31 August 2006
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The steering committee and its seven sub groups set up to suggest disable welfare guidelines for the 11th five years plan do not have enough representation from the community and have so far failed to submit a report, complained disabled rights groups Thursday.
"Both the committee and the sub-groups did not have adequate representation from the disability sector, especially of people with disabilities," said Javed Abidi, president of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).
Several disable rights organisations in the capital like Score Foundation, Sarthak, Astha, Muskaan, NCPEDP claimed the committee has met once so far and will most likely miss its deadline of submitting a report by September.
"The sub groups were set up on July 26 but the representation of the disability sector is also quite poor. To top it, the sub groups are supposed to submit their reports by Sep 7 and none of the seven have met even once," he said in a statement.
However, the activists appealed to the planning commission to extend the deadline of submitting the report for the welfare of the community.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IRNA) Six important Marri commanders and 2,000 militants surrendered to district authorities in Tadri, a town 140 kilometers from Kohlu, on Tuesday.
Commanders Wadera Gazi Khan Marri, Wadera Bakht Ali Sherani Marri, Kari Khan Marri, Ruba Goryani Marri, Wadera Azeem alias Bhuda and Wadera Shamboo Khan Marri laid down their weapons.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Daily Times, the district coordination officer said that this was the first time that the Marri tribesmen had surrendered and decided to support the government.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IRNA) The number of Americans living below the poverty line stabilized last year at 37 million after going up for the four years previously, the US Census Bureau said on Tuesday.
According to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, a total of 12.6 percent of US citizens came under the official poverty threshold annual income of dlrs 9,973 for a single person, or of dlrs 19,971 for a family of four.
The figure was statistically unchanged from the 2004 poverty rate of 12.7 percent reported by the Census Bureau.
Real median household income in the United States rose by 1.1 percent from 2004 to reach dlrs 46,326 last year.
It was the time since 1999 that real incomes had gone up annually.
But the percentage of people without health insurance coverage rose from 15.6 percent to 15.9 percent, to stand at 46.6 million people, the bureau said.
The poverty rate was highest among black Americans, at 24.9 percent or 9.2 million people, followed by Hispanics at 21.9 percent.
The figures were basically unchanged from 2004.
However, the rate increased among Asian Americans to 11.1 percent from 9.8.
Fully 32.7 percent of Hispanic Americans lacked any kind of health insurance last year.
The figures were 19.6 percent for blacks and 17.9 percent for ethnic Asians.
Patna, Aug 31 (IANS) Over 40 people, mostly women and children, have gone missing Thursday after their overcrowded boat capsized in the swollen Ganges in Bihar, officials said.
About 20 people in the boat have been rescued from the Ganges, near Patna. Rescue operations are on. The boat's capacity was 25 people but it had 70 beside two buffalos.
Mumbai, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Nearly 50 Pakistan-trained youths are still holed up in Mumbai and adjoining areas and are ready to strike any time on the orders of LeT leaders across the border, police sources claimed today.
Two modules have been busted by Mumbai Crime Branch and the Anti Terrorism Squad, while a key LeT leader, Faizal Sheikh, who was instrumental in motivating youth to join LeT training, was currently in custody of ATS.
Officials who interrogated Faizal Sheikh and 2005 Delhi blasts suspects, Firoze Ghaswala and Mohammed Chippa, said that Faizal and fugitive LeT leader Raheel Sheikh were consistently motivating city youths to join LeT training in Pakistan.
Since 1996, Faizal and Raheel have sent over 50 persons from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane region to Pakistan for terrorists training, sources said.
So far, ATS has hit a wall in its efforts to learn the details of the `sleeper modules` (as these trained but dormant LeT operatives are called), sources said.
Sources said that like blasts suspects Tanvir Ansari, Jameer Sheikh and Sohail Sheikh who were reportedly sent to Pakistan by Faizal, it was Raheel who arranged the trip of Ghaswala and Chippa a couple of years ago.
While Ghaswala and Chippa were arrested in Delhi soon after they returned from LeT training, Ansari, Jameer and Sohail were arrested by Mumbai Police in the intense probe launched after the July 11 blasts.
Chippa and Ghaswala have told the police that most of these youths who agreed to undergo LeT training were routed to Pakistan via Bangladesh.
"These youths are first taken to Bangladesh, they undergo a series of psychological checks to ascertain that they stick to the LeT game plan and do not turn hostile after returning to India," a senior Crime Branch official said.
Once they clear these tests, they are sent to Pakistan for two to three weeks of intense training in handling of arms and ammunition, explosives and stealth operations. Senior LeT leaders like Mulla Umar personally brief these youths to imbibe them with a sense of belonging to the LeT ideology, sources said.
Back home, LeT members routinely stay in touch with the sleeper members, and at times even threatening them of tipping off the police of their identity if they do not stay with the terrorist outfit, sources added.
These members are asked to execute terrorists act at own will or wait for orders for a bigger plan from LeT leaders across the borders, sources said.
Etesham Siddiqui, one of the blasts suspects has claimed that he wished to eliminate riot-tainted police officials from Gujarat and Maharashtra, besides some lower-rung functionaries of some Hindu militant organisations.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Asian Development Bank has signed an agreement with the Indian government to give a USD 180 million (Rs 828 crore) loan to the rural roads development programme.
This was the first tranche loan under the multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the USD 750 million (Rs 3,450 cr) Rural Roads Sector II Investment Programme, which was approved in December 2005, ADB said in a statement.
The agreement for the first tranche loan was signed on Tuesday by Arvind Mayaram, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Indian government and Tadashi Kondo, ADB Country Director.
This financing facility is among several initiatives that have been taken under the Innovation and Efficiency Initiative (IEI) programme to reform ADB s business model, and to enhance flexibility to meet the needs of clients such as India better.
MFF which is being piloted under IEI for instance, will allow clients to time and avail of ADB assistance in line with their investment needs, while reducing commitment charges.
The Rural Roads Sector II Investment Programme is designed to further the Government's Rural Roads Development Programme (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) in different states.
The Project Agreements were signed by B Pradhan, Director Ministry of Rural Development; M Dutta, Commissioner and Special Secretary, Public Works Department, Government of Assam; S N Tripathi, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Rural Development Department, Government of Orissa; and Manmeet Nanda, Joint Resident Commissioner, Government of West Bengal.
ADB is considering MFF modality in other loans as well.
Tehran, Aug 31 (Xinhua) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Thursday not to yield to pressure or accept violation of its right to develop peaceful nuclear energy before the UN mandated deadline for Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran would not back down an "inch" in the face of "intimidation," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech to a large crowd in Orumiyeh in northwestern Iran.
He stressed that the West "should know that Iranian nation will not yield to pressure and will not accept any violation of its rights."
"The current problem is that the US leaders believe they could resolve all the problems by force and their weapons, but time has changed," he added.
The president also criticised the country's "enemies" of trying to stir up disunity among the Iranian people, saying "the Iranian nation is united and you (enemies) are wrong."
"I think the bullying powers don't want Iran to make progress, but I tell them: The Iranians, including the young scientists, who reached the summits of nuclear technology successfully with empty hands and without your help, can develop our great country," said Ahmadinejad.
Meanwhile, he criticized the White House for its rejection earlier this week to his offer to hold a live televised debate with US President George Bush, saying they said they support dialogue and the free flow of information, but they opposed a proposed debate.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in late July, urging Tehran to suspend by Aug 31 all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development, or face prospect of sanctions.
Iran has rejected the resolution as having no legal basis.
The West has accused Iran of trying to produce nuclear weapons under a civilian cover, a charge denied by Tehran.
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, says it needs to enrich uranium as a peaceful, alternative energy source and has the right to do so under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) In a bid to enhance its market share to 12 per cent by December, Air Sahara today announced a new scheme, offering passengers unlimited flying to any destination on their network, including international ones, on payment of a fixed sum.
Under the 'fly unlimited' scheme unveiled by the airline today, passengers can fly to any destination for a year on paying at Rs 699 for 365 days that is by depositing a sum of over Rs 2.55 lakh.
The airline is also offering such a package for 90 days at the rate of Rs 799 each day, for 60 days at Rs 899 and for 30 days at Rs 999, airline president Alok Sharma told reporters here.
"These are innovative schemes and may take time for new passengers to get used to. But we are confident that frequent flyers will benefit from them," he said.
He said the scheme would help the airline in getting committed business passengers.
Passengers, however, will have to pay the taxes for travel on tickets booked under the scheme. Bookings for the new scheme open tomorrow for beginning of travel from September four.
Sharma had earlier said that Air Sahara, which currently commands about eight per cent market share, would try to increase it to 12-13 per cent by the end of this year.
He said other airlines would soon catch on to the scheme whose prices may firm up in the near future.
London, Aug 31 (PTI) Jet Airways employee Amin Asmin Tariq, who was among 24 people arrested in Britain in connection with the foiled terror plot to blow up the US-bound flights, has been released as investigators found no evidence against him.
Tariq, a British passport holder who was suspended by the airline following his arrest, was released by police last week with no further action taken.
Tariq was "wholly innocent" of any involvement in terrorism, his lawyer Muddassar Arani was quoted as saying by 'Daily Mail'.
Arani said not a "shred of evidence" was disclosed to him during his 14 days in police custody. His good name had been "blackened" by being linked to the plot, she said.
When asked about the development, a spokesman for Scotland Yard said "we do not release the names of the persons who have not been charged." Jet Airways spokesperson Lara Cresswell said "we have nothing to say in the matter because this is being handled by Scotland Yard." Tariq was arrested on August 10 and had spent two weeks being questioned by the British anti-terror police. He was released along with another man Tayib Rauf, 22, on August 23.
Amman, Aug 31 (Xinhua) The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan denounced Thursday here Israel's use of cluster bombs during the war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas recently.
After his talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Annan said: "Those kinds of weapons should not be used in civilian and populated areas."
Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief coordinator, has earlier accused Israel of using deadly cluster bombs during the Lebanon conflict.
According to Jan Egeland, UN mine experts have identified more than 350 cluster bomb strike locations in Lebanon. The sites are contaminated with more than 100,000 unexploded bomblets, the coordinator added.
However, international law bans the use of such weapons in civilian areas.
During the press conference, the secretary general also called for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, noting: "We need to implement the resolution 1701 and to capitalise on building relations between Israel and Lebanon."
He added: "This is the opportunity to move things for normal relations between Israel and Lebanon, if Resolution 1701 is implemented in its entirety".
The UN secretary general is on a regional tour which includes Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Palestine, Iran, Turkey, and Israel, trying to shore up a ceasefire that ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.
Lucknow, Aug 31 (IANS) Indian troops were called out for relief work in parts of Uttar Pradesh after floods, caused by a sudden release of water by Nepal, left 42 people dead and rendered thousands homeless.
"The Rapti, Ghaghra and Saryu rivers, which originate in Nepal, have swollen on account of release of water from dams in Nepal and there is little we can do about it," said a home department official.
The rivers were flowing well above the danger mark, enveloping over 100,000 people in at least seven Uttar Pradesh districts.
In the worst affected Balrampur district, along the India-Nepal border, around 45 villages have been marooned, affecting at least 48,000 people.
Other districts hit are Bahraich, Lakhimpur-Kheri, Shravasti, Lakhimpur Kheri (all adjoining the Nepal border), Gonda and Barabanki.
State relief commissioner Renuka Kumar told IANS: "Army help was sought in Barabanki and Bahraich districts to evacuate people from 15 completely marooned villages."
Soldiers were also assisting the civil authorities in repairing breaches along the embankments of some rivers.
In other places, the Provincial Armed Constabulary was pressed into service.
Kumar said: "The Ghagra, which has been in spate for several days, has breached the embankments at some places and overflowed into villages, causing loss of human lives, cattle and property.
"Relief measures are in full swing and sufficient funds are being forwarded to the affected districts to ensure timely relief to people."
The Nepal authorities are continuing to release water on account of heavy rains in the upper reaches. The rising rivers downstream in Uttar Pradesh threaten to engulf more villages.
Patna, Aug 31 (IANS) A Bihar court Thursday issued a non-bailable warrant against a suspended Janata Dal-United legislator.
Sunil Pandey, a legislator from Piro in Bhojpur district, had allegedly demanded extortion money from a senior engineer of Hyderabad-based Vijay Electricals Limited.
The company has been engaged by Power Grid Corporation to carry out electrification works in nine districts of Bihar. In Aurangabad alone, the contract value is estimated to be Rs. 800-900 million.
Pandey had asked G. Venugopal Naidu to pay him 5 percent of the contract money and sublet work to his contractor relatives.
Naidu was later threatened for "daring to lodge a complaint".
The warrant was issued by the chief judicial magistrate in Aurangabad district.
Another police complaint was lodged against Pandey in Patna by K.K. Rao, general manager, Vijay Electricals.
Rao in the FIR said Pandey and his accomplice Butas Tiwari had demanded a "levy" of 5 percent on the contract involving rural electrification. Rao said similar calls were made by Pandey on May 14 and May 21.
Following demands of extortion the Power Grid Corporation's rural electrification works have been hit in Aurangabad. The engineers have fled the site fearing their safety.
Pandey has earlier been booked for murder, abduction and extortion. He was suspended by his party early August when he mocked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's claim of good governance.
Sydney, Aug 31 (DPA) Australians are excited at the prospect of hosting the 2010 World Cup - should South Africa be obliged to give up the rights to the planet's biggest sporting event because promised stadiums would not be ready in time.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran a front-page story Thursday that passed on rumours that world governing body FIFA had secretly nominated Australia as first-reserve should it be deemed necessary to scratch South Africa.
Australia now fields Asia's top team. Australia was in the last 16 at the World Cup in Germany in July, and has flagged a bid for the 2018 World Cup.
Under FIFA's unofficial rotation policy the next three World Cups should go to Africa, South America and Asia. Brazil, a prospective host for the 2014 World Cup, would not be ready by 2010 if South Africa loses the hosting rights. This leaves Australia as the easiest substitute.
Sydney hosted the "best ever" Olympic Games in 2000. It would have six stadiums that are World Cup standard by 2010 - and could offer to share the event with New Zealand in the same way that Japan and Korea have shared the hosting of the event.
The Sydney paper said Australia was canvassed at FIFA meetings in Germany as an alternative venue for the 2010 World Cup.
At that time, FIFA, football's world governing body, denied there was a contingency plan. It made the same denial to the Herald this week: "We were asked the same thing in July, and the president (Sepp Blatter) made it clear we were not looking for alternatives."
Prime Minister John Howard has backed the 2014 bid, which would be led by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA).
The six state premiers have also thrown their weight behind a 2014 bid, noting in a statement issued in July that "we look forward to assisting the FFA's development of a World Cup bid through discussion and planning around a range of issues including infrastructure, facilities and security".
FFA chairman Frank Lowy met Blatter in Germany and received support for Australia's World Cup bid. Also supportive was Mohamed Bin Hamman, the Qatari who heads the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Australia recently switched from the Oceania region to be in the AFC.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The government Thursday decided to stall the sale of its remaining stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) to Sterlite Industries following a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that the sale of government equity in several public sector firms had been undervalued.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to return the cheque of Rs.10.99 billion ($236 million) paid by strategic partner Sterlite for buying the remaining 49 percent government stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco).
"The CCEA has decided the cheque of Rs.10.99 billion will be returned to Sterlite while a committee of secretaries headed by the law secretary and comprising of the disinvestment secretary and mines secretary and overlooked by the cabinet secretary will go into the issue," Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told media.
In March 2001, Sterlite Industries had acquired a 51 percent stake in Balco for Rs.5.52 billion at a share price of Rs.49.01 with the government deciding to sell off its stake in the aluminium company in two phases.
As per the shareholders' agreement, Sterlite was entitled to buy the remaining stake at a price to be decided through a valuation of Balco's shares.
In March 2004, on expiry of the lock-in period Sterlite sent a call notice for acquiring the remaining 49 percent shares of Balco along with a cheque of Rs.10.99 billion.
With the change of government in May 2004, the matter has been held up on the grounds that revaluation has to be done.
