45 people dead in Pakistan plane crash

Islamabad, July 10 (Xinhua) A Pakistan International Airline plane crashed Monday in the eastern city of Multan, killing all 45 people on board, said an official.

The Fokker F-27 aircraft bound for Lahore, crashed a few minutes after it took off from the airport in Multan, an airport official was quoted as saying by PTV.

The plane caught fire after it came down and fire fighters rushed to the site to extinguish the fire.

All 41 passengers and four crew members on board are feared dead, said the official.

The plane might have hit an electricity wire before it crashed near Multan, said the media report.

--Xinhua

Agni designers are incompetent: Pakistan scientist

Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) The failure of Agni-III reflected "incompetence" of the Indian missile designers and planners, said an eminent Pakistani scientist.

They would need to go back to the drawing board and take two to three years, unless "they borrow something from abroad," said Samar Mubarikmund, chairman of Pakistan's National Engineering and Science Commission (Nescom).

Claiming that Israel was involved in developing India's missile programme, Mubarikmund said Pakistan, which had an "indigenous" programme of its own, retained superiority over all others in the South Asian region.

Mubarikmund told The News Sunday that the circumstances narrated by the Indians for the failure of the missile test were "not acceptable."

The Indian missile met a disaster as it could not attain the altitude where the first stage is over or the second is even ignited.

He disputed the Indian claim, saying that with the range of 3,500 km, the missile had to go above about 800-900 km while the second stage had to be ignited at 28 to 30 km.

"If the missile fell from the height of 12 km, it establishes that either it's motor rocket, the basics of the missile proved failure or the guidance and control system was faulty. In both the probabilities, Indian technology has been exposed in clumsy manners."

"It is interesting to watch that Indian missile programme that was initiated by French and US assistance and later New Delhi also borrowed Russian technical support has been facing tragedies from the beginning," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The newspaper also quoted from official sources to take pot shots at Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"In fact he (Manmohan Singh) attained high moral ground for his country just to provide cover to constant failures of his country's scientists engaged in developing long-range missiles and they were hesitating from testing the missile," the sources said.

Pakistan is still maintaining its superiority in missile technology in whole South Asia as it has successfully tested number of missiles with various ranges including Shaheen-II that has the range of the 2,500 km with all remarkably accurate parameters.

These parameters proved in the presence of international neutral empires when the missile hit the target to extent of centimetres accuracy in the Indian Ocean, the sources said.

Ahmedabad neighbourhood tense after land dealer's murder

Ahmedabad, July 10 (IANS) Tension prevailed in Vejalpur neighbourhood of the city Monday after a land dealer was found murdered Sunday night, police said.

"We had deployed enough security immediately after the incident yesterday (Sunday) but people have not sent their kids to schools in the area and many shops have remained closed in Vejalpur and adjoining Satellite area due to the tense situation," said R.M. Patel of the Vejalpur police station.

Following the murder of the 27-year-old land dealer, Suresh Thakore, in Prahladnagar of Vejalpur on the eastern outskirts of the city, his friends attacked a construction site of builder Deepensinh Thakore and torched several vehicles outside his office, alleging the business rival's hand in the killing.

Additional Commissioner of Police P.K. Jha said that the murder seemed to be the fallout of a land dispute between the victim and Deepensinh, even as Suresh himself had some offences registered against him.

Australia needs more migrants to boost economy

MELBOURNE, July 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- Australia must increase its migrant intake to stop the economy from stagnating in coming years, a leading business information company says.

IBISWorld said that without more migration to offset the nation's aging population and low natural birthrate, the economy would suffer and key industries would lack sufficient staff.

The comments follow a recent increase in the number of migrants coming into the country. Migrant numbers rose by 10 per cent to more than 120,000 in June last year.

The company's Australian general manager, Jason Baker, said although Australia had the highest foreign-born population of any country in the developed world, it was increasingly likely the nation would need more migrants.

He said even a recent increase in the fertility rate still left it below the replacement level.

Without migration, the economy would groan under the weight of fewer and fewer taxpayers having to cover the cost of an increasing number of retirees, he said.

"By the 2030s, net overseas migration will be the only form of population growth in Australia , as our aging population and low fertility rate will see the number of deaths each year overtake the number of babies born,� he added.

"If our population growth doesn't increase the economy may stagnate, with a declining workforce causing labour shortages and wage hikes.

"If that happens, we'd expect government policy to allow higher immigration levels." IBISWorld, which tracks economic and business trends, said Australian industries in particular would suffer if migration did not increase. “

He said 32 per cent of people in manufacturing were born overseas, while migrants made up 30 per cent of workers in the property and business services area.

Australia urges India to slow down missile test

MELBOURNE, July 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- The Australian Government has warned against comparing a missile test by India to the provocative firing of weapons by North Korea, the Australian Associated Press reports.

India test-fired a long-range, nuclear-capable ballistic missile for the first time on Sunday, just days after North Korea sparked an international outcry by test-firing seven missiles.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) urged India and Pakistan to show restraint in their missile-testing programME.

"We're aware of media reports India has conducted a further ballistic missile test," a DFAT spokesman is quoted as saying. "We understand India provided Pakistan with advanced warning of the launch and aside from acknowledging the test there's been no other reaction from Pakistan.

"We hope that India and Pakistan will exercise restraint in their ballistic missile program and continue the process of building confidence between them."

Canberra stressed that India's missile firing was very different from North Korea's decision last week to test seven missiles, earning it international condemnation.

The DFAT spokesman said India, while not a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, had been a good international citizen on nuclear matters, unlike North Korea.

"It's important not to equate this test with North Korea's recent missile tests," he said.
"North Korea has been a leading supplier of missile-related exports to countries seeking to acquire ballistic missile capabilities.

"India, in contrast, has undertaken to implement missile export controls equivalent to the missile technology control regime (MCTR)."

Countries party to the MCTR apply controls to guard against the export of missiles to rogue nations.

Bishops declare UK's nuclear arms as "profoundly anti-God"

London, July 10, IRNA ,Church of England leaders Monday joined a growing campaign against Britain replacing its aging Trident nuclear weapons, warning Prime Minister Tony Blair that their possession was "evil" and "profoundly anti-God."
Blair is expected to announce later this year that his government will update the submarine-based nuclear deterrent with a new generation of missiles.

But in a letter published in the Independent newspaper, 19 bishops entered the debate for the first time by presenting religious, moral and economic arguments against any decision.

"Trident and other nuclear arsenals threaten long-term and fatal damage to the global environment and its people. As such, their end is evil and both possession and use profoundly anti-God acts," they warned.

Their letter said that nuclear weapons are a "direct denial of the Christian concept of peace and reconciliation, which are social and economic as well as physical and spiritual."
"The costs involved in the maintenance and replacement of Trident could be used to address pressing environmental concerns, the causes of terrorism, poverty and debt and enable humanity and dignity to be the right of all," it further added.

The General Assembly of the Scottish Church has already accused the UK government of having double standards in pressing ahead with its plan to replace its nuclear weapons while denying Iran any right.

"It would be the ultimate in hypocrisy if the UK were to be arguing, for example, that Iran should not be developing a nuclear weapons capability, while at the same time we were extending in scope and in time our own," a church report said in May.

Former environment secretary Michael Meacher, who is leading a rebellion by Labour MPs, welcomed the intervention by the bishops in his campaign for a parliamentary vote on renewing Britain's nuclear arsenal.

"It is not an independent nuclear deterrent because (of the possibility) the Americans don't approve it," Meacher said in House of Commons motion, signed by 122 MPs.

"On non-proliferation grounds -- it is impossible to say to countries like Iran you should not have nuclear weapons but we must have ours," he also said.

BJP criticises UPA on private sector quota

Ahmedabad, July 10 (IANS) Accusing the government of "slack attitude" over the proposed caste-based job quotas in the private sector, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said here Monday that it had done little to uplift the weaker sections of the society.

"While Social Justice Minister Meira Kumar often talks about bringing quotas for backward castes in the private sector, it has not been implemented so far," said BJP Scheduled Caste Front president Ramnath Kovind, adding his party was not opposed to the proposal.

The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had done nothing, "except issuing statements", to provide the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes job reservations in the private sector, Kovind told reporters here.

"While UPA promised it in its Common Minimum Programme, no progress has been made in that regard. The government is betraying the backward communities," he said.

Kovind also criticised the social justice and empowerment minister for not filling up the backlog of 3,00,000 jobs meant for candidates from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the central government.

BMP = Bihar Minority Police?

PATNA: Regimes change. So do jokes. The joke in Nitish Kumar's Naya Bihar is on Muslim officers in the state police. The state's paramilitary force, Bihar Military Police, simply known as BMP, is now being jokingly referred to as 'Bihar Minority Police'.

And rightly so. For, "a large number of us have been shunted to the BMP and other soft postings like the Special Branch or CID," a DSP, belonging to the minority community, rued.

"There's no need to shed a tear for these officers. They reaped a long harvest with prized field postings in the Lalu-Rabri raj," another officer said, recalling the joke in the old regime: A building on Bailey Road in Patna housing several low-key police departments was then rather uncharitably referred to as "Ranvir Bhawan".

Most of the officers belonging to a particular caste were then 'shunted' on these posts. Baba Ranvir is believed to have led the victory of these particular castemen over their foes � once upon a time.

The new joke in the Nitish regime is also not charitable. "And it has substance. Just look at the list of Muslim DSPs shunted to the BMP and other insignificant postings," an aggrieved officer said while reeling off the names of 12 such DSPs in the BMP, two in the vigilance, another two in the CID and one in the Special Branch.

"Talks of victimisation on communal lines are rubbish," a senior police officer said. Admitting that several of the sidelined officers had been entrenched in Patna for most of the past decade, he said the department needed a pragmatic shakeup for better, effective policing.

"What witch hunt?" another senior officer asked, adding all the four Muslim SP-rank officers are holding the fort in districts and the solitary Muslim DIG Shoaib Khan is also in the range.

Of the two IGs belonging to the minority community, one is retiring on Friday and the other next month. The lone Muslim ADG Shafi Alam is in charge of modernisation and training.

However, another officer could not comprehend why Amir Javed and Dilnawaz Ahmed, two young officers with training from the 'Grey Hounds' � Andhra police's elite Special Task Force, have been 'dumped' in the CID and Bhagalpur IG's office respectively.

"The chief minister's secular credentials are unflinching," JD-U spokesman Anil Pathak said. Afzal Amanullah was CM Nitish Kumar's personal choice for state home secretary's post, he recalled and added he is the first Muslim home secretary of the state.

Source: TOI

Congress ahead in Andhra local bodies' polls

Hyderabad, July 10 (IANS) The ruling Congress Monday triumphed in 17 district-level local bodies in Andhra Pradesh while main opposition Telugu Desam Party could manage only two seats in the elections for chairpersons' posts.

Elections in three other districts were postponed due to lack of quorum. Last-minute dramatic developments helped the Congress wrest Anantapur zilla parishad or district level local body from the TDP.

In Khammam, luck favoured the Congress as a toss decided the winner.

Elections to zilla parishads in Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Warangal were postponed till Tuesday.

The Congress, which could not get a majority on its own in Warangal and Karimnagar zilla parishads, has offered the vice-chairperson's posts to its ally - Telangana Rashtra Samithi. This has caused resentment among the party members.

The Congress has won all the nine zilla parishads in coastal Andhra (Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore), all the four zilla parishads in Rayalaseema region (Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur) and four out of nine zilla parishads in Telangana region (Khammam, Mahboobnagar, Medak and Nalgonda).

The TDP could retain only Adilabad and Ranga Reddy zilla parishads.

The elections for district level local bodies were held in two phases. While Congress bagged majority of the districts, the TDP has surprised many by its impressive performance in several districts.

It was not expected to do well after its humiliating defeat in 2004 assembly elections and last year's polls to municipalities or urban civic bodies.

Congress revamp soon, Rahul still not ready

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi is set to undertake the long-awaited revamp of the party leadership. But the eagerly talked about induction of her son and first-time MP Rahul Gandhi may not take place soon, party sources said.

Some of her present colleagues in the leadership are to become state governors.

