'No additional Pakistani troops for Afghan border'

Islamabad, July 1 (IANS) Pakistan has reversed a decision to station 10,000 more troops on its volatile border with Afghanistan, saying the present strength of 78,000 is adequate.

The announcement by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao reverses the one made by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri two days ago in the presence of visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Sherpao made the announcement in the presence of US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker at the Sihala Police Training Centre here, the Daily Times reported.

Kasuri had made the announcement after discussions with Rice, who was here to supervise the on-going anti-Taliban operations.

2007 World Cup: Organisers step up preparations

Kingston (Jamaica), July 1 (IANS) In an effort to get the infrastructure ready for next year's cricket World Cup in time, the West Indian organisers have appointed a well-known company for overlay products and management services.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Global Cricket Corporation (GCC), ICC's commercial partners, have named GL Events as official supplier of overlay products and management services to get the Caribbean islands ready for the tournament.

"In addition, the French company has been selected as the exclusive primary supplier for the Central Procurement Programme (CPP) which was established to source overlay items," said a statement from the organisers.

The company will be responsible for providing all temporary components required to make the 12 venues ready for the March-April tournament.

Their responsibilities include making temporary grandstands and suites, roof systems, hospitality villages, replay screens, turnstiles, security systems and all temporary building structures.

GL Events has "great technical experience with the Olympics, FIFA World Cups, golf and tennis events worldwide", said ICC venue development director Donald Lockerbie.

"It's wonderful to see such expertise coming to the Caribbean. GL will supply up to 50 percent of the overlay requirements through a tendering process and manage the acquisition of the rest of the overlay," he said.

"In some cases they will need subcontractors and in all tenders GL will be looking regionally and internationally for partners."

All nine local organising committees in the venues have signed a contract with GL Events naming it as their management contractors for overlay.

"The venue development department has been developing the CPP for over two years and to see the local organising committees come to an agreement is the most positive step we could have taken to complete our venues on time and to world-class standards," Lockerbie said.

The World Cup will be played between March 11 and April 29.

Baghdad bomb blast kills 60

Baghdad, July 1 (Xinhua) At least 60 people were killed and 76 injured Saturday as a powerful car bomb exploded near a crowded market in eastern Baghdad, the interior ministry said.

The deafening blast, at around 10.00 a.m. (0600 GMT), was apparently caused by an explosive-packed vehicle parked near the Souq al-Auola market in the heavily populated Sadr City, a ministry official said.

According to him, the attack targeted a passing police patrol, which escaped unhurt. All the victims were civilians.

Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police commando patrol near a cinema in Baghdad's Alawi neighbourhood, killing three commando members, according to a ministry source.

The blast damaged a police vehicle and caused damages to the nearby buildings and shops.

Violence has mounted in the war-torn country despite the formation of a new unity government, three years after the US-led invasion.

Bhajan Lal quits as Haryana Congress chief

Chandigarh, July 1 (IANS) Upset over being constantly "ignored and humiliated" within the party, former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal Saturday resigned as the state Congress president.

Lal faxed his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi complaining that he and his supporters were being constantly ignored and humiliated in state politics ever since the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government came to power in March last year.

Speculations were rife in political circles that Lal could resign from his post or even quit the Congress and form a new regional party.

Sources close to the leader said the recent announcement of state Congress office bearers and executives, in which Lal was clearly overlooked and none of his supporters were nominated, was the last straw before his exit.

Lal tried to meet Gandhi to express his displeasure but did not get any appointment.

The Congress had appointed Ram Prakash as the state's working president earlier this year.

Lal, who led the Congress to victory in assembly elections in February last year, was widely tipped to become the chief minister but the central leadership opted for Hooda.

At that time, Hooda was an MP and got elected to the assembly later.

Kuldeep Bishnoi, Lal's youngest son and Congress MP from Bhiwani, had last month criticised the Rs.250 billion deal between the state government and Reliance Industries Ltd for a special economic zone, saying it was against the interests of the state and its farmers.

Bishnoi, who was served a show cause notice by the Congress a fortnight ago, said Friday that he would continue to oppose the Reliance deal. His outburst was embarrassing for Hooda and the Haryana government, party sources said.

Incidentally, Bhajan Lal's elder son Chander Mohan is the deputy chief minister in the Hooda government.

Blasts blow up Pakistani railway track

Islamabad, July 1 (Xinhua) At least four explosions Saturday blew up the main railway line between Pakistan's Balochistan province and Iran, said media reports.

The track between provincial capital Quetta and Zahidan in neighbouring Iran was blown up early morning, suspending the train services, Geo TV reported. At least 36 feet of the railway track has reportedly been damaged.

No casualties have been reported.

A Zahidan-bound passenger train, that was to travel on the same track, was stopped at a station at Noshki, a major city in the area.

Repair work would start once the engineers are provided with adequate security, considering the risk involved, said the report.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the blasts, authorities blamed such attacks on anti-government tribesmen.

Tribesmen in the region have been demanding a bigger share of the region's natural resources and have always targeted security forces and government installations - mostly gas pipelines and train tracks.

The Quetta-Zahidan railway line has also been attacked several times in the past.

China opens Qinghai-Tibet railway

Golmud (China), July 1 (Xinhua) The first passenger train from China's Qinghai province to Tibet was launched Saturday morning from the railway station here, unveiling a landmark railway across the "roof of the world".

The train, coded "Qing 1" and carrying about 600 passengers, rolled out at about 11.05 a.m. (local time) to Lhasa, and is dubbed "an engineering marvel".

Chinese president Hu Jintao cut the ribbon for the launching of the railway and delivered a keynote speech at a gala held at the railway station.

Hu said that the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway "is a magnificent accomplishment we have achieved in our socialist modernisation drive" and added that it was a long-cherish dream of generations of Chinese people.

"The project is not only a magnificent feat in China's history of railway construction, but is also a great miracle of the world's railroad history," he said.

Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan presided over the launching ceremony, which was also attended by party chiefs of Tibet and Qinghai.

Around 2,600 people from various circles, including workers who have made special contributions to the construction of the railway, were also present at the launch.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway is 1,956 km long, with 960 km of the track located 4,000 metres above sea level and the highest point at 5,072 metres. The railway is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad and also the first railway connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of China.

On board the maiden train are role models of builders of the railway, representatives from the Chinese government, journalists from official media and local passengers.

Plates inscribed with the words "Eight Honours and Eight Disgraces", standards set by President Hu Jintao to boost socialist morality, were hung in the cars of the train.

Death penalty for three in Akshardham attack

Ahmedabad, July 1 (IANS) A court in Gujarat Saturday sentenced three men to death and awarded jail terms to three for their role in the terror attack on the Akshardham temple of 2002 that killed 35 people including the two attackers.

Judge Sonia Gokani of a special POTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities) court passed the death sentence on Shan Miyan alias Chand Khan, Adam Sulaimar Ajmeri and Mufti Abdul Qayyum Mansuri, holding them guilty of planning the Sep 24, 2002 attack on the temple in the adjacent city of Gandhinagar.

Mohammed Salim Sheikh was awarded life sentence. Abdulmiyan Qadri and Altaf Hussain were sentenced to 10 and five years in jail respectively for being part of the conspiracy to attack the shrine.

The six men were among the 32 accused in the case. They were arrested in August 2003. The others are absconding.

The judgment was delivered in the high-security Sabarmati jail, where the proceedings were held in-camera. The death sentences would have to be ratified by the Gujarat High Court.

Police said two militants of the Pakistan-backed Tahreeq-e-Qasas terror group staged the attack in retribution for the post-Godhra riots earlier in the year in which at least 1,000 people were killed.

"The court has found all the six accused guilty under Section 302 and 120-B of IPC of murder and conspiracy," public prosecutor Sudhir Bhrahmbhatt told reporters after the verdict.

Wearing army uniforms, two terrorists, identified as Murtaza Hafiz Yasin and Ashraf Ali Mohammed Farooq, stormed the Akshardham temple and opened indiscriminate fire with automatic weapons on the devotees. The attackers were killed after a nightlong gun battle with security forces.

Thirty-three people, including three National Security Guards (NSG) commandoes, two policemen and 28 civilians, were killed in the attack.

The Gandhinagar police initially investigated the case. It was then transferred to the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) and finally to the crime branch of the Ahmedabad police, which arrested the six accused.

According to police, the accused held a meeting in Hyderabad April 26, 2002 and plotted to avenge the killing of Muslims in Gujarat.

The masterminds of the attack are still absconding. They include the elusive Abu Hamza, a Lashker-e-Taiba operative who is originally from Hyderabad. The other absconders include Farooq Mohammed Hanif Shaikh, Abdulrashid Suleman Ajmeri and Mohammeduvesh Kadri, all residents of Ahmedabad.

The last deposition in the case took place in April. The court cross-examined 128 witnesses ranging from onlookers and police constables to senior government officials.

Don't send troops to Afghanistan, PM urged

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) A Muslim rights group has cautioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against sending Indian troops to Afghanistan to beef up the US-led forces, saying this would have "severe consequences".

"Even the slightest reflection of being with the American-led forces in Afghanistan would have severe consequences and would send disastrous signals not only to common Afghans but also to the domestic population in India, apart from putting the minute Hindu and Sikh population in Afghanistan at great risk," Navaid Hamid, secretary of the South Asian Council for Minorities (SACM), said in a letter to the prime minister.

Recalling the fallout of India's foray into Sri Lanka in the 1980s to broker peace between the government and Tamil Tigers, Hamid maintained it would be "disastrous, politically and historically, to align with the forces which are messed up in the situation created by their misadventures in the troubled nation".

According to Hamid, India's Afghan policy in the last 25 years had not only created "ill will" amongst ordinary citizens of the country but also given a "clear wedge" to Pakistan.

"As an ardent admirer of your visionary leadership, I am quite confident that all aspects would be in your mind. I earnestly request you to kindly overrule the hawks that are favouring the deployment of Indian forces in Afghanistan," Hamid maintained.

European Muslims call for wider representation

Brussels, July 1, IRNA, Muslims in Europe are facing an acute identity crisis due to rising Islamophobia and are calling for wider representation in parliaments and police and civil services to promote integration.

The two points were stressed by several participants at a debate among 30 Muslim community leaders from the UK with Muslims from Belgium, France, Sweden and Germany in Brussels Tuesday evening to discuss how to prevent radicalization and promote integration in their communities.

Abdul Ullah from the UK said Muslims in Britain were facing an identity problem regardless of whether they were British Muslims, European Muslims or Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi Muslims.

Hakam Tasum, a Muslim from Germany, says he is given "strange looks" when he says "I am German Muslim" and feels uncomfortable because of rising Islamophobia.

Sufrana Ismail, a councilor from the UK, called for wider representation of the Muslim community in the European Parliament.

Farzana Hakim from the Commission for Racial Equality of the UK said that in order to deal with discrimination one has to deal with the issue of equality. By experiencing "inequality one develops a victim identity."
She called for increased participation and representation of Muslims in police and security services.

Labour leader in the European Parliament Gary Titley, who led the event, said he hoped that the debate will help forge a strategy that can be used by communities and countries across the EU to make Muslims feel equal with EU and other national citizens.

"There are no easy answers to the tensions we are experiencing after the 7/7 bombings (in London) and heightened fear of the terrorist threat," he said.

Jan Marinus Wiersma, a Dutch MEP, spoke about the situation of the one million Muslims living in the Netherlands and the efforts of the government to integrate these Muslims.

The conference was part of the Labour members of the European Parliament's campaign to defend democracy and protect civil liberties.

Shahid Malik, a Labour MP, said Muslims have to join and be a part of the mainstream of societies they are living in without giving up their identity.

However, she added, "distortion of Islam in the media is a big problem."

Foreign companies keen to invest in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, July 1 (IANS) Foreign companies queuing up to invest in Kerala have got over any fears that the new V.S. Achuthanandan government in Kerala might not be keen to welcome investors from abroad.

Speaking to IANS, Achuthanandan's political secretary K.N. Balagopal said the number of foreign investors wanting to meet the chief minister was growing by the day.

"Officials of Dubai-based Emaar Properties have met Achuthanandan twice proposing to build knowledge cities in the capital city and Kochi. Next week a high-level Kuwaiti delegation will arrive," said Balagopal.

Emaar Properties, a public joint stock company, is listed on the Dubai Financial Market and is part of the Dow Jones Arabia Titans Index. Its net profits for the first quarter ended March 31 crossed $400 million.

"The company has asked for land to build infrastructure for IT companies and other facilities like residential complex and schools. They are willing to pay the market price for the land or convert the amount into equity of the state government," he said.

He said Achuthanandan was also willing to negotiate with the Dubai Internet City (DIC) officials, who had signed a memorandum of understanding with the former Congress-led government.

"Now, even the IT officials who had previously negotiated with the DIC feel Kerala has become a hot destination for investment," added Balagopal.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy told IANS that opposition parties would support the government's efforts to invite investments in the state.

"We have lost a lot of time and several opportunities due to a lack of consensus between ruling and opposition parties. We will not be a stumbling block, like Left parties did when they sat in the opposition. Our aim is to see that our youths have employment," said Chandy.

Sources said Achuthanandan was planning to form a special committee to look into investment proposals and take a speedy decision.

They added the chief minister was likely to create a large pool of investors instead of putting all his eggs in one basket.

Germany have 90-year-old to thank for making semi-finals

Berlin, July 1 (DPA) When goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved Esteban Cambiasso's penalty Friday to send Germany through to the World Cup semi-finals, the home fans would have done well to spare a thought for fellow national Karl Wald.

For it was the former referee Wald who came up with the concept of the penalty shoot-out in the first place.

It appears rather fitting that a German should have conceived the idea. After all, German teams seem to have perfected the concept and Friday's victory against Argentina was the fourth time that Germany was involved in a shoot-out at World Cup level.

And they won all four times, missing just one penalty in total!

Wald first came up with the idea in 1970, and the 90-year-old is still proud of his brainchild today.

"It's the only way in which a result can be achieved fairly. Everything else was not really a solution," he says.

Until Wald came up with his idea, matches were mostly decided on a flip of the coin or by the drawing of lots. Seldom a replay was ordered.

As late as 1968, European Champions Italy had made it into the tournament's final after being drawn out of a hat following a goalless game in the semi-final against the Soviet Union.

"That was not a victory, that was nothing," Wald recalls.

But Wald, who received his referee's license in 1936 and officiated more than 1,000 matches in 40 years, faced reluctance at first. The Bavarian football association attempted to block his proposal when it was put forward in 1970.

It was only when the majority of delegates said they were in favour that the officials gave their backing.

Shortly afterwards, the German football association followed suit and the European association UEFA and the world controlling body FIFA also accepted the proposal.

The rest is history.

The first major tournament to be decided on penalties was the 1976 European Championships, when German Uli Hoeness blasted his penalty well over the bar and Czechoslovakian Antonin Panenka scored to give his side victory.

The first World Cup match to be decided on penalties took place in 1982, and again Germany were involved. This time the Germans won, beating France in the semi-final. Twelve years later, in the US, the World Cup champions were for the first time determined on a shoot-out, with Brazil beating Italy.

But even though the penalty shoot-out has now become an integral part of football, the inventor of the idea has spent little time in the limelight, despite having refereed some matches in Germany's top flight before the start of the Bundesliga.

"1860 Munich against Fuerth in front of 45,000 spectators," recalls Wald, whom FIFA president Joseph Blatter congratulated on his 90th birthday.

The former miner and unionist retired at 63. But he continued to officiate at matches for a further 12 years.

And though there continue to be criticisms of his idea, the penalty shoot-out remains the way in which most drawn matches are still decided.

Actor Peter Ustinov once described it thus: "A shoot-out is as if a great war is not decided by great tactics developed around a boardroom table, but by a bunch of chosen privates playing Russian Roulette."

"I always believed that I was right," Wald maintains, pointing to the many exciting penalty shoot-outs that have taken place over the years.

On Friday afternoon, millions of German football fans will have agreed with him.

India bowled out for 200

By T.R. Ramakrishnan, Kingston (Jamaica), July 1 (IANS) India were bowled out for 200 in their first innings on the first day of the final Test against the West Indies here Friday.

West Indian paceman Jerome Taylor took five wickets and only a defiant 81 by Indian skipper Rahul Dravid and his seventh-wicket stand of 93 with Anil Kumble (45) prevented a complete rout.

It was a throwback to Day One of the first Test at Antigua. There, it was imperative not to let the West Indies, fresh from winning the one-day series, carry the advantage and run away with the Test series.

India won the toss, batted first but frittered away the advantage, finishing the day on 213 for seven. Dravid (49) was the only top-order batsman who applied himself to the task of staying at the wicket and building an innings.

On Friday, at Sabina Park, it was a similar script.

"Whatever we do on the first day, we need to start well," coach Greg Chappell had said on the days leading to the match. After three drawn Tests, that was essential, in a best-case scenario, to get into a series-winning position, at worst, to avoiding another series defeat away from home.

Again, India won the toss and batted first, the best thing they could have hoped for. But the batsman threw away the advantage. Dravid was the only frontline batsman to show the determination to hang around.

If anything at all, the performance was much worse than at Antigua. What prevented a complete rout was the excellence of the Indian skipper, easily surpassing his effort at Antigua.

There were a couple of times when he was surprised by the extra bounce, once the ball just jumping off his bat outside the reach of Darren Ganga at gully, but for most part his composure was amazing, given the way wickets were falling at the other end.

Dravid batted 345 minutes, faced 215 balls and hit 10 fours for his 81. His dismissal was a bit tame, a tired defensive poke at Corey Collymore with the second new ball, edging to Denesh Ramdin.

He admitted later he was disappointed at having got out so close to the end of day's play but said it was a "challenging, a very satisfying innings".

West Indian skipper Brian Lara had his plans clearly mapped out. "The Indian batting revolves around their skipper," he had said before the match. "Yes, the other guys have got runs in the series, but he (Dravid) is a wall, as you call him in India."

And his plan was to attack with whatever he had from the start. It paid off, the top five batsmen combined totalling 51 runs and being back in the pavilion over an hour after lunch.

Yes, the Sabina Park has a reputation for bounce and pitches nowadays are most likely to help the bowlers in the first two sessions of a Test, if at all.

Both captains admitted after the day's play that it was tricky negotiating the new ball. But as Dravid said, "There was some juice in the wicket in the morning but you expect to play out that period."

After Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer went in the first 20 minutes or so, Dravid and Laxman began a damage-limitation exercise. They scored at a run an over for the 29 overs West Indies bowled in the first session.

It all came to naught after lunch. Laxman went in the first over and Taylor, dismissed Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif in his second spell, showing like he did in the Indian first innings in the third Test at St Kitts, that he can produce something extra that troubles the batsmen.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was then smartly snapped by Bravo at third slip before Dravid and Kumble (45, 101 balls, 7 fours) steadied the ship. Kumble had made vital contributions with the bat this series and today's knock following his 21 at Antigua and 43 at St Kitts.

He fell just before the second new ball, Dravid just after it was taken and for once West Indies, with Taylor on the prowl again, completed the job and did not allow the Indian tail to wag.

"We've set up the game the way we wanted it," said Lara. Now we want to bat all Saturday and Sunday, put up a big total and have enough time to bowl the opposition out a second time."

Again, just as it was in Antigua. But there the West Indies failed to get a big enough first-innings lead (139), India batted brilliantly in the second innings, set the West Indies a target and came within a wicket of victory.

Will play Saturday stick to this script? Or will Kingston have its own tale to tell. Dravid has called for "discipline and control" from his bowlers on the morrow. All will depend on how they respond.

SCOREBOARD

Day 1, Fourth Test, West Indies v India, Sabina Park, Kingston (Jamaica)

India (1st innings):

Wasim Jaffer b Taylor 1
Virender Sehwag c Sarwan b Collins 0
V.V.S. Laxman c sub (Morton) b Bravo 18
Rahul Dravid c Ramdin b Collymore 81
Yuvraj Singh lbw Taylor 19
Mohammed Kaif c Lara b Taylor 13
M.S. Dhoni c Bravo b Collymore 3
Anil Kumble b Bravo 45
Harbhajan Singh not out 9
S. Sreesanth b Taylor 0
Munaf Patel c Ramdin b Taylor 0

Extras (b2, lb 2, w5, nb 2) 11

Total (all out, 87.4 overs) 200

Fall of wicket: 1-1, 2-3, 3-34, 4-58, 5-78, 6-91, 7-184, 8 -197, 9 -200

Bowling:

Pedro Collins 19-7-34-1 (1w)
Jerome Taylor 18.4-4-50-5 (1nb)
Dwayne Bravo 24-3-68-2 (1nb, 1w)
Corey Collymore 19-11-17-2
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 5-0-17-0
Chris Gayle 2-0-10-0

India, US to work together on AIDS, health issues

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 1 (IANS) India and the US have signed three agreements on renewal of cooperation in the fields of AIDS, maternal and child health and environmental and occupational health for another five years.

Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to renew the agreements, first initialled in 2000, were signed following bilateral discussions between India's Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and US Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) Mike O. Leavitt here Thursday.

The first MoU provides for the promotion and development of cooperation in the fields of HIV/AIDS and STD prevention, research, treatment and care, infrastructure development, training, and capacity building.

The second agreement calls for cooperation in the fields of maternal and child health research, treatment and care, infrastructure development, training, and capacity building.

The third one provides for further cooperation in the fields of environmental and occupational health research, education and training, infrastructure development, and capacity building.

In Washington, Ramadoss delivered a lecture at Johns Hopkins University on control of HIV/AIDS in India and discussed with provost Steven Knapp and university faculty issues relating to establishment of an Institute of Public Health in India.

He also visited the National Cancer Institute and met Elias A. Zerhouni, director, National Institutes of Health, and Roger Glass, director of the Fogarty International Center in the NIH.

Ramadoss inaugurated the 24th Annual Convention of American Association of Physicians from India (AAPI) in Atlanta on Thursday. He also participated in the concluding session of the Joint Working Group meeting on Environment and Occupational Health and visited Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

India-US nuclear deal to stay on course despite issues

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 1 (IANS) The US is confident that a few remaining legislative issues relating to the India-US nuclear deal will be resolved without the whole process being reopened or the road map outlined by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh being changed.

Even as the Bush administration is mighty pleased with the strong bipartisan support the deal received from two key panels of the US Congress, State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli indicated Friday that a few issues still remained to be addressed.

"There are a couple of remaining issues to be addressed. Discussions are ongoing. I'm not in a position to really get into any detail," he told reporters.

"But, as I said, the package we have before us is what we're working on and we think it'll -- and we're confident that it will end up positive and end up fulfilling the vision of President Bush and Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) of India, consistent with the statements they made in July 2005 and March 2006," Ereli said.

"Obviously it has to go through some more work, but we're confident that it will be a cooperative and a good process and it will end up with something that everybody can support and that serves the interests of the United States and our strong partner," he said.

Welcoming the strong bipartisan support for the deal in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee, Ereli said the administration would continue to work with Congress, as it has in the past, to address remaining issues in the legislation, which will now be considered by the full House and the full Senate.

Asked if it entailed some collateral legislation or some amendments, he said the legislative package approved by the committees has to get the nod from the full House and the Senate and there may well be some changes based on consultations with the two chambers.

Ereli did not think that a change in legislation would mean going through the process all over again. "The way I'd put is, there are a few remaining issues to be worked out and we think we'll be able to do that without reopening or -- reopening the whole process or changing the path that has been outlined so far."

Washington's key negotiator with India, Nick Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, has also indicated that "there are many steps ahead of us, but we believe Congress is supporting the president's policies here".

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee endorsed the US-India nuclear deal by a 16-2 vote Thursday two days after the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee approved the draft enabling bill 37-5.

Meanwhile, the US Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organisations of every size, sector, and region, and the US-India Business Council (USIBC), representing the largest US investors and traders with India, have hailed the approval of the India-US deal by the two Congress panels.

"This initiative will create lucrative opportunities for US industry, create high quality jobs for American workers, and lay the foundation for vast downstream opportunities in every sector of US business," said Lt. Gen. Daniel W. Christman, chairman of the Coalition for Partnership with India and senior vice president for International Affairs at the US Chamber.

Indian community activists too have welcomed the approval of the deal by the Senate and House panels. Several bodies such as the India Friendship Council and the US-India Political Action Committee have actively lobbied for the deal.

Islamic Bank of Thailand's fund to reach more than 10 billion Baht

BANGKOK, JULY 1 (NNN-TNA) The Islamic Bank of Thailand (ISBT) has a promising prospect, with its fund mobilized from deposit accounts expected to reach more than Baht10 billion (US$262.2 million) by the end of this year.

Sanit Rangnoi, the bank board's chairman, said that the bank had so far mobilized Bt5 billion from its deposit accounts.

"We believe by the end of this year, we can mobilize fund up to around Bt14 billion from our deposit accounts to serve increasing demand for loans of our clients," he said.

"Sixty per cent of our clients are non-Muslims, while the rest are Muslims," he noted The newly-established Islamic Bank now plans to offer scholarships to university-level students in the country's three troubled southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, where the majority of residents are Muslims.

ISBT was established under the Islamic Bank of Thailand Act B. E. 2545, effective from October 22, 2002.

The idea of establishing the ISBT was initiated in 1994 when the Thai government signed the "Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Project".

Under the project the government had to create a development plan for the country's five southern border provinces--Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani, Satun and Songkhla--specifically and the establishment of the ISBT was part of the plan since the population in the areas are mostly Muslims who have been living their lives in accordance with the Islamic Principle.

Israel making another recipe for disaster, warn UK Muslims

London, July 1, IRNA, The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Wednesday condemned Israel's latest invasion as exposing the Zionist regime's claims to have 'withdrawn' from Gaza.

"The blowing up of bridges and Gaza's main electricity transformer by the Israeli army can only be described as illegal acts of collective punishment against the Palestinian people," the umbrella organization said.

MCB Secretary General Muhammad Abdul Bari said that the Zionist regime had 'repeatedly shown that it has absolutely no regard for international law'.

"This disproportionate use of military force in one of the most densely populated areas in the world is a recipe for another disaster in the making," Bari warned.

The MCB called on the British and US governments to take urgent steps to bring about a negotiated settlement to the current crisis involving Palestinian and Israeli prisoners.

"We urge that such efforts must include the release of the 400 women and children among the 9,800 Palestinians that have been detained by the Israeli Occupation Forces," it said.

Italy crush Ukraine en route semis

Hamburg, July 1 (DPA) A first half goal by Gianluca Zambrotta and another two by Luca Toni in the second session saw Italy edge past Ukraine 3-0 on their way to a World Cup semi-final berth in a quarter-final match here Friday

Italy to take on hosts Germany in semi-final

Hamburg, July 1 (DPA) Italy comfortably defeated World Cup debutants Ukraine 3-0 here Friday to gain a berth in the semi-finals, where they will now challenge hosts Germany for a place in the July 9 showdown.

The last time the two sides met at a World Cup was in the 1982 final in Spain, which Italy went on to win 3-1.

Italy's hero on the night was striker Luca Toni, who ended a four match goal-draught by netting two here.

"This is a night I am going to remember for a long time," the Fiorentina striker said after the match.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi, speaking also on behalf of his players, dedicated the victory to Gianluca Pessotto, the former Juventus player and Italy international who is currently in an intensive care unit in a Turin hospital after a suspect suicide attempt.

"We are all close to Pessotto and his family," Lippi said.

Italy missed star defender Alessandro Nesta due to injury and fielded a guarded lineup, with playmaker Francesco Totti supporting Toni as the only striker.

But while Lippi had warned his players not to underestimate the Ukrainians, it proved an unnecessary tactical move on the night.

The Ukrainians may have been the first European team to qualify for Germany 2006, but they appeared intimidated by Italy's might here. The fact that the Azzurri enjoyed a dream start, taking the lead just six minutes into the game, also did not help.

An inspired Totti served Gianluca Zambrotta at midfield, the Juventus player made a ran at goal and used his left foot to rifle in a shot from 25 metres that goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovski could not reach. It was Zambrotta's second goal in 56 appearances for Italy.

The 29-year-old left-back, who is being lured by the likes of AC Milan and Real Madrid, was one of three Italy players to fly to Turin to pay a brief visit to Pessotto earlier this week.

After taking the lead, it was a downhill match for Italy, with the Ukrainians lacking bite in attack and getting two of their players booked within the first 20 minutes while trying to stop the blue shirts.

The Ukrainians' first real chance only came in the 33rd minute, when a long-range blast from Anatoli Timoshchuk ended just wide of Gianluigi Buffon's goal.

The yellow jerseys had a much better start in the second half but had no luck on their side.

In the 48th, defender Andrea Barzagli almost scored Italy's second own-goal in the tournament while trying to clear a Maksim Kalinichenko cross from the left. Seconds later, it was Buffon's turn to deny the Sparta Moscow midfielder, with the goalie saving his header from close range.

But just as the Ukrainians were beginning to show they would have deserved the equaliser, Italy hit back.

In the 59th minute, Totti delivered a perfect cross from the left and Toni was able to score unmarked with the easiest of headers.

It was the striker's first goal of the tournament, and it immediately brought to Italian minds the feats of Paolo Rossi, the legendary forward who became the top scorer 1982 despite failing to find the back of the net in the first part of the tournament.

And as if to prove them right, Toni soon added a second, finishing yet another Totti cross with a tap-in from close range.

The Ukrainians were unlucky to hit the crossbar in the latter part of the game but were ultimately disappointed by star striker Andrij Shevchenko, with the Chelsea player failing to live up to his fame on the night.

Friday's victory extended Italy's unbeaten streak in international matches to 23.

NMDC inks deal on iron ore excavation

Raipur, July 1 (IANS) Public sector National Mineral Development Corp (NMDC) Saturday signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government for excavation of a 350-million-tonne iron ore from the state's Bailadila area in Bastar region.

India's largest iron ore producer and exporter, NMDC signed the pact with the state government's Chhattisgarh Mining Development Corp (CMDC).

NMDC chairman B. Ramesh Kumar, who signed the deal on behalf of the company, said Bailadila has the world's best quality iron ore.

"The NMDC will cut short its export of iron ore produced from Chhattisgarh by 40 percent to cater to the demands of the Chhattisgarh units," Kumar told reporters.

NMDC, which stepped into the state's iron ore mining sector in 1968, currently holds mining ownership rights in Bailadila's three major deposits.

Bailadila is divided into 14 deposits and excavation is currently possible only in three deposits.

"The NMDC will soon open up the fourth mine - deposit 13 - in a joint venture to feed the growing raw material demand to India's steel majors," Kumar added.

The NMDC will have a 51 percent stake while the remaining 49 per cent will be owned by CMDC.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh who was present on the occasion advised the NMDC to divest a major share of its annual profit to Chhattisgarh for the development and employment of people in the tribal stronghold Bastar region.

The NMDC also signed another pact with the government for funding a 100-bedded hospital in Jagdalpur.

Pak prisoner released from Bhopal jail

Bhopal, July 1 (IANS) One of two Pakistani prisoners languishing in jail here for more than 30 months has been released and deported to his country. The other one is also expected to be set free.

Abdul Khalik was released after a long wait Thursday and is on his way to Lahore while Tahir Iqbal is also likely to be released soon, police said Saturday.

"I am desperately waiting to hear when I will be able to go back to my country like Khalik," said Iqbal.

The duo was imprisoned for not having visas and other related documents.

"They landed in Sri Lanka three years ago hoping to take a ship to Europe. But they were caught without visas along with a few alleged drug peddlers. Their passports were taken away, but they were freed from other charges," a police official said.

"Their luck deserted them for a second time when they boarded a train from Delhi to Chennai to return to Pakistan. They were caught on the train at Bhopal without travel documents and jailed for six months," the official said.

"While Khalik has been sent we are doing our best to deport Iqbal too," said R.K. Malviya, the officer in charge of Bhopal's Bajariya police station.

"Such a situation wouldn't have arrived had the Border Security Force (BSF) handed us over to the Pakistani officials as per court orders. The district magistrate ordered us to be sent to border with the BSF," Khalik alleged.

"But the BSF took us to their headquarters instead and asked us to seek permission from officials of the Pakistan Embassy, who assured us that they would send us back and took our residential addresses and contact numbers. But nothing happened after that," he added.

Pakistan's Katasraj temple to be preserved: Pervez Elahi

Chakwal (Pakistan), July 1 (IANS) The ancient Hindu temple of Katasraj in Pakistan's Punjab province will be restored to its original glory, said Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

The architectural splendour of the temple would be preserved. It would act as a bridge between India and Pakistan for strengthening of ties and promote tolerance, peace, brotherhood and religious harmony in the sub-continent, Elahi was quoted as saying by Online news agency.

The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating a plaque for restoration work of the temple, located in Chakwal district, on Friday. Shujaat Hussain, president of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), was chief guest on the occasion.

An approach road to Katasraj from Kallar Kahar to Choa Saiden Shah would be constructed at a cost of Rs.330 million, Elahi said. He also announced that a four-star hotel would be constructed near the temple and it would be made an international tourist resort with all facilities.

Shujaat Hussain said that the PML was working towards building religious harmony among the all sections of the people in Pakistan.

Syed Mushahid Hussain, PML leader, said that the Hindu festival of Diwali, the Christian festival of Christmas and the birth anniversary of the Buddha were celebrated at the office of the PML secretariat.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ejaz-ul-Haq said that the issue of the Krishna temple at Lahore had been settled amicably. He invited the British high commissioner and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from India to personally visit the temple and see the restoration work at the Krishna temple.

Chakwal district head Sardar Ghulam Abbas promised that the restoration work at the Katasraj temple complex would be completed in five years.

Punjab's Director General of Archaeology Oria Maqbool Abbasi said that a pond at the Katasraj shrine would be restored.

Pakistan's new visa regime has 'special package' for Indians

Islamabad, July 1 (IANS) Indians wishing to visit Pakistan, especially businessmen and pilgrims, have been granted additional visa benefits by the Pakistan government in its latest visa policy.

Indian businessmen wishing to do business in the country will get a six-month multiple entry visa. Indian pilgrims would get a 15-day visa instead of the earlier five in a "special package" of the new visa policy announced by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar.

The tourist visa for Indians has been enhanced from 14 days to 30, media reports said.

The visa procedure for Indian diplomats would also be accelerated and the security clearance of diplomats would take only four weeks, Sherpao announced.

Thousands of Indians, both Hindus and Sikhs, visit Pakistan on pilgrimage every year. Sikhs attend the death anniversary of the 18-century king Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the birth anniversary of the faith's founder, Guru Nanak Dev. From Pakistan, pilgrims come to various Hindu shrines and to Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.

The minister denied that relaxing visa restrictions on visiting Indians meant a change in Pakistan's Kashmir policy.

The ministers emphasised that the new visa policy was meant to project a "soft" image of Pakistan, to boost tourism and ensure that the country stayed with the times while dealing with visitors from other countries.

However, visas for journalists will be issued by Pakistani missions "in the shortest possible time, according to the nature of the jobs".

Stating that some Indian "requests" had been met by the Pakistani government, The Nation newspaper wrote that the stay for "religious tourists from the arch rival state" was being enhanced.

The new visa regime would work according to categorisation of countries in different lists. The list A, which formerly included 48 countries, has now been extended to 175. People from these countries would be able to obtain visas without referring their applications to diplomatic missions abroad.

Only 15 countries, including Israel, have been kept out of the list. Bakhtiar said that tourists from 23 countries would be issued visas on arrival, directly at the airports and other entry points.

This treatment was offered only to China and Japan in the past. However, the government had made it mandatory for tourists from these countries to be registered with Pakistan government's approved tourism firms.

The relaxed visa policy has also been extended to those countries that can share trade and investment with Pakistan. Investors and businessmen of 69 countries will be given visas at the airports.

Pakistani embassies and missions would also be authorised to issue work visas for five years, compared to the earlier three years. Pakistani expatriates would be allowed a multi-entry-visa for five years and would be able to stay in the country for at least a year.

The interior minister said that the government would deal with terrorists strictly and relaxations in visa policy would not benefit them.

"Pakistan's new visa policy is in line with the government's policy of liberalisation and according to the vision of President Pervez Musharraf. We wish to show a positive image of Pakistan where visitors are welcomed with open arms," the Daily Times quoted Sherpao as saying.

Palestinian militants demand release of 1,000 prisoners

Palestinian militants demand release of 1,000 prisoners
Xinhua

Gaza, July 1 (Xinhua) Three Palestinian militant groups that kidnapped an Israeli soldier demanded Saturday that Israel release 1,000 prisoners.

The three groups - the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, an armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement; the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and the Islamic Army - in a joint statement demanded that Israel also end its ongoing ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The three groups claimed the abduction of 19-year-old Gilad Shalit during a cross-border raid on an Israeli army post near the Gaza border Sunday.

They also reiterated a demand that they had made in a previous statement - the release of all Palestinian women and minors jailed by Israel in return for information on the abducted soldier. Israel has already rejected this demand.

However, the statement did not say that the militants would release Shalit if Israel met their demands.

Meawhile, Israeli troops continued a broad ground offensive in Gaza Saturday in a bid to rescue Shalit.

This is the first major Israeli military ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from there last summer after 38 years of occupation.

PM announces Rs.37.5 bn package for distraught farmers

By Harish Menon, Nagpur, July 1 (IANS) After coming face to face over two days with rural suffering, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday announced a Rs.37.5-billion relief package for Maharashtra's distraught farmers, many of who have killed themselves after failing to repay their huge debts.

Manmohan Singh concluded his two-trip to the drought-hit Vidarbha region by announcing the package that includes immediate and long-term relief measures for farmers in six drought-affected districts in the eastern parts of the state -- Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Yavatmal and Wardha.

He told reporters that the measures include waiver of Rs.7.12 billion of overdue interest on loans taken by farmers, allocation of Rs.21.77 billion for improving irrigation facilities to be released over the next three years, Rs.1.35 billion to encourage subsidiary income through livestock and fodder, and Rs.2.4 billion for watershed development.

The package also includes rescheduling of Rs.12.96 billion agricultural credit over a period of three to five years with one year moratorium in the six districts.

Manmohan Singh said this package would be extended to drought-hit states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.

At least 745 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra this year due to crop failure and growing debts. The Vidarbha region has seen more than 1,600 farmers end their lives since January 2001, deaths that have shocked the nation.

The prime minister promised to take steps to protect farmers' interests from the volatility of global commodity prices.

"We have effective instruments to ensure that our farmers can be assured that they will enjoy effective protection against excessive fluctuations in international prices," he said.

"All policies of the government will focus for the realisation of this objective."

The government would also set up an expert group in the next few days to look into the problem of rural indebtedness in its totality, he said.

The group is expected to submit its report with three months. Based on its recommendations the government will take steps to deal with the farmers' problems.

Earlier, more than 530 widows, children and other relatives of over 500 farmers of the Vidarbha region who committed suicide in the past five years met the prime minister and narrated their plight during an hour-long interaction at the terminal building of the airport at Yavatmal town.

Waiver of insurmountable debt burden besides irrigation facilities and higher remuneration on cotton were their common demands.

The venue of the prime minister's meeting with family members of farmers was changed from Kolejhari village to Yavatmal.

Manmohan Singh repeated the government's intention to make sincere efforts to relieve the misery of farmers reeling under debt crisis.

"I know you are suffering from the burden of debt and shortage of irrigation and electricity supply and the government will make all efforts to relieve the misery," he said.

Meanwhile Shiv Sena activists, led by legislator Sanjay Singh Rathod, staged a noisy protest outside the airport in Yavatmal condemning the state government for its "anti-farmer" policies as soon as the prime minister left for Nagpur.

Pomegranate juice could kill cancer cells

London, July 1 (IANS) Drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily could slow the progress of prostate cancer, minimise cell damage and could also kill cancer cells, finds a new study.

Researchers led by Allan Pantuck at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied 50 men who had undergone surgery or radiation treatment for prostate cancer - but had shown signs that the disease was rapidly returning, reported the online edition of BBC News.

The presence of prostate cancer cells is monitored by measuring levels of a chemical they produce called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). The researchers measured how long it took for PSA levels to double in individual patients - a short doubling time indicates that the cancer is progressing quickly.

The average doubling time is about 15 months, but in patients who drank pomegranate juice, this increased to an average of 54 months.

Some patients continued to show suppressed PSA levels after more than three years, even though they were receiving no treatment apart from drinking pomegranate juice, said Pantuck.

The researchers added that the effect may be so large that it may help older men outlive the disease.

"There are many substances in pomegranate juice that may be prompting this response," said Pantuck.

"We are hoping we may be able to prevent or delay the need for other therapies usually used in this population such as hormone treatment or chemotherapy, both of which bring with them harmful side effects," added Pantuck.

Pomegranates have been linked to many health benefits. It contains a cocktail of chemicals including isoflavones, which are believed to play a role in cancer cell death.

Previous research, conducted through tests on mice, has indicated that pomegranate juice could have a beneficial effect on prostate cancer.

Swiss banks freeze accounts of Myanmar leaders

Yangon (Myanmar), July 1 (IANS) Banks in Switzerland have frozen the assets of members of Myanmar's military regime amid increasing concerns over the human rights situation in the Southeast Asian country.

The Swiss government has also announced plans to tighten sanctions against Myanmar, reported Mizzima News, the news agency run by Burmese (Myanmarese) in exile.

The decision brings the country in line with European Union (EU) sanctions on Myanmar, which were extended in April.

The fresh sanctions prohibit Swiss firms and companies from investing in Myanmar or loaning money to the 39 government-run enterprises.

Earlier this month, the Bank of England had imposed sanctions on Myanmar and frozen the assets of the country's military members.

The EU introduced financial sanctions on Myanmar's military officials and their families in 2000, before extending them in 2004 and 2005.

The hadcount controversy indicates anti-Muslim bias

By Pavan Nair

The politically astute Indian Defence Minister recently conveyed to the Parliament that details of Muslims in the Indian Army would not be conveyed to the Sachar Committee. Does that resolve the issue? The rather short and ill-informed debate was mired in arguments about the secular credentials of the army, an issue which has never been in doubt. The knee-jerk reaction of several serving and retired officers and the media indicates an inherent if unspoken bias against Muslims in general which exists across most sections of Indian society. There is a need to understand the issue from a historical as also a functional perspective.

The fighting arms of the Indian Army, that is the Armoured Corps (the erstwhile cavalry), Infantry, Artillery and Engineers, have traditionally had a fixed class composition as far as the rank and file is concerned. This composition may be a single class composition(like Jats, Rajputs or Sikhs) or a mixed class composition like a combination of Sikhs, Marathas and Muslims in a specified percentage or a mix of sub-units of different classes. Some newly raised units in the armoured corps and artillery have an all-India mix. All caste- or class-based regiments also have a specified proportion of other mixed castes called Other Indian Castes or OICs. Since Hindustani Muslims (HMs), which is the official name, are specified as a caste or class, they do not form a part of the OIC quota of the army. The services like the Signals, ASC (Army Service Corps) and AOC (Army Ordnance Corps) which form about 20% of the army are based on an all India composition and vacancies are released on a zonal basis.

After 1857, the proportion of ‘high’ caste Hindu soldiers in the British army was reduced since they were held responsible for inciting the anti-British revolt whereas certain communities like the Sikhs and Gurkhas were rewarded for their loyalty by increasing their numbers. The bias of recruitment was shifted to the so-called ‘martial races’, which incidentally included Muslims mostly from Awadh, Punjab, Bihar and the North-West Frontier Province. Certain new regiments were raised over a period of time to increase the recruiting base since the army was in the expansion mode before the world wars. Some of these regiments like the Sikh Light Infantry and the Mahar Regiment specially catered to lower castes. Jat Sikhs were enrolled in the Sikh Regiment and Mazhabi and Ramdasia Sikhs in the Sikh Light Infantry. Muslims, like the Sikhs, formed a large part of the army right till the time of independence. Muslims were enrolled in pure or single class regiments as also mixed regiments. For example, a battalion of the Punjab Regiment could be composed of two or more Sikh companies and two or more Muslim companies consisting of Punjabi Musalmans or Pathans. Muslims were also mixed with Hindus in various regiments but their food and staying arrangements were always separate. Some aspects of this arrangement are still in effect. For example, one or more sub-units in Grenadier battalions can have a pure Muslim composition. To say that recruitment in the army, and specifically the fighting arms, is not based on caste or class composition is therefore incorrect.

At independence, the army was divided between India and Pakistan in the ratio of about two to one. All Muslim units and sub units were given the choice of going across to Pakistan. Most of them did. Similarly some sub units of Gujjars, Sikhs and Dogras came across to India. The percentage of Muslims in the army, which was about 25% at that time, came down to about 5%, whereas almost 60% of the Muslim population stayed on in various parts of India. Nothing was done to correct the imbalance though Nehru did express some concern. The army was immediately involved in operations in Kashmir for a few years and thereafter the issue died a natural death, presumably because the Muslim community did not raise it. Over a period of time, Muslim representation has come down to 3% because the class composition of the fighting arms has a limited and fixed number of Muslim vacancies. A Muslim wanting to join the infantry or engineers or any fighting arm with a fixed class composition can only apply for the Muslim vacancies where they exist or as and when they come up. He can also apply for the services that is the Signals, ASC, AOC and AMC in the open category but so can the Sikhs, Jats, Dogras or Rajputs who already have a large reservation in their own regiments. So there is an administrative bias which has kept the numbers very low. This needs to be corrected. To say that the numbers of Muslim in the army are low because of a lack of military attributes or physical standards is an insult to the memory of thousands of Muslim soldiers who fought valiantly in both the world wars and participated in all our wars after independence.

Any organization will resist change and the Indian Army is no different. All citizens must have the right to participate in the defence of their country and to enjoy the privileges that accrue. It is the prerogative of a government to correct an imbalance not only in the Army but in several other paramilitary organisations whose combined strength is almost equal to that of the army. Certain organizations like the NSG do not recruit Muslims or sikhs. One way to go would be to do it in stages over a period of time by increasing the number of Muslim vacancies in the fighting arms where Muslims are already integrated within units of specific regiments like the Grenadiers, Guards and the Rajputana Rifles. This will entail reducing vacancies for other classes unless the manpower ceiling of the army is raised. New raisings and Rashtriya Rifle units could have a larger proportion of Muslims. It is also for consideration whether some vacancies in the services should be reserved for Muslims as also other minority communities and Dalits who are under-represented in the army even though there is a Mahar Regiment in the infantry which recruits Dalits from Maharshtra. The secular credentials of the army and the state will only be strengthened if we correct a historical mistake. But before that, civil society needs to understand the issues involved.