Following the CAG report earlier this year pegging the value of the residual share much higher than what Sterlite had put, the government opted for a legal opinion on the matter and the deal ran into trouble.
With no resolution in sight, Sterlite moved Delhi High Court alleging breach of contract. The court then asked Sterlite and the government to settle the matter amicably through a process of arbitration and reconciliation.
A committee of secretaries had recommended refund to Sterlite of the cheque of Rs.10.99 billion including Rs.2.56 billion interest, since the sale was to be completed in 2004 itself.
Dasmunsi said the committee of secretaries would now strive for arbitration and reconciliation as directed by the high court.
"This matter will be negotiated in the light of the CAG report on the price and valuation done on the date of the share transfer (in March 2001)," the minister said.
"After disposing of the matter, the committee of secretaries would report back to the CCEA on the price negotiation."
The arbitration process in the court would be resumed after further a CCEA decision, he stated.
Quetta, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) As a direct fallout of last Saturday's killing of Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti, the agitation in Baluchistan is now spreading, and today, the main RCD Highway connecting Baluchistan to the rest of Pakistan was sealed by protesting Baluchis.
Life in Quetta, besides other parts of Balochistan has been severely affected by a partial strike.
Trucks carrying supplies from Sindh to other parts of Pakistan were stopped. Those trucks carrying goods from Punjab province were particularly targeted.
All along the RCD Highway today, bands of Baluchi youth, shouting `Azadi' slogans, brought traffic to a complete standstill.
"We have nothing to do with Pakistan and its rulers (Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz), who have killed Bugti saheb," said some of the protesters. Heavy boulders and roads have been placed on various parts of the highway, while Quetta City was cut-off from the highway.
Protesters putting up burnt tyres and raising barriers at the Hub River Bridge linking Karachi to Balochistan have cut off the road from Sindh to the industrial city of Hub. The enraged demonstrators have also raised barriers on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway at Lakh Pas, Mastung, Qalat, Khuzdar, Wadh and other areas obstructing all sorts of traffic.
The road between Quetta and Iran has also been blocked off. Traffic has also been blocked at Nowshki, Dalbadin, Chaghi and Taftan.
The anger is spilling over, and the violence has wrecked large parts of Baluchistan, where the mood is to cut off ties and communication with the rest of the country.
Reports of violence and destruction of property have come in from areas like Turbat, Mand, Tump, Baleda, Dasht, Punjgur and Mastung. In Turbat, an under construction radio transmission building was damaged extensively. Agitators were also reported to have staged a protest demonstration along the Coastal Highway in Gawadar; and some shops were ransacked in Chaghi.
Georgetown (Guyana), Aug 31 (IANS) Guyana's ruling party, the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), is set to retain power, latest results from around 2,000 polling divisions across the country show.
PPP/C's Bharrat Jagdeo is expected to take oath as president for the third consecutive term with the party looking set to win at least 34 seats in the 65-member National Assembly after the general elections in this Caribbean country last Monday.
PPP/C's main rival, the People's National Congress Reform - One Guyana (PNCR-1G), is expected to end up with 23 seats, down from 27 it had in the last term.
Jagdeo had become the president of Guyana for the first time in 1999 when Janet Jagan, wife of Cheddi Jagan, resigned from that post. He was then re-elected in the elections that were held in 2001.
The highlight of this year's elections was the relative peace in which the process was completed.
According to reports here, Jagdeo, a person of Indian origin, is expected to take oath of office either on Friday or Saturday after the results are officially announced.
Ethnic Indians comprise 50 percent of Guyana's population of over 750,000.
By Sampathkumar Iyangar
Saffron-clad goons of Vishwa Hindu Parishad escort a bunch of local policemen to interrogate lads playing marbles admonishing them that they must instead be doing their "national duty" at this time as had been ordered by the government. Irate residents pelt stones at the self-appointed moral-legal police force. A couple of lives are lost when the Police resort to firing to "disperse unruly mobs." Simmering rage in the community would later find vent in a petty dispute involving a firecracker burst, eve teasing or kite flying incident during the ensuing usually indisciplined festivities and provoke communal riots.
Political bosses ruling some Hindi-speaking states and Gujarat appear to be plotting a repetition of the scenario of February 2002, when VHP activists led police to a "slaughter spot" not far from Godhra to nab "culprits" who had participated qurbani of bulls or buffaloes in religious rites. (The reason-defying legislation to ban that had not yet been enacted!). The whole world knows the horrific pogrom that followed from the provocation. The move to make group singing of Vande Mataram in all educational institutions on Sept 7, considered as the centennial anniversary of its creation, has all the makings of a deadly trigger to provoke minorities and later terrorize them. Fascist politicians calculate that they can use that and romp home with comfortable majority in the ensuing elections in the largest cow-belt states.
Fiery "patriots" who want to compel everyone to sing Vande Mataram on its centenary say there SHOULD NOT be any objection to the contents of the poem and any irreverence to the song is equated with disloyalty to the "desh". While Narendra Modi is reported to be "testing the environment" to see if Gujarat should make it mandatory for Madrassas too in the State to join the "patriotic exercise", his trusted lieutenant Anandiben, Minister of Education, has gone on record, "I think everyone should sing the national song." The general secretary of BJP, keen to stage a holier-than-thou act on the Chief Minister, is obviously baying for a bloodbath and comments, "I think there is no reason why the government should not make it compulsory - - - I do not think the government will do that."
Song
Maybe Vande Mataram is an exquisite composition packing a lot of good intentions and emotions. Nobody will dispute it is stunningly melodious as rendered by AR Rahman. There can of course be no tenable objection to the contents of the song per se.
But now, what can be objectionable about these stanzas:
"@#$! % &*&%*(
^$& (*&) (*&^%$
+_)((*&^ #$^()*^^
&^%$* (&^$#%@!" ?
[This is what Vande Mataram is to most people of West and North India and almost all people of Northeast and South India]
Absolutely nothing AS LONG AS someone does not come to one's place and shout them into one's ears when one is interested in listening to what one wants to! It smacks of authoritarianism when children, particularly those who do not understand a word of the language that is foreign to them, who are content to be conversant only in their own mother tongue or a foreign language of their choice are ordered to sing them.
For the record, it was Indian National Congress that popularized the slogan and the song. When the Congress, posing as the monopoly voice of Indian people, decided to finalize it as the "national song" in 1930s, it ran into controversy. Also, several Arya Samajis, Buddhists, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains and Sikhs in the party ranks had serious objections because it glorified idol worship and referred to only Hindu deities. South Indians, except Brahmins, who are vehemently opposed to the imposition of the "North Indian" language on them have never had any sentimental attachment to it.
The renewed zeal about Hindutvizing the song written 100 years ago to protest administrative division of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905 overlooks one pertinent fact. Real patriotism lies in the capacity of citizens to live amicably with differences of religion, caste and class and lead a virtuous life; the reality however is that the partition of Bengal currently is between two sovereign countries, not in the best of terms!
Do spreading myths of fictitious achievements of one's country to generate euphoria and loud "In honour of the Motherland" rhetoric inculcate a sense of national pride? It is not that the pseudo-Aryans are not aware of the answer. Apparently, they are banking upon inciting an impulsive local Mullah to issue a fatwa against the virtual worship of someone other than Allah. Unless the neo-nazis are tackled with tact, they can proceed with "mothering" another phase of ethnic cleansing by abusing Vande Mataram.
Courtesy: The Milli Gazette www.m-g.in
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has turned down the BJP`s request to allow 200 Muslims from its minority cell to sing Vande Mataram in front of Mahatma Gandhi`s statue in the Parliament compound.
"The permission is not forthcoming," BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said today.
The party, which announced Vande Mataram as its key election issue in Uttar Pradesh, had last week spelled out plans to hold a rendition of the national song by 200 Muslims in the Parliament complex.
The party leadership also made a written request to the Speaker to allow it to hold the event.
"Now we also think since the permission is not forthcoming, we have dropped the plan. The singing of the national song by the Muslims will not be a segregated event and instead will be held as part of the party`s nationwide programme on September 7," Prasad said today.
Dubai, Aug 31 (IANS) At least 200 Indian workers of Royal Tower Construction Company, all survivors of Bahrain's Gudaibiya labour camp blaze last month in which 17 of their co-workers were killed, have returned to work.
The move follows an appeal made by the Indian ambassador to Bahrain Balkrishna Shetty.
The appeal came after a meeting between an embassy official and the Bahrain's labour relations director Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa at which he was briefed about the various issues facing the Indian workers, the Gulf Daily News reported.
The workers had earlier returned to work Aug 22, after a deal was brokered at a meeting between the Bahraini labour minister and the company. However, they stayed away from work on Monday and Tuesday, after the company tried to forcibly deport two workmates to India.
The Indian embassy intervened and stopped the company from deporting the workers without paying their dues. The matter is now being taken up with the higher authorities in Bahrain, the report said.
"Shaikh Ali has made arrangements for embassy officials to have regular meetings with the company's representatives at the ministry, starting Sunday," Shetty said.
"This is to ensure that the company abides by labour laws and implements all the terms of the agreements reached with the ministry."
Shetty said the workers would be transferred to a new camp within the next couple of days.
Bangkok, Aug 31 (DPA) More than a dozen bombs were set off simultaneously Thursday at banks in Yala and Betong cities in Thailand, killing at least two people and injuring 20, officials said.
"There were 10 explosions at banks in Yala and another five at banks in Betong, which killed at least two people," said Army Colonel Somkuan Saengpattalanate, spokesperson for the Southern Peacekeeping Command.
Yala, the capital of Yala province, has been the target of such attacks in the past, but it was the first time that separatists had attacked Betong, a city also in Yala province best known for its booming prostitution industry catering to Malaysian-Chinese.
"The details are still unclear," Somkuan told DPA.
Army intelligence officials have been warning civilians in Thailand's Muslim majority-provinces - Narathiwat, Pattanai and Yala - of possible terrorist acts on Thursday, which marks National Day in neighbouring Malaysia.
Such simultaneous terrorist attacks have become increasingly common in the region as the region's separatist movement attempts to demonstrate its unity and resilience, authorities said. More than 1,300 people have died from violence in these provinces over the past two-and-a-half years.
The three provinces have been under emergency rule since October, allowing security authorities to arrest suspects without charges, impose bans on public gatherings and other draconian measures.
Thailand's deep South has been gripped by a simmering separatist movement for decades. The area, once an independent Islamic sultanate called Pattani, was first conquered by Bangkok in 1786 but only came under the direct rule of the Thai bureaucracy in 1902.
Pattani's separatist struggle has been fuelled by the local population's sense of religious and cultural alienation from the predominantly Buddhist Thai state. More than 80 percent of the 2 million people in the three-province region describe themselves as Muslims.
London, Aug 31 (IANS) The British media lamented noted India film director Hrishikesh Mukherjee's passing away in Mumbai and hailed him as the 'chronicler of the conservative Indian middle classes of the 1970s'.
In detailed obituaries, The Times and The Independent lavished praise on his film-making skills but noted that the themes of decency and family values that dominated his films had been swept away in India's recent economic changes.
The Times obituary said: "He echoed the mood of the times, when there was little to buy in an economically isolated India and being wealthy often meant being decadent. It was a time when the good cherished family and the bad cherished money - at least, so said Mukherjee.
"His films contained no violence, crime or vulgarity. That, in itself, set him apart as Bollywood embraced blood as a substitute for erotica, which was limited by the censors to the shaking bush or clinging wet sari. Mukherjee mostly made films the entire family could see. That is why they are still played repeatedly on state-run Indian television. They are an idealised view of the past.
"Mukherjee was no communist but he was a product of the leftist soul of a now-vanished socialist India. As India changed he went out of style, but in his heyday he was one of the kings of Bollywood.
"Funny or tragic, his films carried the same themes of a high-thinking, urbanised, educated middle class. The rich man was corrupt and bad, the family man solid and good: a quaint formula destined not to last in a fast-changing India exposed for the first time through foreign satellite television to images of unimagined wealth".
"His films also adhered to middle-class Hindu secularism and the belief that religion was personal - one value, at least, that generally survives. He stuck to his basic themes consistently, rarely experimenting with new styles while others pushed out the bounds of violence and sexuality. His films were like himself - decent and proper".
The Independent wrote: "Mukherjee understood the nuances that characterised India's middle classes and portrayed them with a skilful and charming mix of objectivity, realism, pathos, humour and mild sarcasm.
"He was one of the last truly Bollywood-rooted directors, deliberately eschewing stories set in overseas locales and featuring flamboyant stars who dressed outrageously and acted outlandishly.
"The nub of almost all of Mukherjee's films was that most things in life can be made easier with laughter and simplicity".
Bangalore, Aug 31 (PTI) The Centre today announced an "immediate relief" of Rs 250 crore to Karnataka to meet the flood situation and promised help to tackle drought too.
"We are giving this money immediately," Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters after an aerial survey of five flood-hit districts in North Karnataka and a meeting to review the flood and drought situation with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and top officials.
"This does not mean it (immediate relief) will suffice to meet the demand of the people. If something more will be required in future, it will also be given," Patil, who made the aerial survey of the districts of Bidar, Belgaum, Bagalkote, Bijapur and Gulbarga told reporters.
Observing that drought conditions were "more widespread" than floods, Patil said the Centre would "definitely" provide help on this issue and he would discuss it with Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to provide foodgrains also.
He said the Central team, which visited the flood-hit districts last week, was expected to submit its report in a day or two to the government.
Patil was accompanied by Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar and Opposition Congress leader in the Assembly N Dharam Singh and KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge in his aerial survey.
Kumaraswamy said the state had been asked to prepare a comprehensive plan on providing permanent relief to people who are affected by floods every year to rehabilitate them in safer places. PTI
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it was evolving a consensus and was in touch with the Uttar Pradesh Government on the issue of revamping security at the disputed site in Ayodhya, including putting up bullet-proof steel walls around the Ram Lalla idol.
"We are evolving consensus with concerned parties and had talks with the state government on the issue," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Gopal Subramanian told a bench headed by Justice K G Balakrishnan yesterday.
The ASG sought time from the court to come before it with concrete suggestions.
The Centre has sought the apex court's permission to carry out certain construction to strengthen security at the disputed site in Ayodhya, where the idol of "Ram Lalla" is placed.
The Centre had said the decision had been taken after discussions with the Uttar Pradesh Government and various intelligence agencies.
The court's permission was needed for carrying out any construction in the disputed complex in view of its earlier order to maintain status quo there.
The government had planned to install bullet-proof steel structures around the idol of 'Ram Lalla' to enhance security there in the wake of last year's terrorist attack.
The Centre also had plans to install close circuit television and set up concrete bunkers at the disputed site.
As per its plan, the square steel structures would be 11 by 11 feet and seven-and-a-half feet high. The total expenditure on further enhancing security was reported to be Rs 7.22 crore.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Taking a "pro-active" approach to tackle the Naxalite problem, the Centre on Wednesday announced it would provide air support to Naxal-hit states for transporting security forces and allow use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Chhattisgarh for intelligence gathering.
Briefing reporters after a seven-hour marathon meeting with Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of 13 Naxal-hit states, Union Home Secretary V K Duggal said the Centre was a "taking a pro-active approach" in dealing with the problem.
He said the aerial support would not be meant for operational purposes. "It will be used for transporting security forces, evacuation and airdropping of food and medicine."
About the use of UAVs, Duggal said it was aimed at collecting inputs in Chhattisgarh which has 1,000 sq km of thick forests making it difficult for security personnel to comb the area.
"We are supporting the state government (in the use of UAVs)," he said, adding that since the Ministry of Home Affairs had limited air wing, the affected states can hire helicopters and form a consortium.
There may be one in the south for Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa and another in the north for Bihar and Jharkhand, he said.
"The Centre will bear the expense from the security related expenditure (SRE)," Duggal added.
To another question, he said the `Salwa Judum (march for peace)` will continue in Chhattisgarh, which has registered a decline in Naxalite violence.
