02 August 2006
Ahmedabad, Aug 2 (IANS) About 135 children marooned in a residential school in Gujarat's flood-hit Kheda district were rescued Wednesday and shifted to a safer location, said an official.
"All the children have been shifted to a school in a nearby village that is accessible. Along with district officials, state and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel also assisted in shifting the boys," K.K. Vagadia, a district official, told IANS.
Vagadia said efforts are on to bring the parents of the children to their new location. He added that a thorough medical check-up of every child had been carried out immediately.
The children and 18 educational officials were stranded in the school premises in Bhalada village, 80 km from here, due to the overflowing of a nearby canal.
The district administration, however, had ensured that the school had enough ration and oil for the generator. A police team had also been deployed there for the past two days to maintain connectivity with the administration.
"They were safe there and the water level was so high that we didn't want to risk their lives in shifting them in a hurry. But as the water level receded, we moved them," said the District Collector R.R. Varsani.
Meanwhile, the police lodged a complaint against eight of the 60 labourers they rescued Monday from the farms of Gaanol village, 25 km from here. They were rescued by the fire brigade after day-long struggle in 8-10 feet of water.
Police have booked the labourers for ignoring repeated warnings issued by the administration and for risking the lives of their group members as well.
Gujarat has been lashed by heavy rains for the past week and over 50 people have lost their lives across the state while many have been rendered homeless due to the flood situation in central and south Gujarat.
Gujarat's meteorological department predicted heavy rains for the state's Saurashtra and Kutch regions Wednesday and Thursday.
According to Kamaljit Ray, department director (forecast), heavy to very heavy rains are likely in the two regions whereas there could be some respite for the rest of Gujarat from the downpour that has continued for the last five days.
"The low pressure that mounted over Madhya Pradesh for the last few days has shifted to western Gujarat making heavy rains likely for Saurashtra and Kutch," said Ray Wednesday.
Patna, Aug 2 (IANS) A security force of 30 policemen and others have been lined up as the Bihar government prepares to transfer jailed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Mohammad Shahabuddin to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for specialised treatment.
Shahabuddin, who would be staying at AIIMS in judicial custody, is charged in over 40 criminal cases, including murder, abduction and possession of illegal arms.
According to Abhayanand, additional director general of police, Shahabuddin would be sent from the Siwan prison to AIIMS in a day or two in the custody of nearly 30 cops and security officials.
The Patna High Court had Monday ordered his immediate treatment at AIIMS after the MP, who has been suffering from serious spinal problems, made an appeal for mercy killing saying that the pain was unbearable and the state government was not inclined to send him outside for better treatment.
The court had also directed the AIIMS director to submit a report on Shahabuddin's condition after two weeks of treatment.
Last week, a special medical committee examined Shahabuddin in the Siwan prison after he complained of spinal problems. It recommended that he be taken to a specialised spinal treatment centre outside the state.
Earlier in July, the court had ordered re-examination of his medical condition after a panel of three neurosurgeons refused to see him.
Dhaka, Aug 2 (IANS) Visiting Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed Tuesday met Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on the sidelines of the ongoing SAARC Council of Ministers meeting here and discussed matters of mutual interest, officials said.
Ahamed also met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Morshed Khan, and paid a courtesy call on Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, who is the leader of the opposition in the Bangladesh parliament.
During the meeting with Zia, Ahamed thanked her for her letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly condemning the July 11 Mumbai train blasts and for her expression of solidarity, the Indian officials accompanying the minister said.
Ahamed said the people of India, who have displayed their firm resolution to maintain unity, integrity and peaceful co-existence would defeat the perpetrators of the act.
The minister also reiterated India's continued commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations with Bangladesh.
Ahamed also discussed these and SAARC-related issues with Morshed Khan. Both sides also reviewed recent developments in West Asia.
In the context of the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting, Ahamed conveyed India's deep concerns over the actions being taken by Pakistan in preventing the implementation of SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Area).
According to Ahamed, the SAARC Council of Ministers had the responsibility to take a stand against any country-specific measures, which an order from the Pakistan commerce ministry had done.
Morshed Khan reiterated Bangladesh's commitment to SAFTA and assured that as the current SAARC chair, Bangladesh would make all efforts to help find a resolution to this issue.
Tehran, Aug 2 (DPA) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday rejected the resolution by the UN Security Council ordering Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment efforts by Aug 31.
"We only have one single slogan and that is use of nuclear fuel production is our legitimate and irrevocable right," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Bojnourd, northeastern Iran.
The president stated that his country was resolved on the nuclear issue. Having surmounted difficulties in the past, Iran would overcome them in the future too, he said in reference to possible UN sanctions.
"We already possess nuclear know-how and those who think that they can intimidate us by the language of force or threats are making a big mistake - if they do not realise this mistake now, they will certainly do so in the future," Ahmadinejad said without elaborating.
Ahmadinejad reiterated that Iran was in favour of negotiations in order to remove doubts among the international community but stressed his country's right of Iran to pursue nuclear technology.
Earlier Tuesday, the Iranian parliament speaker had said the UN Security Council resolution had no value.
"These kind of resolutions have no value in the eyes of the world nations and will not be supported," Gholam-Hossein Hadad-Adel was quoted by the state television as saying.
"While the UN does not have the courage to condemn the catastrophe in Qana (the Lebanese town recently bombed by Israel), the Security Council feels threatened by Iran's nuclear activities and issues a resolution instead of supporting Palestine and Lebanon," the speaker said.
The UN Security Council voted for the one-month ultimatum Monday, saying Iran had to suspend uranium enrichment, uranium reprocessing and work on a heavy-water reactor or face the threat of sanctions.
To come clean on its nuclear efforts, Iran was being offered a set of economic and other incentives in a joint proposal by Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US.
Bojnourd, North Khorasan prov, Aug 2, IRNA President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Israeli aggressions on Lebanon and Palestine aim to revive the dead plan of a greater Middle East.
He said in his address to a large crowd of people that the US and Britain have abetted Israel to invade Lebanon and should be held accountable for Israeli war crimes.
Ahmadinejad said that Israeli aggressions on Lebanon and Palestine were pre-planned adding that the occupying regime only used as pretext taking the soldiers as captive to exchange them for the Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in Israeli detention camps.
He said that murder, aggression and plunder formed the nature of the occupying regime adding that Israel serves as lackey for both the US and Britain in the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad criticized international organizations of inaction in the face of Israeli aggressions on Lebanon and Palestine and said that the UN Security Council has been made an instrument for global arrogance.
"The US and UK do not deserve to be permanent member of the Security Council. They have abetted Israeli war crimes and should stand trial.
"They are contemplating to spread the flames of war throughout the Middle East, but, they should fear the fury of the nations.
"Lebanon, is a scene to present the true face of the so-called advocates of human rights. It depicts the oppression to which the Lebanese nation have been subject," Ahmadinejad said.
He praised the Lebanese resistance movement led by Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and said that Israeli aggression is not only against a single nation, but, it is against the entire humanity.
President Ahmadinejad said that Iran calls for an end to the current hostility in Lebanon and the aggressor should pay reparations for the damages it inflicted on civilian infrastructure of Lebanon.
He called on the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) to bring to justice Israeli officials for the war crimes they perpetrated against civilians of Lebanon and Palestine.
The Iranian president said that personnel of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Society and ambulances are not immune from Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Palestine and they fell victims to the military attacks of the occupying regime, so that humanitarian aid workers are not able to carry out their own job.
(SOURCE : IRNA.IR)
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Air Marshal Jyoti Narayan Burma Tuesday took over as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration of the Indian Air Force (IAF) at air headquarters here.
Burma was commissioned in the IAF administration branch in 1972. He has so far held the appointments of Senior Air Traffic Control Officer, functioned as Joint Director (Operations) Air Traffic Services and Director (Operations) Air Traffic Services at air headquarters, an IAF release said.
He has also held the appointment of Command Non-Technical Training Officer at the IAF Training Command headquarters. Prior to his present appointment, Burma was Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Air Force Works) at air headquarters.
Burma has been decorated with the Ati Vishisth Seva Medal, the Vishisth Seva Medal and Commendation Card of the Chief of the Air Staff for his distinguished and meritorious service.
Shimla, Aug 2 (IANS) Airtel, Himachal Pradesh's largest mobile service provider has now touched 400,000 mobile subscribers in the hill state, claim top company officials.
"We have jumped from 300,000 to 400,000 customers in the space of barely eight months, a record for us so far in the state," said Sameer Kohli, deputy general manager (Marketing).
"With this, Airtel has become the first mobile operator to touch the 400,000 mark landmark," Kohli told IANS Wednesday.
When asked about catering to the huge need of growing customers, Kohli said the company plans to soon have 500 towers in the hill state.
"We also plan to start fixed wireless phones with WLL technology in Himachal Pradesh, unlike other WLL providers in the state the customer can carry these fixed wireless phones throughout the state without paying any roaming charges," he said.
But the company has no immediate plans to start broadband services in the state.
Bharti, whose telecom venture is known as Airtel began services in the state almost ten years ago, making it the oldest mobile operator in the hill state.
Bharti has the largest number of mobile customers in the state followed by BSNL, Reliance and Tata.
By Sudeshna Sarkar, Kathmandu, Aug 2 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy Staffan de Mistura Tuesday began consultations with Nepalese Maoists to assess what kind of role the world body could play in taking the peace negotiations in the Himalayan kingdom forward.
De Mistura had led an assessment mission to Nepal last week after Nepal's government formally requested Annan for help in monitoring the ongoing ceasefire, arms and armies of both the state and the guerrillas and observing the election scheduled to be held by April.
He flew to Nepalgunj town in midwestern Nepal from where he was going to unspecified locations to meet the leaders of the Maoists' People's Liberation Army.
De Mistura has already met the top leadership of the guerrillas in the capital, including Maoist supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who said the talks were "very positive".
The Maoists have so far refused to lay down arms before the constituent assembly election is held when Nepal would choose between the 238-year-old monarchy and a republic.
Former MP and Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told the media the rebel army would stay inside makeshift barracks and allow the UN to monitor if they have broken out of confinement.
They, however, would not allow the UN to separate them from their arms since they are sceptical about the intentions of the state army, which during the last talks broke the truce by killing 19 people "extra-judicially".
The seven-party government, on the other hand, says the Maoists can't join the interim government till they lay down arms. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who met De Mistura Monday, reiterated that as well as the government's request to the UN to decommission the rebels.
Before leaving for Nepalgunj, De Mistura told the media his seven-day mission had a timetable.
"The secretary-general set seven days for this mission and within those seven days we are looking forward to coming back - if the Nepalese side is in a position to do so - with a clear understanding," he said.
"There are many issues, there is a package of very important issues that will need to be addressed. But the UN has been called to assist in a specific area and that area, according to everyone at this stage, is arms management. That is where we have some proposals. That is where we have some ideas and we are waiting and we are confident."
On Monday evening, De Mistura also separately met members of the diplomatic corps in Nepal, including the Indian, British and American ambassadors. Jared Kotler, spokesman of the UN mission here, said the talks focused on what role the UN could play.
The UN envoy was also meeting officials of the Nepal Army Tuesday. He has already met army chief Pray Jung Thapa and Defence Secretary Bishu Dutt Upreti.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court Tuesday pulled up the central government on a law that seeks to give a one-year moratorium against demolition and sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas in the national capital.
Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, when told by Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati that parliament had unanimously passed the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, quipped: "We are not concerned about unanimity. What was the parliament doing for 20 years on this issue? Was it sleeping? We are more concerned about maintaining the sanctity of our judgments and the rule of law. Can you take shelter under the guise of people's interest to violate the law."
Expressing his concern, Justice Sabharwal said: "We talk of making this nation a developed country. We are talking of good governance. Is this the way to do it."
Earlier, the apex court admitted a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the law by the Delhi Welfare Residents Association Joint Front (DWRAJF) and an NGO, Citizens Voice. The petitioners assailed the law on the ground that parliament had passed the legislation to give benefit to the land mafia and violators of law as well as encroachers on public land at the cost of law-abiding citizens.
The Act seeks to maintain status quo as on Jan 1, 2006, on demolition of unauthorised and illegal constructions as well as sealing of premises.
A bench of the Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice P.K. Balsubramanyan told Vahanvati that "prima facie this type of statute has been passed only in this nation by which all the orders of the courts and laws being obeyed by the citizens are suspended. You want to act as an appellate authority for all the courts, whether it is the lower court, the Delhi High Court or this court."
The chief justice told Vahanvati: "you have granted exemption for one year. You can go on extending it for 20 years. Tell us, what is the message parliament wants to give."
Vahanvati replied that parliament had recognised the fact that the problem of improper planning existed for two decades and that was the reason this law was enacted to address the various issues.
Justice Sabharwal's criticism of the government came at this point when Vahanvati said that the law had been passed unanimously by parliament.
Sending a clear message that this act would not stand legal scrutiny, the chief justice said: "The only question now is what is the interim order to be passed. We are not inclined to say no stay or a complete stay. We are for a middle path. We want to give you some protection from demolition to certain categories of buildings. You tell us which of those categories need such protection."
The solicitor general said he needed time to take instructions.
In its brief order, the bench said: "We are of the view that many serious questions of law are sought to be raised which require deeper consideration and elaborate submissions. In this view we admit the petitions."
On the question of interim order, the bench granted time till Aug 10 to the government to come out with suggestions as to how such protection could be given.
The legislation was formulated in the wake of a mega demolition drive undertaken by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on the apex court's directive.
The civic body had partially demolished nearly 2,000 illegal structures and commercial complexes in residential areas and sealed over 13,000 such premises.
Ahmedabad, Aug 2 (IANS) Army and paramilitary forces moved Tuesday to help civil authorities in their relief and relief operations even as water levels in rain-swollen rivers began to recede in Gujarat.
One column of the army and one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) platoon has been deployed in the central Gujarat district of Kheda Tuesday.
"Although water levels are receding and there is no danger from the overflowing rivers in Matar and Sojitra regions in Kheda district, we have called in army and CRPF platoon to support our three platoons of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) in the relief operations. We didn't want to take chances as there is forecast of heavy rains," Kheda district administrator R.R. Varsani told IANS.
"The military and paramilitary forces come handy in transporting food and medicine to the affected areas," he added.
A residential school near Bhalad village in Kheda, 80 km from here, has been marooned due to inundation on connecting roads. However, about 150 children present in it were safe, said the official.
According to Varsani, it was decided not to shift the children after consulting authorities of the Gujarat Vidyapith, the governing body of the school.
"The school has ample storage of food and water. We keep visiting the school and a police and SRP team is present there. We are planning to take them out once the water level goes down. The children are safe there," said Varsani.
Incessant heavy rains in parts of central and south Gujarat and Saurashtra had forced authorities to evacuate more than 25,000 people, while at least 50 people have been killed during the monsoon season in the rain-related incidents.
While rains took a breather in many parts Tuesday, flood control authorities said the flood situation in central and south Gujarat remained worrisome.
Following the heavy rains, alert has been sounded for 59 dams, including high alert at 11 dams that were overflowing.
Railway authorities said the rail traffic between Ahmedabad and Mumbai that had been stopped Sunday was restored. The road transportation, on the other hand, remained heavily affected with the State Transport Corporation withdrawing 9,600 buses on several routes, including 20 major routes.
The Indian Air Force (AIF) has also put three choppers on a standby at the Ahmedabad and Vadodara airports to meet any emergency in view of the worrisome flood situation Monday evening.
The helicopters Chetak, Mi-8 and Mi-17 from the South Western Air Command (SWAC) have been offered for relief and rescue operations.
Chennai, Aug 2 (IANS) The bodies of 17 victims of a fire tragedy in Bahrain were brought early Wednesday by a Gulf Air flight to Chennai, where teary-eyed relatives and top politicians were present to receive them at the airport.
The flight, GF 068, landed at about 8.20 a.m. and the bodies were being taken to the respective villages of the victims after formalities with the police are completed.
Tamil Nadu Ministers K. Ponmudi and M.R.K. Panneerselvam and legislator T.M. Ambazhagan were present at the airport.
The victims were from very poor families, and at the terminal members of families of only four of them were present to receive the bodies.
Shanmugham, the brother of deceased Ramanathan, said: "My brother went to earn a few rupees and he is now dead. He borrowed Rs.100,000. We don't know what will happen to our family now."
A special police post had been set up at the airport terminal here for the speedy facilitation of the formalities. As many as 17 ambulances were kept ready at the cargo terminal to take the bodies to the villages. The bodies will be handed over to the family members at the respective district collectors' offices.
The victims were all workers belonging to Tamil Nadu who died after a devastating fire broke out in a three-storey building at a labour camp in the Bahraini capital Manama July 30. Several workers were also injured as the camp housed at least 300 people.
The Tamil Nadu government has announced a relief of Rs.200,000 to each of the families of the Bahrain victims.