________________________________________________________
The author, a retired colonel, served for thirty years in the Indian Army Corps of Engineers. He now works with an NGO and writes on defence and social issues. He can be contacted on pavannair[AT]vsnl[DOT]net

UN agencies concerned over human conditions in Gaza

New York, July 1 (IMI)United Nations agencies today expressed concern at the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, at a time when more than half of the area’s power supply has been knocked out, and roads and water pipes have also been damaged by Israeli air strikes.

Some 130,000 people have been without water for the past few days and the agencies said their top priority is the restoration of the fuel supply for sanitation pumps in Gaza, with only a few days’ fuel left if supplies are not resumed.

They added that they were also worried over supplies of essential medicines and food, with some medicines already being rationed because of shortages.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that, because of the random closure of border crossings between the Strip and Israel, it had been unable to get enough food into Gaza. The current supply of wheat flour would only be enough to cover the current caseload of 160,000 people for about 10 days.

WFP spokesman Simon Pluess told a news briefing in Geneva that the Agency was deeply concerned that the recent kidnapping of the Israeli soldier and the subsequent incursion into Gaza might exacerbate the existing humanitarian crisis, especially in view of the increased border closures.

The non-payment of government workers, which affected around 1 million people, and the outbreak of avian influenza, which had decreased the availability of poultry, also threatened food security. It was WFP’s view that it was in everyone’s interest to avoid an escalation of the humanitarian crisis, he said.

Many government workers have not been paid since international donors cut off aid after the Hamas movement’s election victory earlier this year, saying the group must first commit to non-violence, recognize Israel and accept previous agreements and obligations.

Mr. Pluess noted that without the use of refrigerators, due to the cut-off of electricity, perishable foods and medicines were affected, and bakeries could not produce bread, a major element in the Palestinian diet.

The population’s coping strategies were being pushed to the very limit, with many families living on just one meal per day, he said. As a result, WFP had this month begun to increase its food aid to 600,000 people. But with the random closure of border crossings, it could not get enough food into Gaza.

UPA misleading people on price rise: BJP

Bhopal, July 1 (IANS) Coming down heavily on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for its failure to control prices of essential commodities, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said it was trying to "fool" the people of the country.

Talking to reporters here, BJP president Rajnath Singh said: "In fact, the Congress party organised a drama by convening the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting and appealing to the government to bring down the prices of essential commodities whereas it did not prefer to say anything to the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) and Finance Minister (P. Chidambaram) who were present at the same meeting.

"Everybody knew that after the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel, there will be inflation. But the government instead of reducing taxes on petroleum products is trying to fool the people by organising the CWC meeting," he said.

"The Left parties too are misleading the people by opposing the price rise on the streets but supporting the same government which was responsible for it," Singh said.

The BJP leader also cautioned the UPA government on the supply of arms and ammunition, mainly the missiles, by China to Pakistan.

"This has increased the danger to the country's security."

Singh arrived here Saturday morning to attend the party's two-day state executive meet - the first one after the nomination of state president Satya Narain Jatia four months ago.

US House panel to review F-16 offer to Pakistan

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 1 (IANS) A key panel of the US Congress, which earlier this week approved the India-US nuclear deal, has been called to meet again on July 13 to discuss the Bush administration's proposal to sell F-16 aircraft and weapons systems to Pakistan.

The Republican chairman of the US House of Representatives' Committee on International Relations, Henry Hyde, Friday called the meeting after the administration notified Congress about the proposed sale bid apparently to placate a miffed Pakistan.

There was no word as yet about a hearing by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which too has endorsed the India-US agreement, to review the F-16 deal. Usually Congress gets 30 days to review such offers. The deal goes ahead if Congress does not move to block it.

Washington's key negotiator on the India-US nuclear deal, Nick Burns, under secretary for political affairs, has been listed as a witness at the House panel's meeting. A few more witnesses are likely to be added.

The five billion dollar weapons package deal for Pakistan awaiting Congress approval, includes sale of 18 new fighter jets with an option to buy another 18, and an offer to upgrade its existing fleet of 34 old model F-16s, manufactured by US aerospace company Lockheed Martin.

Describing Pakistan as a long-term partner and major non-NATO ally of the United States, a Bush administration official said the proposed sale of F-16s to Pakistan was part of a larger effort to broaden US strategic partnership with Pakistan and advance its national security and foreign policy interests in South Asia.

The sale offer comes close on the heels of two Congressional panels approving with thumping majorities the India-US nuclear deal giving New Delhi access to US nuclear know-how after a gap of 30 years.

Work stress could raise blood pressure

London, July 1 (IANS) Work stress could lead to a rise in blood pressure, particularly if you are a man and lack social support at work, revealed a new study.

Chantal Guimont and colleagues at Laval University, Quebec, Canada, studied 6,719 workers over more than seven years and found that job strain, particularly in workers with low social support at work, may contribute to increased blood pressure, reported the online edition of BBC News.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for a number of serious medical illnesses, including strokes and heart attacks.

Other factors may have contributed to the high blood pressure found in the white-collar workers that they studied but high job demands, tight deadlines and low support in the workplace appeared to be triggers, particularly in men, said Guimont.

Studies are now under way to see if employers can alleviate the problem, the researchers said in the American Journal of Public Health. They suggested that employers might be able to help by giving workers more support and control over deadlines and tasks.

While stress is one cause of high blood pressure, there are a number of other things that can contribute like a poor diet, drinking excess alcohol, being overweight or obese, eating too much salt and not exercising enough.

11 killed in a fresh violence in Sri Lanka

New Delhi, July 1, IRNA, At least 11 people, including one soldier and a sailor, were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka.

Another five people, including a sailor, were killed in renewed clashes in the past 24 hours while the Tiger rebels said six more had been killed in fresh violence in the past two days, a PTI report said here.

The Tigers killed the sailor Friday in an apparent bid to draw fire from the security forces towards Muslim devotees attending Friday prayers.

However, the military acted with restraint, yet managed to gun down the attacker.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said three civilians were killed in a Claymore mine attack in the Kokkupadaiyan area two days ago and blamed the Sri Lankan military for the blast.

Another three men were gunned down in the east of the island later that night, just hours before a key meeting of five Nordic nations to decide the future of their monitoring mission in Sri Lanka.

The Oslo-arranged meeting in the Norwegian capital lasted five hours yesterday but ended without an announcement of a breakthrough to end the crisis over truce monitoring.

The meeting was called after the LTTE demanded that monitors from European Union nations Denmark, Finland and Sweden quit the mission, saying they could no longer be neutral after the EU labelled the group a terrorist organization.

12 militants killed in Afghan clashes

Kabul, July 2 (Xinhua) At least 12 Taliban-linked insurgents were killed in southern Afghanistan as clashes erupted with Afghan and foreign troops.

The skirmishes occurred Saturday night in the volatile Helmand province in south Afghanistan, said a police official.

"A clash between the enemies of peace and Afghan and coalition troops, which lasted for about two hours in the Sangin district left 12 enemies dead," said provincial police chief Mohammad Nabi MullahKhil.

He also said that all the dead bodies had been left on the battleground.

"There were no causalities among the Afghan and coalition forces," Mullahkhil added.

Taliban militants have yet to make any comment.

Over a dozen people, including three British soldiers, have been killed in clashes in Helmand in the past one month.

African Union summit opens in Gambia

Banjul (Gambia), July 2 (Xinhua) Top leaders from African states convened in this West African country to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the continent at the seventh African Union summit.

The summit, which opened Saturday, witnessed a gathering of 53 African heads of state and government, together with guests and observers from around the world.

"The African Union, created only six years ago, has established itself as a defining voice in areas like development, security and human rights, and Africa as a whole and has many success stories to tell in these three areas," said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the opening ceremony.

The Millennium Development Goals have had a "galvanising" effect on governments throughout Africa, said Annan, and added, "Africa's development disproves the distorted and widespread image of our continent as a sea of undifferentiated poverty."

The theme of the two-day summit is rationalization of regional economic communities (RECs) and regional integration.

Speaking on Africa's security, Annan said that compared to a decade ago, the number of violent conflicts had dropped dramatically. He added that Africa is learning better to manage and resolve conflicts, and prevent new conflicts from breaking out.

"Africa has also made progress on human rights," said Annan, saying that human rights was no longer viewed by Africans as a rich country's luxury, and most African states now have democratically elected governments.

The summit is expected to discuss a number of issues including the financing of the AU, situation in Darfur, establishment of a Pan-African radio and television channel, reform of the UN, HIV/AIDS, and bird flu.

The last gathering of the bi-annual AU summit was held in January in Khartoum, Sudan.

Anti-bribe campaign launched

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) A 15-day anti-bribe campaign aimed at creating awareness about the Right to Information (RTI) Act was launched Saturday in 48 cities across the country.

Over 700 organisations including colleges, schools, doctors' forums, resident welfare associations, community groups and non-governmental organisations kicked off the drive that "will encourage people against paying bribe to officials to get their work done".

"The campaign will tackle the most basic problem that everyone in the country faces while dealing with any government department - harassment, bureaucratic delay and the expectation of bribes to get work done," said a statement from the activists.

"The whole campaign will be handled by over 1,500 volunteers who will help people in filing RTI applications in these cities," said Arvind Kejriwal, chief of NGO Parivartan.

In the first day, their national help line received around 1,154 calls and 1,600 people visited the website specially designed for the campaign.

"After the completion of the campaign, they will have a workshop in August on problems people faced during the 15 days," Kejriwal told IANS.

A crucial law for the promotion of transparency and accountability from the government, the RTI Act allows citizens to demand information (in the form of records, documents, samples, orders etc) from the government regarding any department or office.

Army trooper killed in Kashmir gun-battle

Srinagar, July 2 (IANS) An army trooper was killed and two others were injured in a gun-battle with guerrillas in a Jammu and Kashmir village Sunday.

A spokesman of the army's 15 Corps said security forces surrounded the Gamru village near the north Kashmir Bandipora town in Baramulla district Sunday afternoon following information that a group of guerrillas was hiding there.

"The militants were holed up in a house and started firing on our troopers. Three of our jawans sustained injuries and one of them - subedar Jasbir Singh - later succumbed to his injuries," the spokesman said.

A police official said two houses in the village were gutted in the exchange of fire between the guerrillas and the troops.

"The exact number of militants hiding is still not known," he added.

Beckham steps down as England captain

Baden-Baden (Germany), July 2 (DPA) David Beckham Sunday announced he was stepping down as England captain but said he wanted to continue playing for his country.

The midfielder announced his decision at a press conference, less than 24 hours after England's World Cup exit at the hands of Portugal.

Beckham said being England's captain was "the greatest honour of my career ...and fulfilling my childhood dream".

"Now ...I feel the time is right to pass on the captain's armband.

"I want to stress that I would like to continue playing (for England). I came to the decision a while ago. This decision has been the hardest of my life.

"I want all the players to know it has been an absolute honour.

"I have lived the dream. I am extremely proud to have been the captain of England and worn the armband and for that I will always be extremely grateful."

Bhutan refugees in Nepal send SOS to Yechury

Kathmandu, July 2 (IANS) Languishing in Nepal's refugee camps for nearly 15 years, over 100,000 Bhutanese evicted by the Druk kingdom Sunday sent an SOS to visiting Indian leader Sitaram Yechury, asking him to intervene with the Indian government on their behalf.

As Yechury, an influential politburo member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist winded up his three-day visit to Kathmandu, a delegation of Bhutanese refugees handed over a petition to him, asking for New Delhi's intervention.

"India says the refugee problem is a bilateral issue between Bhutan and Nepal," said Teknath Rizal, former adviser to the king of Bhutan and ex-member of parliament, who was jailed by his government for protesting against the eviction of Bhutanese of Nepali origin from southern Bhutan.

"However, whenever we try to return to Bhutan through India, the Indian authorities stop us. That shows it's not a bilateral issue. India too is involved and should help us to return."

Since last month, Bhutanese refugees have been on an indefinite sit-in in front of the UN office in the capital to draw international attention to their plight. A second group has also been staging a sit-in in eastern Nepal near the bridge that connects Nepal and India.

Though Nepal has allowed the refugees to live in the seven camps in its eastern parts administered by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, it doesn't allow them to work or own property.

Forced to live on charity, the camps have seen a growing incidence of alcoholism, domestic violence, prostitution and even suicides.

Bin Laden urges Islamist fighters to free Iraq

Cairo, July 2 (Xinhua) Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, in a new audio message posted on the Internet, has urged Islamist fighters to free Iraq.

"You, god's trusted fighters, will liberate the country (Iraq) from the crusaders," bin Laden said in the audio posted Saturday on a Web site frequently used by Islamist militants. However, the voice in the audio is yet to be verified as Bin Laden's.

He said Sunni Muslims in Iraq were being "exterminated" by Shias, warning that Shia-populated areas might subject to attacks.

He also endorsed Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as the new Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq to succeed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was killed in a US air strike north of Baghdad last month. He wished the new leader "good luck".

Bin Laden urged militants in Iraq to "continue fighting", saying that participation in the country's political process would lead nowhere.

He called on Al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq's to continue to take part in the Mujahideen Shura Council.

The council, which consists of several Iraqi insurgent groups including Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for killing four Russian embassy employees kidnapped by militants last month.

In addition, bin Laden urged all the Somali people to support the Islamic Courts Union, which took control of the Somali capital Mogadishu in June.

"You should join hands with the Islamic Courts to build an Islamic state in Somalia," he said, warning other countries against sending troops to Somalia.

Further, the Al-Qaeda chief said his group had the right to "punish" the US inside its territories, in Somalia and everywhere in the world.

Chhattisgarh mulls anti-conversion law

Raipur, July 2 (IANS) Chhattisgarh is planning to enact an anti-conversion law to deal with the growing number of conversions by "force" in the tribal dominated state, Chief Minister Raman Singh has said.

"The government is of the view that conversion by force or allurement should not be allowed and we will bring in an anti-conversion bill," Singh told IANS.

He said the government was studying the anti-conversion bills of other states, including Rajasthan, to incorporate some of their provisions.

Refusing to give further details, Singh said the bill was still in its "preliminary stage".

A home department official, however, said: "There is likely to be a provision of 10-year jail term and monetary penalty of Rs.500,000 to Rs.1 million for those found guilty of illegal conversions."

He added that the government was determined to bring in the bill this year, possibly during the winter session of the state assembly.

An anti-conversion law is already in force in Chhattisgarh as the state retained the Freedom of Religion Act adopted by Madhya Pradesh in 1968.

But the government thinks its provisions need to be made more stringent by enacting its own law dealing with conversions. Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000.

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and its affiliate body Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram allege that conversion of tribals in the state can be linked to money and other economic assistances offered by Christian missionaries.

They claim that the number of conversions has been on the rise especially in the under-developed regions of Surguja and Bastar.

Christians, however, deny converting tribal people by force or allurement. They allege the various anti-conversion laws have been enacted with the hidden intent to harass them and to spread hatred against their community.

Anti-conversion laws are also in force in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat. The Rajasthan assembly recently passed a similar bill, and it awaits the assent of the state governor.

Tamil Nadu revoked its anti-conversion law in May 2004.

There are a little more than 300,000 Christians in Chhattisgarh in a total population of 20.8 million.

Cleric condemns Zionists' atrocities in Gaza

Tehran, July 2, IRNA, Substitute Friday prayers leader of Tehran Hojjatoleslam Ahmad Khatami on Friday questioned double-standards on terrorism, while denouncing Zionist regime's aggression on Gaza.

"Isn't it an instance of terrorism when a usurper government in extreme impudency turns Gaza into an inferno, makes a hell of bombs and bombardment, arrests a group of the representatives of the public and candidly acknowledges to assassination of the Palestinian leaders?" questioned Khatami in his second Friday prayers sermons at Tehran University campus.

Khatami said Zionists' aggressions on Gaza are signs of their savagery and genocide, indicating they are criminals in nature.

He noted that Europe is an accomplice in the crimes for suspending their assistance, even medicine aid, to Palestinians.

"All these are signs that the liberal-democracy slogan of Europe and the US is a big lie," he made it clear.

He said the US and Europe use such slogans for their own interests.

Khatami also criticized Muslim states for their silence against Israeli atrocities.

Elsewhere in his sermon, Hojatoleslam Khatami refuted the US claims that there was a global consensus against Iran.

"They claim there is a global consensus against Iran, while more than 100 NAM states are supporting Iran in the nuclear case and Muslim foreign ministers too have been supporting Iran. The US is impudently saying the big lie that there is global consensus against Iran," he added.

The cleric then compared the higher popularity rate of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the US President George W. Bush, saying whenever the Iranian president goes to a country, all try to have a precedence in shaking hands with him but there are huge demonstrations against the US President whenever he visits a country.

Discovery launch postponed due to weather

Cape Canaveral (Florida), July 2 (DPA) A threat of nearby storms caused NASA to postpone the launch of shuttle Discovery less than 10 minutes before lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The weather outlook remained poor as the US space agency mounted another attempt to launch the shuttle Discovery later Sunday.

Late Saturday, NASA meteorologists estimated a 40 percent chance of acceptable weather for the rescheduled launch during about a one-hour window beginning at 3.26 p.m. (1926 GMT). Clouds are likely Sunday afternoon with possible rain and thunderstorms.

The US shuttle fleet has been grounded since Discovery's July 2005 flight because of continuing problems with shedding foam on takeoff. The current launch would be only the second since February 2003, when the shuttle Columbia spacecraft broke up on re-entry due to a damaged heat shield blamed on foam at takeoff.

With mounting safety problems and maintenance costs, the fleet of aging space shuttles is slated to be mothballed in 2010.

Unprecedented precautions have been taken to protect the shuttle from the kind of damage on takeoff that doomed Columbia and that plagued Discovery's last mission.

Discovery is due to deliver German astronaut Thomas Reiter to the International Space Station (ISS) for a stay of up to seven months. He would be the first German astronaut to take up residence on the orbiting ISS.

Discovery's scheduled 12-day flight is designed to deliver water, food and clothing to the station. Astronauts are to carry out urgent repairs on the ISS and to test new technology for in-space repairs of the shuttle.

The shuttle's return to earth was slated for July 13 to Kennedy Space Centre.

Without the US space shuttle fleet to ferry crews, provisions and parts into space, the construction of the International Space Station has been interrupted and the orbiting outpost limited to two-person crews limited to mostly maintenance work.

If the lift-off is postponed again Sunday, additional launch windows could be available Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saturday's weather was acceptable for lift-off at the Cape Canaveral launch pad, but threatening storms were dangerously close to the shuttle's emergency landing strip in the event the mission were aborted immediately after launch.

Mission control cited the presence of anvil-shaped clouds, which carry electric charges and produce lightning that would endanger the spacecraft. Such thunderheads form easily in Florida's humid, subtropical climate and are common sight along the coast during afternoons, when brief but powerful storms can quickly develop.

The order to halt Saturday's launch came with the astronauts long since strapped into the shuttle and awaiting a trip into orbit. A large, outdoor digital clock at the Kennedy Space Centre stood still at 00:09:00.

US Vice President Dick Cheney had been in Florida Saturday to witness the restart of the shuttle programme.

Prior to the scrub decision, the shuttle was described as functioning normally and ready to launch. The shuttle's 47-metre fuel tanks were already filled with 2 million litres of liquid oxygen and hydrogen.

Discovery prepares for launch despite bad weather (LEAD)

Cape Canaveral (Florida), July 2 (DPA) Despite a storm looming over Florida, the US space agency NASA began a second countdown Sunday for the launch of the shuttle Discovery.

The chances of a launch were put at just 30 percent by NASA officials due to the weather conditions. The launch is scheduled to take place during a one-hour window beginning 3.26 p.m. (1926 GMT). However, NASA meteorologists have predicted possible rain and thunderstorms.

On Saturday the threat of nearby storms caused NASA to postpone the mission less than 10 minutes before lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

If the shuttle isn't launched on Sunday, NASA plans to make another attempt on Tuesday. The space agency has until July 19 to deliver German astronaut Thomas Reiter to the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery's scheduled 12-day flight will also deliver water, food and clothing to the station. Astronauts are to carry out urgent repairs on the ISS and to test new technology for in-space repairs of the shuttle.

The shuttle programme has been grounded since Discovery's July 2005 flight because of continuing problems with shedding foam on takeoff. Sunday's launch would be only the second since the 2003 shuttle disaster, when the Columbia spacecraft broke up on re-entry due to a hole punched into heat-shielding tiles from similar debris on takeoff.

Unprecedented precautions have been taken to protect Discovery from the kind of damage on takeoff that doomed Columbia and plagued Discovery's last mission.

Favoured Brazil crash against Zidane-led France

Frankfurt, July 2 (DPA) Defending champions Brazil crashed out of the World Cup quarter-finals Saturday with a 1-0 loss to nemesis France, stunned by a resurgent Zinedine Zidane who just does not want to quit.

Arsenal striker Thierry Henry scored the lone goal in the 57th minute off a Zidane free kick and the French held on to set up a semi-final with Portugal Wednesday in Munich.

"There are no words to describe this. I'm simply happy - exhausted, but happily exhausted," said French coach Raymond Domenech, whose squad has steadily improved in Germany. "This is one of the great moments of French football."

Star-studded Brazil, denied their shot at a sixth world title, lacked ideas and rallied too late in the game to take revenge for their 3-0 humiliation by a Zidane-led France in the 1998 final.

"The first 20 minutes looked like we would get control, but then France came," said Brazil great Pele. "Zidane was the absolute master of this match. He took complete control of the pitch."

France dominated play for most of the match, virtually shutting down Brazil's vaunted forwards, who never jelled against the well-organised French midfield and back line.

Barcelona star Ronaldinho, whose tournament this was supposed to be, left the field in tears, comforted by his French opponents.

While the Brazilians slunk off, a beaming 34-year-old Zidane celebrated his astounding comeback at what he has said will be his last international competition.

"It was an enormous game. We had to do it all physically and mentally, and we combined brilliantly," the former Real Madrid star said. "We're aiming for the final. We don't want to stop - it was so wonderful that I don't want to stop."

Henry's goal broke open the game after a flat first half. But the needed Brazil rally never truly materialised, though they came close when Fabien Barthez turned away a Ronaldo volley in second-half injury time.

By that time, French fans were already singing the Marseillaise in the stands, celebrating their old-guard side's stunning revival in 2006.

Brazil opened on the attack with Ronaldo - fresh from becoming the top World Cup scorer of all time with 16 goals - but the French-deflected cross sailed too far.

Roberto Carlos fired a curving shot over Barthez' goal after a corner kick, and Ronaldo came close when he powered a header just over the bar in the 11th minute after a Ronaldinho free kick.

But France soon began to take control, virtually shutting down Brazil's vaunted midfield with a cautious passing game that denied the South Americans the balls needed to launch explosive attacks.

Wing back Willy Sagnol fired a shot to the near post from the right in the 16th minutes, but Dida in the Brazil goal stopped it easily.

Cafu, a veteran of the 1998 final squad, was booked in the 25th minute for holding Eric Abidal's jersey as Zidane and the French built up a bit of pressure.

Still, the bevy of greats on the pitch failed to generate great football.

Zidane and Roberto Carlos miscued passes, Cafu sent a cross through the French area without anyone getting a touch and Patrick Vieira, playing his 92nd for France, lifted an uncontested ball straight over the goal-line.

The game lit up just before half-time when Zidane at midfield escaped three Brazilians, duped a fourth and found the hole for a long ball to Patrick Vieira, only to see him floored by a rough tackle from Juan.

Juan was lucky to escape with a yellow card and more mayhem followed when Ronaldo in the wall handled the free kick fired by Thierry Henry.

Ronaldo was booked too and Henry's second attempt from the 16-metre line was blocked again, sending both teams to the locker rooms in a hail of whistles from the 48,000 fans.

French pressure paid off in the 57th minute with a goal that had Zidane printed all over it.

First, the France captain cheekily lifted the ball over Ronaldo and flicked it on with a header.

That move wound up forcing a free kick, which Zidane curled from 25 metres to the far post, where an unmarked Henry flew in and slammed the ball into the roof of the Dida's net with the inside of his right foot.

France nearly made it two in the 61st when young striker Franck Ribery escaped his marker, muscled into the area and squared a ball that Juan almost sent into his own net and Zidane missed by one step.

Brazil seemed unable to step up the pace as the veteran French defence outduelled Kaka and Ronaldinho, while Ronaldo fell helplessly in the penalty area.

France replied on a fast solo break by Ribery, who forced Dida out to save.

As tensions rose, Sangol was booked in the 74th minute for blocking Kaka and Brazil defender Lucio saw yellow the next minute for flooring Henry.

Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira took off AC Milan's Kaka in after his weakest game of the tournament, bringing on striker Robinho.

The Lyon striker brought immediate spark to Brazil's lacklustre game, but it was too little, too late.

First train from Beijing leaves for Tibet

Beijing, July 2 (Xinhua) The first train from Beijing Saturday started its 4,060 km journey for Tibet's capital Lhasa.

The train started at 9.30 p.m. from the Beijing West station and will arrive in Lhasa at 8.58 p.m. Monday. It will pass through Shijiazhuang, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining, Golmud and Nagqu before reaching its destination.

The basic coach ticket, called a hard seat, sells for 389 yuan ($48.6) from Beijing to Lhasa, while the price for hard sleeper or bunk costs 813 yuan ($101.6), and the price for a shared compartment or soft sleeper is 1,262 yuan ($157.75).

Earlier on, a passenger train rolled out of the Chengdu railway station, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province at 6.18 p.m., heading for Lhasa with more than 900 passengers.

It was followed by another train leaving Xining, capital of the northwestern Qinghai province, for Lhasa at 8.07 p.m.

Chinese President Hu Jintao attended a launching ceremony held at Golmud, a start-off point of the landmark Qinghai-Tibet railway in Qinghai province, and cut the red ribbon for the railway's opening.

He delivered a keynote speech at the gala held at the Golmud station, saying the opening of the railway line is another magnificent accomplishment the country has achieved in socialist modernisation drive.

Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad is a long-cherish dream of generations of the Chinese people, Hu said.

The Qinghai-Tibet railway is the first railroad linking Tibet with the rest of China.

Four intruders killed in Kashmir

Srinagar, July 2 (IANS) Four separatist guerrillas were Sunday killed as Indian Army troopers foiled their infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

A spokesman of the army's 15 Corps said here the troops spotted a group of guerrillas in the Gulmarg sector of the LoC while trying to sneak into the Indian side.

"The infiltrators were challenged to surrender, but they started firing on the troops resulting in an encounter in which four of them, all belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad group were killed," the spokesman said.

This is the second major infiltration bid during the past week.

Eight guerrillas were killed in an encounter at the LoC in the Karnah sector in north Kashmir last week when they attempted to infiltrate into the Indian side of the border.

India have edge after 16 wickets fall second day

By T.R. Ramakrishnan, Kingston (Jamaica), July 2 (IANS) After an eventful day's cricket in the fourth, and what will now certainly be the series-deciding Test, India finished with their noses marginally in front of the West Indies.

Sixteen wickets fell as India, after bowling out West Indies for 103 in their first innings at the Sabina Park Saturday, finished the second day of the five-day match at 128 for 6 in their second innings. Their overall lead is 225.

Rahul Dravid produced his second masterpiece of the match, following his first innings 81, and was unbeaten on 62 (130 balls, 11 fours) at the close. On his efforts Sunday will rest India's hopes for getting their first series win in the West Indies since 1971.

The way the Sabina Park wicket has played in the first two days, it seems to be a big ask for any side to score the highest total of the match in the fourth innings to achieve victory.

But the West Indians have a champion in their midst, Brian Lara, who is not only capable of winning a match with the power of his record-breaking batting skills. But also, as he has shown in this series, of being a forceful inspiration to his team-mates in the West Indian quest of an image-reviving series win.

In the morning, West Indies failed to last one-and-a-half sessions. They were all out in 33.3 overs, 40 minutes after lunch. Harbhajan Singh captured his second five-wicket haul in successive Tests after S. Sreesanth made the initial breakthroughs.

The significance of Rahul Dravid's 81 Friday became even more apparent on the day as the West Indian batsmen chose stroke playing as the weapon with which to counter the duplicitous nature of the wicket. It was not a wise choice.

Lara was their leading exponent. He was at his exhilarating best as he hit six fours in 26, out of 42 added with Darren Ganga after Sreesanth had removed Chris Gayle in the first over of the innings. He pulled and cut Sreesanth as only he can and when Anil Kumble came on for Munaf Patel, drove him in his first over for boundaries either side of the non-striker's wicket.

Sreesanth did bother him a couple that moved and had two good shouts for leg before and then got the master out with a snorter, the last ball of his sixth over. It rose viciously from a good length and as Lara fended awkwardly, the ball went off to his glove to Wasim Jaffer at third slip.

As the West Indian batsmen, apart from Ganga, made no attempt to stay and survive at the wicket, Harbhajan hammered the final nails in the coffin. In just 4.3 overs, he took 5 for 13 to follow up the fifer he took in the West Indian first innings at St Kitts.

If India though they had the match in their pocket after their morning's work, they were sadly mistaken. Once again, Jerome Taylor came steaming in, and caused early damage, removing the openers in the first four overs of the innings.

V.V.S. Laxman and Dravid seemed to have weathered the storm, with a 43-run stand in 18 overs, but then Laxman fell, and the middle-order again collapsed, with only Dravid standing firm.

It would be easy to blame the dismissals on the pitch. The ball does scoot through at times, climbs steeply at other times. But more than a few batsmen, from both sides, perished trying to play strokes to balls temptingly bowled at them.

The key to survival was application and so far only Dravid has shown it.

And he also showed that strokes could be hit: his 11 fours in the second innings are testimony to it. He cut, pulled and drove majestically, and two of the more memorable boundaries he hit were the ones that raised his 9,000th run in Test cricket and his second 50 of the match.

SCOREBOARD

Day 2, Fourth Test, West Indies v India, Sabina Park, Kingston (Jamaica)

India (1st innings): 200

West Indies (1st innings):

Chris Gayle b Sreesanth 0
Darren Ganga lbw Harbhajan 40
Brian Lara c Jaffer b Sreesanth 26
Marlon Samuels st Dhoni b Kumble 2
Shivnarine Chanderpaul c Dhoni b Patel 10
Dwayne Bravo c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 0
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Kaif b Harbhajan 7
Denesh Ramdin c Yuvraj b Harbhajan 10
Jerome Taylor run out 6
Pedro Collins c Sehwag b Harbhajan 0
Corey Collymore not out 0

Extras (1w, 1nb) 2

Total (for 33.3 overs) 103

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-42, 3-53, 4-72, 5-80, 6-81, 7-88, 8-99, 9-103

Bowling:

S. Sreesanth 9-3-34-2
Munaf Patel 12-5-24-1 (1w)
Anil Kumble 8-3-32-1 (1nb)
Harbhajan Singh 4.3-0-13-5

India (2nd innings):

Wasim Jaffer c Samuels b Taylor 1
Virender Sehwag lbw Taylor 4
V.V.S. Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16
Rahul Dravid batting 62
Yuvraj Singh c Lara b Collymore 13
Mohammed Kaif b Collins 6
M.S. Dhoni b Taylor 19
Anil Kumble batting 2

Extras (3lb, 1w, 1nb) 5

Total (for 6 wkts, in 49 overs) 128

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-49, 4-63, 5-76, 6-122,

Bowling:

Pedro Collins 19-7-56-1 (1nb)
Jerome Taylor 10-3-28-3
Corey Collymore 16-5-31-2
Dwayne Bravo 4-1-10-0 (1w)

Iraq presents 'most-wanted' terror suspects

Baghdad, July 2 (DPA) Iraqi National Security Advisor Muafaq al-Rabaei Sunday presented a list of Iraq's 41 "most wanted" terror suspects, headed by Al Qaeda's new leader in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer.

The list includes individuals accused of committing or plotting acts of terrorism in Iraq - including the latest Sadr city car bombing which left 68 dead and 102 injured Saturday.

Al-Rabaei told reporters here that the list had been compiled over a period of nine months and was based on intelligence and security information collected by Iraq's four security organs. He added that the names had also been submitted to Interpol.

The list, which includes three women - including Saddam's wife Sajda Khair Allah and his daughter Raghd Saddam Hussein - is however "not related to the list of 55 wanted individuals drawn up by the US authorities."

The list of 41 wanted individuals, along with their photos, is to be posted in each police station and in mosques with rewards available for information leading to the detention of suspects.

Al-Rabaei called on the assistance of civilians and of neighbouring countries to apprehend the individuals, some of whom are based in Iraq while others are residing in Arab countries, and bring them to justice.

"We will apprehend them whether they are in Iraq or outside the country," said the national security advisor.

A number of the suspects are accused of having links with the Al Qaeda terror network, while others are said to have broken off from existing Iraqi political currents and militias to form their own movements.

Al-Rabaei described terrorism as "a cancer that recognises no religion or country.

Israeli missile strikes Palestine prime minister's office

Gaza, July 2 (DPA) Israeli Apache attack helicopters fired a missile into Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniya's headquarters in a pre-dawn strike Sunday in southern Gaza City.

Witnesses said that one air-to-ground rocket was fired at Haniya's office, and a huge explosion was heard in southern Gaza's Remal neighbourhood. No injuries were reported.

The building was severely damaged, with a plume of smoke billowing from the blazing structure, as the Israeli army continued air strikes on the Gaza Strip for the fifth consecutive day.

A second air strike on a post belonging to the auxiliary force of the interior ministry in the Hamas-led government left one Palestinian militant dead and three wounded.

Medics and eyewitnesses said that helicopters hovering before dawn over Gaza City fired two missiles into the post, which was destroyed.

The Israeli air campaign follows a June 25 attack on an Israeli army base near the border in the southeast Gaza Strip. In the attack, three Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam Brigades killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third.

Israel approved and launched large-scale air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip and has already destroyed a major power plant and two main bridges. Strikes are continuing against Gaza Strip targets under what the army has called operation Summer Rains.

With efforts underway to solve the crisis, Israeli officials have said that the operation would end if the captive soldier is released.

Larijani to meet top EU official over nuclear row

Tehran, July 2 (DPA) Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani will meet EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana July 5, an Iranian foreign ministry official said Sunday.

"(Larijani and Solana) are in daily contact," said foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi here. "The last contact was just (Saturday), and they will meet Wednesday probably in an European city."

Larijani had last week said he would meet Solana in Spain.

The spokesman reiterated that there was no deadline for the reply to the Western nuclear proposal but Tehran would be ready to reply in the Persian month of Mordad, which starts July 23.

"I am sure that the West too does not want us to sacrifice thoroughness for the sake of speed - we are not killing time, but studying the issue very carefully and the West should appreciate this," Assefi said, referring to Western demands to speed up the date of reply.

The spokesman said the Larijani-Solana meet would be aimed at clarifying the stance of both sides and removing ambiguities and set the framework for further negotiations.

"Our aim is to remove Western concerns (that Iran's nuclear programme is not going towards a military direction), but this does not mean that we would sacrifice our national interests in return," Assefi said.

"If logic prevails in the negotiations, then I am optimistic that the issue could be diplomatically settled," the spokesman added.

Assefi reiterated that Iran's final aim is to realise its right to its own nuclear fuel cycle and would not fear sanctions in reaching this aim.

London attacks' fallout hits 'British way of life'

London, July 2 (DPA) A year after four young British Muslims carried out the first ever suicide attack in Britain, killing 52 people and injuring over than 700, the impact of their deed on the fabric of society is still keenly felt.

Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shedzad Tanweer, Germaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain, who were said to have acquired their bombing skills from the Internet, killed people of many nations when they released the lethal contents of their rucksacks on the carriages of three Underground trains and a bus on July 7, 2005.

Their victims were from Britain, Poland, Italy, Iran, Israel, Vietnam, Nigeria, New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka amongst others, reflecting London's multi-cultural and multi-ethnic flair.

The cosmopolitan city stood together on the day, but the defiance shown by its people has since been weakened by fear, loss of trust and division.

"The rules of the game have changed," declared Prime Minister Tony Blair after the bombings, signalling that Britain was prepared to sacrifice its reputation for a tolerant approach for greater security.

The result of the change was there for all to see: Two weeks after the explosions and after an attempted second attack on the transport system, over-zealous anti-terror squads killed an innocent Brazilian man at a south London police station.

The mistaken shooting, for which the police apologised, served to deepen public mistrust in the state authorities and led ethnic leaders to express the fear that community relations could be damaged beyond repair.

The voice of Muhammad Abdul Bari, new leader of the British Muslim Council (BMC), is almost pleading when he says: "Overwhelmingly, our community is made up of sane, sensible street cleaners, teachers, nurses and bus drivers. This idea that we are all fanatics is ludicrous."

Bari, a 52-year-old physics lecturer, who came to Britain from Bangladesh in 1978, is considered to be the country's most influential Muslim voice. A voice of moderation, Bari's counsel is sought equally by the government, the police, lawmakers and imams. But the soft-spoken intellectual has found it difficult lately to calm the underlying tension between Britain's 1.7 million Muslims and the rest of the community.

His first job as MCB leader in June was to pacify outrage over a massive police raid on the homes of two innocent Muslim families in Forest Gate, east London, in which a 23-year-old Muslim man was shot and injured.

"Muslims are frightened now. It is a nightmare, particularly for the young," says Bari.

He is aware that, like the four young men who blew themselves up in the suicide bombings, there are many young Muslims who are not prepared to hear their elders' message of multi-culturalism and moderation.

"The young are rebelling. They become de-motivated, some turn to drugs, others become more religious," says Bari, who reports a steep rise in police stop-and-search activity as well as "race hate crimes" against Muslims since the attacks a year ago.

The government, meanwhile, says that up to 20 "major conspiracies" have been uncovered since last year's attacks, and three "major attacks" on London have been foiled.

A leaked intelligence report in May stated that the war in Iraq had made Britain a target for Al Qaeda sympathisers "for years to come". These included groups helping fanatics willing to take part in suicide attacks against coalition forces in Iraq.

"Today's terrorists are suburban men who neighbours invariably described as 'hard-working, respectable and British to the core'," said the report.

The intelligence services suggested there were more than 1,200 terrorist suspects living in Britain, compared with 800 a year ago, and 250 in 2001. Home office figures showed that 266 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act in 2005 - an increase by 64 per cent compared to the year before.

The majority of the arrests in 2005 were made after the attacks of July 7. But only 35 people were charged, 27 of them under the Terrorism Act.

For Bari, the disproportion between the number of people detained, and those actually charged, is further cause to plead for moderation: "We really are doing our bit for Britain. We are flying the flag. But the British should be embracing the Muslim community rather than condemning it."

Medicine MRPs to include tax

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The parliamentary consultative committee Sunday said medicines sold in shops would indicate maximum retail prices (MRP) inclusive of taxes from Oct 2.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the committee, which is attached to the ministry of chemicals, fertilizers and steel. The members were discussing the draft national pharmaceutical policy, 2006.

The members decided that the 354 drugs in the national list of essential medicines should be brought under price control in order to make available drugs at reasonable prices.

They also announced that labels on medicines strips would be bilingual, both in Hindi and English, to benefit the people.

The members also agreed that the maximum allowable post-manufacturing expense (MAPE) should not be more than 100 percent as this level was considered adequate and there was no need to allow a MAPE of 150 percent as proposed in the draft policy.

The committee also agreed that the government should give highest priority to make medicines available to the poor. The members decided that families living below the poverty line should be given drugs free of cost.

"We have assessed that about Rs.30 billion would be required for this purpose," said Ram Vilas Paswan, minister of chemicals and fertilizers and steel.

The members said the government should ensure a provision for health insurance for these families.

Musharraf orders review of Islamic laws

Islamabad, July 2 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has ordered a review of the Islamic laws in the country and said that 2,000 women prisoners, languishing in jails for a long time without being convicted, should be considered for release in a few weeks.

The president has tasked the Council of Islamic Ideology to review the Hudood Ordinance and propose necessary amendments with an aim to provide relief to women prisoners held for long without conviction.

There are around 6,500 women in jails throughout Pakistan. About 1,000 of them are serving their sentences, while the others are in jails due to prolonged trial procedure.

The Hudood Ordinance, which aims to Islamise Pakistani jurisprudence, has been criticised at home by experts, women's organisations and by human rights bodies abroad for being weighed against women.

"The president has taken notice of such women and ordered that their release should be considered," The News daily quoted Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Tariq Azim Khan as saying after a meeting chaired by Musharraf.

The law ministry was directed to immediately prepare a draft law for release of the women languishing in jail for years and who are not involved in heinous crimes like murder, attempt to murder, robbery or terrorism.

The ministry is likely to finalise the draft law in two days, The Nation newspaper said. The reforms package will be introduced through ordinances and after feedback from the legal fraternity and the people. It will be amended through parliament by incorporating necessary suggestions, The Nation said.

Musharraf has asked the Council of Islamic Ideology to review the Hudood laws in consultation with all the religious schools of thought and other segments of society who have been working on the issue.

Hudood derives from the Arabic word 'Hud', which means punishment. Among other things, it prescribes stoning to death for conviction for rape, cutting of hands for theft and lashing for gambling and consuming intoxication.

While this has been enforced in Saudi Arabia, no one has been punished under the Hudood Ordinance in Pakistan.

It is considered unfair to women in a dispute since a woman witness is not admitted in a rape case, nor is a non-Muslim witness. Women have been convicted in Pakistan for simply naming their attackers.

Muslims, Jews and Christians Join Together to Condemn Zionism

M Ghazali Khan

Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism is not the same thing and it is vital for world peace that Jews outside Israel speak against Israel’s crimes being meted out on Palestinians, a panel consisting of Christian, Jewish and Arab representatives has told a gathering of 500 delegates assembled at the School of Oriental and African, Studies, University of London.

The debate on, “Why Anti-Zionism is Not anti-Semitism� organised by Islam Channel TV was addressed by the veteran BBC TV war correspondent and author of Zionism the Real Enemies of the Jews, Alan Hart, Holocaust survivor, influential Jewish figure and author of The End of Judaism Dr Hajo G Meyer, Senior Lecturer of Political Science, Haifa University, Professor Ilan Pappe; a senior member of Jewish sect Neturei Karta, Rabbi Ahron Cohen and Palestinian representative Dr. Ghada Karmi, and the author of In Search of Fatima, the story of her exile and displacement.

In his keynote speech Alan Hart congratulated the Chief Executive of Islam Channel TV Mr Muhammad Ali for holding the debate. Hart also informed the audience that few days before the debate, the offices of Islam Channel were broken into and a number of computers were stolen. Hart said that probably someone was looking for information to prove that Islam Channel was a fundamentalist organisation which should not be allowed to hold this debate or they were simply trying to frighten Islam Channel.

Hart, who had enjoyed close friendship with “Father Palestine�, Yassir Arafat and “Mother Israel� Golda Meir � so much so that despite being 48 years younger than her, in her cabinet circle, and much to their annoyance, he was known as her “boyfriend� � has over the years, waged war on Zionism. It is worth quoting two important facts from his remarkable book that, despite being praised lavishly by all of them, none of the British publishers could dare publish and therefore at last Alan at his personal expense published the book himself: “At a point� writes Hart, “I interrupted her [Golda Meir] to say: ‘Prime Minister, I want to be sure I understand what you’re saying…You are saying that if ever Israel was in danger of being defeated on the battlefield, it would be prepared to take the region and even the whole world down with it?’…Without the shortest of pauses of reflection…Golda replied, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I am saying.’� Golda Meir had also told him on camera that, “There was no such thing as Palestinian.� And according to Hart, “Her statement represented Zionism’s official line on the matter; a line that was accepted and repeated parrot-like by Israel’s unquestioning supporters everywhere.�

Left to Right- Dr. Ghada Karmi, Rabbi Ahron Cohen, Alan Hart, Professor Ilan Pappe Dr Hajo G Meyer

Hart started his speech with a quotation from his book that reads, “If the Jews of the Diaspora can summon up the will and the courage to make common cause with the forces of reason in Israel before it is too late for us all, a very great prize awaits them. By demonstrating that right can triumph over might, and that there is a place for morality in politics, they would become the light unto nations.

“It is a prize available to no other people on earth because of the uniqueness of the suffering of the Jews. Perhaps that is the real point for the idea of the Jews as Chosen people…Chosen to endure unique suffering and, having endured it, to show the rest of us that creating better and more just world is not a mission impossible.�

He said, “If any body accused me of being anti-Semitic, I would say ‘Sir/Madam, You are eluded!’ And if any body says to me, ‘OK Alan Hart you are not anti-Semitic but what you say and write seems anti-Semitic.’ I reply, ‘That can’t possibly be so because my main message is to the Gentiles among whom most of the world Jews live. And that message is: ‘Don’t blame the Jews who live among you for what a hard core of Zionists are doing in Israel.’ So, don’t anybody dare to accuse me of being anti-Semitic.�

Hart said that since the unilateral declaration of independence by Israel an informed and honest debate has not been possible on this subject because of fear of being labelled anti-Semitic. He attacked the media and politicians for allowing themselves to be blackmailed by the Zionists. According to Hart journalists were not necessarily sympathetic to the Zionist state but the problem was with the owners of big publishers who were afraid of being punished for their honesty by their advertisement plugs being pulled.

“Many of us have been brought up mainly conditioned by the media to believe that Zionist mythology and real history is one and the same thing. They are emphatically not�. Hart stressed that Zionist propaganda is aimed at getting away with its crimes and impress upon Americans, Europeans and the Jews outside that there has been a threat to its existence. He said that there has never been a threat to the existence of Zionist state.

A group of anti-zionist rabbis at the conference

Persuading Muslims in the UK to be more politically active and be part of the democratic setup, Hart said that in response to one programme news organisations receive thousands of phone calls and emails by the supporters of Zionism but few from Muslims.

He stressed that the existence of Israel is illegal and anyone in the world who could give legitimacy to the Zionist state it is the Palestinians, the rightful owners of the occupied land. He said that two state solution is not a solution. The only solution, he said, was “one state� in which Jews and Palestinians can live together.

Rabbi Ahron Cohen, whose house had been bombarded with 1,000 eggs, presumably by Zionists, few weeks ago, said that what the Zionist state was doing with the Palestinians was blatant violation of the teachings of Judaism.

Responding to a question the Rabbi said although it was not always a bed of roses, before the creation of the Zionist state, Jews in Muslim lands enjoyed prosperity and good relations with Muslims.