Duggal said the Naxal desk in the Union Home Ministry will be strengthened by deputing senior officers of the rank of Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General who can travel around the country and monitor the implementation of development schemes in the affected areas.
Besides, there will be a mechanism for an inter-ministerial committee under the special secretary (internal security) for a detailed review of the schemes before the quarterly meetings of the Coordination Centre on Naxalism.
At today`s meeting, the states submitted a detailed action plan to counter the menace of Naxalism in their states.
While it was agreed to set up special forces for countering Naxal violence in the long term on the lines of the one Andhra Pradesh, all the states decided to send local police with CRPF patrols engaged in counter-Naxal operations.
Andhra Pradesh has set up "grey hounds" for fighting Naxalites and the policy seems to have borne fruits as statistics show that only 20 civilians were killed this year as compared to 126 last year.
The CRPF had raised serious objections over sending its personnel on patrol parties without any local support which sometimes resulted in casualties because of the unfamiliar and inhospitable terrains.
Asked if there was any link between the CPI (Maoists) and the militants in Kashmir, Duggal said he was not aware of any inputs establishing such a connection.
Damascus, Aug 31 (IRNA) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez here Wednesday said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defeated the the US on technical knock-out by offering to debate with his American counterpart, George W. Bush.
He made the remark while speaking to reporters after a two-hour meeting with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad in Damascus.
Chavez said, "It would have been nice if Bush had accepted the proposal. Then I would have watched such a debate closely." During the press conference, attended by 100 domestic and foreign reporters, Venezuela's president praised Iran's policy towards the US pressures.
Chavez was holding a copy of Ahmadinejad's recent press conference in his hands and read selections from it as evidences of his own approach.
The Venezuelan president, heading a high-ranking political and economic delegation, arrived in Damascus this morning. He attended a press conference after meeting Assad.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IANS) China will help Pakistan in the development of space technology and launching of three earth resources prospecting satellites in the next five years as part of the cooperation under the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation (APSCO).
The relevant institutions of the two counties have already begun necessary spadework to launch the satellites within the stipulated period. There has been growing interaction between the two countries in the recent years to exploit space resources for peaceful purposes.
The two countries have been playing an active role at the regional level as well, strengthening cooperation in the space industry, APP news agency said quoting unnamed Chinese officials.
Pakistan, China and seven other countries signed a treaty for the establishment of APSCO last year, and it would take effect upon ratification by five members, The News International said.
China's legislature ratified the treaty in June, said Jin Zhuanglong, deputy director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. "We are looking forward to expand the country's share of the international market for satellite launches and other space services, he added.
Jin told an international conference on space industry Wednesday that China had already signed 16 pacts with 13 governments and organisations and established space industry cooperation with more than 40 countries and international organisations.
Specifically, he said, China would deepen cooperation with Russia, Ukraine and other European countries as well as South American countries such as Argentina, Chile and Peru.
In Asia, China is actively engaged in the setting up APSCO, which would be based in Beijing. Eight countries, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Peru and Thailand signed the document last October.
Turkey also signed the convention in June this year, making it the ninth member of the organisation. The APSCO will be formally established after China receives approvals from at least five participating countries' parliaments. Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju said in a statement that China will work closely with related countries to contribute to the peaceful use of outer space.
Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) The Bombay High Court Thursday came down hard on the city's civic authorities for failing to meet its deadline to fill 43,000 potholes across the city and gave them a week to complete the job.
The court hauled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for their shoddy and incompetent work. It, however, gave the civic authorities a week's extension to fill up the potholes.
"It is an indication of sub-standard materials and poor workmanship," the court observed.
The Bombay High Court in its order on Aug 15 had set a two-week deadline for the potholes to be filled. The deadline ended Tuesday night, but the ground situation in the city, known as the country's financial and entertainment capital, seems pretty much the same.
The BMC Thursday informed the court that most of the potholes had been filled and only 133 remained. The agencies have been told to revert by Oct 4 on what action has been taken against errant contractors.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Two sisters, found guilty of kidnapping 13 children and murdering nine of them, were Thursday awarded the death penalty by India's Supreme Court, punishing their brutal and inhuman acts by setting aside a long-standing convention.
A bench of judges K.G. Balakrishnan and G.P. Mathur noted that the two women had kidnapped several children and committed their murder in a most dastardly manner and it did not want to interfere with a Bombay High Court judgement.
Writing the judgement for the bench, Justice Balakrishnan said: "In some cases, the body could not be found and in some cases the dead body could be traced out. Going by the details of the case, we find no mitigating circumstances in favour of the appellant, except for the fact that they are women."
Renuka Bai alias Rinku and her sister Seema and their mother Anjanabai, from Kolhapur of Maharashtra, committed a series of offences between 1990 and 1996. Their modus operandi was to kidnap infants and children below the age of five and then indulge in pick-pocketing and other petty offences.
Since the offences were committed with a child in their arms, they were let off most of the times when they were caught. Later they forced the kidnapped children to commit offences and profit from them.
After the children were no longer useful to them, the trio killed them and threw away the bodies.
Since the mother died in 1997 she could not be tried but a trial court found the two sisters guilty of kidnapping 13 children. Though nine children were killed, the charge of murder could be proved only in respect of five of them.
They were awarded the death sentence by the trial court and the high court confirmed the sentence. The appeal in the apex court was directed against this judgment.
A death sentence, and that too to a woman, is a rarity in the country.
In a 1983 ruling, the Supreme Court had said the death sentence should be awarded only in "the rarest of rare cases" and since then only a very few women have been awarded the punishment.
The last time a death sentence was given to a woman was in May 1999 to Nalini for her involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Her penalty, however, was commuted to life imprisonment.
According to legal experts, the last time a woman was executed in India was in the 1920s - there has been no execution of woman convicts thereafter.
It remains to be seen whether the two sisters in this case will be executed, as they can plead mercy before the president.
The bench said: "The nature of the crime and the systematic way in which each child was kidnapped and killed amply demonstrates the depravity of the mind of the appellants.
"These appellants indulged in criminal activities for a very long period and continued it till police caught them. They very cleverly executed their plans of kidnapping the children and the moment they were no longer useful, they killed them and threw the dead body at some deserted place."
The bench was of the view that the two women had been a menace to the society and the people in the locality were completely horrified and they could not send their children even to schools.
"They were not committing these crimes under any compulsion but they took it very casually and killed all these children, least bothering about their lives or agony of their parents."
The bench noted: "We have carefully considered the whole aspects of the case and are also alive to the new trends in the sentencing system in criminology. We do not think that these appellants are likely to be reformed. We confirm the conviction and also the death penalty imposed on them.
"The stay of execution of the capital punishment imposed on them shall stand vacated and the authorities are directed to take such further steps as are necessary to carry out the execution of capital punishment imposed on them," it said.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The national capital is the most unsafe of 35 cities in the country in terms of violence against women, a report by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has revealed.
In 2005, Delhi reported 3,850 cases of violence against women, including 654 cases of rape and 197 cases of sexual harassment, which amounted to over 18 percent of total crime against women in the country.
"Though the graph is an indication of increasing cases of crime against women it also suggests that women in the capital are more aware of their rights and do not fret coming out against wrong being done to them," said Kiran Walia, chairperson Delhi Commission of Women (DCW).
The report also found that Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai have recorded a high number of cases of crime against women.
Walia said the graph was increasing because thousands of people come to Delhi everyday, mostly unemployed youth, who also commit crime.
"Crimes committed by the floating population of Delhi also add to the records."
She said the study has found that over 70 percent of the people report cases after being inspired by others who have also reported similar incidents.
"More awareness has helped women come forward to speak for their rights."
She said women were silently suffering earlier but due to presence of media and sensitisation of police, they are now coming forward to speak against all types of crime.
Deependra Pathak, additional commissioner of police, said they would also go through the findings made by the NCRB and corrective steps would be taken to stop this menace.
"We would like to study the data carefully and discuss the issues so that corrective steps could be taken," said Pathak.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Civic authorities in the capital will Friday start resealing about 45,000 commercial units in residential areas following a Supreme Court directive even as traders resolved to continue their agitation to safeguard livelihoods of tens of thousands.
"The sealing operation will begin simultaneously in all the 12 zones and respective deputy commissioners will carry out the operation in collaboration with an integrated command force," said Deep Mathur, chief of the information cell of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
"Every zone would deploy a mobile inspection team to verify complaints and if necessary would recommend action to deputy commissioners. We have set up a 24-hour complaint cell (telephone number 1266) at the MCD headquarters to receive such complaints," Mathur told IANS.
The teams, which will take help from Delhi Police if necessary, will start its work from 10 a.m. and will continue till 5 p.m., authorities said.
In May, the central government had passed the Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Act that had put moratorium on the court-mandated demolition of illegal structures and sealing of commercial complexes in residential areas in the capital for a year.
However, the Supreme Court, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) against that order on Aug 10, reprimanded the government for its legislation.
"Though prima facie we hold that the Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Act, 2006, is an invalid statute, we are not issuing a complete stay of the operation of this act," the court had noted and ordered resealing of those commercial units that were de-sealed by civic authorities.
Meanwhile, traders in the capital said they will oppose the drive and intensify their agitation in the coming days.
"The order of sealing of shops in residential areas has created a situation akin to disaster. Since it is a case of livelihood for lakhs of people, we will continue our fight," said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
"We have already in touch with political leaders and authorities in the union urban development ministry," he added.
On Wednesday, MCD had submitted an action plan report to Delhi High Court that informed about the formation of a taskforce for each of the 12 zones to ensure there was no delay in carrying out demolitions. To meet the staff shortage, the civic body would recruit junior engineers on contract basis.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) US-based Dow Corning Corp has extended its SAP information delivery system to customers in India to provide them immediate access to the support and information they need anywhere in the world.
Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide.
"This additional investment in India will support the growth of our customers' businesses," said Raj Kapur, managing director, Dow Corning India Pvt. Ltd.
"This will result in increased efficiencies and effectiveness."
SAP, world's largest inter-enterprise software company will automate the management of Dow Corning's global supply chain; customer and supplier data; and accounting, billing and fulfilment processes.
Dow Corning has been making investments in India for more than 20 years. It has an office in Mumbai, a new manufacturing and application engineering and technical service site in Pune, and warehouses in key cities across India.
New York, Aug 31 (DPA) Roger Federer eased into his title defence at the US Open Wednesday as he clamped down on Yeu-Tzuoo Wang of Taiwan 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 to comfortably reach the second round.
The world number 1, who is bidding to become only the third man to win three trophies in a row in New York after John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, spent just one hour and 40 minutes to advance under cloudy but dry skies.
Switzerland's Federer, who already owns Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this season, broke the Asian eight times and struck 44 winners.
Federer next plays the winner from a battle of British veterans when Greg Rusedski faces Tim Henman.
"It was an excellent match coming back to try and defend title," said Federer, who lost in the second round in Cincinnati a fortnight ago, two days after winning in Toronto.
"I came to play well and I'm very happy with how it went. I had to fight in the first set. In the end it went really well," Federer said.
Federer stands 64-5 this season, with four of his defeats coming in finals against Rafael Nadal and his other loss suffered against Andy Murray in Cincinnati.
London, Aug 31 (IRNA) A local councilor in northwest England has received threats because of his support of plans to build a Muslim community center in the area, it was reported Wednesday.
Deputy Conservative leader of Copeland Council Alistair Norwood has received a number of anonymously-sent abusive and threatening letters and messages, the Carlisle-based News and Star daily said.
Abusive letters were also said to have been sent to Copeland Council because of its support of plans by West Cumbrian Muslim Society to open a community center in Whitehaven.
The newspaper linked the threats with a row over a petition against the proposed pnds 300,000 (dlrs 550,000) Muslim center, which has been circulating the area.
The threatening messages were said to have been passed on to the police.
Brussels, Aug 31 (IRNA) In a bid to improve ties with the Muslim world, the European Commission is considering granting up to 5 million euro to the TV news channel Euronews to broadcast in Arabic. EU communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom told "EUobserver.
com" that broadcasting by Euronews in Arabic would be important for 'building bridges' to the Muslim world.
"In the climate we have had this is absolutely the right idea," she said after meeting members of the European Parliament's culture committee, the EUobserver said Tuesday.
The European Commission currently funds Euronews - a TV channel run by a consortium of public broadcasters providing news in seven languages - to the tune of around 5 million euro a year.
Adding Arabic to the list of languages - which currently includes English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish - would require an additional investment of between euro 3 and 5 million.
However, Wallstrom was quoted asking "where would we get the money from?" for funding the Arabic channel.
She suggested that "alternatively, necessary resources could come from Arabic channels," explaining that talks on cooperation between Euronews and Lebanese channel LBC had been ongoing until they were interrupted by the recent war in Lebanon.
Euronews is watched by about 140 million households in Europe, as well as by almost 16 million households in the Middle East and Africa.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IANS) A family feud is likely over who claim slain Baloch leader Akbar Khan Bugti's legacy and wealth.
Akbar Bugti left no clear successor, The News International said. Officials and locals say the biggest and most ticklish question following his controversial killing is as to who would succeed him.
Three of Akbar's sons are dead and one of them lives in Dubai, away from the rough and tumble of Balochistan. The newspaper said he has returned home. But that could be only for the last rites of Akbar Bugti.
Just two days before Akbar Bugti was killed, the tribe had announced that it was ending the "Sardari" system. But that may be of little consequence under the new circumstances.
Whoever is the next "tumandaar", or the chief of the beleaguered Bugti tribe of Balochistan, he would have to make peace with the government or, as per tribal traditions, decide to continue the fight.
It is a difficult decision since pacts tribal heads have signed in the past with the government have not been honoured and rebellions have been suppressed. Two previous chiefs have been jailed after they signed the pacts.
The slain Bugti, who had three wives, has two contending grandsons. Brahamdagh, 27, son of his third son, is now a fugitive. The nawab had tried to appoint him his successor, but was "candidly opposed" by Waderas, the clan elders, the daily said. The elders said this was against tribal traditions.
The other contender is Adu, 22, son of the eldest son, who falls within these traditions. Adu has been managing the family land and property.
"We cannot give exact figures of the deceased Nawab's property and assets but these are certainly beyond one's imagination," said a senior official of the Balochistan government.
One estimate reveals that the late chieftain got Rs.670 million (about $11 million) per annum from the so-called deal signed with certain oil and gas firms. It remains to be seen who will own Akbar Bugti's property and assets if no one is appointed his successor given the possible family feud.
According to Baloch traditions, the eldest son, with the consent of all the sub-tribal Waderas, should be declared his successor. In this case, Adu is the conclusive name that comes to mind, the newspaper said.
"Being the eldest son of Akbar Bugti's eldest son Salim, Adu is now flexing his muscles. He is also in the mountain hideouts."
Adu is reported to have never stayed in Dera Bugti for any long period and is not well versed with Baloch traditions. Moreover, nobody in the family wants to see him succeeding Akbar Bugti.
According to Baloch traditions, Akbar Bugti's real strength comes from the writ of Waderas, who hold an assembly to declare a new Nawab - even if it is only a formality.
Akbar Bugti had many enemies within the tribe, which often kept members of the Bugti family outside Dera Bugti.
Rather they preferred to stay at Quetta. When Akbar Bugti asked the Waderas last year about their opinion on naming a successor during his lifetime, most of them had opposed Brahamdagh, saying it would be against the tribal traditions.
Washington, Aug 31 (IANS) Omega-3 fatty acids found in certain oily fish, including salmon, could prove more useful in preventing sudden death from heart problems.
Thomas Kottke and other researchers at Regions Hospital's Heart Center at St. Paul, Minneapolis, created a computer model to check possible sudden deaths in a fictional group of people aged 30-84.
The researchers tested several scenarios. In one, people ate adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids from fish or fish oil supplements, reported the online edition of health magazine WebMD.
In another scenario, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were used to shock the heart back into action if it developed a fatal rhythm problem that can result in sudden death.
In a third scenario, people who needed implant-able defibrillators because of heart failure got those devices. Heart failure greatly increases the chance of sudden death.
All three scenarios lowered sudden death risk. But omega-3 fatty acids yielded the best results - even in healthy people. The study will appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine's October edition.