Congress sources said Sonia Gandhi in consultation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had cleared the names of party leaders Margaret Alva, M.L. Fotedar and former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Mukul Mithi for the gubernatorial posts.

Alva is a party general secretary while Fotedar is a long-time member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). Both are known in the party as diehard Gandhi loyalists.

This would give space for others to come into the decision-making echelons of the party. But Rahul Gandhi, elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004, will not be one of them.

According to the sources, Rahul Gandhi is not likely to be taking on a high-profile responsibility for now.

"Rahul seems to have told his mother that he was not ready yet to take charge of a top party post and that he needed more time to learn things at the ground level," one informed source told IANS.

Some Congress leaders have been urging Rahul Gandhi, who represents Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, to take on "more serious responsibilities" in the Congress to revive and refresh the country's oldest political party, now facing serious challenges in many parts of the country.

Many also think that Rahul Gandhi's induction could attract the young to the Congress.

"Congress leaders feel that Rahul's presence in the top level would galvanise the party to face the coming assembly elections including in Uttar Pradesh," the source added.

"But Rahul said he needed more time and Soniaji is not likely to force him," the source said.

Sonia Gandhi had indicated earlier that she would not mind him appointing Rahul at a senior post. That was after Rahul campaigned for Sonia Gandhi in the May by-election, giving her mother a handsome victory.

Party sources indicated that former Karnataka chief minister M. Veerappa Moily could be dropped from the party leadership.

"The leadership has not been so happy with his record in the states he is in charge of. Besides, he has other responsibilities too," the source said.

Moily is the CWC member in charge of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep. He is the chairman of the Oversight Committee that looks into the reservation of seats for backward communities in higher educational institutions, apart from heading the second Administrative Reforms Commission.

Margaret Alva is reportedly not happy to be made a governor, but both Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are keen that senior party leaders need to take charge of Raj Bhavans.

Raj Bhavans in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Meghalaya, Tripura and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are awaiting fresh nominees. The sources said there would also be changes in Haryana, Delhi and Orissa.

The names of Home Secretary V.K. Duggal, who is retiring soon, and Congress leader Prabha Rao are also doing the rounds as possible governors.

However, former Kerala assembly speaker Vakkom Purushothaman, who has been keen on a second term as lieutenant governor in the4 Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is said to be missing from the list of governors, tipped to be announced this week.

Court to hear on Ayodhya security in August

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday posted for hearing in the first week of August an application filed by the government seeking permission to carry out some constructions to strengthen security at Ayodhya.

The government has asked for permission to put up a temporary bulletproof, steel structure on the four sides of the Ram Lalla idol to protect it from possible rocket attacks.

A bench of judges K.G. Balakrishnan and D.K. Jain fixed the hearing on a mention made by counsel for the government seeking early hearing of the matter.

In an application filed in May, the home ministry said intelligence inputs warned of a possible attack on certain important Hindu temples including the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex.

To avoid any terrorist attack on the disputed structure, it was necessary to erect an air-conditioned, bulletproof structure measuring 11 x 11 ft with a height of 7.5 feet.

The ministry proposed to have a wooden roof and an internal wall also. Behind the idol, there would be a makeshift double steel wall structure filled with mud to keep the temperature low. All 13 watchtowers around the complex would also be made bullet proof.

These measures would be in addition to the security steps already in place. The total expenditure on strengthening security measures, Rs.72.2 million, was already released to the Faizabad divisional commissioner.

The ministry sought permission to put up the temporary security structure as the court had ordered status quo on any construction or work in the complex until the dispute was resolved.

On July 5 last year, guerrillas of the Lashkar-e-Taiba launched an attack at Ayodhya but it was foiled by Central Reserve Police Force personnel, who gunned down all the five intruders.

Does Tharoor's nomination shut India out of Security Council?

By Mayank Chhaya

The position of UN secretary-general and permanent membership of the Security Council are mutually exclusive objectives. One is bound to come at the cost of the other. If Shashi Tharoor does indeed become the UN secretary-general, India's aspirations of permanent membership to the Security Council will be as good as dead.

This is notwithstanding Tharoor's own assertion that his candidacy will not adversely affect the prospects of India's permanent membership.

While India's star may be on the ascendancy internationally because of the impressive economic gains it has made in recent times, it has not risen so much as to win for New Delhi the unprecedented twin distinctions. The world community has not become so considerate and fair overnight as to gift positions of such obvious global consequence to one country - that too a country that has a stellar track record of fierce independence of thought in world affairs.

No matter what is being currently argued, in choosing to formally back Tharoor's candidacy, New Delhi has effectively shut itself out of the Security Council in the foreseeable future. Unless of course, one is seriously underestimating the powers of persuasiveness of Indian diplomacy in accomplishing objectives no country has managed to accomplish so far.

Contrary to popular wisdom, it is quite conceivable that the US would view Tharoor's candidacy as the most attractive way of keeping India out of the Security Council. There may not be any clearly articulated linkages between offering India an extraordinary civil nuclear energy deal and blocking its permanent membership, but international diplomacy, especially of the kind that Washington practices, is always about trade-offs.

To expect that New Delhi would get a remarkable nuclear deal, UN secretary-generalship and even permanent membership to the Security Council, all at the same time or even in quick succession, is nothing short of delusional.

It is true that in the scheme of things, Tharoor is the best-qualified candidate. He is an erudite, scholarly and suave UN bureaucrat who is probably waiting to break out of the straitjacket that comes with being an underling. Standing by the side of the incumbent Kofi Annan, it ought to have crossed Tharoor's agile mind frequently - what if it was he and not Annan in that position. All these are great attributes.

But the position he is seeking is much more than about personal attributes. It is about winning solid majority support among 15 members of the Security Council and also not prompt the veto from the five permanent members of the council - the US, Britain, France, China and Russia. Tharoor himself has candidly admitted that one cannot "antagonise" P-5 and yet expect to win the coveted position.

It will not be surprising if the State Department already sees a great opportunity in Tharoor's nomination. "Our administration has not yet made a decision on whom we will support to succeed Secretary General Kofi Annan. But we certainly hold Shashi Tharoor in greatest regard and I look forward to meeting him in my office," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns has been quoted as saying. The comment, while tactfully non-committal, is indicative of how President George W. Bush might treat Tharoor's nomination when the race comes right down to the rope.

It is by no means clear at this stage of the game how P-5 would view Tharoor's candidacy. There have been some reports that France may already be disinclined to go with New Delhi's choice. China, notwithstanding the current bonhomie with India in their "friendship year", would find it extremely trying to throw its weight behind. In fact, Beijing might reject it altogether. That leaves Russia, Britain and the US.

Russia, somewhat like China, would be on a weak ground to propose its own candidate because of the obvious difficulties in their political system and human rights situation. But would that lead Moscow to support Tharoor? It is hard to speculate unless of course Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is reported to have personally steered the nomination, goes out on a limb to lobby for Tharoor with important world capitals.

On paper - and in some sense even on the ground - Tharoor is a strong contender but on him also rides India's aspirations to be a permanent member of the Security Council. That may be too much weight to carry even for a seasoned international diplomat.

(Mayank Chhaya is a Chicago-based commentator. He can be reached at chooki6@yahoo.com)

Don't extort concessions from India on weapons programme: expert

By Arun Kumar,
Washington, July 10 (IANS) The US Congress would be ill-advised to try to extort concessions from India on its weapons programme because of a "petty canard" that the nuclear deal would enable New Delhi to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal, according to an American defence expert.

Criticism of the nuclear deal rests upon two crucial assumptions, says Ashley J. Tellis, a senior associate specialising in international security, defence, and Asian strategic issues at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

First, that New Delhi in fact seeks the largest nuclear weapons inventory its capacity and resources permit; and, second, that the Indian desire for a larger nuclear arsenal has been stymied thus far by a shortage of natural uranium.

But India is in fact currently separating far less weapons grade plutonium annually than it has the capability to produce, notes Tellis in a new study: "Atoms for War? US-Indian Civilian Nuclear Cooperation and India's Nuclear Arsenal."

Thus the evidence suggests that the government of India is in no hurry to build the biggest nuclear stockpile it could construct based on material factors alone; it also undermines the assumption that India wishes to build the biggest nuclear arsenal it possibly can.

Further, India's capacity to produce a huge nuclear arsenal is not affected by prospective US-Indian civilian nuclear cooperation as India already has the indigenous reserves of natural uranium necessary to undergird the largest possible nuclear arsenal it may desire.

Consequently, the US-Indian civilian nuclear cooperation initiative will not materially contribute towards New Delhi's strategic capacities in any consequential way either directly or by freeing up its internal resources, says Tellis.

The current shortage of natural uranium in India caused by constrictions in its mining and milling capacity too is a transient problem that is in the process of being redressed, while the nuclear deal does not in any way affect New Delhi's ability to do so.

All this implies that the shortages of uranium fuel experienced by India at present are a near-term aberration, and not an enduring limitation resulting from the dearth of physical resources.

"As such, the short-term shortage does not offer a viable basis either for Congress to extort any concessions from India in regards to its weapons programme or for supporting the petty canard that imported natural uranium will lead to a substantial increase in the size of India's nuclear weapons programme," Tellis concludes.

Finland tunes in to the 'new India'

By Manish Chand,
Helsinki (Finland), July 10 (IANS) India is the flavour of the season in Europe and the Finns have been quick to tune into the growing buzz about this "colourful and confusing" Asian country that is being hailed as an emerging player on the global stage.

Exotic myth-making about India is giving way to the image of a paradoxical and economically resurgent nation that has emerged as an IT and outsourcing hub and is showing the world what knowledge societies can accomplish.

"The world is becoming globally competitive with the emergence of India and China as leading economic and political players," Jorma Ollila, chief executive officer of Nokia, told a group of visiting Indian and European journalists recently.

The setting up of a factory by Nokia, a world leader in mobile communications, in the southern metropolis of Chennai, has also tickled the curiosity of the Finns about this populous democracy.

The fifty-odd Finnish companies, including Nokia, employ over 4,000 Indians.

"Colourful and confusing, hectic and exotic, splendidly luxurious and desperately poor: Finland's new destination is full of contrasts, but it is at the vanguard of development in the world's most populous democracy," says the lead article in FinnAir's in-flight magazine entitled 'New Delhi, New India.'

To cash in on the growing India fever among the Finns, Finnair is introducing non-stop flights from here to New Delhi to give the Finns an escape from the excruciating winter and an experience of 'New India,' starting Oct 30.

The flights from Helsinki to New Delhi - the first direct connection from northern Europe to India - will operate thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and cover the distance in six hours and 30 minutes.

The return flights from New Delhi to Helsinki (thrice a week) will give Indians a direct connection to the country of the midnight sun famed for its serene lakes and becalming saunas on the one hand and its sense of flawless design and technology on the other.

"I love this new India. There is something there for everyone. It stimulates my creative instincts," Maarit Kontiainen, alias Meenakshi (her Indian name), told IANS.

Sitting at her stall in the harbour mart, a proud Maarit, an artist who loves travelling to India almost every summer, flaunted some of the sketches she did on her trips to Mumbai and Delhi over the years.

The Finnish capital will host the India-EU summit in October this year. Cementing the burgeoning relationship between the 25-nation European Union (EU) and India is high on the priority list of the Finnish presidency of the EU (that kicked off here July 1), said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on the eve of assuming the EU's presidency.

"So far it was China that was dominating the headlines. But now everyone is talking about India. There is a new respect for Indian technology and its culture," says Saara Rimon, a manager with Finnfacts, an independent media company.

"India is the flavour of the season in Finland. The Finns are curious to know more and more about this country of mind-boggling cultural diversity that is seen as an emerging player on the global stage," an Indian diplomat, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.

The Indian embassy issues 200-300 visas to the Finns every day in the peak season, sources told IANS.

Fourth official tipped off referee on Zidane: Domenech

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) France coach Raymond Domenech said Sunday that Zinedine Zidane's dismissal in the second period of extra time for head butting Italian defender Marco Materazzi came following intervention from the fourth official.

Italy clinched their fourth World Cup title 5-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time.