In his response to Alan Hart’s speech Professor Ilan Pappe said that there was no Jews Diaspora in the world. “If there is any Diaspora it is the Palestinian Diaspora who have to return to their land.� He said that for world peace and for the welfare of Palestinians and the Jews boycott of the Zionist state was vital. Taking his inspiration from history he said that it took two brave women in Dublin to mobilise anti-apartheid movement in the world and there was no reason why the world could not force Israel to discard its inhuman policies.

In his vehement condemnation of Zionism, Holocaust survivor Dr Hajo G Meyer said that Zionism predates fascism and fascists and Zionists had a history of cooperating with each other. He said that the Zionist state of Israel wants to create anti-Semitism in the world so that more and more Jews start migrating to Israel.

Palestinian representative Dr Ghada Karmi said that Europe had dumped its problem, alien creatures, on the Palestinian people. She said that Palestinian Jews were as much opposed to the creation of a Zionist state on their land as Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians because they were fully conscious of the devastation the “aliens� (non-Palestinian Jews) were going to bring in the region with them. She rejected the division of Palestinian lands into two states and emphasised that instead of solving the dispute it would create more problems. All of the panellists agreed with her.

New Pakistani envoy to India by this month-end?

Islamabad, July 2 (IANS) A successor to replace Aziz Ahmed Khan, high commissioner to India, will be decided by this month-end. He has had three extensions and no further extension is likely, news reports said.

The names doing the rounds are present High Commissioner to Canada Shahid Malik, envoy in Germany Asif Aizadiee and Kamran Niaz, who is presently posted in Tokyo.

The News daily said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, who had facilitated Khan's extensions "is spearheading the nomination of Shahid Malik".

All the probables are well connected. "Shahid Malik is a career diplomat and brother-in-law of Senator Waseem Sajjad, leader of the house in the Senate. Asif Aizadiee is brother of well-connected federal secretary Shafqat Aizadee," the newspaper said.

A decision on designating a high commissioner to New Delhi will be taken after careful and thorough consideration by all seniors, The News said, quoting unnamed sources.

In other planned transfers, Islamabad may change its envoy in Colombo, where Col. Bashir Wali, a former top intelligence officer, completes his term. The post may be filled again by a non-diplomatic person.

Envoys to France, Malaysia, Jordan and Egypt, some of them with intelligence background, are also being changed, the newspaper said.

North Indian chief ministers to discuss priorities

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Falling prices of farm produce and the pace of industrialisation in north Indian states may figure prominently in the second round of regional consultations on an approach paper for the 11th plan starting Monday.

The two-day consultations will begin in the capital with an inaugural address by Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. It will be followed by a presentation on behalf of the Planning Commission on an approach paper for the 11th five-year plan.

The chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttranchal and Uttar Pradesh will then come up with their suggestions about the approach to the next five-year plan.

The 11th five-year plan is to be implemented from 2007 as the current fiscal year is the last year of the 10th five-year plan.

"The chief ministers are likely to emphasise the need for putting a mechanism in place in the 11th plan that could ensure reasonable returns on agricultural produce for farmers in their states," government officials said.

"The issue of shifting of industries from some states to the hill regions due to tax sops offered there is also likely to come up during the course of discussions," they added.

The chief ministers and Planning Commission members are also likely to discuss development measures required for hill areas.

"The focus of the meeting would be to reach a consensus on an approach towards correcting regional imbalances and raising the growth rate in the 11th plan," the officials added.

The Planning Commission is holding these consultations to incorporate suggestions of state governments in the final draft of the 11th five-year plan. The first round of talks was held in Mumbai last fortnight. Three more rounds of consultation are likely to be held this month.

Pakistani media welcomes visa package for Indians

Islamabad, July 2 (IANS) Pakistan's new visa policy with a "special package" for Indians has been welcomed by the Pakistani media, which said the boost given to people-to-people contacts would help in reducing tensions and disputes between the two neighbours.

The News daily said the new visa policy announced on Friday could work to mutual advantage of the two countries "if the overbearing security apparatus of both countries are adequately kept in check". It suggested that to improve bilateral ties, the two neighbours should do away with the system of visitors having to report to the local police, or at least reduce its enforcement.

Under the new visa package, Indian businessmen wishing to do business in the country will get a six-month multiple entry visa. Indian pilgrims would get a 15-day visa instead of the earlier five. The tourist visa for Indians has been enhanced from 14 days to 30. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar announced the new policy.

Thousands of Indians, both Hindus and Sikhs, visit Pakistan on pilgrimage every year.

In an editorial, The News said: "There will be no better substitute than this increased people-to-people exchange for reducing tensions and disputes between the two countries because it is only when one travels across the border and meets people from the other country that perceptions change and pre-conceived biases give way."

"One also hopes that India will reciprocate and allow similar concessions to Pakistanis and allow tourist visas as well."

"One cannot overemphasise the importance of ensuring that the liberalised visa regime for Indian nationals is implemented in spirit and is not confined to a policy announcement. The reason for such an insistence on our part is clear. In the past few years, many confidence-building measures have taken place between the two countries and most are related to increasing road, air and rail links."

It pointed out, however, that even these increased rail links have not brought about any significant increase in the number of Pakistanis travelling to India and vice versa.

"The condition that one must have relatives in the other country before a visa can be issued proves to be a hindrance to genuine tourists on either side of the border who want to explore each other's country; there are many of these especially in the generation born after the separation of East Pakistan in 1971," the editorial observed.

Calling the liberalised visa regime that aims at boosting tourism "overly ambitious", the edit points out: "Tourism will increase only when the country's battered image overseas improves, when the government takes measures to check rising extremism and fanaticism, especially in and around areas where many tourists frequent such as the Northern Areas where the general law and order situation needs to improve."

Pointing to the adverse travel advisories by the US and the European nations, it said that these advisories issued by most of Pakistan's allies to their citizens warning them against travel to the country "do not help, and nor does the poor quality of infrastructure and facilities on offer for tourists".

There has been a general welcome to the visa regime, including the package for India in the media.

However, singling out Muslim nations for stricter vigil to prevent the arrival of people connected with terrorism has been criticised. "There will be hardly a Muslim nation where there are no militants," The Nation newspaper pointed out.

Parties demand implementation of reservations

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) In an effort to step up efforts to implement reservations for other backward classes, political parties Sunday asked the government to pass the legislation in the coming monsoon session of parliament

"The discussion on increasing seats and infrastructure in educational institutions is only to delay the implementation of reservation. The government should bring the legislation in the monsoon session of parliament itself," said PMK founder president S. Ramadoss.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the party on the issue.

Members of other political parties also emphasised the need to introduce reservations in the private sector, media and judiciary along with higher education from 2007.

"We should implement reservations in one stroke and not in phases," said former prime minister V.P. Singh.

"Even if there is a need for increasing the number of seats, it should be done from the next year itself."

Portugal again prove lethal for England

Gelsenkirchen, July 2 (DPA) Portugal defeated England 3-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes here Saturday to gain a berth in the World Cup's semi-finals for the second time in their history.

Portugal first reached the last four 40 years ago and were then beaten by England. This time round, it was their turn to boot the Three Lions out of the tournament. The Portuguese will now meet the winners of Saturday evening's quarter-final match between Brazil and France.

After a scoreless game in which mistakes from both sides prevailed, it was star forward Cristiano Ronaldo's turn to fire in the decisive goal in the penalty shoot-out, which saw England's Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all miss from the spot.

Simao and Helder Postiga netted Portugal's two others, with man of the match Owen Hargreaves scoring England's only goal in Gelsenkirchen.

"I felt confident and I shot strong. I'm very happy because Portugal is in the next round," Cristiano Ronaldo told reporters when asked to comment about his penalty kick.

England dearly missed captain David Beckham, out injured in the 52nd minute, and played most of the second half and all of extra time with just 10 men after Wayne Rooney was shown a red card for stamping on an opponent.

With Luiz Felipe Scolari as coach, Portugal had previously eliminated England from the 2004 European champions, also thanks to a penalty shoot-out in that tournament's quarter-finals.

Scolari was also the man in charge of Brazil when the defending champions knocked England out of the World Cup four years ago.

Sven Goran Eriksson said his side had not deserved to lose.

"I'm sorry about losing on penalties. We practised penalties a lot, so I don't know what we more we could have done about it," Eriksson said. "But congratulations to Portugal."

Portugal came into the match without playmaker Deco and defender Costinha, both suspended, while Eriksson once again chose to field Wayne Rooney as the sole striker.

Mutual respect and temperatures close to 30 degrees Celsius may have played a role in front of a boisterous 52,000 capacity crowd at the AufSchalke stadium, as both teams moved at a leisurely pace for much of the first half.

Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly the most inspired Portuguese player, but he was being kept in check by his Manchester United team-mates, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville.

The game's first clear chance fell Portugal's way in the 12th minute, when midfielder Tiago unexpectedly found himself with the ball in front of goal on the developments of a Figo free kick, but failed to tap it into the back of the net.

England, for their part, clearly lacked firing power in attack. An example of this came in the 17th minute, when there was no one in sight to pick up an inviting pass inside the box from Lampard.

Three minutes later, the Chelsea player extended his leg to meet a deep ball from Gerrard but failed to make an impact.

There was a rare flash of class from Figo in the 39th minute, with the Inter Milan winger sending a curling shot from the edge of the box just wide of the opposite post.

With neither team able to break the deadlock during the first 45 minutes, England suffered a terrible blow shortly after the break, when Beckham was forced to limp off the pitch with an injury and was substituted by 19-year-old Aaron Lennon.

Television images showed the England captain in tears while being treated by doctors.

Matters turned even worse for England just five minutes later, when a frustrated Rooney was shown a direct card for stamping his foot into Ricardo Carvalho's private parts right in front of the Argentinian referee, Horacio Elizondo.

There had always been concerns about Rooney's temperament, and his behaviour here showed the 20-year-old still has a long way to go to maturity.

Eriksson brought in a striker, Peter Crouch, for a midfielder, Joe Cole, and the move at least added depth to England.

But Portugal never looked seriously concerned, and always seemed to be on the edge of scoring.

In the 78th, Figo forced Paul Robinson into a spectacular dive to save his goal. The English goalie showed real composure two minutes later, when he coolly blocked a Hugo Viana rifle.

And yet, despite Portugal looking the better side, it was England who actually came the closest to scoring in the dying minutes of regular time, with John Terry firing an easy ball high over the crossbar.

There was much of the same in extra time, with Portugal dominating possession and England trying to sting on the break with the added weight and height of Crouch up front.

Fatigue soon took over and the rest of extra time offered fans little more than a festival of errors from both sides.

Punjab medical entrance paper leak: five arrested

Chandigarh, July 2 (IANS) Five people, including a medical student, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the leakage of the Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) held Sunday, police said.

Four of the accused were arrested from Delhi late Saturday while one was nabbed from Chandigarh after they were found to be trying to sell the papers Friday and Saturday, police said.

They were caught with the original PMET paper in their possession hours before the test was to be conducted at centres across Punjab and Chandigarh for admission to medical colleges in Punjab.

The Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, which was conducting the examination, distributed a fresh set of test papers to candidates.

The five people arrested are identified as Anil Behlia, Devinder Singh, Ranjit Singh, Rajinder Kumar Sharma and Jatinder Singh, according to police officials investigating the paper leakage scam.

Raids were on at various places to find out the source of the leak, they said.

The university's registrar admitted the paper being sold by the accused was the same as the one meant to be distributed for the entrance examination, the officials said.

Rajasthan to add two more luxury tourist trains

Jaipur, July 2 (IANS) Buoyed by the success of the Palace on Wheels, Rajasthan is to launch two more trains - including a super luxury version - on similar lines.

Both ventures involve an investment of around Rs.900 million ($19.5 million), Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) managing director Rakesh Saini told IANS.

"The Palace on Wheels-2 will start its services by the end of September 2007. The train is expected to be ready by April next year," Saini said.

The other train, Royal Luxury Train, will involve an investment of Rs.600 million. It is expected be ready by September 2008.

"We are very optimistic about the Royal Luxury Train. With its exclusive state-of-the-art facilities, it is expected to outperform all the existing tourist trains running in the country," a tourism department official said.

The Royal Luxury Train would be a joint venture, with 60 percent of shares with East India Hotel (Oberoi group) and the remaining 40 percent equally distributed between RTDC and Indian Railways, official sources said.

Palace on Wheels-2 would travel on the same route as Palace on Wheels.

The Palace on Wheels fare is between Rs.100,000 and Rs.165,000 for a seven-night stay and the fare of the second version would be the same.

The Royal Luxury Train fare is expected to be over Rs.200,000 for a seven-night stay.

The fare for the Heritage on Wheels tourist train, which runs on metre gauge, is Rs.20,000 to 40,000 for a three-night stay.

The existing Palace on Wheels was launched on Jan 26, 1982, and makes for one of the world's most exciting rail journeys.

With everything taken care of - dining, accommodation and sightseeing - as well as organized shopping, there is nothing for the traveller to do but soak in the history of the land and experience the opulent life of a Maharaja.

The seven-day journey begins from New Delhi and ends there after passing through Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra.

The majority of travellers are foreigners and NRIs.

Palace on Wheels has 14 air-conditioned deluxe salons, each a combination of four twin-bedded chambers. It offers a range of facilities that include wall-to-wall carpeting and channel music, as also attached toilets with running hot and cold water and a shower.

Palace on Wheels offers an exotic array of cuisine, ranging from Continental to Chinese to Indian and Rajasthani in two lavish and beautifully done up restaurants - The Maharaja and The Maharani.

This apart, a well stocked bar serves wine, liquor and spirits of Indian and International make.

Rinpoche re-elected Tibetan 'PM'

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh), July 2 (IANS) Samdhong Rinpoche has been re-elected prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile for the second consecutive term with a landslide majority here.

Chief Election Commissioner Tashi Phuntsok declared the results of the elections late Saturday here, a day after the counting was completed and the election commission reported the final results to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Out of a total of 72,771 registered Tibetan voters living in refugee settlements in India and other countries, 32,205 cast their votes in the elections.

In the election that took place June 3 in this Himalayan town, Rinpoche got over 90 percent of the votes while his nearest rival Juchen Thubten Namgyal received only nine percent votes.

"My second term will be even more challenging, I would like to take forward the dialogue process initiated with the Chinese government to find a solution to the issue of Tibet," Rinpoche told reporters after the results were declared.

He said welfare of Tibetans living in refugee settlements in India and abroad and changes in the education policy for Tibetan educational institutions would be his top priorities.

The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in Dharamsala, is not recognised by any government in the world, including India that has given refuge to the Tibetans.

Will reformed Nepal Maoists influence Indian counterparts?

By Amulya Ganguli

It is too early to assess the long-term consequences of the decision of the Nepal Maoists to abandon their path of revolution and take part in parliamentary democracy. In India too several Maoist groups, known as Naxalites, pursued a similar course, forsaking armed struggle and joining mainstream politics.

But that didn't prevent some of their rivals from remaining underground and trying to overthrow the government by following the classical Maoist thesis of peasant warfare against the bourgeoisie.

The possibility of the Nepal Maoists too splitting in similar fashion, with one group joining mainstream politics and others continuing with their insurrection cannot be ignored. Much depends on how successful the Maoists prove to be in Nepalese parliamentary politics. In India, the fact that the overground Naxalites have remained a marginal force in the parliamentary arena may have persuaded their underground comrades to continue their armed rebellion.

In Nepal, it will all depend on how the Maoists fare once they begin to function openly. The first thing they will realize is that the rules of an open society are completely different from what they have been used to till now in their jungle and mountain hideouts where they were in virtual total command.

Now they will see that even if they win a fair number of parliamentary seats and even be in the government, they will have to operate within the parameters of a 'bourgeois' constitution. Therefore, there will undoubtedly be groups in their ranks who will chafe at these constraints and yearn for a return to the life of the outlaw.

It is in this context that the interaction between the Nepali Maoists and the Indian Naxalites will be of interest.

For the present, the latter, who can claim the title of seniority since their movement began way back in 1967, may not have been able to fully understand the compulsions of their Nepali comrades to change their line so dramatically. Their surprise may be all the more greater because the Naxalites may have believed that the Maoists in Nepal had succeeded to a large extent in 'liberating' the countryside in accordance with the classical Maoist doctrine and were ready to overwhelm the towns as well.

Their decision, therefore, to give up their revolution and turn to parliamentary politics must have mystified the Naxalites, who have been reared from the time of the 1967 uprising in Naxalbari in north Bengal on the Maoist description of parliament as a 'pig sty'. If the Maoists are now accepting the parliamentary system, the reason perhaps is the realization that the tactics outlined in the Maoist textbooks are no longer applicable in today's world.

For instance, not only are the armies of today vastly superior in terms of firepower and discipline than what the Maoists faced in China in conditions of a raging civil war and external aggression (as the Bolsheviks also did in Russia), the Marxist dogma itself is no longer a magnet for idealistic youths. The Indian Naxalites may not accept the argument that a war against the government cannot be won or that the doctrine has lost its appeal, but these are points on which the Nepal Maoists are likely to present their contrary views, if and when there are any contacts between them and the Naxalites.

It is not known for certain whether the two groups have been in touch all these years, but the presumption is that they were, given their ideological affinity and the geographical proximity between their areas of operation in the two countries. But in the aftermath of the dramatic turnaround in the stance of the Maoists, it is not impossible that the Naxalites will have experienced a sense of betrayal, especially when they may have felt that the ignominious capitulation of the monarch in Kathmandu should have paved the way for an even more aggressive onslaught on the government by the Maoists.

If the Maoists have been seemingly more pragmatic than the Naxalites, the reason perhaps is that they have almost always functioned on their own without any help from outside and, therefore, have a better grasp of the ground situation. In contrast, the Naxalites were initially egged on by Beijing, which described the Naxalbari uprising as 'spring thunder' and a 'prairie fire' marking the beginning of the Indian revolution. After that, Beijing hosted several Naxalite leaders when they went there for advice on the course of their movement.

After this initial encouragement, however, Beijing seemed to lose interest in the Naxalites in the early 70s. It was also the time when the Naxalites started splitting into several factions because of ideological confusion and intense police action, which included probably the first instances of 'fake encounters' when the police were suspected to have killed many of them in cold blood.

Although the Naxalites have recently succeeded in reviving their organization and even establish apparently secure bases in some areas of India, few believe that they pose a serious challenge to the government. Instead, they resemble the numerous bandit groups that have existed in the countryside from time immemorial and even boasted of several charismatic heroes (and heroines) as their leaders.

Maoists, on the other hand, have received little more from China than the idea of revolution. It was perhaps when they realized that this romantic dream would lead nowhere that they decided to opt for the parliamentary system. India's dominant Maoist group is, however, still harbouring the illusion of spearheading a revolution.

(Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com)

India becoming net food importer: UNDP

New Delhi, July 3 (IRNA)India, like other Asian countries, has been neglecting agriculture, the bedrock of the poor, and turning out to be a net importer under the free trade regime.

After many years as a food exporter, the Asia-Pacific region, particulary India, has turned to cheap imports as a result of its opening up to agricultural trade, a UNI report said here quoting UNDP's Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2006.

Richer farmers and agribusinesses are moving out of food production towards cultivation of more profitable commercial crops, which has profound implications for more than half of the billion people living in the region with a majority in India who are food insecure.

India, in the last decade, has largely neglected its agriculture sector with the serious decline in investment in the 1980s resulting in a 29 percent fall up until 1990, adversely affecting farm growth.

If India wants broad-based and equitable development, it will have to invest more in agriculture -- particularly for capital formation -- while providing price support, affordable loans, assistance with irrigation and marketing and help with storage, processing and distribution facilities, said the report released last week.

Yet, despite the impressive overall economic growth and improving levels of poverty in South Asia including India, public expenditures on agriculture have fallen sharply to as low as 1.9 percent in 1990.

By 2001 such expenditures rose by a mere 1.2 percent and the farm sector continued to support the vast majority of the sub- region's poor.

The report said that Asian governments, including India, need to make serious efforts at land reform in order to effect agriculture development.

In India, 71 percent of rural households are classified as "land poor," in Bangladesh 78 percent, and in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines more than one-third of their farm population.

India, like other Asian nations, is on the verge of facing a net food deficit in the near future from its food surplus status till recently.

Indian had maintained a surplus constantly for almost two decades while Bangladesh, Pakistan had acquired the food surplus status only in the 1990s.

Of Asian countries, China had a surplus till 2003 and the Philippines up to 1994. However, in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand the surpluses have gone.

On the other hand, liberalization of agricultural markets as a consequence of the WTO regime have helped reduce the food price, particularly food produced with the backing of subsidies in the US and the EU. But this does not seem to have led to any constant improvement in food security, the report added.

More countries now face food deficits and Asia, including India, still have more hungry people than any other region of the world -- over 510 million in 2002. This was because progress slowed in China, Thailand and Vietnam and in some countries the advances of the first half of the 1990s were actually reversed as in India, Indonesia and Pakistan.

The report underlined that opening up of markets of Indian and South Asian countries have not helped boost their farm trade to developed countries.

On the other hand, subsidies given by rich nations to the poor have had an adverse impact on developing countries, including India.

"Rice subsidies in the US, for example, which enabled it to maintain exports even during the 1990s when the world prices were falling, have affected the rice farmers all over the Asian region including Thailand, Vietnam and India," the report added.

Now, the report said, the transfer of advance farm technology and reserach has become difficult because of the patent regime.

India, which improved its wheat production from semi-dwarf improved varieties of wheat developed in Maxico and claimed that it brought about the Green Revolution, will face obstacles in crop improvement because of patent protection enjoyed by big seed multinationals like Monsanto.

20 Afghan militants killed by coalition forces

Kabul, July 3 (Xinhua) US-led coalition forces killed 20 suspected Taliban-linked militants in southern Afghanistan, said a US army statement Monday.

"Twenty extremists were killed after attacking a coalition patrol with small arms and mortar fire in the Sangin district of Helmand Province Sunday," the press release said.

The statement added that two coalition soldiers were also wounded in the exchange of fire, adding that their condition was stable.

Taliban militants are yet to make any comment on the claim.

The incident occurred amid increasing militancy in the southern region where Operation Mountain Thrust has been launched by the coalition forces to wipe out militants and strengthen government control in the area.

Taliban-led insurgency has claimed the lives of over 900 people since the beginning of the year.

Afghan army plans 'Wrath' offensive against militants

Kabul, July 3 (Xinhua) While the operation Mountain Thrust is going on in the volatile southern region to root out Taliban-linked militants, Afghan army would launch a new offensive soon, Afghanistan's Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said Monday.

"A new operation dubbed as Mountain Wrath would be launched soon to inflict more casualties on the militants," Wardak told journalists.

He declined to disclose the exact date of initiating the proposed operation or how many Afghan and US solders will participate in it.

However, he was hopeful that the security situation especially in the southern region where hundreds of Taliban operatives are said to have hidden would improve.

The US-led coalition forces in coordination with Afghanistan National Army (ANA) have conducted several anti-Taliban operations over the past nearly five years but failed to eliminate militants or curb militancy in the war-ravaged country.

According to official information, some 600 people with majority of them militants have been killed since the Mountain Thrust operation was launched in mid May.

Taliban-linked insurgency has claimed the lives of more than 900 people, including some 45 foreign soldiers, over the past six months.

African Union summit draws to a close

Banjul, July 3 (Xinhua) The seventh African Union (AU) summit came to a close in the Gambian capital with members welcoming the launch of an African court on human rights and agreeing on other key issues.

The two-day summit, which drew several African heads of state and government, ended Sunday. The union approved the launch of the African Court on Human and People's Rights.

It requested member states to extend all necessary support to the court to ensure that it starts functioning as soon as possible.

In June 1998, the protocol on the establishment of an African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights was adopted, and came into effect on January 2004. In July 2004, the AU assembly decided to merge the African Court on Human and People's Rights with the Court of Justice of the African Union.

The main purpose of the new court is to compliment and reinforce the functions of the commission on human rights. The court's authority will extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and any other human rights instruments ratified by African states.

The construction of the court is considered a new progress made by the African countries in human rights protection.

Further, the AU decided to suspend recognition of new regional economic communities (RECs) in the continent. The move is believed to be beneficial for enhancing the efficiency in the continent's integration process and economic development.

Rationalisation of RECs and regional integration were the themes of the summit held July 1-2.

The AU recognised eight key economic bodies and urged them to coordinate their policies among themselves and with the AU commission.

Army trooper, rebels killed in Kashmir gun battle

Srinagar, July 3 (IANS) Three people, including an army trooper, were killed and nearly ten houses gutted in a gun battle in a Jammu and Kashmir village that ended Monday afternoon.

Police said two holed up guerrillas and one subedar of the army were killed in the 20-hour long gun battle between surrounding troops and the guerrillas in Gamru village of Bandipora division in Baramulla district.

The fierce encounter between separatist guerrillas and the surrounding troops that started Sunday evening also resulted in the destruction of eight houses and a cowshed in the village, 57 km from summer capital Srinagar.

The army trooper, identified as Jasbir Singh, was killed Sunday when the guerrillas fired at the troops when they were challenged to surrender.

Two more troopers received injuries in the encounter.

"Bodies of the two militants were recovered from the debris of one of the houses that were gutted in the gun battle," said a police officer here.

At least 30 dead in Spanish metro crash

Valencia, July 3 (DPA) At least 30 people were feared dead Monday in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia after an underground metro train derailed and turned over in the city centre, an official said.

About a dozen people were reported seriously injured. The accident prompted the evacuation of 150 people from the underground.

The accident occurred as thousands of Roman Catholics had gathered here for the World Meeting of Families, which is to culminate with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI over the weekend.

The train derailed in a bend soon after leaving Jesus station. Reports said a part of the tunnel's roof might have collapsed.

The injured were being taken to various hospitals. A makeshift hospital was also set up in front of the underground station.

The area was sealed off to traffic. Service was suspended on two underground lines.

AU leaders meet to discuss Darfur

Saturday, July 1, 2006 (Banjul, Gambia): African leaders opened a summit on Saturday addressing their continent's many woes while offering a special welcome to the firebrand presidents of Iran and Venezuela, each seeking support for anti-American agendas.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh hailed the presence of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the summit of the 53-nation African Union.

African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare directed delegates' attention to the desperate situation in Darfur in Sudan, and Somalia, where a hard-line Islamist regime is increasingly holding sway.

He blamed rampant poverty for Africa's crises.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is from the West African nation of Ghana, told the leaders assembled in Gambia that the Darfur crisis is 'one of the worst nightmares in recent history.'

The leaders are expected to reiterate calls for Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers to replace an overtaxed African Union force.

Anti-US sentiment

But the weightier issues risked being overcome by the presence of the leaders of Iran and Venezuela, both fiery orators and foes of the United States.

Ahmadinejad's visit was seen as an attempt to bolster Iran in its standoff with the United States and Europe over its nuclear programme.

The Iranian president has made several high-profile trips to Asia, where he drew crowds of Muslims cheering Tehran for defying the West.

Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi also addressed Muslims at the mosque in Banjul. Ninety percent of Gambia's 1.6 (m) million people are Muslim, and Islam is a powerful force throughout much of Africa.

Venezuela, the world's ninth-largest oil producer, has talked to African oil producers about potential collaborations, though no agreements have been signed. But Chavez's appearance was more reflective of a broader desire to show solidarity with Africa.

The Venezuelan leader also is planning to visit Iran next month to discuss energy issues.

For the African Union, resolutions passed over the weekend aren't legally binding treaties and the body has little funding to pursue independent action. (AP)
(Source : ndtv.com)

Bangladesh military intelligence body roots for Islamic banks

Dhaka, July 3 (IANS) In a move described as "unprecedented", Bangladesh's military intelligence body has stepped in along with Islamist political parties to "prevent" the country's central bank from circulating new guidelines meant to monitor the transactions by Islamic banks.

The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the country's principal military intelligence organisation, has formally written to the finance ministry recommending that Bangladesh Bank (BB), which revised its guidelines recently, should further revise them "in line with the wishes of a focus group comprising Islamic economists, bankers and Shariah Council experts".

The Daily Star newspaper in a front page report called this "an unprecedented move", and that it was "going out of its jurisdiction". The DGFI is akin to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), with no role in banking operations.

The DGFI urged that BB should not modify or add any idea to the focus group recommended guidelines. "The report all along echoed the recommendations of various Islamic groups and advised the central bank on how to protect the interest and image of the four-party alliance government," the newspaper said, referring to the presence of the Islamic Oikya Jote in the ruling alliance.

"If the Bangladesh Bank refrains from circulating the [focus group-recommended] guidelines under pressure from some higher authority, the forces opposing the alliance government might take an initiative to implement the guidelines during the caretaker government's regime. That could create a negative impact on the alliance government during the next election," the DGFI report pointed out.

The central bank in February finalised the new guidelines for Islamic banking that makes the provision for Shariah Council optional. The guidelines also allow banks to decide whether they want to be a member of the Shariah Council.

According to the new guidelines, a bank may form a Shariah supervisory body to monitor its Islamic banking services but the board of directors of that bank will be accountable to the central bank for its overall operation.

Presently, banks have their own Shariah Councils and there has been a Central Shariah Council to look into whether Islamic banking as a whole is in compliance with the Islamic principles.

Before scripting the guidelines, BB formed a focus group comprising Shariah Council members and representatives from different Islamic banks. The Shariah members, at the meetings of the focus group, recommended making Shariah Council mandatory to keep exerting their influence like before.

However, when the central bank framed the final guidelines it did not accommodate the council's recommendations.

Hizb commander, two others killed in Jammu

Jammu, July 3 (IANS) A top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen and two others were killed in overnight gun battles with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, police said here Monday.

In the first incident in Jammu's mountainous Doda district, security forces acted on a tip off that there was a top Hizb terrorist hiding in the forests of Sharekhi, 170 km from here, and laid out a cordon for him late Sunday.

In the gun battle that followed, Tariq Usman Sheikh, alias Wafadaar, a resident of Doda who was a district commander of the Hizbul Mujahedeen, was killed. He had been active since 1998 and was involved in a number of killings.

In the second incident in the border district of Rajouri, two terrorists were killed in a gun battle that began past midnight Sunday in Tramda Nari area, about 190 km from here.

Additional security forces have been requisitioned in the area where the gun battle continues, a senior official said.

Include Christians and Muslims Dalits in the SC category : NCDHR

New Delhi, July 3 (IndianMuslims.info)National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) demanded that Christian and Muslim Dalits be included in the Scheduled Caste category and reservation and other benefits be extended to them.

65-70% of Christians in India have low caste origin. NCDHR noticed that even though Christian Dalits face same discrimination as Hindu Dalits they don't have access to the benefits that Hindu Dalits have. Similarly overwhelming majority of Indian Muslims have low caste background and high level of illiteracy make them most marginalized.

In a memorandum submitted by NCDHR to Justice Raganath Misra, Chairperson of National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities displayed concern that conversion to Christianity and Islam doesn't take away the discrimination that Dalits face. Removing of constitutional safeguards due to conversion is against the values of Secularism. Memorandum requests the Commission to recommend to the Government of India to bring Christian and Muslim Dalits under the purview of article 341 of the Constitution.

Designation of the two communities as Scheduled Caste will make them eligible for Reservation and other welfare programmes.

Meanwhile UP chapter of All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) demanded that the word "Dalit" imparts a sense of inferiority and therefore should be replaced by the word "moolniwasi". Moonniwasi which means "original inhabitants" is the appropriate word since most of the "Dalits" are the original inhabitant of India before Aryans came to India, argued BAMCEF.

Links:

NCDHR
All India BAMCEF

India on top after Lara's dismissal

By T.R. Ramakrishnan, Kingston (Jamaica), July 3 (IANS) Twenty-five minutes after lunch on the third day, Munaf Patel struck the blow that could well give India victory in the fourth Test at the Sabina Park here Sunday.

With the third ball of his third over after the break, Patel trapped West Indian captain Brian Lara leg before wicket. Earlier, Patel's new ball partner Sreesanth had dismissed both West Indian opening batsmen, Chris Gayle and Darren Ganga.

That left the West Indies, chasing 269 for victory, tottering at 29 for three. It seems uphill all the way for them now.

When play resumed Sunday morning India, 93 ahead in the first innings and 128 for 6 overnight in the second, were dismissed for 171 after about 75 minutes' play.

Their hopes of setting West Indies a 300-plus target depended on overnight batsmen captain Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble repeating their first-innings act, when they had put on 83 for the seventh wicket.

It didn't happen. Corey Collymore, bowling unchanged from the South End, took three wickets, including both Dravid and Kumble, in 8.1 overs to bring about a rather quick end to the Indian innings.

Dravid, who had batted magnificently on Saturday, played out three straight maidens from Collymore at the start. But even his steadfast defence was beaten by one from Collymore that scooted off the pitch, kept low and bowled him. He added just 6 to his overnight 62.

Some heroics from Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth - he clouted Taylor for a six - saw India add a few valuable runs before being all out for 171.

Sreesanth then gave India a dream start for the second time in the match. He dismissed Chris Gayle with the second ball of the first over, having him caught at slip as he tamely prodded at a shortish delivery. Gayle, playing in his hometown, bagged a pair in the match, he had been bowled by Sreesanth in the fourth ball of the first innings.

Lara and Ganga stayed together till lunch but in the fourth over after the break, Sreesanth struck again. A ball after Ganga had struck him for a boundary, he bowled him with a full-pitched delivery that Ganga played all over.

The next over, Patel struck the big blow, getting Lara with one that pitched straight and kept low, and trapped the West Indian captain plumb in front.

Batting in the fourth innings is always tough and especially so on this Sabina Park pitch. Lara was the key to West Indies' chase. His dismissal has swung the match India's way firmly.

SCOREBOARD

Day 3, Fourth Test, West Indies v India,

Sabina Park, Kingston (Jamaica)

India (1st innings): 200

West Indies (1st innings): 103

India (2nd innings):
Wasim Jaffer c Samuels b Taylor 1
Virender Sehwag lbw Taylor 4
VVS Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16
Rahul Dravid b Collymore 68
Yuvraj Singh c Lara b Collymore 13
Mohd Kaif b Collins 6
M.S. Dhoni b Taylor 19
Anil Kumble c Bravo b Collymore 10
Harbhajan Singh c Lara b Collymore 9
S Sreesanth c Lara b Taylor 16
Munaf Patel not out 0
Extras (b 4, lb 3, w1, nb 1) 9
Total (65.1 overs) 171

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-49, 4-63, 5-76, 6-122, 7-141, 8-154, 9-171

Bowling:
Pedro Collins 22-8-61-1 (1nb)
Jerome Taylor 15-4-45-4
Corey Collymore 24.1-9-48-5
Dwayne Bravo 4-1-10-0 (1w)

West Indies (2nd innings):
Chris Gayle c Laxman b Sreesanth 0
Darren Ganga b Sreesanth 16
Brian Lara lbw Patel 11
Ramnaresh Sarwan batting 2
Extras 0
Total (for 3 wkts) 29

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-27, 3-29

Bowling:
Sreesanth 6-0-16-2
Patel 4.3-1-11-1
Harbhajan Singh 1-0-2-0

India, Spain to strengthen cooperation against crime

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero began talks here Monday after his arrival here Sunday evening on a four-day visit, the first by a head of government from that country in 13 years.

India and Spain are to ink agreements on providing legal assistance in criminal matters and on institutionalising their political dialogue.

The agreements will be signed after delegation level talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who arrived here Sunday evening on a four-day visit.

A memorandum of understanding will also be signed between Spain's Technology Development Board (TDB) and India's Centre for Development of Industrial Technology (CDIT).

Zapatero Monday laid a wreath at the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. During the day, he called on Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, while Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal and Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma called on him.

He addressed the India-Spain Business Meet here, after which apex business associations Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) jointly hosted a business lunch for him.

Zapatero leaves for Pune Tuesday to visit Indo-Spanish joint venture companies. The visit comes on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, a 50-member delegation of businesspersons and a large media contingent are accompanying the Spanish prime minister.

India's economic linkages with Spain are growing - bilateral trade has increased from around $900 million in 2000 to $2.7 billion in 2005. There is a gradually growing trend of setting up of Indo-Spanish joint ventures in India. Some major Indian companies in automotive, pharmaceutical and IT sectors are present in Spain.

Israel army enters Gaza Strip

Tel Aviv/Gaza, July 3 (DPA) Israeli troops entered the northern Gaza Strip early Monday with a limited force to search for tunnels and mines, said an army spokesman.

Israel media quoted eyewitnesses with reports of soldiers occupying Palestinian houses in Beit Hanun; the army spokesman however did not confirm the reports.

The movement into northern Gaza is the first time Israeli troops have entered the area since strikes against Gaza were launched to secure the release of a soldier abducted last week.

Earlier, the Israeli air force hit two targets, a building in Gaza City used by the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and a warehouse in Beit Hanun allegedly used by the militant group to store short-range missiles, according to Israeli reports.

Two Palestinian militants who were members of Hamas' armed wing the al-Qassam Brigades were killed Sunday in an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers east of Rafah town on the southern Gaza Strip.

Palestinian security sources reported that a group of Hamas militants reached Gaza airport east of the town, and clashed with Israeli army forces, who had incurred into eastern Rafah several days ago and seized the airport area.

Kuwait's Jazeera Airways starts operations to India

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Kuwait's only private airline Jazeera Airways Monday launched its direct low-cost flights from Kuwait City to New Delhi and Mumbai.

"The Middle East sector is the largest market for India - 34 percent of India's total outbound travel is to the Middle East." Marwan Boodai, chief of Jazeera Airways, told reporters here.

"India is a strategic market for Jazeera Airways and our expansion to India marks a major milestone on the development of Jazeera Airways," he said.

Jazeera Airways is owned by Kuwait Public Shareholding Company set up in 2004 and has grown from servicing five destinations to 10 today - Dubai, Beirut, Amman, Bahrain, Aleppo, Luxor, Damascus, Alexandria, New Delhi and Mumbai.

"We entered India before Pakistan and Bangladesh because of market needs. The Indian expatriates form 20 percent of Kuwait's population," said Bodai, adding that this was the airline's first venture in the sub-continent.

"We plan to bring more business in the Indian market. We are speaking with the concerned officials to add more destinations."

The airline also announced the addition of a new Airbus A-320 to its fleet of aircraft.

According to the airline's officials, India's travel trade industry - worth $38.8 billion and projected to grow to $90.4 billion by 2014 - ranks third in growth after China and Motenegro.

However, only two percent of the Indians travel by air. Thus the airlines, based on a low-fares business model, plans to address the Indian middle class, that is growing in terms of propensity to consume.

Lalu signs pact with Italian firm

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who is in Rome on an official visit, Monday signed a pact with Italian state-owned Ferrovie Dello Stato SpA for technical collaboration.

The minister is halfway through his 15-day tour of European countries to study the high speed transport systems that has already taken him to Britain, France and Austria.

Referring to the deal with Ferrovie Dello Stato SpA, an official said: "This is part of our efforts to source technology to improve the safety aspects of Indian Railways through better signalling and other aspects. The cooperation memorandum with the Ferrovie Dello Stato would help us in accessing new technology to improve passenger safety."

After Italy, the minister, who is accompanied by several high-level railway officials, would be visiting Germany before winding up his first official trip overseas to study operation and maintenance of high-capacity and high-speed bullet trains.

"While India has completed the feasibility of setting up a high speed railway corridor from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, the project is yet to takeoff due to safety and cost concerns. The railway minister will be able to study first hand the operational aspects of such high speed trains as also seek collaboration," the official said.

In Britain, the railway minister had meetings with several important transport officials, including the CEO of Network Rail and managing director of London Rail. In France, he visited the most advanced high speed TVG Train Depot and held talks with the chairman of the French Railway and the International Union of Railways.

A visit to Italian railway facilities, a trip on the high capacity train to Naples and a meeting with the chairman of Deutche Bahn (German railway) are on his itinerary.

After turning the railways around with an annual profit of Rs.113.50 billion, the railway minister is keen to invest the surplus funds to upgrade the system to become the best in the world, sources said.

For achieving this vision, technical and financial inputs are essential inputs, underlined railway officials.

Landslide kills at least 10 in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 3 (Xinhua) At least 10 people died and many missing after a landslide struck three houses near a Pakistani hilly resort in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Meanwhile, private TV channels have put the death toll at 12, the state-run PTV reported Monday.

Locals said that some 27 people were buried under the rubbles of the houses after they were hit by a heavy landslide, caused by heavy rains and floods in Gail, a village in the NWFP.

Two persons were pulled out alive from the debris.

The rescue workers recovered 10 bodies while 15 are still missing.

According to police, flooding by rainwater caused the powerhouse dam breach resulting in the fatal landslide.

Police rescuers and local villagers were searching for the missing people but there was no word on their fate.

The area received a heavy rain overnight, which also broke an irrigation canal, causing floods.

Metropolis Health plans Middle East hub in Dubai

By Lola Nayar, New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Leading diagnostics service provider Metropolis Health Services (India) plans to make Dubai a hub for offering referral services in the Middle East.

In a joint venture with United Arab Emirates' (UAE) major conglomerate Al Ghurair Group, Metropolis is set to begin formal operations of its first laboratory in Dubai in August, though the soft launch took place last month.

"We have already set up a 5,000 sq ft laboratory at Jumeirah in Dubai and are now looking at setting up a much bigger laboratory as in Mumbai. This state-of-the-art laboratory will be a referral hub for the Middle East," said Metropolis Health Services managing director G.S.K. Velu.

"The hub will offer a range of services like genetic mapping, molecular biology and HLA (Histocompatibility Antigens) and tissue typing and other tests that are currently sent from the UAE to European countries for diagnosis and take a lot of time," Velu told IANS.

"We plan to do about 90 percent of the tests in Dubai and the remaining in Mumbai," he added.

Operating a chain of diagnostics centres - 18 laboratories and 250 sample collection centres - across the country, Metropolis has several major hubs, including in Mumbai, Delhi and Noida that offer pathology, radiology and wellness services.

It is the only laboratory in Chennai accredited by the US Consulate for H1 visa screening.

With ICICI Venture having recently picked up a minority equity in the company for Rs.350 million, Metropolis is planning to invest Rs.1 billion over the next two years to expand its operations within and outside the country to raise its revenue from Rs.750 million currently to over Rs.5 billion by 2010.

"That is the time when we may possibly look at going public (make an initial public offering)," said Velu.

The Mumbai-headquartered company's overseas plans include more management contracts. It has already firmed up plans to provide services through laboratories to be set up in five new hospitals being planned by the Al Ghurair group in the UAE.

"The first of the hospitals being set up by the Al Ghurair group at Ras-al-Khaimah (RAK) will become operational in September. We will be managing the lab in not only this but all the other four hospitals planned. Two other hospitals will become operational in Dubai within two years," said Velu.

"We are bullish about prospects in the Middle East and Africa, and are in talks with hospitals in South Africa. We are also studying several opportunities in Britain, including through acquisition of a lab chain."

The company began its overseas foray in January in a tie-up with the Nawaloka Group of Sri Lanka. It is now operating the Nawaloka Metropolis Laboratories through a presence in the Nawaloka hospital and medical centres.

It is also in the process of finalising management contracts for hospital laboratories in Kuwait and Bahrain, while talks are in progress with more hospitals in the UAE and other Middle East countries.

Diversifying its operations, Metropolis is getting into the area of clinical trials as site managers for pharmaceutical companies.

Declining to elaborate on the firm's involvement in clinical trials, Velu said they are one of the focus areas of the company, which has a considerable presence in the southern states and is now looking at expansion of facilities in the north through another radiology, pathology and wellness hub in Gurgaon by September.

Mittal's super yacht to be badge of business success

Hamburg, July 3 (DPA) Super yachts like that reportedly ordered by Indian-born steel baron Lakshmi N. Mittal are a badge of power, often built amid intense secrecy so that the proud owner can personally flaunt his new plaything to an astonished world.

Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who owns the Chelsea football club, reportedly owns three. He took a 115-m-long Pelorus to the World Cup in Germany, docking it on the Baltic and using the vessel's helicopter to fly off to the games.

There has been no independent confirmation yet of a report by the German weekly magazine Wirtschaftswoche that Mittal is the customer for Project Number 971 at the Hamburg shipyard Blohm and Voss, one of the two German yards that dominate the business.

The 94-m vessel would cost billionaire Mittal nearly 160 million euros ($200 million), the magazine said.

Mittal's bid for the world's number-two steel group Arcelor has won approval from the Luxembourg company's board. It now looks set to succeed after shareholders voted down a rival bid from Severstal Friday.

The shipyard, a unit of engineering group Thyssen Krupp, reportedly won the order thanks to its superb secrecy. It is set to deliver the vessel in spring 2009 after building it in a covered dock that is in the heart of Hamburg, but away from prying eyes.

The boat's interior decoration would be by London design firm Michael Leach, which specialises in all-glass bars and the like. As with Pelorus, the vessel will be provided with its own helicopter. A heli-deck with elevator will lower the aircraft below the main deck.

Blohm and Voss, which also builds warships, routinely refuses to answer media queries about its super-yacht construction, with one employee saying, "This is even more secret than defence orders."

Even the Blohm and Voss website offers far less information than that of its rival, the Bremen shipyard Luerssen, which publishes dozens of images of the flashy vessels.

Luerssen, which also makes naval craft, built the Rising Sun, which at 138 m is rated by the New York-based magazine Power & Motoryacht as the world's biggest privately owned super-yacht.

A year ago, Mittal was reportedly shown three times around the Rising Sun, delivered in 2004 to US billionaire Larry Ellison. That led to speculation Ellison was already tired of his toy, but no sale had been reported.

The Indian newspaper Telegraph said Mittal already has a yacht, which is sometimes used by his son, Aditya Mittal.

Super-yachts - the biggest of the category are dubbed "mega-yachts" - have little in common with sports yachts as they have no sails. They have large crews of both sailors and stewards.

While thousands of people turn up to stare at these ultimate badges of power when they visit port and jet-setters vie for invitations to parties on board, super-yacht owners miss out on the camaraderie of boating.

At marinas such as Port Grimaud in the south of France, mere multi-millionaires compare their assets every summer as bikini-clad beauties sun themselves on the decks of huge white launches.

But mega-yachts do not fit in many marinas and must often anchor offshore in splendid isolation, lowering tenders to shuttle visitors on board. In the Baltic port of Luebeck last month, Ambramovich docked at an historic quay.

The German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported that Abramovich was said to be shopping in Hamburg for a fourth boat.