Of the 17 victims, two were from the Perambalur district, eight from Cuddalore, about 450 km south of Chennai, and seven from Villupuram, 250 km south of Chennai.
Most of the victims had taken loans to enable them to travel to Bahrain. Now, sources from their villages say that moneylenders started demanding that their families repay the loans as soon as they heard that the government had announced relief.
Meanwhile, the All-India Building Construction Workers' Association held a candlelight vigil late Tuesday night for the Bahrain victims and demanded jobs for one member each of the victims' families.
There are around 130,000 Indians in Bahrain, many of whom are contract workers.
Dhaka, Aug 2 (IANS) A controversial Islamist lawmaker unseated from Bangladesh parliament three years ago on charges of poll time fraud in the country's first-ever election petition, will get to continue his tenure now thanks to a Supreme Court stay as the petitioner has died.
Delawar Husssain Sayedee of the Jamaat-e-Islami was granted the reprieve by the Supreme Court on Monday because Shudhagshu Shehkar Haldar, who lost to him in Pirojpur-1 parliamentary constituency in 2001, died.
Under Bangladesh's election law, the case is "abated" if the petitioner is dead.
In a historical judgment of the high court passed on Sep 14, 2003, Sayedee was stripped of his membership of the parliament (Jatiya Sangsad) for submitting a false statement on his poll expenses and for violating other election rules.
Now, the high court's judgment finding Sayedee and nine others guilty on a number of charges that were pressed when Haldar was alive, also stand "abated".
It would now be open to any member of the electorate to file a fresh petition, The Daily Star said, quoting experts who said the apex court had given a "lingering" stay order.
Sayedee had last week cut short his visit to Britain following a heated debate in the British media alleging that he was "spreading hatred". There were demonstrations against Sayedee, who was charged by the media with collecting funds from the Bangladeshis settled in Britain and channelling them home.
The effectiveness of the high court judgement has ostensibly been lost due to the death of the petitioner Halder in September 2004, the newspaper said.
The high court had declared Sayedee's election from Pirojpur-1 constituency null and void for corruption, illegal practices and violation of the Representation of People's Order 1972, setting the first ever example of unseating a lawmaker by the court in an election dispute case.
Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Guwahati, Aug 2 (IANS) Blame it on the weather gods or global warming. Gujarat, an otherwise drought-prone state in western India, was battling floods Tuesday, while the northeast, usually battered by heavy rainfalls during this time of the year, was facing drought-like conditions.
Following heavy rains since Saturday that have taken the season's toll of rain-related deaths to 50, Gujarat called in army and paramilitary forces to help civil authorities in their rescue and relief operations.
One column of the army and one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) platoon was deployed in the central Gujarat district of Kheda Tuesday.
"Although water levels are receding and there is no danger from the overflowing rivers in Matar and Sojitra regions in Kheda district, we did not want to take chances as there is forecast of heavy rains," Kheda district administrator R.R. Varsani told IANS.
Incessant heavy rains in parts of central and south Gujarat and Saurashtra had forced authorities to evacuate more than 25,000 people.
While rains took a breather in some parts Tuesday, authorities said the flood situation in central and south Gujarat remained worrisome.
Following the heavy rains, alert was sounded at 59 reservoirs, including high alert at 11 dams that were overflowing.
The intra-state road traffic remained heavily affected with Gujarat's transport corporation withdrawing some 9,600 buses from several routes, including 20 major routes.
The Indian Air Force has also put three choppers on a standby at the Ahmedabad and Vadodara airports to meet any emergency.
In neighbouring Maharashtra, the flood situation in western parts of the state worsened Tuesday as the Krishna river breached the danger levels and water was being released from the Koyna dam.
The water level in the Krishna has risen to 51 feet, six feet above the danger mark.
Over 20,000 people were marooned in Shirgaon, Navakher, Bhuleshwar, Wadi, Kanegaon and other villages cut off by floodwaters.
The floods destroyed homes, devastated crops and forced thousands to scramble for cover in makeshift shelters.
Twelve people have died in the flood-ravaged Sangli district and the situation turned for the worse after water was released from the Koyna dam.
Many parts of Kolhapur and Satara remained flooded but conditions in Pune and Nashik have improved significantly.
In stark contrast to the scenario in the two western states, the northeast region of India - otherwise prone to floods - was reeling under a severe heat wave with scanty monsoon rains affecting agriculture.
"The rainfall pattern this monsoon in the northeast is rather scanty, mainly due to a disturbance in the orientation with the trough located south of its normal position," said Dulal Chakraborty, deputy director general of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati.
Compared to the mean average monsoon rains, Assam has received about 30 percent less rainfall this year.
"We are still in the middle of the monsoons and a clear picture would emerge only by August-end. If the trough veers towards the north then the northeastern region would get rains," Chakraborty told IANS.
The worst hit by the drought-like situation is Arunachal Pradesh - the average expected monsoon rainfall till July 31 was estimated about 107 cm, but the state has received just 55 cm recording a shortfall of about 49 percent.
"Nagaland has received deficient rainfall, estimated at 49 percent, followed by Manipur with 42 percent, Meghalaya 39 percent, and Tripura 11 percent," the official said.
The only state that has received excess rainfall is Mizoram - the average monsoon rainfall being 72 cm with the state already receiving 84 cm.
The monsoon was scattered in Assam this year, thereby sparing millions of people from the ravaging floods.
A wave of flooding that began June in some parts of Assam and Tripura killed 16 people and displaced more than half-a-million people.
"But compared to previous years, the floods this year were almost negligible," an Assam flood control department official said.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday demanded the resignation of Home Minister Shivraj Patil in the wake of rising incidences of murders in the national capital alleging the government had failed to protect life and property of citizens.
"The home minister should take responsibility for the unsafe situation in the capital. He does not have any moral right to remain at the post," said V.K. Malhotra, BJP's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
Raising the issue during zero hour, Malhotra said elderly people, women and children were not safe in the city.
"The gruesome murder of seven members of a family here shows how unsafe the citizens are. There have been several incidents of rape and murders in the recent past."
"What is the government doing?" he asked.
Seven members of a family, including five children, were found murdered at their Inderlok residence in West Delhi Monday night. Another elderly couple was found murdered at their residence near Karol Bagh the same night.
Harin Pathak of the BJP also alleged the government had failed to protect its citizens in the city.
London, Aug 2 (IANS) British Prime Minister Tony Blair seemed to be downplaying recent rumours that Rupert Murdoch offered him a job on the board of directors once he leaves office.
According to contactmusic.com, Blair did so in a light-hearted appearance with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a press conference on Monday.
Schwarzenegger said: "If he needs a job and wants a job in Hollywood. I'll get him to play 'Terminator 4'."
Blair responded: "Now, that is definitely the best offer I've had. Actually, the sad thing is it's the only offer I've had."
Rio de Janeiro, Aug 2 (DPA) Brazilian football's rebuilding effort has begun in earnest as the country's new manager announced a drastically altered squad for its first friendly since exiting this year's World Cup in the quarter-finals.
Manager Dunga left out superstars Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Kaka from his new 22-man squad. Only eight members of Brazil's World Cup squad were included.
Brazil will face Norway in Oslo on Aug 16.
In remarks following the announcement Tuesday, Dunga said his new squad was the right mix of youth and experience. Younger additions including Morais, Jonatas and Marcelo still needed leadership figures, he said.
Dunga added that players kept from the World Cup team were being rewarded for their good play in Germany.
As for the country's superstars, Dunga said they would have to work hard to regain their place in the national squad.
"The doors of the national 11 have not been closed to anyone," Dunga said. "But those players not included this time will need to show they are in form and motivated," he added.
While the reshuffle came as little surprise to local media, some analysts had expected more local club representation - the vast majority of those included play their football for European sides.
The Brazilian squad for the friendly against Norway is as follows (club side in parentheses): Goal: Fabio (Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte) and Gomes (PSV Eindhoven); Defenders: Cicinho (Real Madrid), Maicon (Inter Milan), Marcelo (Fluminese Rio), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin), Alex (PSV Eindhoven), Edmilson (FC Barcelona), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Luisao (Benfica Lisbon); Midfielders: Dudu Cearense (CSKA Moscow), Daniel Carvalho (CSKA Moscow), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Jonatas (Flamengo Rio), Wagner (Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte), Elano (Schachtjor Donezk), Morais (Vasco da Gama), Julio Batista (Real Madrid); Strikers: Fred (Lyon), Robinho (Real Madrid), Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow)
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Left parties Wednesday demanded that the government must bring in the monsoon session a long delayed bill to reserve 33 percent seats for women in parliament and legislative assemblies.
"Let the bill be brought to parliament. If there are differences let it go to the standing committee as in the case of any controversial bill. But let the nation know what is the stand of the political parties over it," Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Gurudas Dasgupta urged the government.
Pointing out that women activists have been demonstrating in the national capital demanding speedy legislation, Dasgupta said: "We cannot suppress the rights of women in the country, who comprise 50 percent of our population."
Dasgupta, joined by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MPs including C.S. Sujata, Sathidevi and Minati Sen, asked the government why the bill was not being brought before the house.
"The government has brought many controversial bills in the past. Why do you want to evolve a consensus only on this one?" asked Dasgupta.
Responding to the demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said: "We are second to none in our commitment to bring the bill. As it is a constitutional amendment, the government is trying to evolve a consensus to ensure a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass the bill."
Later, CPI-M leader Mohammed Salim told a press conference that a two-thirds majority in parliament had already expressed their support to the bill on paper.
"The UPA (United Progressive Alliance) has been trying to evolve a consensus over the bill. The government should introduce the bill if it cannot form a consensus on the issue," CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.
The proposed Women's Reservation Bill has been pending in parliament for almost a decade due to opposition from parties like Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Kabul, Aug 2 (IANS) Mullah Dadullah Akhund, the ruthless fanatic in charge of the Taliban's new campaign, is fast becoming to Afghanistan what Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was to Iraq.
Just like Zarqawi, his starring role in propaganda DVDs has successfully drawn in scores of suicide bombers and thousands of fighters to the cause. And just like Zarqawi, his fondness for beheadings means his followers fear him almost as much as his enemies.
The black-turbaned one-legged Mullah, solemnly signs slips of paper and hands these to the young fighters sitting beside him. These turn out to be the recipients' own death warrant: the slips identify them as "Suicide Bomber No.....".
Off goes yet another volunteer to die in the Taliban's increasingly savage campaign against coalition troops in Afghanistan.
But the Mullah, who sends him on his way remains alive and very dangerous.
Dadullah has developed almost mythological status among his compatriots, which is partly why he was dispatched by the Taliban leadership to front the current recruitment campaign for jihad in the seminaries of northern Pakistan's Baluchistan province.
Recruitment DVDs on sale across Afghanistan and Pakistan show the one-legged guerrilla commander in various poses - blasting a target with a heavy machine gun, dishing out blessings and ordaining a succession of would-be "martyrs".
The success of his recruitment campaign can be seen in the surge in suicide bombings, school burnings and guerrilla ambushes that have killed more than 500 Afghan civilians and at least 100 coalition soldiers this year.
Dadullah boasts that he has 200 suicide bombers awaiting his orders as well as 12,000 fighters on the ground.
So effective is his campaign that Taliban guerrillas have for the first time captured government installations in Afghanistan's remote south provinces of Helmond, Kandahar, Uruzghan and Paktiya, if only for brief periods.
Afghan villagers testify that increasing numbers of Taliban fighters are roaming the countryside with impunity, warning locals not to cooperate with coalition troops, on pain of death.
To emphasise the point, one of Dadullah's videos shows his fighters slitting the throats of six men accused of spying for the Americans.
Dadullah is aged about 40 and is said to come from the Kakkar tribe, from the Kandahar region, which is renowned for its fighting prowess. He lost one of his legs after stepping on a landmine shortly after joining the Taliban in 1994.
Despite the disability, he became renowned as a fearless fighter, leading major battles against the rival Northern Alliance forces throughout the 1990s.
So vicious was he that during one particularly brutal assignment in 1998 to "pacify" ethnic minority Hazaras, a Shia group in Bamiyan province, he massacred hundreds of civilians. It was too much even for Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban's one-eyed spiritual leader, who relieved him of his command.
Soon he was back in battle though, his reputation so fearsome that Taliban radio would often report his presence on the front lines even when he was days away from the fighting, to unnerve the opposition fighters. He also has a propensity for killing subordinates, who disobey his orders.
Having escaped to Pakistan after the fall of the Taliban in November 2001, he helped rebuild the movement from there and was recently promoted as the overall commander of the Taliban's military wing, enjoying complete operational freedom.
Unlike other Taliban leaders, who never allow themselves to be photographed for religious and security reasons, Dadullah seems to crave attention, giving television interviews and calling foreign journalists on his satellite phone.
He now operates mostly out of Afghanistan's Helmand province, where Britain has about 3,300 troops. He never spends the whole night in one place, fearing coalition air strikes.
He is a shrewd strategist, whose current plan is not to regain control of Afghanistan, but to turn it into a graveyard for foreign troops, forcing their retreat.
"We have the strength to take over Kabul in a single day, but what we lack is the strength to sustain this control," he claims.
Havana, Aug 2 (DPA) In the first official comment nearly a day after Cuban leader Fidel Castro handed temporary power to his brother, the president of Cuba's parliament indicated Castro's health was strong.
"The last moment of President Fidel Castro is still a long way off," Ricardo Alarcon said Tuesday.
On Monday, the 79-year-old Castro issued an official announcement that he had acute intestinal bleeding and had to undergo a "complicated surgical operation".
In the absence of further official comment, wild speculation filled the airwaves, with a US senator wondering if Castro had died and Cuban exiles in Florida celebrating the possible demise of the communist leader.
"Imperialism does not recognise the greatness of Fidel Castro. He will fight until the last possible moment, although this last moment is still quite far off," Alarcon said.
Alarcon said Castro was recovering from delicate surgery and needed rest. But he noted that before handing power over to Raul Castro, 75, Fidel had issued orders from his sick bed that carefully delegated his responsibilities for education, health and energy to others, in order to fend off possible aggression by the US.
The move marked the first time that Castro has not held the reins of power in the one-party communist state since the 1959 Cuban revolution.
Alarcon, a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), lashed out at the large celebrations on the streets of Miami in southern Florida, heavily populated with Cubans who fled Castro's regime just 150 km across the Caribbean. Many hoped that he would soon die and others speculated that the Cuban government might be hiding his death.
Alarcon said he was sickened by the demonstrators, whom he called "mercenaries and terrorists".
"The (Cuban exiles) believe that they can just pack their suitcases and return to Cuba, just like they have done so often in the past - with no success," he said ironically.
Meanwhile, the US said it will not talk to Raul Castro to explore whether he wants to bring change to the communist island while filling in for his ailing brother, saying Raul had imposed himself on the Cuban people, "much the same as what his brother did".
US President George W. Bush in 2003 set up a commission to explore ways to hasten the end of the Castro regime, plan for assisting a transition to democracy and address the humanitarian needs of Cubans if the regime collapses.
"In the event that Cuba does start to make a transition to a democracy, the US and the American people will do everything we can," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
The health of Castro, whose 80th birthday is Aug 13, has been the subject of frequent speculation in recent years. Castro proposed that his birthday celebrations be by postponed until Dec 2, the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the 1956 uprising.
By Sujeet Kumar, Raipur, Aug 2 (IANS) Thousands of posts are lying vacant in Chhattisgarh's police force with officials shying away from accepting postings in the state's trouble prone areas considered hotbeds of Maoist insurgency.
Despite the state government's heroic claims of high morale of police officials and their commitment to weed out Maoism, the bitter fact is that officials prefer suspension to accepting a posting in the Bastar region, which has witnessed 348 killings, including 272 civilians, in the past 12 months.
According to officials, at least 3,200 posts - from ranks of an assistant sub-inspector to additional superintendent of police - have been lying vacant for the last decade in Bastar's Bijapur, Narainpur and Dantewada districts that are jointly known as the nerve centre of Maoist activities.
"Any war against guerrillas cannot be successful without the backing of local policemen. We really battle with a huge crunch of police officials at strategic locations in Bastar," state Home Minister Ramvichar Netam told IANS.
He said the government was recruiting 10,000 low-ranking officials to boost police presence in the restive interiors of the insurgency-hit region.
Chhattisgarh has always faced the problem of policemen being reluctant to take up office in the Maoist bastion and the government has suspended dozens of officials, including a superintendent of police, for refusing the posting.
The central government has deployed over 10,000 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers in Bastar and at least 5,000 more are set to arrive within a month to wage a full-fledged battle against the guerrillas who have become unstoppable in recent months.
But officials say lack of topographical knowledge and skill of compact guerrilla warfare in thickly forested Bastar and, most important, the lack of required local policemen might prove to be a disadvantage.
"Maoists have never faced threats during their three-decade presence in Bastar as now. The reason behind this is their support base - the tribal masses - that have now drifted away from them. In fact, the government backed anti-Maoist Salwa Judum movement that comprises around 50,000 tribals aims at finishing off the insurgency," said a senior police officer.