Sudden death risk dropped 6.4 percent with adequate omega-3 fatty acid intake, compared with 3.3 percent for implant-able defibrillators, and less than one percent with easy access to AEDS, the study shows.
About three quarters of the imaginary lives saved in the omega-3 group were healthy people, said Kottke.
"Choosing fishes two or three times a week is a good idea," Kottke was quoted as saying. "Grilled, baked, or broiled - not fried," he added. "Fried fish appears to lose all of its benefits."
Bhubaneswar, Aug 31 (IANS) After torrential rains, it is now floods that are causing havoc and destruction in Orissa. The Mahanadi has inundated large areas affecting more than 300,000 people, an official said Thursday.
The heavy rains since Sunday in the upper catchments of the Mahanadi caused breaches Thursday at two places along the banks at Bhagipur in Cuttack district, some 60 km from here, inundating large swathes of farm land and villages.
The water level at Dalai Ghai along the banks of the Devi river, a tributary of Mahanadi, in Jagatsinghpur district has crossed the danger mark.
The situation is likely to aggravate in the coming days with the Mahanadi, the state's biggest river, and its tributaries continuing to swell, Orissa special relief commissioner Jagadananda Panda told IANS.
"We have evacuated more than 10,000 people from various districts," he said.
The fresh floods come even as the state is yet to recover from earlier flooding which claimed over 85 people and caused massive devastation.
"As per our estimate, the number of people likely to be affected by the latest floods may be near three million in next two days," Panda said.
On Wednesday night, the government alerted the administrations of Jagatsinghpur, Angul, Boudh, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagada, Jajpur, Kendrapara and Puri districts.
Stocks of food, medicines and other relief material have been kept ready at all village blocks and district headquarters, officials said.
At least 100 Indian soldiers are camping at Ranchi in neighbouring Jharkhand on standby to move in for flood relief in any emergency.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) After the measure on elite government institutions, the government now proposes to bring a new Bill providing for reservation of seats for backward caste students in unaided elite educational institutions.
"Another act will come in due course. You will know," HRD Minister Arjun Singh told reporters.
He was asked about the fate of the Bill to provide for reservation in unaided institutions, now that the Bill for providing reservation in aided institutions has been referred to the Standing Committee.
Observing that the new Bill for reservation in unaided institutions would come, Singh said: "There are certain things which are done and that was the consensus of the Cabinet. Therefore it was decided like that." On the last date of the Monsoon session of Parliament on August 25, government tabled the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Bill 2006, providing for 27 per cent reservation of seats for OBCs including those belonging to the 'creamy layer' in elite Central and aided institutions like the IITs and IIMs.
The Bill has been referred to the departmentally-related Standing Committee. PTI
New York, Aug 31 (IANS) The 12th Hindu Sangathan Divas (Hindu Unity Day) in New York has unanimously resolved to form a Hindu political party in India.
At a meet on Wednesday attended by over 700 Hindus, a resolution on forming a Hindu political party was read by Srichand Sidhwani, a senior community activist. It was seconded by Babu Suseelan, a psychiatrist from Pennsylvania, according to India Post, an ethnic newspaper.
Hindu religious leader Sadhvi Ritambhara and Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy led the meet.
"The main aim for this political party would be to safeguard the legitimate interests of Hindus in India, preserve the Hindu character of the country, and ultimately capture political power," Swamy said.
Earlier, Narain Kataria, president of Indian American Intellectuals Forum, the chief organiser of meet, congratulated Hindus of America for making the Hindu Unity Day a great success.
"Your presence here in this auditorium in big numbers demolishes the fallacious theory propounded by the prophets of doom that Hindus cannot be united. Your presence in this hall exposes the myth that Hindus cannot speak in one voice. Your presence is a testimony to the fact that Hindu unity on an all-India level is a practicable and feasible proposition," he said.
Hyderabad, Aug 31 (IANS) A Hyderabad Muslim deported from Britain on suspected terror links and held here on grounds of "reasonable suspicion" has termed his arrest a case of racial profiling.
Mohammed Shafiq Ahmed, 23, a resident of Akbar Bagh neighbourhood in the city, has denied any terror links. Shafiq was arrested late Wednesday soon after he arrived here.
Earlier, he was questioned for three days by the authorities at London's Heathrow airport as he was about to board a flight to New York. He was interrogated by Indian intelligence agencies at Mumbai airport on Tuesday.
Shafiq, who was working in a trading company in Dubai and staying with his brother, flew from Dubai to London and was to board a flight to New York for higher studies.
Police are interrogating him about his reasons to go to the United States. Though Shafiq claimed that he was going to pursue an MBA programme at the Johnson and Wales University at Rhodes Island, police doubt his academic certificates. However, both his passport and visa were found in order.
According to officials, a case had been booked against Shafiq in 2004 at Malakpet police station for allegedly threatening local legislator Malreddy Ranga Reddy. He had been charged with criminal intimidation. He had threatened the legislator in 2004 when a youth was killed in firing by a Gujarat police team while he was trying to free one Moulana Naseeruddin, who had been arrested in connection with the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.
Shafiq told newsmen while in police custody that his arrest was a case of racial profiling. "They are looking at every Asian and every Muslim with suspicion," he said.
He claimed he was mentally tortured by British police when they asked him about the 9/11 terror attack and the recent conspiracy to blow up Trans-Atlantic flights. "I told them that I knew nothing about this as it is all international politics," he said.
Fed up with the grilling, the youth had even threatened to commit suicide.
He said just as he thought that his ordeal would end, he was held on arrival in Hyderabad.
Shafiq, son of a retired government employee, said he had gone to Dubai a year ago and had a valid Indian passport. He obtained a student visa for the US and had all valid travel documents to reach New York via London.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, one of India's most respected politicians, said Thursday that he had strayed into politics by sheer accident.
"I am basically a teacher. I have strayed into politics by sheer accident," the prime minister told the golden jubilee celebrations of Lady Shri Ram College for Women here.
"And it always pleases me to come back to academic institutions which have done so well and to see so many young bright faces that thrill my heart because I see in them the future of our country."
Then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao picked him as finance minister in 1991 when Manmohan Singh, an academic and a respected economist, ushered in economic reforms that have transformed the face of India.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Under attack from BJP on the issue singing of Vande Mataram in educational institutions on September 7, HRD Minister Arjun Singh today said he had not given any directive to the states and it was only a suggestion.
He said a "needless controversy" has arisen over the singing of the song.
"Without any reason, there is a controversy in Vande Mataram. Vande Mataram is not such a song. It is the national song," Singh told reporters.
He declined to comment on BJP-ruled states reported move to make it compulsory singing of the national song in schools on September seven.
"You ask the state governments," was his cryptic response when asked about BJP-ruled states reportedly making it compulsory in the schools.
The issue had rocked the just-concluded monsoon session of Parliament with BJP and Shiv Sena members accusing the government of trying to appease the minority community.
The HRD Minister had said earlier the decision to celebrate the centenary of the song's composition had been taken at an all-party meeting and later he had written to all chief ministers that first two stanzas of the song should be sung at 11 A.M in all schools, colleges and other educational institutions.
Singh had also clarified that in reply to questions from the media whether it was compulsory for all to sing the song on September seven he had said whosoever wanted to participate in the recitation of the song could do so.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) India Thursday decided to defer a decision on the award of 10 new blocks for exploration of coalbed methane (CBM) gas with technical objections being raised on the fact that the official panel had not reviewed the matter in full strength.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmusi told media after the meeting of the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) that the matter is being further looked into by an empowered committee of secretaries.
In the earlier meeting in place of four secretaries, including secretaries of petroleum and coal, the empowered panel that finalised the decisions had included only one secretary and two joint secretaries, Dasmunsi said without identifying the officials who had failed to attend the meeting.
"The decision will now be taken after a meeting of the full team of the empowered committee of secretaries," the minister said.
This is set to delay the final decision on the award of the third round of CBM blocks for which 54 bids from 26 firms were received in June for the 10 blocks.
Methane is seen as alternate gas for meeting local gas needs of industries, transport and domestic use. India is expected to see the first CBM production from 2007 with three encouraging discoveries so far by Great Eastern Energy, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Reliance Industries.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Apparently unwilling to get embroiled in Middle East conflict, India today suggested its peacekeepers in Lebanon would not like to be peace enforcers.
To a question whether India would continue to be part of UNIFIL in Lebanon in the wake of Israeli invasion of that country, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here that "we would like our troops to be in the role as close to chapter six as possible", meaning New Delhi would like its troops to perform only peacekeeping activities and not peace enforcement.
"We have been consistent contributors to the UN peacekeeping forces worldwide and as such our views on the issues need to be considered along with those of others," he said.
Mukherjee`s comments come as uncertainty hangs over whether or not India will keep its 673 troops in the United Nations Interim Force for Lebnanon (UNIFIL) and amidst reports that the mandate of the peacekeepers in that country might be changed from peacekeeping to peace enforcement including disarming of the Hezbollah militia.
Indian peacekeepers are mostly deployed in the turbulent southern part of Lebanon which was the scene of heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah Shiite militia.
Though the mandate of the UNIFIL has been extended by a year, New Delhi has not yet given its views whether or not it will like its troops to continue to be part of the force.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IRNA) As bilateral trade between India and China continues to witness a substantial increase, the two countries have begun negotiations on an investment protection agreement and are working on firming up a regional trade arrangement on the pattern of Free Trade Area (FTA).
The two countries are also discussing the possibility of expanding commerce through Nathula Pass, opened last month for border trade after 44 years.
There are a number of agreements to be signed this year which is being celebrated as the 'Year of Friendship', Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Yuxi told reporters here on the sidelines of a book release function.
One of the pacts being negotiated is an Agreement on Investment Protection and Promotion of Trade, he said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to undertake a visit here in November and the two sides are hoping that the agreement will be finalised by then.
Sun said the bilateral trade has been witnessing a substantial growth and the volume of commerce is targeted to reach USD 20 billion by the end of the year.
The two sides are working on a Regional Trade Arrangement on the pattern of FTA, he said without elaborating.
Expressing satisfaction over trade through Nathula pass, the Ambassador said discussions are underway to explore how it can be developed further.
In this regard, the two countries are discussing expansion of the list of items allowed for trade through Nathula, he said.
Sun emphasised the need for improving infrastructure, like widening of roads at Nathula to enable movement of containers.
The Ambassador also talked about possibility of use of railways to facilitate better movement of goods, noting that the train for Chinese side has reached Lhasa and work was underway to extend it further.
Besides, sea route could also be used to enhance trade, he said.
He was speaking after the release of the English version of the book 'My Life with Kotnis' authored by Chinese freedom fighter Madam Guo Ginglan. Former Prime Minister I K Gujral and Sun launched the book jointly at the Chinese Embassy.
He said he "strongly believes that the friendship between China and India will last forever."
Ginglan was the wife of Dwarkanath Kotnis, one of four doctors sent by Indian National Congress to China in 1938 for assistance to Chinese people when they were fighting against Japanese forces.
Kotnis died in China after some years.
Bangalore, Aug 31 (IANS) A Taiwanese semiconductor industry team is currently visiting India's silicon hub to explore partnerships in chip design and embedded software to meet Taipei's long-term requirements.
The 19-member team from the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) has expressed interest in engaging Indian firms in meeting their requirements.
Recognising India's core strengths in the two areas of the semiconductor triple play - design capabilities and software development, including EDA (electronic design automation) tools - major Taiwanese chip and electronic hardware manufacturers are keen on tie ups with Indian firms.
TSIA president T.A. Wu said that in the absence of an eco system and industry infrastructure for setting up manufacturing units, including fabs (chip fabrication plants) in India, Taiwanese firms would be ready to tap the design and embedded software development skills of Indian engineers.
He was speaking at a panel discussion here Wednesday between TSIA and the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) on 'Opportunities and areas of cooperation between India and Taiwan'.
"Since Taiwan is an established manufacturing hub in the semicon industry, we see a great potential to outsource a host of requirements ranging from chip design, testing and packaging and embedded software to developing IPs (intellectual property) from our Indian counterparts," Wu said.
Choon-Leong Lou, president and CEO of Star Technologies Inc, a leading Taiwanese semiconductor firm with presence in China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, said his company would be willing to invest in India or collaborate with Indian semiconductor firms to build a supply chain management (SCM) system from testing and packaging to IP creation and design services.
"As part of our de-risking strategy and geographic expansion of the market, collaborations or joint ventures with Indian firms will be a win-win situation for competing globally and capturing the world markets," Choon pointed out.
To build a sound eco system and a strong SCM base, Choon said Indian firms would have to build domain know-how in the semicon sector and scale up their resources -- human as well as capital, for meeting the requirements of the Taiwanese semiconductor industry.
Lauding TSIA initiatives to foster partnerships with Indian firms, ISA chairperson Raj Khera said the association would come out with a strategic blueprint in the next six-eight months to facilitate collaborations between Indian and Taiwanese industries so as to leverage and complement their respective strengths.
"We are looking forward to the government's semiconductor policy, which is expected to be announced soon. Besides proactive measures and enabling infrastructure, a single-window clearance facility will help the nascent semicon industry to replicate the success story of the Indian software sector," Khera said.
Stressing on the need to move up the value chain, especially in the area of IP creation, Khera said with a paradigm shift in the global semicon industry, stakeholders in the triple play of design, embedded software and manufacturing have become inter-dependent to meet the growing demands of the digital world.
With India projected to emerge as a major hub for electronics equipment manufacturing and electronic manufacturing services (EMS) over the next decade for the domestic and global markets, the manufacturing sector is estimated to contribute $155 billion in 2015 as against $11 billion in 2005.
According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, a global IT consulting and research firm, the Indian semiconductor industry will have the potential to generate $202 billion in 2015, as against $14.3 billion in 2005, with prospects to employ around 3.6 million people by then (2015) as against 520,000 people last year.
The Indian semicon industry comprises semiconductor and embedded design, electronics equipment manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing. Though India is still a negligible player in manufacturing, the study estimates Indian firms will generate $4.5 billion revenue by 2015.
As one of the major IC producers in the world, the Taiwan semicon industry's revenue is expected to be about $60 billion by 2010 from $20 billion in 2005.
Washington, Aug 31 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assertion that the final legislation on Indo-US nuclear deal must conform "strictly" to the July 18, 2005 agreement and the separation plan has set the ball in the US Senate's court, a scholar at a premier think tank here has said.
"The ball has now been placed in the US Senate's court. It is up to the US Senate to decide how seriously it wants to take the demands of the Indian government, Anirudh Suri, a Junior Fellow in the South Asia Programme of Washington-based Carnegie Endowment said.
"The importance accorded by Singh to the concerns of other Parliamentarians and the scientific community and the categorical stances taken in his speeches will necessitate playing hard ball with the US," Suri said in his article titled 'All Eyes on the Senate as India Plays Hardball'.
The Senate, which will come from its summer recess on September 5 is expected to shortly thereafter take up the civilian nuclear deal.
Analysts believe that the deal per se will not be facing much of a trouble at the Senate, but that the real work will be at the conference stage between the Senate and the House where differences in substance and language will have to be hammered out.
The Bush administration has said that it will work at the conference stage to ensure that the final legislation is within the parameters of what President George W Bush and Singh agreed in July 2005.
"Singh has put himself in a good position for now, having addressed domestic concerns by sending a loud and clear message to the US that India will not go beyond what has already been agreed upon," Suri said in the his latest scholarly presentation. PTI
New York, Aug 31 (DPA) As Iran's nuclear deadline clock ticks down, there were no plans in New York for a response from the UN Security Council as its demand for the suspension of uranium enrichment by Thursday goes apparently unfulfilled.
The 15-nation council was expected to receive on Thursday a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, which would establish whether the Iranian government has complied with the demand on uranium suspension by the Thursday deadline, diplomats said Wednesday.
Iran sent the reply to the European Union and IAEA last week, proposing more negotiations to settle the dispute over nuclear issues.
