovative tariff packages attractive to the customers.
On long distance international incoming calls, the ADC has been reduced to Re.1 per minute from the existing Rs.1.60, which marks a reduction of about 38 percent.
TRAI has also done away with the charge levied on operators for outgoing long-distance international calls.
The move has also eliminated the ADC that was charged on revenues of access providers generated from rural wireline subscribers, the statement said.
"ADC on percentage revenue share has been reduced to 0.75 percent from the existing 1.5 percent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of all service providers i.e. access providers, national long-distance operators and international long-distance operators," the release said.
"This amounts to reduction of 50 percent of ADC on percentage revenue share basis," it added.
TRAI said: "The ADC by its very nature is levied for a limited period, and has been imposed to give all the players a level playing field.
Colombo, March 21 (Xinhua) At least four soldiers and eight Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in a clash in Sri Lanka's troubled eastern Batticaloa district early Wednesday.
Defence officials said Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres attacked four army camps in the region killing four troops and injuring 14.
The fire was retaliated, the officials said. At least eight bodies of LTTE rebels, including a female, were recovered from the battlefield, they added. More than 30 rebels were also reported injured.
The search operation is still going on in the region.
The army also claimed to have recovered some weapons and ammunition from the encounter site.
Regular clashes between the LTTE and the troops erupted in July last year, with at least two key Tigers being captured. The two sides are currently being locked in a fierce battle in Batticaloa's Thoppigala area, which remains one of the major hideouts for the LTTE in the east.
The escalation of the armed conflict since December 2005 has claimed over 4,000 lives so far, throwing into jeopardy the Norwegian backed process of direct negotiations.
Moscow, March 21 (DPA) Two Russian fighter-jets collided in mid-air in southern Russia Wednesday, with both pilots ejecting in time to avoid serious injury, Russian air force officials said.
The MiG-29 jets crashed outside an air base in the town of Millerovo, about 800 km south of Moscow in the Rostov region, Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, an air force spokesman, said in remarks carried by Interfax.
The pilots, he said, ejected from their planes before the collision and had been retrieved by helicopters. One pilot received facial injuries, but the condition of both was stated to be "satisfactory".
Neither of the planes was carrying weapons, and no destruction was reported on the ground, Drobyshevsky added.
The incident, which occurred at 7,000 metres above ground, came during "planned flights".
After ejecting, the pilots independently went to a village hospital and contacted the air base.
Russian military prosecutors said they opened a criminal investigation on charges of "violation of flight rules or preparations toward it".
The MiG-29 is an interceptor, designed to intercept and attack enemy aircraft. It is one of the most widely flown fighter jets in the Russian air force.
Russia sold 40 of the fighters to Algeria in 2006 for a reported $1.5 billion, valuing the planes at approximately $35 million each.
Jaipur, March 21 (IANS) In a bid to increase its presence in India, British property and retail major Liberty International plc Wednesday announced its plans to invest about Rs.10-20 billion in Rajasthan.
Liberty International, which has a joint venture in the country with apparel manufacturer Provogue, is a major FTSE-100 ranking UK-listed property business with investments of over eight billion pounds.
The company focuses on premier property assets, particularly shopping centres and other retail, which have high potential, scarcity value and require active management and creativity.
David Fischel, chief executive officer of Liberty International, met Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje here Wednesday and announced his investment plans.
The British firm had set up a joint venture with Provogue to develop and manage prime regional shopping centres for the "growing organised retail sector".
Prozone-Liberty, as the joint venture is known, plans to initially build six shopping centres in India.
Geneva, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) The Representattive of UN Secretary-General on human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Walter Kalin has said he was concerned over IDPs in Iraq, where security was poor and sectarian violence was rife.
He expressed, in his report to the Human Rights Council, grave concern that the armed conflict in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza posed serious human rights and humanitarian threats to the civilian population.
He referred to a mission undertaken by several UN Special Rapporteurs including himself when they called upon the parties, inter alia, to refrain from indiscriminate attacks on civilians causing loss of lives and mass displacement.
Kalin also said that he was looking forward to a positive response from the Government of Sudan on internally displaced persons in that country, and welcomed the Sri Lankan Government's invitation to visit the country and assess the situation of internally displaced persons there.