Maoists, who claim to be fighting for landless workers and poor peasants, stormed into a government-run heavily guarded relief camp July 17 and butchered 32 tribals. This has brought under fire the government's security commitment to Salwa Judum cadres and their families.
Ahmedabad, Aug 2 (IANS) The Norwegian cruise liner Blue Lady has got a green signal from a Supreme Court appointed committee for dismantling at a ship-breaking yard in Gujarat, officials said here Wednesday.
A team constituted by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) inspected the vessel and gave a clean chit in its report to the Supreme Court committee, stating that the ship's dismantling would be possible at Alang, 250 km from here in Bhavnagar district.
"After the nod from the committee, the ship will be brought at Alang within two days," said Atul Sharma, an environment engineer of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB). He was part of the team that inspected the cruise liner.
Sharma said the ship would be towed from Pipavav port in Amreli district, where it was inspected after the vessel was denied permission to anchor at Alang.
In June, the apex court ruled the ship could be scrapped at Alang provided it was declared safe by experts. And it established a 16-member committee for the task.
Meanwhile, a five-member GPCB team, led by chairman Sanjay Tyagi, had carried out an assessment of the hazardous wastes on Blue Lady at Pipavav from July 8 to July 11 before submitting a report to the court's technical committee.
The 11-storey, 315-m-long Blue Lady was brought here by the Haryana Ship Demolition Company for dismantling at Alang. But now, the ship has been reportedly purchased by Priya Blue Industries Ltd.
The cruise liner, formerly the SS France and then the SS Norway, was returned earlier from the Bangladeshi ship-breaking yard.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) West Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is in favour of the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) upgrading and modernising Kolkata airport and would not seek private participation in it, the party said here Wednesday.
"The state government has made it clear that it would like the AAI to go ahead with implementing the project. We hope that AAI would take it up as a challenge and accomplish the task even before Delhi and Mumbai (projects)," CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.
He said the AAI has already selected the design presented by French firm Aeroport de Paris, which designed the Charles de Gaulle airport, from a global tender.
Yechury quoted a letter from state chief secretary A.K. Deb to Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad which read: "I would like to reiterate that the state government would like the AAI to go ahead with the implementation of the project out of its own resources, as stated by the chairman of the authority."
The letter also said the estimated cost of the project till 2010 would be Rs.20.87 billion. The work includes upgradation and modernisation of the international and domestic terminal and a cargo terminal.
"It (the state government) will not favour induction of any private company in the project for upgradation and modernisation of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata," said Deb's letter, adding, "I would request that the stand of the state government may kindly be kept in mind while implementing the project."
The Left Front, which supports Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government from outside, had opposed privatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airport modernisation.
GMR-Fraport (Frankfurt) consortium and GVK-South African Airports have been given the work of modernising Delhi and Mumbai airports respectively.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) India's crude oil production is likely to rise by 2.0-2.5 million tonnes in the current year after stagnating at 30 million tonnes for the last three to four years, parliament was informed Tuesday.
"In the past three to four years, indigenous production has not gone up. ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) has been producing 26 million tonnes and the private players 4.0-4.5 million tonnes. This year, production is likely to go up by 2.0-2.5 million tonnes," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister, however, dodged a supplementary on what percentage of ONGC investments were being made at home and abroad, saying: "Whatever ONGC Videsh has invested abroad has given good results."
This prompted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi to retort: "Sir, the minister will be forced to give a reply under RTI (Right to Information Act) but he is not replying now."
India imports 75 percent of its crude requirements, while ONGC produces 22 percent and the private oil companies the remaining three percent.
Responding to a series of supplementaries, the minister admitted that rising global crude prices actually benefited the government as they increased its revenues.
"Because of the system of ad valorem duties, the government's revenues actually go up. In 2005-06, these were Rs.125,000 lakhs (Rs.125 billion). If this is the case, why doesn't the government reduce prices," asked Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
M. Venkaiah Naidu of BJP pleaded for a short duration discussion on the issue.
"Please give notice for this," said Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Havana, Aug 2 (DPA) The news seemed hard to believe, although many Cubans had for a long time feared it might be imminent. Fidel Castro is ill - so ill that 13 days before his 80th birthday, he delegated all his powers to his brother Raul.
"We are very worried," Victor Gonzalez said, after he and his compatriots heard the announcement on television. "We are not used to being without him, he has led us for so long."
Uncertainty now marks a transition in which many Cubans expect to find weak points that allow for change.
Cubans usually say only "he" when they mean Fidel Castro. The last remaining true revolutionary from the 20th century has led the last communist state in the Western world for 47 years without interruptions.
Late Monday, Castro temporarily delegated power to Raul because he underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding, Cuban state television said, apparently reading from a hand-written note from the leader.
The problem was blamed on stress from overwork and travel during the past two weeks. Celebrations of his 80th birthday on Aug 13 were postponed until December.
Castro's life has been dominated by a deep-running dispute with the US, even beyond the demise of the former Soviet Union. The small island nation in the Caribbean survived the collapse of the worldwide communist system led by Moscow, to which Castro had adhered.
The economic troubles that resulted from post-Soviet-era isolation left Cuba close to catastrophe in the 1990s.
Fidel Castro managed to survive this crisis, just as he had previously withstood conspiracies and assassination attempts and the corrosive effects of Washington's decades-long economic blockade. In the current year, his 80th birth year, he appeared firm and uncontested at the head of the state.
But he also began to prepare Cuba, at home and abroad, for the period that is to follow his death. A few weeks ago, Castro reformed the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party and put new people from the country's provinces in key positions. The party must be, according to Castro, his real successor after the death of its leader.
Venezuela stepped in to fill the void left by the Soviet Union as the island's closest ally. Castro went about building, together with the fifth-largest crude-oil exporter in the world, a Latin American front against the US.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez provides oil money, while Cuba provides human resources, in the services of well-trained doctors, teachers - and the guiding light of the dedicated revolutionary, now ill.
Castro was born Aug 13, 1926, in the East Cuban town of Biran, the son of a Spanish immigrant. He attended a Jesuit school and studied law at the University of Havana. However, he did not go on to become a solicitor serving the poor country's small, wealthy elite but quite the opposite. He became a revolutionary who undertook the political and social transformation of his country.
His first attempt was a failure. In 1953, Castro and his comrades stormed the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, in an effort to trigger a popular uprising against dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro was condemned to 15 years in prison, but he received an amnesty after 22 months.
At the end of 1956 he returned to Cuba from exile in Mexico and fought a guerrilla war against Batista that in 1959 succeeded in provoking a change of government. Castro then set about reforming Cuba along socialist principles, just 150 km off shore of the world's largest foe of communism, the US.
Washington put in place the economic blockade as a reaction for the nationalisation of US property. In response, Castro formed an alliance with the Soviet Union that was to remain alive for almost three decades.
The fight against the US - portrayed as a David and Goliath struggle in Havana - dominated the life of this Cuban revolutionary. If he was making a public speech, he rarely missed a chance to attack the northern enemy and accuse Washington of being responsible for economic hardship in Cuba.
At the beginning of this year, the dispute took a bizarre turn. A furious Castro ordered that 138 huge masts with black flags and stars be erected before the US representation in Havana. They were meant to block from view a sign in one of the upper floors of the building, which broadcast information on human rights.
Each flag symbolised a year in Cuba's long struggle for independence that began in 1868 when Spain was still its colonial master.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Farmers' plight and the agrarian crisis rocked India's lower house of parliament Tuesday with the opposition accusing the government of being "anti-farmer" even as the ruling party accused it of "playing politics over the issue."
The Lok Sabha was adjourned with the opposition continually disrupting proceedings over the plight of farmers in the country, leading an exasperated speaker to finally call off the day's business.
The house was adjourned twice earlier on the issue of farmers' plight. It was first adjourned for 15 minutes till 11.30 a.m., then till 12 noon. When the ruckus continued even after that, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the house for the day.
The agrarian issue was the talking point when the proceedings began in the morning. The opposition led by the Shiromani Akali Dal stormed into the space near the speaker's podium, shouting slogans against the government and accusing it of being anti-farmer.
To shout down the agitated opposition MPs, Congress members also raised slogans blaming the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime for the present crisis in the agriculture sector.
While the opposition raised slogans like "UPA government, murdabad" (Down with the UPA government), "UPA government, kisanon ki qatil" (UPA government, killer of farmers), the Congress benches shouted "kisanon pe rajniti band karo" (Stop playing politics over farmers), plunging the house into pandemonium.
An irate opposition MPs including leaders like Maneka Gandhi and Navjot Singh Siddhu stormed the well of the house saying the government had not done enough to provide proper prices for agricultural products.
Though the speaker said the house would discuss the matter - on a motion calling attention to the need for enhancing minimum support prices of agriculture and horticulture produce keeping in view increasing input costs - the members refused to oblige and continued the disruption.
Visibly irritated over the opposition's move, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi shouted that the opposition did not want to discuss any issue but was interested only in disrupting the proceedings of the house.
"This is not a cricket ground. Go and learn some parliamentary etiquette," he was heard shouting at cricketer-turned-politician Siddhu.
Addressing a press conference later, Dasmunsi accused the opposition of thwarting the government's attempt to discuss the issue in parliament.
"The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is afraid of discussions on the floor of the house. The government was ready for an elaborate discussion and the agriculture minister was ready with a comprehensive reply," Dasmunsi said.
He said Shiromani Akali Dal MP S.S. Dhindsa and others had agreed to a discussion on the calling attention motion, which was listed in Tuesday's business too.
"They are playing politics ahead of the assembly elections in Punjab," Dasmunsi said.
London, Aug 2 (IANS) Wearing clothes treated with the common insecticide permethrin can reduce the chances of malarial infection by 70 percent, says a new study.
The conclusion was arrived at after Elizabeth Kimani of the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi and other researchers studied Somalian refugees living in camps in Kenya.
The average household size in Kenya is 4.4 people, and only three percent of households have more than one treated net, reported the online edition of New Scientist.
So Kimani and her colleagues decided to investigate the extra personal protection offered by insecticide-treated clothes - a strategy already used to protect US military personnel operating in areas affected by malaria.
But Desmond Chavasse, global director of malaria control at Population Services International in Washington DC, US, a charity that works to improve healthcare in the developing world warned that the logistics would need further scrutiny.
"We've seen this before," said Chavasse.
"Spraying households with insecticides is at least as effective as bed nets, but it only works when 80 percent of a camp or village is sprayed in a timely fashion. In refugee camps you can control what people wear. How you would do that for the general public, I have no idea."
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) An impassioned plea for improving the lot of those who fought for India's freedom from colonial rule was made in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday, with Home Minister Shivraj Patil assuring the house that "whatever we can do we will do".
Admitting that the figure of 200,000 freedom fighters and their dependants who have benefited from a pension scheme for freedom fighters, which was launched in 1972, was "low", Patil said: "We will attempt to correct this."
He said that 400,000 of the 600,000 applications received for pensions had been rejected on technical grounds. "Whatever we have done has not been enough. We will certainly take steps to discuss and improve the benefits for freedom fighters," Patil added during question hour.
His response was to a question from the Congress' Jai Prakash Aggarwal on whether the government had formulated any relief for the freedom fighters and their families.
"Whatever we can do, we will do with your advice," Patil stated, pointing out that the pension, which was originally Rs.200 per month, had now been raised to Rs.6,000 per month. This apart, freedom fighters are also eligible for a free train pass (I class/II AC sleeper) along with a companion, free medical facilities at all government hospitals, a telephone connection with 50 percent concession on rent, and general pool residential accommodation in Delhi to prominent freedom fighters, the minister added.
Responding to Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's suggestion that Patil call a meeting to discuss what more could be done, the minister replied: "I did call a meeting but no one turned up."
Pointing out that Independence Day (Aug 15) was nearing, Moti Lal Vora (Congress) urged the pension be raised to Rs.10,000, even as Sitaram Yechury (Communist Party of India-Marxist) added: "An era is ending (most freedom fighters are 80-plus); please respect them."
Led by Viplab Thakur, women MPs of the Congress demanded that the children of daughters of freedom fighters should also be made eligible for the benefits that were now available to only their sons.
"We will consider this," Patil replied, to which Thakur retorted: "Why consider it, why not order it?"
There was also a suggestion that freedom fighters and their dependants be permitted to travel by AC first class.
"The railway minister says not enough bogies are available for this. Still, we will consider this after discussing its implications," Patil said.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) India has "strongly" taken up with Nepal the reported harassment of Indian businessmen in the country and the security of its citizens living there.
"We have strongly taken up the issue with the Nepal government through our embassy in Kathmandu," external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said here.
He said the topmost concern was to ensure the security and welfare of the Indians living in Nepal.
The Indian embassy in Kathmandu has so far received one complaint, of extortion by people belonging to Maoist-affiliated outfits, from Rakesh Wadhwa, executive director of Nepal Recreation Company.
Asked to comment on reports of a number of Indians leaving that country following threats from Maoists, the spokesman called such reports "alarmist", while adding that India was keeping a close watch on the situation.
The Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union Monday demanded that only Nepalis be given jobs in the country's casinos, asking non-Nepalis, including Indians, to leave the country or face consequences, according to reports.
The rebel union has given a 14-point demand to at least two casinos in the Nepal capital, including the demand to employ only Nepalis.
"Non-Nepali citizens other than technical ones working in the casino must be removed and their jobs replaced by Nepali citizens," the union demanded.
Dhaka, Aug 2 (IANS) India has conveyed to Bangladesh that it hopes to witness "a free and fair election" in the country and that it would work with "any government the people decide to elect".
The assertion by visiting Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed Tuesday came as Bangladesh prepares to elect a new Jatiya Sangsad (National Assembly), probably early next year.
Speaking at a luncheon hosted by the India-Bangladesh Friendship Organisation Tuesday, Ahamed stressed that a stable and secular Bangladesh was in the interest of not only India but also the entire region.
"There is already an intense debate in Bangladesh on the coming election. I must admit that there is also a keen interest in India... We hope that the next general election will be truly free and fair," the Daily Star quoted him as saying.
Ahamed said: "We look forward to working with whichever government the people of Bangladesh decide to elect."
Each election in Bangladesh carries an "India factor" with candidates, parties and alliances taking a stand that is pro- or anti- India, be it pronounced or subtle. The usual target of criticism is alleged Indian "interference" and effort to establish "hegemony."
Past elections have witnessed campaigns that carry a lot of innuendoes. But even without elections, India is painted as a villain, be it the frequent agitations by ill-paid garment workers or explosions that have rocked the country in the last one year.
Ahamed is not the first visiting minister to express views about the Bangladesh political scene in that the envoys stationed here too have time and again stressed the need for a free and fair poll leading to a stable and secular Bangladesh.
Indeed, they have gone beyond this, expressing critical views about poor governance, lack of accountability and corruption that has hurt socio-economic development.
He said the people in India attach the highest importance to India-Bangladesh relations. "This sentiment is shared by all, cutting across party lines," the Daily Star quoted him as saying.
India has had strong reservations about the role of Islamist organisations in Bangladesh since any persecution of the minorities there has a spillover effect in terms of forced migration and reactions in Indian states alongside Bangladesh.
Ahamed stressed that terrorism posed the greatest danger to the peaceful and stable existence of nation-states in today's world. "It is the open and democratic societies that are most vulnerable to the threat posed by extremism and terrorism," Ahamed remarked.
He said the recent bombings in Mumbai and Srinagar have once again shown the kind of destruction such elements can cause and the extent to which these elements can go to impose their views and beliefs.
"We believe Bangladesh should and can set an example to others. It is in our mutual interest to cooperate and work to curb the rise of fundamentalist and extremist beliefs," he noted.
Prof A.K. Azad Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Bharat Maitri Samiti, Justice K.M. Sobhan, president of the Bangladesh Bharat Sampriti Parishad, Maj-Gen (retd) K.M. Shafiullah, a former Bangladesh Army chief, and Veena Sikri, the Indian high commissioner, were among those present at the function.
The function being an unofficial one meant to forge goodwill, he did not dwell at length on disputes over various outstanding issues. As neighbours it is natural that differences will arise but these can be resolved only through dialogue and understanding, he said.
"Once we are committed to meaningfully working together we can hope to work for resolution of complex issues," he said.
Dhaka, Aug 2 (IANS) India has accused Pakistan of violating an agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), even as it called upon the SAARC countries to "stand together and fight the scourge of terrorism" in the aftermath of the 7/11 Mumbai blasts.
"It (a Pakistan commerce ministry order) is a negation of SAFTA and jeopardises the implementation of the agreement. It affects all contracting parties and questions the future of the agreement," Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters Monday night after meeting his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan.
Saran was referring to the import policy order by Pakistan's commerce ministry that limits SAFTA tariff concessions for India only to items on the existing bilateral positive list. Saran termed this order "a violation of Article 23 of the SAFTA agreement" which states that this agreement shall not be signed with any reservations.