At 150 m it would nearly rival the unfinished, 160-m Dubai, which is being fitted out in the Gulf for Dubai's crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum after a stop-start history. Royal yachts are excluded from the Power & Motoryacht rankings.

The newspaper said the Russian had been piqued to hear that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, whose 127-m, 2003 super-yacht Octopus rates as the world's second biggest private boat, was also planning to upgrade to a 150-m yacht.

The unconfirmed report in the newspaper said that Abramovich, not to be outdone, immediately increased the size of his order to 160 metres too.

NASA postpones Discovery launch again

Washington, July 3 (Xinhua) Inclement weather forced NASA to delay the launch of space shuttle Discovery for another 48 hours, and the next launch attempt is planned for Tuesday.

"We've concluded that we're not going to have a chance to launch today," launch director Mike Leinbach announced to his team Sunday.

"Our next attempt will take place Tuesday, with lift-off scheduled to occur at 2.38 p.m. EDT," he said.

The weather is expected to improve, although rain is still in the forecast.

On Saturday, the threat of nearby storms had caused NASA to postpone the mission less than 10 minutes before lift-off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The space agency has until July 19 to deliver German astronaut Thomas Reiter to the International Space Station (ISS).

Discovery is to deliver water, food and clothing to the station. Astronauts are to carry out urgent repairs on the ISS and test new technology for in-space repairs of the shuttle.

The shuttle programme had been grounded since Discovery's July 2005 flight because of continuing problems with shedding foam on takeoff.

New rail link China's one-way ticket to Tibet

By Mayank Chhaya, In a powerful, albeit symbolic, assertion of its unassailable control over Tibet, China has inaugurated the 2,500-mile (over 4,000 km) railway link between Beijing and Lhasa. With that it has railroaded any surviving hope of Tibet's independence.

Unquestionably an engineering marvel, the railway line rises to the dizzying altitude of up to 16,500 feet - making it the world's highest. Quite like the British colonial masters in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, China is using railway as an instrument of control. The line also makes real all the worst fears of the Tibetan community-in-exile in India, including its illustrious leader, the 14th Dalai Lama.

The $4.2-billion project is expected to dramatically speed up the Sinicization of Tibet some five and half decades after the Red Army marched into Lhasa practically unchallenged. That Beijing chose the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party on July 1 for its inauguration added some extra dose of symbolism if any more was needed.

Built almost entirely by Han Chinese workers, a fact acknowledged by Chinese officials, the railway is being projected by Beijing as a sign of its commitment to Tibet's economic progress under its rule. While at one level that claim is fairly credible, in the broader context of Tibet's future the railway line is like a dagger right in the middle of the heart.

The Dalai Lama's extraordinary struggle since his exile in 1959 to keep the issue of Tibet alive in the international consciousness has suffered many debilitating blows over the decades but none so grievous as the rail link. China's policy of integration and incorporation of Tibet into the national mainstream in utter disregard of historical truths has accomplished a decisive milestone.

When the train, flagged off by Chinese President Hu Jintao, crossed the 16,737-foot high Tanggula pass it became the highest point traversed by a train in the world. If that and the fact that it cut through hundreds of miles of permafrost do not underscore the determination of the Chinese government never to let go of Tibet as a territory, then what does?

On the one hand the rail line flattens any immediate possibilities of the Tibetans realising their long-cherished dream of independence or even autonomy; on the other it also brings Beijing's military might precariously close to India.

Notwithstanding the current bonhomie between the two Asian giants, China clearly understands the strategic importance of ensuring efficient communication between the mainland and the "roof of the world". Apart from giving Beijing the ability to transport troops and ammunition, some experts fear it would facilitate an easy passage of intercontinental and intermediate range missiles right to the border with India.

It is possible to argue that a rail line that could carry troops and ammunition could as easily carry traders and goods, but given China's long-term thinking it would be unwise to believe that Beijing would only do the latter.

There have been several reports of widespread protests by the exiled Tibetans against the rail line. However, such protests have been reduced to a sideshow as China has overwhelmed the debate over Tibet in a characteristically cavalier fashion.

A lot has been said about how Tibet's unique ecology has come under assault as pressure from China grows to make the territory economically viable. More tragic than that though is the way the indigenous Tibetans have been pushed to the margins of development.

It is an irony that the rail line commenced even as the Dalai Lama has been engaged in giving special teaching to Buddhist aspirants visiting from mainland China. Unlike the impact of the rail line, which will be felt immediately, that of the Dalai Lama's Buddhist teachings is necessarily slow and not easily visible.

(Mayank Chhaya is a US-based journalist and author whose authorised biography "Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic" is being published worldwide in January, 2007. He can be reached at chooki6@yahoo.com.)

Pakistan Islamic group's MPs submit resignations

Islamabad, July 3, IRNA, Members of parliament from Pakistan's main Islamic group on Sunday handed over their resignations to party chief as part of preparations for anti-President Musharraf movement, the party chief said.

"We have got resignations from all our members of parliament. We have asked members of opposition parties to collect resignations from their lawmakers," Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed said.

All the opposition parties will make a collective decision to quit assemblies, Ahmed told a demonstration in Islamabad.

All members of parliament from Jamaat-e-Islami and its ministers in North West Frontier Province also participated in the rally.

A group of the party women parliamentarians, observing veil, also attended the rally.

The demonstrators were chanting slogans against President Musharraf and were demanding his resignation.

'Army is fighting with the people in Waziristan tribal region and Baluchistan province', 'Price-hike has broken the back of the poor', 'The people are fed up with lawlessness' were some of the slogans.

General Pervez Musharraf is responsible for all ills, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said.

He lashed out at General Musharraf for his statement that he will be impartial if the United States attacked Iran, adding that General Musharraf is siding with Americans in their war in Afghanistan.

"I appeal to all clerics and imams to ask for General Musharraf's resignation," he said.

Ahmed said that a mass movement will force General Musharraf to step down, saying that his party will not accept any other military general after General Musharraf's exit.

Pakistani seminaries threaten agitation over visa denial

Islamabad, July 3 (IANS) A Pakistani organisation of Islamic seminaries has threatened a countrywide movement against the government unless it restores the study visa facility for foreign students at the madrassas.

The Ittehad Tanzeem Deeni Madaris (ITMD) secretary (coordination), Qari Hanif Jalundhari, termed the new Pakistani visa policy that seeks to keep out foreign students as "immoral, brazen and unconstitutional".

"We vehemently condemn the act of withdrawal of the visa facility for the students of Islamic seminaries," he said, adding, "We reject the ban on the entry of foreign students in Pakistan since it is an anti-Islamic act," Jalundhari said.

Under the new visa policy announced last week, Pakistan has sought to curb the entry of foreign students and move away from its image of being a producer and exporter of Islamist militancy worldwide.

There are 700 foreign students at the madrassas who have not left despite orders issued last December, according to official figures.

However, these figures do not include thousands of Afghan youths from the refugee camps located in Pakistan and foreigners of different nationalities who are sponsored by the Al Qaeda.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar who announced the visa policy said the idea was to project a "soft" image of Pakistan and attract foreign tourists.

According to Nizam-i-Mustafa Party secretary-general Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who opposed the new policy, one million students are getting free education, lodging and boarding at over 12,000 religious institutions of four schools of thought in the country. The administration is even providing them with free of cost clothes and shoes.

Palestinian militants set deadline for Israel

Gaza, July 3 (Xinhua) Three Palestinian militant groups, who abducted an Israeli soldier, have set Tuesday as the deadline for Israel to meet their demand of freeing Palestinian prisoners.

The three militant groups, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades which is Hamas' armed wing, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and the Islamic Army, threatened that Israel would "bear full responsibility for future consequences", without specification.

"With the Zionist enemy's military aggressions, we give it until 6.00 a.m. (0300 GMT), Tuesday, July 4 (to meet our demands)," said a joint statement issued Monday.

The statement also said: "If the Zionist enemy does not meet our humanitarian demands, we will regard this case as closed."

The militants had kidnapped an Israeli soldier during a cross-border raid on June 25. In two previous statements, they had demanded that Israel release Palestinian women and minors; and 1,000 Palestinian, Arab and Muslim prisoners in Israeli jails in return for information on the abducted soldier.

Israel has ruled out a prisoner swap, saying it will not negotiate with the Palestinian militants over the fate of the kidnapped 19-year-old Gilad Shalit.

Israeli troops continued a broad ground offensive in the Gaza Strip Monday, their first major operation there since Israel pulled out forces and settlers from it last summer after 38 years of occupation.

Plan panel seeks private sector participation in 11th plan

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahulwalia Monday emphasised the need for setting up realistic targets for the 11th five-year plan with the participation of the private sector.

While aiming at a growth rate of 9-9.5 percent during the 11th plan covering 2007-2012, a major effort would be required to fill the existing gaps in education, health and agriculture, Ahluwalia told the chief ministers of the northern states in his inaugural address at the second round of regional consultations here on the approach paper for 11th plan.

The chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh were participating in the two-day consultation process that began Monday.

The private sector has to play a major role in terms of increasing investment while the state governments would have to focus on improving infrastructure, Ahluwalia added.

The issue of prices of farm produce and need for restoring the regional balance in the process of industrialisation was raised by several chief ministers.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav criticised the central government's recent move to allow import of sugar and wheat.

He said sufficient quantities of wheat and sugar were available in the domestic market and the government's move would only affect local farmers.

Ahluwalia called for a sound procurement policy along with the minimum support price mechanism to take care of farmers' as well as consumers' interests.

Yadav along with Haryana Chief Minister B.S. Hooda also raised the issue of shifting of industries from their states to the hill states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh due to tax sops offered for setting up industries there.

However, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the underdeveloped hill states required such incentives for development.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit pointed out the need for taking steps to check migration of people from other states into Delhi. She stressed the need for making provisions for a low-cost housing policy and a flexible land use policy for Delhi due to the pressure of large-scale population growth.

The Planning Commission is holding these consultations to incorporate suggestions of the state governments in the final draft of the 11th five-year plan. The first round of talks was held in Mumbai last fortnight. Three more rounds of consultation are likely to be held this month.

President Kalam in Orissa on three-day visit

Bhubaneswar, July 3 (IANS) Amid heavy rains President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam began a three-day visit to Orissa during which he will inaugurate an eye institute, a cancer research unit and also visit a defence research establishment in the state.

The president arrived at the Biju Patnaik airport here at about 8.50 p.m. Sunday in a special flight. He was received by Orissa Governor Rameswar Thakur, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and top state officials and ministers, officials said Monday.

From the airport, Kalam went straight to the Bhubaneswar Eye Institute (BEI), which he is to inaugurate Monday. He interacted with the employees of the institute that is located on the outskirts of the city.

BEI is a specialised eye care centre set up by Hyderabad-based V. Prasad Eye Institute with financial support of Australian mining major, BHP Billiton.

The institute will offer specialised medical, diagnostic and surgical care for cataract, glaucoma and squint treatment, an official of the institute said.

Later on Monday, Kalam will travel by helicopter to Behrampur, in Ganjam district, 150 km from here. He is to attend the platinum jubilee celebrations of the City High School in Behrampur.

He will later preside over the silver jubilee celebrations of Mahuda Pharmaceutical College nearby and inaugurate the Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Memorial cancer chemotherapy research unit set up by the college.

On Tuesday, the president will head to the coastal district of Bhadrak, 150 km away, where he will meet top officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

He is scheduled to leave for Delhi the same afternoon from the state capital.

"Security has been beefed up in all the places Kalam is scheduled to visit," a police official told IANS.

The state is witnessing heavy monsoon rains since Sunday night.

Schumacher wins US Grand Prix

Indianapolis, July 3 (DPA) Michael Schumacher led Felipe Massa in the second straight Ferrari one-two at the US Formula One Grand Prix and gained lots of ground on championship leader Fernando Alonso.

The Renault driver Alonso failed to make the podium for the first time in 11 months, having to settle for fifth place in a race Sunday that saw seven cars crash in the opening lap and only nine of 22 cross the finish line.

Schumacher got his third win of the season, his fourth at Indy in a row and 87th overall in front of early leader Massa and Giancarlo Fichella in a Renault in sweltering heat on the famous speedway.

Schumacher improved to 69 points from 10 of 18 races, cutting Alonso's lead from 25 to 19 points. Alonso now has 88 points. A victory is worth 10 points.

"Everything was spot on. With felipe alongside, it is a dream result and a big step towards the title. We gained very important points," said Schumacher.

"We can only hope to keep some of the edge and transform it into the next races. It is not impossible. I think we can do it. There are still 80 points to give away."

Alonso said: "We knew Ferrari would be very competitive," adding, "the power was inferior. Team boss Flavio Briatore said: "We knew it would be tough here, but at least we are taking home some points."

Alonso came to Indianapolis with six season wins (among them the last four races) and second place in the other three 2006 races. He made the podium in 15 races since finishing 11th at the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31, 2005.

Sunday's race saw nine cars finish, but the field was reduced to 15 cars due to the first-lap pile-ups.

Nick Heidfeld escaped unharmed when his BMW lifted into the air for a double roll into the gravel after Kimi Raikkonen lost control over his McLaren-Mercedes when hit by teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.

"I am fine. This was my first tumble of such a kind. It looked worse than it was," said Heidfeld.

Raikkonen said he was "very disappointed" and did not further want to comment on his teammate Montoya, who said himself that Raikkonen "slammed on the brakes".

Mark Webber, Christian Klien, Scott Speed and Franck Montagny were also involved and Briton Jenson Button lasted only five laps longer due to damage from the pile-ups, which brought out the safety car to allow the wreckage to be cleared off the track.

Up front, Massa won the start against Schumacher, with Alonso storming from fifth to third and even almost passing Schumacher before the safety car phase.

But Alonso dropped to fourth behind Fisichella in the 13th lap while Schumacher regained the lead in the 31st lap for victory in 1 hour 34 minutes 35.199 seconds for the 73-lap race over 306.016 kilometres, with Massa's second place his best career result.

Behind the top three and also in the points were Jarno Trulli in a Toyota, Alonso, Barrichello in a Honda, David Coulthard in a Red Bull and Vitantonio Liuzzi in a Toro Rosso.

The next race is the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours on July 16.

Sonia Gandhi accepts Bhajan Lal's resignation

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday accepted the resignation of veteran Congressman and former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal as state party chief.

"The Congress president Sonia Gandhi has accepted the resignation of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief with immediate effect," party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Upset over being constantly "ignored and humiliated" within the party, Lal has faxed his resignation letter to Gandhi Saturday.

Sources in the Congress party claimed the 71-year-old veteran leader, who has sent his resignation letter without signing it, wanted Gandhi to invite him for a talk and offer a "compromise formula."

"The (party) president's decision to accept the resignation would be a major blow to him," a party leader, who does not want to be identified, told IANS.

Lal has been disillusioned with the party leadership since the 2005 assembly election, when he led the party to a landslide victory. However, the national leadership refused to anoint him as the chief minister. Bhupinder Singh Hooda, then an MP, was given the coveted job.

Lal's son Kuldeep Bishnoi, who, according to his supporters, was supposed to get a top post after his father 'sacrificed' his claim for the chief minister's post, created a furore in the state when he went public against Hooda's decision to allot land for Reliance Industries Ltd to establish a special economic zone (SEZ) in the state.

Bishnoi, Congress MP from Bhiwani, had last month criticised the Rs.250 billion deal saying it was against the interests of the state and its farmers. Bishnoi had been served a show cause notice by the Congress a fortnight ago over this.

Incidentally, Bhajan Lal's elder son Chander Mohan is the deputy chief minister in the Hooda government.

Bhajan Lal, whose frequent switching of parties led to the coinage of the term "Aya Ram, Gaya Ram (metaphor for switching sides frequently)", led all his Janata Party legislators to the Congress fold in 1980 after Indira Gandhi came back to power as prime minister, overnight transforming the state government into one held by the Congress.

Bhajan Lal also figured in an infamous bribery scandal of the 1990s in which MPs of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha were allegedly paid huge sums to vote in parliament for the government of then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.

Bhajan Lal first became chief minister in June 1979 and held office till July 1985. He was again chief minister from July 1991 to May 1996.

Spanish prime minister invites Indian investment

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Monday invited Indian companies to forge joint ventures with Spanish firms and assured his government's full support to facilitate investments.

"There is going to be an explosion of Spanish interest in India in the next few years as India and Spain are likely to come together to face the global challenges," Zapatero said told a gathering of Indian business leaders.

He was addressing a meeting jointly organised by three apex trade and industry associations, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

The Spanish prime minister, on a four-day visit here that began Sunday, is accompanied by a trade delegation comprising leaders of Spanish business and industry.

Seeking mutually beneficial ties between the two countries, Zapatero said Spain could learn from India in the field of IT and biotechnology while India could take advantage from the know-how Spain has in infrastructure.

He also expressed interest in India's expertise in the fields of education and technology that had become the main drivers of the country's economic growth, saying the two countries would sign bilateral agreements in these fields.

Zapatero announced that an institute to promote the Spanish language would be set up in India, while noting that a Spanish bank had already opened its branch here.

Kapil Sibal, minister for science and technology, pointed out that India could provide its technology in fields like the leather sector where it had developed eco-friendly technologies.

Supreme Court upholds stay on Godhra report

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The central government Monday suffered a setback when the Supreme Court declined to lift a stay against the tabling in parliament of a panel's report that concluded the Godhra train carnage of 2002 was an accident.

A bench of judges K.G. Balakrishnan and D.K. Jain, however, issued notice to Neelkanth Tulsidas Bhatia, a petitioner in the Gujarat High Court, on a special leave petition filed by the central government against the order.

The bench after hearing Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam also issued notice to the other respondents - the commissioner of railway safety, union home ministry, law ministry, the Banerjee Committe, the Nanavati-Shah Commission and the Gujarat government.

The U.C. Banerjee Committee was constituted by the railway ministry in 2004 to investigate into the tragedy at the Gujarat town of Godhra where a burning of a compartment of the Sabarmati Express had left 59 passengers dead on Feb 27, 2002.

The tragedy had triggered communal violence in the state that claimed at least 1,000 lives, as the state's investigating agencies charged about 130 Muslims of the town of hatching a conspiracy to kill the passengers.

The Nanavati-Shah commission was constituted by the state government to investigate the Godhra tragedy as well as the ensuing violence.

Subramaniam pleaded for staying the high court order of March 20. But counsel for Bhatia said that if stay was granted the writ petition before the high court would become infructuous and the purpose of filing the petition would be lost.

He said the matter had already been listed for final disposal and the high court should be allowed to dispose off the petition.

Taking note of the argument, the bench refused to stay the order but issued notice.

The high court had held illegal the appointment of the Banerjee Committee as it was appointed to look into the same incident at Godhra, for which Gujarat had appointed the Nanavati-Shah commission.

The central government argued that the high court order infringed upon the power and privileges of parliament including those of holding discussion on an issue of public importance in the house.

It said the terms of reference of both the commissions clearly show that there was no overlapping.

Contrary to the law laid down by the apex court, the high court had also came to the conclusion that the pending trial of criminal cases would be prejudiced if the report of the Banerjee Committee was allowed to be published.

In its interim report, the railway ministry's panel had concluded that the tragedy was merely and accident and there was no evidence to show that a mob set the bogey on fire.

Survivors of 7/7 attacks rebuild their lives

By Anna Tomforde, London, July 3 (DPA) David Gardner was engrossed in the script of Julius Caesar when suicide bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan detonated explosives on a tube train at Edgware Road station on July 7, 2005.

That evening, the 51-year-old accountant and father of a two-year-old boy was to play Brutus in his own amateur production of the Shakespeare play at a north London church.

Poignantly, one year later, everything will be just as scheduled as last July, with one exception: Gardner, who is also the play's director, will play the part minus his left leg - blown off in the explosion.

"This has been a wonderful year, a terrific year for me," Gardner told the Evening Standard.

Recalling how he lay with life-threatening injuries on the carriage floor, praying to survive for the sake of his wife and son, Gardner said he refuses to be defeated by the wheelchair, or by predictions that he might never run again with his prosthetic leg.

For now though, he is content to be "Brutus with a stick".

"I always knew there'd be only one way of commemorating the 7/7 anniversary for me. I like to think that when I perform on the night of July 7, I'll be thinking of the 52 dead and those more seriously injured than me," he said.

Gardner is back at work, travelling on the tube, and he and his wife are planning for another baby.

Danny Biddle, 27, who lost both legs in the bombings, is planning a holiday abroad to avoid being in London on the first anniversary of the attacks.

Only recently released from hospital, the wheelchair-bound building project manager, says he is "eternally grateful" for being alive.

Doctors did not think he would make it. The force of the blast threw him out of the carriage and the train doors slammed shut across his legs.

His legs were mangled, there was blood pouring from a wound on his head, his arms and face were badly burnt, and loose change in his pocket was embedded in his thigh by the explosion.

He was given 70 units of blood, is deaf and blind on his left side and has suffered three heart attacks. Despite all that, Biddle remains positive after almost a year of treatment at a special burns unit: "The doctors and nurses have overwhelmed me with kindness," he said.

But Biddle, who has received 250,000 pounds ($467,000) compensation to "rebuild his life," says the trauma of last July will never leave him.

"I'll never go on a tube train again. I can't be in the dark now; I can't be in confined spaces. I wake up at night and I can taste blood in my mouth, smell that tunnel and hear the screams of people dying," he said.

"Those screams will always be with me. I feel guilty for surviving."

John Tulloch, who has written a moving book about his experiences on July 7, when he escaped death by a whisker, recalls the moment of his first stroll in a London park some three weeks after the attacks:

"Indeed, strolling through Regent's Park rose garden was a revelation to me. For the first time since the explosion, I could walk and look around at the lovely, scented flowers, without fearing the visual impact that cars or people flashing by might have," he says.

"At that moment, I valued my life in a way I never had before. Turning my head around for the first time since July 7 to look at the roses, walking and talking with my son, felt like a kind of epiphany, washing away some of the death and horror of carriage two at Edgware Road."

Tamil Nadu's auto sector to create 500,000 jobs by 2015

Chennai, July 3 (IANS) The automobile industry in Tamil Nadu would be able to generate as many as 500,000 fresh jobs in the next 10 years and emerge as a $20 billion industry, a study by an industry chamber said Monday.

The study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) titled "Mapping of Human Resource Skills in Tamil Nadu - 2015" said by 2015, the auto sector will employ 580,000 people.

The southern Indian state is already home to major auto companies such as Ford, Hyundai, Ashok Leyland and components firms that employ about 80,000 people.

Tamil Nadu has 30 percent share of the auto components market and 17-20 percent share of the vehicle industry in India, the CII study says, adding the sector has the potential for a six-to-seven fold increase in output.

It estimates the size of the industry in Tamil Nadu will be $15 billion to $20 billion by 2015.

The productivity in the auto industry in terms of annual output per employee is over Rs.1.20 million, the study says, adding it will go up to Rs. 1.6 million by 2015 and Rs. 2.4 million by 2015.

The study observes that the recent trends observed in the auto industry include the adoption of lean manufacturing practices, quality, shift from assemblers to contract manufacturers and techno-commercial purchases.

"In product development, the auto industry needs project management and problem solving skills to identify root causes for design issues," the study says.

It stresses on introducing changes in the curriculum of auto engineering courses and says: "There is a high potential for the industry to increase its output to $40 to 45 billion by 2015."

Two dead in Mumbai floods; another 26/7 feared

Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) Two people were drowned in flood waters in suburban Thane while schools and colleges remained closed Monday fearing a repeat of last year's deluge as heavy rains battered India's financial capital for the third consecutive day.

While two people were drowned in the flooded waters of the Chena river in Thane, 137 schools in Mumbai and Thane - mostly in low-lying areas - were shut down for the day following a directive of the local Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to educational institutions to "use their discretion" in the matter.

Watching the overcast skies and heavy downpour, Mumbaikars feared the repeat of last July 26 deluge when the city received 944 mm of rain, leading to chaos in civic services leaving thousands of people being marooned in offices, schools, homes and on streets.

The state government had released the Chitale Committee report that studied last year's flood only on May 24.

"Have we not learnt any lessons from last year's failures here and also in the US. Thankfully nothing has happened till now here," said P. Rajashekharan, an advocate form Kerala on a visit to the city.

He was referring to the Katrina hurricane in the US last year, as the state administration had claimed that its response to the floods was better than in the US.

"The government has no Katrina to talk about this time. It's a shame to see India's biggest city in such a condition," Rajashekharan said.

The 150-year-old drainage system of this megalopolis has collapsed following heavy showers - 1,299 mm in the past 24 hours - and scenes of utter chaos were witnessed in most of the city's suburbs.

Floodwaters had entered many homes in low-lying areas like Santa Cruz and Vile Parle in western Mumbai while many subways like those in Andheri and Khar in western Mumbai were left unusable as water gushed into them.

Traffic was diverted to the Linking Road resulting in a snail's pace movement of the vehicles.

Along the Central Railway line Kurla and Sion were the worst affected as traffic came to a virtual halt and confusion reigned among commuters as well as pedestrians.

Suburban trains on all lines - Western, Central and Harbour - were running late by at least 10 to 15 minutes and domestic flights leaving the Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport were about 15 to 20 minutes behind schedules.

The BMC was trying to clear the water logging at several other vital junctions and subways using pumps. The Meteorological Department has forecast intermittent rains with heavy to very heavy showers for a day.

While Colaba area in south Mumbai received 129 mm rain and Santa Cruz in western Mumbai recorded 164 mm.

Many citizens received a message from BMC commissioner Johny Joseph, warning them of heavy rains and asking them to take precautionary measures.

Fishermen along the Maharashtra-Goa coast have been warned not to venture into the sea, as it will be rough with raging southwesterly winds at a speed of 35 to 60 kmph.

On Sunday, the airport runway was closed for 45 minutes during the peak hours in the morning leading to cancellation of 10 domestic flights.

Two muslim fishermen forcibly drowned in Mannar

New Delhi, July 3, IRNA, Sri Lanka Navy troopers who set out in 3 Dvora Fast Attack Crafts from their Talaimannar base, captured two fishermen in the sea off Karisal, a Muslim coastal village 12 km northwest of Mannar town, around 10:00 a.m. Saturday, and forcibly drowned one of the fishermen.

The SLN threw the fisherman overboard even after he pleaded that he cannot swim, according to the fisherman who was forced by the SLN to search for the victim. Two other Muslim fishermen in a separate boat, were arrested by the SLN soldiers, handed over to Vankalaipaadu SLN, and released later. Tension prevails in Karisalpaadu, which is located between Vankalaipadu and Erukkalampiddy, Tamnet report said from Mannar, Sri Lanka.

Two fishermen were captured with their boat by SLN soldiers in the 3 Dvora FACs that chased away around 15 boats engaged in fishing off the Karisalpadu coastal village near the troubled Pesalai area in Mannar district Saturday, TamiNet report said from Mannar.

The fishermen who showed the Fishing Pass provided by the SLN, were beaten up by the troopers in the Dvora FACs.

However, the navy troopers threw him off board, according to the fisherman Mohammed Fahim, 27, who was set free by the troopers.

Azeeq managed to reach his hand and was holding the stem of the boat.

However, the troopers attacked the fisherman blocking his grip on the boat and Azeeq drowned, Faim said.

Veteran Kumble bowls India to series victory

By T.R. Ramakrishnan, Kingston (Jamaica), July 3 (IANS) India defeated the West Indies by 49 runs in the fourth Test at Sabina Park on Sunday. The win gave them the series 1-0, their first win in the Caribbean since 1971, and their second overall in the West Indies.

Veteran spinner Anil Kumble took 6 for 78 to end the West Indian second innings, with just eight balls left for the day, as they chased 269 to win and were bowled out for 219.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid was the man-of-the-match and man-of-the-series.

Medium-pacers Sreesanth and Munaf Patel provided the early breakthroughs in the West Indian second innings. Sreesanth got rid of the openers, Chris Gayle and Darren Ganga, and Patel got the vital wicket of West Indian skipper Brian Lara.

Kumble then took charge on a wicket which the ball kept low but played easier than on the first two days. Four of his six victims were leg before, all given by umpire Brian Jerling, who had been so hesitant to give any leg before decision in his favour in the previous Test.

For the West Indies , Ramnaresh Sarwan (51) and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin (62 not out) played valiant knocks, especially Ramdin, who came in at the fall of the sixth wicket with the West Indian total at 128. He batted bravely with the tail, adding added 65 with the last three batsmen.

In the end, it was too much for Ramdin. His only satisfaction was that he would have given India some jitters before Kumble took two wickets in three balls in his 23 rd over to seal the win.

It was India's first major series win away in 20 years, the last having come against England in 1986. All other away wins were either in the sub-continent ( Pakistan, Bangladesh , Sri Lanka) or against minor teams ( Zimbabwe).

SCOREBOARD

Result: India win by 49 runs. India win series 1-0

India (1st innings): 200
West Indies (1st innings): 103

India (2nd innings):

Wasim Jaffer c Samuels b Taylor 1
Virender Sehwag lbw Taylor 4
VVS Laxman c Lara b Collymore 16
Rahul Dravid b Collymore 68
Yuvraj Singh c Lara b Collymore 13
Mohd Kaif b Collins 6
MS Dhoni b Taylor 19
Anil Kumble c Bravo b Collymore 10
Harbhajan Singh c Lara b Collymore 9
S Sreesanth c Lara b Taylor 16
Munaf Patel not out 0

Extras (b 4, lb 3, w1, nb 1) 9

Total (65.1 overs) 171

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-6, 3-49, 4-63, 5-76, 6-122, 7-141, 8-154, 9-171

Bowling:

Pedro Collins 22-8-61-1 (1nb)
Jerome Taylor 15-4-45-4
Corey Collymore 24.1-9-48-5
Dwayne Bravo 4-1-10-0 (1w)

West Indies (2nd innings):

Chris Gayle c Laxman b Sreesanth 0
Darren Ganga b Sreesanth 16
Brian Lara lbw Patel 11
Ramnaresh Sarwan c Dravid b Sreesanth 51
Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw Kumble 13
Dwayne Bravo b Kumble 33
Marlon Samuels lbw Kumble 5
Denesh Ramdin not out 62
Jerome Taylor lbw Kumble 20
Pedro Collins lbw Kumble 3
Corey Collymore c Dhoni b Kumble 0

Extras (lb2, nb3) 5

Total (69.4 overs) 219

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-27, 3-29, 4-56, 5-126, 6-128, 7-144, 8-180, 9-219

Bowling:

Sreesanth 15-2-38-3
Patel 12-2-26-1
Harbhajan Singh 16-3-65-0
Anil Kumble 22.4-3-78-6 (3nb)
Virender Sehwag 4-0-10-0

Yemeni opposition names Shamlan to contest presidency

SANAA, July 3 (NNN-KUNA) Yemeni opposition parties have nominated former minister of petroleum Faisal bin Shamlan as their candidate in the Yemeni presidential elections due next September.

The parties organised Sunday a celebration to announce the nomination, stressing that they were dedicated to ending the manipulation of authority by individuals.

The parties' function was held under the slogan "Yes for a President for Yemen. No for Yemen for a President."

The opposition parties said in a statement that they nominated Faisal bin Shamlan in accordance with national and objective criteria that harmonised with their comprehensive reform programme.

Faisal bin Shamlan was named a minister for the first time in 1967, shortly after Southern Yemen's independence from Britain.

Running as an independent candidate, he was also elected as an MP in the 1993 elections. In 1995, he stepped down as a minister of petroleum in protest against what he called interference with his ministerial authority.

Britain reconsidering new visa rules for Indian doctors

London, July 4 (IANS) Britain's health authorities are reconsidering recent changes in visa rules that in effect make thousands of doctors of Indian origin ineligible to work in the National Health Service.

The department of health (DoH) and the home office had put in place a new system by which employers would need to prove that no suitable candidate was available before applying for a work permit for someone from outside the European Union.

This change in the rules, in effect, ensured that thousands of doctors of Indian origin were sliced out of the employment market. Due to an increased number of British medical graduates qualifying every year and doctors from several new countries in the EU eligible to work in Britain, there is a surplus in the medical employment market.

The new rules have been challenged in the high court by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) after representations to the DoH failed to elicit any response. BAPIO has reportedly raised 30,000 pounds from its members to mount a legal challenge to the new rules.

After the case was filed in the court, the DoH wrote to BAPIO stating that guidance to the amendment of rules was being reconsidered. BAPIO, however, has not yet withdrawn the case and is insisting on the changes being revoked or transition arrangements being made for nearly 4,000 doctors from the Indian subcontinent currently in Britain.

BAPIO president Ramesh Mehta told Eastern Eye, a British Asian weekly: "This could prove to be a turning point for the campaign. We hope the department will see the unfairness of the new rule."

A DoH spokesperson said: "As we stated in a letter to BAPIO, the guidance to the amendments to the Immigration Rules is currently being reconsidered."

Mehta said: "We are very upset that the DoH is taking its own time while our doctors are losing valuable training opportunities. Since April this year, employers have already started making EU and non-EU piles of applications and the latter are landing in the bin because of the new rules. Merit is not being considered. But we are confident of winning our case in court."

R Lakshman, consultant paediatrician at the West Suffolk Hospital and member of BAPIO's advisory council, said: "We believe that one-third of the NHS is run by doctors of Indian origin. While they form the backbone of the system, they are being treated as outsiders."

Solicitors associated with the BAPIO legal challenge say that a judicial review is being sought on the basis that the home office failed to hold a proper consultation process before introducing the new rule.

British firms behind in race to invest in India: report

London, July 4 (IANS) British companies are falling behind in the race to invest in India's fast growing economy, says a report by the Trade and Industry Select Committee.

The all-party group of MPs on the committee concluded that Britain's relationship with India should be generating a higher level of trade and investment. They found that British firms had only a partial understanding of India's economy, despite it being the fourth largest in the world, and having the second largest population.

The report said the British government's support network for people doing business in India was "characterised by confusion".

The report, written after panel members visited businesses in India, said: "A great deal of good work is being done, but by too many overlapping bodies with ill-defined responsibilities and often inadequate resources".

"Viewed from India, the UK is a small country and efforts need to be far more focused to have a real impact," it said.

Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff, who is chairman of the committee, said: "Levels of interest in the Indian economy are growing year upon year - but UK investors don't yet really understand the opportunities that India presents.

"If we are to take full advantage of this golden opportunity, UK firms must reassess their perception of the Indian economy as simply a source of low-cost labour and the UK Government must do more to help them."

The report highlights how many companies view India as a source of low-cost labour rather than as an emerging market in its own right.

MPs are concerned that Britain's perception is distorted by sections of the media that focus on the perceived threat to jobs by outsourcing, particularly call centres. They feel it creates a view that these centres are the dominant feature of the Indian economy.

The report explains that there are considerable openings for investment within the manufacturing and automotive and aerospace sectors, with vast opportunities for Britain's higher education sector.

It encourages companies to become more vigilant if they are to take full advantage of India's fast liberalising economy.

Just four percent of India's exports go to Britain, compared with 17 percent to the US, six percent to China and five percent to Singapore and Hong Kong, the report said. While India's imports from China and the US account for six percent, Britain accounts for just three percent, it added.

The British Chambers of Commerce blamed the government for reducing help for exporters. David Frost, director-general, said: "Businesses are fully aware of the opportunities in India and other parts of Asia, yet they have seen export support reduced in recent years as the treasury switched its focus to encouraging inward investment."

Can Vadodara mayor be prosecuted, Gujarat asked

Ahmedabad, July 4 (IANS) The Gujarat High Court has asked the state government to opine whether Vadodara's mayor and other officials can be prosecuted for allegedly promoting religious hatred.

Acting on a petition filed by Vadodara resident Mohammed Arif Sheikh, judge J.R. Vora Monday issued notice to the state government directing it to make its stand clear on the prosecution of Mayor Sunil Solanki and other top officials.

Vadodara witnessed communal trouble after the civic body May 1 demolished a two-century-old tomb of Rashiduddin Rehmatullah Chishti in the heart of the city.

A total of eight people were killed in the incidents, including two in police firing. The city was under curfew for several days before normalcy was restored.

Case of Israeli soldier closed: militants

Gaza, July 4 (Xinhua) One of the three militant groups that abducted an Israeli soldier announced Tuesday that there would be no more discussions on freeing him as their ultimatum to Israel had expired.

"The case is closed," said Abu Muthana, a spokesman of the Islamic Army that kidnapped Gilad Shalit together with Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

"We won't give any more information about the fate of the soldier," he added.

When asked if the militants would kill the soldier, Muthana said that Muslims would never kill their hostages.

The three militant groups issued an ultimatum Monday setting a deadline of 6.00 a.m. (3:00 GMT) Tuesday for Israel to free Palestinian prisoners or face the consequences.

But Israel rejected the ultimatum and pressed on with its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Mujahed, spokesman of the PRC, said earlier that all efforts to free the captive Israeli soldier had reached a dead end because the occupation government (Israel) had rejected the captors' demands.

Catholics slam new law for Kerala professional colleges

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) The Catholic Church in India Tuesday alleged that Kerala's newly enacted law on professional colleges and institutions violated the fundamental rights of religious minorities.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) urged the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government to withdraw certain provisions of the law.

"The provisions dealing with the religious and linguistic minorities infringe upon the fundamental rights guaranteed by section 30(1) of the constitution," said CBCI vice president Archbishop Isaac Mar Cleemis in a statement.

The Kerala Professional Colleges and Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence in Professional Education) Bill, 2006, was passed unanimously in the assembly last week.

Pointing out that section 8 of the act empowered the state to grant recognition and minority status to institutions established and administered by minorities, the statement said, "Under the guise of ensuring equality and secularism, the provision takes away the legitimate rights of the minorities."

Cleemis explained saying that a minority professional educational institution would be granted recognition and minority status only if the number of institutions run by the minority group was less than the institutions of the non-minority group, and the number of students of the minority community in the professional educational sector was less than the number of students from the non-minority community.

"The act also says that at least 50 percent of the students should be from the community that has established the institution," the bishop said.

"According to apex court judgement in TMA Pai case in 2002, the minorities have the right to admit students, to set up a reasonable fee structure, to constitute a governing body, to appoint teaching staff and non teaching staff and to take action if there is a dereliction of duty on the part of any employee," said the statement.

"No government can take away the guarantee enshrined in the constitution," warned the statement signed also by Archbishop Vincent Concessao (Delhi), Bishop Joseph Mar Barnabas (Marthoma church Delhi-Mumbai) and CBCI deputy secretary Thomas D' Aquino Sequeira.

The bishops asserted that no one could deny the contributions of the Christian community in helping Kerala to achieve a leading position in terms of literacy and basic and secondary education.

"The LDF government is trying to penalise the community for services it has been rendering for the last 150 years.

"This is nothing but a black law as far as the minorities are concerned," the statement alleged.

There are 70 engineering and eight medical colleges in the self-financing sector in the state. These colleges have close to 10,000 seats for engineering and 800 seats in medical colleges.

The new law has done away with the freedom for college managements to decide on allocation of 50 percent of the seats. The seats in the general merit category have also been restricted to 18 percent.

The percentage of seats in other categories has also been fixed: Fifteen percent for the managements to admit students under the privileged category and another 15 percent for non-resident Indians apart from for scheduled communities (10 percent), socially and economically backward communities (25), economically backward forward castes (12), physically handicapped (three) and one percent each in the sports and arts category.

Centre's move to violate SC order, implement RSS agenda: AIMPLB

Lucknow, July 4: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) today reacted sharply to the centre's move to construct steel walls around the sanctum sanctorum at the disputed site in Ayodhya alleging it would amount to implementation of RSS agenda and violation of the Supreme Court's directive to maintain status quo at the place.

The board also said it could approach the apex court against the Centre's move.

"It amounts to implementing the RSS agenda by the UPA government", senior AIMPLB member and Imam of Eidgah Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangimahali told reporters.

He said the board sub-committee formed to look after Ayodhya cases could meet in the next couple of days to chalk out an action plan in this regard.

"We can also move the apex court to oppose the move", the Maulana said.

Firangimahali said the matter would be discussed at the AIMPLB general body meeting scheduled to be held in Chennai from August 25 next.

Another senior board member and counsel for the Muslim parties in the Ayodhya title suits Zafaryab Jilani said the Centre's move was tantamount to violation of the Supreme Court's direction to maintain the status quo.

Jilani said "there was nothing wrong in strengthening security at the disputed site but there cannot be construction of any structure at the site as it will violate the apex court guidlines for maintaining status quo there".

He said he had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav opposing construction of steel walls with a wooden roof at the sanctum sanctorum.

"The situation at the disputed site cannot be changed. The AIMPLB had passed a resolution in April last year opposing any construction at the site", he said adding construction of steel walls could not be termed temporary structure.

Bureau Report (Source : zeenews.com)

China to thrash out Tibetan refugee issue with Nepal

Kathmandu, July 4 (IANS) Upset at media reports that a large number of Tibetan refugees living in Nepal would be resettled in the US, China is sending an envoy here to thrash out the issue.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Wu Daewi arrives in Kathmandu on July 27 on a three-day visit to discuss the status of Tibetans living in Nepal with the new government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

The Kathmandu Post daily Tuesday reported that Wu would launch an official complaint with the Koirala government.

After nationwide protests forced King Gyanendra to step down in April, the new government eased one restriction on the Tibetan refugees -- it agreed to issue travel documents to those who have been residing in Nepal for a long time and have identity cards issued by the Nepal government.

However, the fate of hundreds of Tibetans who are in Nepal in transit is still in jeopardy since they are neither being issued exit permits to proceed to their preferred destination nor being given documents to reside in Nepal.

Also, in a denial that has serious implications, the Nepal government does not allow Tibetan refugees to register marriages or births of their children.

China, which invaded and annexed Tibet in 1949-50, doesn't recognise Tibetan refugees. According to Beijing, the thousands of Tibetans who flee to third countries via Nepal every year are "illegal immigrants" and should either be deported to China or be punished according to Nepalese laws dealing with illegal visitors.

When Gyanendra was in power, in return for Beijing's support for his coup and absolute reign, Nepal upheld the One China policy that considers Tibet and Taiwan to be inalienable parts of the Chinese republic. It also began cracking down on the Tibetans fleeing from Chinese control.

In January 2005, when the king was controlling the government through his nominated prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Nepal government closed down the Kathmandu office of the representative of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan temporal and spiritual leader.

When the king's direct rule began in 2005, the royalist government further clamped down on the fleeing Tibetans, refusing to issue them exit passes in contravention of a tacit agreement to do so.

With Beijing stepping up its arms sale to the isolated royal regime and pressuring it to deport Tibetans, Washington agreed to grant asylum to about 5,000 Tibetan refugees, who were especially vulnerable to the pressure. The resettling is expected to take place by next year.

Last month, when Nepal's foreign minister K.P. Oli visited Geneva to attend the meeting of the UN Human Rights Council, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing raised the issue with him.

Church set ablaze in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, July 4 (IANS) A church has been set ablaze in remote Harda district in Madhya Pradesh, say reports.

"On June 30, extremists carrying torches broke into the church and set fire to a table, where 150 Bibles and hymnbooks were kept," a report quoted Jaidi Khan, the pastor of the church, as saying.

The miscreants were from a Hindu group, Dharam Sena (Religious Army), said the report.

However, superintendent of police K.D. Peshara told IANS that the Pentecostal Church had two rival groups and the attack was launched by one group on the other.

He also alleged that the culprits had burnt down the motorbike of the guard, and not the church building.

The Christian community in the state is facing increasing number of attacks by Hindu outfits, which allege missionaries are converting tribals forcibly and using allurement.

As many as six attacks were reported in June alone.

In Bhopal, Bajrang Dal leader Devendra Rawat had earlier disrupted the press conference of Indira Iyengar, member of the state minorities commission. The conference was to highlight the alleged gangrape rape of two Christian women in Khargone district on May 28. They were raped after their husbands refused to "reconvert" to Hinduism.

"We are worried about the increasing number of attacks," said Fr Anand Muttungal, spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops Conference of Madhya Pradesh.

"I fail to understand why law enforcement agencies are not acting against the perpetrators," he added.

Governor Balram Jakhar is reported to have written six letters to the state government seeking investigation into the reports of violence. The state home department, however, has either given a clean chit to the attackers or denied that the incidents ever took place.

Madhya Pradesh is among the few states where anti-conversion law is in force.

Commonwealth Games will cost Rs.50 bn: Aiyar

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) The 2010 Commonwealth Games to be hosted here will require investment of Rs.50 billion, including Rs.9 billion revenue-generating expenditure, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said Monday.

"The group of ministers has estimated the ballpark figure based on proposals to be taken to the expenditure finance committee (EFC). If cleared, the figure could to be around Rs.50 billion. This includes contribution through public-private partnerships," Aiyar told reporters here.

Working on a concept paper to help India improve its medals tally through a sports talent hunt and sports promotion in rural areas, Aiyar said around Rs.9 billion would be revenue-generating expenditure based on a broad assessment.

Part of the expenditure would be provided through the central budget while that for the Games Village and other infrastructure would be cleared by the Planning Commission as part of the Delhi government's expenditure, the minister said.

The total investment for the projects to be undertaken by the Delhi government is expected to increase substantially - more than the Rs.10 billion currently envisaged, he indicated.

On plans to nurture sports talent in the country to help India improve its medals quest, Aiyar said the effort would be to cash in on the growing percentage of young who are at their creative best.

Citing a study by the University Grants Commission, Aiyar said currently only about 30 million schoolchildren have access to any kind of sports or games organisation. The department of sports has estimated that about 20 million youth are able to afford facilities of a sports club or organisation.

This is too low a figure considering that the population under 35 years is estimated to be around 650-700 million. Of these around 450 million live in villages.

Aiyar said his concept paper, to be prepared soon, envisages synergising and leveraging the 250,000 panchayats, or village councils, and the 250,000 Nehru Yuva Kendra (youth clubs) for a youth sports mission.

"We are at present doing the costing of such a scheme," the minister said.

Regretting the lack full-scale sports facilities for rural youth, the minister said a scheme to provide sports infrastructure in villages through a Rs.450 million annual central budget was axed in 2005-06 in the drive to rationalise centrally sponsored schemes.

Once the youth sports mission gets underway, Aiyar was confident that "it would spin off a discovery of sports talent " far greater than the 10,000 sports talents that are currently picked up from mainly urban centres and supported through the National Sports Development Scheme.

Denmark reopens embassy in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 4 (IANS) Denmark has reopened its embassy in Pakistan after five months of closure prompted by violent protests against the publication of cartoons parodying Prophet Mohammed.