United Nations, March 21 (NNN-KUNA) UN spokesperson Michele Montas has denied press reports that there has been official communication between the UN and the Lebanese Government planning for the establishment of a UN or any other monitoring mechanism of the Lebanese border with Syria.
The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) is mandated under resolution 1701 to assist the Lebanese Government to secure its border with Syria at the request of the Government of Lebanon.
"Until now the government has not made any such request and UNIFIL activities are limited to helping facilitate international bilateral assistance to the government of Lebanon in this regard," she said.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated in his latest report regarding the implementation of resolution 1701 that the UN "strongly" encourages bilateral assistance of the Lebanese armed forces and other internal security and border agencies to assist the government to secure all its borders.
He noted in that report that any smuggling across the Lebanese border with Syria is a "serious" violation of resolution 1701.
He also stated that it is "critical" to reinforce and strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces and other international security and border agencies so that the Lebanese Government is able to extend its authority over all its territory, including all its border area.
New York, March 21 (DPA) The US and Germany have said that a tightening of sanctions against Iran's nuclear programme would be adopted by the UN Security Council later this week.
"The expectations is that we will be able to move on fairly quickly" on a draft resolution outlining the measures, US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told reporters Tuesday.
Wolff said a number of closed-door discussions among council members were to take place Tuesday and Wednesday and adoption of the draft was expected.
Wolff also said the council would allow Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak before the Security Council votes. "There would be ample time for him to attend."
Ahmadinejad and his entourage have already been granted visas by the US government but there was no indication of when Ahmadinejad would travel to New York to attend the council meeting.
German UN Ambassador Thomas Matussek said that Ahmadinejad represents a sovereign nation that is a UN member and the floor in the council will be open to him.
The new-targeted sanctions stem from Iran's failure to meet a February deadline to halt uranium enrichment.
Matussek said the draft resolution is aimed at prodding Iran to return to the negotiating table, rather than strongly punishing Iran for defying demands to suspend its nuclear activities.
"Nothing in the text will hit very hard ... but it points to negotiations," Matussek told reporters, referring to clauses in the draft that encourage the Iranian government to suspend its uranium conversion and return to negotiations in order to avoid yet another round of sanctions.
"We hope that the Security Council will adopt it swiftly and implement it incrementally in order not to risk the cohesion of the six (nations negotiating the draft)," Matussek said.
The 15-nation council planned to meet Wednesday for a formal discussion of the sanctions that were agreed to last week by the five veto-wielding permanent members - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - and Germany.
Hyderabad, March 21 (IANS) The editor of a prominent Urdu daily in Hyderabad was attacked late in the night when he was returning home, prompting Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to order an inquiry.
Zahid Ali Khan, editor of Siasat, was attacked Tuesday night at Mehdipatnam here while he was returning home. Some unidentified people intercepted his car and threw filth on him.
Khan alleged that Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator Muqtada Afsar Khan was behind the assault as his newspaper had been exposing the legislator's alleged land grabbing activities.
The incident led to tension in the area as activists of Telugu Desam party (TDP), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Majlis Bachao Tehreek gathered in large numbers to protest the attack. The editor refused to leave the place until the police took action against the miscreants.
Minister for Information Mohammed Ali Shabbir, Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh and other officials rushed to the scene as the protest led to a massive traffic jam on the busy road. Meanwhile, protestors attacked a reporter and a photographer of another Urdu daily when they reached the scene to report the incident.
Khan later drove to state Home Minister K. Jana Reddy and the chief minister's residences to brief them about the attack. Police have detained three youths in connection with the assault.
As soon as the state assembly met Wednesday, opposition parties raised the issue and sought to move an adjournment motion.
The chief minister informed the house that Khan and two journalists were attacked. He said an inquiry would be conducted into both the incidents.
As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member G. Kishan Reddy continued to stall the house demanding action against the culprits, speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy suspended him for a day.
Voicing their concern over the incident, leaders of TDP, CPI, CPI-M and BJP said press freedom was under attack. They alleged that the attack on Khan was the latest in a series of such incidents.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 21 (IANS) The United States has indicated that it expects Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to give up the army chief's post by yearend as promised, but is not willing to dictate to its "solid friend".