Referring to four years of tortuous negotiations that led to the signing of a framework agreement on SAFTA during the 12th Summit in Islamabad in 2004, Saran minced no words in criticising Pakistan's attitude that was making the agreement "infructuous".
"A lot of time and effort was invested in good faith while negotiating SAFTA. All that effort has now become infructuous, because Pakistan has no intention to honour an understanding solemnly agreed to by all member countries," Saran said.
SAFTA came into effect retrospectively from Jan 1, 2006 and has been operationalised from July 1 through a phased trade liberalisation programme (TLP), which covers all tariff lines except those kept in the sensitive (negative) list by each member country.
"This matter needs to be resolved with utmost urgency; otherwise SAFTA may well remain an agreement only in words, with no way to implement it," Saran said.
Even as India and Pakistan agreed to keep the process going with New Delhi making it clear that the process can't move forward until the latter commits to end cross-border terrorism, Saran underlined the need for accelerated cooperation in fighting terrorism at the SAARC meeting of foreign secretaries.
"We continue to believe that there is no cause which justifies the murder of innocent people," he said.
"We believe that South Asian countries must stand together and fight this scourge and whatever cooperation is required amongst us in order to get rid of this scourge must be taken urgently," he added.
Although India and Pakistan have decided to stay engaged in a dialogue, the two sides have yet to decide on the dates for foreign-secretary level talks that New Delhi had put off after the July 11 terror attacks in Mumbai killed at least 200 people.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Indian government has signed a deal with Russia to purchase three more stealth frigates for the navy at a total cost of Rs.44.47 billion ($996 million), parliament was informed Wednesday.
The contract with Rosoboronexport was signed July 14, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Each of the ships will cost Rs.14.82 billion and they will be delivered in 2010-11, he added.
"The ships would be fully equipped according to the navy's staff requirements...The decision to induct the three ships was based on the experience of the navy gained in terms of reliability and dependability of the three stealth frigates already inducted."
Mukherjee had July 6 announced the cabinet committee on security (CCS) had cleared the purchase of the three additional Krivak class frigates, re-christened the Talwar class.
At that time, he had said the three warships would cost Rs.55.14 billion - Rs.51.14 billion for the vessels and Rs.4 billion for "additional equipment" to be fitted on them.
Mukherjee did not state what this additional equipment would be, but past experience would suggest this would be spent on the Barak anti-missile system that is being jointly developed by Israel and India.
The need for the Baraks had arisen after the Talwar's Russian-made Shtil missile system could not clear the stringent standards the navy had laid down.
While the present version of Barak is a short-range, vertically launched, quick reaction missile designed to intercept and destroy anti-ship missiles in mid-air, an improved, medium-range version is being developed at a cost of some $350 million and will be ready for deployment in the next five years.
This will be fitted in the three new stealth frigates while the existing vessels will be retrofitted with the improved version.
The new missile will have a range of 70 km against the 10-km range of the existing Barak.
A long-range radar and weapons control systems to support the improved Barak are also being developed.
The CCS meeting had also cleared the purchase of 28 submarine-launched KLUB cruise missiles from Russia at a cost of Rs.8.44 billion. The final negotiations for this are believed to be underway.
The land attack missiles will be deployed on the six Kilo-class submarines India has already acquired from Russia and will complement the BrahMos missile India and Russia are developing.
BrahMos has already been deployed on the navy's surface vessels and the army and air force versions are under development. The submarine version is expected to roll out in 2008.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) India has emerged as the hottest country that fans want to follow during the 2007 cricket World Cup in the West Indies, the organisers announced Tuesday.
"The top five teams for which 'Follow A Path' packages are in greatest demand are India, Australia, England, New Zealand and Pakistan, respectively," the World Cup organisers said in a statement as the first of the three-phase ticket distribution periods ended Monday.
As many as 20,000 people applied online for tickets Monday, the last day of the three-month first phase.
This is half of the number of applications received over the last week of the three-month first of the three phases of ticket distribution system, with fans from 124 countries seeking tickets for the March 11-April 28 tournament.
"While online traffic soared, as the hours ticked down to the 11.59 p.m. (Eastern Caribbean Time) end of applications on July 31, staff at official ticket centres across the nine host venues - including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago - reported a significant increase in the number of fans submitting application forms," the organisers said in a statement.
"Trinidad and Tobago's ticket centres were inundated with submissions. The massive response by fans there is borne out by the fact that the twin-island republic has jumped to third overall among countries from which the most applications have been received," it said.
"The top 10 are as follows: the UK, the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Australia, Jamaica, India, Canada, Guyana and St. Kitts and Nevis, respectively."
World Cup commercial manager Stephen Price said that the success of the application stage of public ticketing indicated that fans worldwide understood the process and had acted accordingly.
"Ever since we unveiled the ticketing programme last November we have stressed the fact that regardless of whenever one applied during the May 1 to July 31 application phase, one would have the same chance of being allocated match tickets," he said.
"It's an overwhelming vote of confidence in the Caribbean's ability to host such an event and it's certainly an indication that World Cup will be well attended."
Price explained that the second phase would run Sep 1-Nov 30. This stage will be conducted on a first come, first serve basis, with the remaining tickets available online and at official ticket centres in the nine host venues.
The third and final phase begins Jan 9 next and will end on the morning of the final April 28 - again on a first come, first serve basis, subject to availability - with actual seats being sold online, at official ticket centres and venue box offices in the host venues.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Prithvi and Agni strategic missile systems and their variants have been inducted in the Indian armed forces, parliament was informed Wednesday.
The development of the Akash and Trishul surface-to-air missiles and Nag anti-tank missile is complete and the armed forces have been requested to place orders for them, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Admitting to certain "technical problems" relating to these three missiles, he said these had been "subsequently solved".
According to the minister, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia has completed successful flight trials for the navy and army from ships and mobile land platforms. Production orders for BrahMos had also been received, he added.
Mukherjee also clarified there was no missile project named Sagarika, which is thought to be a submarine-launched cruise missile.
India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme that began in 1983 consists of five missiles - Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Indian banks have 110 branches abroad and this number is likely to rise, the Rajya Sabha was informed Tuesday.
Of these, the State Bank of India (SBI) has the largest number of 30 branches, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told the house during question hour.
"Banks must open more branches abroad to push trade and commerce and to serve the natural constituency of Indians abroad," he added.
At the same time, he admitted to difficulties in opening branches in the US as the "Federal Reserves' policy is rather restrictive".
"We have taken it up with them. There is also the question of reciprocity. We have taken up this issue with the India-US CEO's Forum," he added in reply to a supplementary.
Asked about the bottlenecks faced by Indian banks in opening branches abroad, Chidambaram said these related to regulatory regimes and licenses.
"Each country has its own regulatory regime. There is also the form of presence - as a wholly owned subsidiary or as a branch. Then, there is the question of licenses to deal in local and foreign currencies," he explained.
Chidambaram also detailed the procedures adopted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in giving Indian banks permission to open branches abroad.
"RBI endeavours to process requests of banks to open branches promptly, preferably within a period of six months, on the basis of certain prudential parameters keeping in view the bank's ability to withstand international competition," he said.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) and the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote greater awareness about quality and safety of medicines.
A pharmacopoeia pertains to compilation of technical information on standards for active pharmaceutical ingredients, drug products and associated testing techniques for evaluation and quality of these products.
"Greater co-ordination and complementarity in the activities of the two pharmacopoeias would promote the interests of patients in both countries," said Prasanna Hota, chairman of IPC and secretary in the health and family welfare ministry.
Hota signed the MoU along with Roger L. Williams, executive vice president and head of USP.
Stating keenness to expand ongoing cooperation with IPC, Williams said greater collaborative work would help to "reach the overarching goal of providing 'Good Pharmaceutical Care for All'".
USP established its first site overseas in September last year with the incorporation of US Pharmacopeia-India Private Ltd., located in the ICICI Knowledge Park at Shameerpet in Hyderabad.
This was followed by the formal inauguration of its state-of-the-art office and laboratory at ICICI Knowledge Park in February this year. The laboratory involves experienced Indian scientists in the standards-setting activities of USP.
Rome/Beirut, Aug 2 (DPA) The UN World Food Programme (WFP) Tuesday accused Israeli armed forces of preventing it from distributing aid in southern Lebanon.
Of 18 trucks with food supplies and other relief items for three villages in the crisis region, only six had been allowed through, WFP said from its Rome headquarters.
Israeli troops had first blocked WFP emergency transport Sunday, a spokesman for the organisation said.
"We feel increasingly frustrated that our convoys are being obstructed as the people in southern Lebanon will soon have no food, water or medicine," WFP expert Amer Daoudi said.
"There are large numbers of poor, sick and old people who couldn't leave their houses," he said, calling on all parties to the conflict not to block the convoys, which would lead to a much greater tragedy unfolding and even more suffering.
The WFP stepped up their aid supplies to southern Lebanon a few days ago. Convoys of trucks were expected to reach the villagers with basic food supplies and medicine as well as shelter and tents. A cargo plane also left Italy for the region.
Intensive bombing in the region also prevented UN and Red Cross aid convoys from reaching southern Lebanon Tuesday.
"Aid is not reaching people anywhere. We are facing a critical situation," coordinator of the Lebanese Higher Relief Council, Nabil al-Jisr said.
"The raging violence in the area has prevented aid convoys carrying medical and food supplies from reaching southern Lebanese villages," Jisr added.
There had been "no improvement" in achieving a humanitarian corridor between Beirut and southern Lebanon, he insisted.
The massive Israeli onslaught on Lebanon, sparked July 12 by a cross-border Hezbollah raid which captured two Israeli soldiers, has displaced more than 800,000 Lebanese and destroyed infrastructure in the affected areas.
UN officials warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" if aid did not reach areas in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Jerusalem, Aug 2 (Xinhua) Israel said Tuesday that its army will resume full air strikes against Hezbollah early Wednesday, the Army Radio reported.
Trade Minister Eli Yishai told the radio that "the air force will continue to operate with all its power and all of its forces" at the end of a 48-hour partial suspension of aerial activity.
Yishai, a member of Israel's security cabinet, referred to an Israeli agreement reached with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice early Monday after its raid in southern Lebanese village of Qana Sunday killed some 54 Lebanese, most of them children, and sparked world outrage.
Meanwhile, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon also told Channel 10 television Tuesday that the Israeli air force planned to resume full operations from 1 a.m. Wednesday (2200 GMT Tuesday), an hour before the Israeli temporary truce expires.
Ramon also noted that Hezbollah was at "breaking point" after the Israeli offensives against it, insisting that an expanded ground offensive in southern Lebanon would bring victory.
Early on Tuesday, the Israeli security cabinet gave a go-ahead to the expansion of ground operations in southern Lebanon.
Violence between Israel and Hezbollah erupted July 12 following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by the Shia group in a cross-border attack.
More than 600 Lebanese and some 51 Israelis have been killed during the 21-day-long conflict between the two sides.
Tel Aviv, Aug 2 (DPA) Israeli troops exchanged heavy fire with Hezbollah guerrillas Wednesday as Israel further widened its ground operation in southern Lebanon.
Israeli soldiers engaged the Hezbollah militants in the village of Mahbib, an army spokeswoman said. Israeli forces also crossed the border in the area of two other villages - Meesh al-Jabel and Bleideh.
The Israeli army is now operating in or around some nine villages inside Lebanon at the central and eastern sections of the border as it implements a decision to create a 2- to 3-kilometre wide buffer zone "clean" of Hezbollah positions.
The army spokeswoman asserted Israel has killed at least 300 Hezbollah militants either in air strikes or ground fighting since the current crisis erupted with the July 12 capture by Hezbollah of two Israeli soldiers in a cross border raid.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Wednesday accused former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh of "using parliament to promote" his new book which alleges that a "mole" in the Prime Minister's Office in the 1990s had leaked nuclear secrets to the US.
"For the first time in its history, the Indian parliament is being used to promote a book," senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.
"It is an absolute travesty to the parliamentary system, dishonour to the country and highly irresponsible," Yechury told reporters in the parliament complex.
The upper house of parliament has been plunged into chaos for the last few days over Jaswant Singh's allegations, made in his memoirs "Call to Honour, In Service of Emergent India", as well as before the release of the book last month.
Pointing out that a notice of privilege motion had been tabled in the Rajya Sabha against him, Yechury said there were "doubts" about the authenticity of the documents the BJP leader had tabled in the House.
Jaswant had tabled the letter purportedly written by a US diplomat to a US senator referring to India's nuclear programme.
"Jaswant Singh should answer three questions: Who is the mole, what are the reasons that compelled him to remain silent for 11 years, and why he did not share the information with even the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government of which he was a part," Yechury demanded.
Citing rules, the Rajya Sabha MP said being a member of the cabinet, Jaswant Singh was a public servant and he was "obliged to divulge information under the law to the government and the country".
Ranchi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Jharkhand government is considering increasing the power tariff of domestic and commercial users to minimise the losses of the electricity board.
The Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) has submitted a proposal to the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC) regarding the hike.
At present, the per unit charge for domestic use is Rs.1.70, which is proposed to be increased to Rs.2.50. For commercial uses, the tariff proposed is Rs.4.25 per unit as against the current rate of Rs.3.50.
Rural people will also face extra burden with fixed amount of Rs.110 to be increased to Rs.150 per month.
To prevent power theft, the board plans to constitute a new category known as 'non domestic mixed load' for colonies and apartments.
"The new tariff has been proposed to minimise the loss incurred by the board every year. If the new tariff is implemented, the electricity board will generate additional Rs.2 billion per annum," a JSEB official told IANS.
"The board purchases the power from Damodar valley Corporation (DVC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) at Rs.2.70 per unit and supplies to domestic users at Rs.1.70," he said.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) A Lok Sabha MP from Haryana Wednesday showered praise on the rescuers who helped to save many children from a canal after a school bus fell into it killing seven children in his state's Sonepat district.
When Deepinder Singh Hooda, son of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, praised the efforts of the villagers and others Tuesday to save the lives of 23 children, whose bus had fallen into the canal, other members in the house also joined him.
"I appreciate the stance of the villagers in Kheri village, where the accident occurred Tuesday, the rescue workers, the migrant labourers from Bihar, the other children, who did not even bother to check their own injuries but helped other kids, the elected representatives across party lines, the police and the administration for the exemplary courage they had shown," Hooda said in an emotive speech.
The villagers and the rescue workers saved twenty-three children after the bus fell into the canal.
Hooda said he was proud to be a citizen of a country where the people did not hesitate to help others in danger without bothering about their own lives.
"My head stands straight in pride when I think that I am the citizen of a country where people do not hesitate to risk their lives for helping others," he said.
"I am sure this house will join me in appreciating the courage of the people there," Hooda said amid applaud.
Agreeing with him Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: "The entire house associates with you in sending its appreciation."
Bhopal, Aug 2 (IANS) Electricity-starved Madhya Pradesh is allowing the establishment of small hydropower plants to meet the energy shortfall that is crippling industry and causing major inconvenience to consumers.
The move to allow commissioning of projects up to 25 MW capacity by industry, either on its own or as a joint venture with the government, is aimed at attracting the private sector to generate electricity from small hydropower sources on irrigation projects and rivers in view of the acute power shortage.
Endorsing the Incentive Policy 2006 for 'development of small hydropower projects', the cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, also exempted plants with 25 MW capacity from water tax and open access duty.
It allowed the state energy marketing and distribution companies to purchase electricity from these projects at rates fixed by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.
"The concerned party, according to the policy, shall have to launch work on their proposed project within 12 months of obtaining permission from the state.
"Small hydropower projects up to five MW generation capacity will be required to be commissioned in 30 months. Similarly, 10 MW projects will have to commissioned in 36 months and 25 MW plants in 40 months," said a top official.
The companies will be granted permission on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis for a period of 30 years or project period whichever is less.
"After the expiry of the time limit, the ownership of the entire project shall be transferred to the government without any value," the official added.
There are other conditions. Plants with five MW capacity will be required to supply five percent free electricity to the government, those with five to 10 MW capacity have to give eight percent free power. And 10 to 25 MW capacity plants will supply 10 percent electricity free of cost to the government.
The projects would be extended all facilities provided to any other industry in the state.
Unscheduled power cuts that last for several hours are routine in urban areas of the state. And the rural areas are worse off with power outages extending up to 14 hours a day.
The 17 thermal power stations with generation capacity of 2,272 MW are able to generate a mere 1,259 MW, or 55 percent of the installed capacity, during peak hours.
"The condition of the 21 hydroelectric power units in the state is cause for more concern as they generate just 45 percent of total capacity of 835 MW," an official disclosed.
Jammu, Aug 2 (IANS) In the first such arrest, an Islamic seminary teacher and his two associates were arrested for alleged links with militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district Tuesday.