But in the last days, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejah made clear that his government would continue uranium conversion, one of steps in the process that can produce energy for civilian consumption as well as nuclear weapons.
Tehran also announced the inauguration of a heavy water reactor, a dual-use facility that could produce plutonium for nuclear warheads or generate energy.
Except for receiving the IAEA report, the council for now had no other scheduled meeting immediately, said Ghana Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, the council president.
"Frankly, we have not discussed the issue today (Wednesday)," he said. "So there is likely nothing tomorrow."
US Ambassador John Bolton said the council would study the Iranian document.
"If they have not (complied with the deadline), we will go to the UN to seek sanctions and it remains our intention to seek sanctions," Bolton said.
Bolton gave no timeline about activities in the council regarding the issue of the Iran nuclear dispute.
British Ambassador Emyr Parry Jones has suggested that the issue would be picked up by foreign ministers who will attend the UN General Assembly in mid-September.
The Security Council holds an annual meeting of foreign ministers of the 15 Security Council members to discuss a wide range of issues pertaining on peace and security.
While the US supports sanctions against Iran, China and Russia oppose the penalty.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday agreed to continue working for a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
"Li and Araghchi exchanged views on the development of the Iranian nuclear issue, and stressed that it should be properly resolved through diplomatic negotiations," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a brief report of the meeting.
China is opposed to Iran's developing of nuclear weapons, but it wants to keep good relations with a country that provides 14 per cent of China's crude oil imports.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IANS) Pakistan's rightwing political alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), may quit the government in troubled Balochistan province as it is keen on spearheading the opposition struggle against President Pervez Musharraf, accentuated in the wake of the killing of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
Media reports have indicated that the MMA, which has a strong presence in parliament and also rules the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is trying to seize the initiative from other alliances and parties to lead the movement against Musharraf.
It also led the charge in the National Assembly last Monday when the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was discussed.
Political analysts said the alliance may quit the government to avoid being dismissed and face the accompanying "tough police action" by the federal government.
The opposition parties are preparing for a nationwide strike scheduled for Friday.
MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad told a press conference in Peshawar: "At present our concentration is on strike to be observed on Sep 1. As far as the decision of giving up the government in Balochistan is concerned, no single party can give any verdict in this regard. We will take up the issue in our supreme council meeting, to be held on Sep 5 in Islamabad."
Qazi, who heads the powerful Jamat-e-Islami (JEI), was quoted by The News International that the alliance would continue its agitation until Musharraf quits the office of the president, constitute an interim government and announce independent elections under a free Election Commission.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Learn Arabic for peace! A veteran Israeli military officer is giving this advise to fellow Israelis as the Jewish nation grapples with pressures to make peace with the Arab world post-Lebanon.
Avi Azrieli says in the International Herald Tribune that one problem Israel faces is very few Israelis speak Arabic even though it is one of the country's two officials languages alongside Hebrew.
The former Israel Defence Force officer says that while Israel has flourished economically and technologically, modelling itself like a European nation, it is culturally alienated from its Arab neighbours.
"The immediate effort (to make up with the Middle East) should centre on language," he said.
"Fluency in Arabic should be a condition for a high-school diploma, for a government job and for a professional license of any kind. National television and radio stations should offer parallel Arabic programming.
"All government and business documents should be written in both Hebrew and Arabic, all laws adopted in both languages, and (state) agencies should be ready to serve the public in Hebrew and Arabic.
"Complementing its embrace of Arabic, Israel should absorb Arab culture," added Azrieli, author of the book "One Step Ahead: A Mother of Seven Escaping Hitler's Claws". "Israel's decidedly Westernized self-identity has implied a rejection of everything that is Arab. Israelis need to engage in a dialogue with the Arab people in order to understand their aspirations and frustrations."
He admitted that a change of paradigm for the intensely besieged Israeli society would not be easy, and embracing the culture of the "enemy" could be confusing, if not outright repulsive.
"Yet it is necessary and possible," he went on. "Israelis must accept that the people surrounding them are not only their current enemies, but also long-term cohabitants of the same troubled part of the world."
Azrieli also said: "By making Arabic a true national language besides Hebrew, Israel would send a clear message to its neighbours: We respect you and we are here to stay."
Rome, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) A five-ship Italian fleet set off for Lebanon on Tuesday carrying more than 800 soldiers bound for UN peacekeeping duties.
The task force, led by Italy's only aircraft carrier the Giuseppe Garibaldi, assembled some 20 miles off the southern port of Brindisi for a brief sendoff ceremony.
Premier Romano Prodi and Defense Minister Arturo Parisi arrived by helicopter to salute the troops.
"We will follow you with trepidation because it is a delicate mission of huge historic significance," Prodi told the soldiers. "But we will also follow you with pride and trust, knowing that although you carry arms, you're going to Lebanon exclusively to bring peace."
Marines and engineering corps specialists are included in the vanguard of a 2,500-strong contingent Italy is contributing to the expanded UNIFIL force. It is the largest national contingent so far committed to the force, which is to help the Lebanese army maintain a fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
Three landing platform dock ships and a corvette � a lightly armed warship used for coastal duty � also departed Brindisi with more than 1,300 sailors aboard, while a small frigate already in Cyprus was to join the Italian mission, the Defense Ministry said.
Lt. Cmdr. Pietro Alighieri, a pilot of one of the Garibaldi's AV-8B Harrier fighter bombers and a veteran of Italian missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, noted that the ship had loaded only four combat jets. The rest of its aircraft were transport helicopters � a sign, he said, that this mission is one of peace and not war.
"I was also recalled from leave," the 37-year-old Alighieri said. "When you are in the armed forces there are some requirements and people should be proud to be part of a UN mission."
The international force of up to 6,900 European soldiers is meant to assist the Lebanese army, which has begun moving 15,000 soldiers of its own into the south to assert the central government's authority in the area along the Israeli border.
The Italian troops were expected to reach the coast of Lebanon on Friday. Chief of Staff Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola said the contingent was likely to be deployed in and around Tyre, a southern port city.
Jammu, Aug 31 (PTI) Security forces have busted two militant hideouts and recovered arms and explosives from them in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, defence sources said here today.
Army troops busted a militant hideout at Bharat Gala, south west of Rajouri town yesterday during a search operation, they said adding however that the militants managed to escape leaving behind some arms and explosives.
The recoveries from the hideout included one RPG rocket, five anti-tank rifle grenades, three UBGL grenades and one plastic cylinder, the sources said.
Another hideout was busted at Kalaban in Mendhar tehsil of Poonch district yesterday and recoveries from it included some rations and a tourist map of Howrah in Kolkata.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IRNA) Rich tributes were paid in a day-long seminar held in memory of the late Prof Seyed Waheed Akhtar, noted poet, scholar, writer, thinker and foremost intellectual of his time in India as well as abroad.
The commemorative function, which was held under the auspices of the Department of Urdu of Jamia Millia Islamia (Millia Islamia University) in New Delhi, was presided over by Prof Mushirul Hasan, vice-chancellor of the university, an IRNA correspondent reported.
Sayyed Sebte Razi, governor of Jharkhand, was the guest of honor at the seminar, during which dignitaries recalled the eminence of Dr Waheed Akhtar and shed light on many facets of his personality as well as discussed at length the rich body of works he left behind to the benefit of future generations.
Other eminent speakers and scholars included Prof Shahryar, a very famous Urdu poet, Prof Qamar Raees, vice-chairman of the Delhi Urdu Academy, Prof Vaghesh Shukla, a prominent Hindi scholar who spoke of Dr Akhtar's Urdu poetry, literary criticisms and philosophy.
The event was attended by a large number of Urdu poets of international fame as well as Hindi scholars and philosophers like Kamlesh Shukla and Vaghesh Shukla. Other speakers included Hojjatul Islam Aqeel Gharavi, who shed light on the life and Islamic character of the late Dr Akhtar, his mastery and works in philosophy, particularly Islamic philosophy, and the way he had made great strides in this subject in India.
Some renowned journalists of India also attended the seminar from various TV channels and newspapers in Hindi, Urdu and English languages.
Among the foreign dignitaries who also attended and paid tributes to Dr Akhtar were Shakeeb, cultural counsellor in the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, and Mozaffarian, director of the Iran Culture House/
The late Dr Waheed Akhtar contributed voluminously to Islamic literature and philosophy.
Recognised as an Islamic thinker of modern India, Waheed Akhtar wrote more than 16 elegies (marthieh) on the lives and martyrdom of Imams of the Infallible Household of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Eight of his elegies were compiled into a book named "Karbala ta Karbala".
Apart from his compilations of Urdu poetry and various writings, he also taught different subjects in philosophy (Islamic, western philosophy, mysticism) at Aligarh Muslim University, where he finally retired as professor and dean of its Faculty of Arts.
"Iqbal and his Modern Thought" and "The Early Shi'ite Imamiyah Thinkers" are some of his works published in English.
The late Dr Waheed Akhtar had an inseparable affinity with Iran in two ways; firstly, his wife, Mahliqa Qaraei, was an Iranian national and famous translator who attained martyrdom when the Iran Air flight she was traveling on was hit by a US Navy missile in the Persian Gulf in 1988; secondly, he served as editor of Al-Tawhid an English journal in Islamic philosophy compiled and published by the Islamic Propagation Organization from 1984 to1987.
The late prof Waheed Akhtar also attended several international seminars and conferences in Iran, namely, the Int'l Seminar on Ghazali at Tehran University, 1986; Int'l Seminar on Teaching Persian in the Subcontinent, Tehran, 1986; Int'l Seminar on Iqbal Lahori, Tehran University, 1986; Int'l Seminar on Hafiz Shirazi on his eighth centenary, Shiraz, 1988; Int'l Seminar on Hadi Sabzewari, 1993; Int'l Seminar on Islamic Culture and Civilization: Past, Present and Future, Tehran, 1994.
In later years he also contributed to Thaqlain, a journal in the Islamic Republic of Iran which published discussions and talks on Iranian radio and television on various topics ranging from Urdu language and poetry, Persian poetry and poets and the Islamic concept of Vali-e-faqih and Velayat.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) Expressing concern over the losses incurred by the Indian aviation industry, US aircraft major Boeing has cautioned that this could lead to a "potential disaster" if it went unchecked.
"The losses in the Indian aviation industry is a cause for concern. It needs to be checked otherwise that will be a potential disaster for the industry," Boeing's' Senior Vice President (Sales commercial planes) Dinesh A Keskar said here.
He said India's low cost carriers faced pressures on yields per passenger due to low fares and high fuel prices.
Despite a sudden growth in passenger traffic and a projected growth of about 20 per cent in the next four-five years, the Indian civil aviation sector has seen many of the major players in red.
Leading carrier Jet Airways reported a loss of Rs 450 million in the quarter ended June, despite clocking a 25 per cent increase in revenue at Rs 16.80 billion. Low cost airline Air Deccan reported a loss of about Rs 350 mn in the 12 months ended March this year, while another budget airline SpiceJet had also reported a loss of Rs 410 mn in the fiscal ended May.
Pointing out that the sustainability of the sector withstanding loss was under question, Keskar said mergers and takeovers were on the cards.
"In the next 12 months there could be consolidation," he said.
Bhopal, Aug 31 (IANS) Madrassas in Madhya Pradesh will have to compulsorily sing Vande Mataram, India's national song, to mark its centenary Sept 7.
Madrassa board chairman S.K. Muddin told IANS: "The board has decided to send a circular to all the 5,300 registered madrassas across the state."
Vande Mataram has become a major political issue after a section of Muslims objected to its singing Sep 7 in schools to mark the centenary of the song's recitation at the Indian National Congress' Calcutta Session, where it was adapted as the national song.
"Those opposing the singing of the national song are no different than separatists. There is no harm in praising the motherland," Muddin added.
All-India Muslim Women's Personal Law Board president Shaista Ambar, during her recent visit to Madhya Pradesh, also said that singing of Vande Mataram was not "un-Islamic".
The government has already sent circulars to all educational institutes to ensure recitation of Vande Mataram.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) - the youth wing of the BJP - has decided to take out Vande Mataram rallies across the 584 blocks of the state.
"It is unfortunate that some people, including parliamentarians, are opposing the singing of the song. A criminal case should be registered against such people," BJYM president Dhiraj Pateria told IANS.
Madhya Pradesh Jamiat Ulema spokesperson Yusuf Zai has suggested that the national song be replaced with `Saare Jahan Se Achha'. Zai said it was "improper" to make the recitation of Vande Mataram mandatory in educational institutes as sections of Muslims were opposed to select parts of the song.
New York, Aug 31 (DPA) Amelie Mauresmo came back from an overnight rain interruption, immediately breaking German Kristina Barrois to recover in the second set on the way into the second round of the US Open 6-1, 7-5.
The French world number 1 owns Grand Slam titles from Australia and Wimbledon this season.
Mauresmo won the first set, played Tuesday with ease, but was trailing the number 131 as the pair returned to court Wednesday.
The top seed got straight to work with a break to power through after playing just two matches on hard court last week since her Wimbledon final over Justine Henin-Hardenne.
"I was only a break down and I had to try and break the minute we came back," said Mauresmo, 27-7 overall at the tournament. "I need to play some more matches, hopefully more here this week."
Mauresmo suffered over the summer with injuries from a shoulder and adductor muscle. "It's tough to stay healthy, I've struggled all summer.
"But it's great to be back on court. I'm feeling good physically, but there are still things to work on in my game."
Mauresmo earned victory in just under 90 minutes, breaking her opponent four times and matching Barrois on 21 winners.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to appoint Shiv Shankar Menon as the next foreign secretary, defying expectations that present incumbent Shyam Saran would get a year's extension in office, was "always on the cards", insist highly placed sources.
"He is a competent officer and his appointment was very much on the cards," said the sources who did not want to be identified.
That Menon had been in Delhi for the last four days was further testimony that an announcement was imminent and he would be the natural choice.
"Yes, there was a school of thought that believed in order to ensure continuity in critical areas of foreign policy, particularly the Indo-US nuclear deal, Saran would get an extension. But that issue has been resolved with him being appointed special envoy," said a senior PMO official.
It is also reliably learnt that Saran was reluctant to accept an extension that would run till September next year, but was not averse to taking up another assignment.
According to government sources, Menon, who is India's high commissioner to Pakistan, was tipped of his new assignment some days ago.
What was also playing on the government's mind was Menon would have had to supersede a number of officers if he was appointed foreign secretary this year.
Had Saran been given an extension, letting him complete his third year in September 2007, many of other contenders would have retired, allowing for Menon to step into his shoes smoothly.
"All these factors were considered. But considering that Menon was a competent officer who had excelled himself in both Pakistan and China earlier and also the goodwill he enjoyed in the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) made him a top choice for the post," said the sources.
Saran, who was appointed as foreign secretary in June 2004, had developed a good working relationship and equation with Singh, particularly after Natwar Singh resigned from the post of external affairs minister in December last year.
He was a crucial factor in key foreign policy challenges, including the handling of the power transition in Nepal, the management of relations with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China and of course, the Indo-US nuclear deal.
Two months back, Singh sidestepped established convention by giving a year's extension to Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi even though there were four other contenders for the country's top civil service post.
By Prashant K. Nanda,
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Child domestic helps in West Bengal, many of them girls, face high levels of emotional and physical abuse, revealed a new study.
The study, by the London-based Save the Children group, said 68 percent of the children surveyed had faced physical abuse while 78 percent earn less than Rs.500 per month.
The report said 20 percent of the victims had been forced to have sex. The abuser is either a member of the employer's family or a relative.
Six West Bengal districts - south and north 24 Parganas, west and east Midnapur, Nadia and Murshidabad - are the major suppliers of domestic child workers to several cities of India, said Manab Ray of Save the Children group.
Elaborating on the magnitude of the issue, he said while more than 50,000 children were employed in Kolkata, the Snadesh Khali I and II blocks of North 24 Parganas were home to over 6,000 children.
"For several reasons including poverty, the dreams of thousands of children are dying prematurely. Factors such as being beaten up by employers mercilessly and then being asked to hide wounds, being yelled at throughout the day and being told what a mistake it is to have her in the house are certainly de-motivating.