"He has made certain commitments in this regard and we think it's important that he follow through on those commitments," state department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday in response to a question if it was Washington's view that Musharraf should leave the army chief's post by yearend as scheduled.
At the same time, describing Musharraf as a "good" and "solid friend" in fighting terror, he said US was "not going to dictate to him or anybody else" on how he should follow through on his commitment to change Pakistan, he said. McCormack, however, added that the US could "offer guidance and counsel and encouragement to continue along the pathway to democracy".
"We ourselves, of course, encourage the continued democratic development of Pakistan. They are a close friend and a close ally in the war on terror. We believe that President Musharraf has made a commitment to change Pakistan and we think that is a positive thing," McCormack said.
"We're not going to dictate to him or anybody else and the Pakistani people exactly what those changes are going to be or specific steps that they might need to take," he said.
"Of course we can offer guidance and counsel and encouragement to continue along the pathway to democracy. But President Musharraf is good - has been a solid friend in fighting the war on terror," McCormack said.
Analysts have linked the March 9 suspension of Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary to a fear that he would block any attempt by Musharraf to hold onto his role as army chief, which he is obliged to relinquish this year.
Asked if he had anything to say about the resignation of one of three deputy attorney generals in Pakistan due to the judicial crisis sparked by Chaudhary's suspension, McCormack said, "...that's an individual decision of conscience that somebody has to take. Clearly, he has differences with the course of action."
"I know that President Musharraf has himself said that this might have been handled differently and that the issue is now before a high council - a senior panel of judges - to be resolved and that President Musharraf would abide by the decisions of the senior judicial council.
"And as it should be, we have stated before that it is important that whatever the resolution of this issue may be, that it takes place within the confines of Pakistani law, that it is done in a transparent manner so that all understand what exactly has transpired," McCormack said.
He considered it "encouraging that President Musharraf has come out and said that, for example, the raid on the television station in Pakistan was unacceptable and that they are looking into exactly what happened. He made it clear that journalists should be able to do their jobs and that's important."
By K. Datta
"Yeh minnows kya hota hai?" my old barber demanded to be informed. Maybe, Inzamam-ul-Haq also would have liked to be similarly informed beforehand what the little fish found swimming about in pebbly streams were called in Urdu so that he would have been better prepared for the fatal (literally) blow that Ireland dealt Pakistan.
"Toh India ne apna Bangladesh ka gussa bechaare Bermuda par utaar diya?" (So India took it out on poor Bermuda?), asked the barber again. But these people out in the West Indies should have known better; everyone are minnows, whipping boys in other words, before growing into big fish, he philosophically remarked as he snipped away with his scissors.
The likes of Michael Holding better take back their word about what they superciliously said of the weaker teams in the cricket World Cup. For all you know, even China, a country which is now being encouraged to play the game by the International Cricket Conference, may some day come up with the kind of victories scored by Bangladesh and Ireland on a single sensational day.
How correct the barber was. Rolling the clock back a little, one remembers the Sri Lankan team brought over to India by Duleep Mendis in 1976 on a "trial" tour before the island was accepted in the Test cricket fold, the eighth country to be accorded that status.
That big hundred that the stocky Mendis scored at Ferozeshah Kotla ground left the late R.P. Mehra, a former cricket board president, remarking in unconcealed admiration: "I have seldom seen such brilliant stroke play. They have a bright future in the game." Sri Lanka in 1996 went on to win the World Cup and are now an established cricketing power.
Earlier, Pakistan, which came into being as a result of the 1947 partition of India, became the seventh Test-playing nation. That was in 1972. They began with a series against India who easily won the first Test by an innings at Delhi. But Pakistan bounced back to win the second Test at Lucknow before Lala Amarnath's Indian team clinched the series at Bombay, as Mumbai was then known.
Later, when Fazal Mehmood bowled Pakistan to victory on English soil and Hanif Mohammad scored a triple century at Barbados on the tour of West Indies, batting 970 minutes for his 337, the longest innings in Test history, the young nation had cut finally its cricket teeth.
Why, even India had to make a start at some point of time. It was on the 1932 tour of England, and it took 20 years for India to record a victory over that country - against Nigel Howard's 1952 team at Madras, as Chennai was then known.