A top Lashker-e-Taiba militant was also nabbed in the same district Tuesday.
Madrassa teacher Zahoor Din was arrested along with associates Riaz Ahmad and Zahid while they while ferrying grenades and cash worth Rs.190,000 to the Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen militants, police said.
Manohar Singh, senior superintendent of police, Doda, said that the trio were arrested when police upon suspicion asked them to stop their vehicle. On searching the vehicle, the cash and grenades were recovered.
According to police, initial investigations revealed that the cash and explosives were meant for the Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen militants in the area.
"Their interrogation is on and we hope to learn more about their activities," he told IANS over phone.
The men have already revealed the names of some other workers helping the militant outfit. Police parties have been dispatched to trace them.
Police say their suspicion that some madrassas had people working for the militants was growing strong.
The teacher was being quizzed further.
Police arrested LeT militant Mohammad Yusuf from Sua Bunjwan area of Kishtwar in Doda.
According to police, Yusuf was wanted in many cases. Around a dozen grenades were also recovered from him.
Yusuf belongs to Hatli Morh area of Kathua district, but he operates in neighbouring Doda. Police said they hoped to get some vital clues on the LeT terror network from Yusuf.
New York, Aug 2 (IANS) Women who use marijuana during the time of conception may sabotage their pregnancy, says a study.
The study, which appeared in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, says marijuana's key ingredient - called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - is responsible for causing such disorder.
THC may make it hard for a fertilized egg to implant in the womb, the researchers said.
Haibin Wang and other researchers from Vanderbilt University studied mice not people. According to them, their findings have "high clinical importance" for women, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.
First, Wang's team let the female and male mice mate with each other. Next, the researchers pumped THC into some of the female mice for four or five days.
For comparison, the researchers pumped other marijuana chemicals or a marijuana-free substance (placebo) into other female mice.
The mice started receiving those chemicals when their eggs had just been fertilised, but before those eggs had lodged in the womb.
The THC group was least likely to have their eggs implant in the womb compared with the other mice, the study showed.
The bottom line from Wang's study: If you're trying to get pregnant, abstaining from marijuana may be important for pregnancy success.
Of course, marijuana isn't legally available in many countries. But, it's "still one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world, and often by pregnant women", said the researchers.
Kolkata, Aug 2 (IANS) Microsoft Corporation is targeting the video gaming and entertainment systems market in India.
The company will launch its latest offering 'Xbox 360' in the Indian market in the Diwali season this year, said Mohit Anand, Microsoft's entertainment and devices division's country manager, here Wednesday.
The Xbox 360 core system would cost Rs.19,990, while the Xbox system would cost Rs.23,990. The product would offer digital entertainment experience.
According to estimates, India has 1.6 million gamers. The AC Neilson study values the Indian gaming market at US$ 50 million, Anand said.
The company would target gamers in the age group of 14-35 years. The games would carry the Australian age rating system, he said.
Microsoft is talking to financial institutions for financing the interested consumers in India.
It has launched the Xbox 360 in North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, Columbia, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.
By Maya Mirchandani, August 2, (New York): The theatre of diplomatic action over the crisis in West Asia has shifted to the UN Security Council in New York.
The American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to table a three-part plan calling for a ceasefire, a long-term settlement and an international force in Lebanon.
But America's unstinting support for Israel is posing a major problem, especially after the killings in Qana.
With Qana as a byword for excessive use of force, one of Israel's senior most leaders was on the back foot.
"We are still investigating what happened. That does not prevent us from feeling deeply sorry to see children losing their lives," said Shimon Peres, Israeli Vice Premier.
That justification found few takers at the United Nations in New York, especially since it has happened before in 1996.
"When mistakes are a pattern of behaviour, then they deserve another name. They qualify for crime," said Tareq Mitri, Acting Lebanese Foreign Minister.
Pressure on Israel
So diplomatically, the pressure is on Israel. Most at the Security Council want an immediate cessation in hostilities with the Hezbollah. It's Israel's allies that are holding out.
"A multinational force must be dispatched to Lebanon quickly so we can help speed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people.
"Iran must end its financial support and supply of weapons to terrorist groups like Hezbollah. Syria must end its support for terror," said George W Bush, US President.
That insistence on the root cause has split the world body down the middle.
"There is a lot more to this than just the current conflict and part of that is that the United States has traditionally had similar views and it sees itself as having similar values to that of Israel.
"Now in the rest of the world, what that's seen as is unconditional support for Israel, no matter what they do," said Jane Arraf, Middle East Expert, Council on Foreign Relations.
In addition to the US draft currently in the works, UN Security Council members are also reviewing a French-sponsored draft resolution.
The resolution calls for an immediate halt to fighting and seeking a wide new buffer zone in south Lebanon monitored by international forces and the Lebanese army.
Whatever the ultimate outcome of this week's negotiations, after Sunday's attacks in Qana, the need for an immediate ceasefire to halt the endless civilian casualties is becoming increasingly and glaringly apparent. (SOURCE : NDTV.COM)
Chandigarh, Aug 2 (IANS) The Haryana government chose almost the midnight hour to transfer 75 state civil servants in one of the biggest bureaucratic reshuffles since Bhupinder Singh Hooda took over as chief minister in March 2005.
The transfer orders from Chief Secretary Prem Prashant went out at 11.30 p.m. Tuesday.
The orders affected bureaucrats all over the state as well as those posted at the state headquarters in Chandigarh.
Except for one Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, the others are from the Haryana Civil Service (HCS).
"The transfer orders must have been issued late in the night. I came to know only through newspapers that I have been transferred like several others. The midnight transfers are quite unusual," said one of the officers.
Mumbai, Aug 02: In the wake of reports of terrorist outfit Laskhkar-e-Toiba (LeT) planning to attack nuclear installations, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Dr D K Sankaran would review security arrangements at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) here at a high-level meeting today.
"BARC security has already been beefed up with maximum alertness following a tip-off by the Central government about a possible suicide attack on BARC by the Pakistan based LeT", Chief Security Officer of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), N C Gop said.
Sankaran has called for a high level meeting of senior officials from BARC, DAE, Mumbai Police and intelligence officials from the Centre at Mantralaya today, Gop said.
Security at BARC was stepped up since 1993 after serial bomb blasts in the city and further tightened after May 2000 when it was declared as a strategic laboratory.
Since June 1 this year, the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), which was manning the periphery of BARC, has been replaced by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
Inside BARC also, CISF has been deployed from June 1 to assist in the internal security as they are well trained in combating terrorist attacks, Gop said.
CISF commandos have been widely posted at all the watch towers in BARC, and private vehicles are not allowed inside the administrative buildings of BARC and NPCIL, Gop said.
Other nuclear installations under DAE, including nuclear power plants, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd, Electronic Corporation of India Ltd are always manned by CISF. (SOURCE : ZEENEWS.COM)
Yangon, Aug 2 (Xinhua) Myanmar has liberalised its border trade procedures with China to facilitate export and boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
The newly-introduced trade procedures allow merchants to directly transport exporting goods to the Myanmar-China border trade point at Muse first, where export licenses will be issued after a sale contract is formally established with buyers from the Chinese side, said a commerce ministry official Tuesday.
According to the official, such export licenses on arrival of exporting goods are applicable only to beans and pulses, sesame, maize, onion, rubber, marine products and forest products except teak.
Previously, traders had to seek export licenses first in Yangon and later in Nay Pyi Taw, the newly-relocated administrative capital, for the exporting goods to be carried to the Muse trade point.
The liberalisation was made in line with the norms prescribed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) so as to reduce hindrances and smoothen the flow of commodities, according to the directorate of trade.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has highlighted five objectives of its border trade, which include cementing of friendly relationship with China, promotion of bilateral trade, transformation of border trade into normal trade and full collection of tax.
According to government statistics, daily trade volume in Muse ranges between $500,000 and $1 million, with $347 million being registered in the fiscal year of 2004-05, $505 million in 2005-06 and $207 million in the first quarter of 2006-07, and it is predicted that the total trade volume in 2006-07 will be higher than the previous year.
According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade hit $1.209 billion in 2005, up 5.6 percent from 2004. Of the total, China's exports to Myanmar was pegged at $935 million, while its imports from Myanmar stood at $274 million.
The trade volume between China's Yunnan province and Myanmar, including the border trade, amounted to $630 million during the year, up 14.6 percent from the previous year. Of the total, Yunnan's exports to Myanmar stood at $400 million, while its imports from Myanmar were valued at $230 million, the figures show.
Kathmandu, Aug 2 (IANS) Even as heavy downpours have caused floods in China and parts of India, Nepal, lying between the two giants, has been smitten by drought and food scarcity in the western regions, prompting the UN and US to step up emergency aid operations.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began emergency helicopter operations to help feed about 250,000 drought-affected people in the far west.
WFP's representative in Kathmandu, Richard Ragan, said it was only the first stage of a much larger airlift the organisation is planning, that would cover 10 districts reeling under food scarcity.
However, while the WFP has been able to send food to four remote districts - Bajura, Dailekh, Kalikot and Jajarkot - six other hard-hit areas, including the cradle of the 'Maoist' insurgency, Rolpa and Rukum, may not get aid unless more funds are raised.
"Many of the targeted locations can only be accessed by helicopter making this $5.3 million programme logistically one of the most difficult and expensive operations in the world for WFP," said Ragan.
"We have also asked government if we might get the support of the Nepal Army for transport assistance."
Monsoon rains, creating landslides and rivers in spate, have virtually made roads inaccessible in several districts, needing alternative arrangement including mules and porters, to transport food stocks.
In some villages, people have been walking for five days to collect their rations.
"Although NGO partners and communities are on stand-by, awaiting food-aid deliveries to start operations in the districts of Rolpa, Rukum, Jumla, Humla, Dolpa and Mugu, these remaining six affected districts may not receive WFP emergency food assistance should no additional funding be pledged," Ragan warned.
The plea for help was immediately taken up by the US mission in Nepal that said it would provide $250,000 through USAID to airlift food to the remote districts to relieve the immediate need.
"This programme will provide a two-month food ration to 225,000 people in the 10 affected districts," a statement issued by the US embassy in Kathmandu Tuesday said.
Dogged by chronic food shortage, the far west remains vulnerable to famine as a result of hailstorms, strong summer winds and poor rainfall. For several years, far below average production has pushed people over the edge.
Ankara, Aug 2, IRNA Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on Tuesday condemned Israeli air raids on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as 'state terrorism'.
The OIC chief urged Muslim countries to take strong action to oblige Israel to stop war crimes against humanity in the Middle East.
"Those offensives, which have claimed hundreds of civilian lives, destroyed the infrastructure of Lebanon and Palestine and violated all principles of international law are accounted for as war crimes," Ihsanoglu said.
"What is being done has reached the level of state terror. This is an obvious crime against humanity and a war crime," the OIC secretary general said.
In comments on an upcoming emergency summit of the OIC executive committee in Malaysia, Ihsanoglu said the 57-member organization is not empowered to impose international sanctions on Israel, but stressed that Muslim countries should take strong action to end the humanitarian crisis.
"I wish that a clearer stance is demonstrated on this issue and that Islamic countries consider a package of more effective policies and measures at the United Nations," he said.
Ihansoglu also deplored what he called 'the entire world's silence' over the killing of dozens of children in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday and the UN Security Council's failure to issue an explicit condemnation of the raid and call for a ceasefire.
The OIC emergency meeting will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. (SOURCE : IRNA.IR)
By Prasun Sonwalkar, London, Aug 2 (IANS) The practice of online sites selling essays and completed assignments to students has reached a 200-million-pound business, threatening to seriously undermine the quality of British education, academics and MPs say.
The issue has reached such proportions that the House of Commons education select committee is to hold a special session later this year to investigate it. Vice-chancellors of British universities have scheduled a 'plagiarism summit' in October.
New online sites are appearing almost every week while many sites report incomes in millions as students prefer to buy their assignments instead of spending hours poring over books in the library and working on the coursework.
Early this year, Alan Grafen, senior proctor at Oxford University, warned that widespread plagiarism threatened the value of an Oxford degree. A recent study found that one in six university students admits to cheating in some way.
According to investigation by Robert Clarke and Thomas Lancaster of the University of Central England, Internet cheating and selling tailored essays has assumed the dimensions of international trade. They call the trend 'contract cheating'.
Many online sites outsource the essays required to experts who are then paid a portion of the fee paid to the site by the studentS. Reports say that many such experts are based in India, particularly in the area of information technology.
Such sites, however, refute that they encourage plagiarism. They claim that their work is mainly intended as a 'guide' to students, who use their products as a base for their own study. The sites merely help by sifting the references and other material requireD to complete the assignment.
This argument, however, does not convince many academics who believe that what is called a 'guide' is in fact a complete assignment to which the purchasing student merely adds his or her name and submits it to the university.
The owner of one such online company, www.ukessays.com, Barclay Littlewood, told The Guardian: "Our turnover for 2005 was 1.6 million pounds. In one week in early May we took 90,000 pounds. One of our customers has spent 17,000 pounds with us. My overheads are pretty low because we work from home and our writers work on commission. So I take about a third of 1.6 million pounds."
His company is reported to have supplied more than 15,000 people with tailor-made essays since the business began in 2003.
According to Littlewood, "We always tell students to check their university guidelines. We say take a common sense approach. You have to use it like you would any other source. The essay is a starting point. You use it to build a new argument you haven't thought of before. We do the sifting out for you. We're also showing how to write a great essay".
Littlewood estimates that the essay-writing business is worth 200 million pounds in Britain, with a new site appearing every month.
A spokesman for Universities UK said several institutions had expressed concern about the websites, saying that vulnerable students might be lured into buying substandard essays.
"The suggestion that these are to be used by students as 'guides' is both absurd and dishonest. Universities say it is irresponsible, risks undermining the quality of a UK higher education degree and should be tackled more forcefully," he said.
Several education institutes have invested in software, which enables lecturers to check if the assignment submitted has been plagiarised from the Internet or not.
But some websites are so confident that they claim their essays can be run through plagiarism software without fear of detection, and even offer a money back guarantee.
Balasore (Orissa), Aug 2 (IANS) Over 300,000 people in coastal Orissa were hit by flash floods triggered by torrential rains in the state for the past 3-4 days, said an official Wednesday.
The swelling of rivers Subarnarekha, Jalaka, Baitarani and Budha Balanga has submerged large areas of three coastal districts - Balasore, Bhadrak and Jajpur, said a state revenue official.
While the water levels of Baitarani and Budha Balanga are below the danger level, Subarnarekha and Jalaka crossed the danger mark, triggering panic among people living in low laying areas, he told IANS.
In the worst hit Balasore district, floods have affected over 250,000 people and at least 181 villages have been marooned.
The district administration has evacuated 2,043 people from 421 families to nearby cyclone shelters, said the official. Similarly, 42,726 cattle have been affected and around 30,100 hectares of paddy crops in the district have been destroyed.
Hundreds of houses have been damaged and evacuated people are being provided with food in 20 free kitchen centres in Jaleswar, Basta and Bhogarai blocks, said District Emergency Officer B. Patnaik.
"The district administration has distributed 565 quintals of flattened rice and 58 quintals of other food materials to the flood-hit people. We are distributing relief material to the affected people by using boats." he told IANS.
Seven powerboats and 51 country boats have been mobilised while two units of the Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed for rescue work in the district, he said.
Breaches at several places on the state highway and sub-roads have cut off the roadways in the northern pockets. Electricity and telecommunication facilities have also been disrupted.
Many of the district's main roads were submerged in four feet of floodwater.
The health administration is now concerned over the high incidence of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea in the district. At least 50 people have reportedly been affected by the disease and admitted in different hospitals.
"A special medical team has also been rushed to the flood hit areas," said Patnaik.
By Arun Kumar, Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) The White House declined comment on the court testimony of a US government expert that jehadi training camps existed and operated in various parts of Pakistan from 2000 to 2005 - establishing, in fact, charges that India has been making for many years.
A series of camps were located in the Balakot area of Pakistan, including a well-known Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot, the expert opined during the recent trial of a father-son duo from Pakistan charged with supporting terrorists.
In addition, a Department of Defense imagery expert opined that he was "confident" that certain satellite images of buildings and a location in the vicinity of Balakot were, in fact, a militant training camp.
"Well, I'm going to cut you off for the simple reason that, as in all ongoing legal proceedings, we're not going to comment," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters Tuesday in response to a question about the duo's alleged plans for jehad in the US.
The Indian Embassy also declined comment on the reported existence of militant camps in Pakistan.
The case was brought to trial after an extensive joint investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) comprising federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
The son Hamid Hayat, 23, a resident of Lodi, California was convicted by a Sacramento court on April 25 on charges of providing material support to terrorists and making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But his sentencing has been postponed to November.
Federal prosecutors have dropped terrorism-related charges against the father, Umer Hayat, 48, an ice cream truck driver in exchange for a guilty plea in a 2003 customs case after a hopelessly split jury failed to reach a verdict in his case.