Domenech said referee Horacio Elizondo only decided to send off Zidane, who was playing his 108th and final match for Les Bleus before retiring from football, after talking with the fourth official.

"We had the fourth official saying it to the referee. The second official saw nothing. The fourth official tipped off the referee," he said. "The referee was not on our side."

Domenech said he did not know what Materazzi had said to Zidane but he could not believe that the three-time world player of the year would react without reason.

"I don't know what Materazzi told Zidane. All I know is that the man of the match is Materazzi not (Andrea) Pirlo. He scored a goal and had Zidane sent off," said Domenech.

"I think Materazzi is involved. Something must have happened I don't thing he would react out of the blue."

The red card to Zidane was the pivotal moment of the match, Domenech added.

"Zidane being sent off was a key element of the game because in extra time Italy was waiting for the penalty shootout," he said, adding that losing Patrick Vieira at the start of the second half also affected the result.

"We had the match under control and it was sad that we had these two elements and we were down to 10 men," he said.

Meanwhile Domenech said he was against the idea of a reception for the squad along the Champs Elysees in Paris Monday.

"If it is up to me there won't be a parade," he told the French television station Canal plus. "It is very French to be satisfied with a defeat, but I cannot be satisfied," the coach added.

German court allows Muslim teacher to wear headscarf at work

Berlin, July 7, IRNA, An administrative court in the south German city of Stuttgart has decided that a Muslim teacher has the right to wear a headscarf in class, news reports said Friday.

It ruled that that the school's directive which forced the 55-year -old Muslim teacher to work without a headscarf, was illegal and also violated the religious equal right amendment since Christian nuns are allowed to teach at state schools.

Several German states have adopted anti-headscarf laws as a consequence of a Supreme Court ruling which permitted federal states to bar Muslim public employees with headscarves, provided that they have the necessary legislation on the books.

Muslims number around 3.5 million out of Germany's population of 82.5 million.

Goal scorers at the World Cup

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) List of goal scorers at the 2006 World Cup after 64 matches and 147 goals including the final:

5 goals:
Miroslav Klose (Germany)

3 goals:
Hernan Crespo (Argentina)
Maxi Rodriguez (Argentina)
Ronaldo (Brazil)
Thierry Henry (France)
Zinedine Zidane (France)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)
David Villa (Spain)
Fernando Torres (Spain)

2 goals:
Tim Cahill (Australia)
Adriano (Brazil)
Paulo Wanchope (Costa Rica)
Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic)
Agustin Delgado (Ecuador)
Carlos Tenorio (Ecuador)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Patrick Vieira (France)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Luca Toni (Italy)
Marco Materazzi (Italy)
Aruna Dindane (Ivory Coast)
Omar Bravo (Mexico)
Bartosz Bosacki (Poland)
Maniche (Portugal)
Alexander Frei (Switzerland)
Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)

1 goal:
Flavio (Angola)
Roberto Ayala (Argentina)
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina)
Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
Javier Saviola (Argentina)
John Aloisi (Australia)
Craig Moore (Australia)
Harry Kewell (Australia)
Kaka (Brazil)
Fred (Brazil)
Gilberto (Brazil)
Juninho (Brazil)
Ze Roberto (Brazil)
Ronald Gomez (Costa Rica)
Darijo Srna (Croatia)
Nico Kovac (Croatia)
Jan Koller (Czech Republic)
Ivan Kaviedes (Ecuador)
David Beckham (England)
Peter Crouch (England)
Joe Cole (England)
Franck Ribery (France)
Torsten Frings (Germany)
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
Oliver Neuville (Germany)
Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
Sulley Muntari (Ghana)
Haminu Draman (Ghana)
Stephen Appiah (Ghana)
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Iran)
Yahya Golmohammadi (Iran)
Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Alessandro Del Piero (Italy)
Fabio Grosso (Italy)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy)
Alberto Gilardino (Italy)
Filippo Inzaghi (Italy)
Francesco Totti (Italy
Gianluca Zambrotta (Italy)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Bakary Kone (Ivory Coast)
Bonaventure Kalou (Ivory Coast)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
Keiji Tamada (Japan)
Francisco Jose Fonseca (Mexico)
Rafael Marquez (Mexico
Zinha (Mexico)
Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Robin van Persie (Netherlands)
Ruud van Nistelrooij (Netherlands)
Nelson Cuevas (Paraguay)
Pauleta (Portugal)
Deco (Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Nuno Gomes (Portugal)
Simao (Portugal)
Sami al-Jaber (Saudi Arabia)
Yaser al-Kahtani (Saudi Arabia)
Nikola Zigic (Serbia Montenegro)
Sasa Ilic (Serbia Montenegro)
Lee Chun Soo (South Korea)
Ahn Jung Hwan (South Korea)
Park Ji Sung (South Korea)
Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Raul (Spain)
Juanito (Spain)
Fredrik Ljungberg (Sweden)
Henrik Larsson (Sweden)
Marcus Allback (Sweden)
Philippe Senderos (Switzerland)
Tranquillo Barnetta (Switzerland)
Mohamed Kader (Togo)
Rahdi Jaidi (Tunisia)
Jawhar Mnari (Tunisia)
Zied Jaziri (Tunisia)
Andriy Rusol (Ukraine)
Maksym Kalinichenko (Ukraine)
Serhiy Rebrov (Ukraine)
Clint Dempsey (USA)

Own goal:
Carlos Gamarra (Paraguay)
Cristian Zaccardo (Italy)
Brent Sancho (Trinidad & Tobago)
Petit (Portugal)

--DPA

Ham radio operators to keep Mumbai civic body in tune

By Probir Pramanik,
Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Eager to prevent a repeat of the communication breakdown that occurred during the deluge in July last year, the Mumbai civic body has found help from an unexpected quarter - veteran ham radio operators.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had to face much flak for its failure to provide succour during the monsoon onslaught on July 26 when large parts of the city was flooded.

City-based JNA Wireless Association, a group of veteran ham radio operators, have teamed up with the BMC to set up an emergency ham radio communication system, which switches on when landlines or mobile networks fail.

The JNA has in place a 20-member "scramble team" on standby, ready to move to locations where communication is needed for disaster management.

JNA, founded in 1988 and named after veteran ham radio buff Jamshed N. Anklesaria, who died in 1987, boasts of a dedicated, self-motivated and self-funded "scramble team".

The team consists of ham members trained in various aspects of emergency communications and equipped with state-of-the-art satellite ham equipment ready for immediate mobilisation.

The JNA has in the past responded to many natural disasters, including the 1993 Latur earthquake in Gujarat. But it was caught unawares during the deluge in July 2005.

"We were caught on the wrong foot during the torrential rains last year and the floods were unexpected. Waking up to the fact that such a lapse should not be repeated, we contacted the BMC and offered to set up emergency communication needs during crisis when normal means of communication fail," JNA founder trustee J.P. Venkatraman told IANS.

"Apart from a ham radio station working at the BMC headquarters, we have also set up stations in the Malabar Hills, Chembur, Kandivili, Kalina and Charkop areas that were worst hit by the rains last year," Venkatraman said.

"We have a scrambler team on standby, ready to move to locations where normal communication means fail. Scrambler teams are the only means for disaster management at such times," Venkatraman said.

And the BMC is not complaining.

"The ham radio system has come as a blessing. They will help us maintain vital communication links in the event of any failure during the ongoing monsoons. We are fortunate to have the JNA by our side," said Vilas Vaidya, chief officer, BMC disaster management cell.

"We have provided the ham radio operators with the entire infrastructure at our disposal."

The JNA, which has set up more than 200 ham radios in the city over the last two decades, was the first to reach Killari, the epicentre of the 1993 Latur earthquake.

"Our scrambler team reached Killari by 10 in the morning and was able to establish communications with the Mantralaya (the seat of the Maharashtra government in Mumbai)."

The devastating earthquake had struck Latur at 4.30 a.m. on Sep 30, 1993, claiming tens of thousands of lives.

"The scrambler team was the first to give feedbacks, assessing the extent of the calamity from the quake-hit areas of Latur. We handled thousands of life-saving messages during the calamity," Venkatraman recalled.

The ham enthusiasts have also tied up with the Colaba weather bureau for advance intimation of impending calamities and with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. for use of satellite communications.

India's N-test in 1998 led to series of "surrenders": Ex-Navy chief

New Delhi, July 10, IRNA,Terming India's 1998 Pokhran nuclear blasts as a "push-button" affair for the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, then Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat says the atomic tests led to a "series of surrenders in every sector of the national polity, economy and science and technology." Bhagwat, the first service chief to be sacked from his post in late 1998, insists the Pokhran-II tests resulted in the "surrender of India's sovereignty" and a "culture and mindset of dependency" instead of adding to national strength and self-confidence and accelerating all-round national capability through self-reliance, PTI reports said here quoting Bhagwat's new book "The Eye Opening: As I saw It".

Bhagwat lists a number of policies and developments like the declaration of a unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests and holding of summit-level talks with Pakistan in Lahore in February 1999, and claims these were detrimental to India's interest.

"Pokhran-II was a push-button affair for the BJP-led NDA government which took office six weeks earlier (to the May 1998 explosions)," he says, while noting that the tests represented efforts of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

"The much-trumpeted Pokhran-II marks the U-turn to surrender India's sovereignty. It led to a series of surrenders in every sector of the national polity, economy and science and technology," Bhagwat says.

India, China trade to surpass $20 bn before 2008

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Bilateral trade between India and China is expected to soon reach $20 billion, ahead of the 2008 target, said a top Chinese diplomat here Monday.

"The target of achieving $20 billion trade volume in 2008 and $30 billion by 2010, set by the leaders of the two countries, will soon be achieved ahead of time," said Zheng Qingdian, minister-counsellor at the Chinese embassy.

He was addressing an interactive meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to facilitate a one-to-one meeting with a Beijing trade delegation.

Zheng highlighted the rapid growth in bilateral trade and investment between the two Asian giants.

"Our bilateral trade is growing at a high speed. In 1999, the bilateral trade volume was less than $2 billion. This rose to $18 billion in 2005. China has become India's third largest trading partner, while India has become China's largest trading partner in South Asia," he said.

Over 150 Indian companies led by Ranbaxy, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have established branches and completed almost 1,000 projects in China, according to a presentation by the Chinese delegation.

Director of the Beijing Chaoyang Investment Promotion Bureau Hong Jiyuan is heading the delegation, which is here on a two-day visit.

Lauding India's growth in IT, Hong invited Indian companies to consider investing in the Chaoyang district, an industrial hub in eastern Beijing.

Strategically located with a growing consumer market, Chaoyang district boasts of many big multinational corporations. Being promoted as one of the main Olympics 2008 venues, it is near the Beijing international airport.

Indian American physicians and hoteliers lobby for n-deal

By Arun Kumar, Washington, July 10 (IANS) Two largest and influential Indian American associations have joined hands to lobby for the India-US nuclear deal and work in ways to help develop a strategic relationship between the two countries.

The two -- American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) -- representing more than 50,000 Indian American physicians and hoteliers, are having US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice join them at a power lunch on Monday.

As the US Congress prepares to vote on the enabling legislation for the nuclear deal, this will provide Rice an opportunity to describe the impact that this initiative will have on US-India relations and US foreign policy overall, the associations stated in a press release.

Other featured speakers include the India Caucus co-chair in the House of Representatives, Gary Ackerman, Assistant Secretary of State Richard A. Boucher, US Ambassador to India David Mulford and India's Ambassador to US Ronen Sen.

"As Asian Americans who moved to this country and worked hard to establish their businesses and who want to give back to their communities, the members of AAHOA and AAPI share many goals," said AAHOA president Fred Schwartz.

"We welcome this opportunity to come together and lobby for legislation that enables the United States and India to move forward on this historic agreement for the benefit and welfare of these two great democracies."

AAHOA chairman Mukesh Mowji said, "AAHOA values the chance to unite with other Asian American organizations to show its support for the US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative.

"We want to send a strong message to the White House and our Congressional delegates that we will work with them to assist in developing a strategic partnership with India, and formulate policies and initiatives for the good of Indian Americans here and abroad."