"Mostly girls in the age group of 11 to 16 are molested, fondled and forced into sexual intercourse," Ray, who was recently here with some of the rescued children, told IANS.
Reiterating the plight of the child workers, 14-year-old Reena, a rescued domestic help, was quoted as saying: "I faced physical abuse many times and my employers tried to put me in dirty work."
The four-year study found 74 percent of child domestic workers to be between 12 to 16 years of age. Most of them were forced to work up to 15 hours, and 50 percent of the children did not get any leave up to one year.
India, home to 11 million under-14 child workers, in August announced a ban on child labour. The ban is due to come into effect in October. Violations can lead to two years imprisonment and Rs.20,000 fine.
Save the Children has been working in West Bengal for some years and claims to have rescued 1,700 domestic child workers and helped nearly 3,000 to lead decent lives.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will travel to Afghanistan next week for talks with his counterpart Hamid Karzai.
However, no dates were given for Musharraf's trip because of security concerns, Dawn said.
"I can only say that this visit is planned, but we cannot release any other details because of security reasons," said an official.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam confirmed that the president's visit had been planned, but gave no further details.
It was not clear whether the visit was connected with the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti in a military operation last week. Balochistan shares a 1,173 km border with Iran and 837 km border with Afghanistan's volatile southern region.
There were reports from Kabul that the Afghan parliamentarians condemned Bugti's killing and on Monday there were attempts to move a strongly worded resolution.
Aslam, when asked, said she had not seen the reports.
The Karzai government issued a guarded statement regretting Bugti's killing and praising him as a prominent Baloch leader.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been involved in frequent diplomatic spats, at the highest level, with the latter alleging that the Taliban were using Pakistani territory to stage attacks on Kabul's forces, a charge Islamabad has denied.
New York, Aug 31 (DPA) Second seed Rafael Nadal tamed the big serve of Australian Mark Philippoussis 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to make a rain-delayed winning start at the US Open.
The Spanish youngsters, working to improve his performances on hardcourt, overcame 19 aces off the Philippoussis racket, taking victory in just over two hours with 34 winners and just 10 unforced errors.
The match was only the second for the 113th-ranked Australian since winning a grass title last month in Newport, followed by a first-round defeat at Indianapolis.
Philippoussis produced his usual stinging serve butt was weighed down by 35 unforced errors as he faced the world number 2 for the first time.
"I feel very good, I played a good match," said Nadal, who has never been past the third round in New York. "I began well with a break.
"The start is always important. I've trained well for the last few days and I arrived on court with good confidence.
"I've never played well here, but I want to do that now."
New York, Aug 31 (IANS) Jhumpa Lahiri's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Interpreter of Maladies" has been selected for a major book celebration programme in Chicago.
Lahiri's collection of nine short stories has been named for the 'One Book, One Chicago' programme.
Started in 2001, 'One Book, One Chicago' is a programme to encourage all Chicagoans to read the same book at the same time and discuss a great piece of literature with friends and neighbours. Two books are selected for the programme each year.
The stories in Lahiri's 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning book are set in India and the United States and talk about the lives of first and second-generation Indians in the US and their struggle to adapt to the new culture around them.
Making the announcement, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said, "These challenges have been faced by generations of Chicagoans, regardless of their ancestry. I think many of the stories will have a familiar ring."
"These stories also remind us that immigrants are just like native-born citizens. They fall in and out of love, laugh and cry, make friends and enemies and sometimes have trouble creating a place that feels like home," Daley said.
Reacting to the book's selection, Lahiri told the Chicago Sun-Times, "It's a tremendous honour. I'm thrilled... It's my first book and it already feels old to me. It's wonderful to give it new life in this way."
Speaking over phone from her parents' home in Providence, Rhode Island, the 39-year-old Indian American writer said that first-generation immigrants tend to react to it most closely.
"Other people who have immigrant histories in their families will tend to connect to the stories on that level, feeling something that they didn't experience, their parents didn't experience, but is part of their history as Americans. I hope when it's read in Chicago that will be the case," she told the Sun-Times.
Daley said it is fitting that the book was chosen at a time when the nation and Congress are struggling to resolve the great immigration debate.
Prior to this, 10 books were selected for the programme, including "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen and "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Lahiri's book figures in the 11th edition of the programme and is only the second book of short stories to be selected after Stuart Dybek's "The Coast of Chicago".
To celebrate the book, a series of programmes are being organised across the city of around three million people, which has a large population of Indian Americans.
On Sep 14, Lookingglass Theater ensemble will perform dramatic readings from the book at the Chicago Cultural Center. On Oct 9, Lahiri will discuss "Interpreter of Maladies" with Chicago Public Library commissioner Mary Dempsey at the Harold Washington Library Center.
The next day, she will speak to Chicago Public School students who participate in Mayor Daley's High School Book Club.
Around 2,000 copies of the book, besides dozens of audio-books on CD are already available at the 79 locations of the Chicago Public Library.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (Xinhua) Nine people were killed and several others injured Thursday as a van collided with a roadside truck in Pakistan.
According to the GEO Television, the traffic mishap occurred near Natheen Malaka village at Tehsil Pinidi Ghep of district Attock, some 70 km west of the Pakistani capital.
The injured, including two in critical condition, have been shifted to hospitals, it said.
Earlier Thursday, another road accident occurred in Khanewal district, near the central city Multan, some 420 km south from here killing nine people and injured some 17 others, according to local media reports.
By Arun Kumar,
Washington, Aug 31 (IANS) Americans may be complaining about losing jobs to Indians through outsourcing, but a new study says it is a net plus for them with the US getting at least $50 billion more through insourcing.
The US is also winning the global race for talent with immigrants comprising 12 to 26 percent of the workforce in key occupations, while the nation maintains a low 4.8 percent jobless rate, says the study by the US Chamber of Commerce.
Overwhelmingly Americans benefit from the nation's openness to trade, foreign investment, immigrants, and international visitors, says the study, "Global Engagement: How Americans Can Win and Prosper in the Worldwide Economy".
"The world's most open major economy is also the world's most successful and envied economy, and that's no accident," said Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue releasing the report.
"The free flow of trade, talent, and capital across our borders puts money and pay cheques directly into the hands of American workers, families, and small businesses. That is why we must never retreat behind the walls of fear and isolation no matter how tough the global competition becomes."
The study concludes that the US economy will prosper if the nation reforms its legal, regulatory, health, and educational systems while remaining engaged in international markets.
Further efforts to knock down trade barriers, develop domestic energy resources, secure the borders, and stop intellectual property crimes are also needed.
Although some Americans have been harmed by global competition and deserve assistance, critics have wrongly blamed trade for the concerns facing many middle class Americans, according to the Chamber.
"Critics have yet to explain how closing markets would expand the American dream," the report states.
Among the report's findings:
- Exports directly support 12 million US jobs and millions more indirectly. Ninety-seven percent of all exporters are small and medium-sized businesses.
- Imports benefit working and middle class families. Recent tariff reductions have expanded the typical family's purchasing power by $1,300 to $2,000 per year.
- Foreign investors directly employ 5.1 million Americans and tens of millions more indirectly.
Islamabad, Aug 31 (PTI) Asking China to broadbase its ties with Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf has sought increased military and economic support from the Communist nation, specially in the field of nuclear energy.
Musharraf, who held talks with a 17-member delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last night, called for developing close political, economic and defence cooperation between the two countries.
He said Pakistan would welcome Chinese investment in the country's proposed industrial parks for establishing nuclear power plants.
Musharraf told the Chinese officials that Pakistan has already asked the US and western investors to set up nuclear power plants under International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards.
China, which had provided two nuclear power plants of 300 megawatts each to Pakistan, is expected to offer four more plants at the request of Musharraf to help meet the country's 8,800MW requirement by 2030, 'Dawn' quoted officials as saying.
The President apprised the Chinese delegation of the latest energy situation in Pakistan with special reference to ongoing power shortage, it said.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Caught in a controversy over distortions in NCERT school textbooks, government has set up a committee headed by eminent educationist and former UGC Chairman Yashpal to go into contents of the books.
The six-member committee has been set up "in view of the misgivings expressed in both houses of Parliament regarding the contents of the textbooks in Hindi published by the NCERT," an official release said today.
The committee would review the relevant Hindi textbooks in the light of the objections raised and recommend any improvements or revisions that may be considered necessary, it said.
It has been asked to give its report by September 30.
Besides Yashpal, other members of the committee are Mrinal Miri, Chairman of National Monitoring Committee, Nirmala Deshpandey, MP, Krishan Sobti, eminent Hindi writer, U R Ananthamurthy, eminent Kannada writer and Ashok Vajpeyi, former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University.
Both Houses of Parliament were rocked recently over the issue with members alleging distortions in the books portraying patriots and certain castes in bad light.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri had assured members in the Rajya Sabha that an inquiry would be carried out into the matter.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Calling for a change in mindset of people towards gender equality and women empowerment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said he was deeply disturbed by the rising crime graph against women and female foeticide which he described as "barbaric".
"The worst manifestation of gender discrimination is female foeticide. How can we call ourselves a civilised society if we can tolerate such a barbaric crime?" Manmohan Singh said in his keynote address at the golden jubilee celebrations of Lady Shri Ram College here.
"This is not committed by the illiterate and the impoverished and is being committed, very often, in this very city, perhaps in this very neighbourhood.
"It is in the more developed districts and regions of our country that we find a higher incidence of this ghastly crime. This is both shocking and demeaning."
In his hard-hitting speech, the prime minister touched on various problems affecting women and also what needed to be done if women were to be accorded their rightful place in society.
"We have to ensure equality of pay and provide supporting structures for mothers in work places. We have to make our cities safe for girls and women of all ages. We have to make public places, public transport, our roads and parks, our offices and homes, safe for our women. I am deeply distressed by the rising crime against women."
Underling the importance of a social reforms movement that was imperative to change society's attitude towards women, Manmohan Singh said the need of the hour was a fundamental change in mindsets.
"Governments cannot change social attitudes. People can and must and we need a massive national movement to lay emphasis on these values and what we need in our country is a fundamental change in mindsets.
"On the one hand, we do see women becoming more empowered and capable. We do see greater participation of women in all walks of life. However, on the other hand, we see rising crimes against women. Our families worry about the lack of security for women," he said.
The prime minister, who was on the governing body of the college during his academic stint in Delhi University as professor at the Delhi School of Economics (1969-71), also lamented the attitude of educated people towards women.
"What is most distressing is the casual approach that so many educated people take to the harassment of women. We worry about the safety of our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters. I hope we can all join hands and work together to make our homes a happier place for the girl child and our women folk. Make our cities a safer and more secure place for girls at college and women at work."
The prime minister also talked about the measures his government has brought in for women including laws that prohibit arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise and allowing women judges to deal with rape cases.
"We have introduced gender budgeting in over 40 ministries to assess the impact of public spending on the welfare of our women," he said.
On his to-do list, Manmohan Singh said his government was aiming to put in place legislation to protect women against domestic violence and from sexual harassment at the workplace, permit flexibility in working hours for women, curb the barbaric practice of Sati and give Hindu women inheritance rights in co-parcenary property.
The prime minister said legislations to reserve seats in parliament and state legislatures for women would be brought in the next session of parliament.
"Such reservation at the gram panchayat (village bodies) levels has demonstrated its efficacy in empowering women across the country," he said.
By Raksha Kumar,
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Opening up to students of one of India's finest colleges, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday vowed to narrow the gap between the rich and poor and defended the economic reforms he unleashed in 1991.
Answering four questions from students of Lady Shri Ram College here, he also promised to implement a cabinet decision to introduce caste-based quotas in educational institutions of higher learning.
Asked by a third year journalism student, Raksha Kumar, if given a chance he would want to rethink the reforms, now that he has seen both 'Bharat' and 'India', the prime minister asserted, after some seeming hesitation, that he stood by whatever measures he introduced as finance minister 15 years ago.
"The 1991 decision was correct for the situations then, and my government is taking steps to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich," he said.
The prime minister was then asked whether or not reservations for students be based on economic criteria. The question came from Priyanka Chaturvedi, a second year journalism student.
The prime minister put on a confident look and said that the "social criterion" for reservations was equally necessary.
Manmohan Singh said he and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were all for the parliamentary bill that seeks to reserve a third of all seats for women in both parliament and state assemblies and that he hoped to convince his allies to let it become law soon. He was responding to Sunaina Wadhwa, a third year political science student.
The last question evoked laughter. A student wanted to know who played a more important role in nation building: teacher or politician?
Smiling, the prime minister gave a predictable answer: "Teachers do much more for nation building than any politician can ever do."
The question-answer session came after Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries attending the grand finale of the golden jubilee celebrations of Lady Shri Ram College, reputedly one of the finest not just here but the entire country.
The prime minister entered a packed house of expectant faces. The audience was a mix of faculty, non-teaching staff, alumna and students. Many students were dressed in elegant saris, eager to catch a close glimpse of the prime minister.
Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dilip Paintal spoke of LSR, as the institution is popularly known, as a "leader" among colleges.
College chairman Bharat Ram did not attend the event due to illness. His son Arun Bharat Ram read out his speech that traced how the college grew from modest beginnings in a small building in Daryagnaj, in the city's old quarters.
Meenakshi Gopinath, the college principal, expressed her desire to see LSR grow into a women's university in the next 25 years. The prime minister endorsed her views.
A choir of about 100 LSR girls presented a repertoire of songs that were sung by students in their assemblies throughout the past 50 years.
An exhibition of publications and photos portraying the 50 years of LSR was also inaugurated Thursday. It will continue for four days.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The next edition of Know India Programme (KIP), organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs (MOIA), will be held from Dec 12, 2006, to Jan 9, 2007. This orientation programme is organised to help Indian diaspora youth get exposure to the Indian way of life and culture.
According to an MOIA official, the participants will first spend three days in New Delhi and then move to Kerala on Dec 14, where the bulk of the programme will be held.
They will return to New Delhi in the first week of January and will participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual diaspora conclave, which will be held from Jan 7 to 9.
As in the previous KIP, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) will be the institutional partner in the programme. The non-resident Keralites affairs department will coordinate the programme in Kerala, the official said.
The last KIP was held from May 15 to June 12, 2006, with Himachal Pradesh as the host state. The programme saw 25 diaspora youth from across the world participating.
New York, Aug 31 (IANS) India's Sania Mirza is set to meet Italian 14th seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round of the $5,690,000 US Open after one of her best wins of the year.
The 19-year-old Sania, who lost in the quarter-finals at the Forest Hills US Open primer last week, beat experienced Croat Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes in the first round at Flushing Meadows Monday.
Steadier on her serve and more aggressive with her ground strokes, Sania got the breakthrough she was looking for in the 10th game to take the opening set 6-4. Quickly pushing home her advantage, she jumped out into a 4-1 lead to take the set 6-2 and move into the second round.
Apart from singles, Sania has entered the women's doubles event with Liezel Huber of South Africa and the mixed doubles event with Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic.
Sania became the first Indian woman to reach the women's singles fourth round at her first US Open in 2005. She then lost to Maria Sharapova of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals in the singles, but could not go beyond the first round in the doubles.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 star Amelie Mauresmo and former top-ranked players Martina Hingis and Serena Williams also posted first round wins Wednesday.
The reigning Wimbledon, Australian Open and WTA Championships title holder, Mauresmo needed two days to get past qualifier Kristina Barrois 6-1, 7-5.
The match was suspended because of rain Tuesday, with Barrois leading 5-2 in the second set, but the top-seeded French star returned to the court to win five straight games, and the match, on Day 3 of the Open.
An eighth-seeded Hingis snuck past Chinese Shuai Peng 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis titled here in 1997 and was the back-to-back runner-up in 1998 and 1999.
An unseeded Williams trounced Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes. The seven-time Grand Slam title holder Serena captured the US Open in 1999 and 2002 and was the runner-up to her big sister Venus in 2001.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Alarmed by the sealing and demolitions of unauthorised buildings in the Indian capital, top retailers are shifting to upcoming malls, leading to a sharp rise in property prices and rentals.