Hayat, who has been released for time served after spending nearly a year in jail and under house arrest, was charged with providing false statements concerning his son's attendance at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.
Evidence at trial established that, during a period of months between October 2003 and November 2004, Hamid Hayat, attended a jehadi training camp in Pakistan and ultimately returned to the United States with the intent to wage jehad upon receipt of orders, according to information on the case released by the FBI.
Between March 2003 and August 2003, Hayat, during the course of numerous recorded conversations with a cooperating witness, pledged his belief in violent jehad, pledged to go to a jehadi training camp and indicated that he, in fact, was going to jehadi training, the court was told.
On May 30 2005, while en route back to the US from Pakistan, Hayat's plane was diverted to Narita, Japan. When questioned by the FBI on that day, he concealed the fact that he had received jehadi training, and that he was returning to the US for the purpose of waging jehad.
Hayat was thereafter permitted to return to the US.
On June 4 2005, Hayat admitted during three separate interviews, including two videotaped interviews, that he attended a jehadi training camp in Pakistan in 2000 for a few days.
He admitted that he attended a camp in 2003-2004 located in the vicinity of Balakot, Pakistan, and actively trained at this camp for approximately three-six months. Hayat further admitted that he was trained for jehad, that he came to the US for jehad and that he was prepared to wage jehad upon the receipt of orders.
After his son Hamid made a series of confessions concerning his attendance at a terrorist training camp, Umer Hayat was interviewed again by the FBI, the California court was told.
On being confronted with a small portion of his son's videotaped interview, Umer Hayat admitted, during a videotaped interview, among other things, that:
- Hamid Hayat attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2003-04.
- Umer Hayat paid for Hamid's flight, knowing that Hamid's intention was to attend a jehadi training camp.
- The madrassa Hamid Hayat attended was operated by Hamid Hayat's grandfather (Umer Hayat's father-in-law). The father-in-law sends students from this madrassa to jehadi training camps in Pakistan.
- After completing his education at the madrassa, Hamid went to a training camp near Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Hamid was at the training camp for six months.
- Because of his family connections, Umer Hayat was invited to observe more than four operational training camps. He was assigned a driver who drove him from camp to camp.
- While visiting these training camps, he observed weapons and urban warfare training - including target practice utilising pictures of President Bush and Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld - physical training, and classroom education.
Jammu, Aug 2 (IANS) Pakistan must take action against terror outfits in the wake of reports that the US had evidence of jehadi camps operating on Pakistani soil, a leading strategic expert said here Tuesday.
"It is time for Pakistan to act against the terror groups in the interest of peace in South Asia," Jammu University vice chancellor Amitabh Mattoo told reporters.
He was reacting to media reports that said a US government expert had testified in a California court earlier this year that terror camps were operating in many parts of Pakistan between 2000 and 2005.
The reports said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had gathered satellite images of terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan, a major non-NATO ally of the US and also Washington's partner in the ongoing war on terror, has an obligation to live up to its word of fighting against terrorism, Mattoo said.
"This is the evidence that has come from a country that Pakistan claims to be its friend, strategic partner and a long-term ally. Islamabad should take note of it and act," Mattoo said, referring to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's promise of "acting against terrorists if there is a proof."
In the wake of the Dec 13, 2001 terror assault on India's parliament, Musharraf had said that it would provide all help in nabbing terrorists, if there was a proof. He also repeated the promise in the aftermath of the July 11 terror attack in Mumbai that killed at least 200 people.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) A one-year-old Pakistani boy has undergone a successful liver transplant in a New Delhi hospital, becoming the youngest ever such recipient in India, said doctors here Wednesday.
Shreyar, who is from Karachi, underwent the over eight-hour-long liver transplant surgery on June 19 at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here. He was discharged on July 21, doctors at the private hospital said.
"Shreyar is now completely cured. He has become the youngest kid to undergo a complete liver transplant in India," said B.K. Rao, chairman of the hospital's board.
A.S. Soin, leading liver transplant surgeon who had conducted the surgery on Shreyar, said: "The child was born with biliary atresia, a condition in which the bile ducts of the liver (responsible for draining the bile produced in the liver into the intestinal tract for digestion) are under-developed. The problem causes jaundice, pale stools and lack of digestion soon after birth."
"The damaged liver of the child was replaced by a portion of his grandmother's liver. He is now absolutely fine," Soin told reporters.
Another doctor, Neelam Mohan, said that Shreyar had undergone an operation in Pakistan when he was three months old, but it was unsuccessful.
"The next few months were miserable for the infant - his physical growth was retarded. When he came to our hospital, his weight was just six kg. We worked on his health and after six weeks his weight was increased to over nine kg - which is what it was at the time of operation," Mohan told IANS.
She said the portal vein responsible for supplying blood to the liver was "irreparably blocked", which caused them a lot of problems during the surgery. The blockage was rectified by the doctors, she said.
Shreyar has been told to take two medicines all his life, which most liver transplant patients are recommended.
The total cost of the one-month package, including surgery, worked out to Rs.1.2 million, which doctors said is at least six times cheaper than what is charged in many other countries.
The parents of Shreyar said they were grateful to the doctors, the people in Delhi and to Allah for the success of their son's operation. They had arrived in India on April 29.
"Another child, Safi, from Lahore, had undergone a successful surgery in Sir Ganga Ram a few months ago and their family told us about their experience. This gave us the courage to come to India," said Arshad Hussain, Shreyar's father, a businessman.
"The doctors at the hospital are very good, and the people in Delhi are quite helpful. A lot of people here prayed for Shreyar's early recovery. We will never forget the good experience here and are going to tell people in Karachi about it," Hussain told IANS.
The boy's grandmother Nasreen Fatimma, who works at a bank, had donated 25 percent of her liver for the transplant. She said she had not faced any problems in India. "Since both our countries share a common civilisation and there is a lot of semblance in food, way of life and language, we never faced any kind of inconvenience."
With the operation and the troubles over, the family has managed to do some shopping - jewellery and fabrics - and take a "joyride on the Delhi Metro".
The family expects to head back home in a couple of weeks along with a healthy Shreyar and happy memories.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Three years after the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released its study on pesticides in soft drinks and a joint parliamentary committee endorsed it later, the organisation Wednesday claimed that it has found pesticides again in 11 brands.
Addressing a press conference CSE chief Sunita Narain, said that a fresh survey by their pollution-monitoring laboratory has found pesticides in soft drinks collected from plants across 25 states in the country.
In its report, the environmental organisation said that caffeinated drinks should not be allowed in the country as it affects the central nervous system and is too bad for the pregnant women.
It also said that while Pepsi contains 30 times more pesticides, there is a 25 times increase in pesticides in coke than 2003.
On Aug 5, 2003 CSE had released its study on pesticides in soft drinks, which was endorsed by a joint parliamentary committee, set up to investigate the veracity of the CSE report.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Trilateral talks to resolve the issue of gas pricing and the project framework of the multibillion-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline will be held as scheduled Thursday, despite apprehensions that geopolitical tensions would derail them.
"When senior officials from India, Iran and Pakistan meet here for the two-day trilateral working group talks, it would be to resolve the pricing and project framework issues that are crucial to forward movement in the project," said official sources.
There was considerable uncertainty with Pakistan officials voicing apprehensions about the fate of pipeline project in the wake of the Mumbai blasts and Iran making it known that the gas price offered by New Delhi and Islamabad was not acceptable.
But belying all uncertainties, a five-member delegation from Pakistan, headed by energy advisor to the prime minister Ahmed Mukhtar and including Petroleum Secretary Ahmed Waqar, will be here for the talks.
Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Mohammad-Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian is leading the Iranian delegation.
"Even though no resolution on the pricing and project structure is expected to emerge, considering Iran's keenness to get a gas price linked to crude oil prices and India and Pakistan eagerness to get energy supplies at prices that is more affordable, the fact that the dialogue is continuing is a very good sign," a top official told IANS.
The last meeting of oil secretaries in Islamabad on May 22-23 had broken off after Iran sought $7.2 per million British thermal unit (mBtu), with a three percent annual escalation, more in tandem with the international crude oil price.
But India indicated its willingness to pay not more than $4.25 dollars per mBtu for gas delivered at the border.
India wants to import 90 million standard cubic meters (mmscmd) of gas per day from Iran through the 2,100 km pipeline while Pakistan has indicated a requirement of up to 60 mmscmd.
"The price structure would be the final clinching point as it will determine the multiple of quantity that India as also Pakistan would be able to import given that affordability is a key factor for sustained offtake of supplies," sources said.
Given the ongoing debate in Iran on whether it should become a major gas exporter or focus on utilising its vast resources for the country's own development, there is some uncertainty about the future of the pipeline project.
Nejad-Hosseinian had last month indicated in a media interaction in Tehran that Iran may look seriously at offers from Thailand, China and Europe for gas supplies in the event of the price issue not being resolved.
"If Europe gas demand equals the amount (planned for export), no gas will remain for India and Pakistan. In that case, gas supply to India and Pakistan will be possible by lowering the figure," the official news agency IRNA quoted the minister as saying.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday dared former external affairs and finance minister Jaswant Singh to name the mole who had allegedly leaked India's nuclear secrets, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempted to turn a discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha into a debate on the country's nuclear programme.
The country would "draw its own conclusions" if the alleged mole in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) during the P.V. Narasimha Rao regime in the mid-1990s was not named, the prime minister maintained, as he intervened twice during Jaswant Singh's two-hour speech.
"The honourable member should answer the simple question. Who is the mole, and why is he shying away from that (disclosing the name)," Manmohan Singh said on the first occasion.
Manmohan Singh then appealed to Jaswant Singh's "sense of chivalry" to name the mole but this too failed to move the former minister.
"I regard him as a man of honour and a decent man. Therefore, I said that when charges are being levelled, I appeal to his sense of chivalry and name that person or let the country draw its own conclusions," the prime minister said.
The closest Jaswant Singh came to naming the mole was when he said the individual belonged to an inner circle that had Narasimha Rao's ear.
"It is clear enough for the government to recognise who it is. If they don't want to act, that's a different issue," he stated.
The upper house was repeatedly plunged into turmoil during Jaswant Singh's speech as Congress, Samajwadi Party and Left MPs continuously prodded him to disclose the name of the mole.
The house also witnessed chaotic scenes when BJP's Sushma Swaraj objected to the prime minister's reference to Jaswant Singh as "honourable member".
"He is the leader of the opposition and it is a constitutional post. Why is the prime minister referring to him as a member?" Swaraj asked.
Jaswant Singh, on his part, sought to give the issue a BJP versus Congress colour, saying the "strategic autonomy" that the previous government had achieved by the 1998 Pokhran tests had been bartered away through the India-US nuclear deal.
"Today, the government is moving toward a bilateral test ban and is agreeing to halt the production of fissile material," the former foreign minister maintained.
"The US approach and its purpose are unchanged. They have not altered their aim of putting a restraint on our nuclear capability, restraining production of fissile material and even (halting) our missile programme," he added.
Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat finally called it quits, saying the "nuclear issue can be debated later".
In his just published memoirs "A Call to Honour: In Service of an Emergent India", Jaswant Singh has alleged that a mole in the PMO during the P.V. Narasimha Rao government had leaked nuclear secrets to the US.
Challenged by Manmohan Singh to reveal the name of the alleged spy, Jaswant Singh initially said he would seek an appointment with the prime minister to reveal the name. When this was not forthcoming, Jaswant Singh had July 28 written to the prime minister.
However, Manmohan Singh responded to the letter on Sunday saying it did not contain anything new apart from what was already in the public domain.
Chandigarh, Aug 2 (IANS) The Punjab government Tuesday signed an agreement with Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) to set up retail business hubs that would benefit the state's farming community.
Punjab's financial commissioner G.S. Cheema and RRL chief executive officer Sanjiv Asthana signed the memorandum of understanding, under which the firm will set up 50 rural business hubs to coordinate with farmers and 250 franchises would be linked to these hubs.
Asthana said the endeavour would be to spread the procurement area to over 300,000 acres and to grow over 200,000 tonnes of horticulture produce.
Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who was present on the occasion, said Punjab's farming community would benefit from the proposed retail chain.
Asthana said RRL was looking forward to associating itself with the state's agricultural university and the farmers to build a brand of good quality fresh, frozen and processed fruits and vegetables that would be sold in the retail stores.
RRL will also procure 900,000 tonnes of food grains from Punjab and set up flour milling locations. It will also procure pulses and other food items.
Lucknow, Aug 2 (IANS) Bountiful rains across Uttar Pradesh this year is set to boost the state's rice production that could make it the country's top rice producer, say agriculture officials.
The northern state, which is the number two rice producer in the country, is set for a bumper paddy crop this year, say officials.
"The rains have been excellent so far, and if this trend continues I would not be surprised if we top in rice production in the country," Professor Chandrika Prasad, Uttar Pradesh Council of Agricultural Research (UPCAR) chief, told IANS.
The met department has predicted that the state will receive another 300 mm of rainfall in August. "With sowing having been completed in most of the paddy growing districts and nearing completion in others, I am quite hopeful of a bumper paddy crop this time," he said.
Other agricultural experts also agree with Prasad.
"With lesser rain in 2005, our rice production stood at 11.2 million tonnes, which was about 12.78 percent of the national production. If the conditions remain ideal this time, Uttar Pradesh's rice production could well touch 13 million tonnes," said S.K. Singh, Faizabad Agriculture University professor.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Veerappa Moily committee has suggested that reservations for other backward classes (OBCs) in institutions of higher and technical education be implemented in a phased manner from the next academic session.
The Oversight Committee, in its interim report presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday, is understood to have given indications suggesting that the implementation be carried out in a phased manner in view of certain issues and constraints expressed by educational institutions through the five sub-groups.
However, Moily's recommendation is at variance with the statements of union Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh, who has been insistent that the quotas should be implemented in one go.
The committee has also suggested that the cut-offs for admission should be somewhere between those for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category and the general category so that reservation does not compromise the quality of education.
The committee has also recommended that the implementation of the quotas in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) should be left to their discretion.
IIM Bangalore recently said that the OBC quota increase will require at least three years for implementation as well as central assistance through increased funding.
These institutes would also be free to decide their own cut-offs, the committee has suggested, "so that the level of excellence is not compromised".
The new reservation process will cover all central and elite institutions like IITs and IIMs and are to be accompanied with a 54 percent expansion in seats in order to ensure 27 percent quota for OBCs.
Besides recommending a liberal financial package for the expansion plan, the committee is also understood to have suggested liberalising the retirement age of faculty, re-employment of retired faculty, flexibility to decide upon the compensation package of faculty, more shifts to hold classes and more scholars.
The committee is expected to define a creamy layer and a time frame for implementation of quotas in its final report, which is to be submitted by Aug 31.
The government has already made it clear that the bill would be introduced during the current session of parliament and draft legislation is already under preparation.
The new reservation plan, once implemented, will take the total reservations to 49.5 percent. This had triggered countrywide protests from resident doctors, as well as students of engineering, management and other colleges from across the country with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) being the epicentre of the agitation.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention for redressal of their demand for revision of pay scales failing which they have threatened to go on strike.
In a letter to the prime minister, OSOA convenor Ashok Singh has sought pay revision for the senior level staff at par with salary structure in private sector to stem the large-scale exodus particularly of technical experts.
The association has drawn attention to the fact that the last pay revision of oil PSUs staff was in 1997. Subsequently despite assurance in 2002, no such exercise has been undertaken, states the letter made available to media Wednesday.
Among the many demands of OSOA is implementation of new salary scale with retrospective effect from January 2002 and putting in a system for annual increments and promotions to stem stagnation.
In the event of the government not addressing these demand, OSOA has threatened to hold a one-day fast on Aug 28 and follow it up with flash strike any day after that.
The union has also sought the prime minister's intervention to stop the state-owned oil companies going sick due to the increasing burden of subsidies provided on petroleum products.
The poor fiscal health of the oil PSUs is affecting their expansion plans and research activities, the memorandum states.
Dhaka, Aug 02: India and Pakistan on Tuesday engaged in a war of words over SAFTA implementation with New Delhi accusing Islamabad of "overturning" the basic principle of the accord by limiting trade with it and decided to raise the issue at Wednesday’s meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers.
Pakistan, on the other hand, charged that India`s raising the issue at the SAARC Foreign Secretary-level meeting amounted to violation of procedures laid down under the agreement for resolution of differences.
"The issue (SAFTA) is neither technical nor merely a bilateral one. We are dealing with a regional free trade arrangement where the balance of responsibility and benefits flow to all members," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters here last evening.
"Therefore, you cannot have a situation where one member decides unilaterally to be selective on what it wishes to implement and what not", he said.
Noting that the issue was put forth at Monday`s meeting of SAARC Foreign Secretaries here, Saran said the matter would be raised today at the conference of SAARC Council of Ministers. (SOURCE : ZEENEWS.COM)
Dhaka, Aug 2 (Xinhua) Foreign ministers of SAARC countries have agreed in principle to grant observer status to the US, South Korea and the European Union.