AAPI president S. Balasubramaniam said his organisation looks forward to working with the US government to do its part as physicians across America in ensuring that India-US relations continue to grow.

Representing over 8,300 members, AAHOA is one of the leading forces in the hospitality industry with members owning more than 20,000 hotels and motels with over one million rooms and an estimated value of more than $40 billion.

With a constituency of over 41,000 doctors and 10,000 medical students and residents, AAPI is the largest ethnic medical and the largest Indian American professional association in the United States.

Indian Oil's Sri Lankan operation faces liquidity crunch

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) India's state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp Monday said there was no threat from Sri Lanka to take over its retail outlets in the island nation but admitted there were difference over subsidies and hoped the issue will be resolved soon.

Several of the 162 outlets of Indian Oil in Sri Lanka have run out of petrol due to a financial crunch, caused by the differences between the government and the company over pricing of the commodity and the subsidy payment, officials said.

"There is an issue of an outstanding amount of $70 million due to subsidies on petroleum products," Indian Oil chairman and managing director Sarthak Behuria said. The subsidy issue has been pending since July 2004.

"The Sri Lankan government has given us revised pricing and subsidy proposals that are being legally examined. We hope the issue would be sorted out soon," Behuria told IANS.

The Indian Oil chief denied reports that the company's subsidiary in Sri Lanka - which is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange - had suspended operations on its own because of the differences.

The company's subsidiary - Lanka Indian Oil Corporation - operates 162 out of the 1,000-odd-retail outlets in the island nation and has a 32 percent market share in retail fuels and 16 percent share in the lubricant business.

Behuria declined to comment on Sri Lankan Oil Minister A.H.M. Fowzie's reported threat to take over Indian Oil's retail outlets if it does not resume the sale of petrol within 30 days.

Some outlets had gone dry due to the lack of funds to source the supplies but the company was continuing to operate despite the financial crunch, he said.

"The Sri Lankan company is facing a severe crunch due to the lack of working capital. But as and when the funds are available, the LIOC is importing petrol and diesel for operation of the retail outlets."

Irregularities halt power project in Kashmir

Jammu, July 10 (IANS) A Rs.70 billion hydro-electric power project in Jammu and Kashmir has been put on hold after a probe found technical and financial irregularities in the allotment of the contract to a Norwegian consortium.

The probe, ordered following complaints of severe irregularities, was conducted by IT Minister Taj Mohi-ud-din on the directives of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, official sources said.

The project was to be executed by a consortium comprising SPAS of Norway, Ozaltin of Turkey and HCC of India.

The minister in his report pointed out that the consortium was allotted the contract for the construction of the 1,200-MW Sawlakote project on the Chenab river in a hush-hush manner without a proper bidding procedure. He hinted at financial irregularities in the allotment of the contract.

"Now the contract will be reviewed by the state government and whatever consensus emerges will be the guiding principle in the allotment of the contract for the project," a government official told IANS.

He said irregularities committed in the project would be undone.

Italy claim fourth World Cup

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) Italy won their fourth world title after overcoming France in a penalty shoot-out after the two sides finished a goal apiece after extra-time in the Olympic Stadium here Sunday.

Italy edged the shoot-out 5-3 to add to the titles won in 1934, 1938 and 1982 and banish the bitter memories of a defeat on penalties to Brazil in the 1994 final in Pasadena.

Captain Fabio Cannavaro on his 100th appearance for Italy lifted the trophy to fireworks and ticker tape before the Italians began a joyous lap of honour.

The final ended in disgrace for France captain Zinedine Zidane, who was sent off in the 20th minute of extra-time on his last game before retiring from professional football.

Zidane, apparently responding to something Marco Materazzi said, turned and head-butted the Inter Milan central defender in the chest.

Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo did not see the off-the-ball incident but after consulting with his linesman, showed Zidane the red card.

Zidane, bidding to lift the World Cup for the second time after 1998, had earlier scored France's opening goal with a cheekily chipped penalty.

It was something out the ordinary from the 34-year-old midfielder, but the assault on Materazzi - scorer of Italy's equaliser - was a moment of madness, which will remain a blot on his career.

Zidane did not return from the dressing room to join his dejected team-mates for the medals ceremony.

In the penalty showdown, Andrea Pirlo, Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi, Alessandro Del Piero and Fabio Grosso all converted for the Azzurri.

Without Zidane or Thierry Henry, who had been substituted, France missed two specialists for the penalty showdown.

David Trezeguet, an extra-time substitute, missed the decisive penalty for his side when he blasted the ball against the bar, while Sylvain Wiltord, Eric Abidal and Willy Sagnol all converted their spot kicks.

The game got off to an incident-packed start when Materazzi brought down Florent Malouda, and Zidane coolly chipped the ball over the diving Gianluca Buffon in goal to give France a seventh minute lead. The ball bounced off the underside of the bar, but over the line before rebounding back onto the bar.

Materazzi made amends by leaping over Patrick Vieira to head Italy back level in the 19th minute. Luca Toni thundered a header onto the bar in the 36th minute as Italy got the upper hand.

Both sides were then able to cancel each other out for long spells with France looking the more dangerous, but Henry up front forged a lone fight.

Extra-time saw France in the ascend. Franck Ribery went close and Zidane saw a header brilliantly saved by Gianluca Buffon in goal.

Zidane could have been the hero but instead he was the villain in a World Cup, which will always be remembered for a sad end to a distinguished playing career.

Match Statistics

Italy: Gianluigi Buffon - Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Marco Materazzi, Fabio Grosso - Mauro Camoranesi (86. Alessandro Del Pierro), Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Simone Perrotta (60. Vicenzo Iaquinta) - Francesco Totti (60. Daniele De Rossi) - Luca Toni.

France: Fabien Barthez - Willy Sagnol, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Eric Abidal - Patrick Vieira (46. Alou Diarra), Claude Makelele - Franck Ribery (100. David Trezeguet), Zinedine Zidane, Florent Malouda - Thierry Henry.

Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

Attendance: 69,000

Italy worthy world champions: Lippi

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) Marcello Lippi said Sunday that Italy were worthy world champions after his seeing his side beat France 5-3 in a penalty shootout in the Olympic stadium here.

Italy had never won a penalty shootout at a World Cup before Sunday, going out in three of the last four World Cups in this way, but the Azzurri converted all five against France after the match finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes and extra time.

"We deserved this victory by keeping our cool in the penalty shootout. We didn't miss one," said a proud Lippi. "It's something that the players wanted really strongly, that's why they scored all five."

Italy fell behind early on when Marco Materazzi brought down Florent Malouda and Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo pointed to the spot. Zinedine Zidane cooly converted, chipping the ball over the diving Gianluca Buffon Materazzi made amends by leaping over Patrick Vieira to head Italy back level in the 19th minute.

"I don't know if it was a penalty but I know that we reacted brilliantly," said Lippi. "In the second half there was a bit of a drop in our energy levels."

However, the match was overshadowed by Zidane's extra time head butt into the chest of Italian defender Materazzi which resulted in the three-time world player of the year seeing a straight red after Elizondo was informed of the incident by his officials.

"It was not Materazzi that got the attention of the referee, it was the fourth and fifth referee," said Lippi. "It was them. We didn't do anything, they brought it to the attention of the referee."

Lippi added that he was sorry for Zidane and that he had told the midfielder before the game that he thought he was making a mistake in quitting the game at 34.

"Zidane is great player, I don't think he should go," he said. "I told him that before the game. I told him he should reconsider. If he does go I think it's a great shame that he goes out on this note."

Klose wins World Cup top scorer prize

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) Germany's Miroslav Klose has followed in the footsteps of Ronaldo, Paolo Rossi and Gerd Mueller by finishing top goalscorer at World Cup finals.

Although the Werder Bremen striker's five goals are the lowest number in 44 years to win the golden shoe award, they bring his personally tally to 10 goals in World Cups, just five behind Ronaldo, four behind Meuller and one shy of Juergen Klinsmann, Germany head coach.

"Miroslav Klose had a great season for Werder Bremen and has brought his good form into the World Cup," said Muller of the Poland-born forward. "He is really improved as a player."

Like his goals four years ago in Korea/Japan, most of Klose's strikes came early on in the tournament.

The 28-year-old scored twice in the opening match against Costa Rica, then notched another double in the third group game versus Ecuador before grabbing the all-important equaliser with 10 minutes to spare in the quarter-final with Argentina.

"He's an excellent striker and very crafty," added Paolo Rossi of the German No. 11. "He always pops up at the right moment. He is much better in the air than I was but he does have my eye for goal."

Behind Klose in the goalscoring charts were France's Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane, Argentina's Hernan Crespo and Maxi Rodriguez, Spain's David Villa and Fernando Torres, Brazil's Ronaldo and Klose's compatriot Lukas Podolski, all with three goals.

Previous golden shoe winners:

2002: Ronaldo (Brazil), 8 goals
1998: Davor Suker (Croatia), 6 goals
1994: Hristo Stoichkov/Oleg Salenko (Bulgaria/Russia), 6 goals
1990: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy), 6 goals
1986: Gary Lineker (England), 6 goals
1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy), 6 goals
1978: Mario Kempes (Argentina), 6 goals
1974: Gregorz Lato (Poland), 7 goals
1970: Gerd Mueller (Germany), 10 goals
1966: Eusebio (Portugal), 9 goals

Launch failure disappoints space scientists

Bangalore, July 10 (IANS) A pall of gloom descended on Antriksha Bhavan, the headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) here, after a launch vehicle that was to put a communications satellite into orbit crashed moments after its launch Monday.

Though the top brass of the Indian space agency, including its chairman G. Madhavan Nair, were away at Sriharikota, about 380 km from here, for the launch of the 2.2-tonne spacecraft, hundreds of scientists and officials here were stunned into disbelief when the 414-tonne rocket deviated from the flight path and plunged into the sea as a ball of fire.

"We were waiting for the launch since afternoon as the countdown was already on from late Sunday. We were initially disappointed to learn the lift-off was deferred by an hour. When the rocket finally took off around 5.40 p.m. from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, we were thrilled to see it soaring into a cloudy sky," said an ISRO official.

"But within a minute, we were shocked to see the 49-metre vehicle veering off from its perpendicular direction and straying away towards the earth," the official said.

The state-owned ISRO makes use of a dedicated satellite for its own communication and broadcasting functions, with its transponders linked to its operational centres across the country. Its headquarters here has a facility to view live the entire launch activity through a closed-door circuit television screens.

"It is unfortunate the launch failed despite a perfect lift-off due to a snag which developed subsequently. As the chairman and other top officials mentioned, only a detailed analysis of the data and relevant information will throw light on what went wrong at the rocket's first separation stage," the official said.

Many ISRO scientists, who have been associated with the launch vehicle and satellite projects over the years, lamented that a string of 11 successful launches in the past decade had been dented by the failure of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-FO2 launch.

Former ISRO chairman U.R. Rao, however, termed the launch mishap as a disappointment but not a setback to the country's indigenisation efforts in launching its own satellites.

"It is a disappointment but not a setback. They (ISRO scientists) will analyse the data to find out what caused the mishap. I am confident they will take corrective measures to overcome the problem," Rao told IANS on phone.

Lauding ISRO scientists for designing and developing indigenous launch vehicles to put heavy satellites in the geostationary orbit, Rao said the GSLV Mark II was a good rocket as it had performed well during its experimental stages.

"The GSLV is a good rocket. It performed well. We have already made PSLV (polar satellite launch vehicle) operational. The present objective is to make the GSLV also operational for launching two-to-four tonne satellites into geo-synchronous orbit.

The launch of INSAT-4C was taken up in the backdrop of the success ISRO had in the launch of its first experimental satellite (GSAT-1) using the GSLV in April 2001, GSAT-2 by GSLV-D2 in May 2003 and Edusat (educational satellite) by GSLV-F01 in September 2004.

Though INSAT-4A was launched Dec 22, 2005 from Kourou in French Guyana on board the Ariane Space vehicle, ISRO slotted the launch of the INSAT-4C from Sriharikota using the indigenously developed GSLV from the second launch pad.