Much as India were pained by their defeat by Bangladesh, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Sharad Pawar, has handsomely praised the Dav Whatmore-coached young Bangladeshis for the way they comprehensively outplayed the much-hyped Indian team.
As Whatmore said, once on the ground everyone is an equal, minnows or giants. It was the same man who in the 1990s transformed the Sri Lankans into a winning team. Now what more?
(K. Datta is a sports commentator. He can be contacted at dattak.2007@rediffmail.com)
New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Even as the West Indies police are investigating the cause of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer's death, his wife has ruled out "any conspiracy" and said the family had never received threats.
Woolmer, 58, died in his hotel room Sunday in Kingston, a day after former champions Pakistan lost to minnows Ireland and crashed out of the World Cup.
"No I don't see any conspiracy in his death. I am aware that his death is being viewed as a suspicious death," Woolmer's wife Gill told a television channel from her South Africa home.
"He had nothing to do with the match-fixing controversy and any such person being involved is highly unlikely. We never got any threats as far as I know," she told NDTV in an interview that will be telecast at 7.30 p.m. Wednesday.
Jamaica police officials said Tuesday night that they were now treating Woolmers' death as "suspicious".
Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields told a hastily arranged news conference at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel Tuesday night that the police were treating Woolmer's death as suspicious.
"Having met with the pathologist, other medical personnel, and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Woolmer which we are now treating as 'suspicious'," he said.
Gill also confirmed that Woolmer was writing two books - a fact that was disclosed by IANS Monday.
"I am writing two books, one is called 'Discovering Cricket'. It is about my experiences with cricket," Woolmer had told IANS at the Le Meridian hotel when he was here for the Champions Trophy in October last year.
Woolmer was to touch upon the match-fixing controversy also, and for this he sought - and got - details of the Hanside Cronje case from Delhi police commissioner K.K. Paul here in April 2005.
Woolmer was coach of the Cronje-led South African team that toured India in 2001. Cronje's conversation with a bookie was tapped by Delhi Police while he was allegedly trying to fix a One-day International during that series.
Gill denied that Woolmer, who played 19 Tests and six one-day internationals for England in 1970s, was alcoholic.
"He had Type 2 Diabetes. He was not prescribed any drugs for it. All that reports about the drinking are also rubbish. He was taking prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and that's it," she said.
Type 2 Diabetes is a cardio-vascular disease that could lead to blindness, and nerve and kidney damage.
She, however, admitted that her husband was under pressure due to Pakistan's defeat by the West Indies and then Ireland, and was tired.
"He didn't say anything specifically but I could see him on the TV and I know him well enough to guess that he was under pressure. I could read the expression on his face," she said.
"He shared his experiences with me all the time. He was very tired. All that cricket, living out of a suitcase, the time difference and the travelling was tiring."
"The Pakistani team's poor performance affected him as any other big tournament that he lost as a coach (like to South Africa). He believed that what happened, happened, one has to move on," Gill said.
"I didn't speak to him after the (Ireland) match but he emailed me the following morning. He did mention that he was really depressed and could not believe how this could have happened. We discussed some personal issues apart from this."
She, however, said that Woolmer enjoyed a fine relationship with the Pakistani players.
"He had a very good relationship with the team. They had a lot of fun together and put in a lot of handwork too. All the boys are very friendly, they are nice boys and I enjoyed their company."
Kingston (Jamaica), March 21 (IANS) Jamaica's deputy police commissioner Mark Shields has said there was nothing unusual about the pathologist requesting further tests on the body of former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.
Police and medical officials were still unable to pinpoint Woolmer's cause of death after a post-mortem Tuesday proved "inconclusive".
"There is nothing unusual about the pathologist taking his time about the result, since this would be the correct operating procedure in such a high-profile case," Shields told reporters at a news conference.
"In a case like this, the pathologist wants to be absolutely sure, and there is nothing unusual," he said.
"He wants to make sure whatever his findings, that they are accurate and to conduct further tests, I think that is legitimate and sensible in the circumstances."
Shields added that police had no suspicions, since cases of sudden death were always treated as such until lawmen could prove otherwise.