The foreign ministers reached the agreement in a scheduled informal meeting aside the ongoing session of the SAARC Council of Ministers that got off to a formal start here Tuesday afternoon, with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia inaugurating the two-day meeting.
A senior official of Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, who was present at the meeting, said that the foreign ministers were focused on resolving the disputes between India and Pakistan over the operationalisation of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA).
At the 13th Summit held in Dhaka last November, the SAARC leaders provided observer status to China and Japan and full membership to Afghanistan. They will formally join the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at its 14th summit to be held in India next year.
Tuesday's SAARC Council of Ministers' information meeting was attended by Bhutanese Foreign Minister Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed, Maldives State Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdullah Shahid, Nepal's Foreign Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta.
The Council of Ministers that will sit for a working session Wednesday also considered various recommendations made by the SAARC Standing Committee that concluded its meeting Tuesday.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin, who chaired the two-day standing committee meeting, told reporters that they endorsed SAARC budget of $1.89 million and the SAARC secretary general's report.
He said the Standing Committee stressed the need for ratification and implementation of three trade-related agreements - Customs cooperation, Arbitration and Avoidance of Double taxation - signed at the Dhaka summit.
Kuwait, Aug 2 (NNN-KUNA) The Saudi Cabinet, meeting in Jeddah on Monday, held Israel responsible for war crimes in Lebanon while it affirmed Lebanese sovereignty over its territories in accordance with the dictates of the Taif Accords.
The Cabinet underscored the fact that Lebanon was in control of its territories and urged support of a number of European states, Russia, and China which have condemned Israeli attacks on Lebanon and have asked for an immediate cease-fire in that country.
This was revealed in press statements by the Saudi Minister of Information Iyad Madani following the end of the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet warned against some tendencies in the region that aim at dragging it into a spiral of conflicting ideologies and divisions, much as is currently seen in Iraq and in the Palestinian territories. These tendencies are beginning to surface in Lebanon, said the Saudi Cabinet.
Madani reiterated his nation's support for the people of Palestine and Lebanon and referred to the massive public donation campaigns among Saudi citizens to the beleaguered Lebanese people.
In a similar statement, the Bahraini cabinet deplored Israeli attacks on Lebanon, especially Sunday's massacre in the town of Qana. The statement indicated that the Qana incident, in which innocent children and women were needlessly killed by Israeli air raids, "was perpetrated in a premeditated fashion."
The Bahraini cabinet expressed frustration at the lack of action on the part of international diplomacy to put a decisive halt to daily Israeli aggression in Lebanon.
Echoing a similar sentiment was a statement Monday issued by the Sudanese foreign ministry calling on the international community, in particular the United Nations Security Council, to bear responsibility for not initiating a cease-fire in Lebanon and for allowing the Qana disaster to occur.
It demanded opening an international investigation in the Qana incident with the objective of bringing charges against Israelis who carried out war crimes against innocent civilians in Qana.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Seven Delhi Police personnel committed suicide for different reasons in last seven months - one more than number of such cases in 2005.
According to Minister of State for Home S. Regupathy there were six suicides in 2003, seven in 2004 and six in 2005.
Of the seven such cases till July 15, five were constables, one was a head constable and one was an assistant sub-inspector.
"The reasons for suicide include illness, mental depression, family disputes, drinking, and domestic problems," Regupathy informed the Lok Sabha.
The minister also informed the House that Delhi Police have taken a number of steps to curb such incidents. The steps include transparency in transfers, postings and distribution of duties, and ensuring a weekly off for all policemen on field duties.
Leave is also being granted to personnel, who are not being made to work for more than 12 hrs a day. Grievance redressal sessions are also being held
Sonepat (Haryana), Aug 2 (IANS) Six children were drowned when a private school bus fell into an irrigation canal in this Haryana town Tuesday. The rest 23 managed to escape drowning thanks to the timely help of nearby villagers who jumped into the canal to fish out the children.
The accident took place when the driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle in trying to avoid colliding with a horse-cart while crossing a bridge.
People from nearby villages rushed to the western Yamuna canal bridge near Avlana village to help in the rescue operation that continued for over six hours.
The villagers, working in nearby fields, jumped into the canal to rescue the children trapped in the school bus.
Three of the 23 rescued children were shifted to a nearby private hospital for treatment.
Villagers said that the children were dazed by the accident Tuesday morning.
Eyewitness Shakti Singh told reporters that the casualties would have been much higher had the villagers not acted fast. "Many villagers immediately jumped into the canal and saved the children. The villagers acted very bravely," he said.
Divers of the Haryana Police went to bring out the bodies from the flowing water of the canal. A net was lowered into the canal to prevent the bodies from flowing downstream.
It was still not clear how many children were travelling in the bus. While district authorities said 29 children were on board, locals maintained that the bus usually carried more than 40 students.
"The bus used to pick up 40-45 children everyday. More bodies could be found," said villager Nafe Singh.
The district police chief said that only six children had died and 23 others were rescued. The driver of the bus, who fled after the accident, was admitted to a nearby hospital.
According to police officials, preliminary reports suggested rash driving on the part of the driver.
The children were from a local private school Geeta Vidyamandir. The bus used to pick up children from several villages around Sonepat.
The bus was pulled out of the canal by the authorities with the help of villagers.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who rushed to the spot to get a first hand account of the accident, ordered a probe. He also announced a grant of Rs.200,000 each to families of the six children who died in the accident.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) In a move to deflect criticism for rising prices of essential commodities against her party-led government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday shifted the blame on to the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
"We are still dealing with the consequences of the most insensitive decision of the NDA government to export 14 million tonnes of wheat during its tenure," Gandhi told a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) here.
Pointing out that the state governments should take steps to contain hoarding and speculative forward trading, Gandhi said policy measures taken by the previous NDA governments had crippled the state to take such actions.
"The NDA government had withdrawn these powers (in the Essential Commodities Act) in February, 2002" Gandhi said.
This is the third time Gandhi has expressed her concern over the steep prices of the essential commodities that trouble the common men.
Addressing a CPP meet earlier, Gandhi had urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government to protect the interests of the farmers and the common man, the plank on which the Congress had won the 2004 general elections.
Sensing the growing dissatisfaction among the farmers over the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) performance, Gandhi indicated that the Congress governments at the centre and the state should focus on the agriculture sector.
The Congress president said she would convene a conclave of the party-ruled states' chief ministers to discuss measures to be taken to protect the farmers' interests.
"At our next formal meeting of the Congress chief ministers later this month, we will focus on agriculture," she said. Party sources said the dates and the venue for the chief ministers' conclave would be announced soon.
Pointing out that the prime minister announced special package for the impoverished farmers in the Vidarbha region, the Congress chief said: "The 11th five-year plan is also under preparation. It is abundantly clear that the overriding priority is to bring about a radical transformation in agriculture so that the security if our farmers and their families is assured and their aspirations met."
Remembering the victims of the July 11 Mumbai terror attacks, Gandhi said: "The central government should enable each state to have a fully-equipped, properly-trained and highly motivated anti-terrorism force.
"Anti-social and anti-national elements will have to be clearly identified and dealt with firmly. Effective police action, free from any bias or political pressure is essential. For such action to succeed local communities must be mobilized and reached out to.
"While we are one in recognising that there can be no compromise on internal security, we must also take all steps to ensure that no community feels itself under siege or as target of suspicion," Gandhi told the party MPs.
Ahmedabad, Aug 2 (IANS) A "big ball of fire" in the sky spotted over parts of Gujarat in western India late Monday night spooked many residents though some found the sight of an unexpected meteorite shower as a divine portent, while hardnosed scientists were set to put the phenomenon under scrutiny.
Rajkot district official Ajay Chaudhary said that an object emitting bright light landed near Belasan village of Maliya Miyana block of Kutch district, 200 km from here.
According to eyewitness accounts, the heavenly body lit up several kilometres of the area like a floodlight and hit the Maliya Miyana block at around 9.00 p.m.
Mild tremors were also reported in the area and residents there said utensils in their homes began rattling as a result.
"The sky had suddenly become colourful. The whole place was brightened up because of this object," Chetan Rawal, a Rajkot resident, told IANS over phone.
"There was a great noise like bang. We were afraid for a while since we had no idea what was happening," he said.
Rawal's wife Daxa, a bank employee, said: "It was probably a sign of providence."
Rajkot district authorities have brought ashes and stones from Maliya Miyana to the district headquarters for further investigation.
The meteoric object was also seen by people in Jodia and Drol blocks of Jamnagar and Rapar and Bachau blocks in Kutch district, near the international border with Pakistan.
Meteoric objects were found scattered in many part of Saurashtra and Kutch regions, though there were no reports of any injuries after the meteorite shower.
Rock-like meteors are the cosmic dust left behind by passing comets. When earth passes through a cometary orbit, the friction burns the cosmic dust that enter its atmosphere.
Astronomers say meteoric showers are known to take place during July-August every year across the globe.
Meanwhile, India's premier institute Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) here will conduct elaborate tests on the meteorites.
According to a PRL scientist, the meteorite fragments will be brought to the institution soon to determine the origin of the meteorite, its radioactivity, its age and chemical composition.
A team of scientists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) also left to collect the meteorites for tests.
"We have also appealed people not to touch the fragments and to help us in collecting the fragments. Our team will be back in a couple of days and we will know more about the object soon," said GSI director R.S. Goyal.
Stockholm, Aug 2 (DPA) Sweden Tuesday announced it would withdraw its monitors from the 60-member strong Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), joining similar moves by Denmark and Finland.
The three Nordic countries are members of the European Union (EU) that recently labelled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as terrorists.
Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson, attending an emergency meeting in Brussels on the Middle East conflict, said he regretted the withdrawal decision, affecting 15 Swedish monitors and the head of the SLMM mission, Swedish veteran officer Ulf Henricsson.
"We regret that we were forced to do this, but the Tamil Tigers have maintained their position that they do not want citizens from EU countries to be represented in the observer mission," Eliasson told Swedish radio news.
Eliasson said he hoped the withdrawal would not affect the 2002 ceasefire treaty, but said he "could not rule out an escalation in the fighting".
In recent months there have been numerous skirmishes and fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger rebels, suggesting the ceasefire had collapsed.
A Swedish foreign ministry spokesman said Sweden was prepared to resend observers pending new developments. A Norwegian envoy was due to visit Sri Lanka later this week.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Left parties in both houses of parliament Wednesday forcefully demanded the government table during the ongoing monsoon session a long-delayed bill to reserve 33 percent seats for women in parliament and legislatures.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Gurudas Dasgupta said: "Let the bill be brought to parliament. If there are differences let it go to the standing committee as in the case of any controversial bill. But let the nation know what is the stand of the political parties over it."
Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) made a similar plea in the Rajya Sabha, lamenting that 10 years had passed since the measure was first mooted.
"I urge that the bill be passed in the current session (of parliament)," Karat demanded.
As numerous cries of affirmation were heard, Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan said: "The entire house supports you."
Pointing out that the manifesto of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had promised to implement the measure, Sushma Swaraj (Bharatiya Janata Party) regretted this had not happened in spite of the government being in power for two years.
"This is because of opposition (to the measure) in the cabinet (of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh). We demand the government bring a draft bill. We are ready for a discussion but first bring the bill," Swaraj maintained.
In the Lok Sabha, Dasgupta pointed out that women activists were demonstrating in the national capital Wednesday to demand the legislation.
"We cannot suppress the rights of women in the country, who comprise 50 percent of our population," he maintained.
Dasgupta, joined by CPI-M MPs including C.S. Sujata, Sathidevi and Minati Sen, asked the government why the bill was not being brought before the house.
"The government has brought many controversial bills in the past. Why do you want to evolve a consensus only on this one?" asked Dasgupta.
Responding to the demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said: "We are second to none in our commitment to bring the bill. As it is a constitutional amendment, the government is trying to evolve a consensus to ensure a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass the bill."
Later, CPI-M leader Mohammed Salim told a press conference that a two-thirds majority in parliament had already expressed their support in principle to the bill.
"The UPA has been trying to evolve a consensus over the bill. The government should introduce the bill if it cannot form a consensus on the issue," CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said.
The proposed Women's Reservation Bill has been pending in parliament for almost a decade due to opposition from parties like Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Colombo, Aug 2 (DPA) Heavy fighting in eastern Sri Lanka between troops and Tamil Tiger rebels has expanded from control of a water sluice to port Trincomalee with the militants attacking four army camps Wednesday.
Militants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) started firing artillery and mortars at the Sri Lankan army camps in Kaddaparichan, Selvanagar, Mahindapura and Thoppur in Trincomalee at 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to pro-rebel website Tamilnet.
The military said two soldiers died while 17 others were wounded and 40 rebels died and at least 70 more injured in the attacks on the army camps, but there was no confirmation of casualties by the rebels.
Tamilnet claimed the LTTE have taken control of the army camps, which the government denied, saying they had "repulsed" the rebels.
Rebel mortar rounds also fell in the town of Muttur and the police station was fired on, said police sources.
The military said that the bus station and town centre were initially vacated due to Tamil Tiger resistances but were later taken back under control of the military and police after additional troops were deployed.
Tamilnet claimed four soldiers were killed and the rebels had control of Muttur jetty, a strategic point of access to Trincomalee harbour area.
Meanwhile, the air force continued to bomb Tiger positions for the eighth consecutive day as the military inched towards the Mavilaru sluice gates, the focal point of the fighting.
The rebels control the sluice that supplies water to about 60,000 villagers in government-run areas.
By Sujeet Kumar, Raipur, Aug 2 (IANS) Chhattisgarh's mineral rich but impoverished Bastar region is getting ready for a radical transformation into one of India's most industrial zones with investments of Rs.300 billion in steel and power.
A Maoist stronghold, the sprawling densely forested region has seen 348 killings in the last 12 months, but steel giants like Tata and Essar groups are unfazed and have responded positively to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's proposal to industrialise the underdeveloped 40,000 sq km tribal area that has the world's best quality iron ore reserves.
"Bastar is getting a minimum of Rs.170 billion investment in the steel sector and Rs.45 billion in the power sector besides Rs.100 billion for the excavation of iron ore to meet growing raw material demand from domestic steel makers and iron ore exports to Japan and China," said industry department officials.
The department predicts that Bastar could become a primary industrial zone by 2011.
India's largest private sector steel maker Tata Steel is bringing Rs.100 billion for an integrated five-million-tonne-a-year steel plant at Lohandiguda, 32 km from the Bastar district headquarters of Jagdalpur.
The company and the Chhattisgarh government had signed a deal in June 2005 for the plant. After initial protests, most people in 10 villages agreed last month to give up 4,500 acres of land for the Tata plant.
Essar Steel is pitching in with Rs.70 billion for a 3.2-million-tonne-a-year steel plant in revolt-hit Dantewada district, which along with Bastar and Kanker districts forms the Bastar region.
"The company is also keen to build a power plant of 1,000 MW with Rs.45 billion investment in the same district," a top official disclosed.
Besides, the Hyderabad-headquartered National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), India's largest iron ore producer and exporter, formed a joint venture with the Chhattisgarh Mining Development Corporation (CMDC) last month for opening up 350 million tonnes of iron ore reserves at Bailadila.
Industry officials say Dantewada's Bailadila range divided into 14 iron ore deposits will get direct or indirect investments of at least Rs.100 billion during the next five years for catering to raw material demand in the domestic and international steel industry.
Bangkok, Aug 2 (DPA) Thailand's caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was scheduled to depart for Myanmar (Burma) Wednesday on a mystery mission, radio reports said.
Thaksin, who has been under caretaker status since he dissolved parliament in February, was booked on a special air force flight for Myanmar, scheduled to return Wednesday evening, according to public radio broadcasts.
It was unclear whether he would fly to Yangon (Rangoon), the former capital, or to Nay Tyi Daw, the new capital where Myanmar's military-run government is now headquartered.
It was also unclear why Thailand's caretaker premier was rushing to Myanmar.
"I don't know anything about it," admitted Thai foreign ministry spokesman Kitti Wasrinond.
Thaksin, Thailand's prime minister since 2001, is known to have good relations with the military junta that has ruled Myanmar since it brutally suppressed a mass pro-democracy movement in 1988.
Under Thaksin, Thailand has become a prime apologist for the regime, advocating a regional foreign policy of engagement while the rest of South-East Asia has demonstrated growing frustration and annoyance with the junta's refusal to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and speed up political reforms in the country.
By Arun Kumar, Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) There are 53 Hindu temples in 33 American states, says a just published coffee table book that details the history, architecture, deities and other salient features reflecting the growing spread of Hinduism in this country.
Titled "Bharat Rekha In America", the book by former Indian management consultant K. Panchapakesan, was released by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, a member of the House of Representatives' committee on international relations at the Capitol Hill.