ISRO has, however, scheduled the launch of INSAT-4B from Kourou in Feb-Mar 2007.

Link Mangla port and Haldia, India tells Bangladesh

Dhaka, July 10 (IANS) India has suggested that Bangladesh develop its Mangla port and link it with Haldia port in West Bengal to accelerate trade and reduce the trade gap between the two countries.

Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri stressed the need for increased direct transport links with Bangladesh, which in turn has invited India to invest more in its fabric and yarn sector.

Speaking at the inauguration Sunday of a three-day 'Indian Cotton Yarn & Fabric Show -2006', Sikri stressed on the need for direct rail, road and water links to increase trade and overall interaction, an issue that has been discussed from time to time but is making slow progress.

Sikri's suggestion came even as Bangladesh invited Indian investment in its fabric and yarn sectors as a way of expanding its participation in the textile sector and helping bridge the widening balance of trade gap, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

She said India was working sincerely to reduce this gap.

Opening the show here, Bangladesh Commerce Minister M. Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said that the trade gap between the countries was highly tilted in India's favour at $1.88 billion and this would increase in the current year as well.

Overall bilateral economic ties, however, depended upon diligent implementation of the SAFTA and Bimstec free trade agreements, said Ahmed at the show organised by the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) of India in association with Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

He urged that India remove the existing tariff, non-tariff and para-tariff barriers.

The bilateral trade between the countries stood at $2.2 billion during the current year. Noting that Bangladesh remained India's third largest export destination for fabric and the second largest for yarn, Sikri said that increase in trade and the bridging of the deficit would depend on how fast Bangladesh improved its infrastructure.

Ahmed highlighted the positive sides of the trade and urged that India should supply fabric and yarn to Bangladesh "as a next door neighbour," the newspaper said.

Bangladesh imports a huge volume of accessories for its export-oriented ready made garment (RMG) industries, said the minister, expressing hope that this exposition would provide country's RMG manufacturers an opportunity to compare price and quality of required items and thus help in reaching this sourcing decision.

D.N. Srivastava, minister (economic and commercial) of the Indian High Commission, and Siddhartha Rajagopal, executive director, TEXPROCIL, also spoke on the occasion.

Lula takes lead in early poll

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 10 (NNN-XINHUA) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took the lead in the latest survey months ahead of the Oct. 1 general elections.

According to the Datafolha survey published on Sunday, Lula's ruling
left-wing Workers Party would win 45 per cent of the vote if the elections
were held on the day of the survey, while his closest rival, Geraldo
Alckmin, who heads the Social Democracy Party, would win 29 per cent.

The survey, which was conducted at the end of last month, targeted
Brazil's 126 million registered voters. It questioned more than 2,800 people about their income, consumption, housing, assets, schooling and how they perceived their economic condition.

At least 6.0 million former poor people have now found themselves in
the rank of middle class under the leadership of Lula, the survey said.
Forty-nine per cent of voters felt financially better off than four
years ago and 37 per cent said they are consuming more, it said.

The rich have benefited even more: the top 10 percent earned 66 per
cent more under Lula, thanks to sky-high interest rates of 15.25 per cent, the survey showed.

The poor are strong supporters of Lula, a former shoeshine boy and
grade-school dropout from Brazil's impoverished Northeast. Lula became a factory worker and labour union leader before entering politics.

Manmohan Singh battles coalition blues

By Liz Mathew,
New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The midway mark of India's ruling alliance is only four months away but it is clear that the vagaries of coalition politics are beginning to pull down Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Manmohan Singh's aides assert he is in full control and there is no visible reason to doubt the claim. Nevertheless, analysts say that there are clear signs that all is not well with the multi-party coalition.

Two events last week exposed the vulnerability of a prime minister who, even his admirers admit, lacks mass appeal even though he makes it up with his image as one of the cleanest and cerebral political leaders.

On Thursday Manmohan Singh hurriedly put a cap on government plans to sell equity in two state-run companies after a key ally, the DMK, threatened to pull out of the government.

Around the same time, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' seemingly personal war against India's best known cardiologist P. Venugopal led to criticism that the prime minister was keeping quiet simply because Ramadoss' party PMK was part of his government.

Ramadoss' decision to dismiss the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director has been stayed by a court order.

"Manmohan Singh's strengths were his image as a reformist and a technocrat," pointed out political observer G.V.L. Narasimha Rao.

"But now he appears to be extremely vulnerable. A lot of things that happened in the recent past have gone against him and a series of developments has enhanced his image as a weak prime minister.

"Everyone is trying to pull his own strings in the government. He seems to be a silent spectator when his ministers took their own decisions like in the case of the reservation issue and even the AIIMS issue," Rao told IANS. "He is not on his own."

Mahesh Rangarajan, an eminent political analyst, agreed. "The prime minister is being subjected to a lot of pressures and pulls by his allies and surprisingly the Congress party also does not appear to be supporting him in many of his steps," Rangarajan told IANS.

The Congress itself is a divided house on more issues than one.

On the emotive issue of reserving seats for backward class communities in institutions of higher education, many believed that Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh kept Manmohan Singh in the dark.

While the government was trying to check rising prices of essential commodities, the Congress criticised the government. Fearing loss of popular support, the party asked the government to take immediate corrective steps.

Analysts feel the Congress was trying damage control to protect its support base among the millions of poor.

"This could be because of (Congress president Sonia) Gandhi's concerns about the possible erosion of support among the masses. She could be worried about party and the government losing their image," Rangarajan noted.

But Rao gave another reason: "There is a systematic attempt to weaken the authority of the prime minister."

True or not, the Prime Minister's Office denied Friday that Manmohan Singh was planning to quit following the U-turn on disinvestment in the wake of the DMK's threat to pull out of the government.

The Congress swears that there is no attempt to weaken Manmohan Singh, who became prime minister after Gandhi refused to be in the wake of the May 2004 victory of the Congress-led coalition in the general election.

Congress general secretary Tom Vadakkan argued: "The Congress plays the role of the government's eyes and ears, which are sensitive to the changing political pulse of the people. It is a complementary role to strengthen the hands of the prime minister."

Vadakkan compared the Congress role to an aircraft control terminal, "which informs the pilot about the weather changes to get out of turbulence when the plane is flying".

Since May 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)'s biggest critic has been the Left, a 62-seat block that supports the government from outside.

The communists' main criticism is that the government is deviating from the common minimum programme (CMP), a mutually agreed agenda for governance. They disapprove of Manmohan Singh's economic and foreign policies that in their view violate the CMP.

Other parties in the UPA have also attacked the government on various issues. But the DMK threat -- which led to cancellation of moves to partly offload state shares of the Neyveli Lignite Corp and the National Aluminium Co - was the most serious.

The government earlier put off the sale of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) shares following communist opposition.

Rangarajan warned: "We can expect more pressurising tactics from the allies and from within the Congress in the future."

Materazzi denies calling Zidane ‘terrorist’

July 10,ROME: Italy defender Marco Materazzi on Monday denied a report that he had called Zinedine Zidane a "dirty terrorist" seconds before the French captain head-butted him in Sunday's World Cup final.

"It is absolutely not true, I did not call him a terrorist. I'm ignorant. I don't even know what the word means," the Italian news agency Ansa quoted Materazzi as saying after the Italian team returned to Rome.

"The whole world saw what happened on live TV," he added.

The Paris-based anti-racism group SOS Racism had earlier quoted well informed sources as saying Materazzi had apparently used the phrase.

"According to several very well informed sources from the world of football, it would seem that the Italian player Marco Materazzi called Zinedine Zidane a 'dirty terrorist'," SOS Racism said in a statement.

Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, was shown a red card after the incident and Italy went on to win on penalties after the match was tied 1-1 following extra time.

SOS Racism called for an inquiry and said world soccer's governing body FIFA had recently toughened sanctions against racism.

"It's for this reason that SOS Racism asks in a determined fashion for FIFA to shed light on this altercation and that sanctions laid out in the official rules be applied should this be the case," SOS Racism said.

Source:Newindpress.com

Musharraf more popular than Benazir, Nawaz, says Economist magazine

Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) In a clear boost to President Pervez Musharraf who wants to keep his uniform and seek a second term in the presidency, a British magazine has said he is more popular than Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, his principal detractors challenging him from their exile.

The London-based Economist magazine in its latest issue say he has "generally proved much better at running the country than either Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto," the two former prime ministers, who want to stage a political come back in time for the elections due to take place some time next year.

In dealing with arch rival India too, the magazine gives full marks to Musharraf. "Remarkably, given a career spent fighting India, he had done more to make peace than any his predecessors," the report noted.

The magazine praised the economic reforms introduced by President Musharraf, which had helped the country achieve seven per cent growth despite the fact that when he took over, the economy was in a crisis.

But the survey asserts that these sensible reforms have almost all only been partially or corruptly implemented. It adds that Musharraf is clinging to his job by manipulation and with the backing of the army, and that by sabotaging Pakistan's fragile democracy to meet his own ends, he may have made the country even more dangerous".

The economy has become "tigerish", it says, but notes that foreign investors are still keeping away.

"General Musharraf inherited an economy in crisis. Shackled by sanctions and parched of capital, Pakistan had defaulted on foreign debts," said The Economist, adding: "Thanks partly to continued fiscal prudence and some sensible reforms, Pakistan has notched up average growth of seven percent over the past three years, about the same as India."

The Economist in a detailed survey said: "Six years on, General Musharraf is still in charge and the economy has been transformed.

In the financial year to mid-2005, it grew by 8.6 per cent, the highest figure for two decades, followed by a 6.6 per cent rise in the financial year just ended, daily The News said, carrying details from a survey conducted for the magazine by James Astill.

Pakistan has $13 billion in foreign reserves, up from $1.7 billion in 1999.

The Pakistani rupee is stable. Public debt as a share of GDP is 54 percent, down from 80 percent in 2000. "One-third of the population is still poor, but at least the figure has not increased recently."

It said agriculture, which constituted 22 percent of the country's economy, had done well "thanks to helpful weather that boosted farm output in 2005 by 7.5 per cent.

Textiles, which account for 60 percent of total exports, have grown by 20 per cent since global trade quotas were lifted at the start of the last year, rewarding several years of heavy investment in the sector." On President Musharraf's initiative to start dialogue with India, the magazine commented, peace in South Asia is more possible than in the past.

"He then surprised many by throwing himself into peacemaking with India."

Peace on the subcontinent is still hard to imagine, but it may be more possible than at any time since the Independence in 1947, it said.

Referring to the Siachen glacier, The Economist said: "One big test of good intentions for both sides is the Siachen glacier in Kashmir, the world's highest battlefield, from which they have been talking of withdrawing troops."

It said if both Pakistan and India "can reach agreement on Siachen, they can probably settle a couple of smaller border disputes as well."

Astill also applauds Musharraf for the pledges that he has made to crack down on extremism and to promote 'enlightened moderation'.

Whilst General Musharraf denounces extremism, he has proved reluctant to crack down hard on the killers. The survey indicates that the reason for this is two-fold. General Musharraf, Astill states, distinguishes between truly dangerous militia and those he thinks he can control. The other reason is that General Musharraf is afraid of the potential support that the extremist groups can muster.

But some liberal progress may emerge from General Musharraf's rule. He has liberated the media, meaning that Pakistanis now have more access to information about the world outside Pakistan. TV viewers can increasingly watch foreign channels, including those from India, the magazine notes.

NASA assures Discovery crew of safe return

Washington, July 10 (Xinhua) Space shuttle Discovery is cleared for return home after engineers determined that its heat shield was free of damage, said an official at NASA's mission control in Houston.

The ship's TPS (thermal protection system) is "100 percent clear for entry", mission control told Discovery Commander Steven Lindsey Sunday.

"That is great news, that's fantastic," Lindsey replied. "And to get all that done by the end of flight day six ... is just amazing."

Engineers examined a two-inch-long piece of fabric gap filler sticking out from thermal tiles on Discovery's belly, which could have required a spacewalk for repairs.

They concluded that astronauts would not need to conduct a spacewalk to pluck the filler out, as it posed no threat for the shuttle's return to Earth.