"The easiest thing to do is to treat it this way from the beginning," he said.
"We have had full cooperation from the ICC, the Pakistan team, and everyone else that has been involved.
"We will conduct an investigation until such time as we find we no longer have to conduct an investigation," Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) quoted him as saying.
Shields said arrangements had been put in place to allow Woolmer's body to leave Jamaica Saturday with the Pakistan team, but it would not be released until all the test results were returned.
"The arrangements are there and we hope to stick to those arrangements," he said.
"It is our position to investigate, and for the pathologist to provide a report that will go to the coroner, and from that we will know what action we will take next.
"It is difficult to say when we will get the test results but we would like to stick to the arrangements, and so the labs and the pathologists are working to get results to coroner. Once this has occurred, we will move from there."
Shields said the tests requested by the pathologist would be carried out as a matter of urgency.
"I know that the scientists are treating it with the utmost urgency in order that we can hopefully repatriate the body to his family as soon as possible," he said.
"I just know they are working as quickly as possible to provide the information that we need."
Karl Angell, director of communications for the Jamaica police, also dismissed reports suggesting that members of the Pakistan team had been "interrogated and secluded".
"Nothing of the sort has happened, and it is a rumour circulating, and I want to clear it up before we proceed," he said.
Pervez Mir, media manager of the Pakistan team, made the official announcement that the pathologist's findings were inconclusive.
"He is awaiting the results of toxicology and histology (study of tissue samples) from the Government National Laboratory and Forensic Lab," Mir said.
"The body of Bob Woolmer has been sent to a local funeral parlour, and arrangements are being made for shipment of the body to Cape Town via London."
The 58-year-old Woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room on Sunday, and pronounced dead a few hours later in the University Hospital of the West Indies.
His death came a day after Pakistan lost their second straight match in the World Cup to Ireland by three wickets to make an early exit from the competition. Woolmer's room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel has remained sealed, with the police not having handed it back to the hotel management to date.
By Amitabh Sharma,
Kingston (Jamaica), March 21 (IANS) The mystery behind the death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer deepened as the initial autopsy remained inconclusive and Pakistan team's media manager hinted at murder.
"The police suspect that Woolmer may have been murdered," said Pakistan team media manager Pervez Mir. "They have started an investigation."
Mark Shields, spokesperson of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, confirmed that Woolmer's death was being treated as suspicious.
"Having met with the pathologists and other medical personnel, there is sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances of Woolmer's death," Shields said.
Woolmer's autopsy was performed Tuesday at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) here. Said Hame Persaud, a clinical pathologist: "(Woolmer's) organs would have been examined and checked for any marks of struggle or injury.
"The samples being sent for the pathological tests are to find out traces of any poisoning or drug overdose."
"There is nothing unusual about the pathologist taking his time about the result, since this would be the correct operating procedure in such a high-profile case," Shields told reporters at a news conference.
"In a case like this, the pathologist wants to be absolutely sure, and there is nothing unusual," he was quoted as saying by Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
"He wants to make sure whatever his findings, that they are accurate and to conduct further tests, I think that is legitimate and sensible in the circumstances."
Shields said arrangements had been put in place to allow Woolmer's body to leave Jamaica Saturday with the Pakistan team, but it would not be released until all the test results were returned.
The body of Bob Woolmer has been sent to a local funeral parlour, and arrangements are being made for shipment of the body to Cape Town via London, said Pakistani officials.
The 58-year-old Woolmer, who was a diabetic, was found unconscious in his hotel room on Sunday, and pronounced dead a few hours later in the University Hospital of the West Indies.
His death came a day after Pakistan lost their second straight match in the World Cup to Ireland by three wickets to make an early exit from the competition. Woolmer's room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel has remained sealed, with the police not having handed it back to the hotel management to date.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Pakistan might pull out of the last match against Zimbabwe Wednesday when Inzamam ul Haq will lead his side for the last time in his career. He announced his retirement from one day cricket and also relinquished the captain's post after Woolmer's death.
By Vimal Kumar,
Jamaica,March 21 (CNN-IBN) Bob Woolmer's mysterious death has opened the proverbial can of worms.