The Embassy of Denmark reopened on Monday. Copenhagen had closed its embassy in Islamabad on Feb 17 after protests over the publication of the sketches by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September. Most of the expatriate staff had already quietly left the country.

An announcement on its website said that "until further notice", visitors to the embassy would be received only by appointment.

The Danish consulate general in Karachi also reopened for business Monday, The News daily reported.

Denmark had closed its missions in Pakistan, besides Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Tunisia and Indonesia, following demonstrations across the Muslim world.
Several people had died or were injured during the demonstrations in Pakistan.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan had yet to decide when to post its ambassador to Denmark.

A diplomatic source told The News on condition of anonymity, "The Danish foreign ministry is monitoring the situation in Islamabad very carefully and the opening of the embassy and the consulate general marks a change towards the positive side".

Developing countries need help in preserving vital agricultural biodiversity : UN

New York, July 4 (IMI)With crucial agricultural genetic resources at risk, developing countries should be enabled to fully exploit biotechnology tools to stop the decline of biodiversity and use their wealth of such resources as an insurance against climatic and other changes, according to a new United Nations study released today.

“The ability to apply these biotechnologies in developing countries is currently limited by the lack of sufficient funds, human capacity and adequate infrastructure,� says the study, edited by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Working Group on Biotechnology.

Crop, forest, animal and fish genetic resources represent an insurance against future changes in production and climatic conditions or in market needs, but they are endangered by such factors as overexploitation, replacement of local crops and livestock with foreign species or breeds and habitat change and destruction, FAO notes.

The need to conserve genetic resources for food and agriculture is essential and was recently highlighted at the first meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture last month. They are also a source of material for scientific research as well as a cultural and historical part of mankind’s heritage.

The study seeks to shed light on the potential role and importance that biotechnology tools, in particular the use of molecular markers, may have for agricultural genetic resources in developing countries.

Numerous new and old biotechnologies provide a broad collection of tools that can be applied for a range of different purposes such as genetic improvement, disease diagnosis, and vaccine development. They include molecular markers, cryo-preservation and reproductive technologies that can be used directly for the characterization and/or conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The capacities of developing countries can be strengthened through greater collaboration among research institutions in different developing countries and also between industrialized and developing countries.

The FAO and the centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) as well as other organizations and non-governmental organizations could help to coordinate these collaborative efforts and support capacity-building activities.

Ershad walks the political tightrope

Dhaka, July 4 (IANS) Former Bangladesh president H.M. Ershad has kept his political options open despite overtures from Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, saying that he may even choose to go with the rival opposition alliance in the next polls.

He handed out compliments evenly and criticised both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), but said he was certain to join one of them since his Jatiya Party did not have the resources to go it alone, reported the Daily Star.

The longest serving head of state who ruled for over eight years has 14 lawmakers in the present Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly).

His party did not have the financial ability to go it alone in the next general election "and so we have to make electoral alliance with BNP or Awami League", he told a meeting with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) in Dhaka.

Ershad took potshots at the ruling alliance alleging that the recent violence in garment, textile and knitwear factories, when close to 300 units were destroyed, was led by a workers' leader close to the BNP. This showed the government's "complicity", he said.

In his assessment, the BNP's popularity had eroded due to hike in prices of essentials while the Awami League's grassroots level cooperation with common people had helped to increase the party's popularity.

Ershad maintained that his meeting with Prime Minister Zia was "a courtesy call".

F-16s for Pakistan not conducive for better ties

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) India maintained Monday the US decision to sell a total of 44 F-16 combat jets to Pakistan was "not conducive" to improving sub-continental ties.

"We can reiterate our position that this step is not conducive to improving ties between India and Pakistan," external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said at a news briefing here.

"We have seen reports on this issue that the US is planning to supply Pakistan 18 new and 26 used F-16 aircraft. This has been the subject of discussion with the US government in the past.

"In fact, the prime minister himself has expressed disappointment at the US approach to President (George) Bush," Sarna added.

The US government said June 30 that it plans to sell the F-16s to Pakistan as part of an arms sale package worth up to $5 billion.

The deal was revealed in a US government's notice sent to the Congress, which will decide whether to approve the sale within 30 days. The notice said the sale is aimed to help Pakistan to modernise its arsenal.

Separately, US State Department spokesperson Julie Reside described the sale as "part of an effort to broaden our strategic partnership with Pakistan and advance our national security and foreign policy interests in South Asia".

"Pakistan is a long-term partner and major non-NATO ally," she noted.

Reside stressed that the sale has nothing to do with the nuclear partnership that the US is building with India.

She also dismissed any suggestion that the sale could contribute to an arms race in South Asia and said a dialogue between India and Pakistan has already helped reduce tensions and provided greater stability in their region.

Frings suspended for clash with Italy

Berlin, July 4 (DPA) Torsten Frings of Germany became the first footballer to be suspended at a World Cup on the basis of video evidence when FIFA handed down a one-match ban after pictures showed him throwing a punch at the end of the quarterfinal victory over Argentina.

The decision by FIFA's disciplinary commission means the Werder Bremen midfielder will miss Tuesday's World Cup semi-final clash against Italy in Dortmund.

Frings, who was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs ($4,000) and had a further one-match ban suspended for six months, cannot appeal the decision.

"We would like to look at the reasons behind the suspension first. Until such time as we know them, we will not make any further comment," German football federation (DFB) spokesman Harald Stanger said after the announcement was made.

FIFA decided to investigate Frings' involvement in the melee that marred Germany's penalty shootout win over Argentina Friday after fresh pictures produced by the Italian television broadcaster Sky Italia came to light.

The pictures showed the 29-year-old apparently striking Argentinian player Julio Cruz. FIFA called on the German Football Federation to present its reaction by Monday morning.

Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann had been confident that his midfielder would be cleared of any wrongdoing, saying some Argentinian players had been the instigators of the trouble and members of his team had only reacted to provocation.

Probes were also being made into Argentinian players Leandro Cufre - red-carded during the fracas - and Maxi Rodriguez.

Cufre had been shown a red card for kicking an opponent during the scuffles, which broke out on the pitch between players and officials from both teams after Friday's match.

Gangtok to Lhasa bus after Nathu La reopening?

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Gangtok, July 4 (IANS) The historic reopening of the famed Silk Road for border trade is yet to formally kick off, but there is already talk of another milestone in India-China relations - a direct bus service linking the two countries.

Formal trading between India and China is to begin Thursday after 44 years at the 15,000-foot Nathu La Pass on the border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region.

Opening the Nathu La Pass, 52 km from the Sikkim capital Gangtok, would be the first direct trade link since a 1962 border war.

"After border trade begins, the next step on our agenda is to see a bus service from Gangtok to Lhasa in China," Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling told IANS over the phone from New Delhi.

The distance from Gangtok to the Tibetan capital Lhasa is about 480 km, about a 10-hour drive.

"A bus service to Lhasa on the lines of similar services to Lahore and Dhaka from India is going to help us attract tourists and get more business in the days ahead," the chief minister said.

The resumption of border trade at Nathu La is expected to bring in employment opportunities to at least 5,000 locals and indirect benefits to hundreds of others in the area.

"We expect business to grow and would like the governments of the two countries to increase the list of commodities for trade," Chamling said.

Business would be duty-free with India able to export 29 items ranging from textiles and blankets, agricultural implements, liquor, cigarettes, tea, barley, rice, vegetable oil, and local herbs. Chinese traders would be able to trade in 15 items -- horses to goats and sheep, yak tail, yak hair, goat skin, wool, and raw silk.

A study conducted by the Sikkim government says bilateral trade was expected to reach $12 billion by 2015.

The landlocked province of Tibet now depends on heavily on food items and other essentials from Nepal - the distance from Lhasa to Nepal's capital Kathmandu is about 2,000 km.

"The reopening of Nathu La would give Tibet and western China access to the Bay of Bengal ports, roughly about 1,200 to 1,300 km," a Sikkim industries department official said.

Heat wave in Britain, health officials sound alert

London, July 4 (IANS) With temperatures soaring by the day, the British government has issued a heat wave alert and has cautioned the elderly, young and those with chronic diseases to take extra precautions.

The rising mercury - nearly 43 degrees Celsius - has delighted most Britons keen to acquire a tan by sunbathing, but it also poses serious problems for the elderly and the young. Every year, Britain and other countries in Europe report several deaths due to heat wave conditions.

In August 2003, nearly 27,000 people had died of heat-related causes in northwest Europe. This included 11,000 deaths in France and 2,000 in Britain.

The weatherman has predicted unrelenting sun this week. The department of health has warned of "significant health risks".

In advice to medical professionals, the department said babies and children, elderly people and those with chronic diseases should take steps to prevent dehydration.

The hot weather is forecast to last till Wednesday when the met office says there will be thundershowers.

Heavy rains, winds in Orissa leave 12 dead

Bhubaneswar, July 4 (IANS) At least 12 people have died in Orissa due to drowning and landslides triggered by heavy rains and high-speed winds lashing the state for the past three days, officials said Tuesday.

The monsoon rains caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal hit the state on Saturday. At least 13 people were reported missing after the boats they were travelling in were drowned.

Giving a break up of the deaths, J.N. Sahu, officer on special duty in the state revenue control room, said one person was drowned in Nayagarh district, 10 were killed in a landslip in the southern district of Gajapati and another rain-related death has been reported from Jagatsinghpur district.

Of the 13 missing, five were reported missing in Bhadrak district, four in Gajapati and four in Jagatsinghpur.

However, the local daily Dharitri Tuesday put the number of deaths at 17 and the number of missing at 30.

The heavy rains and high-speed winds over the past three days have created havoc in the state with rivers flowing close to the danger level, large swathes of land being inundated and thousands of people in coastal areas moving to cyclone shelters, an official said.

The state has witnessed heavy and moderate rain in most areas since Monday, said A.K. Senapati, an official of the Bhubaneswar meteorological office.

Chandbali recorded the highest rainfall at 25.8 mm, followed by Balasore at 22.7 mm. State capital Bhubaneswar recorded 6.2 mm rain, Puri 0.2 mm and Gopalpur 19.5 mm, he said.

The weather condition is likely to improve over the next day, he said.

The depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal on Monday night lay centred near Sambalpur town in western Orissa. It was expected to have moved to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, he said.

India strikes more gas, oil in Cambay basin

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) India has struck more gas and oil in a block in the Cambay basin on the western coast.

The discovery was made in a block operated by Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and held jointly with GAIL (India) Ltd.

"Both oil and gas has been discovered in block CB-0NN-2000/1 in Cambay basin. Until proper appraisal we cannot estimate the reserves," V.K. Sibal, head of Directorate General of Hydrocarbon, the exploration regulatory body, told IANS here Tuesday.

This is the third strike in the block. Two wells - PK1 and PK2 - had earlier indicated promising signs of gas presence.

"The discovery is primarily a gas find, as the oil flow is less," sources said.

The GSPC had last month announced the second major gas and oil find in its Krishna-Godavari basin block (Deen Dayal) at the KG17 well, a year after discovering an estimated reserve of 20 trillion cubic feet of gas in KG-8 well there.

According to Sibal, the second discovery in the KG basin block is significant as it is in comparatively lesser depth than the earlier find "and has opened new area of exploration".

Both the finds in KG basin are still to be appraised for estimated in-place reserves.

GSPC has estimated the KG17 well discovery may yield gas at the rate of 4.8 million standard cubic feet per day and 862 barrels per day of crude oil.

"This is one of the most significant discoveries for GSPC because over and above the stock of higher quality oil, this is for the first time that GSPC has struck oil as well as gas in the same well," official sources said.

Indian foreign secretary in Sri Lanka

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran Monday held discussions with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on the situation in the country against the backdrop of an undeclared war between the country's military and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

"The efforts being made to evolve a political consensus in Sri Lanka to promote a peaceful settlement of the ethnic problem was discussed," Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said at a news briefing here.

Saran "reiterated India's willingness to share its constitutional experience with Sri Lanka in this regard", Sarna added.

Asked for specifics, he replied: "The constitutional experience of India as a federal polity is obvious and that is naturally the experience which we can share in the context of what is happening in Sri Lanka."

The visit was part of a regular, high-level exchange of views that has been agreed upon between the leaders of the two countries, the spokesman stated.

Asked whether the visit was scheduled or was something that came up suddenly, the spokesman said: "Well, these are visits which are a part of the regular high-level exchanges."

Saran's discussions in Colombo, before returning home Tuesday, "will include a review of the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation that has emerged between the two countries, the regional and the international situation, as also the current status of the Sri Lankan peace process", Sarna added.

India has expressed its concern over the surge in violence and the targeting of high-profile civil and military leaders. The two countries have been in close touch over the developments and to discuss the measures required to be taken to ensure the situation does not escalate.

The Sri Lankan government has repeatedly stressed the need for India playing a greater role in resolving the island's ethnic conflict but has shied away from stating what exactly it expects from New Delhi.

Israeli attacks 'war crimes', says Amnesty International

London, July 4, IRNA, Britain's leading human rights group warned the Zionist regime Monday that 'deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes'.

"Israel must now take urgent measures to remedy the long-term damage it has caused and immediately restore the supply -- at its own cost -- of electricity and water to the Palestinian population in the affected areas," Amnesty International said.

It reminded that 'as the occupying power, Israel is bound under international law to protect and safeguard the basic human rights of the Palestinian population'.

The London-based group specified that the deliberate destruction of the Gaza Strip's only electricity power station, water networks, bridges, roads and other infrastructure is a 'violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and has major and long-term humanitarian'.

It has consequences for the 1.5 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, with almost half of the inhabitants are now without electricity and that water supplies have also been cut in several areas both by the lack of electricity, it said.

The extensive damage caused by Israeli artillery and air strikes against these facilities in recent days is estimated at several millions US dollars and will require months of work to repair.

"Unless alternative emergency measures are promptly put in place to restore electricity and water supply the consequences could be dire for the health of the Palestinian population," the human rights group warned.

It also referred to the high numbers of Palestinian bystanders, including women and children, that have been killed and injured by Israeli artillery shelling and air strikes in recent weeks and months.

"This situation looks set to worsen in light of the end of the unilateral cease-fire which the armed wing of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups had been observing since last year," Amnesty said.

According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, 'collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited' as is the destruction of private or public property.

The Convention puts an onus on all states party to it, including the UK, to ensure the prosecution of perpetrators of the war crime of 'causing extensive destruction' that was not justified by military necessity but carried out 'unlawfully and wantonly'.

'Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects' is also a war crime under Article 8 (b) (ii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

ISRO woos Indian industry for satellite projects

Bangalore, July 4 (IANS) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has invited the private sector to play a major role in its satellite projects, especially in satellite-based navigation systems.

In the run-up to launching the GAGAN (GPS aided geo augmentation navigation) satellite in 2007, ISRO held a day-long session Tuesday with about 50 industry players to highlight the areas in which they can participate to manufacture, develop software and customise small hand-held receivers for end-users.

Inaugurating the satellite navigation (SATNAV) industry meet, ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service was emerging as an important application in diverse areas such as mobile telephony, surface transport, intelligent highway systems, maritime transport, precision farming, fisheries and marine engineering, besides civil aviation.

"PNT is one of the main components of the satellite-based communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS)/air traffic management (ATM) system adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for worldwide implementation.

It will facilitate seamless navigation across geographical boundaries and eventually replace different types of ground-based navigation systems providing services over different air spaces," Nair said.

The Rs 3.5-billion GAGAN, a joint project of ISRO and AAI (Airport Authority of India), comprises a space segment and a ground segment.

The space segment is a dual frequency (L1 & L5) GPS (global positioning system) compatible payload on the GSAT-4 satellite.

The ground system consists of eight Indian reference stations, one master control centre, one land uplink station and associated navigation software and communication links.

"Unlike the GPS of the US and GLONASS (global navigation satellite system) of Russia, GAGAN will enable improving the accuracy and availability of the signal based on GPS," Nair pointed out.

"The positioning services offered by GPS or GLONASS constellations for civil aviation fall short of accuracy, integrity, availability and continuity of service requirements of air navigation services for landing," he added.

Among the leading industry players that participated in the meet were Wipro Technologies, Honeywell, Silver Software, Advanced Microelectronics Devices, Kaveri Telecom, Solectron and Western Systems.

The US defence planned GPS constellation consists of 28 satellites in a 20,000km circular orbit. Though GPS has been operational since the 1970s, it has been modernised through the addition of the L5 signal for better accuracies and ruggedness.

The GLONASS system consists of eight satellites - though it originally had 24 satellites when it was made fully operational over a decade ago. The Russian government is planning to increase the number of satellites in the constellation to 21 by 2007 and to 24 by 2008-09.

Meanwhile, Europe has embarked on launching a 30-satellite constellation christened Galileo by 2010. It is being developed and deployed jointly by the European Commission and the European Space Agency in a 24,000 km orbit.

Manmohan Singh to visit Helsinki for India-EU summit

By Manish Chand, Helsinki, July 4 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is to attend the India-European Union (EU) summit here Oct 13. For Finland, the visit by the Indian premier will be a double bonus since it has just taken over the presidency of the 25-member EU.

Work on the summit has started, with Indian and Finnish officials deliberating the agenda. The meet will give added momentum to the burgeoning relations between India and EU that began during the last meeting in New Delhi.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen will co-chair the summit, the seventh in the series.

"We have already started preparing for the visit. India enjoys a very vibrant image in Scandinavian countries and its products and enterprise are highly valued," Indian ambassador Pradeep Singh told IANS.

"We are looking forward to welcoming the Indian economist prime minister. There is a huge untapped potential in areas of trade and technology," said a senior Finnish official.

During his three-day visit to Finland, Manmohan Singh is likely to be accompanied by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal and key officials from different ministries.

Manmohan Singh is known widely in this part of the world as the man who ushered in economic liberalisation in India in 1991.

There is also a likelihood of bilateral discussions between Singh and Vanhanen Oct 14 that will address issues of accelerated trade and technological ties between the two countries, a senior Indian diplomat told IANS.

During his maiden press conference as chair of EU presidency July 1, Vanhanen spoke about "deepening cooperation between India and the EU in the coming days".

Responding to a question from a group of Indian journalists, he said EU was yet to take a position on whether it would support Shashi Tharoor, India's candidate for the post of UN Secretary General. "The EU has to coordinate its position... I don't know the details."

He, however, admitted that it was the turn of Asian countries to have their nominee as Secretary General. "The candidate ought to be very good," he added.

Moves to set up nuclear power reactor in Jharkhand

Ranchi, July 4 (IANS) Uranium rich Jharkhand has renewed its demand to set up a nuclear power reactor in the state.

The state government has once again taken up the issue with the central government and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Chief Secretary M.K. Mandal last month held a meeting with DAE officials in Mumbai and reiterated the state government's demand to set up a nuclear power in Jharkhand.

The DAE and the Jharkhand government are on the board of directors of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Jadugoda in East Singhbhum district. Uranium from Jadugoda is supplied to nuclear power reactors and plants in other parts of the country.

"The chief secretary in a meeting with DAE officials pointed out that a nuclear power reactor plant was a dream of the state. The state government is ready to extend all possible help to set up the reactor in the state," said an informed government official.

Officials said nuclear power reactor plants were set up in places, which do not have proper uranium resources. And since Jharkhand produces uranium it should be allowed to set up a nuclear power reactor.

Last year, the central government had approved the setting up of a nuclear power plant. A three-member state government team had selected three places in East Singhbhum.

The proposed site was referred to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI), which is yet to fix a place.

Mumbai schools shut, trains off track as rain continues

Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) Schools were declared closed in Mumbai Tuesday and train services stalled as rains continued unabated for the fourth consecutive day amid fears that there could be a replay of last July's disaster when thousands were stranded in the city.

Five people were reportedly killed Monday in and around this megalopolis. The city received 131.48 mm rain in the western suburbs, 160.5 mm in the eastern suburbs and 127.3 mm in the city - a far cry from the 944 mm on July 26, 2005, but enough to create panic amongst Mumbaikars.

The rail service - the city's lifeline - was on track till about 9.30 a.m. However, heavy rains after that led to the central railway line getting waterlogged. Two main lines - from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal (CST) here to Karjat in Thane district, 120 km away, and the harbour line from CST to Panvel in Thane - came to a standstill.

Government authorities sought to dispel fears of a repeat of the 26/7 deluge, saying the city was much better prepared to face such situations this year.

The state's Disaster Management Group has already swung into action and is taking no chances this time. The fire brigade and all employees of the city's civic organisation, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, have been asked to be on alert.

Muslim parties take exception to security plan at Ayodhya

Lucknow, July 4: Taking excpetion to the reported plan to make the 'Garbh Griha' (sanctum-sanctorum) of the disputed site at Ayodhya 'bullet-proof', the Muslim parties to the dispute have said it would tantamount to violation of the Supreme Court's direction to maintain status quo.

"There is nothing wrong in strengthening security at the disputed site but there cannot be construction of any structure at the site as it will violate the apex court's guidelines for maintaianing status quo there," counsel for the Babri Masjid Action Ccommittee and senior All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Zafaryab Jilani toldmediapersons today.

Jilani said he had written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav opposing the Rs 7.22 crore plan prepared by his government which included construction of steel walls with a wooden roof at the sanctum-sanctorum.

"The situation at the disputed site cannot be changed. The AIMPLB had also passed a resolution in April last year opposing any construction at the site," he said adding construction of steel walls could not be termed as temporary structure.

The UP government has made an elaborate security plan at the disputed site following the terrorist attack on the complex on July five last year.

Bureau Report (Source : zeenews.com)

New Indo-British links on science and technology, IPR

London, July 4 (IANS) A new Science and Technology Innovation Council to be set up with funding of up to 12 million pounds each from Britain and India is to focus on intellectual property rights (IPR), official sources here said.

The focus of the council would be on strategic areas of next generation communication technologies, biotechnology and stem cell research and advanced materials and nanotechnology. The council would also work on key initiatives, including new energy and weather systems and climate change, thus looking at public good and developing and delivering new products to market.

Three leading scientists each from India and Britain would work on a road map to further Indo-British partnership through these strategic and bilateral initiatives.

From the Indian side, the three names proposed are C.N.R. Rao, R.A. Mashelkar, director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and T. Ramaswamy, secretary, department of science and technology.

Indian Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal announced that the best of Indian and British scientists and institutions would collaborate with a funding of 6.5 million-8 million pounds (which could go up to 12 million pounds) from Britain, with India matching the funds in contribution.

A joint statement of intent to create and implement an Intellectual Property Rights programme between Britain and India was also signed by Science Minister Lord Sainsbury and the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath here last week.

IPR is one of the key areas identified by JETCO (UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee) as providing potential for increased trade and investment in the future.

Lord Sainsbury said: "This statement formalises the commitment in both countries to creating the conditions for mutually beneficial trade and industry relations which reflect the profound changes brought about by the global knowledge economy."

Ron Marchant, chief executive of the patent office, said: "The activities identified in this statement will enable both countries to share their experiences. It will ensure businesses are able to make best use of IPRs, that intellectual property is taught appropriately at universities, and that our patent offices are effective in meeting the needs of our respective governments, business communities, and societies."

The statement was signed in the backdrop of a large gathering of Indian and British science and innovation experts at the 2nd Annual India UK Business Leaders Forum 2006 here.

Delivering the keynote address at the forum, Kamal Nath urged British companies to tap the potential in India by investing in the country and make India Britain's largest trading partner.

"UK stands to benefit from India's entrepreneurial power and from the fact that India's growth needs less fuel as compared to China", he observed and added: "Both India and UK have become partners of choice in science, technology and innovation because we both recognise the importance of these disciplines for economic prosperity and quality of life".

The commerce minister also released a report, 'Going Global - India Inc. in UK' at the forum. It is a first-of-its kind concerted study of Indian companies going global in the context of a specific market.

Indian investment into Britain was double of Britain's investment into India over 2005-06. The report also revealed that the second biggest reason for Indians investing in Britain is that it acts as a base to invest in other European countries.

Pakistan stirs speculation over Manmohan visit

Islamabad, July 4 (IANS) Pakistan's emphatic announcement Monday that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would come visiting here to review the just-completed third round of the ongoing composite dialogue has suddenly quickened the pace of diplomatic activity between the two neighbours.

It has also raised some questions in diplomatic circles for no dates have been announced.

India is yet react to Pakistan's announcement. Dates and venues are usually announced simultaneously in both capitals after mutual agreement. This has not happened.

Despite this, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam insists: "But I can tell you there will be a visit."

The feeling in India's South Block is that Pakistan has made the absence of a foreign minister in India a talking and sticking point in the diplomatic discourse with the neighbour.

Since Singh is his own foreign minister, for reasons of protocol, if not for political ones, he is required to lead the dialogue from the Indian side, and in the process, upgrade it to the level of the prime ministers.

This suits the current Pakistani diplomatic stance. Aslam, however, gave no indication whether Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would be around to talk to Singh who would, of course, meet President Pervez Musharraf.

The difference is that India does not want another Lahore or Agra, since any India-Pakistan meeting at the summit level, taking place anywhere, has the tendency to get hyped up, raising huge expectations.

"Whom do I talk to?" Aslam quoted her foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri. A man of jovial disposition, Kasuri has let his "disappointment" be known to every Indian he has met, including former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, that he regrets not being able "pick up the phone and talk" to his counterpart, since there is none in New Delhi.

"We are keen for such a meeting but not without an Indian counterpart. Therefore, there is no schedule for a meeting of the two foreign ministers," The News daily quoted Aslam as saying.

The likely date, diplomatic circles here say, could be any time after July 20, when the last meeting of the third round of the dialogue is scheduled.

What they note is Pakistan's insistence on a political level summing up of a round that has produced precious little with practically no movement forward.

At one end, the scaling down of the troops presence on the Siachen Glacier did not work out and, at the other, even the relatively easier question of exchange of detained fishermen ran into legal and procedural wrangles.

Pakistan has not concealed its disappointment on these and other bilateral issues. When asked how Pakistan reviewed the three rounds and whether it was satisfied with the outcome, the spokeswoman replied: "The two foreign secretaries are going to meet and review the third round and I cannot comment or give a review before that."

Pakistan wants its men detained in Gitmo back

Islamabad, July 4 (IANS) Pakistan is dispatching a high-level team to Washington to seek the release of 29 of its citizens held by the US in Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba and at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said some 67 Pakistanis have so far returned to the country after being freed by Americans while 29 more are still there.

In an interview with The News and Nawa-e-Waqt, Sherpao maintained that the Musharraf government was fully committed to curbing extremism and terrorism.

Commenting on the situation in Afghanistan, Sherpao said the Taliban were regrouping in Afghanistan "in nexus with nationalists" as the foreign forces (US and NATO led peacekeeping forces) "being alien to local traditions and culture are violating the sanctity of Afghan soil".

"It never suits Pakistan if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates," the newspapers quoted Sherpao as saying.

Police urges death sentence for Red Fort attackers

New Delhi, June 4 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Tuesday admitted a police appeal seeking the death penalty - instead of life imprisonment - for two men convicted for the 2000 attack on the Red Fort here in which three people were killed.

The police in sought death sentence for Nazir Ahmed Quasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Quasid. It also sought life terms for three other accused instead of the seven-year jail term the trial court had sentenced them to.

A bench comprising judges R.S. Sodhi and P.K. Bhasin admitted the police appeal, saying it would be heard along with the appeals filed by the accused seeking their acquittal.

The bench also condoned the prosecution delay in filing the appeal.

In the appeal, the prosecution alleged that the trial court had erred in awarding life imprisonment to the two Quasids since they also deserved the death sentence awarded to Pakistan national and Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Mohammed Arif alias Asfaq in the case.

The prosecution argued that the Quasids and Asfaq could not be awarded different sentences as they were tried under Section 121 of the Indian Penal Code for a similar offence - waging war against the government of India.

Police also claimed the trial court was wrong in striking down the criminal conspiracy charge against Rehmana Yusuf Farooqui, the alleged wife of Asfaq, as also Babar Mohsin and Sadaquat Ali and sentencing each of them to seven years' imprisonment.

Their sentence should be enhanced from seven years to life term for entering into a criminal conspiracy to kill, the prosecution submitted.

Seven dead as Mumbai relives 26/7 rain horror

Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) Seven people were killed in separate rain-related incidents in this inundated city Tuesday after heavy showers that continued for the fourth straight day revived memories of last year's catastrophic deluge.

Three people were electrocuted in Kurar village near the northwestern Goregaon suburb. Three others drowned in a well in the western past of the city, while one man died when a tree under which he had taken shelter collapsed in northeast Mumbai, police said.

Mumbai denizens are now staring at a rerun of last year's 26/7 nightmare when the city had come to a grinding halt following an unrelenting downpour.

Already, the frenetic pace of the country's financial capital has considerably slowed down with transportation services being thrown out of gear due to the near complete inundation of the city's roads and railway tracks.

In the 24 hours to Tuesday evening, the Colaba Observatory recorded 121 mm of rain while the Santa Cruz observatory had recorded rainfall of 152 mm.

The situation was set to worsen in the next 48 hours as the weatherman predicted more rain brought by a windstorm over India's eastern coast that was weakening and was heading west towards Maharashtra.

Even as suburban train services were disrupted, a number of commuter buses of the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking continued to ply. Services like cable TV, ATMs and the Internet were affected, but mobile phones continued to work.

Power supply was erratic in most parts of the city.

Half submerged cars and two-wheelers, a grim reminder of last year's July 26 floods that killed more than 400 people in the city, returned to haunt the megalopolis.

"It took a long while to service my car (after last year's floods) and look what has happened to it again this year," lamented Chetan Verma, a chartered accountant based in the northern Kandivli suburb.

However, no loss of life was reported from anywhere in the city, unlike Monday when five people died due to the flooding.

Schools and colleges were ordered to close and private companies also let off their employees early to avoid them having to face risky situations in returning home.

A state government advisory asked the people to stay indoors and venture out only if it was very urgent.

"We thought we will get back home safe and sound and left office early. But how do I get home if there is no transport?" asked Murli Devdas, a travel agency employee, who was heading for Kanjur Marg in central Mumbai from his workplace in downtown Churchgate.

Thousands of commuters were marooned in different parts of the city as suburban trains on both lines stopped plying by around 11 a.m.

Several long distance trains on the central line were either suspended or stranded at various stations as the tracks were under 3.5 inches of water, railway officials said.

No announcements were being made at many railway stations and the journey indicators went blank as stranded passengers waited without a clue as to when they would be able to get home.

However, the Kurla-Panvel and Dadar-Kalyan routes beginning from Central Mumbai were restored, though there was still no respite to people travelling from the southern parts of the city.

The western line was revived by afternoon, though trains were running 15-20 minutes behind schedule, as was also the case of several flights from Mumbai airport.

Scores of people could be seen wading through knee-deep water in various suburbs, the worst affected of which were low-lying areas like Santa Cruz, Bhandup and Vile Parle.

Reports of flooding were also received from Mahim, Bandra, Matunga, Dadar and Dahisar.

Shashi Tharoor wows African leaders

Banjul/Addis Ababa, July 4 (IANS) Shashi Tharoor, India's candidate for the post of UN secretary-general, kicked off his campaign roadshow with a charm offensive at the recently concluded African Union summit at Banjul in Gambia.

In his speech at a special session of the ministerial executive council of the 53-nation AU summit, Tharoor promised to focus on African issues in the future, if elected.

Tharoor, who is currently UN Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information, alluded to India's traditional relationship with Africa to underline his sincerity in solving problems of the continent if he is elected to world body's top post.

"He presented his candidature at this august gathering in the framework of India's traditionally close relations with African countries and his impeccable credentials," a statement by the Indian delegation to the AU summit said Tuesday.

In his address, Tharoor, who was a special invitee at the state banquet hosted by the Gambia President Yahya Jammeh, spelt out his vision for the UN and emphasized that "both continuity and change were important" for the rejuvenation of the world body. He recalled Mahatma Gandhi's exhortation that those who want change should become a part of it.

"Tharoor's address was received with overwhelming acclamation," the statement added.

"African leaders responded to Mr. Tharoor's candidature in highly supportive terms, underlining the warmth and friendship characterizing the relations between India and African countries," the statement added.

"They appreciated that Tharoor had chosen the AU Summit to launch his campaign after his candidature was officially announced by government of India," the statement stressed.

Two other candidates from Asia for the post of the UNGA - Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Ban Ki-Moon and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Surakiart Sathirathai - were also present with very large delegations and spent several days in Banjul.

Tharoor, an author of 8 books and innumerable newspaper articles, spoke in both English and French and his bilingual flair was appreciated by the African leaders who often erupted into applause as the diplomat-novelist waxed lyrical about India-Africa ties and how the vast UN resources could be harnessed for the development of the continent if he was elected to the office.

Shashi Tripathi, secretary (West) in the ministry of external affairs, led the Indian delegation to the AU summit.

"He candidly referred to the hotspots in Africa and the kind of solutions that were necessary and how the UN could further facilitate these matters," a press release from the Indian embassy in Ethiopia said Tuesday.

Tharoor also met the leaders of other influential African countries at the summit like Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania and foreign ministers of a score of African countries to convince them about his personal commitment to the socio-economic rejuvenation of Africa.

Special meetings were held with the African members of the UN Security Council -- Ghana, Tanzania and the Republic of Congo.

Six top Hizb militants held in Kashmir

Srinagar, July 4 (IANS) Six top guerrillas of the Hizbul Mujaheedin were arrested while one militant was killed in an operation near the Nishat gardens in this Jammu and Kashmir summer capital, police here said Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference here, state Director General of Police Gopal Sharma said Hizbul Mujaheedin divisional commander and five other guerrillas from the group were arrested in separate raids across central Kashmir.

He said the sustained interrogation of the arrested guerrillas had Tuesday morning led the police to a hideout at Gallandar near Pampore, 20 km from here, where a Pakistani militant identified as Sohail Afzal alias Ahmed Ali was killed.

"An ambush was laid by the police with the assistance of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Gallandar. The security forces gunned down Sohail early this morning," Sharma said.

In another incident, one guerrilla was killed in a nightlong gunbattle at Nishat on the outskirts of Srinagar.

"The army is still searching the cordoned area. One militant was killed in the encounter," the state police chief said.

Security forces had surrounded the Nishat area near the famous Mughal gardens Monday evening on specific information that militants were hiding in the area.

The search parties came under fire from the hiding guerrillas. In the gunfight that followed, one of the militants were killed and two soldiers and a civilian injured.

In other developments, shopkeepers here pulled down their shutters as there was heavy pelting when angry youths protested the beating of two people by the CRPF in Lal Chowk.

Traffic was disrupted as protestors shouting slogans threw stones at passing vehicles.

Spain mourns victims of metro crash

Valencia (Spain), July 4 (DPA) A state funeral is to be held Tuesday in Spain after the country's worst underground accident claimed 41 lives in the eastern city of Valencia and it will be attended by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who cut short his visit to India.

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia will attend the funeral service as well.

An underground metro train derailed between stations in the south-central part of the city Monday for unknown reasons. The accident occurred five days before Pope Benedict XVI was to visit the city.

All the victims were identified overnight except for one body, which no one claimed. Thirty of the 41 victims were women, said sources in the Valencian regional government.

Twelve out of a total 47 injured remained in hospital, two of them in critical condition.

The court in charge said it would not publish a list of names out of respect for the victims' families. Sixteen of the victims were from the village of Torrent, the last station on one of the branches of the metro line on which the accident occurred.

The Valencia region has declared three days of mourning.

The accident reminded Spaniards of an Islamist attack, which killed people on Madrid commuter trains in 2004, but officials ruled out terrorism.

Valencia's regional transport minister Jose Ramon Garcia denied earlier statements by officials who attributed the accident to speeding and a broken wheel. He said the wheels had been checked in May and that the train was in "perfect condition".

Some passengers, however, said they felt the train had been travelling too fast.

Trade unions accused the authorities of poor maintenance of the metro line, the oldest in Valencia's 18-year-old underground.

The driver died of his injuries after Monday's accident, dashing hopes he could help clarify the cause. Further details were expected after the train's black box had been examined.

The accident occurred as thousands of Roman Catholics were gathered in Valencia for the World Meeting of Families, which is to culminate with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI on the weekend.

The Pope sent a message of condolences and prayed for the victims.

Two arrested for possessing arms at Delhi station

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Two men travelling to the capital by train from Bihar were arrested at a Delhi station for being allegedly in possession of arms, including 14 pistols and 28 magazines, said a senior police official.

The two, Alahuddin and Nizamuddin, were arrested at the New Delhi railway station late Monday.

"They are residents of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, and supply arms to Maoist insurgents in Bihar," said Additional Commissioner of Crime Branch Muktesh Chander.

He added that each 9mm pistol costs around Rs. 100,000 and added that the weapons seized are locally made but of high quality.

Two Bihar cops killed as Maoists attack police post

Patna, July 4 (IANS) At least two policemen were killed and two seriously injured when about 100 armed Maoist guerrillas attacked a police outpost in Bihar.

There were also reports that they had damaged railway tracks during the attack Monday night on the Tankuppa police outpost in Gaya district, disrupting train movement for over six hours. Tankuppa is in a hilly, forested area on the important Gaya-Kodarma railway section.

While two policemen were killed, two were admitted to hospital where the condition of one is stated to be serious.

Police here said the armed guerrillas also blasted a portion of the building with dynamite.

"The Maoist ordered the policemen to surrender and hand over the arms to them. But the 15 policemen on duty refused to do so, resulting in a gun battle that went on for hours," said an official.

Urdu press roundup

Ensure Speedy Justice Delivery in Babri Masjid Demolition Case

By IndianMuslims.info Staff

The deprivation of Indian Muslims knows no bounds. They are denied speedy justice delivery, their fundamental right to run educational institutions of their own choice is violated in the name of modernisation of madrasas, and no effort is made to protect Muslim wakf lands. And in all these we find double-standard and double-dealing on the part of the government authorities – one for the majority community and the other for Muslims.

On July 2 the entire Urdu press reported a significant verdict pronounced by Justice Sonia Gokani POTA court in Gujarat, which declared six of the 34 accused in the September 24, 2002 alleged terror attack on Akshardham temple, awarding capital punishment to three, life imprisonment to one and 10-year and 5-year rigorous imprisonment to one each under the various sections of Criminal Procedure Code and Arms Act. The court pronounced its 500-page verdict in a closed room of heavily-guarded Sabarmati Jail.

The verdict could see the light of the day within a period of three years and nine months since the occurrence of the terror act. Contrast it with the willing suspension of justice delivery in the greater terror act of demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

In a 5-column article in the Qaumi Awaz (July 1), Mr. Nafey Qidwai expressed his grave concern on the slower-than-snail pace and failure of the Liberhan Commission not only in submitting its report to the Government of India but even in recording the statement of Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee even after the passage of 13-plus long years since its formation only two days after the demolition of the historic mosque. The irony of the situation, laments the learned writer, is that the Commission had to submit its report within a period of six months; but, as the powers-that-be would have it, the Commission is getting extension rather ritually every six months, and thus denying justice to Indian Muslims.

In view of the speedy delivery of justice in the Akshardham temple case, should Indian Muslims demand from the Government to treat the attack on Babri Masjid by the vandals of RSS-VHP-Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena conglomerate as a terror attack and transfer the Babri Masjid case to a fast track POTA court to ensure justice to the aggrieved and stringent punishment to the guilty?

The Awaz (June 28) reports the Government at the Centre considering the formation of a Madrasa Board for Islamic seminaries on the pattern of I.C.S.C. and C.B.S.C. Chairman National Commission for Minority Education Justice M.A. Siddiqui revealed it while talking to Maulana Kalbe Sadique during the former’s 3-day visit to Lucknow.

Maulana Dr. Kalbe Sadique, who is known as ‘Sir Syed of Today’ for his invaluable services to the spread of education, appreciated the Government’s initiative, saying that the Madrasa Board would raise the standard of madrasa education and lend greater credence to the degrees and certificates issued by madrasas.

Since the re-introduction of 15-point program for minority uplift last year, a debate on modernisation of madrasas is raging. A number of madrasa administrators have opposed any attempt to modernise madrasa syllabus. In a discussion column, Dastawez of the Sahar (July 2) General Secretary All India Madrasas Coordination Committee Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Shaukat Ali Qasmi Bastawi, Secretary Darul Uloom Deoband (Wakf Deoband) Maulana Muhammad Salim Qasmi and Secretary A’la Madrasa Mazahirul Uloom Saharanpur Maulana Muhammad Salman have argued against any intervention in madrasa education system in the name of modernisation.

Maulana Shaukat Ali says that introduction of modern subjects to the existing madrasa syllabus stands in violation of the very objectives of the establishment of madrasas. He however suggests that the doors of modern educational institutions are always open for madrasa students, who can equip themselves with modern thought, trends and currents after graduating from madrasas. Citing an article by president All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Syed Shahabuddin published sometimes last year, he said in that case their educational record has generally proved better than general students.

Replying to a question, Maulana Salim Qasmi said it is one of the eight cardinal principles devised by the founder of Darul Uloom Deoband Maulana Qasim Nanautwi not to accept any government aid lest the madrasa objectives should be diluted on the intervention of government; and it is never acceptable.

Maulana Salman argued that no sane person would ask a medical college to introduce the course of engineering or vice-versa. Similarly madrasa education aims at specialisation in Islamic knowledge and not in any modern subject.

Chairman National Commission for Minority Education Justice M.A. Siddiqui however denied any intervention in the functioning of madrasas. He said the government simply wants to see madrasas on modern lines and equipped with modern branches of knowledge.

The Rashtriya Sahara and the Awam of June 26 reported a comprehensive plan hatched by the Union Minister for Minority Affairs A.R. Antulay to contain the corruption and irregularities prevailing in State Wakf Boards and other minority welfare institutions. The plan includes amendment in the Central Wakf Act 1954 to hold State Wakf Boards responsible before the Central Wakf Board, and complete overhauling of National Minorities Finance Corporation and Maulana Azad Foundation.

The Hindustan Express (June 30) reported Secretary All India Masjid Basao Committee Haji Muhammad Zameer, while addressing a conference in New Delhi, accusing Chairman of Delhi Wakf Board Chaudhari Mateen Ahmad of selling out wakf properties worth crores of rupees. To make his point home, he cited the case of selling out the wakf land of Bibi Fatima Sam Dargah to Suhaib Ilyasi, the son on Maulana Jameel Ilyasi and director of a TV programme, The Most Wanted. In another news item covered on the same page, the Express reported Chaudhari Mateen expressing desire to tender his resignation from the chairmanship of the Board.

Lamenting the sorry plight of Wakf properties at the hands of Muslims themselves, the Awam (June 27) editorially hailed the government initiative and suggested to the Ministry of Minority Affairs to maintain annual account of the resources of State Wakf Boards and to form a committee to take stock of the situation in the States and appoint chairmen of State Wakf Boards only on its recommendations.

Terming this initiative as ‘very encouraging’, in a statement covered by the Awam and the Inquilab (June 29), Secretary-General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Muhammad Jafar called upon the ministry to ensure protection of wakf properties along with containing corruption and irregularities in State Wakf Boards. He also drew the attention of the ministry to innumerable mosques and wakf properties worth crores of rupees under adverse possession that can and should be protected by bringing them to the care of concerned Wakf Boards.

The Express of the same date reported the latest ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) intervention in the functioning of ancient mosques when it issued prohibition order on the repairing and maintenance of an ancient historical but functional mosque of the Alauddin Khilji era near Mehrauli in Delhi due to non-issuance of no objection certificate (NOC) by Delhi Wakf Board.

US cold to Pakistan plea for nuclear power

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 4 (IANS) A high-level Pakistani team came calling to Washington last week to seek help in developing nuclear power, but found US unresponsive on this as well as on the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.

Pakistan prime minister's Energy Adviser Mukhtar Ahmed conveyed Pakistan's interest in developing civilian nuclear technology at a meeting with US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, but there was no response from the Americans.

The Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline also came up for discussion at the US-Pakistan energy talks, Ahmed told Pakistani media in Washington.

"We told them that not only Pakistan but the entire region will benefit from this pipeline," but like on the nuclear issue, the Americans did not respond to Islamabad's suggestions.

However, the dialogue may lead to substantive US assistance in developing Pakistan's coal reserves - put at the world's fourth or fifth largest - that at present contributes only eight percent of its energy supplies, he said.

The delegation presented a comprehensive review of Pakistan's energy needs for the next 20 years and sought US assistance to further develop its hydel power potential, of which it utilises only 16 percent at present.

"We received assurances of across the board assistance from the Americans", besides help in Islamabad's efforts to import electricity from Central Asia, said Ahmed, who led the Pakistani team at the energy talks.

He listed Pakistan's priorities in seeking US assistance as: development of coal reserves and alternative energy, import of gas from Central Asia, development of power sub-sectors and improving the way energy was utilised in Pakistan.

"The Americans have a vast experience in producing energy from coal and we want to benefit from their experience," said Ahmed, noting Islamabad needs US help in clean coal technology, coal gasification technology, coal mining and power-generation as also in developing coal-bed methane potentials.

The Pakistani delegation met representatives of major US companies interested in investing in the energy sector. Some of them wanted the 36-dollar ceiling on gas prices in Pakistan to be raised.

With Nathu La opening, Buddhist monks see prayers answered

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Gangtok, July 4 (IANS) Thirty-nine-year-old Karma Lama, a Buddhist monk, is engrossed in deep meditation inside the Enchey monastery in India's eastern state of Sikkim.

Alongside the Lama is a group of about 20 Buddhist priests - eyes closed and hands folded, chanting religious hymns. After a while, the group breaks up for lunch, their faces radiant and all of them looking cheerful and happy.

"We all said a prayer now. In fact, this is a special prayer and we have been offering such prayers daily for the past two weeks," Lama told IANS.

The daily special prayers would continue until Thursday when India and China reopens the famed Silk Road for border trade between them. "We prayed so that our dreams of offering prayers at Lhasa becomes a reality. Now with the Silk Road opening once again, we think our prayers are answered," Ongda Lama, another young priest, said.

Trading between the two countries is to begin at the 15,000-foot (4,545 metre) Nathu La Pass on the border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region, the first time since the 1962 border war between the two countries.

"There is excitement everywhere, especially among the Buddhist monks. It is the wish of every Buddhist to one day go to Lhasa and offer prayers at the Potala," Sonam Lama, a tribal Bhutia monk, said.

For the nearly 120,000 Buddhists in this Himalayan state of some 540,000 people, the reopening of the ancient Silk Road is a matter of great excitement. The Potala is Lhasa's cardinal landmark and since its inception in 1600 it remained the home of successive Dalai Lamas - the Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader.