On Sunday, the astronauts continued to move fresh supplies to the International Space Station.

They conducted a spacewalk Saturday to test a robotic arm extension, which was seen as a success.

Discovery will have a last check-up at the end of the mission to ensure its safe return to Earth, which is scheduled July 17.

--Xinhua

Nations urged to compromise for WTO success

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has urged nations to "compromise and commit to success" the next round of WTO talks in Russia on July 17 to ensure that benefits of globalisation reach the poor.

In a letter to all the G-8 (the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia) +5 leaders (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa), Wolfowitz urged them to reach an agreement to break the stalemate in the Doha round trade talks.

"A pro-development result will yield gains for rich and poor alike," stated the letter released to the media Monday.

The World Bank has estimated that lifting of various trade barriers could eventually generate $300 billion a year in additional production for the world's economy, while developing countries could gain by as much as $86 billion, dwarfing annual bilateral assistance efforts.

To help realise the potential of full liberalisation, Wolfowitz urged "all participants in the July 17 meeting to come prepared to compromise and commit to success".

The WTO talks have stalled with developing countries demanding that the US and EU make steep cut in subsidies to their farmers, while the developed countries have sought greater market access for their industrial products and services.

"The upcoming gathering of the G-8 members and the planned outreach session with leaders from China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Mexico, the African Union and international organisations offer a unique opportunity we must take advantage of if we are to make urgently needed progress in the Doha trade talks," said Wolfowitz.

He warned that time was running out for the 149 member WTO to be fully operational and help "lift millions from poverty, boost developing country income, improve global market access and reduce taxpayer and consumer costs for all - or allow the whole effort to collapse, with harm to everyone".

The World Bank chief in particular urged the US to take a lead to break the impasse.

"Washington can unlock this by stepping forward with a better offer. If this happens, the EU will at the same time meet them both with a strengthened offer."

"While successfully concluding the Doha round will depend on detailed formulas and a painstaking technical process, there is the opportunity for the leaders gathered in St. Petersburg to provide the momentum essential to success," Wolfowitz has written.

Pointing out that 1.2 billion of the world's poorest people stand to benefit from a successful outcome of the talks, Wolfowitz underlined the need for "a collective pledge by the US to reduce agriculture subsidies, by the EU to improve market access and the + 5 members to limit tariffs on manufactures" to help seal the deal.

Pakistan helps rebuild highway to Afghanistan

Islamabad, July 10 (IANS) Pakistan has helped neighbour Afghanistan rebuild the 75-km Torkham-Jalalabad highway at a cost of Rs.2 billion ($33 million) and says it has completed 95 percent of the task two months before deadline.

Although there are many entry points, this highway, which was but a rundown road, is the key entry from Afghanistan to Pakistan via the Khyber Pass and witnesses daily movement of goods and travellers.

The News quoting a PTV report said funds for the project were provided by Islamabad as a goodwill gesture to Kabul.

The border is porous and much illegal movement, including that of arms and narcotics, takes place just a couple of kilometres away from the official channel.

The area has also witnessed armed skirmishes between the two armies in the past, each blaming the other for border violations and trying to push the Durand Line that forms the border to advantage.

While Pakistan insists that the Durand Line, delineated between the British and the Afghan monarchy in the 1890s, is the border, successive Afghan regimes have refused to accept this.

The area has been heavily mined and work had to be done in hazardous conditions by the Frontier Works Organisations (FWO).

Forty-six percent of the new road is already receiving traffic, PTV quoted National Highway Authority chairman Farrukh Javed as saying.

PM briefs president on G-8 summit, parliament session

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday briefed President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on the forthcoming G-8 summit at St. Petersburg in Russia and parliament's monsoon session beginning in the last week of this month.

The 35-minute meeting at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here was part of regular interaction between the two leaders, said a press release from the presidential palace.

"The prime minister apprised the president on the forthcoming G-8 Summit at St. Petersburg in Russia, which Manmohan Singh will be attending.

"The prime minister also briefed Kalam on the monsoon session of parliament which begins later this month," the release said.

Manmohan Singh, who is leaving for St. Petersburg later this month, is expected to meet US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit. He is also expected to hold talks with other G-8 leaders.

The G-8 Summit on global energy security will be held July 15-17. The US, Russia, Britain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada are members of the body.

President: Zionist regime, root cause of Muslim nations' problems

Tehran, July 8, IRNA, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the Zionist regime is the root cause of problems of the Muslim nations.

In his inaugural address to the Ninth Conference of Foreign Ministers of Iraqi Neighbors Plus Egypt and Bahrain, President Ahmadinejad said that regional states and Muslim nations should mobilize their resources to deal with Israel.

President Ahmadinejad said that the other challenge faced by Muslim nations is threat and occupation citing the occupying regime.

"The Zionist regime is not of origin. It is a forgery and imposed entity on the region," he said.

"Our enemies have set up the Zionist regime in the heart of the Muslim World through numerous ploys as a means to create unity among themselves and division among Muslim nations," President Ahmadinejad said.

"They spared no effort to support the Zionist regime up to now.

They use huge among of money from pockets of their people to support Israel. They also sacrificed their political philosophy in which they believe 'liberalism' for the sake of the Zionist regime.

"The unlimited crimes of the Zionist regime in massacring defenseless young Palestinians, destroying their homes and farms are done with the support of Western governments. For them breaking the law and violating the rights of Palestinian democratic government are all right," he said.

"Unfortunately, certain powers regard the human crisis the Zionist regime is creating as an opportunity for earning an income from arms sales to regional governments. So that they impose backwardness to the regional nations. Instead of spending on progress and development, they spend their resources to purchase arms."

Reliance split has 'win-win ending': Mukesh Ambani

New York, July 10 (IANS) Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, says the bitter feud with his younger brother Anil that lead to the split of the India's largest private sector corporate house has had a "win-win ending".

"When you see restructuring or separations in a family (firm), value has almost always been destroyed. This is the first case where value has been enhanced. In that way it has been a win-win ending," Ambani told Newsweek in an interview.

The magazine, in its detailed report on "India's Mr. Big Idea" in the issue that hits stands Monday, said the 49-year old business tycoon, "who was already the world's 38th richest person before the split, according to Forbes, is now considerably richer".

The break-up, finalised in January after a long-drawn out quarrel in public, left the elder brother in control of the larger (and largely petrochemical) share: Reliance Industries - "a behemoth that has seen its fortunes soar since the de-merger".

In a rare candid comment on the fracas with his younger brother, Ambani said: "Fundamentally we had different approaches. My view is to give everyone the space to grow in his own way."

Called "the country's most influential businessman" by the international newsmagazine, Ambani is now aiming even higher.

"Since the break-up, Ambani, 49, has finalised plans to invest more than $11 billion over the next decade to build two new satellite cities outside creaking, overcrowded Mumbai and Delhi.

"Ambani's favourite scheme aims to revolutionise in one swoop two of India's largest but most backward sectors: farming and retail," said the report.

Commenting on the planned 'agrarian revolution', Mukesh Ambani said: "Reliance is involving itself in agriculture in a big way. This will help to create a second green revolution at a time when energy and agro are converging.

"Oil is now at $70 a barrel, [but it's] a finite asset. We need a fallback position. We are looking for more gas and oil but we are also trying to grow our own energy. We think this has the potential to change the world," he said.

"We will work with farmers to get them to increase their productivity and produce the right products of the right quality. This also requires a major investment in technology because there are minimum import standards [overseas].

"We are also creating something that is totally missing in India: an efficient distribution system, linked to supermarkets across the world. This will generate up to one million new jobs and make us the largest private-sector employer in India," said Ambani.

The report noted: "If his plan succeeds, he says, consumers will get fresher food at lower prices, rural incomes will soar, farmers will become active consumers, and Reliance will become 'a WalMart in India'. The agricultural export boom will bring India's farmers into the global economy, as IT has done for its college grads."

What drives him to be more and more ambitious? He quotes his late father, the legendary Dhirubhai Ambani: "To create something out of nothing."

India Inc has little doubt about his ability to deliver.

Nandan Nilekani, CEO of India's leading IT firm Infosys, said: "His genius, his strength is that he's enormously good at executing large projects. He is able to assemble large numbers of people, the project-management skills, the capital and then execute."

Sania Mirza slips to 40th rank

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) India's tennis ace Sania Mirza, who lost in the first round of the Wimbledon singles competition, has slipped two places to 40th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released Monday.

Sania, 19, now has 501.50 points, which places her fourth highest ranked among Asians. The highest ranked Asian is Japanese Ai Sugiyama, who ranked 19th.

Frenchwomen Amelie Mauresmo, who won the women's title at the just concluded Wimbledon Championships, heads the overall WTA rankings, according to its official website.

Sania lost to Russian Elena Dementieva in the first round of Wimbledon, causing her to slip in the rankings.

In the doubles, Sania holds on to her 33rd rank.

Although Sania and Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands lost to Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the second round of Wimbledon, the result did not affect the Hyderabadi girl's ranking.

Schwarzenegger extends lead in opinion polls

New York, July 10 (IANS) A latest opinion poll reveals that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is also the Republican California governor, has extended his lead over his nearest rival in the upcoming state elections set to take place in November.

According to hollywood.com, actor-turned-politician Schwarzenegger is thought to have 44 percent of the eligible electorate behind him, with 37 percent backing Democratic candidate Phil Angelides.

In March, Schwarzenegger held a fragile 3 percent opinion poll lead over Angelides. His increased popularity is attributed to his decision to send National Guardsmen to the Mexican border in to keep illegal immigrants out of California.

Austrian-born Schwarzenegger, 58, took up office in 2003 after Democrat Gray Davis was recalled by voters.

photo source:BOB

Scientists probing Indian missile glitch

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) India's top defence scientists were Monday probing the snag that caused the nuclear capable intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) Agni-III to crash into the sea well short of its intended 3,000 km range.

"Data from the launch pad and from the tracking stations is being minutely examined. While it would be too early to hazard a guess as to what went wrong, it would seem that a design defect prevented the second stage from separating," a defence ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Because of this, the missile couldn't maintain its intended trajectory and could stay aloft for only five minutes instead of the 15 minutes it was intended to," the official explained.

"Since this was the first time the missile was being tested there was every possibility of glitches developing. Once these are ironed out, another flight could be contemplated," the official added, not wanting to hazard a guess as to when the next flight could take place.

Agni-III, India's longest range missile yet which is capable of reaching targets in China, was test fired at 11.03 a.m. from the Wheeler Island facility off the Orissa coast Sunday. It rose to a height of 12 km before it came crashing into the Bay of Bengal, 1,000 km from the launch site.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that developed the three-stage missile were among those who witnessed the launch.

DRDO officials immediately went into a huddle to examine data from the launch pad and the tracking stations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to probe the cause of the snag that prevented the missile from fulfilling its mission parameters.

According to Mukherjee, there was no cause for despondency.

"The first phase of the launch was successful. In the second phase, there was a technical snag, which is being analysed. This is not abnormal," he told reporters in Kolkata Sunday night.

According to noted defence analyst Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, the launch could not be entirely termed a failure.

"It's an important punctuation in the evolution of India's credible nuclear deterrence. The fact that it took off is a major success. Re-entry is always a tricky situation and I would think it would take eight to 10 tests before it is fully evolves," Bhaskar told IANS.

Agni-III, which has a range between 3,500 and 5,000 km, features two solid-fuelled stages and has an overall diameter of 1.8 metres. It can be deployed from rail or road mobile launch vehicles and from silos. It is equipped with inertial guidance systems with improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation systems that gives it a high degree of accuracy.

Agni-I, with a range of 700-800 km, and Agni-II, with a 2,000-km range, have already been inducted in the Indian Army.

Scuffle in Karnataka assembly over graft charges against CM

Bangalore, July 10 (IANS) A scuffle broke out in the Karnataka legislative assembly Monday between the ruling and opposition members over corruption charges levelled against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

Trouble began when Congress member Ramesh Kumar and Housing Minister D.T. Jaykumar almost came to blows over some remarks made by the former against ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leaders, including the chief minister and Forest Minister C. Chennigappa, for allegedly collecting over Rs.1.5 billion from mining operators in Bellary district of north Karnataka.