Many questions remain unanswered after the Jamaica Police said that Woolmer's death was ‘suspicious’ and confirmed that he died of poisoning.
Could he have been murdered? Was it because he was planning to expose a bookie-cricketer nexus?
'Inconclusive' and 'suspicious' are the two words being used to describe Woolmer's death.
The pictures of Woolmer's body being taken for autopsy could well define the 2007 World Cup.
Despite all the giant-killing antics and records being established on the field, the cricketing world's attention is entirely on the Woolmer sudden death.
In the 48 hours after Woolmer's body was found, with traces of his blood and vomit, rumours and conspiracy theories have started to emerge. And when the autopsy was declared inconclusive, it got even murkier.
"Having met with the pathologists, other medical personnel and investigators there is now sufficient information to continue full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Woolmer which we are now treating as suspicious," Jamaica's Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said.
Even as the cricket fans, officials and players put their interpretation to what inconclusive could mean, the Pakistan team's media manager Pervez Mir put a new spin.
"Suspicious ka yeh matlab nahi hota hai ki usko aap bilkul negative lein. Suspicious us tarike se bhi ho sakta hai ki unko kuch pata nahi hai. Ab usko ek serious tarah se bhi le sakte hain (Suspicious is not necessarily negative. It could also mean that the police still don't know what happened)," Mir said.
Baghdad,March 21 (Deccan Herald) Hundreds of chanting mourners buried Saddam Hussein's former vice president near the ousted dictator, his sons and two other executed deputies in a spot that has become the graveyard of the ousted regime.
Taha Yassin Ramadan's body, which was covered with the Iraqi flag, was interred yesterday in a building courtyard in the Tigris River village of Ouja hours after he was hanged for his part in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims following a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.
Ramadan, Saddam's vice president at the start of the war, was hanged before dawn in what was once Iraq's military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.
Police in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, said the body was flown to the area by the US military, then driven to Ouja to be buried near the flower-covered graves of co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who were executed in January.
Saddam's sons Odai and Qusai and grandson Mustafa also are buried in the courtyard, and the former dictator's grave is inside the building.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Sunni Arab cleric and member of the Association of Muslim Scholars, said Ramadan had asked in his will to be buried at the site, which has become a focal point for loyalists of the former regime.
Police, meanwhile, found bullet-riddled bodies of 32 men scattered across Baghdad. The corpses showed signs of torture and were the apparent victims of sectarian death squads, most of which are believed to be operated by Shiite militias.
At least 18 other people were killed yesterday by bomb and mortar attacks in Baghdad on the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, including two US soldiers hit by a roadside bomb.
Chililabombwe, Zambia, March 21 (NNN-ZANIS) A senior Zambian government official has appealed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government to expedite the release of more than 300 Zambian trucks laden with copper concentrates impounded in that country.
The trucks driven by Zambians had been impounded for more than three weeks following the DRC’s ban on the export of copper concentrates, rendering the drivers stranded.
Speaking after a meeting with a delegation of DRC government official led by Kasumbelesa Mayor Felix Kabulo, Copperbelt Permanent Secretary Jennifer Musonda said she had been assured that the trucks would be cleared to return to Zambia soon.
Musonda, who said the DRC border authorities were awaiting written instructions from government authorities in Lubumbashi before they could release the trucks, added that her delegation had been assured of the safety of the drivers, some of whom were arrested for trying to protest but were later released.
The Permanent Secretary reiterated the Zambian government’s concern over the welfare of the drivers who had been stranded with no food and money while others had fallen ill because of poor sanitary conditions.
Musonda also expressed concern that another 300 trucks destined for the DRC were still marooned on the Zambian side of the border despite having been already cleared by the Zambian authorities to cross the border, saying this was affecting traffic flow.
The DRC border authorities have not been clearing trucks to enter that country as only small vehicles were allowed to cross the border and no explanation had been given.
Chililabombwe District Commissioner Timothy Musonda who has been frequenting the border area in recent times, urged the drivers to remain calm as the government was committed to attending to their plight.
Lusaka, March 21 (NNN-ZANIS) The Zambian government says it has received a total of 1,030,500 USD from the United Nations as compensation for Zambian soldiers who died during UN peace-keeping missions from 1995 to last year.