The Buddhists in Sikkim are followers of the Dalai Lama.

The distance from Gangtok to Lhasa is about 483 kilometers (about 300 miles).
"I am now waiting for the day when I can go to Lhasa. We have our religious roots there," Buddhist chantmaster Kunzang Norbu said.

While the local Buddhists welcome the reopening of the Silk Road or trade, there are some apprehensions that Tibetan people would take advantage of the open border to usurp Indian land.

"We must be really watchful and remain vigilant as we cannot allow Tibetans to come and occupy our land in the pretext of tourism, trade or even visiting religious sites," Rajesh Lama, a businessman in Gantok and a Tibetan Buddhist practitioner himself.

Nathu La was a major trading point between the two countries before the 1962 war. It was also one of the main arteries of the Silk Road which historically linked China via Central Asia to Europe. Business would be duty-free when formal trade begins Thursday with India able to export 29 items ranging from textiles and blankets, agricultural implements, liquor, cigarettes, tea, barley, rice, vegetable oil, and local herbs. Chinese trader would be able to trade in 15 items from horses to goats and sheep, yak tail, yak hair, goat skin, wool, and raw silk. A study conducted by the Sikkim government says bilateral trade was expected to reach $ 12 billion by 2015.

'Chhattisgarh will be India's power hub by 2011'

By Sujeet Kumar, Raipur, July 5 (IANS) Chhattisgarh will become India's power hub by 2011 with an additional power generation of 12,000 MW, according to Chief Minister Raman Singh.

"The state has the potential to meet India's growing energy demands for the next 100 years with the total power generation capacity of up to 100,000 MW," Singh told IANS in an interview.

"The state has Rs.440-billion investment in the offing in both public and private sectors and the work for power generation will begin by 2011," he said.

The world's sixth largest power generator, National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC), is expected to start 2,980 MW power generation by December 2009 at its plant at Sipat, near Bilaspur, with an investment of Rs.130 billion.

NTPC already has a 2,100 MW power plant in the Korba region.

"The Sipat first phase will see power generation of 1,980 MW (660MW x 3) and the second phase 1,000 MW (500x2)," an NTPC official said.

The central government will set up a Rs.160-billion ultra mega integrated power project of 4,000 MW at Lara in Raigarh district.

Public sector major Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) is also building a 1,000-MW plant in a joint venture with the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) in Surguja district. The equity holding ratio between the two parties will be 74:26 with an investment of Rs.45 billion. IFFCO inked the deal in June 2005.

Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) too has announced an investment of Rs.160 billion for 1,000 MW (250x4) power generation before March 2008 from its units that are under construction at Tamnar near Raigarh.

In addition, Essar Steel will bring in an investment of Rs.40 billion for a 1,000-MW power plant to be installed in the same region by 2010.

"Dozens of major private players are lining up with proposals, but only those having plans to set up production units over 1,000 MW will be entertained," the chief minister said.

'Corporate' is about corruption in the business world

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) After putting high society under the scanner in "Page 3", Madhur Bhandarkar exposes the power and money games played behind closed doors in the business world with "Corporate" that releases Friday.

The film gives an insight into the corporate world, which is more like a battlefield of power hungry people where there are no rules in the fight for wealth, fame and success.

The film revolves around two powerful and ambitious industrialists in the food sector and stars host of actors, including Bipasha Basu, Kay Kay Menon, Rajat Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Minissha Lamba, Sammir Dattani, Harsh Chaaya and Lillete Dubey.

Rajat plays Vinay Sehgal, managing director of Sehgal Group of Industries, who runs his business with a team of competent managers and executives.

His competitor is Dharmesh Marwah (Raj Babbar), managing director of Marwah International Pvt. Ltd. He uses every tactic under the sun to beat Sehgal in the business battleground.

Bipasha Basu plays Nishigandha Dasgupta, an ambitious woman whose career grows in leaps and bounds thanks to her unflinching determination to succeed and right guidance from her mentor. But nothing prepares her for the shocking revelations she finds at the top.

Kay Kay Menon plays Ritesh Sahani, a passionate man with big aspirations. Once he takes up a job, he makes sure he succeeds.

The battle between Sehgal and Marwah gets nasty when the market opens up to international players. Both of them use covert business tactics, manipulate people and abandon moral codes and ethics to win the deal.

Bhandarkar had originally approached Aishwarya Rai for Bipasha's role, but she turned it down due to date problems.

This is Bhandarkar's second film in the proposed trilogy. His first movie "Page 3" exposed the glamorous world of rich and famous. "Corporate" explores the underbelly of business world. And his third film "Traffic Signal" will delve into the lives of common men surviving on the streets of Mumbai.

'Good communication skills necessary to get US visa'

By Prashant K. Nanda, New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Thousands of Indians every year try their luck for a US visa but most are rejected as they do not arrange their documents properly or lack good communication skills, says a noted Indian economist and immigration consultant.

According to A.C. Vakil, who has authored "Gateway to America" explaining the intricacies of US visa regulations and immigration laws, around half a million plan to travel to the US every year. But only 150,000 "actually realise their cherished dream", says Vakil.

"Over 500,000 people in India seek US visas every year but over 60 percent of them are denied an entry owing to their poor communication skills," Vakil told IANS in an interview.

"They do not arrange their documents properly and even exhibit some negative body language while talking to immigration authorities. They must practise what to talk and what not to before entering the embassy or a consulate office," he said.

Currently there are over two million Indians residing in the US, he estimated. Besides immigration laws, Vakil specialises in various aspects of American life - lifestyle, education, history and political system.

He said that nearly 60 percent of the visa seekers are from south Indian states.

"Compared to north India, south Indians are seeking more US visas. The American Consulate in Chennai is the busiest consulate in the country.

"While south Indians seek visa for a job in IT and IT-enabled services firms, most Punjabis visit the US to meet friends and families. In the last couple of years thousands of nurses from southern India have sought H-1B visa (work visa).

"While in Maharashtra most of the visa seekers are students, in Gujarat the demand is for business visas. Currently around 80,000 Indian students are pursuing their education there and thus helping the US to earn around $2.8 billion per annum," said Vakil, who recently came up with the fifth edition of his book.

"Here the problem is a lack of resourcefulness. Students without qualifying for an offshore university start applying for visa. Some professionals apply for H-1B visas without having bagged an offer from a company. This is utter foolishness and finally leads to visa denial.

"People seeking US visa must first prepare a proper presentation on themselves and on their intention for visiting the US. They must give direct answers on their motive to visit the country. Post Sep 11, 2001, they do not want to take any chances."

"Gateway to America", the first edition of which came out in 1983, gives a comprehensive list of requirements that a visa seeker would love to know before venturing into the US.

It gives necessary details ranging from steps to be taken in applying for immigrant visas, problems of illegal aliens, adjustment problems faced by first timers, tips on student life, financial aid and on what to take on board an aircraft.

The book, divided into seven chapters, has included the more frequently asked questions and answers and tips on the behaviour patterns to be followed in US.

"The book is not only a one-stop shop on visa and immigrations rules but also a guide of immense value and a resourceful reference in every NRI home in the US."

225 journalists crowd into Nathu La

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Nathu La (Sikkim), July 5 (IANS) Indian officials are having a tough time dealing with more than 200 media personnel here to cover the historic reopening of border trade with China.

"Sikkim has never seen such a large number of journalists arriving at the same time," Sonam Wangmo, the state government's media liaison officer, told IANS.

Some 225 journalists, including two dozen reporters and TV crews representing various international media groups, have sought security passes to visit Nathu La, 52 km east of Sikkim's capital Gangtok.

Formal trading between India and China is to begin Thursday at the 15,000 ft Nathu La Pass on the border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region, the first direct trade link since a 1962 border war.

"We are worried as most Indian TV channels are coming with their OB (out broadcast) vans. We don't know where to find parking spaces for some 300 vehicles on Thursday," B.B. Gooroong, adviser to the Sikkim government, said.

Journalists are already crowding the small Nathu La valley in the run-up to the historic event.

"I am not used to travelling in such high altitudes and the drive from Gangtok to Nathu La was a bit tortuous for me," a young TV reporter from New Delhi said.

But for most veterans here, the event is well worth the discomfort.

"Journalists would have tough time transmitting their stories from Nathu La as no mobile connectivity is there. The telecommunication centre put up on the location might not be able to withstand the rush from reporters who would all vie for space to file their copies," said Jigmi Kazi, a senior journalist based in Gangtok.

One young TV journalist working for a popular Hindi channel said it was like a media war here with everyone trying for a scoop.

Adopt global export control standards: minister

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) India's dual-use industry should institute global standards for complying with export controls as part of its effort to rapidly integrate the country into the global matrix of technology-embedded commerce.

At the same time, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal cautioned that "unless export control regimes permit technology transfers, export control compliance by the industry will remain tactical and inadequate".

He was inaugurating a two-day workshop here to promote awareness within the Indian dual-use industry about international best practices in export control compliance. Dual-use refers to goods and technologies applicable in both military and civilian sectors.

Sibal exhorted the participants at the workshop to devise appropriate mechanisms to promote compliance while also safeguarding sensitive technologies and goods from falling into the wrong hands.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Centre for International Trade and Security (CITS) organised the workshop, which features participants from governments and leading companies of India, the US, Japan and the EU, as also Centre for Information on Security Trade Control (CISTC), Japan's apex NGO specialising in export controls.

The workshop is part of an on-going project at CITS funded by the Japan Foundation, the Centre for Global Partnership (Tokyo and New York) and focuses on promoting industry compliance in China and India. The first workshop was held in Tokyo in March and the next will be held in Beijing in September.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) K.T. Chacko cited the numerous improvements in the Indian export control system in recent years, including passage of the crucial WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Act in July.

According to him, valuable information about India's dual-use control list and related information helpful to exporters is available in a user-friendly way on the DGFT website.

The workshop will feature presentations on export control systems of the US, Japan, China and EU, and on issues of emerging concern relevant to the industry in complementing governmental efforts to promote trade while safeguarding national and global security.

AIIMS director sacked, medical services affected

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The apex decision-making body of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Wednesday sacked its director P. Venugopal following which faculties and resident doctors walked away from work as a mark of protest thus severely affecting emergency services in India's premier hospital.

"Both the emergency and casualty services have stopped functioning and no new patients are being admitted to the hospital after the decision (to sack Venugopal) was taken. Hundreds of resident doctors and students have called for a strike," said Binod Patra, president of the AIIMS resident doctors association.

"This is a case of autocracy on the part of the health minister (Anbumani Ramadoss) and we will continue to protest till Venugopal is reinstated," Patra said, adding they have started referring patients to the nearby Safdarjung Hospital.

"We have two demands - immediate reinstatement of Venugopal as director and removal of the health minister Ramadoss," Anil Sharma, another resident doctor, told reporters.

The decision to oust Venugopal came after three-hour meeting chaired by Ramadoss passed the resolution to remove the director for "violating the code of conduct".

Authorities said the decision would be referred to the government that has the power to either accept or reject the resolution to remove Venugopal.

AIIMS is the most prestigious medical institute of the country that treats over 8,000 patients on any given day.

"We have given a recommendation to the government of India. I don't think I can divulge any details at this point of time," said Ramadoss after the meeting.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP V.K. Malhotra, who is a member of the institute's governing body, said the decision was not unanimous and the issue was discussed even though it was not listed in the agenda.

"It's a black day. One by one they are destroying all autonomous institutions. This is a draconian decision and we condemn it," said Malhotra.

Meanwhile, hundreds of senior faculty members, resident doctors and students close to Venugopal are holding an emergency meeting at AIIMS to decide the future course of action.

"It's a shocking news and we are holding an emergency meeting to decide the future course of action," said K.K. Handa, general secretary AIIMS faculty association.

Venugopal had a public spat Ramadoss, the president of the institute, last month after AIIMS became the epicentre of the anti-quota protest.

While Ramadoss, alleged that "some people" have turned the country's leading medical institute into a "political hub" and warned of action against them, Venugopal accused the minister of curtailing the institute's autonomy.

Many faculty members allege the government was targeting the AIIMS for being at the centre of the protest by resident doctors and medical students against the government's move to increase caste-based quotas in central institutions of higher education.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Wednesday criticised the government for denying salaries to the medicos for the period they were on strike and asked it to be a "model employer".

Andhra local body polls give boost to TDP

Hyderabad, July 5 (IANS) The results of local body elections in Andhra Pradesh have given new life to the state's main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

The ruling Congress got clear majority in 17 districts, while the TDP bagged three zila parishads, or district level local bodies, and came close to taking control of two others.

This was a good showing by the TDP, which was not expected to win even one seat considering its humiliating defeat in the assembly elections and last year's polls to municipalities, or urban civic bodies.

The elections were held in two phases on June 28 and July 2 amid a bitter controversy over voters' list.

The results are significant for the TDP as it regained some lost ground in the Telangana region, where it suffered heavily in the assembly elections.

Apex court to hear pleas on two states' quota policies

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Supreme Court will Friday hear the pleas against the new law on Kerala's professional colleges and two orders of the Andhra Pradesh government on quotas.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the Kerala Private Medical College Managements Association (KPMCMA), Wednesday submitted before a bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice C.K. Thakker that Kerala's newly enacted law on professional colleges and institutions took away the rights of minorities in the matter of admissions.

The Kerala Professional Colleges (Prohibition of Capitation Fees, Regulation of Admissions, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fees and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence in Professional Education) Bill 2006 was passed in the assembly last week.

He said the Kerala government had virtually nationalised the medical education as under the new law it had the power to decide who is a minority. He said the government had been given powers to decide the fee structure and conduct only one Common Entrance Test (CET).

He added: "If states are allowed to pass a law like this, it will have far-reaching consequences and will violate the basic structure of the constitution."

The other petition by Dar-Us-Salam Educational Trust of Hyderabad through its trustee Akbaruddin Owaisi questioned the Andhra Pradesh government's two orders, on May 10 and May 26, regulating admissions to undergraduate courses in engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA.

T.M. Mohammed Youseff, the trust's counsel, contended that the orders prescribed that 80 percent seats would be filled by a government agency following the single window system of admission which directly infringed the right of the minority institutions to admit students of their choice.

Arjun virtually destroyed AMU: Azam Khan

New Delhi, July 5: Opposing reservation on the basis of religion, Samajwadi party leader and UP Minister Azam Khan today charged Union Hrd Minister Arjun Singh with "virtually destroying" the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) by creating an identity crisis for the academic institution.

"Arjun Singh had virtually destroyed the Aligarh Muslim University but it was the Supreme Court which saved it," Khan told a press conference here.

Khan, who is Uttar Pradesh Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minsiter, said, "there should be no reservation on the basis of religion. I had advised Arjun Singh against introducing reservation in AMU on the basis of religion."

He further charged Singh with creating an "identity crisis" for the institution by not bringing in a constitutional amendment before issuing directives regarding the reservation.

"I had urged him to bring a constitutional amendment first and then issue the directives regarding reservation, but he was reluctant. It was the reverse move by Arjun Singh which created identity crisis for the university," Khan, who is an AMU alumnus, said.

The Supreme Court has allowed AMU to continue with its minority status but restrained it from implementing 50 percent quota for Muslim students.

Source: Zee News

BJP leader accused of slapping PWD official

Bhopal, July 5 (IANS) A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman in Madhya Pradesh has been accused of slapping a Public Works Department (PWD) official Wednesday for not obeying him.

According to a complaint lodged with the Bhopal police, BJP state spokesman Uma Shankar Gupta allegedly beat up R.C. Chaturvedi, a sub-divisional officer with the PWD.

"Gupta called me and asked why the complaints of the party corporators were not being attended. When I rubbished his charges, saying that all the work was being attended to promptly, he started abusing me and threatened that I would lose my job. When I objected to his filthy language, he slapped me," Chaturvedi told IANS.

On asked whether he would take up the matter with the police or the chief minister, he said: "The police, instead of filing an FIR, has received his complaint. The Madhya Pradesh Rajya Adhikari Sangh (State Officers' Association) is holding a meeting to decide the next course of action."

Gupta, however, has denied slapping or abusing Chaturvedi. "He was supposed to be present at the public grievance redressal that I conduct from time to time. Since he did not turn up for one such camp two days ago, I called him to my residence and asked him to be sincere towards his responsibilities or be prepared to be transferred. That was all," said Gupta.

Gupta, in turn, has accused Chaturvedi of misbehaving with corporators and other people's representatives. Said Gupta: "He has misbehaved with the party corporator Anil Agarwal when the latter urged him do complete some pending work in his area."

Blair asks Muslims to root out extremism

By Prasun Sonwalkar, London, July 5 (IANS) As Britain braces itself for the first anniversary of the July 7 bombings, the Labour government's relations with Muslims continue to be fraught with distrust with Prime Minister Tony Blair urging them to do more to combat extremism within the community.

In several respects, July 7 meant for Britain what Sep 11 was for the United States.

The event led to a rash of new laws to curb extremist activities, and also sparked some well-meaning efforts to redress grievances of the large Muslim minority. But for the average Muslim, the event accentuated the deep sense of suspicion in community relations.

On a day when newspapers led with news of the death of the first British Muslim soldier who had been deployed in Afghanistan, Blair told MPs Tuesday that it was up to moderate Muslims to root out extremism from within the community. He disagreed with Labour MP Sadiq Khan that the government had done little to win the hearts and minds of Muslims since the July 7 bombings.

Pakistani-born Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, 24, died along with his comrade Corporal Peter Thorpe in a Taliban attack on their base in the volatile Helmand province on Saturday.

According to Blair, moderate Muslims should stand up to extremism and tell those with 'grievances' against Western countries that they were wrong. The government, he said, cannot alone root out extremism in Muslim communities and defeat the terrorism it creates.

Blair said: "If we want to defeat the extremism, we have got to defeat its ideas and we have got to address the completely false sense of grievance against the West. In the end, the government itself cannot go and root out the extremism in these communities.

"I am probably not the person to go into the Muslim community... It's better that we mobilise the Islamic community itself to do this. We can only defeat it if we have people in the community who are going to stand up and not merely say 'you are wrong to kill people through terrorism... you're wrong in your view of the West, the whole sense of grievance, the ideology is wrong, is profoundly wrong'."

Amidst plans to solemnly commemorate the day of London bombings, officials announced that at least four major attacks in Britain planned since July 7 had been foiled by security forces. There are also reports of extremist elements seeking to infiltrate British intelligence agencies and vice versa.

The recent anti-terror raid on a Muslim family's house in east London based on faulty intelligence has further incensed the Muslim community that sees itself as the target of growing Islamophobia in Britain.

Muslim leaders believe that Blair and his government have failed to engage with young Muslims, many of whom are seen to be radicalised by Britain's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain, said the involvement was a "key contributory factor in the radicalisation" of some young Muslims.

He told the BBC: "That said, it is true that extremists often paint a very unfair picture of the West. We all benefit from freedoms and opportunities here that are not exactly plentiful in many Muslim countries."

Meanwhile, a Populus poll for The Times newspaper and ITV News suggests that 13 percent of British Muslims believe the July 7 bombers should be regarded as martyrs, with the other 87 percent disagreeing.

Chidambaram, India Inc. discuss ways to push growth

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday assured India Inc. that the laws governing special economic zones would be made more flexible to attract domestic and overseas investment.

During a meeting with representatives of leading chambers, the finance minister also assured that all obstacles in the way of 12-percent industrial growth would be removed and efforts initiated to make the Indian industry globally competitive.

"Special economic zones should be encouraged. They are useful to the country. In the past also we have seen that special economic zones have proved to be a very useful tool for attracting investments," Chidambaram said.

"The government must take up some self-certification process in special economic zones and the usual process of conducting inspections should be taken up only in exceptional cases."

Representatives of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) were among those who attended the meeting.

The complaints and suggestions made at the meeting included non-availability of long-term debt, poor infrastructure, inflexible labour laws and high state taxes on energy that were hitting the profits of the Indian manufacturing sector.

"I am very seriously thinking about how to solve this. I will also discuss with the state authorities on high taxes on power consumption," Chidambaram said adding, some of the issues will also be taken up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

During a presentation earlier, FICCI outlined an action plan to create five million jobs per year in the manufacturing sector, push growth to 12 percent and enhance the share of industry in gross domestic product to 30 percent by 2020.

The CII presentation called for deregulating energy, mining, small scale and retail trade industries, reforms in labour and tax laws, increased public investment in infrastructure and supportive policies for food processing and innovation.

Common infections may cause diabetes

London, July 5 (IANS) Common infections may cause diabetes in children and young adults, say scientists who analysed 25 years of data on more than 4,000 young people with type 1 diabetes in Britain's Yorkshire county.

Type 1 diabetes develops when the body fails to produce any insulin to control levels of sugar in the blood, and usually emerges before the age of 40.

The researchers led by Dr Richard McNally from Leeds and Newcastle found clusters of unusually high numbers of cases among 10- to 19-year-olds in certain locations and at certain times, reported the online edition of BBC News.

Common infections and certain environment may have played a role, they argue in the journal Diabetologia.

There are about 250,000 people with type 1 diabetes in Britain, and the number of cases in children is rising by three percent each year.

It has previously been suggested that infections are linked to the development of type 1 diabetes in children who are genetically susceptible to certain environmental triggers.

Scientists have also earlier suspected that common infections could be a trigger for type 1 diabetes in those who are already genetically susceptible.

"This research brings us closer to understanding more about type 1 diabetes," McNally said.

Debt, despair, death are way of life in India's orange bowl

By Probir Pramanik,
Mumbai, July 5 (IANS) Farmers in Maharashtra's Vidharbha region, India's orange bowl, continue to kill themselves due to debt and depression, notwithstanding relief measures announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

With the core problems still looming, four more farmers have ended their lives in the region, to take the total number of suicides since June 2005 to 612 - a statistic deeply embarrassing to the central and state governments.

"The prime minister identified the lack of proper irrigation as the root cause of our region's woes, apart from the debt trap and crop failures," said Anand Subedar, an organic farmer from the Yavatmal district.

"But an apathetic state government has overlooked the need for reasonable prices for our yield. The relief package can provide only temporary help. What we need is a long-lasting solution," Subedar told IANS on phone.

"In most cases, a farmer takes a loan only to pay a previous high-interest loan. With cotton, the favourite crop, failing to fetch the right price, our miseries multiply every year."

During his two-day visit to the area last week, Manmohan Singh - who was moved by the sight of weeping farmers - identified several causes for what he said was a "crisis". He announced a Rs.37.5-billion relief package.

"The primary causes seem to be the continual crop failure, low yields, poor irrigation, medical expenses, cost of weddings in families, delays in getting electricity connections and un-remunerative prices," he said Saturday in Nagpur, the main city in a region known for its bountiful production of juicy oranges.

But farmers and social activists point out that the Maharashtra government's advice to farmers in November against repaying loans taken from unauthorised private moneylenders suddenly stopped the cash flow.

"Whatever little relief came from the banks and farms societies have also dried up," lamented Subedar. "Even private money lenders have stopped extending credit to the farmers for fear of facing police cases."

Take the case of Vasant Bhujbal, a farmer from Dharamgaon village. Since he needed money urgently to repay a moneylender, he went to a credit society as the local cooperative bank refused money.

From the Rs.30,000 loan he took from the credit society, Bhujbal paid Rs.15,000 to the moneylender, and wants to use the remaining money to grow cotton, unaware of the debt trap laid out before him.

"By March 2007 Bhujbal will have to repay the principal along with aN 11-percent interest - all this from his three-acre plot. If he fails to repay, he can never get a loan to grow a fresh crop," pointed out social worker Vishwas Kute.

"His only option would be to go back to the private money lender and the vicious cycle will continue. What the government needs is to formulate a crop insurance policy, accessible to all farmers, covering a wide range of risks," Kute added.

The issue has also taken political overtones. Maharashtra's opposition combine of Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena has demanded that the state waive all loans to debt-ridden farmers in the region.

But Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has so far rejected the opposition's demand and maintains that one-crop pattern adopted by Vidarbha farmers was one the main reasons for their delicate financial condition.

"The government would try to provide additional sources of income, better irrigation facilities and draw up a plan for agro-industries in the region as a long-term solution," has been Deshmukh's reply to the state assembly.

Emphasising the need to strengthen the cooperative movement in Vidarbha and to provide a safety net to farmers, the chief minister also increased its earlier relief package to Rs.13.31 billion from Rs.10.75 billion.

But farmers, social activists and bankers feel that while these steps may induce confidence among farmers, it would have little impact on the banking system that has taken a hit due to waiver of loans.

"The economics simply does not work out. Even if a farmer gets a bumper crop, at the end of the year, he has to repay the principal and a huge interest," said a manager of a central cooperative bank.

"Then there are other expenses in the family to take care of. For all these basic necessities, the farmer is left with little cash and has to take a fresh loan. This cycle is never ending," he said.

"As a result, the banking system takes a hit - in fact, the loan recovery in this region is a mere 30 to 35 percent."

Discovery lifts off from Cape Canaveral

Washington, July 5 (Xinhua) Space shuttle Discovery lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the US Independence Day to become the second space flight after the Columbia disaster in 2003.

The shuttle, carrying seven crewmembers, soared into the partly cloudy skies Tuesday in a thunderous blast of smoke and fire at the scheduled time 2.38 p.m. (1838 GMT)

Two minutes after launch, Discovery's solid rocket boosters cleanly separated from the shuttle.

This is the 18th US flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the 32nd flight for Space Shuttle Discovery, and also the first manned launch by the US on the nation's birthday.

During the 12-day mission, the crew will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as make crucial repairs to the station. At least two space walks are planned.

"The performance of Discovery's external tank has greatly improved," US Space Shuttle Programme Manager Wayne Hale said at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre after the successful launch.

Based on early analysis of photographs taken during ascent, just a few items have been identified for further study. Some involve debris particles shed by the massive orange tank. The particles observed were small, and all occured after the time frame - up to two minutes, 15 seconds into ascent - that engineers consider being the most aerodynamically sensitive time for the shuttle.

About fifteen minutes into the flight, astronauts on board Discovery filmed a large piece of ice tumbling away from the orbiter. The ice, which forms on the exterior of the main engines, has been observed on previous flight and is not considered an issue.

"We don't see any concern for the orbiter," said Hale and added that in the coming days, the crew will take a closer look at Discovery using the orbiter boom sensor system as well a slow back flip that will allow further photography of the orbiter from the ISS.

Two prior launch attempts, on Saturday and Sunday, were postponed due to storm clouds. Some technical problems had also sprung up before Tuesday's lift-off, including a crack found on external fuel tank and a foam that came off from the crack, but after a series of data analyses, NASA decided to go ahead with the launch.

Don't take Left support for granted: Pandhe

Bhopal, July 5 (IANS) Accusing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of being "anti-people", the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Wednesday warned it not take the Left parties' support for granted.

Addressing a press conference here, CPI-M politburo member M.K. Pandhe said the common man had been hit hard by rising prices of essential commodities, caused by "wrong policies" of the government, which "was violating the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) despite regular warnings by the Left".

The UPA government is supported from outside by the Left parties.

Pandhe said his party was going to organise a nationwide campaign next month to protest the government policies.

"During the protests, issues directly concerning the common people would be taken up," he said.

Pandhe demanded a ban on the forward trading in essential commodities, blaming it for the steep hike in the prices of food grains.

The government should instead pay more attention to strengthening the Public Distribution System, he said.

EU presidetn calls on Israel to release Palestinian officials

BERLIN, July 2 (NNN-Xinhua) -- Israel should release detained Palestinian officials and the Palestinian side should free immediately an Israeli soldier, said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on Saturday, whose country has just assumed the European Union (EU)'s rotating presidency.

In an interview with Germany's Die Welt newspaper, Vanhanen urged the Palestinian militants to immediately release the Israeli solider captured during a predawn attack on an Israeli outpost near Gaza border on Sunday.

Israel retaliated by sending troops into the Gaza region, launching airstrikes and arresting Palestinian officials.

Vanhanen said Israel must halt its military operations, free the Palestinian ministers and members of parliament and stop destroying civilian infrastructure in the Palestinian territories.

He stressed that negotiation is the only way to solve the problem.
Finland took over from Austria the rotating presidency of the 25-member EU on Saturday. – NNN-Xinhua

Exposure to rodents may protect against asthma

London, July 5 (IANS) Exposure to certain animals, including rodents, may provide protection against asthma, say experts, disproving theories that they trigger the disease.

Dr. Meinir Jones and her team at Imperial College, London, studied 689 lab workers who had antibodies in their blood specifically produced in response to rodent allergens.

They found the workers had a twofold reduced risk of developing work-related chest symptoms than those who had only non-specific antibodies in their blood, reported the online edition of BBC News.

Furthermore, the ratios of rodent-specific antibodies were highest in those lab workers who had handled the greatest number of rodents.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, supports the "hygiene hypothesis" of asthma and allergic diseases.

According to the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to naturally occurring infections and microbes might essentially immunise against the development of asthma and allergies.

Exposure to certain animals may prevent rather than trigger asthma and allergies, the researchers said.

A recent study found early childhood exposure to cats increased eczema risk, whilst early exposure to dogs appeared to be protective.

A spokeswoman from Asthma UK said although the work was helpful, more research was still needed.

"This research helps us understand the risks people may face when working with animals. However, we still have much to learn about allergen exposure and the risk of developing asthma."

Germany just cannot beat Italy when it matters

Dortmund, July 5 (DPA) Italy maintained their incredible record of never having lost a competitive match against Germany Tuesday, beating the hosts 2-0 in the World Cup semi-final here.

The match finished scoreless at the end of 90 minutes and just as it looked like it the game would go to a penalty shootout up popped Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero with two late goals to seal a final date in Berlin with France or Portugal, who meet Wednesday in Munich in the other semi-final.

It is not surprising Italy were still pushing for a winner so late in extra time as the Azzurri have gone out of three of the last four World Cups via the dreaded penalty shootout.

Germany are the undisputed champions of the World Cup penalty shootout. In fact, they have never lost one, the latest win coming in the quarter-final elimination of Argentina.

Italy meanwhile, have gone out of three out of the last four World Cups via penalty shootouts, and have yet to win a World Cup tie when it goes the distance.

Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena failed in the shootout against Argentina in the semi-final of the 1990 World Cup on home soil while four years later Italy went one better and made it to the final before going out to Brazil in the same manner.

This time Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro and most notably Roberto Baggio missed their spot kicks.

There was no joy for the Azzurri at France '98 either as the hosts and eventual winners prevailed in a quarter-final shootout after the match was still scoreless after 120 minutes. Demetrio Albertini was the culprit in the Stade de France in Paris.

Germany went into this match never having lost here in 14 previous matches, winning 13 of them, but Italy also had a record to defend - undefeated against Germany in competitive football.

Italy's last World Cup title in 1982 was celebrated with a final win over Germany in Madrid when the Azzurri with the likes of Dino Zoff, Claudio Gentile and Paolo Rossi prevailed 3-1.

The Italians could even afford to see Antonio Cabrini miss a first half penalty thanks to goals from Marco Tardelli, Alessandro Altobelli and the tournament's top scorer Rossi.

The two sides met at the semi-final stage of the 1970 tournament, where Italy won 4-3 after extra time in one of the most extraordinary games in football history.

Franz Beckenbauer played on with a dislocated shoulder and despite Karl-Heinz Schnellinger's last-minute equaliser for 1-1 in normal time and two goals from striking legend Gerd Muller in extra time, efforts from Tarcisio Burgnich, Luigi Rivera and Gianni Rivera sealed an incredible 4-3 win.

The first World Cup meeting between the sides came in 1962 in Santiago, which finished in a scoreless draw. The group match between the teams at the 1978 tournament in Argentina also finished scoreless.

Both their encounters in European championship football have also ended in draws.

Immigrants learn how to become US citizens

Washington, July 5 (IANS) A large number of immigrants from India, China, Taiwan and El Salvador among others turned up at a Citizenship Day workshop in California to learn the right way to get American citizenship in view of the new US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) guidelines.

Organized by Seva, an NGO run by an Indian lawyer, at the Family Resource Center in Fremont, California, on Friday, it even had interpreters to help hard of hearing immigrants. One such person was a deaf woman from El Salvador who has had trouble gaining citizenship for 14 years.

As immigration in the US is in the process of being changed, founder Anu Peshawaria, Harsh Chabra, an attorney of Immigration and Business Services, and other volunteers advised the immigrants to educate themselves so they understand their situation more clearly, a Seva release said.

It's a good time for green-card holders to get their citizenship too in case the laws change in a way that would affect them negatively, said Peshawaria a Supreme Court lawyer and state bonded immigration specialist.

Drawing attention to a recent USCIS notice warning customers of potential immigration fraud, she advised the community to be wary of any organizations that claim they can assist in applying for benefits that do not exist.

They should also desist from paying any fees or fines to any person or organization claiming they can help apply for or receive benefits for a temporary worker programme, she said.

The workshop included a Citizenship Presentation, a question/answer room, a raffle to benefit ongoing Seva Legal Aid Projects, and games and prizes.

India plans to set up science commission

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) India's Planning Commission has recommended a national science commission be set up to improve dissemination of scientific news and regulate various science organisations in the country.

"We think only research in the field of science and technology is not enough and dissemination of information is also very important. The research and its benefit must reach the common man and the proposed commission can look into this aspect," Planning Commission Member (Science And Technology) V.L. Chopra said.

"We have recommended the proposal in the 11th Five Year Plan, which will come into effect from 2007. The wing that advises the Prime Minister's Office on matters related to science has also supported our recommendation," Chopra told IANS on the sideline of a bio-safety workshop for science journalists and writers here Wednesday.

Chopra, a leading scientist, said some of the science councils in the states were dormant and "the commission will try to energise and equip them" for bettering the country's science and technology sector.

"The commission will also try to set up units in the districts to promote science in the grassroots level," he maintained.

Chopra, who has made significant contributions to genetic research, said opposition to BT cotton and other genetically modified crops was not always in the interest of progress.

"Technology cannot be blamed for any mishap. Genetically modified crops are a scientific way to improve crop production. India must produce enough crop to feed its over a billion population and we cannot improve the production without adopting new technologies," he maintained.

The two-day journalists/writers workshop on bio-safety was organised by the Indian Science Writers Association, ministry of environment and forest and science technology and Development Initiative, a conglomerate of journalist and scientists.

The workshop aims to bridge the communication gap between journalist and scientists.

India third largest investor in Britain

Mumbai, July 5 (IANS) Indian companies nearly doubled their investments in Britain during 2005-06 to emerge as the third largest overseas investor in that country.

According to the UK Inward Investment Report, Indian companies invested 1.02 billion pounds during the year.

"India is now the third largest investor in the UK with Indian foreign investment projects into the UK increasing by a staggering 110 percent in 2005-06," Mark Dolan, British trade and investment deputy director (inward investment) for India, told a news conference while releasing the report here.

"During 2005-06, the UK recorded a total of 76 investment projects from India, creating 1,449 jobs.

"The flow of Indian investments into the UK has turned from a trickle in the late 1990s to a flood, with the scope and breadth of projects rapidly expanding. While ICT (information and communication technology) remains the dominant sector for investment, there was strong growth in investments in pharmaceuticals and engineering too," Dolan said.

"At the same time, more Indian companies are looking outside London reflecting the deepening of our investment relationship."

The big rise was due to the Indian investors taking advantage of Britain's expertise in high-value activities such as R&D, science, cutting-edge technology, innovative design and as a base for European headquarters, he said.

The report said 1,217 foreign companies from around the world chose to invest in Britain during 2005-06, which was a 14.3 percent increase over the previous year.

"The US with 446 projects, Japan with 84 projects and India with 76 projects are the top three investors," it said.

The 76 new projects from India include 39 from Mumbai-based firms, 10 from New Delhi, 22 from Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, and five from Kolkata.

"Indian investment into the UK is now being given the recognition it deserves. This inward investment is amply exemplified by HCL that has created local employment of over 2,000 people and has contributed and made a tangible difference to the local economies in its own way," said HCL corporate vice-president (Europe) Rajeev Sawhney.

Other major Indian investors in Britain include Nicholas Piramal, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, the Apeejay Surrendra Group, Essel Propack and the Godrej Group.

Nicholas Piramal, one of India's largest innovative healthcare and pharma solutions firm, acquired the global marketing rights and technical know-how of Inhalation Anaesthetics business from Rhodia Organique Fine Ltd of Britain for 8.9 million pounds in 2005.

It also completed a 100 percent acquisition of another British company, Avecia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, for 9.5 million pounds during the same year. It also bought 25 percent equity in Reaxa Ltd, a technology company based in Manchester.

Nicholas Piramal recently acquired a manufacturing plant from drug giant Pfizer in Northumberland, gaining a strong foothold in the British bio-pharma sector.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, recently acquired British firm Stokes Forgings for an estimated 7.5 million pounds.

Essel Propack Ltd, the largest speciality packaging company in the world with an estimated 32 percent global market share, acquired Arista Tubes and Telcon Packaging in Britain for a combined value in excess of 6.4 million pounds.

"Essel plans fresh investments worth 2.7 million pounds in Britain to manufacture laminated and seamless tubes catering to the oral care, cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceutical, food and industrial sectors," Dolan said.

The Godrej Group, a leading name in engineering and consumer products in India, has a presence in Britain through Godrej International, its trading arm.

Godrej Consumer Products recently acquired Keyline Brands, a London-based consumer products company, for 16 million pounds.

Dolan said that companies from Kolkata too see Britain as an investment destination with great potential.

"The Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of the largest producers of tea in India with a workforce of 40,000, acquired Typhoo, a 100-year-old iconic British brand, at 80 million pounds," he said.

"This was India's second largest global FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) acquisition and the seventh biggest corporate takeover by an Indian company to date," he added.

India to import more kerosene

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) India will import 60,000 tonnes of kerosene within the next fortnight to bridge the shortfall in the requirements of the public distribution system (PDS), Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here Wednesday.

"We have instructed the oil marketing companies to import kerosene and build up buffer stocks as there are reports of the shortfall. We should ensure that people do not suffer," said Deora.

Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said the shortfall was due to private refineries not providing adequate supplies.

Alongside attempts to ensure adequate supplies through PDS meant for economically weaker sections, plans were afoot to curb diversion of the subsidised kerosene for adulteration of diesel and petrol, the minister said.

This might see the petroleum ministry pushing the oil companies to put in place a mechanism to check adulteration with the use of markers that make any dilution in purity of kerosene easy to detect, said Srinivasan.

While India needs around 300,000 tonnes of kerosene every quarter for supplies through the PDS, 240,000 tonnes have been imported so far, leading to a shortfall of around 60,000 tonnes.

Unlike petrol and diesel, which are indigenously produced for domestic consumption, India imports a large part of its requirement of kerosene both for the PDS distribution and commercial sale. The annual PDS requirement of kerosene is around 1.2 million tonnes.

India, Argentina to boost trade, political ties

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) India and Argentina Wednesday agreed to boost political and business ties between them and cooperate on global issues like reform of the United Nations.

Argentina's Minister of Foreign Relations, International Trade and Worship Jorge Enrique Taiana met Indian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anand Sharma here and discussed an entire array of bilateral and global issues, including specific steps to augment trade relations between the two countries.

Taiana is here on a five-day visit with a 80-member delegation, including senior officials and 50 top businessmen. This is the largest-ever Argentinian delegation to visit this country. The delegation had earlier visited Mumbai before coming here.

Taiana will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the evening.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) will organize a seminar Thursday that will focus on boosting trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

India's exports to Argentina last year was estimated to be $269 million and imports were valued at $746 million.

India's main exports to Argentina include engineering products, vehicles, auto-parts, two-wheelers and chemicals. Soya oil accounts for 80 per cent of the total imports from Argentina. The other imports include leather, wool, paper pulp, minerals and metals.

India has concluded a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Mercosur - a South American trading bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Indian Bank to expand Singapore ops on ACU platform

Singapore, July 5 (IANS) Indian Bank is planning to expand its operations here by using its newly launched Asian Currency Unit (ACU).

A report in the Today newspaper quoted the public sector Indian Bank's chairman and chief executive Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty as saying that the bank would leverage its ACU, launched last month, to expand its international operations hub in this city-state.

The ACU in Singapore is an operational unit within a bank that can accept deposits and extend loans in any other currency other than in Singapore dollars. Though it is part of the larger licensed bank, it has to maintain a separate account under Monetary Authority of Singapore rules.

"Singapore has established itself in the world arena as a financial centre and we want to leverage that advantage and do more business through the ACU. In our scheme of things today, it's very important," Chakrabarty told the newspaper.

Indian Bank, which has been operating in Singapore since 1941, holds a foreign full banking licence in the country. The licence allows the bank to deal in Singapore dollars. The other Indian banks to hold this licence are Bank of India (BoI), Uco Bank and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).

Chennai-headquartered Indian Bank is the second bank after BoI to launch an ACU.

According to Chakrabarty, since the statutory reserves requirement for a bank is not applicable to the ACU, the bank would be able to do its international business more efficiently and profitably.

"We are now in a position to do both offshore business, through the ACU, and local business. In case we need to finance a company in the Middle East, we can do it from Singapore. Internationalisation of our financing portfolio will get enlarged through this route," he was quoted as saying.

However, he said that the bank is not yet planning to apply for a qualifying full-banking (QFB) licence in Singapore. This licence allows a foreign bank to open up to 25 branches and offsite ATMs in Singapore.

SBI and ICICI Bank are the only two Indian banks that have applied for QFB licence here.

According to the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) signed between India and Singapore last year, banks of each country are allowed greater access to the other country. The pact allows three Singapore banks to open up to 15 branches in India, while a maximum of three Indian banks can get QFB status here.

Indian banks, however, do not get automatic entry into Singapore and have to meet the criteria set out by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

As of now, eight Indian banks are operating in Singapore.

Indians comprise about eight percent of Singapore's population of over four million.

Iran asks for inter-religion cooperation to solve int'l crises

Moscow, July 4, IRNA ,Head of Iran's Global Assembly for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Taskhiri, said here at International Conference of Heads of Monotheist Religions that cooperation among leaders and followers of all faiths is needed to solve international crises.

Taskhiri who was the second speaker at the international event and spoke on behalf of the Islamic World after the host and keynote speaker, President Vladimir Putin, also stressed that such cooperation would be the cornerstone for rationalism, and added that the means for solving those problems would be holding dialogues.

He added, "Cooperation, mutual respect, and lenience are the major elements required for holding meaningful dialogues, and such dialogues and interactions can strengthen the foundations of faith, justice, and spirituality, that are also the objectives of all true religions."
The Head of Proximity Assembly reiterated, "Islam considers rationalism, cooperation, and holding dialogues, as models for religious conduct, and those were the points stressed in late founder f the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini's famous letter to the former leader of the former Soviet Union."
Taskhiri as the representative of the Islamic delegations at the conferences appreciated the Russian President for his country's sponsoring of the international religious event, particularly stressing, "We appreciate the chance to get closer with our Christian brethren."
The Moscow International Conference of Heads of Monotheist religions began its activities on Monday in the presence of the Russian President and 150 religious leaders from 140 countries around the globe, including Muslims, Christians, Judaists, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Shinto leaders.

President Putin said in his address, "The main objective of all monotheist religions has been the establishment of peace and justice in the world, but ethnic, religious and tribal crises are among the major threats against global peace and stability today."
He considered dialogue among religions and the existing spirit of brotherhood among them as the best manifestation of the ideals of the monotheist faiths, adding, "leading the international campaign against terrorism, and hoisting the flag for global peace and stability should be the major slogans of the monotheist faiths today."
Islamic Republic of Iran's Ambassador to Moscow, Gholam-Reza Ansari and the Cultural Attache of our country there, Mahdi Imanipour were among the guests at the three day international event on the eve of the G8 Summit there.

Israeli rocket hits Palestinian interior ministry

Gaza, July 5 (Xinhua) The Palestinian interior ministry was targeted by Israeli forces for the second time as an air-to-ground rocket was fired early Wednesday at its building in Gaza City.

Witnesses said that a huge explosion was heard after a rocket was fired by a reconnaissance pilotless drone, which had directly hit the third and fourth floors of the interior ministry.

This is the second time that Israeli forces have attacked the interior ministry building within the last four days.

Witnesses said that the Israeli drones fired another rocket at an elementary school run by the Hamas movement in a northern Gaza City neighbourhood, causing severe damage to the school. No injuries were reported as the school was empty.

The Israeli military offensive called Summer Rains is aimed at freeing an Israeli soldier that was abducted by militants during an armed ambush carried out into an Israeli army base southeast of Gaza Strip last week.

Italy through to the final after beating Germany

Dortmund, July 5 (DPA) Italy Tuesday advanced to the final of the World Cup with a last-gasp 2-0 victory here in extra time against the hosts Germany.

Fabio Grosso opened the scoring in the 119th minute after the German defence failed to clear a corner. Allesandro Del Piero added a second in injury time to put the victory beyond doubt.

The second finalist will be determined in the other semi-final Wednesday in Munich between France and Portugal.

Both coaches made changes to the sides that had won their respective quarter- final matches.

German coach Juergen Klinsmann brought on Sebastian Kehl for suspended midfielder Torsten Frings, while Werder Bremen's Tim Borowski lined up in place of Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Klinsmann's Italian counterpart Marcello Lippi introduced Marco Materazzi, who had been suspended for the 3-0 quarter-final win against Ukraine, for Andrea Barzagli.

The first half was a very tactical affair as neither side wanted to risk too much going forward and as a result there were hardly any chances.

Italy came close to opening the score in the 16th minute when Francesco Totti sent through Simone Perotta, but the English-born midfielder pushed the ball forward too far and goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was quick off his line to thwart the danger.

The hosts, who were seeking a historic eighth final appearance, concentrated their play on playing high balls into the area for the tournament's top scorer Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, but the Italian central defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Materazzi easily managed to deal with all the attacks.

Ten minutes from the break Germany had their best opportunity of the first half through Bernd Schneider after Andrea Pirlo had given the ball away. Klose unselfishly layed off to the right, but the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder ballooned his shot over the bar.

Klose came close five minutes after the restart when he beat Gennaro Gattuso and Cannavaro but Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon rushed off his line to prevent the Germans from going ahead.

As the match progressed the Italians started playing five or six players behind the ball and relying on counter-attacks, without really putting Germany under any pressure.

The game then went into extra time.

Italy came agonizingly close to scoring 39 seconds into extra-time as substitute Alberto Gilardino beat defender Christoph Metzelder and pushed the ball past Lehmann but saw it bounce against the upright and roll across the goalmouth.