Recalling his close personal ties with India and the role he played in the establishment of a Hindu Temple in South Carolina, Wilson lauded the efforts of the author to meet a long felt need of the Indian American Community.
Published by Kansas Medical Publishing headed by Shekhar Challa, a noted Indian American doctor, the book brings out several interesting facets of Hindu temples in America.
These include:
- At a Ganesh temple in Anchorage, Alaska devotees take turn to work as priests.
- Generally Shiva and Vishnu temples are constructed separately, but quite a few temples in the US house both deities together.
- The Ganesh temple in Nashville has a Shiva Lingam (an icon of lord Shiva), which is said to have self-grown on the Narmada riverbed.
- G.K. Kumar has contributed over $2.5 million for the construction of the Parashakthi Temple in Michigan.
- The first form of Vishnu as Anantha Padmanabha outside India is in the Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Lanham
- Las Vegas has two temples, including a rare one for Brahma donated by the Thais.
- A Shiva temple being built in Hawaii with donations from 55 countries will house the world's largest self-grown crystal Shiva lingam weighing 320 kg and 99 cm in height.
Jammu, Aug 2 (IANS) Three people were killed and at least 15 injured in two separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday.
In the first incident, 15 people were wounded, two critically, when militants lobbed a grenade at a bus stand at Surankote in the frontier district of Poonch, about 200 km north of Jammu.
The injured have been admitted to Surankote hospital.
Earlier, two militants and an army soldier were killed in a gunfight in Doda district's Kishtwar town.
By Syed Zarir Hussain, Kohima, Aug 2 (IANS) The genesis of the festering Naga insurgency dates back a day before India became a free nation Aug 15, 1947. Six decades later, the Nagas are seeking peace.
The Nagas were the first ethnic group in the northeast to revolt -- on Aug 14, 1947. Legendary Naga leader Angami Zapu Phizo and his Naga National Council (NNC) asserted that the Nagas were never a part of India.
By 1950 the NNC formally announced its desire to form a sovereign or independent Naga nation, marking the beginning of the insurgency.
The NNC in May 1951 claimed that 99 percent of the Nagas -- tribals and Christians -- supported a referendum to determine their future as a free nation. New Delhi refused to accept the request.
By 1952, the NNC launched a guerrilla movement, attacking villages and security posts. This ignited a violent chapter in Nagaland.
In 1956, Phizo formed a parallel government called the Naga federal government (NFG) and its armed wing, Naga federal army (NFA).
The Indian government in April 1956 launched a military crackdown in the erstwhile Naga hills district in undivided Assam.
Phizo sneaked into then East Pakistan and then to London. Since then, until his death in 1990, Phizo led the NNC out of London.
In 1963, Nagaland attained statehood and India unveiled efforts at brokering peace with the NNC. People like Jayaprakash Narayan and Rev. Michael Scott were involved in the process.
On Sep 6, 1964, a ceasefire was signed between the Indian government and the NNC. Six rounds of talks were held. Despite the truce the Naga rebels continued their offensives. The government abrogated the truce in 1969.
By then chinks had appeared in the Naga struggle. Members of the powerful Sema tribe broke away and formed in 1968 the revolutionary government of Nagaland (RGN) led by self-styled "Gen. Kaito".
Three years later, the government banned the NNC, NFG and NFA.
India troops again launched a massive anti-insurgency operation in Nagaland. For the first time surrenders by guerrillas took place Aug 14, 1973. The RGN, under the leadership of Gen. Zuheto Swu, joined the Indian mainstream with a number of its cadres joining the Border Security Force.
The surrender apart, the army operations forced the NNC to talk peace with the Indian government. The Shillong Accord was signed Nov 11, 1975, with the Naga rebels led by Kevi Yally, the younger brother of Phizo, accepting the Indian constitution.
But some within the NNC opposed the accord. Prominent among them were T. Muivah, Isak Swu and S. Khaplang.
Muivah was then NNC general secretary and Swu a senior minister. Khaplang, a Burmese Naga, was president of the Eastern Nagaland Revolutionary Council, a wing of the NNC formed to protect Naga interests in then Burma (now Myanmar).
There was another twist in the Naga movement. The trio of Muivah, Swu and Khaplang decided to sever ties with their parent body and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980.
Swu was made chairman, Khaplang vice-chairman and Muivah general secretary. The NSCN emerged as the most powerful and radical rebel army in Nagaland, sidelining the NNC and NFG.
The NSCN-led insurgency became bloody over the years. But soon the NSCN was mired in internal problems, with leaders differing on major policy issues on clan and tribal lines.
The NSCN split in 1988 with Khaplang forming a parallel NSCN (Khaplang). By 1992, the two NSCN factions were engaged in a fratricidal war over territorial supremacy.
This provided New Delhi the much-needed weapon to tackle insurgency by forcing the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) to come to the negotiating table. A ceasefire accord was signed Aug 1, 1997.
Since then at least 50 rounds of peace talks have been held between the NSCN-IM and New Delhi in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Thailand, Japan and Malaysia.
A similar truce was also signed with the NSCN (Khaplang) faction in April 2001 but formal peace talks with that outfit are yet to begin. Now, after prolonged twists and turns, the mood is one of guarded optimism with the Nagas in general clamouring for peace and an end to all forms of violence and bloodshed.
Jammu, Aug 2 (IANS) Two militants were killed early Wednesday in a fierce encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district in a joint operation by the police and the army.
A soldier was also killed in the gun battle that took place in forests near the district's Kishtwar town, official sources said.
The identity of the militants is yet to be verified.
Jammu, Aug 2 (IANS) The Jammu and Kashmir police have made a case for the dismissal of two cops Nissar Hussain and Mohammad Ashiq from service, who have acted against the interests of the force and the nation at large.
A visibly shocked Inspector General of Police S.P. Vaid told media that he has asked Doda Senior Superintendent of Police Manohar Singh to "get to the bottom of the case".
"I have asked him to find out all those involved in the case and thereafter, we will seek an immediate dismissal of these policemen from service. There is no place for such men in our police force, which has a glorious history of sacrifice," Vaid said.
Nissar and Ashiq were arrested Monday on charges of selling weapons to militants. Two AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, which they were to sell to the militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba, were also seized by police.
It is the first case of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, reeling under militancy for the past 17 years.
"This is a big shameful act," Vaid said.
More than 1200 policemen have died while fighting militancy in the state. The militants have targeted wives and children of the policemen all over the state.
"With such a history where our men have given blood, this act of the two is unforgivable," he said.
He said that all necessary steps to weed them out of the police force would be taken.
Meanwhile, interrogation of the other two policemen Kabir Hussain and Sikander Azam is on for their supposed links with Lashkar-e-Toiba.
"The depth of their involvement is being probed," Vaid said.
Their links with LeT surfaced after the arrest of Tipu, a young boy of 16 arrested for throwing grenades.
Three army personnel are also in custody on similar charges.
Guwahati, Aug 2 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Tuesday called for a 12-hour general strike on Aug 15 to protest against Independence Day celebrations.
"For us Aug 15 is a day of mourning. There is no reason to celebrate Independence Day when the people of the state have no freedom of their own and staying in a land under the occupation of Indian colonial rulers," the ULFA said in a statement.
"Therefore we call upon all the freedom loving people of the region to boycott India's Independence Day and also to prevent any such celebrations from being held," the statement added.
The rebel statement said the 12-hour general strike would begin at 6 a.m.
Militants in the insurgency-hit northeast have for years have been boycotting India's Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations to protest the country's rule over the vast region rich in oil, tea and timber.
The run-up to the events has always been violent, with rebels striking vital installations including crude oil pipelines, trains and road and rail bridges, besides targeting federal soldiers.
In 2004, ULFA triggered a powerful landmine at an Independence Day function in eastern Assam's Dhemaji town killing 13 people, including six schoolchildren.
More than 30 rebel armies operate in the northeastern states, their demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and the right to self-determination.
Guwahati, Aug 2 (IANS) The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Tuesday charged New Delhi with rejecting the outfit's peace overtures by not holding direct talks with it.
"The Indian government smacks of insincerity in holding direct talks with us but coming up with one pretext or the other," ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement published in its monthly mouthpiece Swadhinata or Freedom.
"We are ready for direct talks but it is the government that lacks the initiative."
The ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent Assamese homeland since 1979, had last October appointed an 11-member civil society group to open exploratory talks with New Delhi to pave the way for direct negotiations between the rebel leadership and government negotiators.
Three rounds of talks between the ULFA chosen People's Consultative Group (PCG) and New Delhi have been already held.
"We saw reports in the media saying that the Indian government wants us to submit a list containing names of ULFA leaders who would take part in the talks. Did the government tell us the names of people representing New Delhi who were going to talk with us," the rebel leader questioned.
The ULFA leader said the group would like to have a "clear commitment" from New Delhi that the negotiators would discuss the outfit's main demand for independence in the talks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the first meeting with the PCG in October last year said his government was ready to discuss "all issues" when direct negotiations begin.
"The statement about discussing all issues is nothing but vague. We want a clear cut commitment that India would discuss the issue of sovereignty when talks begin," Rajkhowa said.
The ULFA had made it clear that it would sit for direct talks with New Delhi only when five of its jailed leaders are released.
"We don't want a ceasefire but would like to see an end to the war. Since we are committed to solving the problem politically, we want the release of our top leaders so that we can chalk out strategies before formal talks start," the rebel statement said.
The ULFA is one of the most organised militant groups in India's northeast, where more than 30 rebel groups operate with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy.
At least 15,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam since 1979 when the ULFA, the state's first rebel group was founded.
By Syed Zarir Hussain, Guwahati, Aug 2 (IANS) A fragile peace in Assam is under threat with security forces killing at least 15 militants of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in the past three weeks.
There are fears that the much hyped peace process initiated by the ULFA could break down with the outfit getting restive by the day as reports come in regularly of casualties suffered by their cadres at the hands of security forces.
The security offensives against the ULFA were launched even as union Home Minister Shivraj Patil called for restraint to facilitate a bilateral ceasefire and then direct talks between the rebel leadership and the government.
The minister said this after chairing the last round of talks held in New Delhi June 22 with a team of civil society leaders chosen by the ULFA for exploratory talks with the government.
"We are very disturbed and the government of India is to be blamed if the peace process breaks down.
"The security offensives have come at a time when we are trying to facilitate direct talks between the ULFA leadership and the government of India," noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami, sought by the ULFA to mediate for talks, told IANS.
Goswami is heading the 11-member People's Consultative Group (PCG) nominated by the ULFA in October last year to initiate talks with New Delhi.
The latest in the string of encounters by the security forces took place Monday night - so far five ULFA rebels have been gunned down in separate clashes in the past three days alone.
"On the one hand, the government is talking of peace talks and, on the other side, they are continuing with security operations. We are still committed to the path of peace although we doubt the government's sincerity in resolving our problem politically," the ULFA said in a statement.
The PCG is now confused after three rounds of talks with New Delhi - the first meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October last year where he said his government was ready to discuss "all issues" with the ULFA.
"The anti-insurgency operations against the ULFA at a time when talks are on have surprised us," said senior PCG leader Dilip Patgiri.
The home minister during the June 22 talks took a considerate stand by removing one of the biggest stumbling blocks between peace and violence by agreeing to release five top jailed ULFA leaders.
ULFA's demand for releasing five of its senior leaders currently in jail was seen as one of the last big thorns on the road to peace.
"Why the delay in releasing the jailed leaders if New Delhi really wants talks with the ULFA leadership?" asked Goswami.
The question is why the sudden security offensive when the two sides were already talking peace? "There is no ceasefire yet and we cannot let our land be used for subversive activities," said a senior Assam police official.
There seems to be a clear communication gap with the home minister calling for restraint and the Unified Command Structure headed by the Assam government launching a full-scale military offensive against the rebels.
Both New Delhi and the Assam government should do some serious rethinking before the ULFA lets loose a reign of terror to prove they are still a force to be reckoned with - if that happens, it would set in motion a spell of fresh turmoil in the region.
Washington, Aug 2 (Xinhua) US President George Bush signed a legislation to renew economic sanctions on Myanmar for three more years.
"The US watches in deep dismay as a country of Burma's beauty and potential deteriorates under the oppressive weight of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military junta," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday in a statement.
The US also calls on the international community and the UN to join the US in support of the people of Myanmar, the statement said.
The US first imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar in 2003.
Lucknow, Aug 2 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh has decided to pull out all stops in offering sops to investors ready to set up units in the state's newly created Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
"Investors in the SEZs would not only be entitled to a total tax holiday but would also be free to say adieu to various labour laws and even be free to put up captive power plants to sustain their units," said Atul Gupta, the state's industrial development commissioner.
A decision to the effect was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet on Tuesday, he told reporters here.
Three categories of SEZs have been marked. Category 'A' includes NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) and Greater NOIDA. Under category 'B' were such places that had earlier been declared as Industrial Development Authority. All other areas would fall under category 'C', he said.
All SEZs would be declared "industrial townships" under the provisions of Article 243 (Q) of the Indian Constitution, thereby getting exemption from all civic taxes as well.
Entrepreneurs would get total exemption from paying stamp duty for registration of land in the SEZs. "We propose to go for both public and private participation and we will ensure a single-window clearance for the entrepreneurs," Gupta said.
According to him, "not only would investors be free to set up their captive power plants but also be allowed to sell surplus power to others within the SEZ".
To top it all, no state tax would be levied on goods manufactured in the SEZ in the same manner as was done in the case of export-oriented units.
"Industrial units in the SEZs would be given the status of public utility service under the Industrial Disputes Act, thereby disallowing any kind of interference from the local labour authorities," he added.
"In case of SEZs, all labour-related problems and disputes would be dealt with by the Development Commission of each SEZ."
By Arun Kumar, Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) The World Bank has approved a $225 million loan and credit to support a reform programme designed to boost inclusive economic growth and achieve rapid poverty reduction in the Indian state of Orissa.
The second Orissa Socio-Economic Development Loan and Credit, approved Tuesday by the World Bank, includes a $150 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It is payable in 20 years including five years of grace period.
An additional $75 million credit from the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessionary lending arm, carries a 0.75 service fee, a 10-year grace period, and a maturity of 35 years.
Reforms supported by this operation will focus on enhancing agricultural productivity, security of land rights and market access for poor farmers, improving the investment climate and consolidating the fiscal improvement achieved in recent years, according to a World Bank press release.
Despite its rich endowment of mineral wealth, forests, lakes, rivers and a long coastline facing South-East Asia, Orissa remains among the poorest of India's major states.
After stagnating in the 1990s, economic growth has accelerated in recent years, including faster growth in mining, agriculture and service sectors. Real growth reached an average of 8.4 percent over the past years, ahead of the all-India average, and nearly double the growth rate of the 1990s.
"The high agricultural growth rate is particularly welcome as it continues to provide employment to over 80 percent of all workers in the state," says V.J. Ravishankar, World Bank lead economist and co-team leader.
"Measures to improve productivity and economic returns from agriculture are at the heart of this operation and will have a far-reaching impact for the rural poor," he added.
The project will also support fiscal, financial management and public accountability reforms, including anti-corruption measures and public procurement reforms, aimed at achieving creditworthiness.
It will also create additional fiscal space for high priority developmental spending, and promote more efficient and transparent management of the government's financial resources.
Orissa has the third highest concentration of scheduled tribes in India, accounting for 22.2 percent of the total population and more than 40 percent of the total number of poor.
"This relative disadvantage of the scheduled tribe population is a remarkably robust feature of the profile of poverty in Orissa," says Marina Wes, World Bank senior economist and co-team leader.
"This operation will support the government of Orissa's ongoing efforts to enhance the rights and livelihood opportunities of the disadvantaged sections of the population, including women and scheduled tribes," she added.
New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) Revamped in design and content, a web portal for youth in the Arab region, www.jeunessearabe.info, has been launched.
This second version of the website has new features like a monthly theme to which the site dedicates an in depth article with documents and specific information resources and a forum linked to it.
Youth associations interested in the theme are being asked to write the in depth article and moderate the debate in the forum.
For its choice of themes, the web portal will give guidelines on communication tools offered by the internet with more general themes that interest the youth in the Arab region, such as environmental issues, a Unesco statement said.
Discussions on each theme will carry on for a month and a half, after which it will be an online archive for further consultation.
Another important new feature is a "news rubric". This space aims to inform young people from the Arab region about activities, forums, events and all the interesting opportunities that exist in the region.
Unesco said this portal's virtual library was being kept "rich in documents and information" in three languages: English, French and Arabic.
For its goal, this portal wishes to improve access and participation of young people, and also to strengthen the creative and interactive capacities of young people.
Created in 2004 within the frame of a joint programming initiative between Unesco and ISESCO (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), the jeunessearabe.info portal aims to serve information needs of youth and youth associations of the Arab world.
This portal is part of the INFOYOUTH programme, a worldwide information network on youth issues.