Defence Minister George Mpombo, who said the money was paid to the Zambian government for the death of 40 soliders, including one woman, added that the money had gone a long way in assisting the government develop military infrastructure and acquire military equipment for the defence forces.
He was responding to a question in Parliament regarding the number of Zambian soldiers who died while on peace-keeping missions abroad and what benefits the government had derived from the activity.
Mpombo said a total of 7,989 male and 367 female soldiers were sent abroad on peace keeping missions from 1995 to 2006.
He noted that Zambian soldiers had learnt technical proficiency and gained a lot of international exposure from their engagement in peace-keeping missions abroad.
By Grace Kasungami
Windhoek, March 21 (NNN-ZANIS) Zambia and Namibia Tuesday signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on political consultation between the Foreign Affairs Ministries of the two countries and the establishment of a dry port at Walvis Bay.
President Levy Mwanawasa, who began a four-day state visit to Namibia Tuesday, and his host, President Hifikepunye Pohamba, witnessed the signing ceremony which took place at the State house here after the two sides held official talks.
President Mwanawasa thanked the Namibian government for providing land for Zambia to establish a dry port in Namibia.
On economic relations, he said Zambia placed agriculture as the number one priority sector to drive its economy forward and it had therefore set up a Joint Technical Committee to investigate the possibility of setting up the Zambia-Namibia Agriculture Joint Venture (ZANAP).
However, he expressed disappointment at the number of years that had elapsed since the committee was established without the actual project taking off. The two governments had spent more than 100 million USD on feasibility studies than doing the actual work.
Progress was, however, being realized as preliminary designs and costs for the required infrastructure were ready to kick-start the project, he said, noting that once the project was implemented, it would enhance food security, create employment, generate income and stimulate economic growth in the two countries and the region as a whole.
He assured the Namibian government that the Zambian government was committed to the speedy and successful completion of the project and would do everything possible to facilitate the commencement of the project.
On investment and trade, Mwanawasa observed that trade between the two countries had increased in past years but stressed that there was a need for Zambia and Namibia to increase the volume of trade by putting more efforts into facilitating trade.
He said the Joint Trade and Investment Committee to facilitate and co-ordinate cooperation in the area of trade between the two countries was set up under the general framework of the Zambia-Namibia Joint Permanent Commission (JPC).
President Mwanawasa commended the efforts made under the general framework of the JPC on co-operation towards the harmonization of Customs and immigration procedures, rules and regulations.
He said the co-operation made would lead to the improvement of processes and systems in facilitating legitimate trade in the two countries and the region at large.
President Mwanawasa, who attended a state banquet on Tuesday evening, leaves Windhoek for the resort town of Swakopmund Wednesday to attend ceremonies marking Namibia’s 17th independence anniversary.
While there, he will meet the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, and tour the Rossing Uranium Mine on Thursday morning before proceeding to the port city of Walvis Bay, the second largest city in Namibia.
A tight schedule also awaits President Mwanawasa in Walvis Bay where his programme includes touring the Namibian Port Authority (Namport), Etale Fishing Company, meeting the Erongo Business Community and touring the Walvis Bay Salt and Chemicals Ltd before returning to Windhoek where he will open the Zambia Trade Exhibition.
According to the official programme, he will conclude his four-day state visit by laying a wreath at the Heroes’ Acre and meeting the Zambian community in Namibia. He is expected back home on Saturday.
Kingston, March 21 (IANS) Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat in an inconsequential but emotional Group D match of the World Cup at Sabina Park here Wednesday.
Pakistan, already out of the tournament, did not want to play this match after their coach Bob Woolmer died Sunday, a day after they shockingly lost to minnows Ireland. But the International Cricket Council successfully persuaded Pakistan to play.
Teams:
Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Iftikhar Anjum, Danish Kaneria and Umar Gul
Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya (captain), Vusumuzi Sibanda, Friday Kasteni, Chamu Chibhabha, Brendan Taylor, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura, Tawanda Mupariwa, Christopher Mpofu and Gary Brent
Umpires: Brian Jerling (South Africa) and Simon Taufel (Australia)
TV umpire: Ian Gould (England)
Match referee: Chris Broad (England)