The charges are levelled by a member of legislative council, K. Janardhan Reddy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - a partner in the ruling coalition.

To defuse the situation, speaker Krishna adjourned the house for the day after disallowing an adjournment motion moved by opposition leader and former chief minister N. Dharam Singh for a discussion on the bribery charges.

Intervention by members of both the parties and some independents prevented the situation from turning worse. Kumar, who rushed to the well of the house to stage a sit-in demonstration against the speaker's ruling, was forcibly stopped from hitting Jaykumar and taken out of the house.

"As serious corruption charges are levelled against the chief minister by no less than a member of the coalition party, we have urged the speaker to allow a discussion after the question hour. The speaker, however, declined our move saying the issue was not listed in the business agenda of the house," Singh told reporters later.

A similar attempt by the opposition Congress for discussion on the issue in the upper house (legislative council) led to heated exchanges with the ruling members, forcing the acting chairman of the house to adjourn the proceedings.

Protesting against the chair's ruling, opposing members staged a walkout and threatened to boycott the assembly proceedings till the chief minister came clean over the bribery charges or resigned on moral grounds.

Reddy had recently accused Kumaraswamy and Chennigappa of collecting bribes from several influential mining operators in Bellary district, which is reputed to have one of the largest deposits of iron and manganese ore in the country.

The district also houses many small and medium enterprises manufacturing steel and iron products, besides the Jindal Vijaynagar steep plant of the Jindal group at Thorangallu near Hospet.

Meanwhile, in a damage control exercise, the state unit of the BJP held a meeting of its legislative members and decided to resolve the issue with the JD-S at the coordination committee of the two coalition partners.

"Reddy was misquoted by the media as he did not directly name either Kumaraswamy or Chennigappa, but only said some people close to them were collecting funds from the mining lobby on their behalf," state BJP unit president D.V. Sadananda Gouda told reporters later.

The bribery charges came in the wake of an abrupt transfer of Bellary district superintendent of police Pankaj Kumar Thakur by Home Minister M.P. Prakash.

The transfer was criticised by a section of the BJP, especially Reddy and his elder brother Karunakar Reddy, who represents the party from the Bellary Lok Sabha constituency.

Kumaraswamy, however, said the accusation was made to blackmail him and his party by some disgruntled elements in the BJP.

Sheila Dikshit leaves for Mongolia

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has left for Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar to take part in the country's national festival Naadam.

Officials said Dikshit left for Ulaanbaatar late Sunday night and is expected to return back to India Thursday.

During her stay, she is expected to meet Mongolian President N. Enkhbayar and Prime Minister M. Enkhbold. On Tuesday, she will unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Ulaanbaatar's Mahatma Gandhi Street.

According to an agreement signed between India and Mongolia, it was decided to rename an important street in Ulaanbaatar after Mahatma Gandhi.

The Delhi government had earlier renamed a road between the domestic airport and national highway-8 as Ulaanbaatar Road in December last year.

This year, Naadam coincides with the 800th year celebrations of the establishment of the Mongolian stat

Shiv Sena legislators disrupt Maharashtra assembly

Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Shiv Sena legislators forced the adjournment of the Maharashtra assembly proceedings here Monday, protesting against government inaction following the desecration of the statue of party supreme Bal Thackeray's late wife.

In a heated argument, the Shiv Sena accused the government of failing to maintain law and order in the state after the statue was vandalised by unidentified miscreants Sunday.

Countering these charges, the ruling Congress members alleged that the incident had been engineered by Shiv Sena activists themselves.

Shiv Sena members along with its ally, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), then disrupted the proceedings, forcing the speaker to adjourn the assembly.

Meanwhile, Mumbai police released sketches of the suspects responsible for the act of vandalism, but no arrests have been made so far.

"We have released sketches of three persons suspected to be behind the desecration of the statue, but we are yet to make arrests," Mumbai police chief A.N. Roy told reporters Monday.

Roy said that though normalcy has been restored in the city and its suburbs, the police are still on alert.

Violence broke out Sunday after unidentified people allegedly threw mud on the statue of Thackeray's wife, Meenatai, near Shivaji Park in Dadar in central Mumbai.

Shiv Sena workers set fire to buses, blocked traffic and forced shops to shutdown in many parts of Mumbai. Protestors also tried to stop local trains at several sub-urban stations.

The party had also called a shutdown strike in Navi Mumbai Sunday.

The defacement of the statue has, however, given the Shiv Sena and the BJP an issue to rouse its cadres and corner the government.

Senior BJP leaders justified the mob violence as a spontaneous reaction of the people. "Everybody respects Meenatai. The incident has hurt this respect and what happened was a spontaneous reaction of the public," said BJP leader Gopinath Munde Monday. "No organisation had ordered any action," he added.

Bal Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray, said that the party would not call any shutdown strikes in Mumbai.

"There will be no bandhs in Mumbai and party workers will maintain peace," Uddhav was quoted in the party mouthpiece Saamna Monday.

Tainted ministers: court asks government to spell out stand

New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday expressed its displeasure to the government for its delay in filing a response to a petition on whether a person facing criminal charges should be made a minister.

The court asked the central government and the states to spell out their stands and posted the case for further hearing in August.

In March, a bench headed by Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, hearing a petition filed by Manoj Narula had asked the government and the states to file their responses within four weeks.

Since important issues of public importance such as good governance, moral turpitude, purity of system and public perception were involved, the court referred the matter to a five-judge constitution Bench.

The bench comprising Sabharwal and judges C.K. Thakker and P.K. Balasubramnyan Monday found that the central government and most of the states had not filed their responses.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, amicus curiae in the case, had earlier said the issue was important since the induction of a person as a minister with criminal background was not good for democracy.

He had cited instances when ministers had resigned on charges being framed in a criminal case but now even after framing of charges, people were made ministe

Tempers rise as world body ignores Everest plight

By Sudeshna Sarkar,
Kathmandu, July 10 (IANS) Environment activists across the world are fuming after a world body ignored pleas for urgent action to protect some of the globes finest sites, including the Mt Everest, from climate change.

As the World Heritage Committee, comprising 21 countries as diverse as the US, Cuba, India and Madagascar, began its 30th meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, 37 nations and four individuals asked for urgent action to save Mount Everest on the Nepal-Tibet border, the Andes mountains in Peru, the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in the US and Canada and the Great Barrier and Belize Barrier (coral) Reefs.

The plea was reinforced with Unesco's World Heritage Centre Sunday publishing a survey of 83 countries that warned "125 World Heritage Sites were threatened by climate change", including 19 glacier sites and seven coral reefs worldwide.

Pro Public Nepal, a Kathmandu-based INGO campaigning to put Mt Everest and the Sagarmatha National Park on its slope in the Unesco list of 'In Danger" heritage sites for urgent intervention, says increasing temperature in the Himalayan regions is making the glaciers melt and could lead to the bursting of glacial lakes.

Prakash Mani Sharma, who is representing the INGO at the weeklong meet in Vilnius, says the Himalayas have warmed about 1 degree Celsius since the 1970s, almost twice the global average, affecting the snowy peaks and hundreds of glaciers and glacial lakes in the region.

"The warming has led to the retreat of 67 percent of Himalayan glaciers, and an official study has identified several lakes as potentially at risk of outburst flood," Sharma says.

"Continued melt will increase summer river flows for a few decades, with expected increased frequency of floods, followed by a severe reduction in flow to major rivers such as the Ganges and Indus as the glaciers disappear."

Along with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth International, the Climate Justice Programme and other campaigners, Pro Public is urging the meet to send a mission of observers to the five seriously endangered World Heritage sites to evaluate the nature and extent of the threat and propose measures to mitigate the threat.

They are also asking for the countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their duty to protect the sites.

However, the campaigners say the World Heritage Committee is "anxious to accommodate the US and Canadian governments' well known climate change positions" and have accordingly, endorsed a world heritage and climate change strategy focusing on the impacts but not the causes of the problem.

Peter Roderick, co-director of the Climate Justice Programme, says: "We are extremely angry that the World Heritage Committee has not taken any meaningful action to protect some of the most important sites on Earth from climate change. They are good at drawing up wonderfully drafted documents, but the idea of actually doing anything seems to pose a problem."

Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the most respected voices in the world today and the first man to summit Mt Everest in 1956 with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, backs the petition to put Mt Everest on the Unseco's endangered sites' list.

The mystery of the missing FIFA president

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) One person was conspicuous by his absence from the podium when Italy's players received their winners' medals and German President Horst Koehler handed their captain Fabio Cannavaro the World Cup.

The president of football's world controlling body FIFA Joseph Blatter was not among the host of dignitaries present at the award ceremony after the dramatic 5-3 penalty shootout win over France.

The president of the local organising committee Franz Beckenbauer was there as was the president of Europe's controlling body UEFA, Lennart Johansson, but there was no sign of Blatter.

Beckenbauer in fact presented the medals to the Italians, while the players grabbed the trophy after it was handed over by the German president.

But in all of this Blatter was missing - as he was when the runners-up received their medals from Beckenbauer.

A spokesman for the local organising committee said that as far as he knew, Blatter was going to be present when the cup was handed over.

"I have no idea why he was not there," he said. "This morning we were given the programme and he was mentioned. I do not know why this changed."

In the run-up to the tournament FIFA and the German organising committee had been involved in a controversy over the list of speakers at the opening, with FIFA being accused of wanting to prevent Beckenbauer from speaking.

Blatter has not always been popular among German football fans and last year was booed in the stadiums during the Confederations Cup.

--DPA

Times of India and contempt of Court

HAS THE TIMES OF INDIA COMMITTED CONTEMPT OF THE SUPREME COURT IN ITS REPORT ON ABU ASIM AZMI?

The Times of India, Mumbai has published a news report titled: 'Why is Abu Azmi under Sena fire?' by Yogesh Naik on July 10, 2006, when the city was just recovering from the three days' events involving mob demonstrations in Bhiwandi and later in the city by Shiv Sena protesting desecration of the statue of the late wife of Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray, Minatai Thackeray near Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar.

In the report, while giving a short history of Abu Asim Azmi's career, TNN reporter Yogesh Naik writes:

'Azmi, who was accused of helping the serial blasts perpetrators flee the country, fought the case till the supreme court, where Chief Justice Ahmedi discharged him.'

The clear communal angle of the reporting cannot be mistaken. Times has allowed to be printed a clear slur on Supreme Court, as any decision of the supreme court, cannot be attributed to any single judge and made out as if the judgment was a result of communal bias or favour.

The Times of India appears to be in clear contempt of court and the Supreme Court should suo moto take up the case to ensure that India's prime newspaper should not be allowed to use its medium to attribute communal bias to Supreme Court judges in such blatant manner. TOI clearly insinuates in the report that Azmi was discharged by Chief Justice Ahmedi of the Supreme Court on communal grounds rather than on facts of the case.

TOI's blatant communal bias against Indian Muslims in general and against some Muslims in particular, for the supposed crime of just being Muslims and openly standing up for Muslim causes, has become its permanent agenda and thus is a ongoing threat to the communal peace in the country. Some accountability for the media should be in place either through fresh legislations or judicial interventions, so that this trend may not threaten communal peace, and the security and integrity of the nation.

GHULAM MUHAMMED, MUMBAI

UNFPA chief warns against poverty, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS

Tehran, July 10, IRNA,Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Thoraya Ahmed Obaid in her message on World Population Day, July 11, 2006, warned that millions of young people are threatened by poverty, illiteracy, risks of pregnancy and childbirth, and HIV/AIDS.

According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) here Monday, the full text of her message follows:
"This year on World Population Day, the focus is on young people.

From a 10-year-old girl to a young man of 24, their needs are different, their cultures diverse. Yet, all over the world, young people want to be heard and involved.

"They possess the ideas, determination and energy to accelerate effective action to reduce poverty and inequality. In every region, young people are taking action on HIV/AIDS and other issues that threaten their health, education and future opportunities.