A minute later Gianluca Zambrota hit the crossbar with a long range effort after a corner.

In the second half of extra time Germany looked the more eager side, but failed to break through the compact Italian defence and Italy snatched victory with two late goals.

Jharkhand minister accused of patronising criminals

Ranchi, July 5 (IANS) Jharkhand assembly speaker Inder Singh Namdhari has accused the state's home minister Sudesh Mahto of patronising criminals.

"The home minister is inducting criminals into his party. He is also pressurising the police to remove honest officers from its force so that the criminals patronised by him can go scot free," said Namdhari while addressing a rally Tuesday in the state's Palamau district, which is his home constituency.

He asserted that till the time he represents Palamau, no criminals would be allowed to "hold the district to ransom".

Namdhari, a Janata Dal-United (JD-U) member, is a long-standing legislator from Palamau.

Namdhari said that criminals joining the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), to which Mahto belongs, are threatening police and government officials.

"The home minister should work to improve the law and order situation in the state. But here, the home minister is exploiting officers and his men are threatening officials. The situation is alarming and not good for the health of the state," he remarked.

Reacting to these accusations, Mahto Wednesday said: " The charges levelled by the speaker are political in nature. I always take the views of Namdhari in a positive manner and act upon them."

He added: " Namdhari sees the political expansion of my party as a threat. His statement is a reaction to my party expansion in his district". He brushed away these allegations as being completely "baseless".

Kerala to get a Global Village

Kochi, July 5 (IANS) Kerala is set to get a Global Village complex costing Rs.1 billion (around $22 million) to bring together Malayalis from around the world.

It would include a residential complex, educational institutions, resorts and medical facilities. The mega project, an initiative of the World Malayalee Council (WMC), would be built at the picturesque Kuttikannam in Idukki district.

WMC is a global community organisation, providing a meeting point for Malayalis. The concept of Global Village is to be showcased at the WMC Global Conference here Aug 1-7.

Organisers expect around 500 Malayalis from 40 countries and at least 1,500 from within the country to attend.

Said Sabu Karikkassery, president of WMC, Kochi: "We are planning to set aside 25 acres for plantation activities. This is being visualised as the ideal place for people who prefer to spend their retired life in peace.

"The Global Village is going to be a project in which all Malayalis would be able to buy shares. The first phase would be ready in three years, the second in seven years from now," Karikkassery told IANS.

WMC was formed in 1995 in New Jersey in the US.

Madrasas up for a makeover

New Delhi: The contrast between the various educational institutions in India is too evident and it is time that Indian madrasas started looking like a 21st century school.

And this is what the National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) wants the Human Resource Development Ministry to do � to bring the madrasas under a centralised umbrella board like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

So, could this be the step to modernise madrasa education all over the country?

"The Central Madrasa Board will speed up the modernisation of the madarasas. We feel that a board like this will help the Muslim community," Chairman, NCMEI, Justice M S A Siddiqui said.

It’s been an experiment that has been hugely successful in West Bengal. The state madrasa board has even helped UNICEF to launch polio eradication programmes in Muslim dominated areas.

So, like the CBSE, the commission proposes to have a board that would conduct exams and give passing out certificates that are recognised across the country.

Modernisation of the curriculum to bring uniformity in madrasa education is being proposed by channelising grants and aid from the Centre and the states.

"If the Central Madrasa Board takes care of these issues then there should be not be any problem," educationist, Kamal Farroqi said.

However, a section of the religious leadership is still not convinced. The fear obviously is Government interference in running the madrasas, especially in imparting religious education.

"We don't consider anyone in the Government to be competent to prescribe any course for our religious institutions," Muslim Personal Law Board’s Zafaryab Jilani said.

It's the kind of skepticism that has for long been a hurdle in the minority education roadmap. A beginning has been made but a consensus still eludes Muslim education in India.

Source: IBN Live

Musharraf opens dry port for Sino-Pak border trade

Islamabad, July 5 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has opened a "dry port" to facilitate border trade with China in Sust in the Northern Areas, a move that came two days before China and India resume trading through Nathu La in Sikkim Thursday.

Located 11,000 feet above sea level, the Chinese-built dry port at Sust, 87 km from Khunjarab Pass and 455 km from the Chinese city of Kashgar, was opened Tuesday.

It would earn Rs.1.5 billion revenue annually and enhance trade between the two countries as well as help control smuggling, The News reported from Gilgit.

Pakistan would import auto parts, watches, toys, crockery and garments amongst other things from China, while exporting cotton, cloth, dry fruit, dates and leather goods.

Inaugurating the port, Musharraf dwelt on Pakistan's "central geo-strategic location at the heart of regions, including Western parts of China, Central Asian states, Afghanistan, Iran, India and the oil-rich Gulf countries". He said he saw a pivotal role for Pakistan in enhancing trade between them.

"Such is Pakistan's geo-strategic strength it would play a vital role in promoting trade between members of major regional groupings, including SAARC, Economic Cooperation Organisation and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Trade interaction between the regional countries has to take place through Pakistan," Musharraf underlined.

The Pakistan president pointed out that the new dry port facility was part of an elaborate infrastructure network being put in place across Pakistan. Improvements in the Karakoram highway would provide China the shortest access to the Middle East and other world markets through Pakistani deep-sea ports like Gwadar.

Pakistan, he said, would become a trade and energy corridor for China and landlocked Central Asian countries.

Musical show to kick off World Cup final

Berlin, July 5 (DPA) Singer Shakira and rapper Wyclef Jean are expected to perform in a 30-minute show before the start of the World Cup final in the Olympic stadium here Sunday.

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will sing a song composed by his son Placido Domingo Jr. during the half-time break at football's pinnacle event.

The stadium, which has a capacity of 72,000, has been sold out months ago. The final, between Italy and either France of Portugal, will be beamed around the world to a television audience of more than one billion.

Among the foreign political dignitaries present will be South African President Thabo Mbeki and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

South Africa hosts the next World Cup in 2010. FIFA, football's governing body, has engaged Annan to promote the tournament after his term at the UN expires at the end of the year.

Placido Domingo, an avid football fan, has attended every World Cup final since 1982, when Italy beat Germany 3-1 in Rome.

Talking about this year's tournament, he said: "The standard has been mediocre, it has not lived up to expectations."

The knock out rounds "caused a lot of teams to play nervously", he told DPA. In particular, he found the performance of the Brazilian team and Spain disappointing.

North Korea tests six missiles

Tokyo/Washington, July 5 (DPA) North Korea launched six missiles early Wednesday, including a long-range Taepodong-2 missile capable of hitting the US coast, sparking strong responses from across the globe.

However, the US government said the Taepodong-2 rocket failed in mid-air within one minute of launch, adding that President George W. Bush had been informed of the launches and was consulting with his advisors.

The long-range missile was the third out of six tests carried out, the White House confirmed. The other tests were of Nedong and Skud medium and short-range missiles, all of which landed in the Sea of Japan.

The first two reportedly short-range missiles, launched at 3.33 a.m. (1933 GMT) and shortly after 4.00 a.m. respectively, landed in the Sea of Japan about 600 km off the Japanese coast. The Taepodong-2 missile was reportedly launched at 5.01 a.m.

Japanese government spokesperson Shinzo Abe, in a hastily arranged press conference, said Japan regretted North Korea's decision to go ahead with the tests.

A crisis meeting of the Japanese government was under way to evaluate North Korea's move and consider its response. South Korea issued no immediate reaction to the launches.

The US, South Korea and Japan all had suspected North Korea was fuelling a Taepodong-2 missile, with an estimated range of more than 6,000 km and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to parts of the US.

Countries in the region, as well as the US, had repeatedly warned North Korea against such a test launch, threatening serious repercussions. Japan and the US had threatened economic sanctions should the missile launch go ahead.

US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley called the tests "provocative behaviour," but added that they marked "no immediate threat" to the US.

Assistant Secretary of State and special envoy Christopher Hill would be sent to the region Wednesday to consult with US allies, the White House said.

"In doing this, the North Koreans have once again isolated themselves," White House spokesman Tony Snow said, adding that the US was committed to a diplomatic solution.

The UN Security Council is expected to meet in New York later Wednesday to discuss the international community's response to the missile tests.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard also condemned North Korea's missile launches and urged China to exert pressure on its reclusive neighbour to get six-party talks back in session.

"It's an extremely provocative act by North Korea," Howard said. "Australia wants North Korea to go back immediately to the six-party talks."

North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US are the six parties represented at the stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear and missile programme.

Australia is one of the few nations with diplomatic ties to North Korea and has played the role of an intermediary in negotiations between Pyongyang and US allies.

North Korea in 1998 shocked the region by firing without warning a long-range Taepodong-1 missile over the Japanese island, landing in the Pacific Ocean, but had agreed to a moratorium on missile testing in 1999.

Nuclear deal will boost US military sales to India

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 5 (IANS) If Congress approves the India-US nuclear deal, it would cement a historic new alliance between the two countries and open the doors to billions of dollars worth of high-tech and military sales to the South Asian nation, says an American daily.

Boston Globe suggested that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) spent more than $1 million on fact-finding trips to India for members of the US Congress, their staff, and spouses and on lobbying Congress to lift the ban on nuclear commerce with India.

"It is clear that business interests and US defence contractors and former US officials involved in South Asia policy have been working hard to push this deal," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.

"History has shown that US non-proliferation policy has consistently been compromised by interests in maintaining good relations or expanding business ties."

Few deny that the prospect of business opportunities worth billions of dollars helped fuel the deal, the paper said. For Indian entrepreneurs, it is an opportunity to make money on privatised nuclear power plants and buy high-tech equipment that has been restricted for decades.

For US businesses, it is a chance to invest in India's rapidly growing energy sector, to sell supplies to Indian nuclear reactors, and - for the first time - to have a shot at large-scale military contracts.

"I believe that all things being equal, we will get a considerable portion of the $20 (billion) to $40 billion in acquisition that the Indians plan on making by 2020," said Raymond Vickery, a senior adviser to the US-India Business Council.

Vickery said congressional approval of the deal would give Lockheed Martin a reasonable chance to get a $4 billion to $9 billion contract to supply 126 combat fighter planes to India's Navy, a contract that India would have been unlikely to approve while sanctions were in place.

Westinghouse, whose nuclear division is based in Western Pennsylvania, could help India build a civilian nuclear reactor, and Atlanta-based General Electric would be well placed to get a contract to supply India's reactors with nuclear fuel, Vickery said.

The business prospects have spurred the US-India Business Council, which represents 200 US businesses operating in India, to hire heavyweight lobbying firm Patton Boggs to work on the issue and hold strategy meetings about how to approach sceptics on Capitol Hill. Reports on the expenses of the American group's lobbying on India have not been filed.

But one of the quietest and most persistent efforts to influence Congress on India policy has come from the Indian industrial lobby CII, which represents some of India's most profitable companies, Boston Globe claimed.

The group was among the top international organisations paying for congressional travel between 2000 and 2005, even though they were not registered to lobby at the time, according to a review of congressional disclosure records conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit research organisation in Washington.

During that period, they paid more than $538,000 in travel expenses for trips by 19 Congress members, 11 spouses, and 58 congressional staffers, according to the records.

Of the 50 members serving on the House Foreign Relations Committee, eight had trips to India paid for by CII, travelling or sending a staffer. One of the eight, Representative Barbara Lee, a California Democrat, voted against the proposal last week when the committee overwhelmingly approved the deal.

In April 2005, the Confederation registered to lobby for the first time, paying Barbour Griffith & Rogers, a well-connected lobbying firm, $520,000 to lobby US government agencies, including Congress, the White House, the State Department, and the Department of Defense.

Robert Blackwill, who served as ambassador to India and deputy national security adviser under Bush, was hired by the firm to run the effort. A former foreign policy staffer for Senator Chuck Hagel assisted. In September 2005, the embassy of India also hired the firm, paying $240,000, Boston Globe said.

Opposition gets together to stymie Musharraf's re-election

Islamabad, July 5 (IANS) Leaders of Pakistan's major opposition parties plan to meet in London later this week in what is another significant move to prevent President Pervez Musharraf from getting a second term as president, media reports said.

Exiled prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif would be joined by Qazi Hussain Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in the meeting that throws up the possibility of the big ideological divide between a liberal Benazir and a conservative Qazi being bridged.

The two rivals turned allies, Bhutto and Sharif, had received leaders of another major grouping, Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) in London and had secured endorsement for the Charter of Democracy drawn up in May.

Together, they may discuss the idea of holding an all parties conference on the Charter of Democracy and also a movement by a united front of opposition parties, reported The News.

It said the London meeting, if held, "may provide the opposition a rare chance to get united on a one-point agenda of launching a joint struggle against the government".

Pointing to the traditional ideological differences, it said: "The question vexing the minds of political observers is as to how Benazir, who is a leader of the liberal and moderate forces in the country, and Qazi, who represents the conservative and religious segments of the society, would be able to bridge the wide gulf between them."

A top priority would be to study the feasibility of seeking Musharraf's impeachment and moving a no-confidence motion against the government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Simultaneously, resignations by lawmakers at the national and provincial levels are being planned in the bid to thwart Musharraf's re-election.

The JI chief has secured resignations of all its lawmakers, while a PPI news agency report from Rawalpindi said Pakistan Peoples Party legislators had also sent in their resignations to Bhutto.

While Musharraf himself not gone on record, the Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid that supports the president has repeatedly said that the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures, whose terms end next year, would be giving Musharraf "a second term in uniform".

The reference to "in uniform" is to the opposition demand that Musharraf step down as army chief and enter politics as a civilian.

Opinion, both legal and political, is divided on whether the legislatures can perform this role.

Pakistan's F16 deal will not reduce India's military advantage: US

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 5 (IANS) A $5.1-billion arms package that Washington has offered to Islamabad would neither reduce India's military advantage nor affect the regional balance of power, claims the Pentagon.

Unless stopped by the US Congress, the largest arms deal with Pakistan that has sent alarm bells ringing in New Delhi will give Islamabad 36 new F-16C/D fighter planes besides 36 advanced pilot helmets that can display targeting information on the visor and 500 kits for ground-attack satellite-guided bombs.

But the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has in a statutory notification to Congress claimed that purchase of the aircraft and weapons systems by Pakistan would not significantly reduce India's quantitative or qualitative military advantage.

Release of the weapons systems too will neither affect the regional balance of power nor introduce a new technology as this level of capability or higher already exists in other countries in the region, it told the Congress on June 28.

While the Bush administration officially denies any linkage between the arms package to Pakistan and Washington's civil nuclear deal with New Delhi, observers note that the F-16 proposal was sent to Congress just a day after a key house panel endorsed the India-US nuclear agreement. The next day a Senate panel too approved the India deal.

The House International Relations and Senate Foreign Relations committees have 30 days to approve the sale of F-16s to Pakistan or pass formal resolutions of disapproval. The House committee has scheduled a July 13 hearing to examine the arms package.

Implementation of the proposed deal with Islamabad will require multiple trips to Pakistan involving US government and contractor representatives for technical review/support, programme management, and modification of the aircraft, DSCA said.

"Given its geo-strategic location and partnership in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), Pakistan is a vital ally of the United States, as reflected in the June 2004 designation of Pakistan as a Major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ally (MNNA)," the agency said in justification of the deal.

The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping an ally meet its "legitimate defence requirements". These weapon systems will be used for close air support in ongoing operations contributing to the GWOT, it said.

Various Bush administration spokespersons, including White House's Tony Snow and State Department's Julie Reside, have since justified the deal as a demonstration of US commitment to a long-term relationship with Pakistan, a Major Non-NATO Ally, which has cooperated closely with it in the Global War on Terror.

Reside has also dismissed any suggestion that the sale could contribute to an arms race in South Asia and said a dialogue between India and Pakistan has already helped reduce tensions and provided greater stability in their region.

New Delhi has described the new arms deal with Pakistan as a "step not conducive to improving ties between India and Pakistan." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too had expressed "disappointment" over such a move during his meeting with President Bush.

But as Stephen P. Cohen, a South Asia specialist at the Brookings Institution, noted, there may be "a minor Indian backlash, but the nuclear deal is so big that they will probably tolerate this kind of US sale to Pakistan as just the cost of a relationship with Washington".

The jet fighter's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin that continues to sustain F-16 through overseas sales, is hopeful the deal with Pakistan will help it keep the production lines open beyond 2011. It's also pursuing a deal for F-16s and F-18s with India.

Pakistani Muslim dies for British Army in Afghanistan

Islamabad/London, July 5 (IANS) This is the story of the first Muslim born and bred in Pakistan joining the British Army and dying in action fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The British media has hailed Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi as a "hero" and "a true Brit." But back in Pakistan, his family is divided over his perceived divided loyalties between his faith and the call of duty.

As his body was being taken to England for burial, family members and Fellow townsmen who attended his "Ghaibana Namaz-i-Janaza" (funeral prayer held in absentia), expressed conflicting sentiments.

The largely attended congregation took place at a housing complex in Peshawar, the heartland of Pushtuns of Pakistan who openly sympathise with the Taliban.

Hashmi, 24, died with Corporal Peter Thorpe, 27, in a Taliban attack last Saturday, bringing to five the number of British troops killed in Helmand province since their deployment in April.

His portrayal in patriotic terms came three days ahead of the first anniversary of the London bombings.

"British Muslim, British hero Asian immigrant died in Afghanistan, proudly serving the country he loved," read the page one headline in the Daily Mail about Hashmi who belonged to the Intelligence Corps attached to the Royal Signals.

"As a Pakistani-born British Muslim, Jabron Hashmi was proud to serve in his adopted country's army," its story said, recalling how there are 'only 300 Muslims' in the British armed forces.

"He was happy to be sent to Afghanistan and dreamed of bringing peace to the region where he spent his childhood," it said alongside a portrait of a smiling Hashmi in uniform and beret.

The top-selling Sun tabloid called Jabron "a true Brit" and a "Muslim lad (who) 'had no fear'."

Like other newspapers, it quoted his brother Zeeshan Hashmi, who said: "He went to Afghanistan hoping to build bridges between East and West."

"He combined his love of Islam with the love of Britain and his main reason for joining the army was to make a difference. He certainly did that," said Zeeshan, who serves in the Royal Air Force, The Nation said.

Back home, lauding the bravery of Jabron, his maternal uncle Javed Iqbal, who had raised him in the absence of his father, said Jabron was unhappy with his deployment in Afghanistan. "I was not happy with his deployment in Afghanistan or even in any other Islamic state to fight against Muslims," he said, The News quoted him as saying.

However, a statement from the deceased family said: "Jabron was proud of his role as serving soldier and looked forward to his deployment to Afghanistan."

His commanding officer, Lt Col Steve Vickery of 14 Signal Regiment has lauded his role by saying: "Enthusiastic, confident and immensely popular, Lance Corporal Hashmi displayed all qualities of a first class soldier. His enthusiasm for the role he had been given was simply outstanding and the fine young man, his sad loss will be felt by us."

Parliament attack accused urges reduction of sentence

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Shaukat Hussain, sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in the parliament attack case, Wednesday moved the Supreme Court urging reduction of sentence.

Five Pakistani militants had attacked the parliament on Dec 13, 2001 and were killed by security personnel. In the shootout, nine security personnel were also killed and 16 were injured.

A trial Court on Dec 18, 2002 had awarded death penalty to Mohammad Afzal, Hussain, and Delhi University lecturer S.A.R. Geelani while sentencing Navjot Sandhu alias Afsan Guru to five years' imprisonment on charges ranging from conspiring the attack to concealing knowledge of the conspiracy.

The Delhi High Court on Oct 29, 2003 upheld the death penalty to Afzal and Hussain but acquitted both Geelani and Guru.

The apex court in August 2005 upheld the death sentence imposed on Afzal, the acquittal of Geelani and Afsan Guru and modified the sentence of life imprisonment to 10 years' imprisonment for Hussain. Thereafter review petitions were also dismissed.

A five-Judge constitution bench will hear Hussain's petition.

Supreme Court rejects Andhra's Muslim quota petition

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday rejected an application filed by the Andhra Pradesh government seeking directions to reserve five percent seats in educational institutions in the state for Muslims during the academic year 2006-07.

A bench of Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice C.K. Thakker observed that if the application were entertained it would virtually amount to staying an Andhra Pradesh high court judgment quashing quotas for Muslims.

The bench said that a well-considered order was passed Jan 4 refusing to stay the impugned judgment and it did not want to interfere with that order.

The state in its application said that the high court had struck down the 'Andhra Pradesh Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of Appointments to Posts in Public Services under the State to Muslim Community Act, 2005' as unconstitutional and as violative of articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the constitution.

On a special leave petition filed by the state challenging the high court judgment, the apex court by an interim order of Jan 4 declined to stay the operation of the judgment and posted the matter for hearing by a five-Judge constitution bench.

The application said the state government had implemented the reservations for Muslims during 2005-2006. For the academic year 2006-2007, the admission process was about to begin at various educational institutions, especially engineering and medicine colleges.

The state government submitted that it had an obligation to ensure that admissions took place every year in a uniform manner and the student community would not be prejudiced if admissions were made by extending reservations to Muslims for 2006-2007.

Take steps to curb prices: Gandhi tells Congress chief ministers

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday asked chief ministers of party-ruled states to ensure sufficient supply of essential commodities to common people at reasonable prices.

At a meeting of Congress chief ministers, also attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Gandhi asked 14 party-ruled states to take measures to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) and ensure its proper functioning to arrest the spiralling prices of essential commodities and thereby rein in inflation.

However, the chief ministers asked the government to amend the Essential Commodities Act, which had been amended in 2002 during the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule, to enable the states to take steps to restrict hoarding of essential commodities.

"The chief ministers have asked the government to amend the law. According to the present law, the state governments need centre's permission to intervene in cases of hoarding of essential commodities," said Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who also attended the meeting at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence here.

"The chief ministers also wanted to regulate forward trading in food grains and some other essential commodities to curb excessive speculation," Mukherjee told reporters.

"The prime minister has assured that the government would look into the suggestions."

According to party leaders, Gandhi directed the chief ministers that it was their responsibility to see that the PDSs functioned properly and food grains were being made available to the people.

All the Congress chief ministers except Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who were reportedly ill, and Meghalaya Chief Minister J.D. Rymbai - who was attending state assembly session - were present at the meeting.

Congress leaders were at pains to explain that the meeting was a "party affair" and not a governmental one after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the move saying the government was concerned only about the Congress-ruled states.

Asked why Gandhi was taking initiative instead of the prime minister, Congress spokesman Rajiv Shukla said: "The Congress president was concerned about the spiralling prices and the burden on the common man."

Mukherjee also dismissed suggestions that the exercise initiated by Gandhi meant isolation of the prime minister. "Where is the question of isolation? A prime minister is a prime minister", he said.

Party leaders said Gandhi was alarmed over the diminishing popularity of the party-led government among "aam admi (common man).

The meeting followed criticism from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partners and Left parties, which announced a weeklong protest against government's inaction in containing the price rise of essential commodities.

In the meeting that lasted for almost two hours, there were criticisms against the agriculture, food and public distribution ministry - under Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar - for "mishandling" the issue.

Congress and NCP leaders have been blaming each other for the insufficient procurement of food grains and subsequent price rise. The Congress Working Committee, which met last week, also criticised the food ministry's failure to meet the target of wheat procurement.

UN agency appeals for unfettered access for aid to Gaza

GENEVA, July 5 (NNN-Xinhua) -- A UN agency has appealed to Israel to ensure unfettered access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Mattias Burchard, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said there were severe backlogs in deliveries into the territory.

"UNRWA appeals to Israel to continue to allow the much-needed essentials for life to enter unfettered," Burchard told a press conference Tuesday.

"Any renewed blockage will again bring the (Gaza) Strip to the brink of
catastrophe," he said. He voiced grave concerns over Gaza residents' access to clean water, saying chlorine supplies for water purification was expected to run out in 15 days while a shortage of power prevented water from being pumped to high-rise buildings.

The UNRWA was running out of aid materials in Gaza, said the spokesman, appealing for urgent international aid. Israel had closed Gaza's borders and sent tanks, troops, gunboats and aircraft to raid the Gaza Strip over the past days in a bid to press Palestinian militants to free a captured Israeli soldier.

The Palestinian militants have demanded that Israel release Palestinian
prisoners in exchange for the soldier and set Tuesday as the deadline.

However, Israel has rejected the ultimatum, saying it would not give in to blackmails.

US House for selling F-22 Raptor to allies only

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 5 (IANS) The US House of Representatives has recommended lifting a nine-year ban on international sales of the F-22 Raptor, its most advanced fighter made by the same firm that manufactures F-16s proposed to be sold to Pakistan.

But instead of putting the plane in the general shopping window, Lockheed Martin is eyeing US allies like Australia, Britain and Japan as potential buyers for the expensive plane.

The House voted to lift the ban after an 11-minute debate on June 20, Washington Post reported.

Prospects of passage in the Senate are unclear, but it has been generally more tolerant of allowing international involvement in military programmes.

The ban was put in place to keep the Raptor's high-tech systems out of the hands of foreign governments. But with US military orders for the jet lagging, members of Congress and some top staffers in the air force have become concerned that Lockheed may shut down the plane's production line in coming years.

The $70 billion fighter programme is one of Lockheed's largest, employing more than 4,500 workers in Georgia and Texas and bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

The Pentagon has steadily lowered the number of F-22s it planned to purchase from the 750 -- it thought it needed to face off against the Soviet Union nearly 20 years ago -- down to 183. As with the older F-16, foreign purchases could keep the Raptor in business.

Lockheed and some in the air force began making a case for overseas sales of the fighter early this year as the Pentagon lowered the number of planes it would buy to save $10 billion over the next few years.

Until that point, Lockheed had expected to sell about 381 planes to the US government. The reduction prompted Lockheed to say it would have to close the F-22 production line by 2011.

Any specific sale is likely to face concerns about the export of technology that is still considered sensitive. Congress has continued funding the plane, despite its increasing cost, in part because the Raptor's technology was considered worth sustaining.

Excluding development costs that the Pentagon paid early in the programme, the price of the plane drops to between $150 million and $183 million, or even less for a stripped-down model. Foreign sales could also help defray some of the cost of the plane to the US military and keep the production line going.

US offers Pakistan its largest arms deal

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 5 (IANS) The United States has offered to sell a miffed Pakistan not just 18 odd F-16s, but a four-in-one package of aircraft, weapons and electronics worth over $5.1 billion in what would be its largest arms deal with Islamabad.

Unless stopped by the US Congress, Pakistan will get 36 new F-16C/D fighter planes worth $3 billion, weapons worth $650 million for them, 60 F-16A/B modification kits worth $1.3 billion and F-16 Engine Modifications and Falcon UP/STAR Structural Upgrades worth $151 million -- all ostensibly in aid of America's Global War on Terror.

Notified to the Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on June 28, the deal also includes 200 sidewinder missiles, 200 air-to-air missiles, 500 kits for ground-attack satellite-guided bombs and 36 advanced pilot helmets that can display targeting information on the visor.

The F-16C/D fighter aircraft, and the $650 million dollar weapon systems going with it, will be used for close air support in ongoing operations contributing to the GWOT or Global War on Terror, DSCA told the Congress.

This will also allow the Pakistani Air Force to modernise its aging fighter and weapons inventory, thereby enabling Pakistan to support both its own air defence needs and coalition operations.

The upgraded F-16A/B aircraft also will be used for close air support in ongoing GWOT operations. In addition, Pakistan intends to purchase the MLU Programme equipment to enhance survivability, communications connectivity, and extend the useful life of its F-16A/B fighter aircraft.

The modifications and upgrades in this proposed sale will permit Pakistan's F-16A/B squadron to operate safely, and enhance Pakistan's conventional deterrent capability. Pakistan's air fleet can readily use these updates to enhance and extend the life of its aircraft, DSCA said.

The modification of the engines and Falcon UP/STAR structural updates will provide capable F-16's that can be used for close air support in ongoing GWOT operations, it said.

Eleven American companies have been listed as the principal contractors for the four deals: BAE Advanced Systems, Boeing Corporation, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Raytheon Company, Raytheon Missile Systems, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Northrop-Grumman Electro-Optical Systems, Northrop-Grumman Electronic Systems, Pratt & Whitney United Technology Company, and General Electric Aircraft Engines.

Top on Pakistan's shopping list with a price tag of $3 billion are: 36 F-16C/D Block 50/52 Aircraft with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engines (IPEs) and APG-68(V)9 radars; 7 spare F100-PW-229 IPE or F110-GE-129 IPE engines; 7 spare APG-68(V)9 radar sets; 36 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; 36 AN/ARC-238 SINCGARS radios with HAVE QUICK I/II; 36 Conformal Fuel Tanks (pairs); 36 Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals; 36 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation Systems; 36 APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe Systems; 36 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites without Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) or AN/ALQ-184 Electronic Counter Measures pod without DRFM or AN/ALQ-131 Electronic Counter Measures pod without DRFM or AN/ALQ-187 Advanced Self-Protection Integrated Suites without DRFM; or AN/ALQ-178 Self-Protection Electronic Warfare Suites without DRFM and 1 Unit Level Trainer.

Next come weapons worth $650 million. These cover: 500 AIM-120C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM); 12 AMRAAM training missiles; 240 LAU-129/A Launchers; 200 AIM-9M-8/9 SIDEWINDER missiles; 500 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits: GBU-31/38 Guided Bomb Unit (GBU) kits; 1,600 Enhanced-GBU-12/24 GBUs; 800 MK-82 500 pound General Purpose (GP) and MK-84 2,000 pound GP bombs; and 700 BLU-109 2,000 pound with FMU-143 Fuze.

Third on Pakistan's wish list with a price tag of $1.3 billion are: 60 F-16A/B Mid-Life Update (MLU) modification and Falcon Star Structural Service Life Enhancement kits. These consist of: APG-68(V)9 with Synthetic Aperture Radar or APG-66(V)2 radar; Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems; AN/APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe Systems; AN/ALE-47 Advanced Countermeasures Dispenser Systems; Have Quick I/II Radios; Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals; SNIPER (formerly known as AN/AAQ-33 PANTERA) targeting pod capability; Reconnaissance pod capability; Advanced Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation Units; MDE included in the MLU modification and structural upgrade kits 21 ALQ-131 Block II Electronic Countermeasures Pods without the Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) or ALQ-184 Electronic Countermeasures Pods without DRFM; 60 ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management Systems; 1 Unit Level Trainer; and 10 APG-68(V)9 spare radar sets. Also included are radars, mode, receivers, installation, avionics, spare and repair parts.

The fourth deal worth $151 million covers modification/overhaul of 14 F100-PW-220E engines, 14 Falcon UP/STAR F-16 structural upgrade kits, de-modification and preparation of 26 aircraft with support equipment, software development/integration, modification kits.

Want to quit smoking? Try a new drug

New York, July 5 (IANS) A new drug that aids in kicking the smoking habit has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The drug Chantix (varenicline) quadruples a smoker's odds of quitting the habit, and is twice as effective as an existent smoking-cessation drug, Zyban (bupropion), reported health portal HealthDay News.

According to scientists, Chantix will also help smokers stay away from smoking months after quitting.

It greatly decreases smokers' likelihood of relapse in the first six months after quitting, said a study conducted recently.

The result is encouraging, say experts, as smokers have little that's pharmacologically useful in helping them to quit.

However, they warn that much of the hype around the new drug may be unwarranted, because Chantix remains a far-from-perfect means of quitting smoking.

Whenever a new smoking-cessation aid gets FDA approval, "there is often unbridled enthusiasm regarding the potential to solve the problems associated with smoking," said Robert Klesges at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in the journal Memphis.

While Chantix does appear to perform better than either a placebo or Zyban, high rates of both side effects and treatment failure mean the drug "definitely is not a panacea for smoking cessation," added Klesges.

The results of these trials are promising, he said, but pointed out that nicotine addiction remains an impossibly tough challenge for most smokers.

The resilience of the smoking habit against all interventions suggests that "patients currently cannot and probably never will be able to 'take a pill' that will make them stop smoking."

War room leak: Navy distances itself from CBI probe

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The Indian Navy has distanced itself from a federal probe into the leakage of classified information from its war room, saying the issue was now "beyond" its "purview".

"We are no longer in the know (of how the investigations are proceeding). The issue is now beyond our purview," sources in the naval headquarters said.

They also sought to play down reports of "panic" in the naval establishment after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in its charge sheet in the war room leak case that 7,000 pages of strategic data relating to the operational plans of the three services had been compromised between 2002 and 2005.

"We conducted a probe and came to certain conclusions. The CBI was then brought into the picture and has come to certain conclusions. We understand the Intelligence Bureau is also in the picture. Let the evidence be presented in court. That's when the true picture will emerge," the sources said.

"It is a fact that some information has been leaked but this does not impact on our operational preparedness or that of the other two services," they asserted.

The CBI, which had begun investigating the case in February at the behest of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, had conducted countrywide raids in April, leading to the arrest of five people, including three officers who had been dismissed from the navy.

In June, the CBI conducted raids at 19 places across the country on the premises of 14 people, including four navy officers, two army officers, three defence ministry officials and arms dealer Abhishek Verma, who is said to have been involved in the sale of French Scorpene submarines to the Indian Navy.

It has now been established that the raid on one of the naval officers was a case of mistaken identity.

While no arrests were made after the second round of raids, the CBI filed its charge sheet soon after.

The case had broken last year after classified information was found in the possession of retired Wing Commander S.L. Surve, a former joint director (Air Defence) at air headquarters.

The navy then carried out a probe after it was alleged that nine people were involved in leaking classified information relating to its planned purchase of a wide array of sophisticated equipment from its Directorate of Naval Operations, better known as the war room.

The navy dismissed three officers in October 2005 after the probe concluded they had sold classified information for commercial benefits.

They included Captain Kashyap Kumar, who headed the Directorate of Naval Operations at the time of the leak and was described as its "mastermind", as also Commanders Virender Rana and Vinod Kumar Jha were dismissed for their involvement in the leak.

The two commanders were among the five people the CBI arrested in April. The other three were retired Lt. Cdr. Kulbhushan Parashar, Mukesh Bajaj and Rajrani Jaiswal.

Among those charged in the case is retired Lt. Cdr. Ravi Shankaran, a relative of navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash. The CBI says Shankaran is an arms dealer and an alleged recipient of the sensitive information that was stolen from the war room.

Interpol, on the request of the CBI, has already issued a red corner notice against Shankaran, who was initially thought to be in London but whose whereabouts now are not known.

The navy chief had offered to resign after the scandal broke but the government had firmly turned this down.

According to highly placed sources, the CBI is under increasing pressure from several quarters to act, especially after media reports sought to suggest a connection between the war room leaks and alleged kickbacks in the Scorpene submarine deal.

The names of those mentioned as end users in the war room leak, such as Shankaran and Parashar, frequently appeared in the submarine deal as well.

'Rules have changed', Israel warns Palestine; launches air strikes

Gaza, July 6 (DPA) Israeli military strikes killed two militants and one police officer early Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip, even as Tel Aviv warned that the "rules of the game" have changed after a Palestinian rocket attack in its coastal city of Ashkelon.

Two militants of Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in separate air strikes as the groups were trying to launch homemade rockets at southern Israel, security sources said Thursday.

Medics at Kamal Odwan Hospital said that the body of militant Osama Hejazi was brought to the hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources said that an Israeli naval gunship fired one artillery shell at a Palestinian police post close to a northern beach in the Gaza Strip, killing one and wounding at least 10 others.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's security cabinet authorised the Israeli army to further expand a military offensive after a Palestinian missile hit a field next to a residential neighbourhood in southern Ashkelon and another an industrial zone still further south.

The army began preparations Wednesday night to send large numbers of ground troops and tanks into northern Gaza, to join smaller forces already operating in the area since Monday, Israel Army Radio reported. The reinforcements are to take up positions in the sandy dunes north of Gaza City from where the rockets are launched.

The large-scale offensive was launched last week with the primary goal of pressuring the captors of 19-year-old corporal Gilad Shalit into releasing him.

But the latest events have raised fears of a further escalation of violence. Palestinian security sources said some Israeli tanks and troops had already begun moving into the region Wednesday night.

In Washington, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel to exercise restraint, but also called on Syria to use its connections with the governing Palestinian Hamas movement - whose armed wing is keeping the soldier along with two other groups - to get the soldier released.

"There are many countries that believe that Syria has a lot of leverage that it could use to get the release of this Israeli soldier, that they really ought to do it, and they ought to do it now," Rice said.

In Brussels, European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner urged both Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the brink".

She said the spiralling violence "greatly complicated" efforts to launch an international aid fund for the Palestinians, which would bypass the Hamas-led government, and warned of a worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Geneva, the new United Nations Human Rights Council devoted its first emergency session to the situation in Gaza, but postponed a vote on a controversial resolution drafted by Muslim states and condemning human rights violations "caused by the recent Israeli military operations against Palestinian civilians".

Israel, the US and some non-governmental organisations criticized the draft resolution as being one-sided.

Despite the Israeli military activity, Palestinians in northern Gaza fired four more Gaza-produced Qassam rockets into Israel Wednesday evening. One hit a field next to a residential neighbourhood in southern Ashkelon and another an industrial zone still further south.

No injuries were reported, but five residents were treated for shock.

Israeli media, quoting foreign diplomats involved in the mediation with Shalit's captors, reported that the hostage-takers have relaxed conditions for his release and are demanding Israel accept a timetable for a future release of prisoners.

The militants had initially demanded the immediate release of more than 1,400 Palestinian militants jailed in Israel in return for corporal Gilad Shalit's freedom.

17 Indians conferred Italian knighthoods

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Seventeen Indians, including filmmakers Gautam Ghose and Ramesh Sharma, fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani, restaurateur Ritu Dalmia, and entrepreneur V.N. Dalmia were among those conferred Italian knighthoods Friday for significantly contributing to the development of friendly relations with Italy in language, culture and socio-economic activities.

Visiting Italian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gianni Vernetti conferred the awards.

"I am honoured to be presenting these awards, which recognise the contribution of individuals from this great country for promoting India-Italy ties," Vernetti said in a brief address at the function.

Among the others honoured were pianist Mehroo Jeejeebhoy, litterateurs K. Satchidanandan and B.G. Sidharth and industrialists Rakesh Bakshi and Karan Paul.

Also honoured were 90-year-old Luigi Jellici, a priest of the Don Bosco order who has completed 50 years of his ministry in India, and Stefano Pelle, the New Delhi-based head of an Italian confectionary firm.

(The Italian Embassy here had earlier circulated a list of 10 Indians and an Italian who would be conferred the awards.)

The Order was instituted in 1947. It is in three ranks: Grande Ufficiale (Grand Officer), Commendatore (Commander), and Cavalliere (Knight).

It consists of a five-pointed star held by a red ribbon with narrow green and white stripes on the edges, representing the colours of the Italian flag.

Vernetti's visit is the first by a member of Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government that came to power after the April general elections.

Ahmadinejad vows support for Iraqi government, parliament

Tehran, July 6, IRNA, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Iran's support for the Iraqi government and parliament.

At a meeting with the visiting Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani late Tuseday, President Ahmadinejad stressed that the two Islamic nations are bonded by a common religion, interests and enemies.

Referring to the unfavorable situation in Iraq, he called on Iraqi officials to strive to improve the country's state of affairs.

"I am sure that Iraqi authorities will be able to tackle their problems with prudence, wisdom, unity and reliance on God as well as the support of the people," he said, adding that tyrants exploit divisions and differences among Muslims to advance their interests.

President Ahmadinejad said "unity in the Muslim world will destroy the interests of enemies."
"Differences in opinion are only natural. The important thing is that Muslim nations are united," he said.

Al-Mashhadani, for his part, hailed Iran's support for the Iraqi nation and said the Iraqi govenrment and parliament are determined to open a new page in relations between the two countries.

Commemorating the late father of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said the people of Iraq regard Imam Khomeini as the catalyst of a new, dynamic generation.

He also hailed President Ahmadinejad for having the courage to reveal the real identity of the Zionist regime.

AIIMS director sacked, senior faculty on strike

New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) The governing body of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Wednesday sacked its director P. Venugopal, prompting most of the senior faculty to go on a 24-hour flash strike that crippled medical services.

The decision to oust Venugopal came after a three-hour governing body meeting chaired by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, the president of the prestigious institution, passed a resolution to remove the director for "violating the code of conduct".

Authorities said the governing body's resolution would be referred to the cabinet, which has the power to either accept or reject it.

Venugopal, a renowned cardiologist, had a public spat with Ramadoss last month after AIIMS emerged as the epicentre of protests against the government's decision to hike caste-based quotas in higher education.

While Ramadoss alleged that "some people" had turned the country's leading medical institute into a "political hub" and warned of action against them, Venugopal accused the minister of curtailing the institute's autonomy.

Many faculty members and resident doctors at the institute have reacted sharply to the decision to sack the director and gone on an indefinite strike to protest the "autocratic decision of the health ministry", paralysing emergency services at the hospital.

The out patient department, which closed Wednesday, will remain shut Thursday too. AIIMS treats over 8,000 patients every day.

Taking an urgent view of the matter, the general body of the faculty association of AIIMS held an emergency meeting and unanimously condemned the development as an attack on the institute's autonomy.

"The association strongly condemns the removal of director P. Venugopal and demands immediate withdrawal of the order regarding the dismissal. We condemn the interference in AIIMS and the various statements questioning the quality of research and clinical work at AIIMS," said K.K. Handa, general secretary of the association.

The three-point resolution passed by the faculty body also demanded "an apology from the health minister on above issues".

"To express our anger and anguish at these development, the faculty association has unanimously resolved to proceeded on an immediate 24-hours flash strike. The situation will be reviewed tomorrow," Handa added.

"Both the emergency and casualty services have stopped functioning and no new patients are being admitted to the hospital after the decision (to sack Venugopal) was taken. Hundreds of resident doctors and students have called for a strike," said Binod Patra, president of the AIIMS resident doctors association.

"This is a case of autocracy on the part of the health minister and we will continue to protest till Venugopal is reinstated," Patra said, adding they have started referring patients to the nearby Safdarjung Hospital.

"We have two demands - immediate reinstatement of Venugopal as director and removal of the health minister," Anil Sharma, a resident doctor, told reporters. Doctors also marched a candlelight procession in the campus to express their resentment against the decision.

Ramadoss refused to comment but said: "We have given a recommendation to the government of India. I don't think I can divulge any details at this point of time."

Bharatiya Janata Party MP V.K. Malhotra, a member of the governing body, said the decision was not unanimous and the issue was discussed despite not being listed on the agenda.

"It's a black day. One by one they are destroying all autonomous institutions. This is a draconian decision and we condemn it," said Malhotra.

Of the 15 members who participated in the meeting 12 voted against Venugopal and three including Malhotra and Delhi University vice chancellor Deepak Pental were against the move.

A section of the faculty said that the decision was not imposed by the minister but by the governing body.

"It is not a sudden decision. Looking at the sequence of events and the style of functioning of the director, the decision seems to be wise," said a senior faculty of AIIMS on the condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Wednesday criticised the government for denying salaries to the medicos for the period they were on strike and asked it to be a "model employer".

Cabinet to discuss amending Human Rights Act

New Delhi, July 06: The Union Cabinet is likely to take up today the issue of amending the Human Rights Act and keeping a strict check on reimbursement of Security Related Expenses (SRE) in insurgency-hit northeastern states.

Sources in the Home Ministry said some provisions of the Human Rights Act needed to be made people-friendly and more powers were also required to keep an effective check on rights abuses by the security personnel.

They said the Union Cabinet was also likely to take up the issue of proper utilisation of SRE funds meant for North Eastern states following complaints that the money either was being diverted to other areas or was left unutilised.

The sources said the modernisation of the police is likely to figure in the agenda of a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to be held today.

Bureau Report Cabinet to take up Foreign Educational Institutions Bill Foreign Universities will now be able to set up campuses in India with the Union Cabinet all set to clear Foreign Educational Institutions Bill. "After the Bill is cleared by the cabinet and passed by Parliament, foreign universities will be able to set up campuses in India and award degrees," sources said. The universities who meet the criteria and fulfil all the conditions will be given the status of a deemed university under the UGC Act. To guard against fly-by-night operators, only universities accredited by the competent authorities in their home country would be allowed to set up base in India, the sources added. The Bill will make it mandatory for universities wanting to start operations in India to set up operations on their own. "The franchisee system would not be allowed," sources said, adding that though existing franchise operations of foreign universities in the country would be allowed to continue. The universities wanting to enter India will have to have a corpus of Rs 10 crore and will have to get a "no objection certificate" from the embassy or High Commission of their home countries in India. The Bill also has penal provisions which include divesting them of deemed university status. Bureau Report (Source : zeenews.com)

Concrete steps demanded to improve educational backwardness of Muslims in India

Washington DC, July 5 (IMI) Indian Muslims living in America demanded Government of India to take effective steps to improve the educational backwardness of Muslims in India.

A delegation of Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) comprising of its two board members Dr Syed Naseem, Kaleem Kawaja - held a one hour meeting in Washington DC with Mr Vylar Ravi, minister for Overseas Indians, Government of India on the situation of Muslims in India.

The delegation presented a memorandum to the minister demanding concrete steps for the education of Indian Muslims. They also requested Government of India to do more to preserve the minority character of Aligarh Muslim University.

Minister Vylar Ravi explained what the current Indian Govt is doing in this direction, and promised to convey AIM's requests directly to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and to provide a point of contact person in the Indian government with whom AIM can pursue these subjects further.

Kaleem Kawaja and Syed Naseem of Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) in a meeting in Washington DC with India’s minister for Overseas Indians Vylar Ravi and Anil Gupta of the Indian Embassy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN MUSLIMS OF AMERICA
P O Box 10654, Silver Spring, MD 20914

Issue:
How we Indian Muslims in U.S. can contribute to:
(a) the continuation of fast rate of growth of the Indian economy and,
(b) the improvement in the educational status of Muslims to prepare to meet
the challenges of 21st century and the requirements of the rapidly growing
Indian economy.

1. Indian Muslims in America are proud of India's economic achievements. The high rate of economic growth with democratic system of governance is unparalleled in history. India's advancement in science and technology and highly educated manpower are also contributing to the global economy. Much of India's progress can be attributed to the pool of educated manpower that is at the cutting edge of knowledge in the world. These are of course a small proportion of India's large pool of manpower and many from poverty
stricken areas are left out. Only very few Muslims are able to take advantage of it.