As the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), pushed by a Supreme Court order, prepares to seal over 45,000 commercial buildings operating in residential areas, a good number of fashion designers are preparing to shift out of their existing business locations.
"We have paid three times the price to find a suitable place in a mall after we had to vacate our shops because of the demolitions," said Abhinav Sharma, a leading name in fashion design.
Sharma had a showroom in MG-I on the Delhi-Guragon road, the hub of fashion stores that was demolished by MCD in February.
Earlier, he used to pay around Rs.60,000 a month as rent for the MG-I showroom but now has to shell out around Rs.200,000.
"The prices have gone up because there are not many good places where designers can start a showroom, so we are being charged hefty prices for the space," he said.
Taking note of the demand for high-standard malls, especially after the continued sealing and demolitions, real estate developers like the DLF Group are constructing swanky malls along the Delhi-Gurgaon road, which could see a second life as the fashion destination of Delhi.
"We are constructing a mall on the MG road as it was the centre of Delhi's fashion industry. Though the mall is under construction people have booked space at a rate of Rs.175 per square foot," said a DLF manager who did not want to be named.
Agreeing that property prices have gone up steeply in the capital, mall developers say the trend would continue for a while.
"We are charging Rs.150 per square foot area for rent and Rs.500,000 per square foot in case of lease," said Aarti, senior manager of East Delhi Mall.
On their part, MCD officials are preparing to start the process of re-sealing and demolition once again.
"Talks have been going on with Delhi Police as we suspect people might try to interfere in our work," said one MCD official.
The process had been stopped in May after the central government enacted the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act seeking to halt the demolition and sealing drives in the national capital.
However, the Supreme Court Aug 10 ordered the resumption of the drive.
The court stayed the urban development ministry's notification that directed de-sealing of the sealed premises and allowed those that had given an undertaking to stop the commercial activity by June 30 to continue it beyond that day.
The sealing drive had been undertaken following an order of the court to put a stop to the misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes.
Washington DC, Aug 31 (IndianMuslims.info) Ram Madhav, official spokesperson of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) is visiting US and is scheduled to meet the US State Deparment officials later this week.
Many South Asian American Organizations are requesting the State Department officials to withdraw the invitation, as meeting with him gives legitimacy to RSS and its Fascist ideology.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor and the Office of International Religious Freedom within the state department have now confirmed that they are refusing to meet with Ram Madhav due to his associations with extremist RSS.
Still, the Bureau of South Asian Affairs within the State Department is refusing to cancel their meeting with Ram Madhav. South Asia Bureau is claiming that Ram Madhav is no longer a spokesperson of the RSS therefore it is okey to meet with him. The RSS website continues to list Ram Madhav as their official spokesperson.
A call to Director for India desk within the State Deparment went unanswered.
Coalition Against Genocide, a group of over 40 organizations was launched in 2005 to protest Narendra Modi's visit to the US. As a result of their campainging visa issues to Modi was canceled by US. Many organization hailed this decision as a major slap in the face of Modi since Indian law enforcement agencies has yet to bring any case against him for thousands Muslim killed under his watch in 2002.
Coaltion in a statement expressed astonishment that US State Department is giving legitimacy to the RSS and its militant ideology by inviting Ram Madhav. They wondered how officials will benefit by meeting him.
RSS along with its sister organizations in the Sangh Parivar like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, has been responsible for the most of the communal violence seen in India. All of the State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Reports since 2001 and almost all of its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices since 1999 have cited RSS for violence against Muslims and Christians and/or condemned RSS’s public stand curbing religious freedom for minorities in India.
Earlier this year State Department has denied visas to a number of BJP party functionaries to attend a recent conference in the U.S. and has continued to stand by its decision to deny Narendra Modi's visa to the U.S.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Shiv Shankar Menon, presently India's high commissioner to Pakistan, has been named India's new foreign secretary.
Menon succeeds present incumbent Shyam Saran, who has been appointed the prime minister's special envoy on India-US negotiations on the civil nuclear deal.
Barmer (Rajasthan), Aug 31 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday assured the people of Rajasthan's flood affected district of Barmer full cooperation and help from the central government.
Gandhi, accompanied by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee was on a day's visit to Barmer.
While touring the worst hit Malva village, the residents asked Gandhi to make arrangements for draining out water from their village. Some complained about the inadequate relief operations and requested her for help in reconstructing their houses.
Malva, along with Kawas, has been submerged in water since the past 10 days. Over 800,000 of Barmer's two million people have been affected due to the freak rains and floods, which have killed hundreds.
Unconfirmed reports say 5,200 houses have been damaged and crops worth Rs.300 million completely wiped out by the floods, probably the worst in 200 years.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries Ashok Gehlot and Mukul Wasnik and Rajasthan Congress chief B.D. Kalla also accompanied Gandhi.
The state unit of the Congress complained to her about the failure of the Vasundhra Raje government in providing prompt and effective relief operations and also submitted a memorandum to the defence minister.
Later talking to reporters here, Mukherjee said various options were being considered to drain the accumulated floodwaters in some of the villages in the district. Thick gypsum layers are preventing the percolation of water.
"One of them is the construction of a 12 km canal," he said.
"We will consult engineering officials in the army to find a solution to it."
Mukherjee said he would brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil on the situation.
"After a meeting with the home minister, we will announce a relief package for the flood-affected areas," he said. He, however, refused to comment on state government's relief efforts.
Madrid, Aug 31 (DPA) Spain is to assume command of one of the two multinational brigades it expects the UN to deploy in southern Lebanon, military sources said Thursday.
Army chief of staff Felix Sanz Roldan was scheduled to meet Friday here with military representatives from Belgium, Finland, Portugal and Poland, which were to contribute troops to the 2,000-strong brigade.
The other brigade will probably be under French or Italian command, according to Spanish sources.
Spain expects its brigade to be deployed in the southern frontier zone.
The government was expected to approve Spain's contribution of up to 1,000 soldiers to the strengthened international peacekeeping force Friday and to seek parliamentary approval on Sep 7.
A Spanish military commission is in Lebanon to prepare the deployment.
Portugal announced Thursday that it would contribute 140 troops to the international force.
Colombo, Aug 31 (DPA) The Sri Lankan government Thursday rejected a report by Scandinavian monitors blaming the security forces for the killing of 17 aid workers in the northeastern part of the country on Aug 4.
"The report is unprofessional and the findings have no scientific basis," Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told journalists.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), in a report released about the killing of the aid workers attached to the Action Against Hunger in Muttur, 260 km northeast of the capital, said "there are very strong indications of the involvement of the security forces in the act despite their denial."
But Rambukwella said that according to medical evidence the killings had taken place on the night of Aug 3 or in the early hours of Aug 4 during which Tamil rebels were holding the area.
He said the Muttur area was captured by government troops only on the night of Aug 4, by which time the killings had already taken place.
The report by the monitors has been seen as a serious indictment on the security forces who have been involved in operations against the Tamil rebels in the north and eastern provinces after the rebels stepped up attacks on the forces.
Rambukwella refuted a claim by the monitors that they were not allowed into the area as a cover up to the involvement of the security forces.
He said that they were not allowed into the area due to security reasons as the military operations were still in progress.
The monitors' report said, "Taking into consideration the fact that the security forces had been present in Muttur at the time of the incident it appears highly unlikely to blame other groups for the killing.
The controversy between the government and the monitors comes in the wake of monitors being forced to reduce their strength with effect from September 1 as the rebels want members of the monitoring team from the European Union countries to withdraw as they have declared the rebels as a terrorist organization and banned them.
Jakarta, Aug 31 (Xinhua) Indonesia's North Sulawesi province was rocked by an earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale Thursday, causing panic among residents.
The undersea quake was centered 182 km southeast of the provincial capital of Manado, reported the Detikcom news website, quoting data from the local geophysics agency.
The tremor occurred at 08.10 GMT and was felt downtown in Manado.
According to reports, people in multi-story buildings were seen running in panic. However, no case of injury has been reported.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday pulled up the health ministry for its failure to achieve the target to provide anti-retroviral treatment (ART) to 100,000 HIV-positive patients by the end of 2005.
Not satisfied with the statement that the government would be able to achieve the target only by the end of 2007, a bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice C.K. Thakker and Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan sought an explanation from the ministry in two weeks giving reasons for the failure.
The petitioners were directed to give their suggestions in two weeks.
The bench was hearing a batch of cases filed by the Voluntary Health Association of Punjab and others seeking a direction to the central government and the states to provide AIDS victims the right to treatment under the public health system.
The petitioners contended that in the last few years, with the development of a new class of medicine called the anti-retroviral drugs, AIDS had ceased to be a dreadful fatal disease.
According to them, the ART does not cure the patient completely but suppresses viral replications, slows or halts disease progression restoring the balance within the immune system, prolongs longevity in AIDS cases and improves quality of life.
Effective ART regimens have shown success in terms of delaying the onset of AIDS and have transformed the common conception about HIV from being a 'virtual death sentence' to a chronic but manageable illness.
They said that the government was not including the treatment by these life-saving drugs as part of the public health system that caters to the needs of poor people.
In response to the court direction, the central government filed a status report stating that with effect from April 1, 2004 free ART treatment was being provided to the HIV-positive patients.
The report said that the programme was launched in eight government hospitals in six prevalence states - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Nagaland and Delhi.
At present 54 National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) ART centres were providing free ART. Moreover, governments of Kerala, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir were supporting nine centres.
A total of 36,110 patients were receiving free ART at the NACO ART centres as on July 31.
Kabul, Aug 31 (DPA) Two Taliban fighters were killed in a NATO air raid in southern Afghanistan, while two rockets hit capital Kabul overnight but caused no casualties, officials said Thursday.
Suspected Taliban fighters attacked the district headquarter of Nawzad in Helmand province Thursday morning with heavy artillery and rocket propelled grenades, the Defence Ministry said.
The airstrikes by the NATO-led coalition pushed the militants back from the district, the statement said. Afghan forces found the bodies of two Taliban rebels near the district headquarter.
According to the ministry statement no Afghan forces were injured and the exact number of the Taliban insurgents killed would be announced later.
Meanwhile, two rockets fired from unknown locations hit the centre of Kabul early Thursday morning, but caused no casualties or damage, Interior Ministry spokesman Yousif Stanikzai said.
Kabul has been mainly peaceful compared with the southern provinces where Taliban-led violence has left more than 1,800 people dead since early spring.
A series of rocket attacks and bomb blasts against the government and foreign troops in Kabul, however, has raised the fear that the stubborn insurgency has penetrated the country's capital city.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief K.S. Sudarshan Wednesday blamed television serials for undermining social values of India's joint family system.
"Multinational companies are pumping in money to break its traditional social system," he said while speaking on the occasion of the book release function.
However, the Indian traditional value system still continues to exist but there is a need to counter this onslaught by consolidating the Hindu society, he said.
The RSS chief said this can done only by breaking doing away with caste barriers.
New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address at the golden jubilee celebrations of Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College for Women here Tuesday:
"I am delighted to be here at your golden jubilee celebrations for more than one reason, not only because yours is an institution with unmatched commitment to the pursuit of excellence and social responsibility in education but also because I am basically a teacher.
I have strayed into politics by sheer accident. And it always pleases me to come back to academic institutions which have done so well and to see so many young bright faces that thrill my heart because I see in them the future of our country.
Fifty years is a long period in history of any institution. That you have travelled this long distance with such great commitment, with such great devotion to the academic values is a tribute to founding fathers of your institution.
I, therefore, begin by paying tribute to the memory of Late Sir Shri Ram and his generation of patriotic Indians who had the vision to create this great institution of learning and women's empowerment. I also compliment Dr Bharat Ram and his associates for building on the vision of the founding fathers to create an institution of learning committed to the emancipation of our women.
I also compliment my esteemed friend Dr. Bharat Ram and his associates for building on the vision of the founding father to create an institution par excellence. I compliment the successive generations of management, staff and students who have kept the flag of Lady Sriram College flying high.
If I remember correctly, for the brief period that I was in the University of Delhi, the university had nominated me on the governing body of this college and I also recall having participated in the selection of some teachers in Economics.
I have been told that yours is the only all-women's college to be listed among the top ten colleges in India. This is creditable but you have to aspire to do more and I endorse the vision of your Principal that Lady Sriram College must aspire to become a full-fledged University devoted to the education of Women. I am sure the inspiring leadership of Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath and the students' excellence and hard work has a lot to do with what you are today. I wish you well in years to come.
One of the significant hallmarks of our freedom movement was the emphasis on the emancipation of our women. Mahatma Gandhi was one of the earliest political leaders anywhere in the world to encourage women to play an active role in public affairs. Gandhiji said once: "To call women the weaker sex is a libel. It is man's injustice to women. The wife is not the husband's slave but his companion and his help-mate and an equal partner in all his joys and sorrows - as free as the husband to choose her own path."
To choose one's own path, however, we require the skills and the capabilities to do so. Education is an important means to that end. I am greatly impressed by the boldness of the Mission Statement of your College. It says that Lady Shri Ram College seeks to - Empower Women to Assume Leadership; Develop Critical Thinkers and Concerned Citizens; Contribute New Perspectives to the World of Knowledge; Enhance Access and Inclusivity in Quality Education; Sustain Democratic Spaces for Creative Explorations; and, Provide a Context of Learning that Enhances Professionalism, Humanism and Social Responsibility.
You have an equally impressive vision which wants to nurture women who would be world citizens, while taking pride in their culture and heritage with a sensitivity and a sensibility that celebrates diversity; women who recognise challenges as opportunities; women with professional competence and an ability to assume positions of creative leadership; women who can reconcile excellence with humanity and equity.
These are indeed lofty ideals. They are also very modern and progressive ideas. I sincerely hope each one of you imbibes these values as you graduate from these hallowed portals of learning.
While it is true that the emancipation and empowerment of our women was one of the important guiding principles of our national movement for freedom, I recognise the fact that we have a long way to go in fully realising this idea. It has been the sincere endeavour of our government to take this process forward.
I am sure you are all familiar with the many changes in policy we have brought about to empower women. We have put in place new legislation to protect women against domestic violence and from sexual harassment at the workplace; to permit flexibility in working hours for women; to further curb the barbaric practice of Sati; to give Hindu women inheritance rights in co-parcenary property.
Our laws have been amended to prohibit arrest of women after sunset and before sunrise and to empower women in dealing with rape cases. We have introduced gender budgeting in over 40 Ministries to assess the impact of public spending on the welfare of our women. Apart from these legislative measures, we have also effected a sharp increase in funding for girls' education and for creation of hostel facilities, especially in rural areas.
And, I sincerely hope that in the next session of Parliament we will be able to bring forward legislation to reserve seats in our Parliament and State Legislatures for our women. Such reservation at the gram panchayat levels has demonstrated its efficacy in empowering women across the country.
These are all legislative and administrative initiatives to empower our women. These are necessary and important, but surely not enough. What we need in our country is a fundamental change in mindsets. We need a new social reform movement for gender equality and the empowerment of our women. A movement that changes society's attitude towards women.
We have to vastly improve female literacy. We have to increase enrollment of girls at school. We have to increase women's participation in the work force. We have to ensure equality of pay and provide supporting structures for mothers in work places. We have to make our cities safe for girls and women of all ages. We have to make public places, public transport, our roads and parks, our offices and homes, safe for our women. I am deeply distressed by the rising crime against women.
What is most distressing is the casual approach that so many educated people take to the harassment of women. Governments cannot change social attitudes. People can and must and we need a massive national movement to lay emphasis on these values.
The worst manifestation of gender discrimination is female foeticide. How can we call ourselves a civilised society if we can tolerate such a barbaric crime? This is not committed by the illiterate and the impoverished. It is being committed, very often, in this very city, perhaps in this very neighbourhood. It is in the more developed districts and regions of our country that we find a higher incidence of this ghastly crime. This is both shocking and demeaning.