"Young people want to stay safe and healthy. They want a chance at a better future. About HIV prevention, they tell us: "Adults say we are too young to know; we say we are too young to die." About family planning, young people tell us: "Men should share responsibility with women." About sexual and reproductive health, they say: "Young people need this information. It shapes our lives and affects our future." "Yet today, millions of young people are threatened by poverty, illiteracy, risks of pregnancy and childbirth, and HIV/AIDS. Today, more than 500 million people aged 15 to 24 live on less than $2 per day; 96 million young women in developing countries do not know how to read or write; and 14 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 become mothers every year. Every day, 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV.

"These challenges lie at the heart of goals set by world leaders to reduce poverty and improve health and well-being. It is clear that the Millennium Development Goals will not be met unless young people are actively involved in policymaking and programming, their voices are heard, their needs are met and their human rights are respected.

"UNFPA champions young people's rights to education, health and employment. We recognize that investments in young people promote social and economic growth. Key to these efforts are keeping girls in school, building life skills, delaying marriage and pregnancy until adulthood, and preventing HIV infection. Young people have the power to drive development forward.

"On World Population Day, let us focus on young people and seek new ways to work side-by-side as partners in development. Although it is often said that young people are the future, it is also true that young people are the present and their leadership should be supported today. As a young peer educator said, 'We are creating the future and it is great'."

UPA wants to bullet-proof Ayodhya

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday sought the Supreme Court's permission to carry out certain construction to strengthen the security of the disputed site at Ayodhya, where the idol of Lord Ram is placed.

The matter was mentioned by the Centre's counsel before a Bench of Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice D K Jain, which posted it for hearing in the first week of August.

The Centre said the decision had been taken after discussions with the Uttar Pradesh government and various intelligence agencies.

The court's permission for carrying out any constructions in the disputed complex was needed in view of its earlier order to maintain status quo there.

Government plans to install bullet-proof steel structures around the idol at the disputed site in Ayodhya to further enhance security there in the wake of last year's terrorist attack.

Since the Supreme Court is hearing a petition on the issue of acquisition of nearly 71 acres of land by the government and has directed that status quo be maintained there, the Centre moved an application before it on May 17 seeking permission to install the temporary steel structures.

The Centre also wants to install close circuit television and set up concrete bunkers at the disputed site.

As per its plan, the square steel structures would be 11 by 11 feet and would have a height of 7-and-a-half feet. The total expenditure on further enhancing security was reported to be Rs 7.22 crore.

In the application filed in the apex court following a meeting chaired by Home Secretary V K Duggal to further scale-up security at Ayodhya, the Government has said "some measures are being planned, including providing temporary bullet-proof steel structures on the four sides of Ram Lalla (idol). The roof will be made of wood."

This was estimated to cost about Rs 9 lakh. In addition to this, the air conditioning of the make-shift area

would cost Rs 2 lakh.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defended the decision saying it was vital to safeguard the structure from terrorists' attack and prevent any threat to communal amity.

''If terrorists succeed in their mission to harm the disputed site in Ayodhya, it would cause enormous damage to the secular fabric of the country. It may also result into disharmony and communal tension,'' Singh told Delhi Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Shoaib Iqbal, who has opposed the government move.

Source: IBN Live

We will be largest private sector employer in India: Mukesh Ambani

New York, July 10 (IANS) Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, says he will trigger a second green revolution in the country - with synergies between farming and energy - by involving his group in agriculture in a big way.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, he says his company's involvement with the farm sector "has the potential to change the world" and adds that he views India's billion-plus population not as a problem but as billion-plus customers.

Here are some excerpts from the interview that was printed in the Newsweek edition that hit the stands Monday:

Q: You say India's competitive advantages are globalisation, democracy, the ability to adapt to technology, and demography. Starting with democracy, doesn't it slow growth?

A: Sure, but increased aspirations are also driving growth. Politicians used to tell me: "We sell dreams to people that we knew we'd never be able to fulfil." Today, the mindset of these politicians has changed. They genuinely believe we have an opportunity to substantially alleviate poverty by 2030.

Q: How does technology fit in?

A: We are using new technologies in meaningful ways. To build our new refinery in 60 percent of the time it took to build our first, we are training 20,000 people in a new generation of welding technology in six months. This is where demographics come in. We have 650 million people who are below their early 30s, while the U.S. and Europe face a shortage of skilled workers. A billion people used to mean lots of problems. Today I see a billion people as a billion potential consumers, an opportunity to generate value for them and to make a return for myself.

Q: How do you motivate poor farmers to join your new farm-to-retail network?

A: We will work with farmers to get them to increase their productivity and produce the right products of the right quality. This also requires a major investment in technology because there are minimum import standards [overseas]. We are also creating something that is totally missing in India: an efficient distribution system, linked to supermarkets across the world. This will generate up to one million new jobs and make us the largest private-sector employer in India.

Q: What drives you?

A: In my father's language: "To create something out of nothing." That possibility exists in India even in old-world sectors like agriculture.

Q: Is this an agrarian revolution?

A: Absolutely. Reliance is involving itself in agriculture in a big way. This will help to create a second green revolution at a time when energy and agro are converging. Oil is now at $70 a barrel, [but it's] a finite asset. We need a fallback position. We are looking for more gas and oil but we are also trying to grow our own energy. We think this has the potential to change the world.

Q: How disruptive and dispiriting was the feud with your brother?

A: Fundamentally we had different approaches. My view is to give everyone the space to grow in his own way. When you see restructuring or separations in a family [firm], value has almost always been destroyed. This is the first case where value has been enhanced. In that way it has been a win-win ending.

Yellow and red - cards at World Cup

Berlin, July 10 (DPA) List of yellow and red cards issued at the 2006 World Cup:

Cards issued during knockout stages:

Red cards:
Argentina (1): Leandro Cufre
England (1): Wayne Rooney
France (1): Zinedine Zidane
Italy (1): Marco Materazzi

Two yellow cards in one match (red card shown):
Netherlands (2): Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Khalid Boulahrouz
Portugal (2): Costinha, Deco
Ghana (1): Asamoah Gyan
Sweden (1): Teddy Lucic

Yellow Cards:
France (10): Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram, Louis Saha (2), Willy Sagnol (2), Alou Diarra, Florent Malouda

Portugal (8): Luis Figo, Maniche, Costinha, Nuno Valente, Petit (2), Ricardo, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Costa, Ricardo Carvalhio (2)

Argentina (6): Gabriel Heinze, Juan Pablo Sorin (2), Javier Mascherano, Julio Cruz, Maxi Rodriguez

Brazil (6): Adriano, Juan (2), Lucio, Ronaldo, Cafu

Germany (6): Arne Friedrich, David Odonkor, Lukas Podolski, Torsten Frings (2), Christoph Metzelder, Tim Borowski, Bastian Schweinsteiger

England (5): Jamie Carragher, John Terry (2), Paul Robinson, Owen Hargreaves

Italy (5): Fabio Grosso, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta (2), Mauro Camoranesi

Ghana (4): Eric Addo, John Pantsil, Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari

Mexico (4): Rafael Marquez, Jose Antonio Castro, Gerardo Torrado, Jose Fonseca

Australia (3): Tim Cahill, Vince Grella, Luke Wilkshire

Ecuador (3): Carlos Tenorio, Luis Valencia, Ulises De la Cruz

Netherlands: (3): Mark van Bommel, Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder

Ukraine (3): Artem Milevskiy, Vyacheslav Sviderskiy, Maksym Kalinichenko

Sweden (2): Marcus Allback, Mattias Jonson

Spain (1): Carles Puyol

Switzerland (1): Tranquillo Barnetta

Red and yellow cards issued during the 48-group stage matches:

Red cards:
Czech Republic (1): Tomas Ujfalusi
Italy (1) Daniele De Rossi
Serbia & Montenegro (1): Mateja Kezman
Ukraine (1): Vladislav Vashchuk
USA (1): Pablo Mastroeni

Two yellow cards in one match (red card shown):

Croatia (2): Dario Simic, Josip Simunic
Angola (1): Andre
Australia (1): Brett Emerton
Czech Republic (1): Jan Polak
Ivory Coast (1): Cyril Domoraud
Mexico (1) Luis Perez
Poland (1): Radoslaw Sobolewski
Serbia-Montenegro (1): Albert Nadj
Togo (1): Jean-Paul Abalo
Trinidad and Tobago (1): Avery John
Tunisia (1): Zied Jaziri
USA (1): Eddie Pope

Yellow cards:

Ghana (12): Sulley Muntari (2), Asamoah Gyan (2), Otto
Addo, Michael Essien (2), Habib Mohamed, Derek Boateng, Illiasu
Shilla, John Mensah, Stephen Appiah

Tunisia (12): Adel Chedli, Karim Haggui, Riadh Bouazizi (2), Yassine
Chikhaoui, Anis Ayari, Hatem Trabelsi, Radhi Jaidi (2), Haykel
Guemamdia, Zied Jaziri, Jaouhar Mnari

Switzerland (11): Alexander Frei, Marco Streller, Ludovic Magnin,
Philipp Degen, Ricardo Cabanas, Johann Vogel, Christoph Spycher,
Hakan Yakin, Johan Djourou, Philippe Senderos, Raphael Wicky

Serbia-Montenegro (10): Dejan Stankovic, Albert Nadj, Goran Gavrancic
(2), Ivica Dragutinovic, Mladen Krstajic, Ognjen Koroman (2), Igor
Duljaj, Milan Dudic

Angola (9): Andre, Jamba, Loco (2), Joao Ricardo, Jose Ze Kalanga
(2), Luis Manuel Delgado, Mendonca

Netherlands (9): Giovanni van Bronckhorst, John Heitinga, Arjen
Robben, Joris Mathijsen, Mark van Bommel, Khalid Boulahrouz, Andre
Ooijer, Dirk Kuyt, Tim de Cler

Portugal (9): Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Valente, Pauleta, Deco,
Costinha, Luis Boa Morte, Maniche, Miguel, Nuno Gomes

South Korea (9): Kim Young Chul, Lee Chun Soo (2), Lee Ho, Kim Dong
Jin, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Choi Jin-Cheul, Kim Jin-Kyu, Park Chu-Young

Ukraine (9): Andriy Rusol (2), Vladimir Yezerskiy, Andriy
Nesmachniy, Maksym Kalinichenko, Vyacheslav Sviderskiy (2), Anatoliy
Timostchuk, Oleg Shelayev

Costa Rica (8): Danny Fonseca, Luis Marin (2), Mauricio Solis,
Michael Umana, Ronald Gomez, Gabriel Badilla, Leonardo Gonzalez

Iran (8): Javad Nekounam (2), Mehrzad Madanchi (2), Hossein Kaabi,
Yahya Golmohammadi, Andranik Teymourian, Ferydoon Zandi

Paraguay (8): Nelson Valdez, Carlos Paredes (2), Denis Caniza, Edgar
Barreto, Roberto Acuna, Jorge Nunez, Julio Dos Santos

Poland (8): Artur Boruc (2), Euzebiusz Smolarek, Jacek Krzynowek,
Jacek Bak, Arkadiusz Radomski, Michal Zewkalow, Marcin Baszczynski

Togo (8): Alaixys Romao (2), Emmanuel Adebayor, Massamasso Tchangai,
Moustapha Salifou (2), Cherif-Toure Mamam, Yao Aziawonou

Trinidad and Tobago (8): Aurtis Whitley (2), Cyd Gray, Densill
Theobald, Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones, Shaka Hislop, Brent Sancho

Croatia (7): Igor Tudor (2), Niko Kovac, Robert Kovac (2), Darijo
Srna, Stipe Pletikosa

Ivory Coast (7): Emmanuel Eboue, Didier Drogba (2), Arthur Boka,
Didier Zokora, Aruna Dindane, Kader Keita

Japan (7): Akira Kaji, Naohiro Takahara, Teruyaki Moniwa, Tsuneyasu
Miyamoto (2), Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Alex

Argentina (6): Javier Saviola, Luis Gonzalez, Gabriel Heinze, Hernan
Crespo, Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Mascherano

Australia (6): Craig Moore, John Aloisi, Tim Cahill, Vince Grella,
Brett Emerton, Jason Culina

Ecuador (6): Cristian Mora, Edison M