2. The current situation of Muslims with respect to education is pitiful. About half the Muslims are literate and the proportion is much lower among Muslim women (11%)... Less than one of every 10 teen agers goes to school. One in four adult Muslim women works. They are a minority within minority. Only about 4% of the examinees in class 10 are Muslims. Their representation in higher level technical and professional education is more limited.
Muslims are not even in large businesses. Due to lack of qualification they are not well represented in the corporate sector. Muslims are starting with a very low base and have a long way to go. India cannot become a super power with a vast majority of people (Muslims) having no education or little irrelevant education.

3. AIM appreciated the recognition of the above problems by the Government of
India. The Prime Minister has rightly formed a High Level Committee to report on the Economic and Educational Status of India's Muslim Community. AIM is waiting for the results of the Committee's deliberation and a plan for the implementation of the recommendations of this Committee. AIM would like to help the Government in raising the economic and educational status of Muslims in India so that they can be equal partners in India's quest to become a super power. We would like to seek your advice as to how you think the NRIs in US can help in this effort.

4. AIM also appreciates the efforts currently being made by Muslims and other organizations in improving the status of Muslims especially in education. However, you will agree that bold, innovative and large scale measures are needed to reduce the gnawing gap between the current situation and the rapidly growing requirements of the Indian economy. A few areas needing special attention are:

o Implementation of the recommendations of the Committee in a speedy manner. AIM would like to comment on the Committee report and be partner with the Government in these efforts to the extent it can.

o AIM could develop a common framework for actions taking the findings of the Committee into account so that a number of agencies/organizations can take coordinated and concerted actions.

o Help expand educational opportunities and employment of Muslim women especially in most depressed areas.

o Improve the quality of traditional craft in which Muslim men and women are
engaged to compete in the global economy and find foreign market.

o Help Government select the best from among young Muslim students for providing special opportunities (financial support and coaching) to go to higher education, especially to compete for IITs, IIMs, IIScs and other universities. There are good examples of it.

o Improve the quality of education in Madarsas by intensive training of trainers. There are best practices in this respect and could be expanded to other areas.

o Involve the private sector to pay special attention to Muslim education and employment.

o Provide reservation for Muslim students in technical and professional higher education institutions for a few years, to help the community recover from its extraordinary backwardness in these areas.

AIM would like to have recognition and be provided with counterpart institutions and responsible officials in the Government of India, for implementing the above action items for the educational uplift of India's Muslim community.

DMK threatens to quit Indian government

Chennai, July 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK Thursday threatened to quit Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government if it persisted with plans to sell shares in the profit-making public sector Neyveli Lignite Corp (NLC).

Speaking at the party headquarters, Chief Minister and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi said: "Since the (central) government cannot concede the demands of (NLC) workers, we are (wondering) whether DMK should continue in the government and accept the responsibility for this (disinvestment)".

As many as 19,000 employees of NLC went on strike from June 4 night to protest against the central government decision to sell 10 percent of the company's shares, fearing it will lead to eventual privatization. Consequently, supply to Tamil Nadu from the Neyveli grid has been cut off.

NLC chief general manager A. Babu Rao said Thursday, the third day of the strike, that as much 90 percent of the staff were on strike. Nyeveli town where the factory is based is also shut in solidarity.

Only 100 MW power was being generated for emergency supply to the township hospital and to drain water from the mines.

"Lignite mining from the three mines, where 70 tonnes of lignite was being mined daily, has come to a standstill," Rao said.

Tamil Nadu got 1,000 MW of power from Neyveli. Now NLC is suffering a daily loss of Rs.60 million.

The NLC has three open cast lignite mines in Neyveli, in Cuddalore district, about 400 km south of Chennai. It produces 24 million tonnes of lignite a year, generating 2,490 MW of power for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Pondicherry. The company has assets totalling Rs.46,000 crore and makes a profit of Rs.1,000 crore every year.

The central government hopes to raise Rs.1,100 crore by selling the shares. In the wake of DMK protests earlier, the central government offered the shares to NLC's employees.

New Delhi's decision has made the DMK-backed union, Labour Progressive Front, as unhappy as other political parties in the prime minister's United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The Left is vehemently opposed to any creeping privatization of NLC or for that matter any profit-making public sector company.

Labour Progressive Front leader S. Rajavanniyan said: "Employees of NLC reject the idea of buying NLC shares as they cannot raise the money."

AIADMK leader and former chief minister J. Jayalalitha saw "an ulterior motive" in the decision to disinvest NLC and criticized Karunanidhi for taking a "wishy-washy stand".

On Thursday, she accused the chief minister of trying "avoid responsibility for the NLC disinvestment".

Karunanidhi dashed off a letter to Manmohan Singh two days ago to "immediately" spike plans to disinvest stakes in NLC.

Karunanidhi warned: "Some disgruntled elements are trying to instigate violence. Any time that may turn out to be a grave law and order problem.

"The situation in the NLC is becoming serious day-by-day and the opposition is trying to exploit the situation.

"Further", he added, "the continuation of the problem may result in breakdown in the supply of electricity not only to Tamil Nadu but to entire south India."

The DMK patriarch also expressed his unhappiness with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. However he made it clear that the DMK would continue to support the Manmohan Singh government from the outside, like the Left parties do.

In 2002, when the DMK was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, the NDA government too had plans to disinvest NLC. That led to an eight-day strike by the NLC staff.

EU approves organic farming agreement with India

Brussels, July 6 (IANS) India will be able to export select organic products to the European Union, according to a plan approved by the European Commission.

"This is a very opportune development. Thousands of acres of farmlands are being used in India for organic products," said Amar Sinha, minister for trade and economy at the Indian mission in Brussels.

An EU mission had visited India to inspect and evaluate the system implemented in the country. The matter was discussed in the meeting of the Standing Committee on Organic Farming in June when EU member-states unanimously supported approval of the Indian proposal.

India's name is now included in the list of the approved third countries from which the EU member states may import certain organic products. The names of the inspection bodies approved in India have also been listed in the decision.

Thus, one of the long-pending issues with the EU in the agriculture and marine products sector has been sorted out and India would now be able to export organic products certified by the approved agencies and the same would be accepted by the EU, according to INEP agency.

France set up final date with Italy

Munich, July 6 (DPA) A penalty from Zinedine Zidane was enough to see France overcome Portugal 1-0 in their World Cup semi-final match here Wednesday and now only Italy stand between Les Blues and a second winner's trophy.

Captain Zidane was coolness personified as the Real Madrid star clinically despatched his spot kick in the 33rd minute after Ricardo Carvalho brought down Thierry Henry.

Next up for France is an intriguing final date Sunday in Berlin against Italy, who booked their place the previous night with a last-gasp 2-0 victory in Dortmund in extra time against the hosts Germany.

Portugal must face Germany in Stuttgart Saturday in the match for third place.

Luiz Felipe Scolari welcomed back Deco and Costinha, who were both suspended for Portugal's quarter-final penalty shootout defeat of England, while France were unchanged from the side that shocked Brazil.

Portugal started the stronger and it was Brazilian-born Deco who had the game's first chance after four minutes, testing Fabien Barthez with a long-range effort.

Maniche was next to probe the French goalkeeper from distance five minutes later while Lilian Thuram also had to be alert to cut out a Luis Figo cross destined for Pauleta.

France slowly found their feet in the game with Eric Abidal nearly finding Thierry Henry with a low cross while Ricardo saved well from the striker in the 28th minute.

However, there was nothing Ricardo could do to prevent France taking the lead five minutes later when referee Jorge Larrionda pointed to the spot after Carvalho caught Henry.

Ricardo may have become the first goalkeeper to save three spot kicks in a World Cup penalty shootout against England but despite getting his fingertips to Zidane's powerful strike he could not keep it out.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who was booed throughout by fans unhappy at his apparent role in Wayne Rooney's sending off in that England match, was lucky not to be booked four minutes later when diving in the French area in search of a penalty of his own.

France started the second half much the stronger with Ricardo saving well from Henry and Frank Ribery before the up to then virtually anonymous Pauleta fired wide for Portugal in the 53rd minute.

With France appearing more and more comfortable in defence, Scolari decided to ring the changes, first bringing on Paulo Ferreira for Miguel and then Simao for Pauleta and the more offensive Helder Postiga for Costinha.

Raymond Domenech's decision to start with Barthez instead of Gregory Coupet in goal nearly came back to haunt the France coach with 13 minutes remaining when Barthez completely misjudged a Ronaldo free-kick but Figo headed over with the goal gaping.

Louis Saha came on for Henry for the last eight minutes but still found time to get himself booked and will now miss Sunday's final through suspension.

Portugal had never been behind in a match before in this tournament and apart from a late effort from Fernando Meira, France's defence held firm.

France now move on to their second final looking to emulate the victory on home soil against Brazil in 1998.

Portugal have now lost both World Cup semi-finals they have played in, their only other appearance in the last four coming in 1966, losing to eventual winners England.

GM to roll out Chevrolet Spark by 2007

Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) General Motors India, the wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corporation, is planning to roll out its Chevrolet Spark model by early 2007.

"The Spark, to be positioned in the A+ segment, will compete with the Santro and Wagon R," Ankush Arora, vice-president (marketing, sales and aftersales), said here Thursday.

The company is targeting the sale of 50,000 cars in 2006, representing a 53 percent growth over the previous year.

"General Motors India will invest Rs.2 billion ($43 million) in 2006 to expand the capacity of its assembly plant at Halol in Gujarat to 85,000 units from 60,000 units at present," he said.

GM India presently assembles the Chevrolet Tavera, the Chevrolet Optra and the Chevrolet Aveo at its Halol facility.

"The expansion is necessitated to meet the demand for the existing product lines and for the new models to be launched in future. The expansion will be complete by September 2006," he said.

GM's total investment in India after the capacity expansion will be Rs.14 billion.

The company will be introducing the CNG variant of its Optra model in Mumbai, Gujarat and Delhi in a week's time, Arora disclosed. It will cost Rs.48,000 extra.

"GM is evaluating options to further increase its capacity in future to fulfil its vision of selling 200,000 cars to occupy at least 10 percent market share of the Indian car market," Arora said.

Arora was in the city to introduce the newly launched Chevrolet SRV model priced at Rs.711,000 (ex-showroom).

Government move against equity sell-off upsets industry

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) India's leading industry lobbies Thursday expressed concern over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to put on hold all plans to dilute the government stake in state-run firms following protests by key allies including the DMK and the Left parties.

Cautioning the government against the impact of the decision, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said: "It will send wrong signals about the future of reforms programme of the country."

FICCI president Saroj Kumar Poddar pointed out that the programme to sell the government equity in public sector units had played a critical role in the development of the Indian capital market since economic reforms began in 1991.

The Confederation of India Industry (CII) too expressed deep concern over the government's decision.

"Since large public investments are required in critical areas like education, health and infrastructure, the government could face major resource constraints without disinvestments," said CII in a statement.

It urged the government to review the decision in consultation with the constituents of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) such that economy grows unimpeded.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) hoped the decision to hold back the dilution of the government stake in Nevyeli Lignite Corporation (NLC) will not set "a bad precedent for the Indian economy".

Assocham president Anil K. Agarwal said: "Disinvestment in profit making companies is the reality of the day as the government needs revenue to contain its fiscal deficit and also needs resource generation for building infrastructure.

"At a time when resource raising is a big challenge for the government, disinvestment is one of the ways out and any opposition to it will send a bad signal in an economy which is market driven," said Agarwal.

Government to stick to decision on wheat, sugar packaging

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) Thursday overruled the suggestions of a parliamentary standing committee and said the government would continue with its decision on use of jute bags for packaging of wheat and sugar.

"The CCEA has given its approval for 100 percent compulsory packing for food grains and sugar in jute bags for the Jute Year 2006-07 (July-June)," Information and Broadcasting Minister P.R. Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Use of jute bags for packaging of wheat and sugar has been mandatory, continuing the decision taken last year. We did not accept the report of the standing committee to discontinue this rule."

The minister said the decision was taken in keeping with the commitments made under the Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance government as use of these bags provides sustenance to millions of people engaged in the jute sector, particularly in the northeastern region.

To a query that with India importing substantial quantity of jute bags from Bangladesh to meet its requirement and as such the benefit of the rule is accruing to the neighbouring country, the minister said the arrangement helps to improve trade relations with Dhaka.

"The bilateral arrangement works to improve the balance of trade, which is currently in India's favour. We have to import jute from Bangladesh, which offers the best quality, as it is keen to supply more products to India."

The industry has, however, been seeking relaxation in the rule as some of the exporting countries demand alternate packaging for better protection of the products.

India sends another army battalion to Congo

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) India will send an infantry battalion to the Congo ahead of elections there later this month to beef up an Indian Army brigade that is deployed with the UN Peacekeeping Force in the insurgency-hit country.

"The second battalion of the Rajputana Rifles will be deployed in the Katanga province to ensure smooth conduct of the elections July 31," an Indian Army spokesman said.

"A request was received from the UN May 15 and we took immediate steps to accede to this," he added.

No timeframe has been set for the additional force, but it is likely to stay till the election process is complete and a new government is installed. Katangese rebels have threatened to disrupt the polls.

Meanwhile, the Sixth UN Military Contingent Junior Officers Capsule was inaugurated here Monday at the United Services Institution of India-Centre for UN Peacekeeping (USI-CUNPK).

Thirty-five officers are attending the three-week capsule. The officers have been empanelled as UN Military Contingent Officers for ongoing UN missions in Lebanon, Congo, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.

In addition 17 officers from Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Fiji, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Britain are also attending the course.

The Indian Army's participation in the UN Peacekeeping operations spans a period of 50 years covering 29 UN Missions, in which over 50,000 Indian soldiers have served in various parts of the world.

Presently, India is the second largest troop contributor to the UN. It has also offered one brigade of troops to the UN Standby Arrangements. On its part, the Indian government has honoured its soldiers for gallantry displayed while serving the cause of world peace.

The largest (and longest serving) contingent was sent to the Congo in 1961. A complete independent brigade group, it helped bring about peace and thereafter enforce it - which involved light to heavy engagements with motley groups beefed up by white mercenary columns.

Apart from the Congo, India has sent battalion groups, engineers, medical teams, military observers and staff personnel to Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Lebanon and Ethiopia. Observers and staff personnel have made their contributions to the international peace efforts in Central America, Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Liberia, Lebanon and Mozambique.

India has also provided able leaders for various missions in Gen. Thimayya in Korea and Cyprus, Lt. Gen. Dewan Prem Chand in Cyprus and Namibia, Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar in Bosnia, Maj. Gen. Inderjit Rikhye in Sinai, West Irian and Yemen, Maj. Gen. P.S. Gyani in Yemen, Sinai and Cyprus, Maj. Gen. V. Jaitley in Sierra Leone and Maj. Gen. L.M. Tiwari in Lebanon, apart from many a contingent commander.

India to buy three more stealth frigates

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The Indian Navy will acquire three additional Talwar-class stealth frigates from Russia at a cost of Rs.55.14 billion, the government announced Thursday.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here, gave its approval to the purchase.

Of the total cost, Rs.51.14 billion will be the cost of the warships and Rs 4 billion for additional equipment to be fitted on, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting.

The first ship will arrive five years after the signing of the contract.

The committee also approved the procurement of 28 submarine-launched Klub land attack missiles at a cost of Rs8.44 billion.

India to make gold hallmarking mandatory

Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) The Indian government has decided to make gold hallmarking mandatory from Jan 1, 2008, it was announced here Thursday.

"The initiative is being undertaken to protect consumer interest and to boost gold jewellery exports from the country," said L. Mansingh, secretary in the consumer affairs department.

India is considering joining the International Convention on Control and Marking of Precious Metals popularly known as "Vienna Convention" by the end of this year to boost gold jewellery exports from the country, he said.

Gold hallmarking is a criterion for being a member of the convention.

The government is already providing financial incentives for creating infrastructure for assaying and hallmarking of gold. The procedure of granting of licence and certification fees have been rationalised, he said.

According to a Bureau of Indian Standards survey in 2000 on 120 samples drawn from eight cities, an average shortage of purity of 11 percent was reported in 88 percent of the samples, Mansingh pointed out.

India to strengthen child protection, human rights laws

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The central cabinet Thursday approved amendments to two bills on juvenile justice and protection of human rights to widen their scope and ensure better implementation.

"In the case of the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2005, the cabinet has taken on board all suggestions made by the parliamentary standing committee," Minister of Information and Broadcasting P.R. Dasmunsi told reporters after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The move would ensure proper functioning of the national and state human rights commissions through changes in the criteria for selection of its heads.

Further widening the scope of the national human rights commission, the amendment would allow it to take up cases referred in courts in addition to the present system of making inquiries suo motu or on the petition of the victim or on behalf of the victim.

The amendments in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2005, approved by the cabinet, seek to provide better care for children in custody by ensuring that they are not kept in a jail or lock-up along with any adult.

They also seek to treat child beggars as vulnerable children requiring special focus.

Expressing hope that both the bills would be cleared by parliament during the monsoon session, Dasmunsi said they would help ensure better protection of the human rights and dispensation of justice.

The parliamentary standing committee has stated that the number of juvenile justice boards and child welfare committees constituted so far is inadequate to cater to those juveniles in conflict with law and in need of care and protection.

It has sought a definite timeframe for the states to constitute such boards.

An important component of the amendment is that it would raise the penalty for violation of the clause prohibiting publication of the name and other identifying details of the juvenile facing criminal charges from Rs.1,000 to Rs.25,000.

The penalty fund is to be used for the welfare of the child under supervision, the new amended draft legislation states.

India, China re-open Silk Road pass after 44 years (LEAD)

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Nathu La (Sikkim), July 6 (IANS) India and China made history Thursday by re-opening the old Silk Road along the Himalayas for border trade after more than four decades, ushering in a new era in their warming relations.

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and C. Phuntso, chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, cut a red silk ribbon at the Nathu La Pass, on the once hostile border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region.

Brass bands from both the countries struck up friendly tunes as the two leaders declared the symbolic opening at the 15,000-foot (4,545-metre)-high pass at around 9.45 a.m. The pass is being re-opened after 44 years.

Indian traders crossed over to the Chinese side with silk scarves to welcome their Chinese counterparts.

This is the third border trade point between the two countries, the other two being Lipulekh pass in Uttaranchal and Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh.

As per modalities worked out between the two countries, normal trade would begin each year on June 1 and continue till Sep 30, as the area would become impassable after that due to heavy snow, freezing weather and high velocity winds.

"This is the beginning of a new era of hope and prosperity and the improving of bilateral ties between both nations," said Phuntso, in his remarks at the ceremony.

"This is not just a trade route, but a cultural highway. It will take India-China trade to new heights," said Chamling.

Goods were displayed on both sides at the trade marts set up and the entire area was bustling with officials, security personnel and eager locals.

Traders from both sides would use trade passes for the purpose of border trade. Trade passes would also be issued to drivers of vehicles, which are utilised for the purpose of border trade.

For a start, 60 four-wheeled vehicles including passenger buses, if any, would be issued border trade passes. This number could be increased or decreased based on mutual agreement, a press release by the Indian external affairs ministry said in New Delhi.

The reopening of the Nathu La Pass, 52 km (33 miles) east of Sikkim capital Gangtok, is the first direct trade link since a 1962 border war between the two countries.

Border trade would be transacted for items contained in the agreed list of commodities for border trade between the two countries, which presently includes 29 items for exports from India to China and 15 items of import into India from China.

"The reopening of border trade is seen as an instrument for economic development for this region," Chamling told IANS.

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi told IANS: "This is not just symbolic trade but, we hope, it would help to improve relations between the countries. Today the border is open for trade and we hope the border will soon open for tourists and a bus service from Gangtok to Lhasa very soon."

Despite the sweeping rains, dense clouds and freezing temperature, the Himalayan pass echoed Thursday with Hindi film music and Chinese songs. The atmosphere was full of bonhomie with soldiers from both sides shaking hands and clicking pictures, though wielding their automatic weapons.

The Chinese delegation led by Phuntso crossed over to the Indian side along with some 100 Tibetan traders after the border was thrown open.

A group of 100 Indian traders led by 80-year-old businessman Motilal Lakhotia set foot on Chinese soil and made their way to the trade mart at Renqinggang located some 10 km from Nathu La.

The Chinese traders are to move to Sherathang, a small hamlet five km below the Nathu La Pass, where the main business hub is located for the Chinese to trade their commodities.

The trade mart at Sherathang spread over eight acres have 29 pre-fabricated tin sheds to handle customs and immigration, security posts, a telecommunication centre, a branch of the State Bank of India (US dollar is the currency to be used for trade), besides facilities for quarantine and power generation.

India and China had signed a memorandum on expanding border trade on June 23, 2003. Modalities for conducting border trade between India and China are detailed in the memorandum on the resumption of border trade signed between the two countries in December 1991 and the protocol on entry and exit procedures for border trade signed in July 1992.

Other details for border trade were worked out between the two countries last month when an Indian delegation visited the Tibet Autonomous Region from June 17-20.

Business would be duty-free with India being able to export 29 items ranging from textiles and blankets, agricultural implements, liquor, cigarettes, tea, barley, rice, vegetable oil, and local herbs. Chinese traders would be able to trade in 15 items from horses to goats and sheep, yak tail, yak hair, goat skin, wool, and raw silk.

A study conducted by the Sikkim government says bilateral trade was expected to reach $12 billion by 2015.

Trading would take place four days a week from Monday to Thursday between 7.30 a.m. (Indian Time) to 3.30 p.m. A total of 100 traders and 60 trucks carrying goods will be allowed to operate from either side of the border, said an official.

Nathu La was a major trading point between the two countries before the 1962 war. It was also one of the main arteries of the Silk Road, which historically linked China via Central Asia to Europe. The Silk Route stretch from Lhasa to Gangtok was 563 km long.

Beijing had in 2003 given up its territorial claim over the Indian state of Sikkim and India in turn had recognised the Tibetan Autonomous Region as part of Chinese territory.

India, IAEA to discuss safeguards agreement

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) A team of officials from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will arrive here over the weekend to negotiate a safeguards agreement with India - a necessary pre-condition before the US and the international community resumes nuclear trade with New Delhi.

The two-day talks on "India-specific safeguards agreement" over India's civil nuclear energy facilities - a crucial obligation agreed to by New Delhi in negotiating a civil nuclear deal with Washington in March this year - will begin Monday.

Senior officials from the external affairs ministry and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) headed by Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar will represent the Indian side during the discussions.

Kakodkar had visited Vienna early this year to engage in preliminary discussions with the IAEA officials to work out finer details of the safeguards agreement that will supervise India's present and future civilian nuclear facilities.

The conclusion of the "India-specific safeguards agreement" between New Delhi and the IAEA will boost the chances of the nuclear deal clearing the US Congress and the prospects of a bilateral deal passing muster in the US Congress.

The powerful House International Relations Committee cleared the nuclear deal late last month with an overwhelming majority in a mark-up that approved of changes in the US law to enable civil nuclear cooperation with India.

The 50-member committee approved by a vote of 37 to 5 the legislation that will make exemptions in the 1954 Atomic Energy Act to enable the US to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India in return for New Delhi placing its civilian nuclear reactors under permanent safeguards.

As part of its obligation under the India-US nuclear deal, New Delhi identified 14 of its 22 atomic reactors as civilian, which will be covered under the IAEA safeguards agreement. India, a non-signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has, however, retained its strategic option and has repeatedly stressed that the deal does not compromise its right to determine the size of nuclear deterrence.

India-China make history with re-opening of Silk Road

By Syed Zarir Hussain, Nathu La (Sikkim), July 6 (IANS) With the symbolic snipping of a red silk ribbon at the 4,500-metre Nathu La Pass, history was made Thursday morning when the old Silk Road along the Himalayas was opened for border trade between India and China after 44 years.

The Nathu La Pass, on the once hostile border between India's Sikkim state and China's Tibet region, was thrown open with the cutting of a red silk ribbon by Pawan Kumar Chamling, chief minister of Sikkim state whose Indian sovereignty was once disputed by China, and C. Phuntso, chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Brass bands from both the countries struck up friendly tunes as the two leaders declared the symbolic opening at the 15,000-foot (4,545-metre)-high pass at around 9.45 a.m.

Indian traders crossed over to the Chinese side with silk scarves to welcome their Chinese counterparts.

"This is the beginning of a new era of hope and prosperity and the improving of bilateral ties between both nations," said Phuntso, in his remarks at the ceremony.

"This is not just a trade route, but a cultural highway. It will take India-China trade to new heights," said Chamling.

Goods were displayed on both sides at the trade marts set up and the entire area was bustling with officials, security personnel and eager locals.

The reopening of the Nathu La Pass, 52 km (33 miles) east of Sikkim capital Gangtok, is the first direct trade link since a 1962 border war between the two countries.

"The reopening of border trade is seen as an instrument for economic development for this region," Chief Minister Chamling told IANS.

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi told IANS: "This is not just symbolic trade but, we hope, it would help to improve relations between the countries. Today the border is open for trade and we hope the border will soon open for tourists and a bus service from Gangtok to Lhasa very soon. We are excited and feel really good."

Despite the sweeping rains, dense clouds and freezing temperature, the Himalayan pass echoed Thursday with Hindi film music and Chinese songs. The atmosphere was full of bonhomie with soldiers from both sides shaking hands and clicking pictures, though wielding their automatic weapons.

For the first time in 44 years since the bloody winter war between the two countries, this heavily guarded border separated by a barbed wire fence had a relaxed look as frontier guards on either side exchanged friendly gestures and pleasantries.

The Chinese delegation led by Phuntso crossed over to the Indian side along with some 100 Tibetan traders after the border was thrown open.

A group of 100 Indian traders led by 80-year-old businessman Motilal Lakhotia set foot on Chinese soil and made their way to the trade mart at Renqinggang located some 10 km from Nathu La.

"I am thrilled at the prospect of being part of history," said Lakhotia, a prosperous businessman in Gangtok. Lakhotia had businesses in Lhasa before the 1962 war broke.

The Chinese traders are to move to Sherathang, a small hamlet five km below the Nathu La Pass, where the main business hub is located for the Chinese to trade their commodities.

The trade mart at Sherathang spread over eight acres have 29 pre-fabricated tin sheds to handle customs and immigration, security posts, a telecommunication centre, a branch of the State Bank of India (US dollar is the currency to be used for trade), besides facilities for quarantine and power generation.

"The Chinese traders would probably not come to trade on the inaugural day as this is something symbolic," Sikkim's director of industries Saman Prasad Subba had said.

Business would be duty-free with India being able to export 29 items ranging from textiles and blankets, agricultural implements, liquor, cigarettes, tea, barley, rice, vegetable oil, and local herbs. Chinese traders would be able to trade in 15 items from horses to goats and sheep, yak tail, yak hair, goat skin, wool, and raw silk.

A study conducted by the Sikkim government says bilateral trade was expected to reach $12 billion by 2015.

"Trading would take place four days a week from Monday to Thursday between 7.30 a.m. (Indian Time) to 3.30 p.m. A total of 100 traders and 60 trucks carrying goods will be allowed to operate from either side of the border," Subba said.

As per modalities worked out between the two countries, normal trade would begin each year on June 1 and continue till Sep 30, as the area would become impassable after that due to heavy snow, freezing weather and high velocity winds.

"We hope this trade brings in economic growth to the area," said Sonam Bhutia, a local trader hailing from a village close to Nathu La.

Nathu La was a major trading point between the two countries before the 1962 war. It was also one of the main arteries of the Silk Road, which historically linked China via Central Asia to Europe. The Silk Route stretch from Lhasa to Gangtok was 563 km long.

Beijing had in 2003 given up its territorial claim over the Indian state of Sikkim and India in turn had recognised the Tibetan Autonomous Region as part of Chinese territory.

Indian embassy in Bahrain resolves workers' dispute

Dubai, July 6 (IANS) A dispute regarding non-payment of wages by a Bahraini firm to its Indian workers came to an end after the matter was reported to the Indian embassy in Manama.

According to reports, 14 Indian labourers, employed with Classified Construction Company in Salmabad in Bahrain's Central Governorate, had alleged that they had not been paid their salaries for two to five months.

"We have repeatedly asked our employer to give us our dues. He would pay us for 15 days and nothing more than that," one of the labourers told the Bahrain Tribune newspaper.

"All the workers are heavily in debt," another said.

They also alleged that some of them were beaten up by their sponsor for asking for their wages. The incident happened Tuesday when the workers refused to leave their Salmabad accommodation unless they were paid their dues.

"Later on in the day our boss came with his brother-in-law and hit two of us, tearing their shirts and we had to rescue them from their grip," a report in the Gulf Daily News newspaper quoted one of the workers as saying.

The men then lodged a complaint with Bahrain's labour ministry, which advised them to inform the Indian embassy too.

On Wednesday morning, the workers apprised officials of the embassy in Manama about their plight.

The embassy then summoned the Bahraini managing director of the firm against whom the allegations were made.

During the talks that followed, he agreed to pay any money owed to ensure that the workers are treated properly, according to the newspaper report.

According to the agreement that was finally reached, the company will pay two of the employees, who had joined just two months ago, their whole salaries, including overtime.

The remaining 12, who are owed five months salary, will now get two months' salary and the rest over the next three months.

"We will agree to any decision taken by the embassy and also the boss has agreed that if we still want to go home, he will send four of us now and the remaining after submitting a month's notice," one of the workers later told the Gulf Daily News.

"Earlier, when business was not good we were paid our wages on time. But now, when it is booming, we are not being paid," he said.

There are over 130,000 Indians in Bahrain, many of them working as contract labourers.

Indian origin woman new British Medical Association head

By Prasun Sonwalkar, London, July 6 (IANS) An eminent Indian origin woman physician has taken over as president of the British Medical Association (BMA).

Parveen Kumar, gastroenterologist and a practising physician, quoted from poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore's "Gitanjali", "Where the mind is without fear..." during the function to take over office.

Kumar, who was born in India, is also a professor at Barts, Royal London and the Homerton Hospitals and has a distinguished academic career. She worked in the National Health Service for nearly 40 years.

Kumar succeeds Dame Deirdre Hine as the BMA president.

Kumar has published widely on small bowel disorders, particularly coeliac disease, and taught successive groups of medical student at Barts and The London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London.

Her ethos of accessible and fun learning has been passed on beyond her own classroom through her textbook, "Clinical Medicine", (co-authored with Michael Clarke), which has now become a standard source for medical students and doctors across the world.

In 2000, Kumar was awarded CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to medicine having become the first Asian Woman of the Year (Professional) in 1999.

On her appointment to the post at BMA's annual conference in Belfast last week, she said: "I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed president of the BMA for the coming year. I have a background of 40 uninterrupted years working for the NHS and I have loved every minute of it."

She dwelt on several key issues facing the medical profession in Britain, including education and training of junior doctors.

"(It) is predicted that next year, thousands of junior doctors will have no jobs - a huge waste of talent and also public money in training these young doctors. For the first time we are seeing unemployment in our medical profession and this may also get worse with more doctors coming from the European Union," she said.

Striking a personal note, Kumar said: "I came to this country with my family as an immigrant from a country without a free health service. I have been here now for the greater part of my life and have been most fortunate in having had the opportunity, the encouragement and the training, to serve the NHS.

"I have travelled much over the last few years - teaching, examining, advising, lecturing and, of course, learning. Every time I return, I am even more convinced that the NHS is a good model of care... I believe that the British health service is the best system in the world and the envy of many abroad."

Kumar concluded her presentation by dedicating Tagore's poem as a celebration to the courage of the people of Belfast, and also, "as a hope for all those in countries undergoing strife, wars and victimisation, where many of our profession are caring for the sick with great professionalism and absolute impartiality."

She said: "Please listen to these words - they are very powerful: 'Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high/Where knowledge is free/Where the world has not been broken up into fragments/ By narrow domestic walls/ Where words come out from the depth of truth/ Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection/ Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert of dead habit..../Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake'."

Indian-born yoga guru threatens $10 mn suit against LA

By Sujoy Dhar, Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) US-based yoga guru Bikram Chowdhury, accused of violating safety norms at his school visited by the likes of Salma Hayek, Venus and Serena Williams and Madonna, has threatened to slap a $10 million damage suit against Los Angeles city and the district attorney's office.

"If they don't settle everything right now I will file a damage suit of $10 million. They should seek an apology or else they would be in big trouble. I have lots of reasons to sue them," Chowdhury, who is visiting his mother in India, told IANS.

Los Angeles city attorney Rocky Delgadillo has charged him with 10 criminal safety violations, including violations of fire and safety exit rules and guidelines and cramming people into overcrowded rooms at his La Cienega Boulevard studio in the Bikram School of Yoga.

"They (the LA district attorney's office) should apologise and compensate. The move, I have reasons to believe, is driven by the vindictive attitude of an individual," said the 60-year-old Chowdhury who has kept in good shape some of Beverly Hills' most celebrated residents.

"John Kelly, whom I have not met, is one of the supervisors of the Building Safety Department of LA. He may be taking revenge for the firing of his brother-in-law who did not do his duty years ago when he was supposed to check the safety norms in my facility," Chowdhury said.

"The place in contention (40,000 sq ft) was developed by me in stages to accommodate growing number of pupils, but I had to break down a bathroom four times costing $800,000. Still, they brought 42 citations against me last month. I have cleared those minor inconsequential charges immediately."

He said he had already complained to the mayor of LA, who wanted know why the building was not checked properly for safety norms.

"I am being harassed for the past five-and-a-half years by the LA authorities. So I have decided to set up my yoga university in a hotel in Honolulu that is offering me 25,000 square feet of space. I am not moving out of LA where I am setting up more yoga schools."

Choudhury began teaching yoga in California in the early 1970s and later went on to become a cult figure with high-profile clients from the world of Hollywood, music, sports and US politics.

Known for his friendship with Michael Jackson, he has also claimed that the pop star had given him his ranch Neverland for setting up a retirement home and healing centre.

Choudhury, who founded the worldwide Yoga College of India, was born in Kolkata in 1946.

He began yoga at the age of four with India's most renowned physical culturist at that time Bishnu Ghosh, the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda (author of the most popular book on yoga, "The Autobiography of a Yogi", and founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship in LA).

Indo-Pak dialogue to figure in Kasuri's US visit

Washington, July 06: A range of issues including the status of the ongoing Indo-Pak dialogue will be discussed when Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid M Kasuri pays a three-day visit to the US capital starting July 9.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister will also raise the issue of a nuclear deal with his country similar to the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement.

Kasuri's visit follows the recent trip made to Pakistan by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Bush Administration's formal notification to Congress of a proposed F-16s package for that country totalling US $5 billion and including new planes, refurbishments to existing ones and munitions.

He is expected to meet top administration officials at various departments and will be interacting at leading think tanks and on Capitol Hill. Kasuri will be addressing the Carnegie Endowment on July 11.

The basic thrust of the talks are expected to be on Pak-US relations which became especially significant in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and the Bush Administration classifying Islamabad as a major partner in the global war on terror.

In recent weeks Washington has also been quite apprehensive at the state of Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship and has been trying to soothe ruffled feathers on both sides of the border. The situation in Afghanistan is likely to be raised when Kasuri meets Rice next Monday.

Kasuri, who is in Paris to hold talks with his French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy, had told state-run PTV before leaving that he would not "hesitate to press" French and American officials on Pakistan's case for civilian nuclear technology.

He had said that he would ask both nations to rethink their stand on their persistent refusal to reach a pact with Pakistan similar to the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, officials of the Bush Administration have denied any connection between the announcement of the F-16s package and the passage of the civilian nuclear energy deal between India and the United States in the House International Relations Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week.

However, political observers have drawn a linkage between the two, especially with regard to its timing.

The notification to Congress on June 28 has left the legislature with thirty days to reject the package; and the House International Relations Committee has scheduled a hearing on the subject for July 13.

Congressional aides pointed out that a formal up-down vote in the House and the Senate was not required for the deal to pass through Capitol Hill.

The arms package is expected to be approved as observers said that Congress hardly strikes down arms deals of this nature; and secondly because the Congressional calendar being what it is, does not permit a major debate and vote on this issue.

Senior officials have said that over the last one year or more the administration has been speaking to members of Congress in private or in closed sessions. The decision to go ahead with the F-16s to Pakistan was made in March 2005, it is being pointed out.

Bureau Report (Source : zeenews.com)

Italian PM Prodi to visit in January

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Newly-installed Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is expected to visit India in January 2007 during which the two countries are likely to take their political, strategic and cultural relations to new levels, a visiting Italian minister said Thursday.

"I am happy to announce that premier Prodi is likely to visit India in January 2007," Italian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gianni Vernetti said.

He was speaking at a function here where he conferred the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity on 35 (eds: correct) Indians and Italians who have excelled in the fields of design, culture and industry.

"The visit will provide a platform for taking our already strong bilateral relations to a new level," Vernetti told IANS on the sidelines of the function.

Vernetti's visit is the first by a member of Prodi's government that came to power after the April general elections.

Jaipur pen collector enters Limca Book of Records

Jaipur, July 6 (IANS) An eye surgeon in Jaipur will feature in the Limca Book of Records 2007 edition - not for eye surgeries but for his unmatched collection of wood finish pens.

With a collection of 80 ink pens made of steel and plastic with wooden bodies, Sunil Gupta wrote to the Limca Book of Records in March. He received a reply in affirmative.

The collection of Gupta, who has been collecting pens since 1992, has reached 92.

"I have 92 wood finish ink pens, of which about 10 are imported. Though they are made of steel and plastic they give the feel of wooden pens," said Gupta.

"The pens range from Rs.7 to Rs.600. No two pens are alike," he added.

Gupta said he had always been fascinated with ink pens and his collection included pens from different cities, including Jaipur, Baroda, Agra, Lucknow and London.

He said: "Whenever I travel out of the city I buy at least one pen that appears different from the ones I already have.

"Some of the pens I have emanate light from the rear end so that one can write even in darkness while a few of them can verify a currency note."

Attributing the achievement to his wife, Gupta said he would not have been able to collect pens had it not been for the encouragement he received from his better half.

Gupta now wants to register for the Guinness Book of World Records.

"When I applied for the Limca Book of Records in March, I had 80 pens. But now the number has reached 92 and it will keep increasing. Therefore, I must go for the Guinness World Records," he said.

Besides wood finish pens, Gupta also has a collection of about 100 other rare pens.

Jamaat chief cancels London visit to meet Bhutto, Sharif

Islamabad, July 6 (IANS) Pakistani opposition leader Qazi Hussain Ahmed has called off his visit to London to meet former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to plan a movement against President Pervez Musharraf.

The News reported this, quoting an unidentified close aide of the Jamaat-e-Islami leader who gave no reasons for the cancellation.

Ahmed, who heads the rightwing political combine Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), was scheduled to visit London this week at the invitation of the Islamic Mission in Britain.

Playing down the cancellation, the newspaper said the meeting with the two former heads of government was not on the priority list of the MMA president. The purpose of the visit was to attend the Islamic Mission meeting.

There has been speculation about a rapprochement between the rightwing combine and the relatively moderate former prime ministers with the JI chief broadly endorsing the Charter of Democracy, worked out by Sharif and Bhutto to forge a broad opposition against Musharraf.

However, the MMA is not united on the issue and Maulana Fazlur Rahman, who is leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, distanced his part of the combine from any direct move against Musharraf.

While Ahmed secured resignations of Jamaat lawmakers, Rahman was not in favour of a direct confrontation with Musharraf. He said Ahmed had acted on his own.

The opposition remains divided in its approach, even though Bhutto, who heads the Pakistan's People's Party (PPP), and Sharif, chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, have worked out an understanding with another grouping, the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD).

Kumaran elected to Rajya Sabha

Chennai, July 6 (IANS) DMK nominee K.P.K. Kumaran was Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.

Kumaran, a former owner of the 'Dinakaran' newspaper, fills the vacancy that came up after DMK's Sarath Kumar had resigned ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections earlier this year and joined the AIADMK.

Marandi demands CBI probe into iron ore mines allocation

Ranchi, July 6 (IANS) Former chief minister and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) supremo Babulal Marandi has demanded a CBI inquiry into the allocation of iron ore mines by the state government to private parties.

"Allocation of iron mines to private parties is a big fraud," Marandi told reporters here Thursday.

"The Sao iron ore mines lease was first cancelled by the government and later renewed after taking Rs.200 million," he pointed out. "I have proof that the money was given to Chief Minister Arjun Munda," he claimed.

Marandi demanded resignation of the chief minister and said, "Stern action should be taken against the officials who were involved." He also called for cancellation of lease to the company.

"If the government does not constitute a CBI inquiry to probe my charges, I will write a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ensure that the allocation procedure is investigated," Marandi warned.

"This is only one example of the corrupt practices of the government," he said adding, "I quit the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) for raising issues related to corruption. In future I will raise more such issues."

Musharraf says he is a soldier, will not contest polls

Islamabad, July 6 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said he is aware that "as a soldier" he cannot contest elections, but has rooted for the Pakistan Muslim League-Qaid (PML-Q), indicating his keen interest in political affairs.

In a clear response to his critics in the opposition, Musharraf told a rally in Gilgit that he was a soldier and therefore could not contest elections, The News reported.

He also said he would quit office the day people withdrew their support for him.

While declaiming against any move to retain his post as army chief and get re-elected for a second term as president, Musharraf made clear his political preference for the PML-Q that seeks to invoke the halo of Pakistan's founding father Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

"If people want my leadership, they should cast votes in favour of my supporters. When people retract their support, I will quit power the same day," he said while addressing a public gathering at the Lalak Jan stadium and members of Northern Areas Legislative Council.

"If people want development, they should support the Pakistan Muslim League and ensure its success in the next general elections," he observed.

Musharraf also underscored the need for stamping out extremism, terrorism and prejudices for the sake of peace and development of the country, the newspaper said.

Promising development for the remote region, he said: "We are planning to work out a gas pipeline project besides laying the railway track to China and Central Asian republics through the Karakoram highway, keeping in view the geo-strategic significance of the Northern Areas."

A major controversy has been fanned by the PML-Q leadership that promised "a second term in uniform" to Musharraf by conducting polls in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies.

To counter this move, major opposition parties are securing resignations of its own lawmakers across the country and is planning a no-confidence motion against the government headed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The likely date is Aug 2.

New Kerala education law irks NRIs in UAE

Dubai, July 6 (IANS) The recent bill passed by the Kerala assembly to regulate admissions and fees in private professional colleges in the state has come in for fire from the expatriate Keralite community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to reports here, the community is irked by the provision of the new law that allows the institutions to charge up to five times the normal fee from children of non-resident Indians (NRIs).

The Kerala Professional Colleges/Institutions (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Non-Exploitative Fee and Other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence in Professional Education) Bill, 2006, was passed June 30 after much debate.

The bill covers 70 engineering colleges and eight medical colleges in the self-financing sector in the state. These colleges have close to 10,000 seats for engineering and 800 seats in the medical colleges.

It also allows for reservation of 15 percent of the seats for NRI children.

A report in the Khaleej Times newspaper quoted members of the community as saying that the new law only reinforced the Kerala government's general antipathy for NRIs.

"The decision of the government to allow the managements of self-financing institutions to charge high fees from NRI students reflects its attitude towards the NRI community. The government thinks all NRIs are rich and it is justifiable to charge us the way it likes," Puthoor Rahman, president of the national committee of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC), UAE, told the newspaper.

Punnakkan Muhammad Ali, the general secretary of the Indian Overseas Congress, said the new law was a clear example of double standards by the politicians in Kerala.

"Now the spouses of labourers who earn about 800 dirhams a month have to cough up huge tuition fees. We will collect signatures of students from all over the UAE and send them across to the government."

"We do not have voting rights. The political parties always treat us as milch cows," he added.

There are around 200,000 NRIs from Kerala in the Gulf countries. They send home around Rs.70 billion annually, contributing almost 22 percent of the state's gross domestic product (GDP).

Around 800,000 people of Kerala's 30-million population depend on these remittances for their living.

NLC workers withdraw strike

Chennai, July 6 (IANS) Thousands of workers at Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) here, protesting the proposal to sell a part of the government equity in the state-run firm, were set to return to work Thursday night after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to reconsider the proposal.

After a late night meeting, the Joint Action Committee of the company's trade unions announced that the striking workers will return to duty at 10 p.m. Thursday.

The participating unions included the DMK-led union that has about 10,000 members and Left trade unions.

As many as 20,000 NLC employees and 10,000 support personnel had gone on a strike from July 4, protesting the central government's plan to sell 10 percent of its stake in the NLC and other public sector units.

In the meeting attended by about 3,000 workers, union leaders reviewed the government assurance and applauded Manmohan Singh's decision Thursday morning to put the plan on hold.

DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who had Thursday morning threatened to quit Manmohan Singh's coalition government if it persisted with the plan, sent 'thank-you' letters to the prime minister as well as Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for reconsidering the decision.

"DMK always supports labour issues," the veteran politician said.

Leader of Opposition J. Jayalalitha, who had supported the workers, termed the government decision as "a victory for the workers".

NRI centre in US mooted

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 6 (IANS) India proposes to open an NRI centre in Washington to "encourage, instigate and provoke" Indian Americans to become partners in the progress of their native country, according to visiting Minister for Overseas Indians Affairs Vayalar Ravi.

Working under the Indian ambassador, the proposed centre is to provide assistance to overseas Indians who wish to invest in or contribute in some way to the economic development of India, as also help Indians abroad in distress, he said at a news conference here Wednesday.

Ravi, who is on his first visit to the United States since assuming office in January, said a parliamentary standing committee was considering a proposal to extend voting rights to Indians working abroad by removing the six-month residence requirement for enrolment as voters.

While the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Indian Citizen (OIC) certificates did not exactly offer dual citizenship, it was almost amounting to that as its holders will be treated practically as Indians, he said.

Asked what New Delhi was doing to channelise investments from Indians abroad, Ravi said under the liberalised regime, states have full freedom to invite overseas investment and in fact a healthy competition was developing among them.

His own ministry too would facilitate NRI investments in various states as also in 125 Export Processing Zones by offering a five-year tax holiday, single window clearances and other facilities.

The government was also trying to curb the menace of fake marriages by NRIs by launching awareness drives with the involvement of panchayats (village councils) to educate people about the need to be careful before entering into such relationships. The states too had been asked to set up special cells to extend help in making proper inquiries.

Asked about the controversy surrounding the annual Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Awards, Ravi said a high-level committee headed by the vice president would choose the winners for the next event to be held in Delhi, and he was hopeful, the persons selected would be acceptab