What we are witnessing in our country is truly paradoxical. On the one hand, we do see women becoming more empowered and capable. We do see greater participation of women in all walks of life. However, on the other hand, we see rising crimes against women. Our families worry about the lack of security for women. We worry about the safety of our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters. I hope we can all join hands and work together to make our homes a happier place for the girl child and our women folk. Make our cities a safer and more secure place for girls at college and women at work.
I believe that many of you have many questions in your mind and would like me to answer them. I have read through a long list of questions that you have sent me. I will be answering a few after my talk. But, let me take them all together and say this in response that I am truly impressed by your range of concerns. I feel heartened to see the kind of issues that worry you. You are all asking the right questions. I hope your journey through life will help you find the right answers to these questions.
As I said earlier this week in my Independence Day address, we have many reasons to be hopeful about our future. Our march of progress as a democratic republic has been an impressive one. Nowhere else you find a country of a billion people of our diversity, of our complexity, seeking a social and economic salvation in the framework of an open society, open economy committed to respect for all fundamental human freedoms and committed to the rule of law. Our progress therefore is something we can take pride in. But there is much more we have to do to realise our chosen destiny.
I quoted what Pandit Nehru said in the early hours of the 15th of August 1947. He asked us all whether we were brave enough and wise enough to face the challenge of the future. When I see your young faces, I know that we are brave enough to face the challenges before our nation. But, we must also ensure that we are also wise enough in our response to the challenges we face as a nation.
Ours is a young nation, but an ancient civilisation. The world has knocked at our doors for centuries in search of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. Today, as a young nation we must reach deep into our cultural and social inheritance and draw on our wisdom in responding to the challenges of the day, and of the future.
I sincerely hope the education you have received in this great institution will help you in your journey of life. I hope it will make you better, more creative and more productive citizens. I hope it will make you better human beings. I wish your college many more years of service in the cause of our nation. I wish each one of you a life-time of creativity and a life of adventure and enterprise. I hope you will all live your lives as happy children of our great country. Your college has served the country with great distinction for past 50 years. But I venture to think and I pray that the best is yet to come. May your path be blessed."
By Prasun Sonwalkar,
London, Aug 31 (IANS) Pepped up by latest popularity ratings, Conservative party leader David Cameron is visiting India next week as part of his efforts to appear more vocal on international issues.
Eton and Oxford-educated Cameron, who turns 40 on Oct 9, presents a youthful contrast to the increasingly harried-looking Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is currently facing renewed demands to announce his plans to quit office.
Cameron will be accompanied to India by the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, 35. During their four-day visit, the two Tory leaders will visit New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune and meet several Indian functionaries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Days before he embarks on the India visit, one of Cameron's economic policy groups has come out with a report that claims that British businesses had been "slow to embrace the vast opportunities" offered by India, and accused the Labour government of complacency in addressing the issue.
The report, by the party's Economic Competitiveness Policy Group, urges British universities to offer more scholarships and bursaries to Indian students and suggested a cut tax on profits of small businesses to boost inward investment, particularly from India.
The group, led by John Redwood, has recommended to the party to review a 19 per cent tax rate imposed by Labour on small business dividends in 2004. The tax, it said, needed "simplification or flattening" to attract more investment in small and medium-sized enterprises.
Urging British businessmen to shed their "chronic aversion to risk in India" and to take advantage of the huge opportunity presented by its rapid economic expansion, the report singles out telecom as one sector in which experienced British companies could build a strong presence in India. It also noted opportunities for manufacturing, computing, biotech and retail firms.
The report also urges British universities to offer more scholarships and bursaries to Indian students, and alleges that the universities had been "very slow to enter India", in contrast with American institutions.
The report suggests that the Department of Trade and Industry spend more on the Indo-British Partnership Network, whose 100,000 pound budget is dwarfed by the 4 million pound budget for the China-Britain Business Council.
Redwood said: "The Indian economy is growing rapidly. We set out in this paper how British business could be an important partner in India, in trade, investment and technology. Britain-Indian links are strong. They should provide a firm foundation for many more profitable partnerships.
"We highlight the successes achieved so far, and urge others to go and see for themselves. India is now truly a land of opportunity. Hurry while the chances remain. Anglo-Indian business is now a two-way street that can profit both sides."
After taking over as Conservative leader from Michael Howard in December last, Cameron has succeeded in creating ripples among the ruling Labour, but not many are still convinced that he represents a serious alternative to Blair or the latter's possible successor, Gordon Brown, the current chancellor.
In July, Cameron took many by surprise by turning up at a religious function of prominent Indian preacher Morari Bapu in Leicester and lavished praise on Britain's Hindu community as part of his bid to woo the large British Asian vote.
But even as he takes on Blair and Labour in domestic British politics, Cameron faces criticism that he has not been as vocal on international issues. To counter such charges, he has set in motion a series of international initiatives, including a visit last week to South Africa where he met Nelson Mandela.
After meeting Mandela, he famously admitted that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was wrong to brand Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) as "terrorists" during the struggle against apartheid.
A Conservative party spokeswoman said: "Going there demonstrates the importance that he places in Britain's relationship with India, and in particular the links that could develop between the City of London and Mumbai because of the emerging financial services industry there."
New York, Aug 31 (IMI)The top United Nations aid official today criticized Israel’s heavy use of cluster bombs in the last three days of the war with Hizbollah, describing their use as “immoral� and warning that up to 100,000 deadly bomblets still lie unexploded across vast areas of southern Lebanon where they are maiming and killing people every day.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland also said that around a quarter of a million Lebanese returnees who fled their homes during the month of fighting were unable to return because of the devastation or for fear of injury caused by these and other unexploded ordnance.
“What’s shocking and I would say to me, completely immoral, is that 90 per cent of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict when we knew there would be a resolution, when we really knew there would be an end of this,� he told reporters in New York.
“Cluster bombs…have affected large areas, lots of homes, lots of farmland, lots of commercial businesses and shops and they will be with us for many, many months, possibly for years. Everyday people are maimed, wounded and are killed by these ordnance, it shouldn’t have happened.�
UN teams have been helping remove these bomblets and other unexploded ordnance since the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah came into effect on August 14, and Mr. Egeland said nearly 85 per cent of bombed areas in southern Lebanon had now been assessed to reveal “shocking new information.�
“They identified 359 separate cluster bombed strike locations that are contaminated with as many as 100,000 unexploded bomblets…The people returning home however are facing massive problems, 250,000 of them in our view are not able to move into their homes at all because they are destroyed or because of unexploded ordnance.�
In addition to the unexploded cluster bomblets, Mr. Egeland said there was also around 20,000 pieces of other unexploded ordnance, including mines, although the bomblets were the main threat to the Lebanese returnees because they have been scattered over such a large area.
Turning to other humanitarian assistance for Lebanon, Mr. Egeland said the UN and all international organizations would fully support the Government as it moves toward the new stage of “reconstruction and recovery� for the country with its appeal for hundreds of millions of dollars to be launched at a donor meeting tomorrow in Stockholm.
However, he said a revised UN humanitarian appeal for Lebanon would ask for very little new money because the world body had already received pledges of more than $90 million for its emergency needs.
Mr. Egeland will be among the officials attending an international donors conference for Lebanon in Stockholm tomorrow, along with UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown.
On the ground in Lebanon, emergency UN assistance continues to get through to those most in need, with more trucks leaving Beirut today carrying supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a spokesman told reporters in New York.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also been sending convoys to villages around Nabatiyeh from the southern port city of Tyre, Stephane Dujarric said, adding these carried blankets, mattresses and cooking kits.
New York, Aug 31 (DPA) A UN Security Council deadline for Iran to halt uranium enrichment was set to expire Thursday with no indication that Iran will comply.
In Washington, the US State Department said the Security Council should quickly move toward adopting international sanctions if Iran does not announce that it has suspended uranium enrichment and comes clean on its nuclear activities.
"We would expect that the parties would immediately begin formal discussions about a resolution that would call for sanctions," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was scheduled to report to the council on Thursday on Iran's nuclear activities, diplomats said. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the report will say that Iran has continued to enrich uranium.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent public remarks has restated Iran's right to continue enriching uranium, which he insists is only for producing energy. The US and some of its allies suspect that Iran is using the programme to develop nuclear arms.
US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will fly to Europe next week for a meeting of the political directors of permanent Security Council members and Germany, McCormack said.
A senior State Department official said the meeting was tentatively scheduled to take place on Sep 7 in Berlin, but added the German government was still trying to work out the logistics.
The five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany have offered Iran incentives to come clean about its nuclear activities.
Iran has not accepted the proposal, offering last week only to enter into "serious negotiations," a response Washington said at the time "falls short" of the Security Council requirement.
The Security Council has so far announced no plans for formal discussion on a new resolution to punish Iran. The council has not scheduled a meeting for Thursday beyond receiving the IAEA report, said Ghanaian ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng, whose country holds the rotating council presidency.
US ambassador John Bolton provided no immediate timeline for discussions on a new resolution that would include sanctions.
"If they have not (complied with the deadline), we will go to the UN to seek sanctions and it remains our intention to seek sanctions," Bolton said.
The US has pushed for sanctions on Iran, but Russia and China have opposed coming down too hard over business concerns and worries that harsh penalties will push Iran away from negotiations.
By Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Aug 31 (PTI) The United Nations will ask the international community to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars at the pledging conference in Stockholm for recovery and reconstruction of Lebanon and to stem the fast deteriorating humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
More than 90 million dollars have already been pledged but Lebanon is seeking hundreds of million of dollars more to meet the massive rebuilding challenge, UN top humanitarian official Jan Egeland said addressing a press conference here.
Replying to a question, he said so far relief efforts have been remarkable, considering that never before the world has seen two and half million people displaced from their homes within two and a half weeks.
But now 75 per cent have returned to their homes though they face massive problems as houses have been destroyed and large areas lack basic facilities.
Some 250,000 people would not be able to move back into the houses that had been destroyed or were affected by unexploded ordnance, he said.
In a brief reference to Sri Lanka, he said that the conflict there had deepened while all eyes were on Lebanon. "Today, 37.5 million dollars are needed to meet the needs of 220,000 newly displaced people in Sri Lanka."
United Nations, Aug 31 (PTI) In a strong indictment of Israel for using cluster bombs in residential areas towards the end of the recent Lebanon conflict, the United Nations has said it was "completely immoral" for Tel Aviv to use these explosives at a time when the end of the war was in sight.
"It is an outrage that there are now 100,000 unexploded cluster bomblets at 359 separate sites in areas where civilians, including children and women, are present," top humanitarian official of the world body Jan Egeland told reporters yesterday, Israel's response was "excessive and disproportionate". "These devices are going to be with us for many, many months, and possibly years," he said.
What is "shocking and completely immoral", he said, is that 90 per cent of the cluster-bomb strikes had occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when everybody knew that there would be an end to hostilities.
"It shouldn't have happened," he said. "Everyday, people are maimed and killed by those devices. Civilians are going to die, disproportionately, again-- not during the war-- but after the end of the conflict.
Israel denies using these weapons in the populated areas but asserts that Hizbollah was using civilian facilities to fire rockets into Israel and it was only trying to destroy those positions.
Asked whether use of such bombs aimed at causing maximum casualties is Illegal, the UN Emergency Coordinator Egeland said cluster bombs are among the "most controversial" kind of weapons used today.
Washington, Aug 31 (PTI) Maintaining that the US is still respected around the world for the lead it takes in major issues like the fight on terror, President George W Bush has said that not all people like his policies but the bottom line is that America is "a country that is doing a lot of good".
Bush also rejected the notion that there is tension between him and his father George H W Bush, stressing that the relationship is one of an "adoring" son.
"America is respected. People still want to come to America. You ask anybody in the world who wants to embetter their life where would you want to go, most would say America," Bush said in an interview to a TV network.
"People don't like my policies, necessarily. They didn't like the fact I didn't join the International Criminal Court. They didn't like the fact that I wouldn't sign the Kyoto protocol -- both of which I thought were not good for the country. Many people didn't like the fact that we went after Saddam Hussein... I understand that," he said.
Bush said: "... I readily concede our policies may not be beloved. But I tell you what the policies that are: We feed the hungry. When the tsunamis hit, it was the United States of America who took the lead. On HIV/AIDS, we're spending USD 15 billion of taxpayers' money to help people suffering. And so, you know, this country is a country that is doing a lot of good. And my job is to remind the people of the world the good we're doing." "And I think, when it's all said and done, they'll look back and say, 'Thank goodness America took the lead in fighting this war on terror too. Thank God they're helping lay the foundation for peace,'" he added.
Damascus, Aug 31 (ZEENEWS.COM) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Syria on Tuesday to show solidarity with the Arab nation that has defied Washington for years.
Chavez's popularity in Syria and the Arab world has shot up after he ordered Venezuela's envoy in Israel home earlier this month to protest the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon and threatened to break off diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
"This visit aims to renew Venezuela's backing for Syria and its just stance," Nader al-Andari, Venezuela's ambassador to Damascus, told Syria's state news agency.
President Bashar al-Assad will hold talks with Chavez at a hilltop palace overlooking Damascus on Wednesday.
Venezuela's and Syria's relations with the United States have plummeted in the last few years. Caracas and Washington argued last week over Venezuela's impounding of cargo that the US embassy said was protected by diplomatic protocol.
The United States imposed sanctions on Syria in 2004 for allegedly backing terrorism. Damascus shrugged off calls by Washington, Israel's chief ally, to pressure Hezbollah to cave in to Israeli demands during the recent war.
During Chavez's visit, Syrian and Venezuelan officials are expected to sign pacts that include transport and oil, of which Syria produces 400,000 barrels a day, far less than Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil producer.
There are an estimated 1 million Venezuelans of Syrian descent.
Chavez, a critic of US foreign and trade policies, has sought to enhance Venezuela's ties with US foes such as Iran and Cuba, despite Washington's criticism of what he calls a socialist revolution.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said he hoped Chavez would stress during his discussions with Syrian officials that Damascus must meet its international obligations as set out by UN resolutions concerning Lebanon.
Asked whether he viewed the Venezuelan leader's visit to Damascus as a provocative act against Washington, Casey replied: "I see it as a decision made by the Venezuelan government about their relations with Syria, and you'd have to talk to them about their reasons for it."
Chavez was in Malaysia for a three-day visit that started on Sunday. From Syria, he flies to Angola.
In Kuala Lumpur, Chavez urged Malaysian businessmen to invest in Venezuela's energy, telecommunications, construction and food-processing sectors.
The nations plan an investment-guarantee fund aimed at smoothing investment, and hoped to sign pacts on business ties during a visit to Venezuela planned by the Malaysian prime minister in December, Chavez said.
"The new geopolitics of the world is tied to the bilateral relations of countries like us," he said, adding Venezuela sought investment to help revitalize Caracas.
Part of that investment could eventually be paid off in oil, Chavez said, noting that the national oil companies of the countries were in talks on ways to cooperate.
Damascus, Aug 31 (DPA) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Syrian President Bashar Assad in talks here solidified their stances in the face of US pressure, with Chavez lashing out at the US and Israel as the "roots" of the problems in the Middle East and the world.
At a joint press conference Assad called Chavez's visit "historic" and added that the two had "successful, intensive and very important discussions" in talks focused on "bilateral relations".
The two leaders signed 13 agreements, protocols and other documents in various fields including energy, transport, trade, and agriculture, and also agreed to allow Venezuelans and Syrians to enter each others' countries without visas.
Chavez was awarded an honorary doctorate in the international relations from Damascus University.
Assad said Wednesday that both leaders discussed the "burning" issues of the Middle East and the need to strengthen relations between Arabs and Latin America, including agreeing upon the need for a timetable for the withdrawal of "foreign forces" from Iraq.
Chavez also demanded that Israel withdraw from Lebanon and the Golan Heights (which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war) as well as halt its military actions in the Palestinian territories.
A vocal critic of the US accused Washington of being the "root" of problems in the Middle East and the World and criticised Israel as "a factor hindering peace".
Chavez earlier this month withdrew his country's top diplomat from Israel to protest the attacks on Lebanon as well as Israel's actions toward the Palestinians.